Descriptive Grammar of English part 2: Syntax
Topic 5: Basic Clauses – subcategorization of verbs
Reading: Wardhaugh, Ronald. 2003. Understanding English Grammar. Blackwell . Chapter 4.
Tutor: mgr Jadwiga Bogucka

1. Clauses – smallest syntactic units which can be used independently

Contain predicates (narrowly understood as verbs) and their arguments (subject and objects)
John put the book on the table
put – predicate
John, the book, on the table – arguments
John – subject

2. Subject – the element which occupies the specifier of the clause (spec, TP)



Subjects don’t have to be nouns:
[

PP

Over the fence] is out

[

CP

That she liked him] was obvious



Subjects agree with verbs:
Mary likes/*like John
That you know him is/*are amazing
To be is/*are to do

Sometimes subject-verb agreement is not perfect (especially in spoken language)
John and Mary are going, but: Either John or Mary is going
If the subject is distant, verb agrees with the closest element, not the subject (with some
speakers):
The purpose of these sessions are to introduce staff to the new manual
Descriptive rather than prescriptive approach



Subjects have Nominative case:
He loves Mary/*Him loves Mary

3. Tests for subjecthood:



It agrees with the verb
It is/*are amazing that you know John
There is/*are a book on the table
BUT: There is/*are two men in the room (seems that the verbs agrees not with the subject,
but with the object – other tests, however, indicate that there indeed is a subjects)



Cannot be omitted
*is amazing that you know John
*is a book on the table



It inverts with the first verb of the verb phrase in yes/no questions:
Is it amazing?
Are there books on the table?



Tag questions:

There’s a book missing, isn’t there?
It is amazing, isn’t it?

4. Types of argument structure of verbs

a. Intransitive verbs - verbs which take only one argument



Unaccusatives – verbs taking only the object argument
e.g. arrive, die, fall, emerge
She died
The subject is the underlying object – Patient or Experiencer (not the Agent)
Some unaccusatives have a transitive alternative (they are called ergatives):
The door opened - They opened the door
The glass broke – He broke the glass
The ice melted – She melted the ice



Unergatives – verbs taking only subject argument
e.g. dance, jump, swim, rest, run
The argument of the verb is the active Agent



Middles
e.g. This pen writes well
Assign only one theta role, but the adverb seems to be obligatory

Some intransitive verbs can be followed by particles => phrasal verbs:
The plane took off, I got up

b. Monotransitive verbs – verbs taking two arguments (subject and object)

-

John read [the book]

-

Mary caught [the ball]

Can be passivized:
-

The book was read( by John)

-

The ball was caught (by Mary)

some verbs can have the subject unexpressed, but understood
-

Susan was drinking (too much alcohol)

-

John was studying (maths)



Taking sentential objects
With finite clauses:
-

I said that he should go

With non-finite clauses:
-

He finished [eating his breakfast]

-

He wants [to go to the movies]
In these types of clauses, the subject of the embedded clause is understood to be the
subject of the main clause.

-

He wanted Susan to go to the cinema

-

I expect John to do it
In these types, on the other hand, what appears to be the indirect object of the main
verb (Susan, John) is actually in a subject-verb relationship with the embedded predicate
(Susan goes to the cinema, John does it)



Pseudo –transitive verbs:
Cannot be passivized:
He has two good friends
It costs five dollars
She grew six inches

Monotransitive verbs can also be followed by particles, prepositions or both:
Phrasal verbs (with particles):
- He blew up [IFA]
Prepositional verbs (with prepositions):
- They commented [on the paper]
Phrasal-prepositional (with both particles and prepositions):
- You cannot go away [with this]!

c. Ditransitive verbs – taking three arguments (subject , indirect object and direct object)

Indirect object - Goal, Benefactive
Direct object - the object that undergoes the action -> Theme
He gave [Mary]

Indirect Object

[flowers]

Direct Object



Taking two phrasal objects (DP, DP)
He gave [

DP

Mary][

DP

flowers]



Taking one phrasal object and one prepositional (DP, PP)
He put [

DP

the book][

PP

on the table]



Taking one phrasal and one sentential object (DP, CP/TP)
He persuaded [

DP

him][

TP

to go]

d. Linking verbs:



subject complement (be, seem, appear)

when the complement is a noun phrase or adjective phrase, prepositional phrase, adverb
phrase => additional information about the subject,
She is a teacher
He seems a good sort
Bill appears uncertain
It’s actually the adjective which is the predicate => adjectival predicates



object complement

We elected him president
They considered the job a success
The news made me angry
It is sometimes possible to insert the verb to be in these clauses:
They considered the job to be a success

5. Phrasal, prepositional and phrasal-prepositional verbs

Phrasal verbs:



Corresponding information-seeking questions include the particle:
Which candle did you blew out? When did the plane take off?



If the verb is transitive, the particle can follow the object:
They turned the light out, He blew the candle out
This is obligatory if the object is a pronoun:
He blew it out/*He blew out it



It’s not possible to introduce an adverb phrase between the verb and the particle:
*The plane took slowly off/ *He blew slowly out the candle



Passivization is possible:
The candle was blown out by him



Particles are stressed in speaking, especially when they occur finally

Prepositional phrases:



You can introduce an adverb between the preposition and the verb:
He commented loudly on her shoes



The preposition cannot follow the object in prepositional phrases:
*He commented her shoes on



If the object is a pronoun, it can follow the preposition:
He commented on it/*He commented it on



In questions, there is option of either putting the preposition at the end, or at the beginning
Whom were you talking to? vs To whom were you talking?

Phrasal-prepositional verbs:



Contain both a particle and a preposition:
He got away [with it], She walked out [on him]
(a phrasal verb, taking a Prepositional Phrase as its complement)



It’s possible to strand the preposition, but not the particle:
What did he get away with? /With what did he get away? /*Away with what did he get?
Whom did she walk out on?/On whom did she walk out?/*Out on whom did she walk?

References:

Wardhaugh, Ronald. 2003. Understanding English Grammar. Malden, MA: Blackwell.