Eny Suspartiana

 when a complementiser (subordinate

conjunction) is removed from an adverbial
clause or a complement clause in English it
leaves a sequence of words which make up a
complete main clause.
 WH words seem to be both pronouns and
complementisers, whereas ‘that’ is purely a
complementiser.
 Clauses:
1. Relative clauses are embedded in noun phrases
and immediately follow the head noun.
2. clauses cannnot stand by itself
3. the clause ‘because’ can precede or follow the
main clause
4. Verb complement clauses substitute for either
noun phrase with a transitive verb
5. clauses occur in sentences.
6. Clauses of concession and condition can also be
seen as parallel to phrases. (Although Mr D’Arcy
disliked Mrs Bennet he married Elizabeth.)
7. clauses are recognisable in all types of
spoken and written language
8. We can describe where words occur in
phrases, where phrases occur in clauses and
where clauses occur in sentences. We can
describe how words combine to form
phrases, phrases to form clauses, and clauses
to form sentences.
 Sentences:
1. Sentences in a paragraph can be linked by binders such
as ‘thus, in other words, for this reason, consequently,
nevertheless’
2. sentences talk of a grammatical unit built up from
smaller units.
3. inside sentences a given phrase or clause can only occur
in certain slots
4. They can stand by themselves
5. no reliable criteria exist for the recognition of sentences
in spontaneous speech
6. we cannot describe where sentences occur, and
describing how sentences combine to make up a
discourse or text is very different from analysing the
structure of phrases and clauses
1. They cannot stand on their own (in writing, at any rate)
2. Subordinate clauses are subject to a number of
constraints that do not apply to main clauses. (main
clauses can be declarative, interrogative or imperative)
3. Subordinate clauses are not free with respect to choice of
declarative, interrogative and imperative syntax
4. The clauses introduced by ‘whether/if’ and who are
indirect questions
5. Subordinate clauses are limited in other respects
6. there is a hierarchy of subordination: Complement
clauses are least subordinate, relative and adverbial
clauses are most subordinate.
1. Prepositional phrase fronting
 It can occur in declarative main clauses, and in
complement clauses…
 but not in relative clauses or adverbial clauses
 E.g. : In came Aunt Norris. [cf. Aunt Norris came
in]/Into the room came Aunt Norris
2. Negative fronting
 the construction is acceptable in main clauses
and complement clauses but not in relative or
adverbial clauses.
 e.g.: Never had Sir Thomas been so offended.
3. Tag Questions: it is named because the
structure consists of a declarative clause with
a question tagged on at the end
 Tag questions consist of verbs such as ‘did,
might, can’ and so on plus a pronoun, and
possibly with the negation marker -n’t or not.
 Tag questions do not occur in any
subordinate clause
 The tag question relates to the verb in the
main clause, knew, and not to died of
apoplexy
1. Non Finite
 non-finite clauses –sequences of words which lack a finite
verb but nonetheless are treated as subordinate clauses.
1. Fanny regretted talking to Mary.  a gerund phrase
2. Henry wanted to marry Fanny.  an infinitive phrase
 non-finite constructions are highly limited in their
grammar.
 The non-finite constructions like in: ‘Fanny regretted
talking to Mary.’; ‘Henry wanted to marry Fanny.’ can be
straight-forwardly correlated with finite clauses, Henry
marries Fanny, Fanny talks to Mary and so on.
 Non-finite constructions with infinitives and participles at
least contain a verb form, even if it is non-finite.
2. finite
 The finites can have aspect, as shown below which is
Perfect and progressive. E.g.:
1. Henry wanted to have married Fanny before Edmund
returned.
2. Mrs Bennet taking the others upstairs, Mr Bingley
gave a sigh of relief.
 finite subordinate clauses have their own set of
participants independent of the participants in the
main clause.
 adjuncts containing -ing forms, pose interesting
problems are called free participles
1. Knowing the country well, he took a short cut.
2. Slamming the door, he ran down the steps
 Some analysts even propose treating the parts in
bold in examples below as clauses, although they
have no verb form of any kind. E.g.:
 When ripe, these apples will be delicious.  when
they are ripe
 He left the train with somebody else’s wallet in
his pocket. He left the train with somebody
else’s wallet being in his pocket: this
construction is used only preceding a main
clause and typically in order to present one
situation as the cause of another
 She walked up the hill, her rucksack on her back.
 Her rucksack was on her back
 semantic facts should be taken into account,
an analysis of syntax should never depend on
semantic facts alone.
 The structures in (She walked up the hill )
express propositions but are not even non-
finite clauses.
 Miller, Jim. (2002). An Introduction to English
Syntax. Edinburg University
Press.Edinburg
 Tellerman,Maggie.(2011). Syntax.Hodder
Education.London
 Van, Vallin Jr. (2001). An Introduction to
Syntax. Cambridge University Press .UK