Describe how words combine to form sentences and rules that govern how these units combine with each other. Explain how to analyze and categorize sentences into their ‘constituents’ (component parts), meaning, purposes and voices. Briefly discuss Parts of Speech or Lexical Categories.

1. CHAPTER 6:
THE SENTENCE
SYSTEM
MR.VATH VARY • Tel: 017 471 117
• Email: varyvath@gmail.com
Course:
Applied Linguistics for Language Teachers
AGA INSTITUTE

2. 1-2
Learning Outcomes
• Focus on how words combine to form
sentences and rules that govern how these
units combine with each other.
• Explain how to analyze and categorize
sentences into their ‘constituents’
(component parts), meaning, purposes
and voices.
• Briefly discuss Parts of Speech or Lexical
Categories, phrases and clauses.
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3. Linguistics
Sounds Structures Meaning
Phonology
Phonetics Syntax
Morphology Semantics Pragmatics
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4. 1-4
Introduction
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Task: Reflection
1. Why do you think
the Spanish tutor
refuses to give the
graduate student
the grammar rules
when she asks for
them?
2. Would knowing
the grammar rules
help this student?

5. 1-5
Introduction
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Prescriptive rules Descriptive rules
Grammar refers to all of the rules
that govern a language.
• Refers to what
constitutes “correct” and
“incorrect” language
• appear in grammar
books and style guides
• Don’t use double
negatives:
• I didn’t take none
• Refers to how language
is actually used by
speakers of a language
and is concerned with
the rules that govern its
use
• Do not appear in
grammar books and
style guides

6. 1-6
Introduction
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• When most
teachers think
of the word
grammar they
often think of
prescriptive
grammar
rules.
• We also believe
that there are
additional key
concepts that are
essential for
teachers who work
with L2 learners,
such as how words
behave
grammatically in
sentences
• The systematic ways
in which words
combine to create
well-formed
phrases, clauses,
and sentences, and
the systematic ways
in which clauses and
sentences are
combined to create
more complex
sentences.
• The purpose of this chapter:
• is to help all teachers (whether you are an NS teacher or an NNEST or
whether you have studied a foreign language or not) develop both your
conscious knowledge of English grammar and your confidence level in
explaining English sentence structure in the classroom.
• Is to introduce to you some basic components of syntax.

7. 1-7
What is Syntax?
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The word “syntax” comes
originally from Greek and
literally means “a putting
together” or
“arrangement.” (Yule, 2020)
Syntax is the level of
grammar that refers to
“the arrangement of
words and morphemes in
the construction of
sentences”

8. 1-8
Subconscious Knowledge
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• In the1950s , Chomsky viewed syntax as the study of
how we use our subconscious or tacit knowledge to
construct a sentence.
• In Chomsky’s view language learning is motivated by an
internal capacity to acquire language, a subconscious or
deep structure knowledge about one’s native language.
• He emphasized competence (linguistic
competence) as subconscious knowledge
because it is based on what one knows
subconsciously without any attempt to acquire the
information consciously.
• While others focused on performance—describing
what the speaker actually says (also known as
surface structure).

9. 1-9
Subconscious Knowledge can be characterized:
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• Adult L1 speakers have a subconscious
knowledge about the completeness of
sentences.
• Examples:
1. Bill is angry.
2. *His office crowded.
• Adult speakers can also recognize
when a sentence is ambiguous.
• Ex. Mary owns large cars and houses.
• This sentence is ambiguous because
it can mean that Mary owns large cars and
houses of any size or that Mary owns large cars
and large houses.
Completeness
Ambiguity

10. 1-10
There are two types of ambiguity.
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• Structural ambiguity:The constituents
of a sentence can be organized in
multiple ways.
• Lexical ambiguity:Words have more
than one meaning
• You lost me can have at least three
interpretations:
a) a request to repeat information because
you are confused,
b) a sarcastic remark to someone who said
something obvious, and
c) a description of a past event in which you
were literally lost
Two Types of
ambiguity
Example:

11. 1-11
Word Order
1-11
• L1 speakers also have a subconscious knowledge of
linear word order, which is the sequence that
different types of words follow in a sentence.
• Bill
supermarket
the took to
car corner
his.
• Bill took his
car to the
corner
supermarket
• Bill took the
car to his
corner
supermarket
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• All L1 speakers know that this string of
words does not form a sentence and does
not sound correct to them.

12. 1-12
Word Order
1-12
Adult L1 speakers also have a detailed
subconscious knowledge of word order within
phrases—meaningful combinations of words
within a sentence.
• The man
went
home
……
• Insert the following
words in the correct
order to describe or
modify man —tall,
twenty-eight-year-old,
Swedish, and blonde
• Most native
speakers will
say: The tall,
blond, twenty-
eight-year-old
Swedish man.
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13. 1-13
Sentence Classification
and Construction
1-13
What does it mean for
languages to have
rules for sentence
structure?
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14. 1-14
Sentence Classification
and Construction
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• Sentence construction is
not just a series of
randomly combined
morphemes but is based
on the application of rules
that govern how units are
combined.
• There are two obligatory units in
a sentence—a subject and a
predicate.
• Ex. The customer looked at
the new car.
• In order for a sentence to
be considered complete,
it must have two
constituents.Constituents
are grammatical units that
are combined to create
sentences.

15. 1-15
Sentence Classification
and Construction
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Constituents
Sentences can be
classified on the
basis of how many
subjects and verbs
they contain.
• Constituents can
be individual
words, phrases,
and clauses (Shin
and Park-Johnson,
2020).
Meaning
Sentences can
be categorized
according to
their
meaning—
declarative,
interrogative,
imperative,
and
exclamatory.
Purpose
Parts of
Speech or
Lexical
Categories
voice
Sentences
can also be
categorized
either in the
active or
passive
voice.

16. 1-16
Constituents
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A simple sentence contains one independent
clause and no dependent clauses.
Forms:
1. S V-simple subject with simple verb
2. SS V-Compound subject with simple verb
3. S VV-simple subject and compound verb
4. SS VV-compound subject and compound verb
The Simple
Sentences
A compound sentence contains a least two
simple sentences.
Forms:
1. Independent clause +, coordinator + independent
clause.
2. Independent clause; + conjunctive adverb, +
independent clause.
3. Independent clause; independent clause.
The Compound
Sentences

17. 1-17
Constituents
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• A complex sentence has one independent
clause and one (or more) dependent
clause(s).
Form:
 Complex sentence = 1 independent clause + 1
(or more) dependent clause.
Complex
sentences
• A compound-complex sentence has at
least three clauses. It is a combination of
two or more independent clauses and at
least one dependent clause.
Form:
 Compound complex Sentence = 2(or more)
Independent Clauses + 1 (or more) dependent
clause.
Compound-
complex
sentences

18. 1-18
Constituents
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Clauses
2 Types of
clause:
 Independe
nt Clause
• IC is a complete sentence. It contains a
subject and a verb and expresses a
complete thought. It can stand alone as a
sentence by itself.
Form:
 subject + verb (+ complement).
 Dependent
Clause
DC has a subject and a verb begins with a
subordinator such as when, while, if, that,or who. It
does not express a complete thought and cannot
stand alone as a sentence by itself.
Form:
 … subordinator + subject + verb (+ complement)…
• A clause is group of words that contains (at least) a subject
and a verb, which is used as a sentence or as part of a
sentence. Every clause has a subject and a verb. Subjects
are typically noun phrases. Predicates are typically verb
phrases.
• However, not every clause expresses a complete thought.

19. 1-19
Constituents
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Clauses
3 Types of
dependent
clause:
 The noun
clause
• Scientists believe that the earth’s temperature is
rising.
• No one knows if the experiments will succeed (or not).
• I will tell you what happened at the rink.
 Complementizer clauses are dependent
clauses that function as NPs.
 The Relative
or Adjective
clause:
• Holiday resorts which are crowded are not pleasant.
• The men who are not married are called bachelors.
• They are playing music that I like to hear.
 The adverb
clause
• He came after the night had fallen.
• We went to the beach because it was a sunny day.
• We must stop skating when the music stops.
• In a complex sentence, one idea is generally more
important than the other one.The more important
idea is placed in the independent clause, and the less
important idea is placed in the dependent clause.
• A subordinate clause, like a word or a phrase,
acts as a single part of speech such as an
adjective, a noun, or adverb and by itself is not a
complete sentence.

20. 1-20
The Meaning of
Sentences
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Clauses
 Declarative
sentence
 makes a statement and ends with a period. It can be
affirmative or negative.
• She can pay the bill.
• Her car is not red.
 Imperative
sentence
 gives a command or makes a request. Most imperative
sentences end with a period. A strong command ends with
an exclamation point.
• Shut the door.
• Stop what you’re doing and listen! [strong command]
 Interrogativ
e sentence
 asks a question and ends with a question mark.
• Who took the car home?
• Is this her car?
• She’s going, isn’t she?
 Exclamator
y sentence
 shows excitement or expresses strong feeling such as
anger or surprise and ends with an exclamation point.
• Oh, if I had only known!
• What a surprise it is to see you here!
• Another way that sentences can be categorized is on the
basis of their meaning.

21. 1-21
Voice
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Voices
 Active
 Subject + verb + object.
• Bill ate the pie
 Passive
 Subject + be + past participle (by +
agent).
• The pie was eaten by Bill.
• English sentences are either in the active
or passive voice.
• Voice is a reference to the relationship a verb
has with its subject and object.
• All verbs can have an active voice, but only
those verbs in English that take an object can
have a passive voice.

22. 1-22
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Lexical categories
• Open class ; content
denotes meaning and
constitutes the major
part of the vocabulary
(e.g., nouns, verbs,
adjectives, and adverbs)
• New words are often
added to the open
class
Functional Categories
• Closed class;
function provides
information about the
grammatical
relationships between
words in a sentence
• Closed-class words—
auxiliary verbs,
complementizers,conjunctions,
determiners,intensifiers,
prepositions,pronouns,and
quantifiers are fairly rigidly
established and additions
are made very rarely.
Parts of Speech or Lexical Categories

23. 1-23
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Parts of Speech

24. 1-24
Parts of Speech
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25. 1-25
Parts of Speech
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26. 1-26
Phrases
• Phrases are combinations of words that create syntactic
units. Phrases are units of language (constituents) that are
just above the level of words. Phrases can consist of a
single word or many words.
• Ex:
• Ella found my backpack.
• The tall woman in the green sweatshirt from the cafe
found my backpack.
Five types of phrases:

27. 1-27
Five types of phrases:

28. 1-28
Phrases
• A phrase can function as a nominal (a constituent that
functions as a noun), an adjectival, or an adverbial.

29. 1-29
Teaching Implication

30. 1-30
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