Survey of English Grammar Wiki: Week 3

Clause Structure, complements and adjuncts

A clause usually contains at least a subject and a predicator and might also include other elements such as object, complement and adverbial or adjunct as well. All of them are present in the following sentence: All linguists -- considered -- the book on emergent grammar -- a masterpiece -- last year.

1. The subject in sentence initial position is the main person or thing that the clause is about (All linguists). It performs the ‘action’ that is described, so it usually comes before the verb phrase. The subject is an obligatory unit in English declarative sentences (i.e. declarative sentences make statements)
2. The verb (considered) is the second element and typically expresses actions (kill, kiss), mental states and processes (know, think, consider), acts of communication (speak, say, tell), existence (remain, live, be) or occurrence (happen, change, occur). The verb is an obligatory unit in English declarative sentences.
3. The object (the book on emergent grammar) normally follows the verb and usually provides an answer to the question ‘Who or what has something been done to?’ Objects can be obligatory or optional in English declarative sentences, depending on the verb.
4. The complement (a masterpiece) in this case gives more information about the object (the book on emergent grammar). The complement is an obligatory unit in English declarative sentences, depending on the verb.
5. The adverbial or adjunct (last year) is usually a kind of optional extra in a sentence. It normally provides information on time (last year), on place (in the English Department) or on manner (softly, quietly, surreptitiously). Adverbials or adjuncts can occupy different positions in a sentence.

Moreover, the units that make up clauses can be combined in eight different ways:

1. subject+verb: She+snores.

2. subject+verb+object: She+killed+the linguist.

3. subject+verb+indirect object+direct object: Mary+sent+Bob+a love letter.

4. subject+verb+direct object+oblique: Mary+sent+a love letter+to Bob. (note: prepositional phrase does not function as an indirect object)

5. subject+verb+complement: Linguists+are+shy.

6. subject+verb+direct object+complement: The linguist+called+the project+rubbish.

7. subject+verb+adverbial: The baby+slept+peacefully.

8. subject+verb+direct object+adverbial: I+prepared+my lecture+last week.

Exercises on Grammatical functions

Indicate each S, Aux, P , Oi, Od, PC, C, A in the following clauses.

From CNN

1. Amid the incessant crackle of gunfire , the soldiers usher the cowering men through darkened rooms .

2. The men are barefoot , most of them wearing long robes , some with large stains.

3. As voices holler at them in the darkness to move quickly , they hurry across the debris-littered floor past the gun-wielding soldiers .

4. The new video showing scenes from the raid near Hawija , in northern Kirkuk province , was released by the Kurdistan Regional Government .

5. A U.S. military official confirmed its source and authenticity to CNN .

6. It was filmed from the helmet camera of one of the Kurdish soldiers , whose gun can be seen pointing at a barred window through which a glow is emanating , possibly from a fire.

7. In another scene , four men wearing robes and with their hands on their heads -- presumably hostages -- are ushered through a doorway and then searched .

8. The person wearing the body camera empties the freed men's shirt pockets and pats them down before hurriedly moving the men farther down the hallway .

9. "Hold that guy there ," says one voice with an American accent . "We got more coming ."

10. Thirty troops from Delta Force on an "advise and assist role" participated in the raid when Kurdish commandos were overwhelmed after entering the walled compound on their own , a U.S. official with direct knowledge of details of the operation told CNN last week .

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