Chapter 1: dependent clause markers

The structure class of dependent clause markers consists of four types: subordinators, relatives, interrogatives, and a special category, THAT. Each type signals a specific dependent clause that we will cover in more detail in Chapter 6. SubordinatorsWhile subordinators can are often categorized as a conjunction, in this book we  include it a dependent clause marker because it is more similar to relatives and  interrogatives as a key marker for dependent clauses. In this respect, subordinators are the markers for subordinate clauses, which are joined (or subordinated) to an independent clause:

• He couldn’t order a steak dinner [independent clause] because he had forgotten his wallet [subordinate clause].
• Since the man could not pay for his dinner [subordinate clause], he washed dishes [independent clause].

 Subordinators as part of a subordinate clause create complex sentences by  joining unequal grammatical structures: independent and dependent  clauses. The independent clause can stand on its own as a sentence; the  dependent clause requires the independent clause to make a complete  sentence: Harold sang old sea ditties while he prepared dinner.

• Harold sang old sea ditties makes a complete sentence (independent clause).
• while he prepared dinner only works with Harold sang old sea ditties(dependent clause).

 Subordinators often draw from the same list of words as prepositions,  so it’s important that you understand the difference between a  subordinate clause and a prepositional phrase. In short, a subordinator  precedes the subject in a clause, and a preposition precedes a nominal only. Moreover, subordinators can seem very similar to conjunctive adverbs.  You can tell them apart by checking whether the entire dependent clause or the conjunction alone can be moved in the sentence. RelativesRelatives are the key markers for relative clauses (a type of dependent clause). In English, the prototypical relatives are who, whom, whose, which, and that.  These prototypical relatives are also called pronomial relatives because  even though the relative clause is adjectival, the relative itself, as a  word, functions nominally as a kind of “pronoun” and serves as the subject of the clause. While subordinate clauses normally function adverbially,  relative clauses function adjectivally within a sentence. Like  adjectives, they modify a nominal (word, phrase, or clause), which is  their antecedent. The car that hit me was changing lanes.

• That refers to the car. It introduces a relative clause (that hit me) which modifies the car.

 The professor whose schedule was changed threatened to quit.

• Whose refers to the professor. It introduces a relative clause (whose schedule was changed) to modify (specify) which professor.

The other relatives are where, when, and why. These are sometimes referred to as adverbial relatives because the relative refers to a time or a place. Like the prototypical relatives, these relatives, as a  word, function nominally as a kind of “pronoun” and serve as the subject of the clause. Again, however, always remember that the relative clause functions adjectivally within a sentence by modifying a nominal (word, phrase, or clause): Our great-grandparents lived in a time when the environment was less polluted.

• Time: The environment was less polluted then.

 Please explain the reason why you can’t turn in the assignment.

• Manner: You can’t turn in the assignment for some reason.

 We visited the place where the Vikings landed.

• Place: The Vikings landed there.

Relatives always have an antecedent, or a preceding nominal  (word, phrase, or clause) to which they refer and which they modify.  Keep in mind when analyzing for relatives that these same words can also  serve as interrogatives, and even as subordinators. InterrogativesInterrogatives are the key markers for interrogative clauses (a type of dependent clause). The interrogative structure class  looks very similar to the relative. Its members are who, whom, whose, which, what, where, why, when, and how.  Unlike relatives, which always replace the subject, interrogatives can either be pronomial (replacing the subject) or precede the subject to mark the clause as dependent.  Whereas subordinate clauses are adverbial, and  relative clauses are adjectival, interrogative clauses are nominal: I wonder who left this envelope on my desk.

• who left this envelope on my desk is functioning nominally as the direct object (I wonder SOMETHING.)

 When this envelope was left on my desk is a question that I asked Gail.

• When this envelope was left on my desk is functioning nominally as the subject, with is as the main verb of the independent clause (SOMETHING is a question that I asked Gail.

 NOTE: that I asked Gail is a nominal THAT-clause, appositive, renaming QUESTION. As a nominal, interrogative clauses can fill any of the  common nominal slots in a sentence: subject, subject complement, direct  object, object complement, indirect object, object of the preposition,  adjective complement, or appositive. Interrogatives can also introduce direct questions:

• Who left this envelope on my desk?
• When was this envelope left on my desk?
• Which mail carrier brought this envelope?

They play a pronominal role in questions. A pronoun substituting for a noun phrase can answer questions starting with  pronominal interrogatives. THAT – A special categoryThe word THAT is probably the most versatile word in our language, so you need to be particularly careful when identifying the word THAT as part of your analysis. In other words, THAT can serve as a demonstrative determiner, a pronoun, a relative, or as the key marker for a nominal THAT-clause:

• That girl plays softball every day. (demonstrative determiner)
• That is an amazing book. (pronoun)
• The steak that was sizzling on the grill made my mouth water. (adjectival relative clause modifying steak)
• The child believes that the puppy is cute. (nominal that-clause = direct object)

 For this section, the focus is on THAT as a marker for a nominal that-clause, which is a dependent clause with the expletive that preceding the subject of the clause. Again, you should be able to distinguish THAT as a relative (replaces the subject) from THAT as a marker for a nominal that-clause (precedes the subject). NOTE: there are plenty of cases where the THAT as part of the nominal that-clause, may be deleted:

• The truth was that the moving company lost all your furniture.
• The truth was the moving company lost all your furniture.
• I am pleased that you are studying noun clauses.
• I am pleased you are studying noun clauses.

 So whenever you see a clause following immediately after,  especially, a Main Verb Phrase (or non-finite verb) without a dependent  clause marker or punctuation, you should suspect a deleted THAT. We will discuss this more in Chapter 6. In general, nominal clauses perform nominal functions; in other words, they can do anything that a noun can do.

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chapter 1: prepositions

Prepositions are structure-class words that precede a nominal, which  is the object of the preposition. A preposition can be simple or  phrasal. Together, the preposition and its object form a phrasal unit that can  function either adjectivally or adverbially to modify words, other phrases, clauses, or whole sentences.  To repeat, a preposition followed by a nominal functioning as its object  is a prepositional phrase. Simple prepositions consist of one word. English has many prepositions. Common simple prepositions include 

• about
• across
• after
• against
• among
• around

• as
• at
• before
• beside
• between
• by

• concerning
• during
• for
• from
• in
• into

• including
• like
• near
• on
• of
• opposite

• out
• over
• pending
• regarding
• since
• to

• through
• under
• until
• via
• with
• without

Many of these words can also do double duty as subordinators, so be sure you can tell the difference.

Phrasal prepositions consist of two or more words. Common phrasal prepositions include

• according  to
• apart from
• because of

• by virtue of
• down from
• except for

• instead of
• off  of
• outside of

• regardless of
• short of
• together with
• up to

Prepositions occur before a nominal (word, phrase, or clause) (in the  “pre-position”). A preposition must have a nominal object to be a  prepositional phrase.

• under the blanket
• over the top
• in the green shirt

 Prepositions connect their object to other words or phrases or clauses in a sentence. This connection modifies the other words or phrases: We hurried to the store.

• The prepositional phrase to the store modifies OUR HURRYING adverbially by telling you where we hurried to.

 We drove without concern for the speed limit.

• The prepositional phrase without concern  modifies OUR DRIVING adverbially and for the speed limit modifies CONCERN adjectivally. Be particularly aware that if two or more prepositional phrases are “stacked” up, the second will most often modify the nominal object in the previous prepositional phrase.

 We needed a bucket of that ice cream with the Snickers bars mixed in.

• of that ice cream modifies A BUCKET adjectivally.
• with the Snickers bars mixed in modifies THAT ICE CREAM adjectivally.

 For this chapter, we are primarily concerned with identifying prepositions. We will look more closely at prepositional phrases and how to determine their function in Chapter 4.

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chapter 1: conjunctions

The structure class of conjunctions consists of three types:  coordinating conjunctions, correlative conjunctions, and conjunctive  adverbs. Each type of conjunction joins together grammatical units in a  particular way. Coordinating Conjunctions always join like items. For example, coordinating conjunctions can:

• join words: peanut butter and jelly
• join phrases: very tasty but rather fattening
• join clauses: after he ate dinner yet before his food had digested
• join sentences: Stan didn’t want his dog begging at the table, so he put the dog outside.

 Since coordinating conjunctions join grammatical structures of similar form, such as words to words, phrases to phrases, clauses to clauses, or sentences to sentences, coordinating conjunctions can serve as a test when analyzing structures because they can oftentimes clarify ambiguity if you figure out what is being coordinated. Coordinating conjunctions ALWAYS coordinate like items. There are seven coordinating conjunctions. You can memorize them in alphabetical order: 

• AND, BUT, FOR, NOR, OR, SO, YET

 Or you can memorize them using the acronym FANBOYS: for, and, not, but, or, yet, so. Correlative Conjunctions consist of one of the coordinating conjunctions paired with other words that extend or modify their  meanings: both…and, either…or, neither…nor, etc. The grammatical structures that follow each of a correlative conjunction’s parts must be of similar form:

• noun-noun: both students and faculty
• verb phrase-verb phrase: not only composes the music but also writes the lyrics
• clause-clause: Either you know the answer or you don’t.

 For example,

• I ate a sandwich.
• I also drank a glass of milk.
• I not only ate a sandwich but also drank a glass of milk.

 Not only…but also is a correlative conjunction (a coordinating conjunction paired with other words to extend its meaning) and that joins two phrases. Conjunctive adverbs can connect and signal relationships between two independent clauses:

• He was looking forward to a steak dinner; however, he couldn’t pay for it.
• The experience was mortifying. Afterwards, he didn’t tell anyone about it.

Conjunctive adverbs are like conjunctions in that they connect and signal relationships between two clauses, but are like  adverbs in the kinds of meaning they express. They include words and  phrases such as 

• however (expressing contrast)
• also (expressing addition)
• accordingly (expressing cause and effect)
• for example (expressing an example)
• earlier (expressing time)

Grammatically, the clauses joined by conjunctive adverbs retain their status as independent clauses; therefore, they are punctuated with either semicolons or periods, NOT commas:

• I’d like the red beans and rice; however I should stick with soup since my stomach is upset.
• He’s an inveterate speeder. Consequently, he’s gotten a dozen moving violations.
• We’re going to the movies. Afterwards

 Note that the punctuation preceding the conjunctive adverb is either a  semicolon or a period, as though their clauses didn’t actually contain  a conjunction.

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chapter 1: Qualifiers

Prototypical qualifiers usually precede adjectives or adverbs in  order to decrease or increase the quality signified by the words they precede. For example:
 
Before a big test, it matters if you’re a little bit nervous, quite nervous, or very, very nervous.
 
Some prototypical qualifiers can be phrasal: a bit, kind of, a little.
 
Use a variation on the adjective frame to identify most qualifiers:

• The handsome man seems ________ handsome.
• The handsome man seems very handsome.
• The handsome man seems quite handsome.
• The handsome man seems pretty handsome.
• The handsome man seems less handsome

 The most common qualifiers include very,  quite, pretty, less, least, rather, somewhat, more, most, too, so, just,  enough, indeed, still, almost, fairly, really, even, a bit, a little, a  (whole) lot, a good deal, a great deal, kind of, sort of.
 
In peripheral cases, adverbs can occupy a qualifier position and perform a similar function:

• The handsome man seems intensely handsome.
• The handsome man seems excessively handsome.

 Intensely and excessively remain adverbs. Note that unlike prototypical qualifiers, they can themselves be qualified: very intensely, quite excessively. In contrast, prototypical qualifiers like very and quite cannot take qualifiers: a little very and pretty quite do not parse.
 
Don’t confuse them though. Qualifiers are not adverbs!

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chapter 1: auxiliaries

Auxiliary verbs do not have
most of the characteristics of true verbs. Instead, as part of the Main Verb
Phrase Formula, auxiliary verbs work with a main verb to enhance and supplement
grammatical meaning. We will discuss the Main Verb Phrase Formula in more
detail in Chapter 2. The important thing to remember is that if a verb is
functioning as an auxiliary, it is not the main verb of a clause.

Auxiliary Verb Forms

Auxiliaries
are structure-class words, so should not be confused with form-class words. Auxiliary
Verbs combine with present and past participles to create the Perfect,
Progressive (Continuous), and Perfect Progressive Aspect MVPs. These aspects
provide additional information about the duration, completion, or repetition of
an action.

Perfect Aspect: The perfect aspect in English is used to
describe completed actions or states. It is formed by combining a form of the
auxiliary verb “have” with the past participle of the main verb. The
perfect tense allows speakers to express the relationship between two time
periods, emphasizing the completion or result of an action rather than the
action itself.

1. Present perfect: “I have
   lived in Seattle for 10 years.”
2. Past perfect: “He had
   finished his homework before dinner.”

Progressive (Continuous) Aspect:
The progressive aspect, also known as the continuous aspect, expresses ongoing
or incomplete actions. It is formed by combining a form of the auxiliary verb
“to be” with the present participle (-Ing form) of the main verb.

1. Present progressive: I am
   writing.
2. Past progressive: She was
   singing.

Perfect Progressive Aspect

The perfect progressive
aspect (also called the perfect continuous aspect) combines elements of the
perfect and progressive aspects. It is used to describe actions that were
ongoing for a period of time but are now complete or actions that continue to a
specific point in time. The Perfect Progressive Aspect is formed by a form of
the auxiliary verb have (had, have,
or will have) in the first position. The word “been” is in the second position,
and the present participle of the main verb (ending in -ing) is in the third position.

1. Present Perfect
   Progressive:  “I have
   been studying for three hours.”
2. Past
   Perfect Progressive: “She had been working at the company
   for five years before she left.”

Modal Auxiliaries

Modal Auxiliary Verbs are a
subset of auxiliary verbs that express modality, such as possibility, ability,
necessity, and permission. They are used alongside the main verb to modify its
meaning and provide additional context. Modal
auxiliaries are by adding the Modal Auxiliary to the Base Infinitive of the
Main Verb.

1. “I can
   swim.” or “She may
   arrive soon.”
2. “They should have called.” or “We could have won.”

Remember, if a modal auxiliary is in the first position, the Main Verb
Phrase (MVP) is identified as in the present tense.

The nine modals always
precede the main verb as well as any other auxiliaries in the Main Verb Phrase.
Modals include

●    
can

●    
could

●    
will

●    
would

●    
shall

●    
should

●    
may

●    
might

●    
must

Modal auxiliaries do not have
many of the characteristics of true verbs. They cannot take tense inflectional
morphemes; therefore, all modal auxiliaries in this textbook should be
identified as present tense only. Other verb characteristics that modal auxiliaries
do not meet are that they cannot be made into commands or negatives.

 
Have Auxiliary and Be Auxiliary
HAVE and BE are the most common auxiliaries, and they will each  inflect on the verb that follows them in the Main Verb Phrase. They  can be difficult to analyze because both HAVE and BE can also serve as Main  Verbs, which would identify them in those contexts as form-class words. 
 
Be sure that you are able to distinguish between HAVE or BE as an  auxiliary and HAVE or BE as a main verb.
 
The auxiliary HAVE signals the Perfect Main Verb Phrase Form by inflecting the past participle [-en or -ed] on the verb that follows it:
 
Present-Perfect

• A bright green bird has nested there.
• The judges have voted.

 Past-Perfect

• A bright green bird had nested there.
• The judges had voted.

 Caution: HAVE can act as a main verb as well as an auxiliary:

•   I have chicken pox.
• She has all the latest gadgets.
• I had my favorite meal for my birthday.
• The Smiths had a baby.

 If you analyze sentences like these, you must identify HAVE as a main verb (form-class word), not as an auxiliary. HAVE is only an auxiliary when it  precedes another verb (or a BE auxiliary) to create the Perfect Form.
 
The auxiliary BE signals the Progressive Main Verb Phrase Form by inflecting the present participle [-ing] on the verb that follows it:
 
Present-Progressive

• Harvey is cooking squash.

 Past-Progressive

• Harvey was cooking squash.

 The auxiliary BE can also signal the Passive Main Verb Phrase Form by inflecting the past participle [-en or -ed] on the verb that follows it:
 
Present Passive

• The National Anthem is sung by the whole crowd.

Past Passive

• The National Anthem was sung by the whole crowd.

 Caution: BE can act as a main verb as well as an auxiliary:

• Keoni is a student.
• The lawyers were all in court.

 If you analyze sentences like these, you must identify BE as a main  verb (form-class word), not as an auxiliary. BE is only an auxiliary when it precedes a another  verb to create either the Progressive Form or the Passive Form.
 
Do Auxiliary
DO gets a separate category because DO acts like a modal in that  it does not inflect on the main verb, but DO can also serve as a Main  Verb.
The auxiliary DO occurs in a number of grammatical processes, including:
Creating Questions:

• He leaves tomorrow.
• Does he leave tomorrow?

 Forming Negatives:

• He wants curry for dinner.
• He doesn’t want curry for dinner.

 Placing Emphasis:

• This tastes delicious.
• This does taste delicious!

 Substitution:

• We want chicken curry more than they want chicken curry.
• We want chicken curry more than they do.

 Caution: Do can also act as a main verb:

• Shawna did her own make-up.
• That meal did me a world of good.
• You will do as you’re told.

 If you analyze sentences like these, you must identify DO as a main verb (form-class word), not an auxiliary.

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chapter 1: Pronouns

Pronouns differ from other structure-class words because they can change inflections. See how the different personal pronouns in this passage all refer to the same antecedent: Karen went purse-shopping. She had to have the latest clutch. The store’s staff helped her out a lot while she shopped. Finally, the purse was hers! You may have learned that pronouns substitute for nouns. That’s not  entirely accurate; they actually substitute for nominals (word, phrase, or clause). If they only substituted for nouns, we would change That old torn hat is lying there to That old torn it is lying there. Because pronouns substitute for nominals, however, we can say It is lying there. Notice that we need the context of the first sentence (That old torn hat is lying there) to understand what it is. The context provides an antecedent for it. When speaking to someone, your context might be something you’re pointing to, rather than a verbalized antecedent: 

• As you’re pointing to an old desktop computer, you say, “It runs so slow.”

 Pronoun FormsPronouns typically stand in for nominals (word, phrase, or clause). The antecedent is the nominal referred to by the pronoun. Personal Pronouns refer to people or things. The form of the pronoun can indicate:

• 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person (I, you, he, she, it)
• number (I/we, she/them)
• gender (he, she)

The form of personal pronouns can also indicate  whether they are functioning as subjects of sentences, as objects of  verbs or prepositions, or as possessives. 

• Karen went purse-shopping. She had to have the latest clutch. (subject case)
• The store’s staff helped her out a lot while she shopped. (object case)
• Finally, the purse was hers! (possessive case)

 NOTE: be sure that you can recognize the difference between a possessive determiner and a possessive pronoun. Reflexive Pronouns occur when the antecedent appears in the same clause/sentence as the pronoun. In this case, the pronoun is reflexive:

• You saw yourself in the mirror.
• Phil criticized himself.
• She promised herself never to eat McDonald’s late at night again.

 Reciprocal Pronouns are when multiple antecedents all engage in the same mutual action they call for reciprocal pronouns:

• Can you imagine 23 faculty members shouting at one another?
• We know each other very well.

 In this case, the pronouns are reciprocal. Indefinite Pronouns usually don’t have a specific  referent, so they have no antecedent. You don’t need any context to  understand the pronouns in these statements:

• Nobody came to our party.
• One should always say please and thank you.

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chapter 1: determiners

Determiners are structure-class words that precede and modify nouns  both grammatically and lexically. Sometimes, nouns need determiners and  sometimes they don’t:

• You let the cat out of the bag! (The definite article the is a determiner.)
• Your cats are driving me crazy! (The possessive your functions as a determiner.)
• Cats will always eat some tuna. (The indefinite some functions as a determiner for tuna, but cats does not require a determiner in this context.)

There are seven primary sets of determiners; in other words, several different kinds of structure-class words can  function as determiners. Since DETERMINER is the category term, you must identify determiners precisely as part of your analysis. Remember, however, that when you identify a determiner, you MUST identify it precisely by its form. Just identifying it as a “determiner” is not enough. Determiner FormsThe prototypical set of determiners are the  articles: a/an and the. Any word that can stand in for a/an or the can be classified as a determiner. English has two subclasses of article. You can identify the article precisely by understanding that its use depends on what knowledge is shared  by the speaker/writer and hearer/reader. Definite Article: theThe speaker or writer uses the when the hearer or reader knows specifically what is being talked about.       

• Example: The dog dug up the bushes. A particular dog that both speaker and hearer know did the digging.

 Indefinite Article: a/anThe speaker or writer uses a/an when it cannot be assumed that the hearer or readers has specific knowledge of what is being talked about.          

• Example: A dog dug up the bushes. Some dog that the speaker and hearer do not know did the digging.

 Demonstrative Determiner: English has four demonstrative determiners: this, that, these, and those. Just as with the definite article the, demonstratives are used when the speaker/writer and hearer/reader share specific knowledge of what is being talked about.

• Please wash this car.
• Please wash that car.
• Please wash these cars.
• Please wash those cars.

 All these sentences refer to one or several specific cars. Possessive Determiner: the possessive determiner can serve the function of either determiner or pronoun, so be sure to identify the word in context. When acting as a determiner, possessives precede a noun: 

• my house (1st-person singular)
• our coursework (1st-person plural)
• your yard (2nd-person singular and plural)
• his/her/its hair (3rd-person singular)
• their business (3rd-person plural)

Possessive nouns (those nouns with the possessive inflection) are  also considered a possessive determiner when it precedes another noun:

• the scholarship’s due date
• the travel mug’s handle

 This is important to remember when analyzing for determiners. Indefinite Determiner: Like definite articles, indefinite determiners are used to refer to nonspecific nouns. They include words such as some, any, no, every, other, another, many, more, both, several, and each. The following sentences do not refer to any specific car or cars:

• Please wash some cars.
• Please wash other cars.
• Please wash each car.
• Please wash many cars.

Cardinal Determiner: cardinal numbers can act as determiners when they precede a noun:

• one hedgehog
• two wheelbarrows
• two hundred applications

 Ordinal Determiner: ordinal numbers can combine with articles to act as determiners:

• the first day
• a second chance
• the last man standing

Again, always remember to identify a determiner by its form.

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chapter 1: structure-class words

Structure-class words are mostly closed, relatively small groups of words. They work with (or replace) form-class words to create phrases and clauses. Structure-class words add depth and nuance to our language, and can be used to describe any relationship between form-class words. As a class, structure-class words have mostly  grammatical meaning and serve as key markers for identifying words or phrases. Structure-class words  generally do not change form, taking neither inflection nor derivation.  This also means that the form and function of a structure-class word is  always the same. There are seven sets of STRUCTURE-CLASS words described in this section:

1. DETERMINERS
2. PRONOUNS
3. AUXILIARIES
4. QUALIFIERS
5. CONJUNCTIONS
6. PREPOSITIONS
7. DEPENDENT CLAUSE MARKERS

 NOTE: there are two words that we do not cover in this section,  that don’t really fit into any category of structure-class word, but we  oftentimes need to account for them: 

• NOT: for our purposes, we are not going into detail on the use of the negative in the English language. If you are asked to identify NOT (or similar word) as part of an exercise, you can simply refer to it as Negative.

• TO (the infinitive marker): if TO appears before a verb in its base form, it is the KEY MARKER for an infinitive phrase. If you are asked to identify this TO as part of an exercise, you can simply refer to it as Infinitive Marker.

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