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KENYATTA UNIVERSITY
INSTITUTE OF OPEN LEARNING
AEN 302
ENGLISH GRAMMAR AND USAGE
DR. JOYCE WANGIA
DR. PHYLLIS MWANGI
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH AND LINGUISTICS
December, 2005
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE (i)
TABLE OF CONTENTS (ii)
INTRODUCTION (vi)
ORGANIZATION OF THE COURSE MATERIAL (vi)
RECOMMENDED READING (vii)
LESSON 1: FINITE VERB USAGE 1
1.0 Introduction 1
1.1 What is a Finite Verb 1
1.1.1 Tense 1
1.1.2 Number 2
1.1.3 Person 2
1.1.4 Mood 3
1.2 Summary 4
1.3 Self Assessment Questions 4
LESSON 2: NON FINITE VERB USAGE 5
2.0 Introduction 5
2.1 Types of Non-Finite Verbs 5
2.1.1 The Present participle 6
2.1.2 The past Participle 6
2.1.3 The to-Infinitive
2.1.4 The Bare Infinitive 7
2.2 Summary 8
2.3 Self-Assessment Questions 8
LESSON 3: SENTENCE FORM AND FUNCTION 9
3.0 Introduction 9
3.1 The Form of a sentence 9
3.2 The Function of the constituents of a sentence 11
3.2.1 Noun Phrase 11
3.2.2 The Verb Phrase 11
3.2.3 The Adjective Phrase 12
3.2.4 The Adverb Phrase 12
3.2.5 The Prepositional Phrase 13
3.2.6 Finite Clause 13
3.2.7 non-Finite Clause 13
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3.3 Summary 13
3.4 Self Assessment Test 14
LESSON 4: TRANSITIVITY AND VOICE 15
4.0 Introduction 15
4.1 Types of verbs 15
4.1.1 Intransitive verbs 16
4.1.2 Intensive Verbs 16
4.1.3 Transitive 16
4.1.3.1 Monotransitive Verbs 16
4.1.3.2 Ditransitive Verbs 17
4.1.3.3 Complex Transitive Verbs 17
4.1.4 Usage of Verbs 18
4.2 Voice 18
4.2.1 Passivization of Ditransitive Verbs 19
4.2.2 Transitive verbs that do not passive 19
4.2.3 Functions of the Passive Voice 20
4.3 Summary 20
LESSON 5: THE PARTICIPLE 22
5.0 Introduction 22
5.1 The Present Participle 22
5.1.1 Verbal Usage 22
5.1.2 Adjectival Usage 23
5.2 The Past Participle 23
5.2.1 Verbal Usage 23
5.2.2 Adjectival Usage 24
5.3 Summary 24
LESSON 6: AUXILIAR VERBS: FORM AND FUNCTION 25
6.0 Introduction 25
6.1 Primary Auxiliaries 25
6.1.1 Form 25
6.1.2 Functions 25
6.2 Modal Auxiliaries 26
6.2.1 Form 26
6.2.2 Function 27
6.3 Summary 28
LESSON 7: THE NOTION OF DETERMINER IN THE NOUN PHRASE 29
7.0 Introduction 29
7.1 The Noun Phrase Structure 29
7.1.1 Noun Phrase Constituents 30
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7.1.2 Finding the Head 31
7.2 Categories of Determiner 32
7.3 Predeterminers 35
7.4 Ordinals (Post Determiners) 36
7.5 Qualifiers 36
7.6 Central Determiners 37
7.7 Articles and Generic Vs Specific Reference 37
7.8 Summary 38
7.9 Revision Exercise 38
LESSON 8: DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN ADVERBIAL AND
ADJECTIVAL USAGE 40
8.0 Introductions 40
8.1 Definition of Adverbs 40
8.1.1 Adverb as modifier of Adjectives 40
8.1.2 Adverb as modifier of Adverb 40
8.1.3 Adverbial 41
8.2 Position of Adverbials 41
8.2.1 General Rules 42
8.3 Classes of Adverbials 43
8.4 Summary 44
LESSON 9: ADJECTIVES 45
9.0 Introductions 45
9.1 Definition 45
9.2 Qualities of Adjective 45
9.2.1 Attributive versus predictive usage 46
9.3 Some syntactic functions of adjectives 46
9.3.1 Words beginning with ‘a’ 47
9.4 Adjective Comparison 48
9.5 Summary 48
LESSON 10: CONJUCTION USAGE 50
10.0 Introduction 50
10.1 Types of Conjunction 50
10.1.1 Coordinating conjunctions 50
10.1.2 Subordinating conjunctions 51
10.1.3 Use of a comma 52
10.2 Ellipsis in coordination 52
10.2.1 Ellipsis of identical subjects 53
10.2.2 Ellipsis of identical subjects and Auxiliaries 53
10.2.3 Ellipsis of Auxiliaries only 53
10.3 Summary 53
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LESSON 11: PREPOSITION 55
11.1 Definition 55
11.2 Preposition Characteristics 56
11.3 Prepositional Phrase 56
11.3.1 Function of prepositional phrase 57
11.4 Distinction Between Prepositional and Conjunctional Usage 58
11.5 Summary 58
11.6 Practice Exercise 59
LESSON 12: CASE 60
12.1 The Genitive Case 60
12.2 The Meaning of the Genitive 61
12.2.1 The ‘of’ Genitive 62
12.3 Special uses of the Genitive 62
12.4 Summary 63
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ENGLISH GRAMMAR AND USAGE
Introduction
As the title suggests, this unit has two parts: English grammar and the usage of that
grammar. Grammar comprises two sub-fields namely:
1) morphology (the study of the internal structure of words)
2) Syntax (the study of the arrangement of words to form a sentence)
Although adequate description of the relevant categories will be made, it will be largely
assumed that you have mastered substantial levels of grammar through previous units
such as AEN 101, 201 and 203. Therefore, to avoid undue duplication of these units, the
most attention will be given to the usage part of the course. This entails looking at how,
for example, a word can be used as an adjective in one instance and an adverb in another.
ORGANIZATION OF THE COURSE MATERIAL
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Each lesson begins with an introduction of the topic followed by the objectives. Then
comes the exposition of the topic with plenty of illustrations. Towards the end, a
summary, self-assessment questions and a list for further reading are given. It is advisable
to attempt the questions only after you have gone through the entire lesson.
RECOMMENDE READING
Leech, G. (1989) An A-Z of English Grammar and Usage
Quirk & Greenbaum (1973) A University Grammar of English
Quirk et. al.(1985) A Comprehensive Grammar of English
Crystal, D.(1988) Rediscover Grammar
Leech and Svartvik (1975) A Communicative. Grammar of English
Collins and Hollo (2000) English Grammar
Kuiper & Allan (1996) An Introduction to English Language
Brinton, L (2000) The Structure of Modern English
Aarts, B.(2001) English Syntax and Argumentation
Aarts, F. (1988) English Syntactic Structures
Huddleston, R. (1984) Introduction to the Grammar of English
Leech et al (1982) English Grammar for Today
Newby, M. (1987) The Structure of English
Burtons-Roberts, N (1986) Analysing sentences
Greenbaum, S. (1996) The Exford Eng. Grammar
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LESSON 1
FINITE VERB USAGE
1.0 Introduction
Finiteness is a grammatical feature that affects verbs. Whether a verb is finite or nonfinite
depends on the way it is used. As will become evident later, a given verb can be finite in
one construction and nonfinite in another. In this lesson, we will focus on finite verb
usage.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
• Describe the characteristics of a finite verb
• Use a given verb in a finite manner
1.1 WHAT IS A FINITE VERB?
The word finite means limited in some way. A finite verb is one that conveys information
about tense, number, person and mood. We will look at each of these four grammatical in
turns.
1.1.1 TENSE
Tense relates the event or state described by the verb to a time in the past, present or
future. In English we have two tenses: the present and the past since these are the only
two that have a morphological marking (-s for present tense and –ed for past tense in
regular verbs)
If a verb is used in a finite way, we can easily tell whether it is in the present or the past
tense. Let us now test this using the verbs ‘create’ and ‘write’.
EXAMPLES
1a) Drought creates havoc. -present tense
1b) Drought created havoc. - past tense
2a) He writes well. -present tense
2b) He wrote well. -past tense
It is clear that the verbs in the sentences above are finite since we can tell their tenses.
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1.1.2 NUMBER
Number is a grammatical category that refers to the singularity or plurality of verbs and
nouns. In English, the subject and a present tense verb must agree in terms of number.
That is, a singular subject goes with a singular verb. Likewise, a plural subject goes with
a plural verb.
Note: A singular verb always has ‘s’ at the end e.g. talks, is, was, does, has, goes,
behaves. Typically, a plural verb does not end in ‘s’ e.g. talk, are, were, do, have, go,
behave.
A verb is finite if it is used in a context that shows whether it is singular or plural. Here
are examples using the verbs ‘trade’ and ‘are’:
EXAMPLES
2a) Simon trades in Isiolo. -singular verb
2b) Simon and Hassan trade in Isiolo. _plural verb
3a) Ngure is a teacher. -singular verb
3b) Ngure and Ochieng’ are teachers. -plural verb
All the verbs above are therefore finite.
Note: If the verb is a form of BE, it will indicate number even in the past tense.
EXAMPLES
4a Ngure was a teacher. -singular
4b) Ngure and Ochieng were teachers -plural
1.1.3 PERSON
Person is a grammatical category that affects nouns, pronouns and verbs. There are three
persons in English:
a) first person- speaker/ writer e.g. I, we
b) second person –listener/ reader e.g. you
c) third person – the person being talked about e.g. he, she, it, they
In English grammar, a finite verb agrees with the subject in terms of person. The verb BE
provides the best contrast as shown below:
EXAMPLES
5a) I am hungry. (I and am are in the 1st
person)
5b) You are hungry. (You and are are in the 2nd
person)
5c) He is hungry. (He and is are in the 3rd
person)
When the verb is not a form of BE, the person contrast is only evident between the first
and the third person in the present tense.
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EXAMPLES
6a) I sleep early on weekdays. (I and sleep are in the 1st
person)
6b) She sleeps early on weekdays. (She and sleeps are in the 3rd
person)
6c) John sleeps early on weekends. (John and sleeps are in the 3rd
person)
Note: To determine the person the verb is in, we look at the person of the subject. All
nouns are said to be in the third person.
In the examples above, the fact that the verb changes as we move from one person to
another is proof that the verbs in question are finite.
1.1.4 MOOD
Mood indicates the attitude of the speaker/writer towards what he/she is talking about.
That is, is he/she talking about a factual or a nonfactual way or is he/she giving a
directive. We have three moods: indicative, imperative and subjunctive. A finite verb will
be in any one of these three. We will now discuss them in turns.
(i) Indicative mood- This is the commonest of the three. It makes factual assertions by
giving or seeking information. This information can therefore be expressed in the form of
statements (declaratives), questions (interrogatives) or exclamatives.
EXAMPLES
7a) They arrived late. -statement
7b) Did they arrive late? -question
7c) How late they arrived! -exclamative
Note: As can be seen from the examples above,a verb in the indicative mood may be
inflected (arrived) or uninflected (arrive).
(ii) Imperative mood- This mood is used in making requests, and giving commands and
directives.
EXAMLPES
8a) Open the door please. -request
8b) Open the door immediately! -command
Although the verb in an imperative construction does not indicate tense, number and
person, it is nonetheless finite because it at least indicates mood.
(iii) Subjunctive mood- This mood is used to express wishes, feelings, demands,
recommendations and so on. Verbs in this mood only occur in subordinate
clauses. There are two types:
a) Present subjunctive.- It uses the base form of the verb and occurs after verbs such as
demand, require, suggest, insist, recommend, ask, propose and request.
EXAMPLES
9a) I insist that she leave soon.
9b) The doctor recommends that he take two tablets daily.
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9c) They requested that it go to the next stage.
9d) Past subjunctive. – It is also called the ‘were’ subjunctive because the verb ‘were’
is always used. It expresses a hypothetical (unreal) situation. Verbs in this mood
always occur after the words ‘wish’ and ‘if’.
EXAMPLES
10a) I wish I were the mayor of Nairobi.
10b) If I were the mayor of Nairobi, I would restore its lost glory.
1.2 SUMMARY
The usage of a verb in a particular sentence is said to be finite if you can tell whether it is
in the:
• Present or past tense
• Singular or plural
• 1st
, 2nd
, or 3rd
person
• Indicative, imperative or subjunctive mood
Such a verb is limited (therefore finite) because it can only express, for instance, either
the present tense or the past tense in a given sentence- but not both simultaneously.
1.3 SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS
1. Explain how the verb in the following sentence is limited according to tense, number,
person and mood.
She goes to school everyday.
2. In different sentences, use a form of the verb BE to express: ( i) present tense (ii) past
tense (iii) singularity (iv) plurality (v) 1st
person (vi) 2nd
person (vii) 3rd
person (viii)
indicative mood (statement),(ix) imperative mood
FURTHER READING
Leech, G. (1989) An A-Z of English Grammar and usage PP. 146 + 288-290 +484-5
Quirk & Greenbaum (1973) A University Grammar of Eng. PP.38-39
Quirk et. al.(1985) A Comprehensive Grammar of English PP. 96-99 +149-158
Crystal, D.(1988) Rediscover Grammar PP. 58-59
Leech and Svartvik (1975) A Communicative. Gram of Eng. PP. 304-305
Collins and Hollo (2000) English Grammar PP. 64-68
Kuiper & Allan (1996) An Intr. To Eng. Language PP.261 + 287-288
Aarts, B.(2001) English Syntax & Argumentation PP.35 + 42
Greenbaum, S. (1996) The Exford Eng. Grammar PP. 251-253
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LESSON 2
NONFINITE VERB USAGE
2.0 Introduction
In the previous lesson, we talked about finite verb usage. Here, we turn to nonfinite verb
usage. Not surprisingly, a nonfinite verb is one that does not convey information about
tense, number, person and mood. Therefore, such a verb does not reflect any changes in
any of these four grammatical aspects because it is not limited to expressing a particular
tense, number, person or mood.
OBJECTIVES
• Describe the four types of nonfinite verbs
• Distinguish between finite and nonfinite verb usage
• Use a given verb both in a finite and in a nonfinite
manner
2.1 TYPES OF NONFINITE VERBS
There are four types of nonfinite verbs namely: the present participle, the past participle,
the to-infinitive and the bare infinitive.
2.1.1 The present participle
This is also called the –ing participle. It is simply formed by adding –ing to a base form
of the verb the verb e.g. typing, sitting, washing. Together with an auxiliary verb, it is
used to express the progress aspect. For illustration, we will use the verbs ‘create’ and
‘write’ in a nonfinite way.
EXAMPLES
1a) The artist is creating a masterpiece.
1b) The artist was creating a masterpiece.
2a) Ngugi was writing another book.
2b) Ngugi and Achebe were writing another book.
Observe that ‘creating’ does not change as we move from the present tense (is) in (1a) to
the plural tense (was) in (1b). Therefore while ‘is’ and ‘was’ are finite, ‘creating’
is nonfinite since it is neither in the present nor in the past tense. It is tenseless.
Equally, the verb ‘writing’ remains constant in form as we change from a singular subject
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(Ngugi) in (2a) to a plural one in (2b). Note that the verbs ‘was’ (singular) and ‘were’
(plural) are finite because they agree with their subjects but ‘writing’ does not exhibit any
such agreement. It is therefore neither singular nor plural.
2.1.2 The past participle
It is also called the –ed or –en participle. It is formed by adding the participial –ed to
regular verbs e.g. jumped, roofed and cleaned. Irregular forms include written,
eaten, set, paid and slept. Whatever the case, we can easily recognize a past participle
verb because it is always preceded by a form of the verb ‘HAVE’ or “BE’. e.g.
has/have/had jumped, has/have/had set, is/was/are/were cleaned. We will retain
‘create’ and ‘write’ and show how they can be used as past participle nonfinite verbs.
3a) You were created wonderfully.
3b) He was created wonderfully.
4a) I have written a poem.
4b) I had written
In 1a) and b), ‘created’ does not change even as move from a 2nd
person subject (you) to
a 3rd
person one (he). The verbs ‘were’ (2nd
person) and ‘was’ (3rd
person) change
accordingly since they are finite. This means that ‘created’ is not in any person.
Similarly, the verb ‘written’ does not change as we move from the present tense (have) in
4a) to the past tense (had) in 4b). ‘Have’ and ‘had’ are therefore finite while ‘written’ is
not since it does not indicate either the present or the past tense.
2.13 The to- infinitive
It is so called because it is formed by adding the infinitival particle ‘to’ to the base form
of a verb e.g. to bathe, to sing and to refuse. Again, we illustrate with the two verbs we
have been using.
EXAMPLES
5a) The artist wants to create something unique.
5b) The artists want to create something unique.
6a) I intend to write another text.
6b) She intends to write another text.
6c) She intended to write another text.
Do you realize that ‘to create’ does not change as we move from (5a) to (5b) despite the
change in number in the finite verbs?( ‘wants’ is singular in line with its subject while
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‘want’ is plural just as its subject is). Note that there is a change from ‘intend’ in 6a) to
‘intends’ in 6b) to reflect the 1st
and the 3rd
person in agreement with the respective
subjects. There is also a change in tense from ‘intends’ in 6b) to ‘intended’ in 6c). We
can therefore conclude that while ‘wants, want, intend, intends, and intended’ are finite,
‘to create and to write’ are nonfinite since they remain constant.
1.2.4 The bare infinitive
It is so called because it is bare or devoid of suffixes (e.g. –ing and –ed) and particles. It
therefore invariably uses the base form of the verb. However, such a verb could be
preceded by a modal auxiliary or a form of ‘DO’ as in the following examples:
7a) Patrick could pass very well.
7b) I did pray last night.
Both ‘pass and pray’ are bare infinitives but the auxiliaries in front of them are finite.
The bare infinitive also occurs in sentences containing verbs such as watch, make, see,
hear, let, and witness.
EXAMPLES
8a) The boy watches the artist create a masterpiece.
8b) The boy watched the artist create a masterpiece.
9a) I make him write every day.
9b) She makes him write every day.
Observe that while there is a change from present (watches) to past (watched) and again
from 1st
person (make) to 3rd
person (makes), there is no such variation in the verbs
‘create’ and ‘write’ which are bare infinitives.
It is important to note that while a finite verb can be the only verb in a sentence, a
nonfinite one cannot be.
EXAMPLES
10a) Stella -drove- the car. -finite
10b) Stella -has been driving- the car. -present participle
10c) Stella -had driven- the car. -past participle
10d) Stella -refused to drive- the car. -to infinitive.
10e) I -saw- Stella –drive- the car.-bare infinitive.
Also consider these two examples:
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11a) The priest has been being ordained.
11b) The priest had been being ordained.
As can be seen, only ‘has’ has changed to ‘had’ to indicate tense. Both are therefore finite
because we can tell the tense of each. Not so with ‘been, being, and ordained’ which
remain constant in the two sentences. Significantly, the entire verb phrase (has/had been
being ordained) is considered finite despite having three nonfinite elements within it.
This is because the first verb is finite. Thus a finite verb phrase is one whose first or only
verb is finite.
2.2 SUMMARY
We have seen that verbs that are non-finite in usage are not in any, number, person or
mood. The four types of nonfinite verbs are: the present participle, the past participle, the
to infinitive and the bare infinitive. Using the verbs ‘write’ and ‘create’ we have
illustrated that a verb can be in any of these infinitive forms. It has also emerged that
within a finite verb phrase; there may be nonfinite verbs.
1. State whether the verbs in the following sentences are finite or nonfinite. If nonfinite,
specify the type.
a) We left them still struggling with the problem.
b) They struggled to leave.
c) Grace lets the children eat free.
d) To let the children eat free is very kind.
e) Our host had the food served immediately.
f) They served the food immediately.
2. Use the verb ‘admire’ in the following ways. (i ) finite (ii) present participle (iii) past
participle (iv) to infinitive (v) bare infinitive.
FURTHER READING
Leech, G. (1989) An A-Z of English Grammar and usage PP. 146 + 288-290 +484-5
Quirk et. al.(1985) A Comprehensive Grammar of English PP. 96-99 +149-158
Kuiper & Allan (1996) An Intr. To Eng. Language PP.261 + 287-288
Aarts, B.(2001) English Syntax & Argumentation PP.35 + 42
Greenbaum, S. (1996) The Exford Eng. Grammar PP. 251-253
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LESSON 3
SENTENCE FORM AND FUNCTION
3.0 Introduction
Sentence structure refers to the way in which a sentence is constructed. We ask ourselves
two questions in connection with this: one, how have words been combined to form the
sentence, and two, what function do the words play in the sentence?
In answering the first question, we have to look at the form of the sentence. Form refers
to the internal structure of a sentence in terms of the words, phrases and clauses that
constitute. The second question deals with how each of the constituents (e.g. noun
phrases) functions in the sentence. For instance, does it serve as the subject or the object
of the sentence?
OBJECTIVES
• Describe and identify the constituents of a sentence.
• Explain how the constituents function.
• Demonstrate that one form can realize several functions.
• Demonstrate that one function can be realized by several
forms.
3.1 THE FORM OF A SENTENCE
To understand what we mean by the form of sentence, let us consider the following
sentence: The police(1st
) have arrested (2nd
) these motorists (3rd
) because –they(4th
)
were(5th
) very drunk(6th
) yesterday (7th
) at night (8th
).
To begin with, we can divide it into two clauses, one main and the other subordinate. The
main one is ‘The police have arrested these motorists’ and the remaining part is the
subordinate one (because it is introduced by the subordinating conjunction ‘because’).
The entire sentence can in turn be divided into eight phrases as indicated. 1,3 and 4 are
noun phrases. Noun phrases can be formed in the following ways:
(i) pronoun only- e.g. they, he anybody
(ii) noun only- e.g David, girls, obedience
(iii) determiner + noun-e.g. the police, those motorists
(iv) determiner + adjective + noun e.g.- the tidy girls, several good books
(v) adjective + noun -e.g. red roses, new dresses
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The 2nd
and the 5th
are verb phrases. A verb phrase can be made in the following ways.:
(i ) main (lexical) verb only- e.g. were, ate, doze
(ii) auxiliary verb(s) + main verb- e.g. may arrest, have arrested, have been
arrested, have been being arrested, may have been being arrested
The 6th
one is an adjective phrase. Here are possible ways of forming an adjective phrase:
(i ) adjective only- e.g. drunk, dirty, yellow
(ii) adjective + pre-modifier- e.g. very drunk, extremely dirty
(iii) adjective + post-modifier-e.g. drunk indeed, dirty enough
The 7th
one is an adverb phrase. An adverb phrase may consist of:
(i ) adverb only- e.g. yesterday, now, quickly, slowly
(ii) pre-modifier + adverb- e.g. late yesterday, right now, very quickly
(iii) adverb + post-modifier-e.g. slowly enough, quietly indeed
Finally, the 8th
is a prepositional phrase. The possible constituents of a prepositional
phrase are:
(i ) prep + NP- e.g. at- night, across- a wide river, to- me
(ii) prep + Adj phrase- e.g. in- private, at- best, in- earnest
(iii) prep + Adv phrase-e.g. over- there, near-here
(iv) prep + PP- e.g. out- in the open, from- under the table
From the examples of the various types of phrases, you may have realized that a phrase
can consist of a single word or more than one word. However, not all single words are
regarded as phrases e.g. both coordinating and subordinating conjunctions are not.
Needless to say, a sentence does not need to have all the five types of phrases. It could
simply contain a noun phrase and a verb phrase as shown below:
1) He went
2) Mangoes ripen
As we have already alluded to, the form of a sentence can be looked at in terms of how
many clauses make it up. Some sentences contain two main clauses.
EXAMPLES
3) They were last -but -they did not give up.
4) Do you work here-or- are you just visiting?
Others, however, have a main clause and a subordinate one, which could be finite or
nonfinite.
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EXAMPLES
5) I will not leave –unless I am paid all my dues.( the 2nd
one is a finite subordinate
clause)
6) Although he won- he did not collect his prize.(the 1st
one is a finite subordinate
clause)
7) I will not leave – to collect my dues.( the 2nd
one is a nonfinite subordinate clause)
8) We don’t want you- leaving the patients unattended. (the 2nd
is also nonfinite and
subordinate)
SUMMARY
To summarize this section, we have seen that a sentence can be constituted in various
ways. It may contain one or more clauses and each clause may have two or more phrases.
3.2 THE FUNCTION OF THE CONSTITUENTS OF A SENTENCE
The terms used with regard to function are: subject, direct object (DO), indirect object
(IO), subject complement (SC), object complement (OC) and adverbial. Typically,
phrases are not restricted to any one function. We illustrate this below:
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3.2.1 NOUN PHRASE
In a sentence, an NP may function in many ways. We will keep using the noun phrases
‘the prefect’ and ‘a thief’ in order to illustrate how this can be done.
a) As subject
Examples: 1)The prefect is my friend. 2) A thief should face justice.
b) As direct object
Examples: 1) I like the prefect. 2) I. saw a thief
c) As indirect object
Examples: 1) The teacher gave the prefect a present. 2) We taught a thief a lesson.
d) As subject complement
Examples: 1) Esther is the prefect. 2) Wanugu was a thief.
e) As an object complement
Examples: 1) The teacher appointed her the prefect. 2) We considered him a thief.
f) As adverbial
Examples: 1) The tourists arrived this morning. 2) I passed well last semester.
3.2.2 THE VERB PHRASE
The verb phrase has only one function- that of a predicator (showing the action or state of
the verb)
Examples:
1 English is very interesting.
2 The country has been peaceful.
3 The president wants 1st
to improve 2nd
the country.
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3.2.3 THE ADJECTIVE PHRASE
The adjective phrase has two main functions. We will use ‘restless’ and ‘very creative’ to
show this.
a) As subject complement
Examples: 1) The crowd is restless. 2) An artist should be very creative
b) As an object complement
Examples: 1) I found the crowd restless. 2) I consider him very creative.
However, it may also function as the subject as in the following instances:
1) Restless is how I would describe them. 2) Very creative is what an artist should be.
In addition, it may be a pre-modifier of a noun as shown here.
Examples: 1) The restless crowd was dispersed. 2) A very creative artist is needed.
3.2.4 THE ADVERB PHRASE
The main function of an adverb phrase is that of adverbial.( Note: In terms of form we
talk of adverb phrase but in terms of function we talk of adverbial)
a) As adverbial
Examples: 1) We want it now. (of time) 2) The scouts camped right here. (of place)
b) In addition, it may function as subject.
Examples: 1) Now is the time for action. 2) Right here is where the scouts camped.
3.2.5 THE PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE
a) Typically, a prepositional phrase functions as an adverbial.
Examples: 1) Park the car in the shade.(place) 2). He cut the grass with a
slasher.(means/ instrument)
Other functions include:
b) As subject
Examples: 1) In the shade would be better.. 2) With a slasher is the best way to cut
grass.
c) As a post-modifier of a noun
Examples: 1) The car in the shade is his. 2) The man with a slasher is the gardener.
3.2.6 FINITE CLAUSES
Finite clauses clauses can be used in various ways as illustrated below:
a) As subject
1) What we want is peace. 2) That the seal had been tampered with was obvious.
b) As direct object
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1) Peter says you are happy. 2) We discovered that the seal had been tampered with.
c) As indirect object
1) The church gave whoever was needy assistance. 2) He fed whoever was hungry
some fish
d) As subject complement
1) I am what you made me. 2) The job is what we dreamt of.
e) As adverbial
1) Kendi missed the job because she didn’t qualify (reason). 2) The lights went off
after we had eaten (time).
3.2.7 NONFINITE CLAUSES
Here are the ways in which a nonfinite clause can be used.
a) As subject
1) Handling stolen goods is a crime. 2) To talk ill of Kenya is unpatriotic.
b) As direct object
1) He wants to employ them. 2) Boys love playing football.
c) As subject complement
1) Our dream is to get that job. 2) Failing to plan is planning to fail.
d) As adverbial
1) I am here to learn English (purpose) 2) She did it to teach you a lesson (purpose)
3.3 SUMMARY
In short, we can conclude that any given phrase can serve several functions, some more
basic than others. Here is a table that summarizes the relation between form and function.
‘Y’ stands for yes and ‘N’ for no.
FUNCTIONS
SUB PRED DO IO SC OC ADVERBIAL
FORM
NP Y N Y Y Y Y Y
VP N Y N N N N N
ADJ P Y N N N Y Y N
ADV P Y N N N N N Y
PP Y N N N N N Y
Fin cl Y N Y Y Y N Y
Nonf cl Y N Y N Y N Y
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3.4 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS
1) Identify and name the phrases that make up the following sentences. Also give the
function of each phrase
a) Some silly goats have been chewing my books.
c) Crops grow slowly in cold weather.
d) The casual employees are rather lazy these days.
e) Everybody finds her strikingly beautiful.
f) Mathenge had sold me that piece of land.
g) None has been going out at night.
h) The freedom fighters regarded Kimathi a hero.
i) Tomorrow is the big day.
2) Use the following ass instructed:
a) a minister (NP) as (i ) subject, (ii) direct object (iii) indirect object (iv) subject
complement (v) object complement
b) today (AdvP) as (i ) adverbial (ii) subject
c) very good (Adj P) as (i ) subject complement (ii) object complement (iii) subject
(iv) pre-modifier
3) Give one sentence of your own in which the subject is a finite clause and another in
which the direct object is a nonfinite clause.
FURTHER READING
Quirk et. al.(1985) A Comprehensive Grammar of English PP. 719-730
Collins and Hollo (2000) English Grammar PP. 54-63 + 80-93
Kuiper & Allan (1996) An Intr. To Eng. Language P.213
Aarts, B.(2001) English Syntax & Argumentation PP.71-79
14

LESSON 4
TRANSITIVITY AND VOICE
4.0 Introduction
Transitivity is a feature that mainly affects verbs. It refers to the ability of an adjective to
take an object. A transitive verb is one that requires an object to complete its meaning.
Contrast these two examples:
1a) I bought the car.
1b) * I bought.
The first is correct because the verb ‘bought’ has an object (the car) but the second is ill-
formed because the object is lacking thus making the meaning of the verb incomplete.
Actually , ‘trans’ in the word transitive means ‘carry across’- the action or process
indicated by the verb is carried across to the object thereby affecting it in some way.
Voice on the other hand refers to the ability of the verb to show whether the subject of the
sentence performs the action or is simply affected by it. Consider the following
sentences:
2a) That chicken laid this egg.
2b) This egg was laid by that chicken.
In 2a), the subject (that chicken) does the action of laying but in 2b) the subject (this egg)
is merely affected by the laying.
In this lesson, we will discuss different types of transitive verbs and voice.
OBJECTIVES
• Distinguish among transitive, intransitive and intensive verbs
• Distinguish between the three types of transitive verbs
• Relate voice to transitivity
• Describe the uses of the passive voice
4.1 TYPES OF VERBS
Before we look at the different types of transitive verbs, let us note that there are verbs
that are not transitive. These fall into two categories: intransitive and intensive.
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4.1.1 INTRANSITIVE VERBS
Intransitive verbs do not take objects because their meanings are complete without them.
They may, however, be followed by adverbials as in the sentences that follow:
3a) The patient sneezed (loudly).
3b) The baby slept (soundly).
3c) The guest of honour spoke (during the function.)
Other such verbs include: talk, cough, fall, ache, faint, disappear, go, come, sit and rise
4.1.2 INTENSIVE VERBS
These are linking (copular) verbs that require subject complements (not objects).
Examples are: forms of BE (is, was etc), become, turn, sound, appear and look.
Here is how they are used:
4a) They are my trusted friends.
4b) They became/ turned rusty.
Mwikali looked/appeared/sounded remorseful.
Note that in all the sentences, the verb links the subject and the subject complement so
that the latter gives us some information about the former thereby completing it.
4.1.3 TRANSITIVE VERBS
As we have already established, transitive verbs require objects. But how can we know
whether what follows a verb is an object or not. Let us take the sentences:
5a) We ate the food 5b) He greeted us.
Here, we should ask the questions: ate what and greeted whom? The answer we get is the
direct object since this is the entity that undergoes or receives the action or process
denoted by the verb.
Transitive verbs fall into the three categories discussed below:
4.1.3.1 Monotransitive verbs
These are verbs that take only one object. That object can be either animate or ananimate.
Although it is usually a noun phrase, it could also be a clause as we saw in the previous
lesson. Examples follow:
6a) I liked the entertainer (animate NP)
6b) She mended it (inanimate NP)
6c) I liked what they did. (finite subordinate clause)
6d) I enjoyed taking porridge in the morning. (nonfinite subordinate clause)
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4.1.3.2 Ditransitive verbs
These are verbs that take two objects, one indirect and the other direct, in that order. The
indirect object typically refers to something animate that is the recipient/beneficiary of
the action denoted by the verb. To identify this object, the question to ask is, ‘to whom or
for whom’ and the answer you get is the indirect object e.g. wrote to whom?-(his
girlfriend) or cooked for whom?-( the child)
As we saw in the previous lesson, the indirect object is usually a noun phrase but there
are instances in which it is clausal. In the examples below, the indirect object is in
boldface and the direct one in italics.
EXAMPLES
7a) Ken told James a story.( IO is an NP)
7b) Ken told whoever was willing to listen a story.( IO is a finite subordinate clause)
7c) Mother bakes us delicious cakes.( IO is an NP)
We are also able to recognize the indirect object because it is the entity that can be
replaced by a prepositional phrase (although such a PP does not function as the indirect
object). Following are examples:
8a) Ken told as story to James.
8b) Ken told a story to whoever was willing to listen.
8c) Mother bakes delicious cakes for us.
Other verbs that can be used ditransitively include: make, find, send, buy, lend, cook,
paint, sing, teach, and bring.
4.1.3.3 Complex transitive verbs
These are verbs that take an object and an and object complement in that order. The
complement gives us information about the object. In the examples below, the object is in
italics and its complement in boldface.
9a) The government labelled them dissidents.(labelled them what?- dissidents)
9b) The shareholders voted Wafula chairman.(voted Wafula what?- chairman)
9c) We coloured the picture blue.(coloured the picture what colour?- blue)
Other complex transitive verbs include: paint, consider, think, nominate,
Call, name, baptize, make and elect.
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4.1.4 USAGE OF VERBS
Before we rest the issue of transitivity, let us note that some verbs can be used in various
ways in terms of transitivity. Consider these examples:
10a) Omondi painted a picture. (monotransitive)
10b) Omondi painted Akoth a picture. (ditransitive)
10c) Omondi painted the wall white. (complex transitive)
11a) The mason moved away. (intransitive)
11b) The mason moved the stone away. (monotransitive)
Contrast the two sentences in (11) above with the ones in (12) below.
12a) Mother is cooking.
12b) Mother is cooking rice.
In (11a), no object is implied or expected but in (12a), it is. We can therefore conclude
that while ‘move’ in (11a) is genuinely intransitive, ‘cooking’ in (12a) is not because it
has a covert (hidden) or implied object. Verbs like write, eat, smoke and teach also
behave like ‘cooking’ in (12) while walk, grow, marry, turn and kiss behave like ‘move’
in (11).
Let us now look at voice and in so-doing, discuss its connection with transitivity.
4.2 VOICE
We have already defined voice in the introduction of this lesson. It is a grammatical
feature of transitive verbs. We have the active and the passive voice.
A verb is said to be in the active voice when the subject of the sentence performs the
action. On the other hand, a verb is in the passive voice when the action is performed on
the subject. Passivization is only possible with transitive verbs. In most cases, there is a
one to one relationship between an active and a passive sentence. That is, most active
sentences have passive counterparts.
Converting an active sentence into a passive one involves several steps as evidenced by
the following examples:
13a) The lawyer saw his client. (active)
13b) The client was seen by the lawyer. (passive)
13c) The client was seen.
First, there is the interchanging the positions of the subject and the object. Secondly,
there is the insertion of a form of the auxiliary ‘BE’ just before the main verb (‘got’ can
also be used instead of ‘BE’). Thirdly, there is the insertion of the preposition ‘by’ before
the second noun phrase (the former subject) and finally, there is the optional deletion of
the PP as in (13c) in which case the passive is said to be truncated (shortened).
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4.2.1 PASSIVIZATION OF DITRANSITIVE VERBS
Ditransitive verbs can be passivized in two different ways because both the direct and the
indirect objects can equally become the subject in a passive sentence. See the cases
below:
14a) Kawewa lent Kanini some money. (active)
14b) Kanini was lent some money by Kawewa.(passive with former IO as subject)
14c) Some money was lent (to) Kanini by Kawewa. (passive with former DO as
subject)
Earlier, we said that a PP that was previously an indirect object is not an indirect object
itself. The reason is that such a PP cannot be the subject of a passive sentence as shown
by (14d).
14d) *To Kanini was lent some money by Kawewa.
Some people are not able to distinguish between an indirect object and the object
complement. Again, the passivization test becomes useful there. If a verb is ditransitive,
both objects can take subject position as seen in (14b and c). However, if the verb is
complex transitive, only the object can become subject- NOT the object complement. We
revisit an earlier example for illustration.
15a) The shareholders voted Wafula chairman. (active)
15b) Wafula was voted chairman by the shareholders. (passive with DO as subject)
15c) *Chairman was voted Wafula by the shareholders.
The same test should be used in distinguishing between the direct object and the subject
complement. The two are sometimes confused because they come after the verb. While
the DO can become the subject of a passive sentence, the SC can’t. See (16) for
illustration:
16a) George turned the stone. (active of a monotransitive verb)
16b) The stone was turned by George. (passive)
16c) George turned pale/traitor (intensive verb with SC)
16d) *Pale/traitor was turned by George.
4.2.2 TRANSITIVE VERBS THAT DO NOT PASSIVIZE
We ought to be aware that not all transitive verbs passivize. One clear case is where the
subject and the object of an active sentence refer to the same entity as in the following
example:
17a) The minister contradicted himself. (active)
17b) *Himself was contracted by the minister.
Other verbs that behave the same way include: lack, have, resemble.
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4.2.3 FUNCTIONS OF THE PASSIVE VOICE
Although one is encouraged to use the active voice as much as possible in order to
communicative directly, the passive voice has its uses and cannot be dispensed with.
Here are some of them.
a) It makes it possible to leave out the performer of the action if it is obvious, irrelevant
or unknown. e.g She was born in 1985 (obviously born by her parents whose names
we may not know).
b) It is used when we want to be noncommittal e.g. Your grievances will be addressed
(by whom?)
c) It makes it possible to focus on what was previously the object e.g. The car was
recovered.
d) It is preferred in formal notices, announcements, headlines, advertisements and
scientific writing e.g. participants are expected to observe silence, houses (were)
burnt! the two gases are then mixed and heated.
4.3 SUMMARY
In this lesson, we have talked about three types of verbs: the intransitive, the intensive
and the transitive. We have further seen that the transitive ones have subcategories and
are connected to voice. Lastly, we have looked at the functions of the passive voice.
1. Identify the specific type of verb in each of the following sentences.
a) The preacher sounded quite convincing.
b) The prefect sounded the bell.
c) God promises believers eternal life.
d) Do not call me names.
e) Lang’at walks very fast.
f) The little boy walks his dog every Saturday.
g) This feels good.
h) Makena does not laugh much.
i) My grandmother ground me some millet.
j) I imagined her (to be) taller.
2. Where possible, make the sentences passive. Explain why some cannot be passivized.
a) We will consider your application.
b) The tycoon has ten wives.
c) The young woman became a teacher.
d) Musa sneezed loudly.
e) Bosibori admired herself in the mirror.
f) The host offered us cold drinks.
g) Maria served the meal hot.
3. Use the verb ‘weigh’ as instructed: (i ) intensively (ii) monotransitively (iii)
ditransitively.
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FURTHER READING
Leech, G. (1989) An A-Z of English Grammar and usage PP. 329-334 + 488
Quirk & Greenbaum (1973) A University Grammar of English PP. 168-171
Crystal, D.(1988) Rediscover Grammar PP. 72-75 + 80-83
Collins and Hollo (2000) English Grammar PP. 93-94 + 135-137
Kuiper & Allan (1996) An Intr. To Eng. Language PP.242-246 + 275-276
Brinton, L (2000) The Structure of Modern Eng. P 117
Aarts, B.(2001) English Syntax & Argumentation PP. 8-24
21

LESSON 5
THE PARTICIPLE
5.0 Introduction
The participle is a nonfinite verb form that indicates the grammatical categories of aspect
and voice. That is to say that a participial verb conveys information regarding whether: 1)
an action is in progress or has been completed (2) the action is performed by the subject
or performed on the subject.
We have two main types: the –ing (present participle) and the –ed or –en (past participle).
We shall discuss each of the shortly.
OBJECTIVES
• Distinguish between verbal and adjectival participles
• Describe the various types of verbal participles
• Describe the various types of adjectival participles
• Use a given participle either as a verbal or an adjectival
participle
5.1 THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE
The present participle is formed by adding –ing to a base verb in order to form a nonfinite
form of that verb e.g. eating, sleeping, and driving. We must, however, hasten to add that
not all –ing words are used as participles. Look at the following examples:
1a) Smoking is dangerous.
1b) Eating keeps one alive.
‘Smoking and eating’ are verbal nouns (gerunds) since they are used as the subjects of
their sentences (recall that verbs, participial or otherwise, do not function as subjects).
They are therefore more of noun phrases than verbs. Indeed, they can easily be replaced
with ordinary nouns such as ‘fire’ and ‘water’ respectively.
Coming back to the present participle, we find that it be used both as a verb as an
adjectival
5.1.1 VERBAL USAGE
In this usage, the present participle is preceded by an auxiliary verb (form of ‘BE’).
Together, the two express the progress aspect. Here are examples:
2a) The work is milking.
2b) The thief was running away.
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5.1.2 ADJECTIVAL USAGE
Here, the present participle is used to modifier a noun or pronoun, just as an ordinary
adjective does. And like ordinary adjectives, an adjectival participle can be used
attributively, predicatively and nominally (substantively)- note that it is called adjectival
because it behaves like an adjective despite its verb form. Examples follow:
3a) The boring novel was rejected. – Attributive (appears before the noun it
modifies)
3b) The novel was boring.- predicative (appears after a linking verb as subject comp.)
3c) The boring were asked to leave.- nominal
In the nominal usage, we are no longer talking about a novel but people. This usage
entails an identified group of people who have a certain characteristic or attribute- in our
case that of being boring. Significantly, such an adjectival has to be preceded by the
article ‘the’. It is said to be nominal (derived from the word noun) because the word is
actually used as a noun phrase hence its subject position in the sentence. Here are
additional examples of the same.
3d) The irritating are a nuisance.
3e) The hardworking must be encouraged.
5.2 THE PAST PARTICIPLE
The past participle is formed by adding –ed to regular verbs and –en to some irregular
ones (e.g. eaten, beaten). Some like ‘cut’ do not a suffix while yet others undergo internal
morphological changes (e.g. wear-worn). Like the present participle, the past participle
has both a verbal and an adjectival usage.
5.2.1 VERBAL USAGE
Here, the past participle is used to express either the perfective aspect or the passive
voice. The perfective aspect indicates that the action is or was complete at the time of
speech. As mentioned earlier, the perfective participle follows the auxiliary verbs ‘has,
have or had’ as shown below:
4a) I have ironed all the clothes. (present perfective)
4b) Joe has cut the tree. (present perfective)
4c) The weeds had grown rapidly. (past perfective)
On the other hand, the passive participle verb is preceded by a form of the auxiliary ‘BE’.
5a) The floor was mopped by Elizabeth.
5b) The dishes were put there by Aisha.
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5.2.2 ADJECTIVAL USAGE
It is possible to use the past participle as an adjectival participle in order to modify a noun
or a pronoun. Once again, the usage can be attributive, predicative, or nominal. Here are
examples:
6a) The injured commuters were rushed to hospital. (attributive)
6b) The commuters were injured. (predicative)
6c) The injured were rushed to hospital. (nominal)
7a) The lost souls were saved.(attributive)
7b) The souls were lost. (predicative)
7c) The lost were saved. (nominal)
5.3 SUMMARY
In this lesson, we have learnt that there are two participles, the present and the past. Both
have a verbal and an adjectival character. In the verbal usage, the present participle
expresses progression while the past participle expresses perfection and passive voice. As
adjectivals, both participles can be used attributively, predicatively and nominally.
1) With justification, state whether the underlined are used as verbal or adjectival
participles.
a) They are interesting.
b) The students are writing.
c) The despairing were counselled.
d) The disappointed fans left the stadium.
e) You have now confused me.
f) They were thrilled by the game.
g) The monkey is dead.
h) The lake is choking dying slowly.
i) The written word is eternal.
2) Use the participle verb ‘frustrated’ as:
(i ) perfective verb (ii) passive verb (iii) attributive adjectival (iv) predicative
adjectival (v) nominal adjectival
FURTHER READING
Leech, G. (1989) An A-Z of English Grammar and usage PP. 327-329
Quirk & Greenbaum (1973) A University Grammar of English PP. 140-141
Leech and Svartvik (1975) A Communicative. Gram of Eng. PP. 194 + 271
Collins and Hollo (2000) English Grammar PP. 67-68 + 122
Kuiper & Allan (1996) An Intr. To Eng. Language PP.242-246 + 275-276
Brinton, L (2000) The Structure of Modern Eng. PP 81 + 117
Aarts, B.(2001) English Syntax & Argumentation PP.37-38
24

LESSON 6
AUXILIARY VERBS: FORM AND FUNCTION
6.0 Introduction
Auxiliary verbs are alternatively called helping verbs because they help the main verb
convey aspect (progressive and perfective), the passive voice and modality. They
therefore accompany the main verb in a sentence. There are two types: primary and
modal. We will discuss the form and function of each.
OBJECTIVES
• Recognize all the forms of the primary auxiliaries.
• Recognize all the forms of the modal auxiliaries.
• Describe the functions of the primary auxiliaries.
Describe the functions of modal auxiliaries.
6.1 PRIMARY AUXILIARIES
The three primary auxiliaries are: BE, HAVE and DO. Here are their various forms.
6.1.1 FORM
Positive Uncontracted negative Contracted negative
BE = is, was, are, were,
being, been
Is not, was not, are not,
were not, being not
Isn’t, wasn’t, aren’t, weren’t
HAVE = has, have, had Has not, have not, had not Hasn’t, haven’t, hadn’t
DO = do, does, did Do not, does not, did not Don’t, doesn’t, didn’t
They are said to have irregular present tense, past tense and participle forms since they do
not take the suffixes –s, and –ed. Some of them can be contracted with the subject to
yield the following forms: I’m (I am), he’s (he is/ he has), they’re (they are), they’ve
(they have), she’d (she had).
Note that we can have up to three primary auxiliaries in one verb phrase e.g. has been
being
6.1.2 FUNCTIONS
Primary auxiliaries have the following functions.
a) They carry the number, tense, and person in a complex verb phrase (one with more
than one verb element). Consider the following example:
1) She is climbing the tall trees.
The auxiliary ‘is’ is singular, in the present tense, and in the third person (Recall that a
nonfinite verb such as ‘climbing’ is not capable of expressing any of these grammatical
categories).
b) They are used in the formation of negative sentences as indicated below:
2a) The judges are not coming.
2b) I have not eaten today.
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2c) They do not believe in witchcraft.
c) They are used in the construction of polar (yes-no) questions and tag questions as
shown here:
3a) Are the judges coming?
3b) Have I eaten today?
3c) Do they believe in witchcraft?
3d) The judges are coming, aren’t they?
3e) I have eaten today, haven’t I?
3f) They believe in witchcraft, don’t they?
d) ‘Do’ can also be used for emphasis.
4a) I do own that property.
4b) She does visit us from time to time.
It is important to note that BE, HAVE and DO can also be used as main verbs in which
case they are the only verbs in a given clause. Examples are shown below:
5a) The judges are new here.
5b) I have a good book.
5c) I do consultancy.
6.2 MODAL AUXILIARIES
Modal auxiliaries have no –s or nonfinite forms (-ing, -ed/en) e.g. * mays, *coulding,
*mighted . Unlike the primary auxiliaries, they do not change according to the number or
person of the subject. Here are their various forms.
6.2.1 FORM
Positive Uncontracted negative Contracted negative
Can Can not Can’t
Could Could not Couldn’t
May May not -
Might Might not Mightn’t
Shall Shall not Shan’t
Should Should not Shouldn’t
Will Will not Won’t
Would Would not Wouldn’t
Must Must not Mustn’t
Ought to Ought not to Oughtn’t to
Used to Used not to Usen’t to, didn’t use(d) to
Need Need not Needn’t
Dare Dare not Daren’t
The last four are considered marginal because they are different from the mainstream
ones. ‘ought to and used to’ are the only ones that take the particle ‘to’ while ‘need and
dare’ are the only ones that can be used both as auxiliary and as main verbs. Look at
these examples:
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6a) The students need more books. (main verb)
6b) The students need not buy new books. (auxiliary verb)
7a) David dared Goliath. (main verb)
7b) David dared fight Goliath. (auxiliary verb)
When they occur, modal auxiliaries always take the first position in the verb phrase e.g.
may have been successful. Unlike primary auxiliaries, modals cannot co-occur e.g.
*should could go.
6.2.2 FUNCTIONS
Like their primary counterparts, modal auxiliaries can also be used in the formation of
negative sentences, polar and tag questions as shown below:
8a) The environment should not be destroyed. (negative)
8b) Should the environment be destroyed? (polar)
8c) The environment should not be destroyed, should it. (tag)
However, their main function is to express modality. Modality is the manner in which a
verb is used to express an action or state in terms of ability, permission, obligation and so
on. Modal auxiliaries may express the speaker’s knowledge/judgement/belief concerning
a situation. Specifically, the modal meanings expressed here are those of
possibility/probability, prediction and necessity, all of which have something to do with
the degree of certainty involved. The auxiliaries used are: can, could, may, might, must,
will and shall. Here are illustrations:
9) The guests may/might/can/could leave anytime. -possibility.
10) The sun will/shall set in the West tomorrow. -prediction
11) You must have been dreaming. - necessity (There is no other way of
explaining it if, for instance, you found yourself flying).
Modal auxiliaries may also express the speaker’s ability to act or influence events. The
modal meanings here involve permission, obligation and ability among others. The
auxiliaries used are: can, could, may, must, shall, should, ought to and would as seen
below:
12a) The children can/may play now. -permission (granting)
12b) Can/may/could I talk to you briefly? -permission (seeking)
12c) Would/can/could you help me with this luggage? -permission (seeking)
13a) You must/should/ought to work much harder. -obligation
13b) Tenants shall/should/must/ought to pay rent now. -obligation
14) Many people can/could read and write. -ability
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No doubt you have realized that most of the modals can be used to express different
modals and that one modal meaning can be expressed by different modals. This
sometimes leads to ambiguity in terms of the modality expressed. See (15).
(15) The disabled man could participate in the race. -ability/possibility
Let us note that although some people regard could, should, might and would as the past
tense forms of can, shall, may and will respectively, that is only the case in very few
instances such as the indirect speech. The core function of such auxiliaries is to express
modality, not tense. Consider these examples:
16a) He could swim a lot faster last year.
16b) We could win the bet.
Although ‘could’ in (16a) reflects a past time, the main meaning it expresses is that of
ability. In (16b), ‘could’ has nothing to do with past tense since it expresses a future
possibility.
6.3 SUMMARY
In this lesson, we have discussed two types of auxiliary verbs: the primary and the modal.
For each, we have given the form and function. It has emerged that some of their
functions (such as being used in question formation) overlap while others are distinct.
1. In your own sentences, use the verbs ‘have’ and ‘do’ as main verbs and as auxiliary
verbs.
2. In your own sentences, use the auxiliary verbs ‘was’ and ‘could’ to form: (i ) negative
sentences (ii) tag questions
3. Taking form and function into account, name any three differences between primary
and modal auxiliaries.
4. Use ‘can’ to express the following modal meanings: (i ) ability (ii) granting
permission (iii) asking permission (iv) possibility
FURTHER READING
Leech, G. (1989) An A-Z of English Grammar and usage PP. 55-56 + 260-262
Crystal, D.(1988) Rediscover Grammar PP. 52-53 + 60-63 +86-87
Kuiper & Allan (1996) An Intr. To Eng. Language P.232
Brinton, L (2000) The Structure of Modern Eng. PP 147-149
Aarts, B.(2001) English Syntax & Argumentation P.36
28

LESSON 7
THE NOTION OF DETERMINER IN THE NOUN PHRASE
7.0 INTRODUCTION
Determiners are words which come before the noun. They also precede other words
which come before the noun. e.g. adjectives, numbers etc.
Example:
1a) the small knife.
1b) the two small knives.
They are therefore part of the noun phrase.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this lesson you should be able to:
o Describe the noun phrase structure
o Enumerate the different categories of determiners
o Explain the use of determiners in a noun phrase
In order to understand the use of determiners, we shall begin by examining the noun
phrase.
7.1 THE NOUN PHRASE STRUCTURE
The noun phrase is the main construction which can appear as the subject, object or
compliment of a clause. It consists essentially of a noun or noun-like word which acts s
the centre, or head of the phrase.
Sometimes the noun appears on its own but more often, it is accompanied by one or more
other constituents.
29

Example:
(HEAD)
2a) Flowers look beautiful
2b) The flowers look bea
2c) All the flowers look beautiful
2d) All the four types of flowers look beautiful
2e) All the four types of flowers in the garden look
beautiful.
Noun phrases appear in all shapes and sizes. They are much more varied in their
construction than the verb phrase.
7.1.1 Noun Phrase Constituents
No matter how complex a noun phrase is, it can be analysed into one or more of these
four constituents:
1. THE HEAD
This is the obligatory item around which any other constituents cluster. The head
controls the concord with other parts of the sentence. Concord or agreement is a way of
showing that two grammatical units have a certain feature in common e.g. singularity
determined by the verb.
Examples:
3a) The car is outside
3b) The cars are outside
3c) The girl cooks
3d) The girls cook
2. THE DETERMINER
This appears before the noun and decides what kind of noun is in the phrase such
as definite, indefinite, proper or common.
30

3. PREMODIFICATION
This comprises any other words appearing before the noun, apart from the
determiners. They are mainly adjectives or adjective –like words such as red,
interesting, happy.
4. POSTMODIFICATION
Comprises all items appearing after the head.
Example: 4)
DETERMINER PREMODIFICATION HEAD POSTMODIFICATION
My
The
all the
some
a
Tall
Currant
New
big green
Fred
Car
Tree
Buns
Books
bus
in the shop
that I shall need
parked outside
7.1.2 FINDING THE HEAD
How do you find the head when there is more than one noun in the noun phrase? One
test is to decide which noun controls the verb.
e.g. 5) The boy with the goats seems hungry.
In this case it is boy, i.e. consider which is correct:
6a) The boy seems hungry
6b) *The goats seems hungry
We can also see which noun phrase is essential to complete the meaning of the clause.
7a) * The boys with the goats seem hungry
7b) The boy with the goats seems hungry
The determiner and the noun together make up the simple noun phrase. If other
constituents are present, we have a complex noun phrase
31

Example:
8a) the boy (simple noun phrase)
8b) the boy with the goats (complex noun phrase).
We now precede to look at various categories of determiners and their use.
7.2 CATEGORIES OF DETERMINERS
Determiners can be categorized according to their co-occurrence with the two main
common noun classes which are count and non count nouns. Count nouns can be
subdivided into singular and plural nouns. This can be illustrated in the example below.
9)
Count Non count
Singular
Plural bo
bottle
furniture
bottles
There are six groups of determiners that enter into different relationships with the three
sub classes of nouns shown in the table above. (see Quirk and Greenbaum 1973:62).
1. Determiners that take singular count, plural count and non-count nouns.
√ √
√
COUNT NON COUNT
SING bottle
Furniture
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√
√
√
The
Passive: (my, our, etc.
Whose, which (ever), what(ever)
Some (stressed)
Any (stressed)
No
Example:
10) my bottle; my bottles; my furniture
2. Determiners that take only plural count and non count nouns.
√
√
Zero article (e.g. They need furniture)
some (unstressed)
any (unstressed)
enough
Example:
11) enough bottles; enough furniture.
3. Determiners that take only singular count and non count nouns.
√
√
This
that
Example:
12) this bottle; this furniture
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4. Determiners that take only plural count nouns
√
These
Those
Example:
13) these bottles; those bottles√
5. Determiners that take only singular count nouns
√
a(n)
every
each
either
neither
Example:
14) a bottle, every bottle
6. Determiners that take only non count nouns
√
Much
Example:
15) much furniture; much water
In addition to determiners, there is a large number of other closed system items that occur
before the head of the noun phrase. These can be classified as:
(a) predeterminers
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(b) ordinals
c ) quantifiers
7.3 PREDETERMINERS:
I. All, both, half
e.g.
16a) all (the/ my) book, - sing. count
16b) all/both (the, my, these, those, article) pens - plural count
16c) half (a, this, that, the, my)book - Sing. count
16d) half (the, my, these, those) pens - Plural count
16e) half (the, my, this, that) ink - Non-count nouns
16f) all (the, my, this, that, ) ink
NOTE
1. These predeterminers can occur only before articles or demonstratives.
2. Since they are themselves quantifiers, they do not occur with the following
quantitative determiners i.e. every, (n)either, each, some, any, no, enough.
3. They have of-constructions, which are optional with nouns and obligatory
with personal pronouns.
e.g.
17a) all(of) the meat vs all of it
17b) both(of) the students vs both of them
17c) half(of) the time vs half of it
II. Double, twice, three/four …times.
These occur with non-count and plural count nouns and with singular count nouns
denoting number, amount etc.
Examples:
18b) double their salaries
18b) twice his strength
18c) three times this amount
35

NOTE
Three, four (etc) times and once can co-occur with the determiners a, every, each and
per (less common)
19)
once a day
twice every week
three each month
four times per year
… decade
III. One-third, two-fits etc.
The fractions one-third, three quarters etc used with non-count and with singular and
plural count nouns, can also be followed by determiners, and have the alternative ‘of-
construction’.
20a) One third of the work is complete.
20b) He did it one-third (of) the time it took me
7.4 ORDINALS (POST-DETERMINERS)
Examples of these include: fourth, twentieth, next, last, another, additional.
All ordinals co-occur only with count nouns and usually precede any cardinal numbers in
the noun phrase.
21a) The first three planes were American.
21b) The twentieth century was remarkable.
7.5 QUANTIFIERS
There are two small groups of closed-system quantifiers.
(1). Many, (a) few and several
These co-occur only with plural count nouns e.g.
22a) The few words he spoke were well chosen
22b) The many orders …
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2. Much and (a) little
They co-occur only with non-count nouns.
e.g. 23) There isn’t much sugar left.
NOTE
Several is rarely preceded by a determiner, much is never.
In the case of few and little there is a positive/negative contrast according as the
indefinite article is or is not used.
24)
*a few biscuits (= several)
He took few biscuits (= not many)
*a little butter (= some )
little butter (= not much )
*In these instances, ‘a’ belongs to the quantifier alone)
7.6 CENTRAL DETERMINERS.
These consist of the definite article ‘the’ the indefinite articles ‘a’ ‘an’. There are a few
words that can take their place such as ’this’ ‘that’ ‘each’ ‘every’ ‘some’ and ‘any’ which
are also central determiners. These words never occur with an article.
e.g. 25a) “a cat’, “this cat”
25b) *”a this cat”
Words like this including ‘some’ are called determiners only when they precede a noun.
If they occur alone, standing in for a noun, they are being used as pronouns.
e.g. 26a) I ate some food. (det)
26b) give me some (pron)
7.7 ARTICLES AND GENERIC VS SPECIFIC REFERENCE
The article system comprises three concepts: the definite article, the indefinite and the
zero article (i.e. the absence of an article). Their use affects the meaning of the noun
phrase in particular allowing us to think of nouns in a specific way or in a general way.
37

Specific reference is when we have in mind a particular referent
e.g. 27)The cat killed the mouse.
Generic reference denotes members of a given class without referring to any in particular.
e.g. 28a) cats kill mice.
OTHER EXAMPLES
28b)
The Germans are musicians
A German is a musician Gen
Germans are musicians
28c)
The tiger is a dangerous animal
A tiger is a dangerous animal Gen
Tigers are dangerous animals
SECIFIC REFERENCE:
29a) The tiger at the circus performs twice a day
29b) The tiger is sleeping in the cage
7.8 SUMMARY
In this lesson we have noted that:
1. A determiner precedes a noun in the noun phrase and specifies the
kind of noun.
2. The choice of determiner is dependent on whether the noun involved
is of count or non count class.
3. There are a large number of other closed system items that occur
before the head of the noun phrase.
7.9 REVISION EXERCISES
1. Identify all the noun phrases from the following article (Crystal, 1988).
United equalized on the stroke of half-time. The tireless Johnes was at the front of a fine
three man move which left space for Ferguson to score from close range. After the
38

break, the game went in all directions until the teams settled down ten minutes into the
second-half There was one moment of excitement when …
2. Describe the relationship of the determiner to the other constituents of the noun phrase.
3. Indicate whether the referent in the following sentences is generic or specific.
1. The Englishmen drink beer in pubs
2. The Englishmen are drinking beer in the garden
3. The pen is mightier than the sword
4. A lion is the King of the jungle
5. A lion roared in the jungle
6. Grass grew in the pond
7. Fish gives us protein
8. We had fish for supper
FURTHER READING
Leech , G. (1989) An A to Z of English Grammar and Usage
Quirk and Greenbaum (1973) A University Grammar of English
Quirk et al (1985) A Comprehensive Grammar of English
Crystal, D. (1988) Rediscover Grammar
Leech and Svartvik (1975) A Communicative Grammar of English
Kuiper and Allan (1996) An Introduction to English Language
Aarts, B. (2001) English Syntax and Argumentation
Greenbaum, S. (1996) The oxford English Grammar
39

LESSON 8
DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN ADVERBIAL AND ADJECTIVAL USAGE
8.0 INTRODUCTION
We shall consider this topic in two lessons. In this lesson we shall look at adverbials and
in the next adjectives.
OBJECTIVES
o Define and describe the characteristics of adverbials
o Explain the different classes of adverbials
o Describe the usage of adverbials
8.1 DEFINITION OF ADVERBS
An adverb is commonly characterized by a morphological feature i.e. the derivational
suffix ‘ly’.
Adverbs have two types of syntactic function,
(i) modifier of adjective and adverbs.
(ii) adverbial.
8.1.1 Adverb as modifier of adjective
Adverbs may premodify adjectives.
e.g. 1a) I read a very funny story
adv adj
1b) This is an extremely interesting book.
advadj
8.1.2 Adverb as modifier of adverb.
An adverb may premodify another adverb and function as intensifier.
e.g. 2a) They were laughing very heartly
adv adv
40

8.1.3. ADVERBIAL
(a). An adverbial is a part of clause which gives extra information about the time, place,
manner or degree of the event described by the rest of the clause.
(b).Because an adverbial adds information to a complete clause, it can usually be omitted.
e.g.
3a) Paul plays football
3b) Paul plays football every week.
(c ). Most adverbials can change their position in the clause.
e.g.
4a) Paul plays football every week
4b) Every week Paul plays football.
4c) Paul plays tennis every week.
4d) Every week, Paul plays tennis (d)
(d). We can add more than one adverbial to a clause.
5a) Every week Paul plays tennis with his friend Tim
5b)Every week Paul plays tennis at the club with his friend Tim.
(e). Adverbials answer such questions as “How?” “ where?” “when?” “ Why?” “How
far?” “How much?” “How often?” “How long?”
(f). An adverbial can be a single word or a phrase.
8.2 POSITIONS OF ADVERBIALS.
Adverbial phrases and clauses can go in the same positions as adverbs.
(i). FRONT POSITION.
6) Because of the rain, the match was postponed.
(ii).MIDDLE POSITION
7) The match, because of the rain, was postponed.
(iii). END POSITION
8)The match was postponed because of the rain.
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However, some adverbials cannot be moved.
e.g.
9) She sings very well (end position only)
8.2.1. GENERAL RULES
a. By far the most common types of adverbials are adverbs and prepositional
phrases.
b. By far the most common position for adverbials is end position
c. When more than one adverbial is at end position, we prefer to place
shorter adverbials (especially one-word adverbs) before longer adverbials.
e.g. 10a) He called yesterday + at half past two
10b) Mary went to the market + to buy some vegetables
d. When more than one adverbial is at end position, place adverbials of
manner or means before adverbials of place, and adverbials of place
before adverbials of time. (MPT)
M = Manner and motion (or moment)
P = Place
T = Time (frequency, length of time)
e. If you write an adverbial in front position you can separate it from the rest
of the clause by a coma. (Always use the comma when the adverbial is a
phrase or a clause.
e.g.
11)To my knowledge, Ndungu went to town.
f. An adverbial clause is rarely used in middle position. If it is, we separate
it from the rest of the clause by two commas
e.g.
12.) Ndungu, to my knowledge, has gone to town.
These rules are general. We can change the order of the adverbials for special emphasis.
On the whole, the adverbial with the most important information should be placed at the
end.
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8.3 CLASSES OF ADVERBIALS
Adverbials may be integrated to some extent into the structure of the clause or they may
be peripheral to it. If integrated, they are termed ADJUNCTS. If peripheral they are
termed DISJUNCTS and CONJUCTS. The difference between Disjuncts and Conjuncts
is that conjuncts have primarily a connective function.
a. ADJUNCTS - are adverbials which relate directly to the meaning of the verb
(modify the verb) or to the whole sentence. The adjunct is the only type of
adverbial that behaves like the other clause elements such as subject and objects.
e.g. loudly, quickly, afterwards, next week, often …
b. DISJUNCTS – Are adverbials which play a superior role to the other elements in
the clause. They act as if they were outside the clause, giving the speaker a
chance to comment on what is taking place inside it. There are two types:
(i). STYLE disjuncts - convey the speaker’s comment about the style or
form of what is being said. They express the conditions under which the
listener should interpret the accompanying sentence.
e.g. 13) Frankly, John should never have done it.
Other examples of style disjuncts are:
candidly, honestly, confidentially briefly, literally, frankly speaking to put it
bluntly, if I may so put it.
(ii). CONTENT dijuncts - make an observation about the truth of the
clause or a value judgment about its content.
e.g.
14) Fortunately, they remembered the key.
Others examples: admittedly, indeed, doubtless, most likely
curiously, annoyingly, thankfully, of course, to our surprise, even
more important.
c. SUBJUNCTS: - Adverbials which play a subordinate role to one of the
other clauses elements or to the whole clause.
e.g. 15a) Sit down quietly please
15b) Actually, Njeri was here.
Please adds courtesy to the whole clause. Actually relates specifically to Njeri. Other
examples:
16a) Kindly ask her to come in
16b) Reluctantly we walked home
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16c) He really must leave
16d) I sort of agreed. etc
d. – CONJUNCTS.
Conjuncts are adverbials whose function is to relate or
conjoin independent grammatical units, such as clauses, sentences and
paragraphs. They express a very different range of meanings from those
found in the other adverbials. Conjuncts are often used as essential linking
items between the clauses and sentences of a narrative.
e.g. however meanwhile, furthermore all in all, therefore,
consequently to sum up
8.4 SUMMARY
Adverbs and adverbials have been described and can be summarized as
follows
1. Adverbs modify verbs
2. Adverbials may be part of the cause or may add information to b
different classes of adverbials expressing different kinds of
meaning.
complete clause about time, place manner or degree of event
3. Adverbials re very mobile capable of changing position in the clause
4. There are
1. Identify the adverbials in examples 16(a) to 16(b) above and describe their function in
the sentences.
2. Explain the use of commas with adverbial phrases/clauses.
3. List other examples of ADJUNCTS, DISJUNCTS and SUBJUNCTS apart from the
ones given here.
FURTHER READING
44

LESSON 9
ADJECTIVES
9.0 INTRODUCTION
We shall now consider Adjectival usage in this lesson. We will also draw a distinction
between adjectival and adverbial usage as well as other word classes.
OBJECTIVES
o Define the characteristics of adjectives
o Explain adjectival function
o Describe distinction between use of certain words as adjectives and
as other word classes.
9.1 DEFINITION
Words which express some feature or quality of a noun or pronoun are traditionally
known as adjectives.
9.2 QUALITIES OF ADJECTIVES
b) An adjective can premodify a noun
e.g. 1a) a tall man 1b) a clever boy.
This is known as the attributive function.
b) An adjective can occur alone as a complement
e.g. 2a) The book is interesting
2b) He is tall
This is known as the predicative function.
c) An adjective can be premodified by very and other intensifying words
e.g.
3a) very tall 3b) extremely interesting.
d) An adjective can appear as a comparative or a superlative
e.g. 4a) taller/ tallest 4b) more/ most.
45

e) Many adjectives permit the addition of ‘–ly’ to form an adverb
e.g. 5a) sad – sadly 5b) great – greatly.
9.2.1 ATTRIBUTIVE VERSUS PREDICATIVE USE
To count as an adjective, a word must be able to function in both attributive and
predicative positions. The vast majority of adjectives are like this and they are
known as central adjectives . Words which can appear in only one or other of
these positions are known as peripheral adjectives.
This can be illustrated by the words ‘asleep’ and ‘utter’
6a) *The asleep dog the dog is asleep.√ (predictive use only)
6b) utter nonsense√ *the nonsense is utter (attributive use only)
OTHER EXAMPLES.
Attributive position
7a) An outright lie *the lie is outright.
7b) utter fully *the fully is utter
7c) his chief excuse *his excuse is chief
7d) my former friend *my friend is former
7e) a criminal court *a court is criminal
Predicative position.
8) The girl felt unwell *the unwell girl
9.3 SOME SYNTACTIC FUNCTIONS OF ADJECTIVES
There are many words, which display some properties of the adjective and some
properties of another word class. They can be grouped into three types.
a. Adjective or Adverb?
Some words can be used either as an adjective or as an adverb.
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Example: (9a –9c)
Adjective Adverb
It was late afternoon
It’s a fine view
I got an early train
They arrived late
It looks fine
We finished early
b. Adjective or noun?
Nouns can be used before the head of the phrase and this appear to be
adjectives. But they do not act like adjectives in any other way.
10) the town clock *the clock is town *the towner clock
c. Adjective or participle?
Some adjectives have the same endings as verb participles in “– ing” or “ – ed”
e.g. 11a) ” interesting” 11b) “deserted”
where there is no corresponding verb, the word must be an adjective.
e.g. 12) “his talented wife”. (there is no verb *to talent)
But in other cases, we need to see whether the word acts as an adjective or a verb:
13a) she is (very) calculating (adjective)
13b) she is calculating our salaries(verb participle)
9.3.1 WORDS BEGINNING WITH ‘a’
There are several words beginning with ‘a’ which present grammarians with a
problem. Some grammarians call them adjectives; others call them adverbs. These are
words like:
abroad ablaze aboard
ajar alike alone
afraid around away
adrift aloof aware
Some of these words function more like adjectives, others are more like adverbs.
All these words can be used after “be”, but if the word is really adjective – like, it can be
used after other copular verbs as well, such as “ seem”
Copular verbs are verbs that are able to link the compliment meaning with the
subject meaning. They are also called “linking verbs.”
47

e.g. appear, feel, grow, remain.
14a) The child seemed a sleep/alert/alone/awake
14b) *The child seemed abroad/around/away/aboard
Conversely, if the word is adverb – like, it can be used after verbs of motion such as go:
15a) We went abroad/around/away/aboard
15b) *We went afraid/alone/awake/alert
9.4 ADJECTIVE COMPARISON.
Most adjectives can be compared in one of the three ways. The quality they express can
be related to a higher degree to the same degree, or to a lower degree.
Comparison to a higher degree is shown by adding –er/est (the inflectional form) or by
using more/most(the periphrastic form)
16a) Mary is taller , Jean is the tallest.
16b) This is more interesting than that.
16c) This is the most interesting book I’ve read
Comparison to the same degree is shown by the use of as … as
17) This book is as big as that one
Comparison to a lower degree is shown by the use of less/least.
18a) This is less heavy.
18b) This is the least heavy.
The base form of the adjective is the absolute form. The construction with –er/more is
the comparative form, and that with –est/most is the superlative form.
9.5 SUMMARY
This lesson has brought out the following points about adjectives:
1. Adjectives premodify nouns or pronouns
2. Adjectives can be used predicatively or attributively
3. Adjectives share some syntactic functions with other word classes
4. Adjectives can be used for comparison t the same degree, to a lower degree or to
a higher degree.
48

1. For each of the following words, construct two sentences to show the difference
between adjective and adverb use.
late hard well straight pretty
2. Write four words of adjectives which can be used in attributive position only, four in
predicative position only and four in both positions. For each word, construct a sentence
to illustrate the use.
3. With examples, describe the way adjectives are used for comparison.
FURTHER READING
49

LESSON 10
CONJUNCTION USAGE
10.0 INTRODUCTION
A conjunction is a joining word. Its main role is to link together two parts of a sentence
OBJECTIVES
o Differentiate between coordination and subordination in sentence
combination using the respective conjunctions.
o Understand ellipsis in sentence coordination.
10.1.TYPES OF CONJUNCTION
There are two types of conjunction:
(a) Coordinating Conjunctions
(b). Subordinating Conjunctions
10.1.1.Coordinating Conjunctions
Coordinating conjunctions join equivalent parts of a sentence e.g. two clauses which
make up a sentence as illustrated below
(main clause) (main clause)
The sun shone And Everyone felt happy
Conj.
The units that are joined in coordination have the same or equal status in the sentence.
They could both be noun phrases, adjective phrases or separate clauses.
Examples:
1a) I saw a car and a bus (noun phrases)
1b) The kids were wet and filthy (adjectives)
1c) Mary went to Egerton and John went to Nazarene(clauses)
The conjunctions which may be made up of a single simple word or double word express
a certain type of meaning. They are therefore selected depending on the meaning
50

intended in the clause. Double conjunctions are also known as correlative conjunctions.
Below is a list of coordinating conjunctions .
Simple Conj Double (correlative) Conj Meaning
Expressed
and
or
but
nor
both… and
not only… but
either … or
not … but
neither … nor
Expresses addition,
listing, result, sequence
introduces an alternative
shows contrast
negative addition
Examples of double conjunction use:
2a) Both John and Mary passed the exams.
2b) Not only did John earn a distinction in his exams but he also received the Vice-
Chancellor’s award.
2c) You either tell me the truth or you will be punished
2d) They neither did the assignment, nor were they present for the class.
10.1.2 Subordinating Conjunctions
In subordination, the units that are linked together do not have the same grammatical
status as they do in the case of coordination.
One clause known as the subordinate, dependent or embedded clause is made to rely
upon another – the main or principal clause – grammatically.
Example:
3.
(main clause) (subordinate clause)
You will be imprisoned If You break traffic rules
These too are made up of simple, double and 2 or 3 word conjunctions as illustrated
below.
Simple conj. Double conj. 2 or 3 word conj. Meaning
expressed
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as, than, like
if, unless
although
while
whereas
as … so
as…. as
if … then
though …yet
so … that
as if
as though
seeing (that)
given (that)
provided (that)
as/so long as
even though
as far as
Comparison
condition
contrast
degree or extent
Examples (double conjunction usage)
4a) As a man thinks, so is he
4b) He was as busy as a bee
4c) If the child is born alive, then the bequest will take effect.
4d) Though Maina played well, yet he lost the game.
4e) She was so rich that she bought a whole island .
Examples of 2 or 3 word conjunctions.
5a) Rhoda walked as if she was sick.
5b) Enonda behaves as though he owns the place.
5c) The company must pay all the debts seeing that it is headed for collapse.
5d) So long as I am still the company boss, we are not selling our assets.
5e) My mother loves coffee even though it makes her sick.
5f) The cooks served the food as far as it could go.
10.1.3 Use of a comma
In writing you should put a comma at the end of the first clause unless the sentence
is very short.
e.g. 6) The children were required to remain silent, and the teacher used
every means to ensure that this was so.
10.2 ELLIPSIS IN CO-ORDINATION.
In coordination, we can usually omit part of the second clause. This is known as ellipsis.
This can be done in three different ways as illustrated below.
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10.2.1 ELLIPSIS OF IDENTICAL SUBJECTS
Identical subjects of coordinated clauses are ellipted.
Example
7a) “Peter ate a sandwich and (he) drank a glass of water” becomes,
7b) “ Peter ate a sandwich and drank a glass of water.
10.2.2 ELLIPSIS OF IDENTICAL SUBJECTS AND AUXILLIARIES.
If the subjects and the auxiliaries are identical, ellipsis of both is normal.
Example:
8a) “Mary has washed the dishes, (Mary has) dried them, and (Mary has ) put
them in the cupboard” becomes,
8b) “ Mary has washed the dishes, dried them and put them in the cupboard.”
Usually, in ellipsis in coordination, the realized items are in the first clause and the
ellipsis is in subsequent clauses.
In subordinate clauses, ellipsis of subject alone or of subject with auxiliaries is generally
not allowed. E. g.
9a) “Jack was looking well although he had slept little.” Compare,
9b) *”Jack was looking well although slept little”
10.2.3 ELLIPSIS OF AUXILLIARY ONLY
If the subjects of coordinated clauses are different, there may be ellipsis of an identical
auxiliary. E.g.
10) “John should clean the shed and Peter (should) mow the lawn.
If there is more than one auxiliary, it is normal for all to be ellipted E.g.
11a) “John must have been playing football and Mary (must have been) doing her
homework” becomes,
11b) “ John must have been playing football and Mary doing her homework”.
10.3 SUMMARY
1. There are two types of conjunctions: coordinating and subordinating
conjunctions.
2. Coordinating conjunctions join sentence parts of equal status while with
subordinating conjunctions one part is subordinate to the other.
3. In sentence coordination, ellipsis normally takes place.
53

1. Make a list of all the coordinating and subordinating conjunctions and for each, write a
sentence to illustrate its use.
2. Using your own sentence examples, exemplify the different meanings expressed by
various conjunctions in coordination and subordination.
3. Give your own examples to show the three types of ellipsis in coordination.
FURTHER READING
Leech , G. (1989) An B to Z of English Grammar and Usage
54

LESSON 11
PREPOSITIONS
11.0 Introduction
Prepositions belong to a closed class of words described as function words. Prepositions
are one means of linking words in a sentence. A preposition never appears alone. It is
always used with a word or group of words that are called its object. A preposition relates
its object to some other word in the sentence. Prepositions vary in shape. There are one
syllable prepositions e.g. at, in, on; two syllable prepositions like about, along, between
and compound prepositions like according to, in place of, out of.
OBJECTIVES
o Describe the characteristics of prepositions
o Describe prepositional phrases
o Distinguish between prepositional and conjunctional usage.
11.1 DEFINITION
A preposition expresses a relationship of meaning between two parts of a sentence . It
usually shows how the two parts are related in space or time.
Examples.
1a) We met Mary at the restaurant (space)
1b) We met Mary at night (time)
2b) They swam in the river (space)
2b) She left before 3 O’clock (time)
Most often, the relationship is between a noun the verb or an adjective and
another noun/pronoun. In the following examples:
She voted for us; she relied on us; Her admiration of us sent ripples through the camp,
the prepositions ‘for’ ‘on’ and ‘of’ relate the pronoun “us” to the verbs “voted” ,
“relied” and the noun “admiration”.
55

11.2 PREPOSITION CHARACTERISTICS
(a). Prepositions have the property of invariability i.e. they show no inflectional
variation.
(b). The choice of preposition is often determined or severely limited by the verb,
adjective or noun head to which the prepositional phrase is compliment and /or by the
kind of compliment it is.
Examples:
3a) She depended on Mwangi
3b) This dress is similar to the other one
3c) He is the author of the book
‘On’, ‘to’ and ‘of’ are determined by the verb “depended”, the adjective “similar” and the
noun “another” respectively.
(c). Prepositions normally precede their compliments e.g. on Mwangi, to the other one
and of the book in 3a) to 3c) above.
11.3 PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE
A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition followed by a prepositional complement.
In other words, the construction following a preposition is known as the prepositional
complement. A prepositional complement is usually a noun phrase but it can also be a
certain type of clause.
Example:
4a) I will take you to the bus stop (noun phrase)
4b) I will take you to wherever you want (clause)
The underlined constructions in the above examples are prepositional complements.
Prepositions normally precede their complements. The combination of a preposition with
its complement is known as a prepositional phrase.
I.e. Prep +NP = Prepositional phrase (PP)
e.g. (to) + (the bus stop) = PP to the bus stop
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11.3.1 FUNCTIONS OF PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES
Prepositional phrases have three functions:
(i). Post modifier in the noun phrase.
Normally prepositions precede their complements. However, in exceptional cases, we
have prepositions following their complements. This position is also called
postposition.
Examples.
5a) I saw him pushing the cart along.
5b) She put the sweater on.
The proposition at the end is common in speech and informal writing.
Long post modification as shown in the example below should be avoided.
I saw the car that was parked in the street near the cinema where we saw the film
that you went to in the coat which you borrowed from Mary.
(ii). Adverbial
Many word forms which are prepositions are also adverbs. They are called prepositional
adverbs. Most of them are adverbs of place like: about, around, beyond, near, past, under
and so on.
e.g. 6a) We were just walking around the lake.
Prepositional adverbs can usually stand alone without a following noun phrase. The
example above could therefore read:
6b) We were just walking around.
Used like this, “around “ is a prepositional adverb. Prepositional adverbs are always
stressed while prepositions are usually unstressed.
Another example is,
6c) He stayed in the house (preposition)
6d) He stayed in (prepositional adverb)
57

(iii). Complement.
Prepositions can complement a verb or an adjective.
e.g . 7a) He sat on the floor (verb compliment)
7b) I am proud of him (adj. Compliment)
11.4 DISTINCTION BETWEEN PREPOSITIONAL AND CONJUNCTIONAL
USAGE
The main distinction between conjunctions and prepositions is that, a preposition enters
into construction with a noun phrase (NP) whereas a conjunction, except in certain cases
of coordination, inters into construction with a clause.
Example:
8a) I was there during + the riots
Prep NP
8b) I was there while + the riots were raging
Conj Clause
The distinction is however, not as straight forward as this may suggest. There are a
number of words that enter into construction with either a NP or a clause and are
therefore traditionally analyzed belonging to both classes. These are words like,
after, before, some, as …
Examples:
9a) He left before the meeting. (Prep).
9b) He left before the meeting begun (Conj)
9c) They worked as the Romans (Prep)
9d) They worked as the Romans reveled. (Conj)
7.6 PRACTICE EXERCISES
11.5 SUMMARY
1. We have seen that a preposition has a linking function in a sentence
structure showing the relationship of the parts of a sentence in space
and time.
2. A preposition normally precedes its complement.
3. The preposition and its complement form a prepositional phrase.
4.A prepositional phrase is made up of a preposition and a noun phrase.
58

1. Construct sentences to show prepositional usage as follows:
a) linking two parts of a sentence in space
b) linking two parts of a sentence in time
c) a clause as a prepositional complement
d) postposition
e) prepositional adverb.
2. Using four sentences, explain the difference in the linking roles played by prepositions
and conjunctions.
FURTHER READING
59

LESSON 12
CASE
12.0 INTRODUCTION
In many languages, nouns have endings which show how the noun phrase is being used
within the clause such as whether it is acting as a subject or object. The set of endings is
known as the case system. English does not have a complex case system, like the one
which was used in Latin. There are only two cases: a common case, where the noun has
no special ending at all, and the genitive. We shall therefore discuss the genitive case
which marks various special endings of nouns in English.
OBJECTIVES
o Define the genitive case
o Illustrate the different meanings of the genitive
o Describe the special uses of the genitive
12.1 THE GENITIVE CASE
The genitive is made by adding an ’s’ to the singular form of the noun. In writing,
this appears with a preceding apostrophe. Example,
1) the girl’s dress.
In a few irregular cases, ‘s is used on plural nouns
e.g. 2) the men’s books.
In speech, there is no difference in sound between girl’s and girls
60

NOTE
Not all singular nouns add an ending. There are a few exceptions where
the only signal is the apostrophe.
e.g. 3) Socrates’ work and not - Socrates’s work.
Some fixed expressions,
4) for goodness’ sake.
Names ending in /z/vary in usage. We find both:
5) Dickens’s work and - Dickens’ work.
12.2 THE MEANING OF THE GENITIVE
1. The chief meaning of the genitive case is possession. For example,
6) My son’s bike - means the bike belongs to my son.
But the genitive case is used to express several other meanings too:
2. To express an origin: 7) the girl’s story.
3. To describe something: 8)a summer’s day
4.To measure a period: 9) ten day’s leave
5.To express the role of subject: 10) the boy’s application (i.e. the boy applied)
6.To express the role of object : 11) the boy’s release (i.e. someone released the
boy.)
7. The genitive is also with geographical names e.g.
12a) China’s future
12b) Africa’s navigation
with many nouns of special relevance to human activity:
13a) my life’s aim
13b) The brain’s function
13c) the body’s needs
13d) The computer’s role
and with temporal nouns e.g.
14a) a moment’s thought
14b) a week’s holiday
14c) today’s newspaper.
61

12.2.1 THE ‘of’ GENITIVE
There is a close similarity between a noun in the genitive case and the same
noun preceded by ‘of’ (the of – genitive). For example,
15) the ship’s name = the name of the ship
The choice is largely based on factors of gender and style. Personal nouns and the
higher animals tend to take the genitive ending; the inanimate nouns take the of –
genitive. Compare:
16a) Fred’s book with: * the book of Fred
16b) * the problem’s part with: part of the
problem
12.3 SPECIAL USES OF THE GENITIVE
There are four special uses of the genitive case:
(a) The group genitive.
Occurs when the genitive ending is attached to a noun which follows the head
noun of the phrase.
e.g.17a) the teacher’s book but: 17b) the teacher of music’s
book
The possessor is the teacher, not the music, but the ending nonetheless is added to
music.
(b) The independent genitive.
Occurs when the noun following the genitive is omitted, because the context
makes it obvious:
18) Mary’s bike is newer than John’s
( c) The Local genitive
A similar use is found when the genitive refers to premises or establishments:
19a) We ate at (Bert’s) Karani’s
19b) I’m going to the dentist’s
19c) We visited St. Paul’s
62

(d) The post – genitive
It is sometimes possible to have both the genitive ending and the of- construction
simultaneously. This is known as the post- genitive.
20a) some friends of my uncle’s
20b) an invention of Smith’s
This usage expresses a less definite meaning than the alternative:
21a) My uncle’s friends
21b) Smith’s invention.
12.4 SUMMARY
In this final lesson we have learnt that:
1. English has two case endings
2. Only the genitive case is marked with special endings on the nouns.
3. The genitive case has several meanings.
4. There are four special uses of the genitive.
1. Describe how the meaning of ‘possession’ is expressed by case
2. Give your own examples (at least five of each) showing the four special uses of the
genitive.
3. Identify five examples from your area which can illustrate the meaning of “the local
genitive”.
4. Comment on the pronunciation of nouns with genitive endings. Use your own
examples.
FURTHER READING
63

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