Adjuncts

 ADJUNCTS

Adjuncts are peripheral elements that give optional information whose deletion does not necessarily affect the propositional content of the clause. They are typically adverbial phrases or prepositional phrases though they can also be adverbial clauses or nominal phrases that usually indicate temporal or spatial location, such as home or this afternoon.

How many types are there? Remember that these elements are classified in terms of meaning, or notions (from their semantic point of view).

  
 At the park indicates where — so, it is an adverbial adjunct of place.

 At nine o’clock indicates when — so, it is an adverbial adjunct of time.

 Very quickly indicates how, the manner or way in which an action or event occurs— so, it is an adjunct of manner.

 For seven hours indicates how long, duration — so, it is an adverbial adjunct of duration.

 With a fork indicates the tool you used to do something — so, it is an adverbial adjunct of instrument.

 With her mother indicates the person accompanying someone — so, it is an adverbial adjunct of company.

 Because she was angry indicates a reason — so, it is an  adjunct of reason.

 (I went to the library) to get a book indicates a purpose — so, it is an adverbial adjunct of purpose.

 If it rains, (I will stay at home) provides information about the condition or circumstances under which an action or event takes place — so, it is an adjunct of condition.

... and so on. 


Adjucts of concession

According to Cambridge Dictionary Online:

concession (noun)

SOMETHING ALLOWED / SOMETHING GIVEN UP

something that is allowed or given up, often in order to end a disagreement, or the act of allowing or giving this.

But, then, what’s an adjunct of CONCESSION?

Watch this video lesson here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTt_TouhJto 

They introduce unexpected information in relation to the main clause. They express a concession or counterpoint to the main idea.

Examples of sentences containing adjuncts of concession:

• Mary was sweeping the floor although it was spotless.
• My friend was really happy when she saw us at her house even though she hates parties.

ONLINE ACTIVITY: Identify the type of adjunct in each case (pay attention to the words in capital letters).

https://take.quiz-maker.com/QUZ9LMLIP

Multiple-Word Verbs

 

Verbs with a particle can be either prepositional or phrasal, or even phrasal prepositional, depending on the category of the particle(s).

The problem to tell them apart is that in the case of particles, the same lexical item can very frequently work as both a preposition and as an adverb. They can be disambiguated through their features of transitivity and separability.

Separability constitutes the possibility of inserting the Direct Object between the lexical verb and its particle.

PREPOSITIONAL VERBS

If the particle is a preposition, the set of lexical verb and preposition is considered a prepositional verb. Prepositional verbs are always transitive inseparable. Their particle is always inseparable from the lexical verb and thus their Direct Object always follows the prepositional particle.

PHRASAL VERBS

If the particle is an adverb, the set is called a phrasal verb. Phrasal verbs can be either intransitive or transitive; if transitive, they are separable, i.e. their particle can be separated from the lexical verb through the insertion of their Direct Object between the lexical verb and the particle. However, while their Direct Object must be inserted between the lexical verb and the particle if its category is a pronoun, it can occupy two different positions if it is a noun phrase, either between the lexical verb and the particle, or after the adverbial article.

PHRASAL PREPOSITIONAL VERBS

Finally, if the set is made up of a lexical verb, an adverb and a preposition, the whole set is called a phrasal prepositional verb. They are always transitive.

Syntactic Analysis

Linking Verbs- Subjective Complement

 Linking Verbs

A linking verb is used to re-identify or to describe its subject. 

• A linking verb is called a linking verb because it links the subject to the subjective complement. A linking verb tells us what the subject is, not what the subject is doing.

Examples of Linking Verbs:

• The students look enthusiastic (Here, the subject is described as enthusiastic)
• He is an architect. (Here, the subject is re-identified as an architect.
• Alan is a vampire. (Here, the subject is re-identified as a vampire.)
• Alan is thirsty. (Here, the subject is described as thirsty.)

Linking verbs require a complement.

The Subjective Complement

A subjective complement is a word or phrase that follows a linking verb and identifies or describes the subject.

The subjective complement predicates something about the subject. 

A subjective complement is either an adjective, a noun, or a pronoun.

Easy Examples of Subjective Complements


In the examples below, the linking verbs are in bold and the subjective complements are shaded:

Ben is a policeman.(The linking verb is is (i.e., the verb to be). The subjective complement identifies the subject Ben. It is a noun.)

He will be fine.(The linking verb is will be (i.e., the verb to be). The subjective complement describes the subject He. It is an adjective.)


So, what is the difference between Direct Object, Indirect Object,  and Subjective Complement?

Watch these videos:

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

Sorry: when we said "receiver", we meant "recipient".

PART 4

PART 5

Some of these notes have been taken from https://www.grammar-monster.com/glossary/subject_complement.htm but we have adapted them.

EXTRA! VIDEO LESSON HERE: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7LMONyExFg

Post-modifiers

 SO FAR... we have been working on both FUNCTION and CATEGORY. Today, we will learn about another FUNCTION: POST-MODIFIERS. Watch this video now: 

The examples on the video are here:

 

WAIT!!!!!    How can I tell when...?

We usually come across a VERY GOOD question - Pay attention to the following:

TRANSITIVE AND INTRANSITIVE VERBS- DIRECT AND INDIRECT OBJECTS

 TRANSITIVE AND INTRANSITIVE VERBS

Verbs are either transitive or intransitive. Transitive verbs take an object; intransitive verbs do not:

Mrs. Jones bakes wonderful pies. (the verb "bakes" is transitive because it takes one object: "wonderful pies")

She gave him a present. (the verb "gave" is transitive because it takes two objects: "him" and "a present".)

She walks very fast. (the verb "walks" is intransitive because it does not take any objects.)

Some verbs are listed in the dictionary as both transitive and intransitive depending on the context in which they are used. 

For example, the verb ran has one meaning in the sentence

The horse ran very fast. (intransitive)

and a different meaning in

The women ran a bazaar at the fair. (transitive, "a bazaar at the fair" is the object.)

TYPES OF OBJECTS

There are two types of objects: direct and indirect objects:

A direct object answers the question "who?" or "what?"
Examples:

"I saw John this morning.": John is the direct object of the verb .(Who did you see?)

"The horse jumped the fence.": the fence is the direct object of the verb. (What did the horse jump?)

In addition to a direct object, a sentence may have an indirect object. 
An indirect object answers the question "to whom?", "for whom?", it is the recipient of the direct object.

 There must be a direct object for an indirect object to be placed in a sentence. In other words, an indirect object cannot exist without a direct object.

Examples:

"He told them the truth.": us in the indirect object of the verb. (To whom did he tell the truth?)

"The teacher sent an email to all the students.": to all the students is the indirect object of the verb. (To whom did the teacher senf an email?)

WATCH THE FOLLOWING VIDEO AND TAKE NOTES.

DIRECT AND INDIRECT OBJECTS

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/grammar/syntax-sentences-and-clauses/subjects-and-predicates/v/subject-direct-object-and-indirect-object-syntax-khan-academy

Then we are going to analyse the following sentence:

The clever children passed their examination last week.

Read the file and then watch the video:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/19UihVZ10qBV622TXq9gGU37gwiXSBjbi/view?usp=sharing

Try to analyse these sentences:

1. The man in the car was waving his hand.
2. The man had left the bag in the car that day.
3. I saw John this morning.
5. The teacher sent an email to the students yesterday.

6. My best friend told me a secret about her family.

Apposition

A further structural element component of the Subject and other nominal phrases in the Predicate or within an Object to the Preposition, for example, is the Apposition. The Apposition is a noun phrase that is either co-referential with, encompassing or encompassed by a noun phrase previously mentioned. Appositions can be classified into non-restrictive and restrictive.

Non-Restrictive Apposition is a structural element separate from the Head of the nominal phrase by a comma, semicolon or any other parenthetical marker, and provides additional information which is indicated in speech by a separate tone unit. In Example 4.8 the italicised noun phrase made up of only one word, Aldo, is a Non-Restrictive Apposition. In 4.9, the italicised expression namely water is also a Non-Restrictive Apposition since it provides additional information to the previous noun phrase.

4.8. My best friend, Aldo, teaches syntax.

4.9. The most important element for life, namely water, is produced by this company.

Since the information given by a Non-Restrictive Apposition is additional, it can be taken away without affecting the informative content of the proposition. Thus, in Examples 4.10 and 4.11 corresponding to 4.8 and 4.9, respectively, the Non-Restrictive Appositions have been eliminated. Still, the informative content of the proposition remains the same as that of their original counterparts.

4.10. My best friend teaches syntax.

4.11. The most important element for life is produced by this company.

Conventionally, the second nominal expression is considered the Apposition, except when the first nominal is an Appositive Title such as Mr., Mrs., Dr, Prof. and others.

A further piece of evidence for the recognition of Non-Restrictive Appositions is the fact that they can be placed preceding the nominal expressions to which they have been added. In this case, the postponed italicised nominal expression is now the Non-Restrictive Apposition (see Examples 4.12 and 4.13).

4.12. Aldo, my best friend, teaches syntax.

4.13. Water, the most important element for life, is produced by this company.

Finally, Non-Restrictive Appositions can take the place of the nominal expressions to which they are added, in whose case they become the Heads of the Subject, which has now no Apposition (see Examples 4.14 and 4.15).

4.14. Aldo teaches syntax.

4.15. Water is produced by this company.

The other type of Apposition is the Restrictive Apposition. The Restrictive Apposition is a nominal expression that delimits or specifies the reference of the first nominal, from which it is not separated either in writing or speech. See Examples 4.16 and 4.17.

4.16. Our colleague Thompson was appointed the head of the board.

4.17. His sister Janet graduated from medical school last year.

The difference between Non-Restrictive Apposition and Restrictive Apposition can be seen from the comparison of Examples 4.18 and 4.19 below. While in the former, Jack is the only uncle of the writer/speaker, in the latter the writer/speaker has more than one uncle and the one who he/she is referring as fond of pasta is Jack. This difference is illustrated in Figure 4.5 below.

4.18. My uncle, Jack, is fond of pasta.

4.19. My uncle Jack is fond of pasta.

Adapted from Durán (2017). An Introductory Course in English Grammar.

 

Empty Subject "IT"

We often use IT in some sentences referring to


TIME
THE WEATHER
TEMPERATURE
DISTANCE.

When used in this way, IT is called EMPTY because it carries no real information. IT is present since every English sentence has to contain a subject.



TIME: It is 9 pm.

WEATHER: It is hot.

TEMPERATURE: It is 37° Celsius.



DISTANCE: It is twenty miles from London.




Adapted from: Alexander, L.G. (1990) Longman English Grammar. p.78London:Longman.