The structure of this lecture · he had never met me. proportion & preference As he grew disheartened, (so) his work deteriorated. – The more he thought about it, the less he liked

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The structure of this lecture

1. Introduction (coordination vs. subordination)

2. Types of subordinate clauses

3. Functions of subordinate clauses

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1. Introduction

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MEANS OF STRUCTURE REDUCTION

(to avoid redundancy of

expression):

MEANS OF STRUCTURE EXPANSION

(complex sentences consisting of

more than one clause):

• pro-forms

1) John will write a letter on

Monday, and Mary will do so

on Tuesday.

• coordination


Monday, and Mary will help

him.

• ellipsis


Monday, but Mary won’t.

• subordination

4) John hopes that Mary will

help him.

5) John will write a letter,

although Mary won’t help him.

cf. 3)

1.1. Intro: structure reduction vs. expansion

A (modified) reminder

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1.2. Intro: coordination vs. subordination

[clause vs. sentence] sentence

main clause main clause

S V O S V O

I admire her but I hate her cat.

sentence

main clause

A S V O

subordinate clause

S V O

Although I admire her I hate her cat.

A reminder

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Sm

Sa Conj Sb

NP VP NP VP

V NP V NP

I admire her but I hate her cat.

[ Sm [Sa] Conj [Sb] ] vs. [Sm [Sb] Conj [Sa] ]

Sa

Sb NP VP

Comp NP VP V NP

V NP

Although I admire her I hate her cat.

[ Sa [Sb Comp ...] NP VP ] vs. [ Sa NP VP [Sb Comp ...] ]

A reminder


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subordinator

(subordinating conjunction)

= complementizer

that, whether, if, although

coordinator

(coordinating conjunction)

= conjunction

and, or, but

subordination subordination is a non-symmetrical relation,

holding between two clauses in such a way that

one is a constituent part of the other, cf.

1) He tried hard, but he failed.

2) Although he tried hard, he failed. –

He failed, although he tried hard.


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1.5. Intro: subordination

each subordinate clause may be superordinate to one or more other

clauses:

(I know (that you can do it (if you work hard (when it is necessary))))

S

I know S

that you can do it S

if you work hard S

when it is necessary

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2. Types of subordinate clauses

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2.1. Types of subordinate clauses

Clause types in general

finite clause its verb(al complex) is finite

1) John visited Paris. – I know (that) John visited Paris.

2) John has visited Paris.

3) John may have visited Paris.

non-finite clause its verb(al complex) is non-finite

4) To carry heavy parcels is a challenge.

5) For John to carry a heavy parcel was a challenge.

6) Having seen the pictures, John decided to leave.

verbless clause it contains no verbal element

7) Although always helpful, John doesn’t work too hard.

8) John, then in Paris, very often visited Mary.

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Clause types in subordination

infinitive

with to

1) The best thing would be to tell everybody.

2) The best thing would be for you to tell everybody.

infinitive

without to

3) All I did was hit him on the head.

4) Rather than John do it, I’d prefer to do it myself.

-ing participle 5) Leaving the room, he tripped over the mat.

6) Mary having left, I decided to watch a film.

7) With the tree growing tall, we get more shade.

-ed participle 8) Covered with confusion, I left the room.

9) The job finished, we left the room and went home.

10) With the tree grown tall, we get more shade.

verbless clause 11) Dozens of people were stranded, many of them kids.

12) Whether right or wrong, he is always sure of himself.

13) With the tree now tall, we get more shade.

non-finite and verbless clauses very often don’t have an overt subject

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Indicators of subordination

simple subordinators that, if<, whether, (al)though, because, since,

after, when (!), …

compound

subordinators

in that, so that, except that, in order that …

now (that), provided (that), supposing (that) …

as far/long/soon as, so long as …

correlative

subordinators

if … then, (al)though … yet, no sooner … than,

whether … or, the … the

• The more I think about this, the more

disappointed I am.

wh-elements • I don’t know when John left.

• I don’t know whether John left. (!)

subj—operator

inversion

• Should you arrive late, call me immediately.

• Had I known about your arrival, I would have …

that is often omitted • I suppose (that) you are right.

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3. Functions of subordinate clauses

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3.1. Functions of subordinate clauses

*subject* That we need more equipment is obvious.

*direct object* (Q!) I know that she is pretty. (= object 1)

subject complement The point is that we’re leaving.

*indirect object* (Q!) I gave whoever it was a cup of tea. (= object 1)

*direct object* (Q!) I gave John whatever he wanted. (= object 2)

object complement I imagined him overcome with grief.

adjunct When we meet, I shall explain everything.

disjunct To be honest, I’ve never liked him.

conjunct What is more, he has lost all his friends.

postmodifier in NP I need a friend who always remains loyal.

*complement in PP* It depends on what we decide.

complement in AP He is always ready to act promptly.

An overview

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* nominal clauses can have the same functions as NPs!

S

(XP) NP

subj

(Aux)

VP

(Aux) (Aux) (Aux) V (NP)

obj1

(NP)

obj2

XP*

PP

P

on

NP

our decision


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finite nominal clauses

that-clauses That she is alive is a relief. – I told him that he was

wrong. – The assumption is that things will improve. –

I’m sure that things will improve.

wh-interrogative

clauses

How the book will sell depends on its author. – I can’t

imagine what made him do it. – The question is who

will go. – I wasn’t certain whose house I was in. –

Nobody was consulted on who should have the prize.

yes-no

interrogatives

Whether/*if it rains or not doesn’t concern me. - Do

you know if/whether the banks are open?

nominal relative

clauses

What he is looking for is a wife. – I want to see

whoever deals with complaints. – He gave whoever

came to the door a winning smile. – Home is where

your friends and family are. – You can call me

what(ever) (names) you like. – Vote for which(ever)

candidate you like.

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non-finite & verbless nominal clauses

to-infinitive

clauses

For a bridge to collapse like that is unbelievable. – He

likes everyone to be happy. – My wish is to be a pilot. –

I’m glad to help you.

bare infinitives All I did was (to) turn off the gas. – Turn off the gas

was all I did.

-ing clauses Telling lies is wrong. – No one enjoys deceiving his own

family. – His favourite pastime is playing practical

jokes. – I’m tired of being treated like a child. – The

children were busy building sandcastles.

verbless clauses Wall-to-wall carpets in every room is very expensive.

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adverbial clauses (1)

time When I last saw you, you lived in Paris. – Our host,

once everyone had arrived, was full of good humour. –

I was reading a book when John entered.

place They went wherever they could find work. – Where the

fire had been, we saw nothing but blackened ruins.

condition &

concession

If you treat her kindly, (then) she’ll do anything for

you. – Although he hadn’t eaten for days, he

(nevertheless) looked very fit. – Even if he went down

on bended knees, I wouldn’t forgive him.

reason & cause I lent him money because he needed it. – As/since Jane

was the eldest, she looked after the others. – Being a

man of ingenuity, he soon repaired the machine.

circumstance Seeing that the weather has improved, we shall enjoy

our game. – The weather having improved, we enjoyed

the rest of the game.

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adverbial clauses (2)

purpose I left early to catch the train. – They left the door open in

order for me to hear the baby. – John visited London in

order that / so (that) he could meet Mary.

result We planted many shrubs, so (that) the garden soon looked

much more beautiful.

manner &

comparison

Please do it (exactly) as I instructed. – (Just) as a moth is

attracted by a light, (so) he was fascinated by her. – He

looks as if he is going to be ill. – He treated me (just) as if

he had never met me.

proportion &

preference

As he grew disheartened, (so) his work deteriorated. – The

more he thought about it, the less he liked it. – The harder

he worked, the happier he felt. – Rather/Sooner than go

there by air, I’d take the slowest train. – Rather than

sitting quietly at home, he preferred to visit his friends.

Documents

The structure of this lecture · he had never met me. proportion & preference As he grew disheartened, (so) his work deteriorated. – The more he thought about it, the less he liked