Modern English Grammar

1. A sentence is a sound in itself on which other sounds
called words are strung.
--Robert Frost

2. Grammar specifies the correct way to speak or
write.
Grammar refers to the inflections or word
endings common in most languages.
Grammar is about how humans organize ideas
into words.
Grammar means all of the things mentioned.

3. Grammar describes how communicators
choose and arrange words.
Grammar is actually more than passively
learning ideas regarding how words are
organized in a sentence.
Grammar is an activity; it is something we do.
Let us see how this works; let us read the
following paragraph from Anthony Burgess’s A
Clockwork Orange (Kies, 2020).

4. There was me, that is Alex, and my three
droogs, that is Pete, Georgie, and Dim, Dim
being really dim, and we sat in the Korova
Milkbar making up our rassoodocks what to
do with the evening, a flip dark chill winter
bastard though dry. The Korova Milkbar was a
milk-plus mesto, and you may, O my brother,
have forgotten what these mestos were like
things changing so skorry these days and
everybody very quick to forget, newspaper not
being read much neither.

5. Well, what they sold there was milk plus
something else. They had no license for selling
liquor, but there was no law yet against
prodding some of the new veshches which
they would put into the old moloko, so you
could peet it with vellocet or synthemesc or
drencrom or one or two other veshches which
would give you a nice quiet horror show
fifteen minutes admiring Bog And All His
Holy Angels And Saints in your left shoe with
lights bursting all over your mozg.

6. Or you could peet it with knives in it, as we
use to say, and this would sharpen you up and
make you ready for a bit of dirty twenty-to-
one, and that was what we were peeting this
evening I'm starting off the story with.

7. While reading, you noticed several things.
1. The language seemed to be English despite
the presence of unusual words.
2. The unusual words had endings that you
recognized.
3. The unusual words were surrounded by
familiar words.
4. The meaning of the unusual words could be
guessed by using context clues.

8. 1. Observing the language data (e.g., unusual words in
their context)
2. Collecting important facts (e.g., use of function
words like the or of, word endings like –s or –ing,
clues to how the unusual words functioned in the
clauses)
3. Forming and testing a hypothesis (rereading
sentences and revising them mentally to add the
information collected through the position and
endings of words)

9. 4. Reaching a conclusion that the hypothesis
was correct because the paragraph made more
sense
You were able to understand the paragraph
a little because you used the fundamental
concepts of grammar: (a) categories, (b)
constituencies, and (c) metafunctions/
functions.

10. Concept of category:
Many unfamiliar words belonged to the
word category “noun.”
Concept of constituency:
Some unusual words must be single units
even if they were odd sequences of words
(such as “a milk-plus mesto,” “Korova
Milkbar,” or “Bog and All His Holy Angels
and Saints”).

11. Concept of metafunction:
Some sentences were statements, not
questions nor commands; several phrases were
subject complements and adverbials; and the
paragraph was about Alex’s perceptions about
milkbars, specifically the Korova Milkbar.
So, what does grammar really mean?
What is its place in the structure of language as a
whole?

12. Grammar is about how units of language
are sequenced, since quite obviously language
proceeds sequentially, linearly: in speech, one
sound is uttered before the next, one syllable
before the next, one word before the next, and
so on; in writing, one word precedes the next,
one phrase precedes the next, one clause
precedes the next, and so on.

13. What are the fundamental building blocks of
language?
Words seem to be the most obvious
component of language; hence, we need to include
words in our study of grammar.
1. The athlete jumped.
2. The house jumped.
3. The athlete jumped repeatedly.
4. The athlete jumped the house.

14. (1) and (2) have the Subject-Verb (SV)
pattern; (3) has the Subject-Verb-Adverbial
(SVA) pattern; (4) has the Subject-Verb-Object
(SVO) pattern.
Sentences (1) through (4) show that the
word jumped is restricted in its usage in
specific ways. But if we had only to work with a
grammar of English that examines grammatical
structures without referring to the lexicon, we
would quickly discover the weakness of our
grammatical analysis.

15. Lexicon contributes to our understanding
of a language's grammar.
What is grammar's place in the structure of
language?
Michael Halliday specifies four strata at work,
simultaneously, in the production and perception
of language:
1. context (interrelated conditions) of the
language situation
2. meaning (semantics)
3. wording (grammar—morphology; syntax)
4. sound patterns (phonology and phonetics)

16. Three styles of writing a note based on
three situations: formal, conversational,
friendspeak:
1. Hi, Miss Cruz. Just a note to let you know I didn’t
do the homework. I’ll explain later! Anne
2. No hw – ttyl
3. Dear Miss Cruz,
I was not able to do my homework last night. I
will speak to you about this matter later.
Sincerely,
Anne

17. Sentence (1)Excuse me, sir, but would you
mind closing the door? (2) Close the door, will
ya buddy? (3) Close the door NOW! (4)Gee,
it's cold in here.
Situation (a)Watching TV with your girl-
/boyfriend. (b)Baby-sitting your annoying
younger cousin. (c)Meeting with the
supervisor in his office. (d)Sitting on a bus
next to a man dressed in work clothes.

18. In (1) through (4), we can see, therefore, that the
context of situation, the meaning, the grammar, and
even the sound patterns mutually interact to create the
language we use.
But notice in those examples that the choices of
wording (grammar) do not simply encode meaning:
rather, the grammar makes meaning.
“Encode” means “express what you want to say in a
language.”

19. To understand more about grammar, we
must now examine the grammatical
constituents of language (categories—
noun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition,
determiner), how those constituents
combine at different levels (constituency—
NP, VP, AdjP, AdvP, PP), and how those
combinations of constituents can create
meaning (metafunction—S, LV, IV, TV, SC,
OC, DO, IO, AC, A).

20. The student is funny.
Det N V Adj -- categories
NP VP AdjP -- constituencies
S LV SC -- functions
Her new secretary is sending an email.
Det Adj N AV MV Det N
NP VP NP
S TV DO

21. A determiner is a word or a group of words that
specifies, identifies, or quantifies the noun or noun phrase
that follows it. It is also known as a ”prenominal
modifier.”
Determiners include articles (a, an, the), cardinal
numbers (one, two, three...) and ordinal numbers (first,
second, third...), demonstratives (this, that, these, those),
partitives (some of, piece of, slice of), quantifiers (most,
all, much, some, a lot of, every), difference words (other,
another), and possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, its,
our, their, whose--interrogative).

22. She gave the little girl a box of chocolates.
Pron V Det Adj N Det N Prep N
NP VP NP NP PP
S TV IO DO
Maria’s subordinates rated her outstanding.
N N V Pron Adj
NP VP NP AdjP
S TV DO OC

23. We left him in the room yesterday.
Pron V Pron Prep Det N Adv
NP VP NP PP AdvP
S TV DO A A
The lady in red dress is outside the building.
Det N Prep Adj N V Prep Det N
NP PP VP PP
S LV AC

24. Functional Category Clause Function
(1) Subject (1) Subject--S
(2) Verb (2) Transitive Verb--TV
(3) Intransitive Verb--IV
(4) Linking Verb--LV
(3) Object (5) Direct Object--DO
(6) Indirect Object--IO
(4) Complement (7) Object Complement--OC
(8) Subjective Complement--SC
(9) Adverbial Complement--AC
(5) Adverbial (10) Adverbial--A

25. The student is funny.
Det N V Adj -- categories
NP VP AdjP -- constituencies
S LV SC -- functions
The pattern “SLVSC” represents the clause functions
or functions at the clause rank; “SVC” or “Subject
Verb Complement,” are the functions based on the
rank of category or functional category. In other
words, the clause function “SLVSC” is specific while
the functional category “SVC” is general.

26. Her new secretary is sending an email.
Det Adj N AV MV Det N
NP VP NP
S TV DO
Answers: STVDO and SVO
She gave the little girl a box of chocolates.
Pron V Det Adj N Det N Prep N
NP VP NP NP PP
S TV IO DO
Answers: STVIODO and SVOO
Maria’s subordinates rated her outstanding.
N N V Pron Adj
NP VP NP AdjP
S TV DO OC
Answers: STVDOOC and SVOO

27. We left him in the room
yesterday.
Pron V Pron Prep Det N Adv
NP VP NP PP AdvP
S TV DO A A
Answers: STVDOAA and SVOAA
The lady in red dress is outside the
building.
Det N Prep Adj N V Prep Det N
NP PP VP PP
S LV AC
Answers: SLVAC and SVC

28. 1. Many clients are waiting for the manager.
2. The starving dog steals some food from the
kitchen.
3. Cynthia assigns him team leader.
4. Somebody will paint this wicker chair brown.
5. The flower in the box smells good.
6. Tomorrow night, he is leaving for the city.
7. You should get the old man a chair.
8. Her childhood friend is outside.

29. SLVSC—The student is funny.
STVDO—Her new secretary is sending an
email.
STVIODO—She gave the little girl a box of
chocolates.
STVDOOC—Maria's subordinates rated her
outstanding.
STVDOAA—We left him in the room
yesterday.
SLVAC—The lady in red dress is outside
the building.

30. The following sentences illustrate some other
clause patterns that are possible in English.
1. Liz (S) is resting (IV) quietly (A) in the other
room (A).
2. The mind (S) is (LV) immensely complex (SC).
3. The children (S) were (LV) here (AC) all
morning (A).
4. Emily (S) is playing (TV) cards (DO) with her
sister (A).
5. Early next week (A), the President (S) will send
(TV) Congress (IO) his budget (DO).
6. Clearly (A), the committee (S) considers (TV)
her (DO) the best (OC).
7. Once again (A), I (S) will put (TV) the book
(DO) away (AC).

31. Each clause has a different arrangement of
functional elements, but there are some patterns, too.
While the different clauses have different
arrangements of objects, complements, and
adverbials, each clause consistently has a subject and
a verb.
Thus, in the declarative clause, the functions of
subject and verb are the “central” functions, while
objects, complements, and adverbials are the
“peripheral” functions. The adverbials are “optional”
when compared to the other clause constituents.
By eliminating the optional adverbials, we arrive
at a classification of the basic clause patterns on the
basis of the “obligatory” constituents.

32. Pattern S V IO DO SC OC AC
SIV Lizzie snores
SLVSC Manny is strong
SLVAC They were here
STVDO She plays cards
STVIODO Tom gives her flowers
STVDOOC We consider Carla the
best
STVDOAC I will put the car away

33. This set of patterns is the most general
classification that can be usefully applied to the
English clause. Correlating with the seven clause
patterns are the three main types of verbs:
1. Intransitive verbs, followed by no obligatory
constituents, as in SIV pattern above;
2. Copular/linking verbs, followed by an SC or
AC, as in the SLVSC and SLVAC patterns
above; and
3. Transitive verbs, followed by an object or a
complement, as in the STVDO, STVIODO,
STVDOOC, and STVDOAC patterns above.

34. Grammatical subjects usually share a
number of properties that serve to identify them
within a clause. These are form, position,
agreement, pronouns, and voice.
Form. The subject is usually a noun phrase or
clause.
1. Their classmate (S) is a scholar.
2. What he believes (S) doesn’t bother me.

35. Position. The subject is usually placed before the
verb in the indicative/declarative mood,
after the auxiliary in the interrogative
mood, and absent (but implied) in the
imperative mood.
1. The baby (S) is asleep. [indicative mood]
2. Does she (S) work? [interrogative mood]
3. Get back! [imperative mood]

36. Agreement. Subjects usually determine the
number (singular or plural) and person (first,
second, third) of other constituents in the
clause. The subject determines the number
and person, where relevant, of the verb in
finite clauses.
1. Tom (S) loves (V) reading. [singular, 3rd person]
2. You (S) love (V) reading. [singular, 2nd person]
3. I (S) love (V) reading. [singular, 1st person]
4. John, Paul, and Mick (S) love (V) reading.
[Plural]

37. The subject determines the number,
person, and gender, where relevant, of any
noun phrase functioning as the subject
complement.
1. Therese (S) is my sister (SC).
2. Len, Melinda, Liza, and Cess (S) are my
sisters (SC).

38. The subject also determines the
number, person, and gender, where
relevant, of “reflexive” pronouns —
pronouns ending with the -self or -selves
inflections.
1. I (S) hurt myself.
2. They (S) hurt themselves.
3. He (S) hurts himself.
4. She (S) hurts herself.
5. It (S) hurts itself.

39. The subject determines the number,
person, and gender, where relevant, of the
emphatic pronoun own in structures such as my
own or their own.
1. I (S) hurt myself with my own scissors.
2. They (S) hurt themselves with their own
scissors.
3. You (S) hurt yourself with your own
scissors.
4. She (S) hurts herself with her own scissors.

40. Pronouns. The subject determines the case,
where relevant, of any pronoun in
subject function; that is, the subject
function requires the subjective form
of the pronoun.
1. I (S) miss her.
2. She (S) misses me.
3. Mary and I (S) miss her.
4. Luis, Pete, and he (S) miss her.
5. We all miss her.

41. Voice. There is a systematic relationship between
the subject of a clause and voice (active
or passive). The active voice subject
corresponds to an adverbial (beginning
with the preposition by) in the passive
voice.
1. Corrine (S) misses Lee. [active voice]
2. Lee is missed by Corrine (A) [passive voice].
3. Corrine (S) liked Lee. [active voice]
4. Lee was liked by Corrine (A) [passive voice].

42. The function of verb is the least
ambiguous in English since only one
category (the verb phrase) fills this function.
Nonetheless, the verb is recognizable by a
combination of formal and functional
properties. These are form, position,
agreement, tense, modality, aspect, and voice.

43. Form. The verb is composed of a main
verb with or without auxiliaries.
1. Frank walks (V) fast.
2. Frank is walking (V) fast.
3. Frank must have been walking (V) fast.
4. Frank walked (V) fast.
5. Frank had walked (V) fast.

44. Position. The verb usually occurs after the
subject in the indicative mood, around
the subject in the interrogative mood,
and at the beginning of the clause in
the imperative mood.
1. Chris fell (V) down. [indicative mood]
2. Did she go (V)? [interrogative mood]
3. Get (V) back! [imperative mood]

45. Agreement. The verb corresponds in
number (singular or plural)
with the subject in finite
clauses.
1. Dan (S) enjoys (V) swimming.
[singular, third person]
2. Christy and Gigi (S) enjoy (V)
swimming. [plural]

46. Tense. The verb of a finite clause is
inflected or marked for tense
(present or past).
1. Marga plays (V) online games. [present]
2. Marga played (V) online games. [past]
Technically, there are no future tenses
in English. The word will in will play is a
modal auxiliary verb, and future tenses are
sometimes called “modal tenses.”

47. How do we use the Simple Future Tense?
1. NO PLAN
We use the simple future tense when there
is no plan or decision to do something before we
speak. We make the decision spontaneously at
the time of speaking. Look at these examples:
 Hold on. I'll get a pen.
 We will see what we can do to help you.
 Maybe we'll stay in and watch television
tonight.

48. In the examples, we had no firm plan before
speaking. The decision is made at the time of
speaking.
We often use the simple future tense with the
verb to think before it:
 I think I'll go to the gym tomorrow.
 I think I will have a holiday next year.
 I don't think I'll buy that car.

49. 2. PREDICTION
We often use the simple future tense to
make a prediction about the future. Again, there
is no firm plan. We are saying what we think
will happen. Here are some examples:
 It will rain tomorrow.
 The supervisor and her friend won't go to the
concert.
 Who do you think will get the promotion?

50. 3. BE
When the main verb is be, we can use the
simple future tense even if we have a firm plan
or decision before speaking.
Examples:
 I'll be in Batanes tomorrow.
 I'm going shopping. I won't be very long.
 Will you be at work tomorrow?

51. Note that when we have a plan or intention
to do something in the future, we usually use
other tenses or expressions, such as the present
continuous tense or going to. (Going to is a
special construction to talk about the future, it is
not a tense.)
 We are eating dinner at seven o’clock tonight.
 They are driving to school tomorrow.
 The employees are going to leave at four
o’clock this afternoon.

52. Modality. The verb can be marked as
predicating something other than
simple fact (modal).
We use modal helping verbs to "modify"
the meaning of the main verb in some way.
 Myra can walk to school.
 Myra may walk to school.
 Myra must walk to school.
A modal helping verb expresses necessity
or possibility, and changes the main verb in that
sense.

53.  These are the modal verbs:
1. can, could
2. may, might
3. will, would,
4. shall, should
5. must
6. ought (to)
Examples:
1. Paula might go (V) tonight.
2. Paula ought to go (V) tonight.

54. Indicative mood expresses a simple statement
of fact, which can be positive (affirmative) or
negative.
 I like coffee.
 I do not like coffee.
Interrogative mood expresses a question.
 Do you like coffee? (yes-no Q)
 What do you like? (information Q)

55. Imperative mood expresses a command.
 Sit down!
Subjunctive mood expresses what is imagined or
wished or possible.
 The President ordered that he attend the
meeting.
 It is important that he leave early.
 We are suggesting that she stop smoking.
 He wishes he were at the party.
 I wish I were with my family right now.
 God save the world.

56. Aspect. The verb can be marked as completing
or continuing the process indicated by
the main verb (perfect and/or
progressive). Aspect expresses a
feature of the action related to time,
such as completion or duration.
 Present simple and past simple tenses have
no aspect, but if we wish we can emphasize
(with other tenses) the following
situations:

57.  That the action or state referred to by the verb
is completed (and often still relevant), for
example:
1. I have emailed the report to Jane. (so now she
has the report)
2. Paul has done it. (so now it is ready)
This is called perfective aspect, using perfect
tenses.

58.  That the action or state referred to by the verb
is in progress or continuing (that is,
uncompleted), for example:
1. We are eating.
2. We have been eating for one hour now.
This is called progressive aspect, using
progressive (continuous) tenses.

59. Voice. The verb is marked for voice (active or
passive). Voice shows the
relationship of the subject to the
action. In the active voice, the subject
does the action. In the passive voice,
the subject receives the action.
1. Sonny cooks (V) pasta. [active voice]
2. Pasta is cooked (V) by Sonny. [passive
voice]

60. The direct object is identifiable by its formal
and functional properties. These are form, position,
pronouns, and voice.
Form. The direct object usually has the form of a
noun phrase or clause.
1. The secretary chased the clerk (DO).
2. I know that she will be here soon (DO).
Position. Direct objects usually occur after the
subject and verb, as in the examples
above.

61. Pronouns. If the subject and the object of a
clause refer to the same entity, then
the object will be in the form of a
reflexive pronoun. The reflexive
pronoun will agree with the subject
in number, person, and gender, where
relevant.
1. You (S) must love yourself (DO).
2. We (S) rewarded ourselves (DO) with a treat.
3. He (S) hurts himself (DO).

62. All other pronouns assuming object
function will take the objective form.
1. I like her (DO).
2. She likes him (DO).
3. Sheila likes Leila and me (DO).

63. Voice. There is also a systematic relationship
between the object of an active voice
clause and the subject of a passive voice
clause. The object of the active voice
clause corresponds to the subject in the
passive voice equivalent.
1. Her dog likes Liza (DO). [active voice]
2. Liza (S) is liked by her dog. [passive voice]

64. The indirect object is identifiable by all of
the criteria of the direct object with a few unique
characteristics of its own in form and position.
Form. Although both objects usually occur either
as noun phrases or as clauses in form, the
indirect object is restricted to the relative
clause form.
 They gave the little girl (IO) a present.
 I sent whoever wants it (IO) copies of a receipt.

65. Position. The indirect object can occur only when the direct
object is also represented in the clause.
NOTE: We use the asterisk [*] to represent ungrammatical
forms in a language.
1. She gave him (IO) a book (DO).
2. *She gave him (IO).
3. He buys his son (IO) a tablet (DO).
4. * He buys his son (IO).
The indirect object also occurs only between the verb and
the direct object.
1. She gave (V) him (IO) a book (DO).
2. *She gave (V) a book (DO) him (IO).
3. He buys (V) his son (IO) a tablet (DO).
4. *He buys (V) a tablet (DO) his son (IO).

66. Moreover, only the indirect object can be paraphrased
by a prepositional phrase functioning as an adverbial,
beginning with either to or for. The choice of the preposition
is governed by the main verb of the clause.
1. We gave her (IO) everything (DO).
2. We gave everything (DO) to her (A).
3. He buys his son (IO) a tablet (DO).
4. He buys a tablet (DO) for his son (A).
Finally, the indirect object can be omitted without
affecting the semantic relationships of the remaining
constituents of the clause.
1. We (S) gave (V) her (IO) everything (DO).
2. We (S) gave (V) everything (DO).

67. The object complement completes a reference
and/or an implication suggested by the object of the
clause. The object complement is identifiable by its
form, position, reference, and agreement.
Form. Object complements are most usually noun
phrases or adjective phrases, although a clause
may assume this function on occasion.
1. They nominated her dean of the college (OC).
2. We find this place most pleasant (OC).
3. She suggested something that affected us (OC).

68. Position. Object complements only occur if there is
a direct object in the clause and then occur
normally after that direct object.
1. They nominated her dean of the college (OC).
2. * They nominated dean of the college (OC).
3. *They nominated dean of the college (OC) her.
And unlike direct objects, object complements
do not have any passive voice corresponding
clauses, in which the complement appears in the
subject position.
 *Dean of the college was nominated her by
them.

69. Reference. Since all complements imply a reference,
object complements complete a reference
to the direct object of the clause. There is
in effect a copular relation that exists
between the direct object and its
complement, in that the direct object and
its complement can be paraphrased by an
SLVSC structure, like this:
1. They nominated her (DO) dean of the college (OC).
2. She (S) is (LV) dean of the college (SC).
Agreement. Object complements usually agree with
the object in number (singular or plural).
1. She made Liz and Emily (DO) her assistants (OC).
2. She made Frank (DO) her assistant (OC).

70. The subject complement completes a
reference to and/or an implication suggested by
the subject of the clause.
It shares many of the properties of the
object complement, notably form and
agreement, as previously described under the
“Subject” and “Object Complement”
subheadings. Yet it has a few properties unique
to itself, such as position.

71. Position. The subject complement always
occurs after a copular verb in the SVC
clause pattern.
The most common copular verb in English
is the verb be used as a main verb, although
other verbs that relate to perception also serve in
this category, such as appear, seem, look,
sound, feel, etc.
 Lily is (seems/appears/looks/sounds) amusing
(SC).

72. Another functional constituent that
suggests a copular relationship with some other
clause constituent is the adverbial complement.
It occurs only in explicit copular relationships
referring to the subject, as in
 Lizzie (S) is in the lobby (AC).
or in implicit copular relationships referring to
the object, as in
 I put the bananas (DO) in the basket (AC).

73. The adverbial complement referring to the
object can be paraphrased in an SLVAC clause, as
in
 The bananas (S) are (LV) in the basket (AC).
Adverbial complements occur only in those
two positions: after the copular verb and after the
DO.
Adverbials, on the other hand, are not
usually as restricted in position or in reference.
To understand more about these last two
functions, we should learn to identify adverbials
in general by their form, position, and meaning.

74. Form. The adverbial is normally an adverb
phrase, prepositional phrase, or a clause.
Occasionally, a noun phrase can function
as an adverbial.
1. Later (A), I will finish the book.
2. In the afternoon (A), I will finish the book.
3. When I get home (A), I will finish the book.
4. Next Monday (A), I will finish the book.

75. Position. As we have seen above, the adverbial can
occur in many different positions with a
clause. The adverbial may be at the
beginning (clause-initial), in the middle
(clause-medial), or at the end (clause-
final). Indeed, even its clause-medial
position reveals an enormous degree of
"flexibility."
1. Honestly (A), Sammy was interested. [initial]
2. Sammy, honestly (A), was interested. [medial]
3. Sammy was, honestly (A), interested. [medial]
4. Sammy was interested, honestly (A). [Final]

76. By contrast, we know that the adverbial
complement is restricted in its position to
follow either a copular verb or a direct object.
Further, we should note that not all the
adverbials in English are as "mobile" as the
example above. Though, generally speaking,
adverbials do give the speaker the greatest
degree of positional choice of all the clause
constituents.

77. Meaning. The adverbial conveys a definable, but
wide-ranging, set of meanings.
1. Last month (A), Levy arrived. [time]
2. If possible (A), text me tonight.
[contingency]
3. The pen fell under the table (A). [place]
4. If it rains (A), we'll leave later. [condition]
5. Although she's young (A), she's good.
[concession]
6. While she swam (A), I worked. [contrast]
7. I would go, except I can't (A). [exception]

78. 8. Knowing her (A), I chose to leave the room. [reason]
9. To open the lock (A), tug on the door. [purpose]
10. I fed the cat, to gain its trust (A). [result]
11. The child obeyed, as instructed (A).
[comparison]
12. I would persist, rather than give up (A).
[preference]
13. Manila, I believe (A), is the recipient.
[comment]
Finally, we should remember one last, but
important, difference between the adverbial and all
other functional constituents: the adverbial is the
optional constituent; all others are obligatory.

79.  Ambiguity is the quality of having more than
one meaning. A word, phrase, or sentence is
unclear and causes confusion when it can be
understood in more than one way.
 There are two types of ambiguity: (a) lexical
or semantic ambiguity, and (b) syntactic,
structural, or grammatical ambiguity.

80.  Words, as we know, often have more than one
meaning, and that is “lexical ambiguity,” the classic
instance of ambiguity.
 Examples:
1. This is a good match. (something equal to another?
a contest between two parties? an exact
counterpart?)
2. They went to the bank. (savings or river bank?)
 What do you think of this sentence?
I saw bats.

81. Occasionally, phrases and clauses create
ambiguity because of their structures. This is
“grammatical ambiguity.”
Examples:
1. The chicken is ready to eat.
2. Insurance salespersons are frightening people.
3. The thief threatened the student with the
knife.
4. The professor said on Monday he would give
an exam.

82. Other ambiguous sentences:
1. The shooting of the hunters is terrible.
(“It is terrible that the hunters are being shot” or
“The hunters are terrible at shooting” or
“The hunters are being shot in a terrible
fashion”)
2. I like her cooking.
(“I like what she cooks” or
“I like the way she cooks” or
“I like the fact that she cooks” or even
“I like the fact that she is being cooked”)

83. The uniform surface structure of the
sentences conceals several different underlying
structures which Noam Chomsky called "deep"
structures.
References:
Chomsky ‘s Syntactic Structures (1957)
Chomsky ‘s Aspects of the Theory of Syntax
(1965)

84. EXAMPLE They saw her duck.
FORM Pron. Verb Deter-
miner
Noun
(Noun Phrase)
FUNCTION Subj. Trans.
Verb
Direct Object

85. Example They saw her duck.
Form Pronoun Verb Pro-
noun
Infinitive
Verb
(to duck)
Function Subject Trans.
Verb
Direct
Object
Sub. Clause
(that she
ducked)

86. At the clause rank, ambiguity
arises when clause constituents
can be interpreted as having two or
more functions.
Consider the clause He found
Carlos a good worker, where the
functions of the last two
constituents can vary, creating two
different meanings.

87. Example He found Carlos a good
worker.
Function Subject Trans.
Verb
Indirect
Object
Direct
Object

88. Example He found Carlos a good
worker.
Function Subject Trans.
Verb
Direct
Object
Objective
Comple-
ment