- •1. Theoretical grammar and its subject.
- •2. Functions of the indefinite article.
- •3. Definition and general characteristics of the word-group.
- •1. General principles of grammatical analysis.
- •2. Functions of the definite article.
- •3. Classification of word-groups.
- •1. General characteristics of language as a functional system.
- •2. Functions of the zero article.
- •3. Subordinate word-groups.
- •1. Notions of ‘system’ and ‘structure’.
- •2. The main features of the verb.
- •3. The noun-phrase (np).
- •1. General characteristics of linguistic units.
- •2. Classifications of English verbs.
- •3. Noun-phrases with pre-posed adjuncts.
- •1. Linguistic unit.
- •2. Forms of verb stems.
- •3. The verb-phrase.
- •1. Language and speech.
- •2. The division of the verbs.
- •3. Classification of verb-phrases.
- •1. Systemic relations in language.
- •2. The inner character of the process denoted by the verb.
- •3. Predicative word-groups.
- •1. General characteristics of the grammatical structure of language.
- •2. Aspective subclasses of verbs.
- •3. The sentence.
- •1. Structural types of languages.
- •2. The binary actional-statal distribution.
- •3. Different approaches to the study of the sentence.
- •1. Morphology and syntax as two parts of linguistic description.
- •2. The category of voice.
- •3. The utterance. Informative structure of the utterance.
- •1. A word as a complex linguistic unit.
- •2. The category of tense.
- •3. Text as a syntactic unit.
- •2. The Category of aspect.
- •3. The notion of coherence.
- •2. General characteristics of syntax.
- •3. The notion of cohesion. Text connecting devices.
- •1. Grammatical categories.
- •2. Basic units of Syntax: Phrase and sentence.
- •3. Textual deictic markers.
- •1. The notion of opposition.
- •2. Main types of syntactic relations.
- •3. Basic notions of pragmatic linguistics.
- •1. Transposition and neutralization of morphological forms.
- •2. Nominative classification of phrases.
- •3. Classifications of speech acts. Indirect speech acts.
- •1. The parts of speech problem.
- •2. The basic principles of sentence division.
- •3. Discourse analysis. Implicatures and indirectness of discourse.
- •1. Word classes.
- •2. Language means of expressing the theme (Языковые средства выражения темы)
- •3. Textual deictic markers.
- •1. Criteria of characterisation of the Noun.
- •2. Language means of expressing the rheme (Языковые средства выражения темы)
- •3. Classifications of English verbs.
- •1. The category of number.
- •2. Classification of sentences.
- •3. The parts of speech problem.
- •1. The category of case.
- •2. Kinds of syntactic theories.
- •3. Structural types of languages.
- •1. General characteristics of English verbs.
- •2. Basic syntactic notions.
- •3. The article. Functions of the articles.
- •1. The article. Functions of the articles.
- •2. Syntactic relations.
- •3. Classifications of English verbs.
1. General principles of grammatical analysis.
According to the Bible: ‘In the beginning was the Word’. In fact, the word is considered to be the central (but not the only) linguistic unit (одиниця) of language. Linguistic units (or in other words – signs) can go into three types of relations:
a) The relation between a unit and an object in the world around us (objective reality). E.g. the word ‘table’ refers to a definite piece of furniture. It may be not only an object but a process, state, quality, etc.
This type of meaning is called referential meaning of a unit. It is semantics that studies the referential meaning of units.
b) The relation between a unit and other units (inner relations between units). No unit can be used independently; it serves as an element in the system of other units. This kind of meaning is called syntactic. Formal relation of units to one another is studied by syntactics (or syntax).
c) The relation between a unit and a person who uses it. As we know too well, when we are saying something, we usually have some purpose in mind. We use the language as an instrument for our purpose (e.g.). One and the same word or sentence may acquire different meanings in communication. This type of meaning is called pragmatic. The study of the relationship between linguistic units and the users of those units is done by pragmatics.
Thus there are three models of linguistic description: semantic, syntactic and pragmatic. To illustrate the difference between these different ways of linguistic analysis, let us consider the following sentence: Students are students.
The first part of the XXth century can be characterized by a formal approach to the language study. Only inner (syntactic) relations between linguistic units served the basis for linguistic analysis while the reference of words to the objective reality and language users were actually not considered. Later, semantic language analysis came into use. However, it was surely not enough for a detailed language study. Language certainly figures centrally in our lives. We discover our identity as individuals and social beings when we acquire it during childhood. It serves as a means of cognition and communication: it enables us to think for ourselves and to cooperate with other people in our community. Therefore, the pragmatic side of the language should not be ignored either. Functional approach in language analysis deals with the language ‘in action’. Naturally, in order to get a broad description of the language, all the three approaches must be combined.
2. Functions of the definite article.
Historically the definite Article ( the ) is a demonstrative pronoun. It has 2 functions:
· Individualizing (specifying) – meaning “this, definite”. For example: Give me the ( this ) book, please
· Generic( meaning “the whole class of” ). For example: The housewife has an easier life than the office worker
The Definite Article is used in the specifying function before nouns whose referents are definite. They are made definite by:
1. a restrictive/limiting/ attribute or a restrictive attributive clause .For example:…..he stood at the other end of the room. Where is the book that I bought this morning?
2. The preceding context. For example: A large half-wild gray cat was rubbing at Marcie’s leg.
3. The situation of speech. For example: Mary sprang up and rushed to the door/of the room where Mary was/.
4. The meaning of the noun. For example: The sun was dropping to the west
Note
The referents of the nouns sun and west are definite because they denote unique objects like moon, sky, world and other.