Basic Concepts - Word, Phrase, Clause, Sentence

Chapter  - 1

Basic Concepts

Word, Phrase, Clause, Sentence

1. Word 

A word is a string of letters carrying one or more meanings. The article 'a' is the only word in English which consists of one letter only.

Watch, Run. Beautiful, Happily, The, An, John, City are just a few examples of words.

Phonetic Structure of a word

Phonetically, a word may consist of one or more syllables.   

A syllable is a word or a part of a word which may consist of a single phoneme (sound use in the concerned language) or more.

A syllable is only a phonetic unit and not a lexical unit as it need not carry any meaning.

If it consists of one phoneme only, that phoneme must be a vowel. The article 'a' is perhaps the only word which consists one mono-phonemic syllable.

The number of phonemes in a word can be anything between one and eight. One of the phonemes in a syllable must be a vowel. There is only one vowel in a syllable. The other phonemes, if they are there, are consonants.

The vowel is the mandatory element in a word. There can be no syllable without a vowel. And we cannot have more than one vowel in one syllable. It is also the nucleus (the central element).

The consonants are optional elements. They may or may not be there. They are also marginal elements and occur before the vowel (two), after the vowel (an)  or both  sides of it (run). The maximum permissible number of consonants before the vowel is three and the maximum number permissible after the vowel is four. However, syllables having eight phonemes are rare.

We must remember here that we are talking of phonemes (sounds of the language), not of the letters of the alphabet. It is an important fact to remember because, sometimes, a phoneme, whether  vowel or a consonant, is spelt with more letters than one.

There are three consonants in English which may sometimes function as vowels in a syllable. That is why they are called syllabic consonants. The are /m/ (rhythm), /n/ (button), and /l/ (bottle)

Morphological Structure of a word.

A morpheme is a lexical unit. It always carries some meaning. It may be a word or a part of a word.

A word may be mono-morphemic or poly-morphemic. It is mono-morphemic if it cannot be divided further into meaningful parts. Such a word is called the base or the root morpheme.

The morphemes that are affixed before the root to derive lager words or inflected forms of words are called affixes. The affixes may be prefixes (be--- in befriend and un---- in unhappy). Those which are affixed to the end of the root are called suffixes  (------ness in happinesss and ------ful in beautiful).

Those which are inserted in the middle of the root are called infixes (-----s----- in fathers in-law and mothers-in-law).

All the affixes cited above are derivative affixes. We get a word belonging to a different part of speech when they are added to the root.

There is another category of affixes known as inflectional affixes. When they are added to a  root, we get a different form of the same word which belongs to the same part of speech. ---s in brothers, ----ess in poetess, ---ed in reported, and ----er in greater are some examples of inflectional affixes.

Parts of Speech

So far as English is concerned, words can be divided into the following ten categories:

I. Nouns       II. Verbs        III. Adjectives       IV. Adverbs     V. Pronouns     

VI. Determiners:    a) Articles     b) Demonstratives    c) Cardinal Numerals    d) Ordinal Numerals      e) Indefinite Numerals      f) Quantifiers

VII. Conjunctions       VIII. Prepositions     IX. Interjections     

I. Nouns

A noun is the name of a person, place, group, thing or an abstract concept. Shakespeare, London, class, book, honesty are some examples of nouns

Nouns can be classified into the following categories:

1. Proper Nouns: A proper noun is the name of a particular person, place or thing and cannot be applied to another specimen of the same type. Keats, Birmingham, India etc. are proper nouns. We may include her the one word titles or captions given to pieces of art such as books, paintings, sculptures etc.

2. Common Nouns: Common nouns are names given to persons or things which can be applied to any specimen of the same type. Horse, book, city, man, animal, bird, worm etc. are some examples of common nouns.

3. Collective Nouns: Collective nouns are nouns used for groups of things, men, animals etc. Class, Army, herd, flock, parliament etc. are some examples of collective nouns. 

4. Material Nouns: Material nouns are names given to different types of matter that things are made of. Soil, iron, wheat, flour, concrete, cement etc. are some examples of material nouns.

5. Abstract Nouns: Abstract nouns are names of concepts that exist only in the mind and do not have any physical existence. Honesty, loyalty, bravery, courage, fear, cowardice, nationality etc. are some examples of abstract nouns.

II. Verbs

Verbs are words that denote the happening of some act or activity or event or a state of being. 

Be, lie, run, walk, talk, return, support, raid, invade, protect, defend etc. are examples of verbs.

Types of Verbs

Verbs can be classified in the following way.

A. Intensive and Extensive

i. Intensive Verbs

Verbs which can be followed only by subject complements are known as INTENSIVE verbs. Their function is just to connect the subject with the subject complement. They are also known as copulas. 

The verb BE is the most commonly used intensive verb (copula). There are others which mean prove to be, become, appear or change from one state to another. Turn out to be, prove to be, seem, appear, sound, look, feel, taste, smell, get, become are some frequently used intensive verbs. Intensive verbs do not denote an action. They denote a fact or a state or a change of state.

You are very lucky.

He became famous overnight.

The man known for his loyalty to the king turned out (proved) to be a traitor.

The courtier turned traitor just for a bit of money.

The ugly child grew up into a handsome young man.

Sugar tastes sweet.

Flowers smell sweet. 

The song sounded extremely melodious.

He got frustrated as a result of repeated failures.  

Velvet feels soft to touch.

The light changed to red before we could reach the crossing.

It has to be noted that some of these verbs such as change, turn, feel, taste etc. are also sometimes used as extensive verbs. When they are used in the extensive sense, they are not followed by a subject complement.

Just one goal changed the colour of the game.

The doctor felt the pulse of the patient.

He tasted the pudding before serving it to the guests.

The child smelt the flower.

ii. Extensive Verbs

Verbs which are not followed by a subject complement are known as EXTENSIVE verbs. These verbs normally denote an action.

Extensive verbs are divided into two categories: INTRANSITIVE and TRANSITIVE.

A. Intransitive Verbs

Intransitive verbs are verbs which do not require an object to follow them because the action they denote does not affect anything or any person or create anything new.

Children are playing in the field.

The labourers are working in the field.

The baby is crying.

B. Transitive Verbs

Transitive verbs are verbs that must be followed by at least one object. But they may sometimes be followed by two objects. 

On the basis of the mandatory elements they demand after them, transitive verbs can be divided into three categories: MONO-TRANSITIVE, DITRANSITIVE and COMPLEX TRANSITIVE.

I. Mono-transitive Verbs

Mono-transitive verbs are verbs that require one object to follow them. The object that follows them is known as the DIRECT object. 

He has changed his dress.

I am reading a novel these days.

The painter has painted a beautiful portrait.

We are planning our course of action.

The king punished all the traitors.

We play football in the evening.

The words in bold type are verbs and those in italics are objects. As you see, all these verbs are followed by one object only

II. Di-transitive Verbs

Di-transitive verbs are verbs which have to be followed by two objects. One of them is called the direct object and the other the indirect object. Normally, the indirect object precedes the indirect object. But the order may be changed and the indirect object may be moved behind the direct object. When this is done, a preposition is inserted before it. The prepositions used for this purpose are TO and FOR.

My father bought me a new shirt on my birthday.

Grandmother told us an interesting story last night.

My friends gave me a costly gift on my marriage anniversary.

The company has offered me a lucrative job.

The sentences may be rewritten after changing the order of the objects as follows:

My bought a new shirt for me on my birthday.

Grandmother told an interesting story to us last night.

My friends gave a costly gift to me on my marriage anniversary.

The company has offered a lucrative job to me. 

The objects in bold type in the above sentences are the indirect objects the ones in italics are the direct objects. 

It may be noted here that the indirect object is generally a person and the recipient of the direct object. The direct object is a non-person (a thing) which is received by the indirect object.

III. Complex Transitive Verbs

Complex transitive verbs are verbs that have to be followed by a direct object which then is followed by an object complement.

1. Marriage has made him very happy.

2. We elected him our leader.

3. The teacher called me a hero.

4. Circumstances have made him what he is.

5. Hard struggle against heavy odds makes us brave.

6. They call this metal iron in English. 

The expressions in bold type are direct objects and those in italics are object complements. 

As you can see, the object complement can be a noun, a noun phrase, a noun clause, an adjective or an adjective phrase. In sentence 1, it is an adjective phrase and in sentence 5, it is an adjective. In sentence 6, it is a noun, in sentences 2 and 3, it is a noun phrase and in sentence 4, it is a noun clause.

                                                   Verbs

                                                       ↓

                                   ←←←←←  →→→→→→→→

                                  ↓                                                     ↓

                          Intensive                                       Extensive

                                                                                         ↓ 

                                                                    ←←←←←    →→→→→

                                                                  ↓                                          ↓

                                                      Intransitive                              Transitive                                                                                                                                                           ↓

                                                                                ←  ←   ←  ←  ←  →  →  →  →  →

                                                                               ↓                            ↓                           ↓

                                                                   Mono-transitive        Ditransitive             Complex

                                                                                                                                   Transitive

Stative and Dynamic Verbs

Another way of classifying verbs is on the basis of whether they can be used progressively or not. 

Verbs which cannot be used in a progressive (continuous) aspect of a tense are called stative verbs. The verbs in the following sentences are stative:

       i. The tea is hot.

       ii. A stone feels hard to touch.

       iii. Sugar tastes sweet.

       iv. Flowers smell sweet.

It is clear that we cannot say i. The tea is being hot.   ii. A stone is feeling hard   iii. Sugar is tasting sweet    iv. Flowers are smelling sweet.

We have to be on our guard here because the same verb may be stative in one usage and dynamic in another usage. Look at the following sentences. They contain the same verbs but the verbs have been used as dynamic verbs.

       i. The man is being brave (trying to show that he is brave).

       ii. The doctor is feeling the pulse of the patient.

       iii. She is tasting the tea.

       iv. He is smelling a flower.

III. Adjectives

Adjectives are words that qualify a noun by referring to some quality or property that it possesses. Brave, big, small, honest, beautiful, regular, continuous, hard, soft etc. are examples of adjectives.

Adjectives can be used as pre-modifiers or complements. 

A brave man does not fear death.

My friend is brave.

A few may even be used as post-modifiers of nouns as general in attorney general.

IV. Adverbs

 Adverbs are words that are used to modify or qualify verbs.

       i. He faced the problem bravely.

       ii. I attend classes regularly.

       iii. You speak very loudly.

       iv. He ran very fast to win the race.
In iii. and iv.  , the adverb in bold type, which is the head of the verb phrase,  has itself been modified by another adverb.

 V. Pronouns

Pronouns are words that can replace nouns after their first appearance. They refer to the entities referred to by the antecedent nouns. The normal practice is that a pronoun is used to replace a noun after the noun has occurred. In some rare cases, the noun may occur after the pronoun.

Pronouns can be classified into the following types:

i. Personal pronouns - Personal pronouns are pronouns that are used to refer to persons. I, you, he, she, they, my, your, his, her, their and myself are some examples of personal pronouns.

Personal pronouns have different forms (cases) which are used in different positions.

  

 Ist Person                            

                                                           

i. Subjective                           Singular                           Plural

   case                                          I                                   We

ii. Objective                             Me                                   Us

     case                                                                                                     

                                                                     

iii. Possessive                         My                                    Our

     case (Adjectival)                                                                                                                                               

     Possessive                        Mine                                   Ours

     case (Nominal)                                                                             

iv. Reflexive                       Myself                                  Ourselves

     case                                                                                               

 2nd Person                            

                                                            

i. Subjective                           Singular                           Plural

   case                                         You                                 You

ii. Objective                              You                                  You

     case                                                                                                     

                                                                     

iii. Possessive                          Your                                   Your

     case (Adjectival)                                                                                                                                               

     Possessive                          Yours                                  Yours

     case (Nominal)                                                                             

iv. Reflexive                            Yourself                             Yourselves

     case                                                                                               

 3rd Person                                   

                                                           

i. Subjective                           Singular                           Plural

   case                                        He (M)                           They

                                                  She (F)                           They

ii. Objective                             Him (M)                          Them                           

     case                                      Her (F)                            Them                                   

                                                                     

iii. Possessive                           His (M)                           Their

     case (Adjectival                  Her (F)                             Their

   

 Possessive                               His (M)                            Theirs

     case (Nominal)                   Hers (F)                            Theirs

iv. Reflexive                           Himself (M)                      Themselves

     case                                   Herself (F)                         Themselves

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                           (M) = Masculine         (F) = Feminine

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When the pronoun is the subject in the sentence, the subjective case is used. When it is the object, the objective case is used. The possessive adjectival is used before a noun to show possession. The nominal possessive is used like a noun and the noun does not follow it. The reflexive case is used when the subject itself is the object also.

The reflexive case is also used for emphasis as in the following sentences:

1.      I delivered the letter to the boss myself. Or I myself delivered the letter to the boss. (Did not entrust the job to anybody else

2.      I delivered the letter to the boss himself. (Not to anybody else)

When the reflexive case is preceded by the preposition BY, it means alone i.e. without anybody else’s help or not accompanied by anybody.

1. I did all the work by myself.

2. The old man and his wife are sitting by themselves.

To further emphasise the fact, the word all may be inserted before ‘by’.

ii. Demonstrative Pronouns

THIS and THAT are singular demonstrative pronouns used respectively to demonstrate the referents that are near and at a distance. THESE and THOSE are their plural counterparts.

iii. Interrogative Pronouns

These are pronouns used to ask questions. WHO, WHOM, WHOSE are personal interrogative pronouns and WHAT and WHICH are non- personal. Of the former, WHO is subjective, WHOM is objective and WHOSE is possessive.

iv. Indefinite Pronouns

These are pronouns used to refer to things or persons not yet identified. All, some, any, several, many, few, a few, much, little, a little, anybody, somebody, anyone, someone, no one, none, anything, nothing, each, both every one, either, neither, everything are some commonly used indefinite pronouns. To this list, we may also add whatever, whoever, whosoever, whatsoever and whomsoever.

v. Relative Pronouns

Relative pronouns are pronouns used as conjunctions to link a relative (adjective) clause to the antecedent noun.

WHO, WHOM and WHOSE are relative pronouns used for persons. WHICH and OF WHICH are used for non-persons.

vi. Reciprocal Pronouns

Reciprocal pronouns are used to denote the reciprocation of an action or gesture by two or more people or things. When two things or persons respond to in a manner similar to the one in which they have been treated, reciprocal pronouns are used to refer to their mutual responses.

Each other and one another are two reciprocal pronouns used in English. Each other is used when only two participants involved and one another is used when there are more than two.

 

 

VI. Articles

 

i. Articles – The words a, an, and the are known as articles in English. A and an are indefinite articles used before the singular forms of countable nouns when their referent is unidentified. 

The article a is used before a singular noun beginning with a consonant sound and an before a singular noun beginning with a  vowel sound. 

The is the definite article which can be used before both countable (singular as well as plural) and uncountable nouns when their referent is identified.

VII. Conjunctions

Conjunctions are linking words. They are used to link words, phrases or clauses. There are two types of conjunctions:

1. Coordinating conjunctions - These are conjunctions used to link words or phrases in a sentence of the same class in a sentence or a clause or the coordinate clauses of a compound sentence.

They can also conjoin the clauses of the same type in complex sentences.

Some examples of coordinating conjunctions are: And, Or, But, Yet, So, Nor, As well as etc.

We also have some pairs of coordinating conjunctions: Neither --- nor, Either --- or, Both --- and,  Not only --- but (also) etc.

Coordinating conjunctions can conjoin similar clauses of a complex sentence also i.e. to conjoin a main clause with a main clause or s subordinate clause with a subordinate clause.

1. He engaged a tutor and burnt the midnight oil because he wanted to top the class.

2. Corona can be controlled more effectively if we seal the affected areas but allow normal economic activity to go on in other areas.

2. Subordinating conjunctions: Subordinating conjunctions are conjunctions used to conjoin the subordinate clauses to the principle (main) clauses in complex sentences.

There is a long list of subordinating conjunctions and we have to make our choice keeping in mind the type of the subordinate clause.

Noun Clauses – That, Whether, If, Any Wh--- question word when the clause is an answer to the question what? Whatsoever, Zero conjunction

Adjective Clauses – That, Which, Who, Whose, Preposition + which, Any other wh--- word after a noun, Whosoever

Adverb Clauses – The choice depends on the type of the adverb clause.

       I.            Time clauses – Before, After, When, Whenever, While, As soon as, No sooner------ than, As                long as, Till, Until etc.

    II.             Place clauses – Where, Wherever,

 III.              Manner clauses – As, The way, As if, Like (Am. Eng.), Howsoever

 IV.              Reason clauses  – Because, Since, As

    V.            Purpose clauses – So that, In order that, Lest

 VI.             Condition clauses  – If, Unless, Provided (that), Supposing/ Assuming/ presuming (that),

VII.            Result clauses  – So---that, So that

VIII.           Comparison clauses  – As --- as, Comparative degree + than

 IX.            Contrast/concession clauses – Though, Although, Even if,

    X.          Proportion clauses –  As, The main and the subordinate clause both may begin with THE.
A               Preference clauses - Rather than, Sooner than

VIII. Prepositions

A preposition is a word governing, and usually preceding, a noun or pronoun and expressing its relation to another word or element in the clause. Common prepositions used in English are listed and classified below.

Prepositions denoting position – above, across, against, among, around, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, by, in, in front of, inside, near, next to, on, over, through, under, underneath, with, by

Prepositions denoting direction – across, against, along, around, away from, toward(s), to, round, down, from, into, off, onto, out of, over, through, under, up, up to, upon, above, by, onto, past, via, alongside

Prepositions denoting location – at, in, on, outside, on, within, with, by, amid, amidst, inside, opposite, aboard,

Prepositions denoting time – after, at, before, to, during, for, from, in, on, till, until, throughout, for, with, within, by, since

Prepositions denoting purpose – for

Prepositions denoting tool - with

Prepositions denoting agent – by

Prepositions denoting reference – about, on, regarding, of, considering, concerning

Prepositions denoting opposition – anti, despite, in spite of, versus, unlike

Prepositions denoting exception – but, except, without, barring, excluding, excepting save, minus

Prepositions denoting addition – besides, apart from, in addition to, plus, including alongside

Prepositions denoting reason – because of, due to, by virtue of, by dint of

Prepositions denoting distribution – per

Prepositions denoting comparison -  than

Prepositions denoting similarity – like

Prepositions denoting capacity – as

Prepositions denoting manner – like, unlike, as

Prepositions denoting substitution – instead of

    

The list is not exhaustive.

IX. Interjections 

An interjection is an exclamatory word expressing a sudden burst of emotion or strong feeling.

Ah, oh, alas, bravo, hurrah are some examples of interjections in English

2. Phrase

A phrase is a small meaningful group of words standing together as a conceptual unit that can be used to realise an element of a sentence or to pre-modify or post-modify a noun. We come across the following types of phrases in English

i. Noun Phrase – A noun phrase is a phrase having a noun as its head. The head noun may be pre-modified by an adjective, a noun, a present participle, a past participle or post-modified by a prepositional phrase, a present participle phrase, a past participle phrase, or an adjective clause. A very nice man, an on the spot inquiry, a factory worker, a patriot to the core, the boy with a red turban, the man standing in the middle of the crowd, the messenger who brought the tidings are some examples of noun phrases.

ii. Verb Phrase – A verb phrase is a phrase having a verb as its head. The head verb in the phrase may be preceded by one or more auxiliaries depending on the tense, the aspect and the voice. The auxiliaries do not exceed three. Some examples of verb phrases are:

 is reading, was thinking, will be coming, is being done, will have done, might have been completed, should have been amended. 

iii. Adjective Phrase – An adjective phrase is a phrase headed by an adjective. The adjective head may be pre-modified by one or more adverbs or post –modified by a prepositional phrase.

Thoroughly honest, stupid to an extreme, wise as an angel are some examples of adjective phrases.

iv. Adverb Phrase – An adverb phrase is a phrase having an adverb as its head. The adverb may be pre-modified by another adverb or by an adverb clause of manner or comparison.

        He did the job well.

       He did the job well enough.

       He did the job extremely well.

       He did the job as well as I expected.

       He did the job better than I expected.

v. Prepositional Phase – A prepositional phrase has a preposition which is placed initially. The preposition is then followed by a noun or noun phrase. It is used to modify a noun or an adjective or an adverb or to realise the adverbial element in a clause.

      People inside the house did not answer the traveller’s call. (Noun modifier)

      It is not easy to drive in the dark. (Adverbial)

      This man is generous to a fault. (Adjective modifier)

      The child ran around in circles. (Adverb modifier)

      He performed best of all. (Adverb modifier)

 

3. Clause

A clause is a string of words of words or phrases which contains all the essential elements of a sentence but, instead of being an independent sentence carrying a complete meaning, is a part of a larger sentence in which it plays the role of one of the elements.

 

Sentences having more clauses than one are divided into two types: compound sentences and complex sentences.

 

A. Compound Sentences – The following sentences contain two clauses each joined        together by a coordinating conjunction. Both the clauses are independent and enjoy        equal status. Just remove the conjunction and you get two complete independent sentences.

   I asked him a question but he did not give any answer.

   I asked him for help and he obliged me.

   You must work hard or you will fail.

   He might have worked hard or he might have cheated in the examination.

  

   In the following sentences, some word/s has/have been ellipted or substituted in one of the clauses.

It was not he who helped me but his brother. (Ellipted words- who helped me)

I requested him to help me and he did. (Did substituted for helped me)

      

B. Complex Sentences – In a complex sentence, the conjoined clauses are neither independent nor of equal status. One of them is the principle clause and the other is the subordinate clause. There are three types of subordinate clauses.

      

  i.            Noun clauses – They can occur as the subject, the direct object or the complement (both subject and object) in a sentence.

What he said was not true. (Subject)

He said that he has passed the test. (Direct object)

He told me that he would be visiting Paris next year. (Direct object)

We become what destiny makes us. (Subject complement)

Hard work has made him what he wanted to become. (Object complement)

    

  ii.            Adjective (Relative clauses - They can be used to post-modify nouns.

The team that wins the competition gets the gold medal.

We must work hard to achieve the goal we set ourselves.

 

 iii.    Adverb clauses – Adverb clauses are clauses that qualify the verb. On the basis of the information contained in them, they are classified as follows:

a.       Adverb clause of time

I was watching T.V. when my friend came to visit me.

b.      Adverb clause of place

He put the book where I told him to.

c.       Adverb clause of manner

The student delivered the dialogue as the teacher had directed him to.

d.      Adverb clause of reason

He succeeded in life because he worked very hard.

e.       Adverb clause of purpose

The athlete is practising hard so that he may win the gold medal.

f.       Adverb clause of result

He ran so fast that he won the race easily.

g.      Adverb clause of condition

You will definitely achieve your goal if you show enough determination.

h.      Adverb clause of comparison

The picture my friend painted was better than the one that I had painted.

      i.     Adverb clause of contrast or concession - 

            Although he is poor, he is honest.

      j.        Adverb clause of proportion

The higher you go, the cooler it is.

            His performance got worse as he got disheartened.

      h. Adverb clause of preference

           Rather than take a train, I would like to go by air. 

 

Modern grammarians like Randolph Quirk and Sydney Greenbaum consider infinitive, present participle and past participle phrases also as clauses. They call them non-finite clauses. Non-finite clauses cannot show tense and mood. They have to be inferred from the context or the finite clause accompanying them. But they can show aspect and voice. However, they cannot show the full range of aspects. Only the simple (indefinite) and perfect aspect can be expressed in them.

4. Sentence -- 

A sentence is a string of words or phrases arranged in accordance with the grammatical requirements of a language so that it carries a complete sensible meaning. It may be simple (consisting of one clause only), compound (consisting of two or more clauses joined together by a coordinating conjunction such as and, or, but etc.), or complex (in which clauses are joined together by subordinating conjunctions of different types).

1. The boys are playing in the playground. (Simple)

2. Be silent or leave the room. (Compound)

3. He tried hard but could not open the lock. (Compound with subject ellipted)

4. I know where he lives. (Complex)

5. He told me that he had acted in more than twenty films. (Complex)

6. The bird which has built this nest is known as the weaver bird. (Complex)

7. We shall start for the fair as soon as my friend arrives. (Complex)