Word Classes:

abbreviation in syntax example

noun N monkey

adjective Adj ugly

verb V sit

(subclass Aux = auxiliary)

preposition Prep on

conjunction Conj and

(2 types: coordinate/subordinate)

adverb Adv quickly

(3 types: temporal/local/manner)

particle Part even, only

pronoun Pro he

(3 types: personal/possessive/demonstrative)

proper noun PN John

articles Art the

(2 types: indefinite/definite)

Example: The distressed waitress calmly served the incredibly dry muffins in the weedy garden, and Aunt Martha choked on them and died.

Grammatical Categories:

English other languages

______

nouns:

number (singular + plural) dual (OE)

gender natural grammatical

(German)

personal and

possessive Pro:

he, she, it

relative Pro:

who/whose/whom

vs.

which

case not much left 4 cases

uses word order (German)

+

prepositions,

and remnants

in personal Pro:

I – me, we – us

Grammatical Categories:

verbs:

1. person:

1st, 2nd, 3rd

2. number:

singular + plural note: goes

is the only marked form...

3. tense:

present + past status of

future tense is controversial

4. voice:

active + passive

5. mood:

indicative change

subjunctive verb form

imperative itself

6. modality:

modal verbs use of

(will, can, may, auxiliaries

etc.)

7. aspect:

simple: John smokes

vs.

progressive: John is smoking

roughly comparable to

imperfective vs. perfective in

other languages, e.g. French

note: German does not have

aspectual distinctions in its

verb system....

8. orientation (new term, Kortmann 1991):

anteriority : as seen in the perfect

ex.: I have known her for 3 years

vs.

posteriority : as seen in the future

ex.: I’m going to see her soon

1.

I like to write letters (outer perspective)

______

I am writing a letter (inner perspective)

______

2.

I have written 16 letters present

I have been writing all morning (point of ref.)

______

3.

Last week I wrote a letter present

I was writing a letter when

the bomb went off

______

4.

Up to last week,

I had written 16 letters past present

Up to last week,

I had been writing for 3 years

______

5.

______

present I am going to write

6.

______

present I am going to be writing

______

7.

______

I was going to write, present

but then I called instead

______

8.

______

I ‘ve been going to write present

______

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