Object of the theoretical grammar

The object of theoretical grammar is the language (its structure). The difference between theoretical grammar and practical grammar: a) The purpose of a practical description.

Practical grammar is to supply the student with the knowledge of the grammatical structure of language in terms of standards of correctness (rules that should be obeyed) as the basis for the creation of the student's general gramm.atical aptitude, b. A theoretical description (theoretical grammar) is aimed at; 1) elucidating the fundamentals of the grammatical structure of language in accordance with the latest developments in linguistics; 2) initiating the students into most important problems of the grammatical structure of language: 3) developing the students ability to digest scientific information, from judgments of their own and apply their knowledge to their teaching practice. Generally speaking the aim of theoretical grammar is to present a systematic study of the grammatical structure of Modern English and to introduce different views of language.

The hierarchy of language levels:

• The lowest level of language units is phonetic ( phonemes);

• The level higher than phonemic is morphemic ( morphemes);

• The third level is lexemic (words);

The next higher level is the phrasemic level or the level of phrases (word-combinations);

Higher than phrasemic level there is the level of sentences or the phrasemic level;

• Above the proposemic level they distinguish the level of sentence- groups (supra-sentential constructions) - the supra-proposemic level.

The main two parts of theoretical grammar are Morphology and Syntax. Morphology deals with morphemes and words, their structure and classification. Syntax deals with the phrases, sentences and supra-sentential units.

Approaches:

The formal approach is concerned only with "form", i.e. structural words and sentences, e.g.: Colourless green ideas sleep furiously (N. Chomsky [sc. 16,8]). This utterance, although nonsensical logically, is to be classified as grammatically correct.

• The semantic approach is concerned with meaning, e.g.: To himself he admitted that he had tided, partly, in his own interest. But so had Clare in hers (J. Cary). Mere the inverted word order is employed to render intense emphasis in a narration.

A combination of the semantic and the formal approach takes into consideration

Both form and meaning.

Language in the narrow sense of the word is a system of means of expression [16,9]. The structure of various units and the classes they form (paradigmatic relation) are the sphere of language.

Alan Gardiner writes: "Language is a collective term , and embraces in its compass all those items of knowledge which enable a speaker to make effective use of word-signs." [sc.1,9]. Speech in the narrow sense should be understood as the manifestation Of the system of language in the process of intercourse [15,1 1]. The combinations the units form in the process of communication (syntagmatic relations)

are the sphere of speech [26,9].

Syntagmatic relations are immediate linear relations between units in a segmental sequence, e.g.: f gave him an interesting book yesterday. (I gave - predicative relation, gave a book -objective relation, an interesting hook -attributive relation, gave yesterday -adverbial relation). Paradigmatic relations are the relations between dements of the system outside its surroundings, the relation based on formal and functional properties, e.g.: gave -giving, given; gave, took, wrote, (past tense, simple) and so on. The verb "give" is included into a paradigm of all irregular verbs, e.g.: go, give, lake, see, etc.