المحاضرة#15

lesson #15
classification of english sentences
english sentence can be classified into two types: basics and transforms. the basic sentences are those fundamental or elementary sentences which all other kinds of sentences are derived from. the transformational sentences are those that are derived, with the help of the well-formed basic sentence, by applying the rules of transformation.
the following are examples of basic and transformational sentences.
basic transform
the girl is good. the good girl is there.
samran smiles. samran and popthong smile.
the doctor punishes the nurse. the nurse is punished (by the doctor)
a man is here. is a man here?
the boy is coming. the boy who is coming is small.
sam smiles.
? sam and robert smile.
robert smiles.
? the child who is bad.
the child is bad. ? the child bad.
? the bad child.
a woman is there.
? the woman who is good is there.
the woman is good.
structures of basic sentence
rewrite rule
the basic rewrite rule of english basic sentences may be formulated as the followings:
s ? np + vp
n
np ?
det + n
nprop
nindef.
n ? npp.
ncom.
art
det ? (pre – art) + demon + (num)
vp ? aux + mv
aux ? tense + (m) + (aspect)
aspect ? (have + participle) + (be + ing)
np
be + adj.
mv ? adv - p
verbals
vi
vt + np
np
verbals ? vb +
adj.
vs + adj.
vh + np
nprop. ? robert, samran, amy, thongpool, phetchabun, thailand etc.
nidef. ? someone, anyone, everyone, no one, somebody, anybody,
nobody, something, anything, everything, nothing.
npp ? i, you, we, they, he, she, it.
ncom ? girl, boy, cat, dog, water, chair etc.
pre-art ? some of, any of, a few of, one of, a lot of, two of .. etc.
art ? the, a, an, some, ?
demon ? this, these, that, those.
num ? one, two, three, first, second….
tense ? present, past.
m ? can, will, shall, may, must.
adj. ? good, beautiful, small, bigm etc.
adv – p ? here, there, at home, in the class, etc.
vi ? occur, run, go, …
vt ? take, read, see, …
vs ? seem, taste, look, feet, …
vh ? have, cost, weigh, total, …
vb ? become, remain, …
notes
english basic sentences contain two main parts a noun phrase and a verb phrase. so the simple rewrite rule may be : a sentence consists of (?) a noun phrase (np) plus a verb phrase (vp).
s ? np + vp
as the rule above, the np functions as the subject of the basic sentence and comes before the vp. the vp functions as its predicate.
the following are examples of the english basic sentence consisting of two main parts: np and vp.
samran is here.
someone is coming.
i have a note.
you must come.
that girl looks pretty.
some of the girls sit down.
they throw away the magazines.
np
the np may be a noun (n) alone or a noun preceded by the determiner (det.)
n
np ?
det. + n
the noun may be a proper noun (nprop.), an indefinite pronoun (nindef.), a personal pronoun (npp.), or a common noun (ncom.). the determiner (det.) occurs only before a common noun (ncom.). so we have a modified rewrite rule for the n. as
nprop. nprop.
nindef. nindef.
n ? or np ?
npp npp
ncom. det + ncom
ex.
n det + n
sam a book
someone a few of the people.
i those boys
you ? dogs
they ? boys
she ? water
vp
the vp consists of an auxiliary (aux.) plus a main verbal (mv.). here the rewrite rule may be formulated as.
vp ? aux + mv
example.
aux + mv
tense + go = go, goes, went.
tense + may + eat mango = may/ might eat mango
tense + can + come = can/ could come.
auxiliary (aux.)
the auxiliary is an obligatory element occurring in the vp. it usually occurs in the first position of the vp string in a simple sentence. see the rule.
vp ? aux + mv.
the rule means every vp must contain an auxiliary and a main verbial.
there are three major elements of the aux. in english: tense, modal (m), and aspect. this may be formulated as.
aux ? tense + (m) + (aspect)
in the rule, tense is not in parentheses, and so it is obligatory. that is, every aux. must contain tense. the other elements " modal and aspect" are in parentheses, and therefore they are optional. that is, the aux. may, but need not, contain modal and / or aspect
tense
tense + m
aux. ?
tense + aspect
tense + m + aspect
m ? can, will, shall, may, must
aspect ? (have + participle) + ( be + ing)
the following are the structures of the vp consisting of one or more elements of the aux.
aux.
1. tense
2. tense + m
3. tense + have + participle
4. tense + be + ing + mv
5. tense + m + have + participle
6. tense + m + be + ing
7. tense + m + have + participle + be + ing
ex.
1. eat
2. may eat
3. have eaten
4. are eating
5. may have eaten
6. may be eating
7. may have been eating
tense
"tense" in english is an obligatory element occurring in the verb phrase. that is, every vp. must contain aux. and every aux. must contain tense
there are two tenses in english : present and past
present
tense ?
past
all tenses are formed by combination of aux. and the verb form, modal, have or be, by means of the obligatory rule of the affix-transformation. (t.af.)
t. af. : af + v ? v + af.
af ? present, past, participle, - ing
v ? verb, modal, have, be
plays
present + play ? play + present =
play
present + can ? can + present = can
past + write ? write + past = wrote
past + have ? have + past = had
is
present + be ? be + present = am
are
was
past + be ? be + past =
were
main verbals (mv)
the mv. may be any one of the following structures :
1. be plus an np., adj., or adv -p
2. intransitive verb (vi)
3. transitive verb (vt.) plus an np.
4. verb of the become class (vb.) plus an np. or adj.
5. verb of the seem class (vs.) plus and adj.
6. verb of the have class (vh.) plus and np.
thus the rewrite rule may be formulated as:
np
be + adj.
adv-p
vi
vt + np
mv ? np
vb +
adj.
vs + adj.
vh + np
adverbial
in the expanded vp structure, the adverbial may be optionally put at the position after the mv. see the rewrite rule:
vp ? aux. + mv + (adv.)
a sentence "he walks slowly"
is the string he + present + walk + slowly ?
aux. mv adv.
by t - af he + walk + present + slowly
by phonological rule he walks slowly.
the adverbial in english may be classified into four main kinds:
1. an adverbial of manner (adv. -p)
2. an adverbial of place (adv - t)
3. an adverbial of frequency (adv-f)
4. an adverbial of time (adv-t).
so the rewrite rule for the adv. can be formulated as.
adv. ? (adv-m) + (adv-p) + (adv-f) + (adv-t)
example
she walks slowly in the park everyday at six o clock.
adv-m adv-p adv-f adv-t
"she walks slowly" is a basic sentence
but
"she slowly walks" is a transformed sentence.
only the adv-m can immediately occur after the mv with vi and vt. only the adv.p can immediately occur after the mv with vb. vs and vh. the adv.- f and adv.- t can immediately occur after any kind of mv construction.
mv
np
be adj.
adv-p
vi
+ (adv-m) + (adv-p) + (adv-f)+ (adv+t)
vp ? aux. + vt+np
np
vb +
adj.
vs + adj.
vh + np
structures of transformational sentences
transformational sentences are derived from well-formed basic sentences by applying the rule of transformation. for example, a sentence "may i go there?" is derived from a basic sentence "i may go there?"
i may go there ==== > may i go there?
the rewrite rules have generated strings of elements (largely morphemes) that in the bold sentences. they haven t quite generated sentence. for example, the rule did not generate this sentence.
you are here. but they generated the string.
you + present + be + here.
before this string presents a grammatical sentence, the order of elements in the string will be rearranged, that is, the present as a tense must shift to the position after be
by t.af.
you + present + be + here ? you + be = present + here
by phonological rule:
be +present ? are = you are here.
t - af.
x + af + v + y ==== > x + v + af + y
af ? tense, participle, or - ing
v ? m, have, be, or verb
the affix transformation (t-af) is obligatory and applied after all other transformations. its effect is, therefore, to produce a transform of the terminal string.
example:
a sentence : sam is going.
is string : sam + present + be + ing + go ==== >
by t.af : sam + be + present + go + ing ?
phonological rule : sam is going
t - do:
x + tense + y ==== > x + tense + do + y
y stands for anything that is not m, have, or be.
this transformation is applied to the terminal string to produce negative or question sentences.
example:
a sentence : she plays tennis.
is the string : she + tense + play + tennis ==== >
by t- negative : she + tense + not + play + tennis ==== >
by t-do : she + tense + do + not + play + tennis ==== >
by t - af : she + do + tense + not + play + tennis ==== >
phonological rule : she does not play tennis.
questions
there are two main kinds of questions in english: those that can be answered by saying "yes" or "no" and those that can not be.
1. yes/no question :
we call the questions that can be answered "yes" or, "no" yes/no questions. yes/no questions are derived from basic sentences by applying the rule of the yes/no question transformation (t - yes/no question). the transformational rule for yes/no questions can be formulated as follows.
t - yes / no question rule
np + tense - m + x ==== > tense - m + np + x
np + tense - have + x ==== > tense - have + np + x
np + tense - be + x ==== > tense - be + np + x
np + tense - verbal ==== > tense + np + verbal
note
when the tense of the statement string is followed by a verbal instead of m, have or be, the tense alone reverses with the np subject. then the t - do is applied to it.
example
a sentence : sam may run.
base string : sam + tense + may + run ==== >
t -yes/no question : tense + may + sam + run ==== >
t - af. : may + tense + sam + run ?
phonological rule : may sam run?
may + present = may
sentence : she eats banana.
base string : she + tense + eat + banana ==== >
t - yes/no question : tense + she + eat + banana ==== >
(tense ? tense + do / if the element following it is not a verb)
t - do : tense + do + she + eat + banana ==== >
t - af. : do + tense + she + eat + banana ?
phonological rule : does she eat banana?
do + present = does
these are examples of basic sentences changed into yes/no question:
dang should work ==== > should dang work?
dang had worked ==== > had dang worked?
dang was working ==== > was dang working?
dang worked ==== > did dang work?
phonological rule
shall + past = should
have + past = had
be + past = was, were
do + past = did
2. t. wh - question
the question that can not be answered by saying "yes" or, "no" will be called
"wh-question". we call then wh-questions because most of them begin with an interrogative word, such as, who, what, where, why, when, starting with the letters wh.
t - wh - question rule
x + adv - p + y ==== > when + x+ y
x + adv - t + y ==== > when + x + y
x + adv - m + y ==== > how + x + y
x + adv - f+ y ==== > how often + x + y
who
x + np + y ==== > + x + y
what
the rules of the wh-question transformations are applied to the string of morphemes that result from a t- yes/no question. they thus are built from the structure of yes/no questions. then an interrogative word replaces some sort of structure from the base string, where replaces adverbial of place, when replaces adverbial of time, how replaces adverbial of manner, how often replaces adverbial of frequency, and who or what replaces a noun phrase.
example
a sentence “she is here.”
base string she + present + be + here ==== >
t – yes/no question present + be + she + here ==== >
t – wh – question where + present + be + she ==== >
t – af where + be + present + she ?
phonological rule where is she?
a sentence “robert walks slowly.”
base string robert + present + walk + slowly ==== >
t – yes/no question present + robert + walk + slowly ==== >
t – wh – question how + present + robert + walk ==== >
t – do how + present + do + robert + walk ==== >
t – af how + do + present + robert + walk ?
phonological rule how does robert walk?
all the wh–question transformations (t- wh – question) will apply only to the strings resulting from t – yes/no question. the symbols x and y mean whatever occurs in the positions indicated, or nothing, if nothing occurs there. the interrogative words replace adverbial and noun phrase in base strings when t- wh – question applied.
somsri came yesterday. ==== > when did somsri come?
he is in the class. ==== > where is he?
the girl walks slowly. ==== > how does the girl walk?
they run everyday. ==== > how often do they run?
somebody is coming. ==== > who is coming?
a pen is here. ==== > what is here?
example
a sentence “she came yesterday.”
base string she + past + come + yesterday ==== >
t – yes/no question ? past + she + come + yesterday ==== >
t – wh – question ? when + past + she + come ==== >
t – do ? when + past + do + she + come ==== >
t – af ? when + do + past + she + come ?
phonological rule when did she come?
a sentence “somebody is here.”
base string somebody +present + be + here ==== >
t – yes/no question ? present + be + somebody + here ==== >
t – wh – question ? who + present + be + here ==== >
t – af ? who + be + present + here ?
phonological rule who is here?
3. negative
the basic english sentence can be transformed into a negative sentence by applying the rule of negative transformation (t – neg.)
you can eat. ==== > you can not eat.
we know somsri. ==== > we do not know somsri.
she has written a letter. ==== > she has not written a letter.
saart is here. ==== > saart is not here.
the rule for the negative transformation can be formulated as.
t – neg. rule
np + tense – m + x ==== > np + tense – m + not + x
np + tense – have + x ==== > np + tense – have + not + x
np + tense – be + x ==== > np + tense – be + not + x
np + tense – verbal + x ==== > np + tense – not + verbal + x
as the rule, if the np functioning as the subject is followed by an m, have or be, the negative morpheme “not” is added after the m, have or be, otherwise the “not” is added after tense in the transform. the “tense” which is not followed directly by an m, have, or be must be transformed to “tense + do” ( t – do)
example
a sentence “sam can play.”
base string sam + present + can + play ==== >
t – neg sam + present + can + not + play ==== >
t – af sam + can + present + not + play ==== >
phonological rule sam cannot play.
a sentence “she speaks english.”
base string she + present + speak + english ==== >
t – neg she + present + not + speak + english ==== >
t – do she + present + do + not + speak + english ==== >
t – af she + do + present + not + speak + english ?
phonological rule she does not speak english.
4. t - passive
in english, the basic sentence can be transformed to passive by applying the rule of passive transformation (t- passive). the rule for passive transformation can be formulated as:
t - passive rule
np1 + aux. +vt + np2 + x ==== > np2 + aux. + be + participle +
vt + (by + np1) + x
the woman has written a letter ==== > a letter has been written (by the woman) this transformation can be applied to any string that has a vt. the object of the basic sentence becomes the subject of the transformation sentence. the subject of the basic sentence may or may not be expressed in a prepositional phrase with by in the transformed sentence.
example
a sentence "i meet bryan."
base string i + present + meet + bryan ==== >
t- passive bryan + present + be + participle + meet + (by + me) ==== >
t- af bryan + be + present + meet + participle + (by + me) ==== > phonological rule bryan is met. (by + me)
5. t - imperative
the basic sentences that begin with you will can be transformed to the imperative sentence by applying the rule of imperative transformation (t- imp.)
you will go away. ==== > go away
you will come here. ==== > come here
the rule for imperative transformation can be formulated as:
t - imp rule
pp2 + present + will + mv + y ==== > mv + y
the t - imp. deletings pp2 present and will in the string of a basic sentence.
example
a sentence "you will come here."
base string you + present + will + come + here ==== >
t - imp. come + here ==== >
6. transitive verbal transformation ( t- vt)
t - vt rule
prt art.
x + vt + + np ==== > x + vt + np + + y compl. compl.
this is obligatory for vt + compl + np constructions if the complement (compl.) is not long and complicated, otherwise it is optional
somsak thought somsri was foolish.
somsak thought anyone who disagreed with him foolish.
somsak thought foolish anyone who disagreed with him.
t - vt is obligatory for vt + prt + np construction if the np is a personal pronoun otherwise it is optional.
somsak put them away.
somsak put away the newspapers.
somsak put the newspapers away.
example
a sentence "somsak throws it away."
base string somsak + present + throw + away + it ==== >
t - vt somsak + present + throw + it + away ==== >
t - af samsak + throw + present + it + away ?
phonological rule somsak throws it away.
mv ? vt + np
vt ? vt1 + part, vt12 + part
vt ? throw, put, take……
prt ? away, out, off …
prt ? particle
part ? participle
7. objective transformation (t - obj)
t - obj rule
vt vt
x + vh + np + y ==== > x + vh + np + o + y
prep. prep.
this is obligatory whenever the np is a personal pronoun the phonological rule then convert
i + o ? me we + o ? us you + o ? you he + o ? him
she + o ? her it + o ? it
they + o ? them
example
a sentence "i saw her"
base string i + past + see + she ==== >
t - obj i + past + see + she +o ==== >
t - af i + see + past + she + o ?
8. relation clause transformation (t-rel.)
t - half - rel. rule
who
x + np + y ==== > np + which + x + y
that
t - full - rel. rule
1. x (1) - np (2) - v (3)
==== >
2. z (4) - np (5) -w (6)
who
(4) + (5) + which + (1) + (3) + (6)
that
everybody knows samran.
==== >
everybody loves him.
everybody who knows samran loves him.
i saw mali.
==== > mali, who i saw, spoke chinese.
mali spoke chinese.
when the np is an indefinite pronoun the following clause is regularly restrictive and not set off by commas.
9. comparative transformation (t. - comp)
t. - comp. rule
a. insert: np + aux. + be + adj.
==== >
matrix : np + aux. + be + adj.
result : np + aux. + be + adj. + -er + than + np + ( + aux. + be) (+ adj.)
preecha is old.
==== >
pantakan is old.
preecha is older than pantakan (is old.)
b. insert: np + aux. + be + adj.
= = = = >
matrix : np + aux. + be + adj.
result : np + aux. + be + more + adj. + than + np (+aux + be) (+adj.)
lisa is beautiful
==== >
noi is beautiful.
lisa is more beautiful than noi is beautiful.
10. superlative transformation (t.sup.)
t - sup. rule.
a. insert: np + aux. + be + adj.
==== >
matrix : np + aux. + be + adj.
result : np + aux. + be + the + adj. +- est + of + np
b. insert: np + aux. + be + adj.
==== >
matrix : np + aux. + be + adj.
result : np + aux. + be + the + most + adj. + of + np
insert : the boys are tall.
matrix : vichai is tall.
insert : the men are handsome.
matrix : sansak is handsome.
result : vichai is the tallest of the boys.
sansak is the most handsome of the men.
note the t - comp. is used for two people or things.
the t - sup. is usually used for more than two people or things.
revision of basic english sentence (tree diagrams)
indicating the elements of basic english sentences by using tree diagrams
tree diagrams.
1. monthong is a student.
s
np vp
n aux. mv
nprop. tense be np
present det art n
indef. ncom.
count.
monthong - s be a student
string : monthong + - s + be + a + student.
t – af : monthong + be + - s + a + student.
phonological rule : monthong is a student.
note
phonological rules operate in the production of the actual sentence.
2. he was young. s
np vp
n aux. mv
npp. tense be adj.
pp3 past
he - ? be young
string : he + ? + be + young. ==== >
t – af : he + be + young. ?
phonological rule : he was young.
3. somebody is in the class.
s
np vp
n aux mv
nindef. tense be adv-p
present
somebody ? be in the class.
string : somebody + -s + be + in the class. ==== >
t – af : somebody + be + -s + in the class. ?
phonological rule : somebody is in the class.
4. the girl has gone.
s
np vp
det. n aux. mv
art ncom. tense aspect verbials
def. count. present have + part vi
vi1
the girl -s have - ? go
string : the +girl + -s + have + ? + go. ==== >
t – af : the + girl + have + -s + go + ?. ?
phonological rule : the girl has gone.
5. some of these boys wrote letters.
s
np vp
det. n aux. mv
pre – art demon n.com. tense mv
d1 count past vt np
vt det. n
art. n.com
indef. count.
some of these boys ? write ? letters.
string : some of + these + boys +? + write + ? + letters. ==== >
t – af : some of + these + boys + write + ? + ? + letters. ?
phonological rule: some of these boys wrote letters.
6. three students become teachers.
s
np vp
det. n. aux. mv
art. num. n.com. tense verbals
indef. num.c. count present vb np
det. n
art. n.com.
indef. count.
? three students ? become ? teachers
string : ? + three + students + ? + become + ? + teachers. ==== >
t – af : ? + three + students + become + ?+ ? + teachers. ?
phonological rule: three students become teachers.
7. some of these two girls remain beautiful.
s
np vp
det n aux. mv
pre – art demon num ncom tense verbal
d1 num.c count present vb adj.
some of these two girls ? remain beautiful.
string : some of + these + two + girls + ? + remain + beautiful. ==== >
t – af : some of + these + two + girls + remain + ? beautiful. ?
phonological rule: some of these two girls remain beautiful.
8. a lot of the women had been here.
s
np vp
det n aux. mv
pre – art art n.com tense aspect be adv-p
def. count past have part
a lot of the women ? have -en be here
string : a lot of + the + women + ? + have + -en + be + here. ==== >
t – af : a lot of + the + women + have + ? + be + -en + here. ?
phonological rule: a lot of the women had been here.
9. they look handsome.
s
np vp
n aux. mv
npp. present verbal
pp 3 look handsome
they ? look handsome.
string : they + ? + look + handsome. ==== >
t – af : they + look + ? + handsome. ?
phonological rule: they look handsome.
10. it costs four dollars.
s
np vp
n aux. mv
npp tense verbal
pp 3 present vh np
det n
art num ncom
indef num c count
it - s cost ? four dollars
string : it + -s + cost + - ? + four + dollars. ==== >
t – af : it + cost + -s + -? + four + dollars. ?
phonological rule: it costs four dollars.
t - af af + v v + af
af. affixes = tense, - participles, - ing
v = modals, have , be and verbs.
abbreviations and symbols to use in revision of basic english sentence
1. act. active voice
2. adj. adjective
3. adv adverb or adverbial
4. adv-p adverb of place
5. adv-m adverb of manner
6. adv-t adverb of time
7. af affix (morpheme)
8. art article
9. aux auxiliary (verb)
10. com common (noun)
11. comp comparative (degree)
12. compl complement
13. count countable (noun)
14. conj conjunction
15. def definite (article)
16. demon demonstrative
17. det determiner
18. imp imperative
19. indef indefinite (article, pronoun)
20. ins insert (sentence)
21. int intensifier
22. inter interrogative (word, sentence)
23. m modal (auxiliary)
24. mod modifier
25. mv main verb
26. matr matrix (sentence)
27. n noun
28. neg negative (word, sentence)
29. nindef indefinite pronoun
30. nm noun modifier
31. no number marker
32. np noun phrase
33. nprop proper noun
34. npp personal pronoun
35. num numeral
36. ? zero (morpheme)
37. o object morpheme
38. obj objective
39. part past participle
40. pass passive voice
41. pl plural
42. pos possessive (morpheme, word)
43. prep preposition
44. prt particle
45. q question
46. rel. relative (pronoun)
47. s sentence
48. sub subordinator
49. subj subjective
50. sup superlative (degree)
51. t transformation
52. uncount uncountable (noun)
53. v verb
54. vb become class verb
55. vh have class verb
56. vi intransitive verb
57. vp verb phrase
58. vs seem class verb
59. vt transitive verb
60. wh interrogative words e.g. where, when. etc.
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