Analyzing Syntax & Semantics Textbook: A Self-Instructional Approach for Teachers and Clinicians

CHAPTER 2 Verb Phrase Constituents

CHAPTER 2 Verb Phrase Constituents A sentence must consist of a noun phrase (NP) and a verb phrase (VP). This chapter concentrates on adverbials that are obligatory or optional in verb phrases and on adjectives that are obligatory constituents in one type of sentence or that elaborate noun phrases. Obligatory indicates that the word or phrase is necessary to complete the meaning of the verb phrase. Optional indicates that the word or phrase may be used to expand the information or meaning in the sentence but that the sentence would be syntactically complete without it. The following examples illustrate both obligatory and optional adverbials and adjectives. 16 Obligatory Adverbials: Optional Adverbials: Obligatory Adjectives: Optional Adjectives: Unit 1: Adverbials Objectives The meeting will be at ten o'clock. (*The meeting will be.) The boys are outside. (*The boys are.) Mary hit Tom with a bat. Jack sleeps all morning. Sue is intelligent. George became upset. Dad bought a new car. A small child should drink milk. • List the major types of adverbials • Write question words associated with one-word adverbials • Identify one-word adverbials in sentences and specify the type of each as denoting time, manner, place, frequency, or duration • Write the symbols used for adverbial, preposition, and prepositional phrases • Identify noun phrase and prepositional phrase adverbials in sentences and specify each as denoting time, manner, place, frequency, and duration ADVERBIALS • Identify the form of adverbials in sentences as one word, noun phrase, or prepositional phrase 17 • State the order used by Fitzgerald for adverbials denoting time, manner, place • Identify the derivational affix(es) of derived adverbs and the base word from which the adverb was derived Associated Question Words In her book, Straight Language for the Deaf, Fitzgerald (1926) displayed in the Key the different kinds of adverbials and their usual order when they pattern together. She used words such as where, how long, and when to designate the adverbials. These are the question words one would use for asking about time, location, etc. Figure 1 gives some of the Fitzgerald Key headings showing the order for the subject, verb, object, and various kinds of adverbials (Fitzgerald, 1926, Plate A). An illustrative sentence using four different kinds of adverbials demonstrates the ordering of adverbials according to Fitzgerald. This sentence has the locative or adverbial of place (at the club) first; an adverbial indicating with whom (with his sister) next; then an adverbial of frequency (every morning); and last, the adverbial of time (this week). Who: What: Whom: Whose: Whose: What: - ~ - Whom: What: Tom played tennis Figure 1 Word Order in Sentences Where: at the club For. How far: With. How often: How: How long: Why: with his sister How much: every morning When: this week. The question words that can be associated with different kinds of adverbials are as follows: adverbial of manner: adverbial of reason: adverbial of frequency: How? (carefully, with a knife) For what or whom? Why? (for exercise) How often? (daily, every Sunday) 18 adverbial of duration: adverbial of place: adverbial of time: VERB PHRASE CONSTITUENTS How long? (three days, for a day) Where? (outside, under the table) When? (later, at three o'clock) The Fitzgerald Key, however, does not account for other positions in which adverbials may occur; nor does it account for adverbs that are sentence modifiers that may shift. The Key appears to limit the positions in which adverbials do occur. It could lead one to think that all adverbials are complements of the verb phrase that must follow the verb. In practice, this was not Fitzgerald's intent. In her language development program, children were presented with adverbs that were preposed (shifted) to another position in the sentence. In the beginning, however, when children were dealing with basic sentences, adverbials were placed after the verb with time adverbials following the locatives. Types and Forms of Adverbials The major syntactic groupings given in English grammars are adverbials of place, time, manner, and frequency. Some adverbials indicate duration-for three hours. Others indicate reason-for exercise. Adverbials can take the form of one-word adverbials (adverbs), noun phrases, or prepositional phrases. One-Word Adverbials Examples of one-word adverbials in each of the major groupings are found in the following list. adverbial of time: adverbial of place: adverbial of frequency: adverbial of manner: now, tomorrow, today, later, Saturday here, there, outside, indoors weekly, occasionally, often, never hard, fast, slowly, gracefully, calmly Many of...