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Haleem and Rehman........

The document discusses various aspects of English grammar, including the use of adverbs, prepositions, noun phrases, and auxiliary verbs. It highlights regional variations in English usage, such as differences between British and American English. Additionally, it covers syntax and sentence structure, emphasizing the importance of understanding these elements for effective communication.

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5 views13 pages

Haleem and Rehman........

The document discusses various aspects of English grammar, including the use of adverbs, prepositions, noun phrases, and auxiliary verbs. It highlights regional variations in English usage, such as differences between British and American English. Additionally, it covers syntax and sentence structure, emphasizing the importance of understanding these elements for effective communication.

Uploaded by

wastafjan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Titl

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English
language
Grammar.
Instructo
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Mewish
Naudhani

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g l is h
• En m a r
gram ge
n g u a
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l e sa nd
to f r u
to th e se
a r r efers o f the
g ram m u s ag e
ua g e r e a n d how
l a n g u c tu s fo r
E n g lish r n th e str g u id e line
•
th a t gov e s p r o v ide
u c te d to
le s rul e ns t r
princip ge . T h e s e
o uld b e c o
n g u a s s h
g l i s h la n te nc e
E n
s , a n d s e
ffe c tively.
s , p h ras e ly a n de
w or d a c c u rate
m e a n in g
y
c on v e
Adverbs:
Where prepositions are omitted in phrases like She works nights, nights
becomes an adverb. Such constructions have already been considered.
In some varieties of English, already and yet can co-occur with a verb
in the simple past tense, as in (25); in other varieties a perfect is required
(26).
For example:
• (25) I ate already.
Did you eat yet?
• (26) I have already eaten.
Have you eaten yet?
• (Trudgill and Hannah 1994: 77)
Prepositions: Choice of preposition is often variable, as we have already seen with regard
to complementation patterns. Even where there is no preceding verb, though, there can be
variation in the use of prepositions, and, indeed, in whether a preposition is used or not. Traditional
British at the weekend has yielded in the last fifty years or so to the American on the weekend,
although other prepositions such as during, over and (in New Zealand English) in are also possible
in the same construction. In many temporal expressions, US English can omit a preposition that is
necessary in other varieties: I ’ll see you (on) Friday, (On) Saturdays, we like to go fishing, (At/on)
weekends, we play golf, The term starts (on) March 1st, He works (by) day(s) and studies (at)
night(s). In each case the shorter version started out being a US variant, but has been adopted to
some extent in other parts ofthe world (Strevens 1972: 51; Trudgill and Hannah 1994: 80).
Noun Phrase: A noun phrase is a group of words centered around a noun that functions as a
subject, object, or complement in a sentence. It consists of the noun itself and other words that
modify or describe it.
There has been a change in the course of the twentieth century in journalistic texts from the
construction illustrated in (22) to the construction illustrated in (23) (Barber 1964: 142; Strevens
1972: 50; Trudgill and Hannah 1994: 75):
(22) Margaret Thatcher, the British Prime Minister, arrived in
Washington today.
(23) British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher arrived in Washington
today.
• To be continued.........

• There are some nouns, like church, which do not require an article in
certain constructions where an article would otherwise be expected:
go to church is good English, but *go to town hall is not. Which
nouns behave like church is a matter which can change from variety
to variety. Be in hospital is good British English, but not good
American English, and the same is true of be at or go to university. On
the other hand be in or go to class is probably more usual in US texts
than in British ones (Strevens 1972: 52,Trudgill and Hannah 1994: 74).
Have:
There is variation between have and have got, so that both (17) and (18) are
possible. When such sentences are negated or questioned, this gives rise to the
range of possibilities shown in (19) and (20).
(17) He has a cold/a new car.
(18) He has got a cold/a new car.
(19) I haven’t a cold/a new car.
I don’t have a cold/a new car.
I haven’t got a cold/a new car.
(20) Have you a cold/a new car?
Do you have a cold/a new car?
Have you got a cold/a new car?
These may or may not be completely synonymous. There could be a distinction
between I have a new car (implying ‘I wouldn’t lower myself to drive around in
a used vehicle’) and I ’ve got a new car (meaning ‘I have just acquired a vehicle
which I used not to own’). Trudgill and Hannah (1994: 63)
• To be continued .......

• point out another possible difference in meaning between


• Have you (got) any fresh cod? (meaning ‘Is there any fresh cod in the
shop?’)
• and Do you have fresh cod? (meaning ‘Do you generally stock fresh
cod?’). However, it seems that for most speakers these distinctions
are not regularly maintained.
Syntax:
In natural language, syntax includes rules for forming sentences, such as word
order, sentence structure, and punctuation. These rules vary across different
languages. For example, in English, the typical word order is subject-verb-object
(e.g., "I eat an apple"), while in other languages, the word order may differ.
If there is very little syntax which can be used unambiguously to point to the
particular origin of a text, there is nonetheless a lot of syntax which is variable, and
where in principle a good statistical analysis of a large enough text could provide
enough information to say where it originated.

• bet betted betted esp. UK


• burn burned burned US
• burn burnt burnt UK
Sentence structure: It refers to the organization and arrangement of words,
phrases, and clauses within a sentence. It determines how the different elements
of a sentence are related to one another and how they convey meaning.There is
variation in commands beginning with the word go between such things as Go
jump in a lake! and Go and jump in a lake! As is pointed out by Taylor (1989: 239),
the version with no and is borrowed into Australian English only where it has
abusive function. Go and see who is at the door has no alternative form in
Australian English.
Auxiliary verbs: Auxiliary verbsOne of the points of variation most
often cited with reference to auxiliary verbs is the use of the modal
auxiliary shall (and, to a lesser extent, should). The use of shall is usually
seen as being particularly connected with the standard English of
England; Australian gain particular mention in the literature as those
varieties which avoid shall, and use will in place of it.
The degree to which the word shall is avoided (and the contexts in which
it is avoided) is variable. Hundt (1998: 59) provides figures to suggest that
New Zealand English is the least likely to use shall, but does not include
Scottish English in her comparisons.
Thanks

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