Language Optimization Summary University of Groningen
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Course
Language Optimization (LCX024P5)
Institution
Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (RuG)
Book
English Sentence Constructions
This is a complete summary for the language optimization module in University of Groningen (first year). It is complete with lecture notes, seminar notes and summaries from the book and papers provided each week. This is all you need to study for it.
Language Optimazation Communication & -InformationScience - English Sentence Constructions
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Communicatie- en informatiewetenschappen
Language Optimization (LCX024P5)
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Week 1
Chapter summary
declarative → most common → to inform someone of something
interrogative → to get information from someone
imperative → to get someone to do something
exclamatory → to express one’s attitude about something
Each of these communicative functions has a typical sentence patterns
John is leaving.
Is John leaving?
Leave!
How awful John is leaving! What a shock John is leaving!
These patterns have the following syntactic characteristics:
subject–whole verb
part of verb–subject–rest of verb
verb by itself
How ... or What a ... followed by remainder of sentence
These sentence types with these patterns are named as follows:
,the subject comes before the predicator, objects and attributes
1 The running pattern (intransitive verbs)
Sentences with the running pattern consist of a subject and predicator, often (but by no
means always) followed by an adverbial. For this pattern you need a verb that expresses an
action involving only one main participant. There are many verbs like run that express a pure
action, for example, swimming, talking, cycling, listening, and so on. This sentence pattern may
have one or more adverbials, but no direct object nor subject attribute. As you will see in
Chapter 4, verbs like running are called intransitive verbs.
S P (A)
,John is running (fast).
2 The being pattern (copula verbs)
Sentences with the being pattern consist of a subject and predicator followed by a subject
attribute. The subject attribute gives information about the subject only, not about the
predicator. For the being pattern, you need a verb that does not have much meaning, but
expresses the sense of the mathematical equal sign (=). The meaning of such a verb is merely
to point out a link between the first participant and an attribute or a category. In the example
below, fast expresses an attribute of John, and the runner indicates to what category John
belongs.
S P SA (A)
John is fast (in the game). John is the runner (as usual)
, 3 The doing/seeing pattern (monotransitive verbs)
Sentences with the doing/seeing pattern consist of a subject and predicator followed by a
direct object. For this pattern, you need a verb that expresses an action or a (mental)
experience such as perception involving two participants, one who does the acting or
experiencing and one who is acted upon or perceived. There are many verbs like doing, for
example, holding, counting, building, kicking, and many verbs like seeing that express (mental)
experience like feeling, hearing, believing, thinking and so on. As you will see in Chapter 4,
verbs used in this pattern are called monotransitive verbs.
S P DO (A)
John kicked the ball (when it was thrown by Peter). John saw the ball.
4 The giving/buying pattern (ditransitive verbs)
Sentences with the giving/buying pattern consist of a subject, predicator, indirect or
benefactive object, and direct object. Therefore, for this pattern to occur, there must be an
event involving at least three participants, a person who gives something to some- one or does
something for someone (the subject), then the thing that is given or done (the direct object), and
the receiver (the indirect or benefactive object). Very few verbs can be used in such patterns.
The most common ones are give, pass, send, tell, make, buy, and o¬er.
S P IO DO
John gave Peter the ball John bought Peter the ball
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