Samson Agonistes
English Majors, year II
Lecture 1
1 Words and word classes
In grammar, we first need to identify the types of grammatical units, such as words and phrases, before describing the internal structure of these units, and how they combine to form larger units. Grammatical units are meaningful elements which combine with each other in a structural pattern. Essentially, grammar is the system which organizes and controls these form meaning relationships.
The types of grammatical units can be graded according to size of unit, as shown below:
(discourse)
1. sentence: If I wash up all this stuff somebody else can dry it.
2. clauses: If I wash up all this stuff / somebody else can dry it.
3. phrases: if / I / wash up / all this stuff / somebody else / can dry it.
4. words: If / I / wash / up / all / this / stuff / somebody / else / can / dry / it.
5. morphemes: If / he / wash/ -es / up / all / this / stuff / some / body / else / can / dry / it.
In the simplest cases, a unit consists of one or more elements on the level below:
• A clause consists of one or more phrases.
• A phrase consists of one or more words.
• A w ord c onsists of one or more morphemes.
Morphemes a re parts of words, i.e. stems, prefixes, and suffixes. For example, un + friend + ly contains three morphemes: a prefix un-, a stem friend and a suffix -ly. The part of grammar dealing with morphemes is morphology. The part of grammar dealing with the other types of grammatical units shown above (i.e. words, phrases, clauses, and sentences) is known as syntax.
Grammatical units can be combined to form longer written texts or spoken interaction, which is known as discourse. At the other extreme, language can be analyzed in terms of its phonemes (the individual sounds which make up the language) and graphemes (the written symbols we use to communicate in language). These are the smallest units of speech and writing, respectively.
In this course of lectures we focus mainly on the three
Lecture 1
1 Words and word classes
In grammar, we first need to identify the types of grammatical units, such as words and phrases, before describing the internal structure of these units, and how they combine to form larger units. Grammatical units are meaningful elements which combine with each other in a structural pattern. Essentially, grammar is the system which organizes and controls these form meaning relationships.
The types of grammatical units can be graded according to size of unit, as shown below:
(discourse)
1. sentence: If I wash up all this stuff somebody else can dry it.
2. clauses: If I wash up all this stuff / somebody else can dry it.
3. phrases: if / I / wash up / all this stuff / somebody else / can dry it.
4. words: If / I / wash / up / all / this / stuff / somebody / else / can / dry / it.
5. morphemes: If / he / wash/ -es / up / all / this / stuff / some / body / else / can / dry / it.
In the simplest cases, a unit consists of one or more elements on the level below:
• A clause consists of one or more phrases.
• A phrase consists of one or more words.
• A w ord c onsists of one or more morphemes.
Morphemes a re parts of words, i.e. stems, prefixes, and suffixes. For example, un + friend + ly contains three morphemes: a prefix un-, a stem friend and a suffix -ly. The part of grammar dealing with morphemes is morphology. The part of grammar dealing with the other types of grammatical units shown above (i.e. words, phrases, clauses, and sentences) is known as syntax.
Grammatical units can be combined to form longer written texts or spoken interaction, which is known as discourse. At the other extreme, language can be analyzed in terms of its phonemes (the individual sounds which make up the language) and graphemes (the written symbols we use to communicate in language). These are the smallest units of speech and writing, respectively.
In this course of lectures we focus mainly on the three
Bibliography: Biber D., Conrad S., Leech G. (2002) Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English, Longman Downing A (2006) English Grammar Greenbaum S., Quirk R. (1990) A Student’s Grammar of the English Language, Longman Huddleston R., Pullum G., et al Leech G. (1989) An A – Z of English Grammar and Usage, Nelson Quirk, R., Greenbaum S., Leech G., Svartvik J Celce-Murcia M., Larsen-Freeman D. (1999) The Grammar Book, Heinle and Heinle Vereş G., Cehan A., Andriescu I