Formal &

Functional Labels
 Formal Labels
 Form refers to the category labels that we use for the building blocks of
language, i.e.

 Word classes (Parts of Speech)

(e.g. noun, verb, adjective, etc.),

 Phrases (e.g. noun phrase, adjective phrase, etc.)

 Clauses (e.g. Main Clause, Subordinate Clause, relative clause, etc.)
 Word classes (Parts of Speech)

 Noun  Adverb
Pronoun  Preposition
Adjective  Conjunction
verb  Determiners
 Phrases (e.g. noun phrase, prepositional phrase adjective phrase, etc.)

Noun Phrase Prepositional

My best friend Phrase (Preposition
In the garden
On leave
At the bank

Those clever students + a noun phrase)

Robin’s students

Adjectival Phrase (an intensifier + an adjective)

Very good
Extremely dangerous
Outrageously courageous
 Clauses (e.g. Main Clause, Subordinate Clause, relative clause, etc.)

• He told me that he would meet me after twenty days

(Main Clause) (Subordinating clause)
 Main Clause (Independent Clause/Principle Clause)

The clause that can stand its own without any support.
I don’t know when he would come.
He does what he speaks.
He who knows me knows you.
Why he told a lie needs to be examined again.
 Subordinate Clause
It is a clause that cannot stand on its own. Being a part of a sentence, it requires a main clause for its existence in the
sentence. A subordinate begins with a subordinating conjunction.

Subordinating Conjunctions
That, what, which, why ,who, how, when, because, since, as, etc.
It is a fact that he is never sincere.
What you know is beyond my concern.
I don’ know how you know it.
India cricket team went to top ranking when Dhoni led the team.
I did not join you because the teacher was out of station.
 Relative Clause (Adjectival Clause)
A finite clause that functions as a post-modifier in a noun phrase is called a relative clause. They are essentially adjectival in
function and , therefore, sometimes called an adjectival clause.

The man who spoke now is a famous cricketer.

I have read the book which won the Booker prize.
The lady whom you talked to is my neighbor.
The professor who teaches Linguistics is on leave this term.
Mr. Murthy, who teaches Linguistics, is on leave this term.

The head of the noun phrase to which the relative pronoun refers is called
the Antecedent
 Restrictive and Non-restrictive
Relative Clause
Restrictive Relative Clause
The relative clause that provides information essential to
identify the head is called the restrictive relative clause.
Eg. The professor who teaches Linguistics is on leave this
term.
 Non-restrictive Relative Clause

The relative clause that only provides additional information about

the head which has been identified independently of the relative
clause is called the non-restrictive relative clause.
Mr. Murthy, who teaches Linguistics, is on leave this term.

The restrictive relative clause defines the head, whereas the non-
restrictive relative clause describes the head.
 Sentential Relative Clause
• There is a special type of relative clause which has the
form of a non-restrictive relative clause but which refers
back not to the head of a noun phrase but to a clause or
sentence or even to a whole series of sentences that come
before it. Such relative clauses are called sentential
relative clauses.
• Eg. He did very well, which surprised me.
• Teachers spend more time with you than your parents do,
which clearly tells how much committed they are to your
positive nurturing.
 Functional Labels
• ‘function’ refers to the grammatical functions ( Subject,
Verb (Predicator), Object, Complement and Adverbial)
that the various building blocks can perform in a
sentence.
 Functional Labels
• Subject
• Verb (Predicator)
• Object
• Complement
• Adverbial
 Subject

The subject in a clause is generally a noun/ pronoun, a noun

phrase or a noun clause.
Examples:
• Noun: Computers are very useful.
• Pronoun: He is fine.
• Noun Phrase: The tall slim pretty girl pretended to be a heroine.
• Noun Clause: What you told was an absolute lie.
 Verb (Predicator)

• The term “verb” usually refers to a class of words when

we are grouping words into different grammatical
categories like nouns, adjectives and adverbs, etc. But
when we are talking about the various elements of a
clause structure, we use the same label “verb” to refer to
a constituent of a clause and distinguish it from subject,
object, complement and adverbial. The verb in a clause is
either a verb (a single word) or a verb phrase ( a verb with
auxiliary verb/s).
 Object

A noun/pronoun / noun phrase / noun clause becomes an object in

a sentence only when the verb in the given sentence is transitive.
It usually occurs after the verb. When more than one objects is
present in the sentence, we divide them as direct object and
indirect object in which the former is usually inanimate things
(such as car, pen, book, etc.) and the latter is animate beings (Ram,
him, them, etc.)
• We know him.
• My teacher gave me a chocolate in front of my friends.
 Complement

• The complement is a noun/ noun phrase/pronoun or adjective that occurs

after the verb and that cannot become the subject of a passive construction.
It generally has the same reference as the subject. Complement can be
classified into subject complement and object complement. The
complement that refers back to subject is called the subject complement and
that which refers back to the object is called the object complement.
• Examples
• He is fine.
• They made him the King
 Adverbial
The adverbial is an adverb/a prepositional phrase/ a noun phrase/
a clause that can occur in different positions in a clause. It can be
often omitted without affecting the structural acceptability of the
clause. Further, any number of adverbials can occur in a clause.
• The officer read the letter slowly. (adverb)
• We will see him next week. (noun phrase)
• All the guests left before 9 O’clock. (prepositional phrase)
• She got married before she could finish her studies (clause).
Exercises
 Identify the formal & the functional labels of the
underlined

1. They discuss environmental issues regularly.

2. Their lawyer made the children an excellent guardian.
3. The lawyer made the children his heirs.
4. The lawyer made the children a wooden toy.
5. She found her shoes very comfortable.
6. I painted the room blue.
7. They consider the match very important.
8. The journalists called the dancer the star of the show.
9. The old woman appointed her nephew the CEO.
10. I booked my brother a seat in the front row.
11. My grandmother taught me Biology.
12The old man quickly shut the door.
13. The scientists carefully examined the samples.
14. They are in the garden.
15. Have you tried this new brand of soap?