Course title: English Syntax 1: Word Classes
Course coordinator: Irena Zovko Dinković, PhD, associate professor
Instructor: Anđel Starčević, PhD, senior research assistant
ECTS credits: 6
Semester: 2nd (summer)
Status: mandatory
Enrollment requirements: passed exam in Introduction to the Study of the English Language
Objectives: Introducing the students to lexical categories and constituent structure of sentences in the English language, as well as the syntactic function of particular constituent and sentence parts and the interplay between syntax and semantics.
Obligatory reading is set in boldface.
Week-by-week schedule:
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Week
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Topic
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1.
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General information about the course. Brief historical overview of syntactic studies. Prescriptive vs. descriptive. Exercises.
(Crystal 2003:194-195, 2004:400-401; Milroy, 133-139; Trask, 187-211) |
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2.
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Morphology: problems in identifying words, morphemes and allomorphs. Lexical words and function words. Lexical categories. Inflection and derivation. Paradigmatic and syntagmatic relations. Exercises.
(Longman, ch. 2; Van Valin, 6-8, 13-17, 86-87; Miller, ch. 4) |
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3.
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Phrases and Clauses. Clause elements and clause patterns. Grammatical relations: subjects and objects. Exercises. (Longman, ch. 3; Burton-Roberts, 78-90; Miller. ch. 9)
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4.
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Verb classes in English. Lexical, modal, and primary verbs. (Longman, ch. 5)
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5.
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Phrasal and prepositional verbs. Exercises.
(Longman, ch. 5; Miller, 51-53; Burton-Roberts, 126-132) |
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6.
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VPs: tense, aspect, voice and modal use. Non-finite clauses. Exercises.
(Longman, ch. 6; Miller, 81-85) 1st ASSIGNMENT DUE |
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7.
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REVISION OF VERBS AND VPs.
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8.
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Noun classes in English. NPs: determiners. Exercises.
(Longman, ch. 4; Burton-Roberts, 55-58, 154-160; Miller, 53-55) |
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9.
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Pronouns. Exercises. (Longman, ch. 4; Burton-Roberts, 171-173).
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10.
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NPs: premodification and postmodification. Exercises.
(Longman, ch. 9; Burton-Roberts, 160-164, 166-171) |
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11.
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REVISION OF NOUNS AND NPs.
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12.
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Adjectives and adjective phrases. Exercises. Prepositions and PPs. Exercises.
(Longman, ch. 7; Burton-Roberts, 62-66, 202, 206, 259) |
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13.
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Adverbs and adverbials. Exercises. (Longman, ch. 7; Miller, 65-66)
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14.
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Grammatical categories: gender, tense, mood, aspect.
(Miller, 133-142) 2nd ASSIGNMENT DUE |
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15.
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FINAL REVISION and COURSE ASSESSMENT. PREPARATION FOR THE EXAM.
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Course description:
After each unit students do a number of exercises in class, which they check with the instructor. They are also expected to read the relevant parts of the obligatory readings and then do exercises and assignments which they are given as homework.
Course requirements:
Students should attend classes regularly and take an active part in class discussions. During the semester, there are two to three reviews. The last week of the course is dedicated to the preparation for the exam. The exam is written.
Required reading:
– Biber, D., Conrad, S., & Leech, G. (2002). Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Harlow, Essex: Longman.
– Crystal, D. (2003). The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of the English Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
– Crystal, D. (2004). The Stories of English. London: Penguin Books.
– Milroy, J. (2007). “The Ideology of the Standard Language“, in C. Llamas, L. Mullany, & P. Stockwell (Eds), The Routledge Companion to Sociolinguistics. London/New York: Routledge.
– Trask, R. (1999). “Attitudes to Language“, in Language: The Basics. (2nd ed.) London/New York: Routledge.
– Valin, R. (2001). An Introduction to Syntax. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Recommended reading:
– Burton-Roberts, N. (1997). Analysing Sentences: Introduction to English Syntax. Harlow: Longman.
– Carstairs-McCarthy, A. (2002). An Introduction to English Morphology: Words and Their Structure. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
– Greenbaum, S., & Quirk, R. (1990). A Student’s Grammar of the English Language. Harlow: Longman.
– Huddleston, R., & Pullum, G. (2005). A Student’s Introduction to English Grammar. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
– Leech, G. (2004). Meaning and the English Verb (3rd ed.). London: Pearson Longman.
– Matthews, P. (2014). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
– Miller, J. (2002). An Introduction to English Syntax. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
– Trudgill, P., & Hannah, J. (2008). International English: A Guide to the Varieties of Standard English (5th ed.). London: Hodder Education.
