Advanced English Grammar

Part of Speech

Part of speech is the term we use to refer to a class, or category, of words (or word class) which share certain formal and distributional properties. In English, the parts of speech are noun (cat), verb (learn), adverb (carefully), adjective (simple), preposition (up), determiner (the) and conjunction (and, because). Some consider the pronoun (he) to be a separate part of speech; we include it in the category noun. An interjection (Darn!) is another part of speech, but it is less important when it comes to identifying constituents in clauses since it does not have a syntactic function in the clause. (AEG Ch. 1)

 

Partial Interrogative, see information interrogative clause

 

Particle Verb

A particle verb is a multi-word verb that consists of a verb and a particle: Look up the meaning on the Internet (Look it up); He put down his pen (He put it down). At first sight, particle verbs bear a strong resemblance to prepositional verbs: Please look into this problem. However, there are clear formal distinctions between the two types of verb. A particle verb is a multi-word verb takes a DO complement. (A particle verb can be intransitive as well, as in Please, come in.) A prepositional verb is a single-unit verb that takes a PO as complement – into this problem in the example above. (A prepositional verb can be transitive too, in which case it takes a DO as well: I think I can talked him into it.) And while the NP following the particle can feature before the particle (Look the meaning up on the Internet), it is not possible for the NP in the PrepP functioning as PO to feature before the preposition: *Please look this problem into. (AEG Ch. 2)

 

Partitive

Partitive use or partitive meaning implies that there is reference to one, several or all members of a set or to a subpart or all of an amount: a friend of hers (= one of her friends), some friends of hers (= some of her friends), all of the cake. (AEG Ch. 3)

 

Passive Markers, see passive voice

 

Passive Voice

Most transitive and ditransitive verbs (but not intransitive verbs) can be used in the passive voice. Whereas the active voice is signalled by the absence of any specific markers, the passive voice is signalled by passive markers, which are the auxiliary be, combined with the past participle (verb + -en) of the verb. The passive and the active voice are often represented as a transformational mechanism, whereby an active sentence can be converted into a passive sentence. In AEG we acknowledge that it can be helpful to spell out the formal link between active and passive clauses. That said, we have emphasized that the use of either voice stems from the way in which the speaker chooses to represent information: when the passive voice is used, it is the theme, the recipient or the beneficiary that features in Subject position (rather than the agent or experiencer, which features in Subject position in the active voice). (AEG Ch. 2)

 

Past Form, see past time reference (AEG Ch. 5)

 

Past Future Tense

Past future is a tense that represents a situation (E) as being posterior to a reference time (R) that is is located in the past time-sphere: They said they would be late (AEG Ch. 4)

 

Past Future Perfect Tense

The past future perfect tense is tense that represents a situation (E) as anterior (through the use of have) to a reference time (R) that is itself posterior (through the use of would) to a past moment in time: (They said) they would have finished by then.

 

Past Participle

The past participle of a verb is a non-finite form of the verb that takes the inflection -en. The shape of this inflection is -ed for regular verbs (I have worked (< work + -en) and is unpredictable for many irregular verbs (the criminal was caught (< catch + -en). The past participle is used to build the perfect tenses (has tried, had tried, will have tried, would have tried) and to build a passive form (He has been fired) of the verb. It is used as the head verb in a non-finite -en clause (Seen from Earth, Mars looks like a star.) and it can also be used as an adjective (a cooked meal). (AEG Ch. 4)

 

Past Subjunctive

The label past subjunctive or irrealis mode is sometimes used to capture the meaning of were when it expresses counterfactual meaning. This form is used in a subclause, for instance, following the subordinating conjunction if or with Subject-auxiliary inversion: If I were I rich / Were I rich, I would retire at 30. In AEG this form is considered to be a modal past. (AEG Ch. 5)

 

Past Time Reference

Past time reference refers to the location of a situation in the past time-sphere. The past tense usually has past time reference and locates a situation in the past time-sphere, but not always. For example, in counterfactual sentences (If I knew how to swim. . .), the past form knew has present time reference: if I knew how to swim now. This highlights the usefulness of keeping distinct the notion of past time reference and that of past form. The past form certain of many modals can, but often do not, have past time reference: I could swim when I was a kid vs. Could you teach me (= now) how to swim? (AEG Ch. 5)

 

Past Time-Sphere, see time-spheres

 

Perfect Infinitive

A perfect infinitive is a form of the infinitive that expresses a relation of anteriority; it consists of have followed by a past participle (verb + EN): He seems to have forgotten / to have been working too hard; He seemed to have forgotten / to have been working too hard. As these examples show, a perfect infinitive can also be marked with progressive aspect. In AEG, we treat perfect infinitives mostly in modal sentences: He may have forgotten; He thought he might have forgotten.

 (AEG Ch. 4)

 

Perfect Tense

A perfect tense is a verb form that consists of the auxiliary have followed by a past participle (verb + -en). Perfect tenses express anteriority with respect to a reference time (R). There are four perfect tenses in English: the present, past, future and past future perfect). By way of example, the present perfect is used to locate a situation in the pre-present time-sphere, that is, in a period of time starting before now and leading up to now: I have resigned from the committee. The reference time in this case is the moment of speech. (AEG Ch. 2)

 

Performative Verb

When a speaker uses a performative verb, she simultaneously performs the action that the verb represents simply by uttering the clause: I acknowledge the facts; I confess that I was wrong. By simply saying these sentences, the speaker brings about the actualization of acknowledging or confession. (AEG Ch. 4)

 

Periphrastic Do

Periphrastic do is used in contexts in which lexical verbs require do-support, that is, in clauses in which there is inversion (Did he raise any objections?), in which the negative marker not is used. (The reviewer didn’t formulate any serious objections) or in contexts in which there is ellipsis (No, he didn’t). In cases like these, do is a device that does not carry meaning but it is called upon to fulfil a syntactic or formal requirement.

 

 

Periphrastic Form

A periphrastic form is a form that carries the same meaning as another form, but via separate word rather than an inflection. For instance, as must does not have a past form, we say that have to is the periphrastic form used to express the modal meaning of necessity with past time reference. The murder of the woman (as opposed to the woman’s murder) is another example of periphrastic form. Do can likewise be used as a periphrastic form (see periphrastic do) (AEG Ch. 2, Ch. 5)

 

Permission

Permission is a modal meaning that is expressed via can, could, may or might. When a speaker grants permission, it results in the hearer’s being allowed to do something. In other words, the granting of permission makes a situation possible. Refusing permission removes that possibility. Asking for permission is in essence an inquiry as to whether a situation is possible. (AEG Ch. 5)

 

Personal Pronoun, see pronoun

 

Positive Expression of Similarity, see expressions of similarity

 

Possessive Determiners

My, your, her, his, its, our and their are possessive determiners; they are followed by a head noun in an NP. In contrast, mine, yours, hers, his, ours, theirs are possessive pronouns; they constitute the head of the NP. Some grammars consider possessive determiners like my and your to be dependent (or weak) pronouns: they cannot be used without a noun head. They then analyse mine, yours and so on as the independent (or strong) forms of these same pronouns insofar as they can occur alone as noun heads. In AEG we classify forms like my and your as determiners and concentrate on their determinative function. (AEG Ch. 3)

 

Possessive Pronouns, see possessive determiners

 

Possibility, see modality

 

Post-Present Time-Sphere, see time-sphere

 

Postcedent, see antecedent

 

Posterior(ity)

Informally speaking, posteriority refers to a relationship of ‘after-ness’ – a situation is said to posterior to a point in time when it is located after it. The tense marker will, used with the future tense and the future perfect, and the tense marker would, used with the future past, express posteriority. (AEG Ch. 4)

 

Posthead

A posthead is an item that occurs after the head of a phrase. In the NP a hat that is red, the relative clause that is red is a posthead to the head (noun) hat; in the AdjP dependent on her dad, the PrepP on her dad is a posthead to the head (adjective) dependent. (AEG Ch. 1)

 

Pragmatics

Pragmatics is the branch of linguistics that studies the ways in which the use of language is context-dependent. As such, it deals more intimately with a speaker’s intended meaning in actual communicative situations rather than the mere literal interpretation of what she says. When a speaker says The window is open, what she may mean is that she wants the hearer to close it, though in terms of her words, she has simply made a statement. Similarly, when a hearer hears Do you have the time?, he knows that he is not expected to simply respond Yes, I do. Pragmatics studies the mechanisms that enable speakers and hearers to communicate and infer more than is literally expressed. (AEG Ch. 1)

 

Pre-Present Time-Sphere, see time-spheres

 

Predicate

A Predicate is what is left of a clause when the Subject is removed. It consists of a verb and its complements (if any), and Adjuncts (if any): He likes to go the movies on Friday evenings. (AEG Ch. 1)

 

Predicative

When adjectives are related to an NP through the verb be or another linking verb (seem, look, appear) we say that their function is predicative (that is, ‘part of the Predicate’): The visit was heart-warming; her presentation was impressive). Most adjectives can be used predicatively, but some cannot: the main reason, but *the reason is main. (AEG Ch. 1, Ch. 3)

 

Prehead

A prehead is an item that occurs before the head of a phrase. In the NP a red hat, the determiner a and the adjective red are preheads; so is the adverb remarkably in the AdvP remarkably clear. (AEG Ch. 1)

 

Preposed (Near-) Negative Adverb

A clause with a preposed (near-) negative adverb is one in which a negative adverbial (never, not once) or an adverb that is negative in meaning (seldom, rarely (= ‘not often’) features in sentence-initial position for emphasis. This position triggers Subject-auxiliary inversion: Never had I seen anything like it. (AEG Ch. 2)

 

Preposition Stranding

Preposition stranding occurs when an NP which is the Object of a Preposition does not occur after the preposition in the PrepP but, rather, earlier in the sentence. This is commonly found in relative clauses. As a result, one has the impression that the preposition has been left behind or ‘stranded’: This is the book I’m most interested in. Compare this to This is the book in which I’m most interested, where the Object of the Preposition in (here, the relative pronoun which) follows the preposition. When the preposition is not stranded, the resulting clause sounds more formal. In addition to relative clauses, prepositions can be stranded in interrogative clauses (Who is he talking to?), in passive constructions (Our dog was run over) and in certain infinitival constructions with to (She’s an interesting person to talk to). (AEG Ch. 3)

 

Preposition, see prepositional phrase

Prepositional Complement

A Prepositional Complement (PC) is a syntactically obligatory constituent taking the form of a PrepP. Unlike a PO, it is not related to a prepositional verb. It cannot be left out without resulting in an ungrammatical sentence or a sentence that has a significantly different meaning: He lives in Lille vs. He lives! (= He’s alive!) Here and there function as PCs in a sentence like Put it here / there, although they are not PrepPs. This makes sense when we consider that here and there can be easily paraphrased with a PrepP: Put it there (on the table, under the chair, next to the desk). (AEG Ch. 1)

 

Prepositional Object

A Prepositional Object is a type of complement that fulfils a role that is similar to that of DO. More specifically, it is a PrepP the head of which belongs to a prepositional verb: I’m looking for my glasses; She’s listening to music; What are you looking at? (AEG Ch. 1, Ch. 2)

 

Prepositional Particle Verb

A prepositional particle verb is a verb that combines the use of both a particle and a preposition. It can be intransitive (I can’t put up with this noise) or transitive (Who put you up to this?). When a prepositional particle verb is transitive, the DO always features after the particle: Who put you up to this? vs. *Who put up you to this? This is not the case in sentences with a transitive particle verb, where the (non-pronominal) DO can feature before or after the particle: Who looked the word up? Who looked up the word?). (AEG Ch. 2)

 

Prepositional Phrase (PrepP)

A prepositional phrase is a constituent whose head is a preposition: under the stairs, of the city. At the level of the phrase, a PrepP can be a posthead to a noun (the cupboard [under the stairs], the destruction [of the city]), to an adverb (independently [of her]) or an adjective (afraid [of snakes]). At the clausal level, a PrepP can function as a PO (I was looking [for a pen], They never listen [to their teacher]), as an IO (I sent a letter [to the editor]; I bought a present [for my sister]), as a PC (They live [in Brussels], Mary put it [behind the desk]) or as an Adjunct (They’re playing [in the garden], They called me [at 9am]). (AEG Ch. 1)

 

Prepositional Verb

A prepositional verb is a verb that is complemented by a PrepP. The function of this PrepP is PO: I ran into my French teacher yesterday; Henry takes after his uncle. If the prepositional verb is transitive, it is further complemented by a DO directly after the verb: You’ve read too much into his text message. (AEG Ch. 2)

 

Prescriptive Grammar

A prescriptive grammar seeks to arbitrate on which of two or more competing forms in a language – that is, two or more grammatically different ways of expressing the same thing – is the correct one. Its stance is often ‘say (or write) it this way, not this way’; in other words, it prescribes. Given that vast areas of grammar are subject to no variation, a prescriptive grammar in the end addresses only a very small part of the grammar of a language. One example is the use of who vs. whom: although who has now all but taken over the uses of whom, a prescriptive grammar might very well maintain that whom (and only whom) is correct in a sentence of the type This is my sister, whom I think you’ve already met. (AEG Ch. 1)

Present Participle, see -ing participle

 

Present Time-Sphere, see time-spheres

 

Primary Auxiliaries

The primary auxiliaries are be, have and do:

-          the auxiliary be (in conjunction with the -ing participle (verb + -ing) of a verb) is the marker for progressive aspect: We are working hard on the manuscript);

-          the auxiliary be (in conjunction with the past participle) is also the usual marker for the passive voice: The second edition will be available in less than a year’s time)

-          the auxiliary have (in conjunction with the past participle (verb + -en) of a verb) is the marker for the perfect tenses: We have finished the first draft);

-          Periphrastic do is used in contexts in which lexical verbs require do-support, that is, in clauses in which there is inversion (Did he raise any objections?) or in which the negative marker not is used. (The reviewer didn’t formulate any serious objections), or in contexts in which there is ellipsis (No, he didn’t).

Syntactically speaking, be always behaves as an auxiliary (although it can be used on its own as a copular verb (or linking verb): They are students). Have and do can be lexical verbs as well as auxiliaries: I have a headache; She’s doing her homework. (AEG Ch. 2)

 

Productive Process

If we say a word formation process constitutes a productive process, this means that speakers can create new combinations spontaneously when the need arises. The use of prefixes and suffixes in derivational morphology, for example, is productive. Compounding is a productive process as well. (AEG Ch. 1)

 

Progressive Aspect, see aspect

 

Progressive Marker

The progressive marker consists of a form of the verb be and the -ing participle of a verb. (She was answering the phone when I walked into the room.)

 

Progressive of Affect

The progressive of affect is a special use of the progressive that serves to express a positive or negative emotion about a situation that is repeated. The progressive of affect necessarily combines with an adverb that expresses repetition or frequency: You are endlessly shouting; She is always thinking of others first. (AEG Ch. 4)

 

Pronoun

Pronouns (I, you, he, she, it, they, the most common, are called personal pronouns) constitute a subclass of the category noun. There are demonstrative, relative, interrogative and indefinite pronouns as well. While informally we might define ‘pro-nouns’ as placeholders for nouns, a more accurate definition is that pronouns are on a par with NPs: we can replace the NP constituents in [My parents] have sold [their house] with pronouns, giving us [they] have sold [it] – they and it fill the NP position. They are not on a par with the nouns parents and house. We stick to the traditional label ‘pronoun’, although it would be more accurate to refer to them as ‘pro-NPs’. (AEG Ch. 1)

Proper Noun

A proper noun is a (proper) name whose referent is a specific person, place or thing: Henry, New York, St Alban’s, Lake Michigan. All other nouns are common nouns: happiness, rain, dogs, love. (AEG Ch. 3)

 

Proximal Agreement

Proximal agreement comes to the fore when the Subject NP is complex, that is, when it contains more than one NP. Proximal agreement means that the number of the verb is determined by the NP that is closest to the verb. For instance, when any, none, either or neither – which are grammatically singular forms – are followed by a plural noun in an of PrepP that functions as (notional) Subject, a singular verb shows formal agreement, whereas a plural verb shows proximal agreement.

Neither of my parents is coming. (formal agreement with singular neither)

Neither of my parents are coming. (proximal agreement with plural parents)

Proximal agreement of this kind has often been deemed incorrect by prescriptive grammarians, but both forms are found and are acceptable.

There is likewise proximal agreement in sentences with there: again, the verb agrees with the NP that is closest to the verb: The flat is very spacious. There is a study and two bedrooms. / There are two bedrooms and a study. (AEG Ch. 3)

 

Proximal Demonstratives

This (singular) and these (plural) are proximal demonstratives. They refer to items that the speaker conceives as being close to her. The notion of proximity is very often spatial (Do you like this dress? (speaker is holding a dress and showing it to the hearer) or temporal (This week has been very busy). In a stretch of discourse, proximal demonstratives are often associated with cataphoric reference. In Listen to this, the referent associated with ‘this’ occurs later in the discourse. (AEG Ch. 3)

 

Punctual, see duration