Abbreviations and symbols 10

1. Introduction 13

Part I: Understanding Sentence Analysis 19
2. Sentence analysis 21
   2.1 What is a sentence? 21
   2.2 What is analysis? 23
   2.3 Simple, compound and complex sentences 24
   2.4 Types of sentences 26

3. Basic clause structure 34
   3.1 Constituents 34
   3.2 Functions of clause constituents 39

4. Clause functions    41
   4.1 The verb   41
   4.2 The subject 46
   4.3 The direct object 49
   4.4 The subject complement 50
   4.5 The object complement 53
   4.6 The indirect object 54
   4.7 Adverbials 57

5. Phrase structure 61
   5.1 Introduction 61
   5.2 The verb phrase 63
   5.3 The noun phrase 66
   5.4 The adjective phrase 80
   5.5 The adverb phrase 83
   5.6 The prepositional phrase 83

6. Subordinate clauses    87
   6.1 Introduction    87
   6.2 Finite subordinate clauses 90
   6.3 Non-finite subordinate clauses 106
   6.4 Dangling participles 111
   6.5 The full sentence tree 114

7. Peripheral clauses 117
   7.1 Tag questions 117
   7.2 Parenthetic clauses 118
   7.3 Sentential relative clauses 118

8. Coordination 120

Part II: The Major Word Classes 123
9. Nouns 125
   9.1 What is a noun? 125
   9.2 Noun suffixes 125
   9.3 Noun classes 128
   9.4 The genitive 133
   9.5 Reference 136

10. Verbs 141
   10.1 What is a verb? 141
   10.2 Verb suffixes and prefixes 141
   10.3 Verb forms 142
   10.4 Auxiliary verbs 145
   10.5 Tense 146
   10.6 Aspect 148
   10.7 Future reference 152
   10.8 Modal auxiliaries    154
   10.9 Multi-word verbs   161

11. Adjectives 169
   11.1 What is an adjective? 169
   11.2 Adjective suffixes 169
   11.3 Adjective classes 171
   11.4 Gradability and comparison 175
   11.5 Adjectives as NP-modifiers 178

12. Adverbs 181
   12.1 What is an adverb? 181
   12.2 Adverb suffixes 181
   12.3 Gradability and comparison 182

13. Pronouns 184
   13.1 Introduction 184
   13.2 Personal pronouns 185
   13.3 Possessive pronouns 186
   13.4 Reflexive pronouns 187
   13.5 Demonstrative pronouns 189
   13.6 Reciprocal pronouns 190
   13.7 Interrogative pronouns 190
   13.8 Relative pronouns 192
   13.9 Indefinite pronouns 193

Part III: Usage Problems 195
14. Subject-verb agreement 197
   14.1 Introduction 197
   14.2 Singular nouns ending in -s 197
   14.3 Quantity phrases 200
   14.4 Collective nouns 201
   14.5 Coordinated subjects 201
   14.6 Pronouns 203
   14.7 Anticipatory subjects 205

15. Constituent order 206
   15.1 Introduction 206
   15.2 Front-focus   207
   15.3 End-weight    207
   15.4 Inversion 208
   15.5 Position of adverbials 210

16. Punctuation 215
   16.1 Introduction 215
   16.2 Comma 215
   16.3 Semicolon 219
   16.4 Colon 219
   16.5 Dash 220

Bibliography 222

Index 224