Difference between revisions of "Structure of a clause"
From Hull AWE
| Line 8: | Line 8: | ||
* the [[Subject]] (the 'performer' of the action of the Verb), which is the most commonly found element after the verb; | * the [[Subject]] (the 'performer' of the action of the Verb), which is the most commonly found element after the verb; | ||
| − | * the [[Complement]], which | + | * the [[Complement]], which is that which '''completes''' a [[sentence]]. In the strictest meaning, this is the part that follows the [[verb]] 'to be' (e.g. "She is '''Scottish'''"), but it can also be an Indirect or Direct Object. |
* the [[Adverbial]]. This is the vaguest function to define. Adverbials may modify (that is, tell us more about the action of) a Verb. Most commonly, they tell us how, where, when or why something was done - e.g. she did it quickly (adverb, answering the question 'how?'), or yesterday ('when?'); at home (adverbial phrase, answering 'where'); because it seemed like a good idea (adverbial Clause, 'why?'). | * the [[Adverbial]]. This is the vaguest function to define. Adverbials may modify (that is, tell us more about the action of) a Verb. Most commonly, they tell us how, where, when or why something was done - e.g. she did it quickly (adverb, answering the question 'how?'), or yesterday ('when?'); at home (adverbial phrase, answering 'where'); because it seemed like a good idea (adverbial Clause, 'why?'). | ||
For those who like oddities, there is a small group of units known as 'verbless Clauses', which are clauses without verbs, whose analysis belongs to a more advanced study of grammar than this. | For those who like oddities, there is a small group of units known as 'verbless Clauses', which are clauses without verbs, whose analysis belongs to a more advanced study of grammar than this. | ||
Revision as of 14:57, 20 April 2007
| This article is part of the grammar course.
You may choose to follow it in a structured way, or read each item separately. Structure of a clause
|
The most central unit of grammar is the clause. This is hard to define, but it is essentially a group of words that contains a verb and expresses an idea, more or less completely. Clauses make up sentences; sentences can contain one clause (a simple sentence) or several.
Nearly every clause contains a Verb, and most contain a Subject. The principal elements of a clause are:
- the Verb. This is the essential part of a Clause. It can be useful, in analysing grammar, to distinguish between verb (with a small 'v'), which is a word class, and Verb (with a capital), which is a function performed in a sentence. A Verb can be a single verb, or a multi-word verb phrase.
- the Subject (the 'performer' of the action of the Verb), which is the most commonly found element after the verb;
- the Complement, which is that which completes a sentence. In the strictest meaning, this is the part that follows the verb 'to be' (e.g. "She is Scottish"), but it can also be an Indirect or Direct Object.
- the Adverbial. This is the vaguest function to define. Adverbials may modify (that is, tell us more about the action of) a Verb. Most commonly, they tell us how, where, when or why something was done - e.g. she did it quickly (adverb, answering the question 'how?'), or yesterday ('when?'); at home (adverbial phrase, answering 'where'); because it seemed like a good idea (adverbial Clause, 'why?').
For those who like oddities, there is a small group of units known as 'verbless Clauses', which are clauses without verbs, whose analysis belongs to a more advanced study of grammar than this.
