Introduction楚军 外国语学院English GrammarWhat is Grammar?Grammar is of Greek origin, spelled “grammatik”or “grammatik techn”. Grammar comes from Greek “graphein” (to write), thus grammar means “technique to write. Grammar is a branch of philosophy, concerning art of writing. (Aristotle).What is the status of Grammar?Semantics Grammar Phonology or Writing system “Meaning is conveyed via grammar in sound or with written symbols.”Introduction to Grammatical Theories: Traditional grammar; Historical-comparative grammar; Structural grammar; Transformational-generative grammar; Functional grammar.Introduction to Grammatical Layers:Text/Discourse (Text Grammar/Text Linguistics) Sentence Clause Phrase Word Morpheme (Morphology) Phoneme (Phonology)Introduction to the Grammatical System of the English languageI. Morphology: 1. morphological structure (prefixes, roots, suffixes) 2.word-formation processes:compounding, derivation, conversion;acronymy (initialism), clipping, blending,back-formation, words from proper nouns, reduplication, neoclassical formationIntroduction to the Grammatical System of the English languageII. Lexical grammar (phrases)1. noun phrases (number, case, gender)2. determiners (pronouns, articles, unit nouns)3. verb phrases: auxiliaries;finite verb phrases: tense/aspect/voice/mood/subject-verb concordIntroduction to the Grammatical System of the English languageNon-finite verb phrases:infinitives, -ing participles, -ed participles 4.Adjective and adverb phrases (comparative degrees) 5. Prepositional phrasesIntroduction to the Grammatical System of the English languageIII. Syntax:types of sentence patterns,there-existential pattern,it-pattern,coordinate construction,subordinate construction: nominal clauses, adjectival clauses, adverbial clausesIntroduction to the Grammatical System of the English languageIV. Text grammar:Cohesion in the English language:substitution, ellipsis, repetition, inversion, lexical cohesion.Subject-verb Agreement General introduction to principles of subject- verb agreement: Grammatical concord: Few students are really lazy. Notional concord: The family were at table when we arrived. Principle of Proximity. He or I am right.nouns ending in s as subject:1) Disease nouns: arthritis, bronchitis, mumps, diabetes + is;But: rickets, measles + is/are.2) Game nouns: “darts, marbles, billiards, bowls, dominoes” as a game + is;But cards +are;Marbles vary in kind and quality.3) Discipline nouns ending in ics: “physics, mathematics, politics, acoustics, economics” as a discipline + is; but +are if they are used in meanings other than discipline. The economics of the project are still being considered.nouns ending in s as subject:4) Place nouns ending in s: the United States, the United Nations +is;When the place nouns are archipelago, mountain range, falls, straits, e.g. the Straits of Gibraltar +are. 5) Scissors, pincers, glasses, shorts, trousers, pants, suspenders, scales, pliers, jeans +are; 6) Archives, arms, clothes, contents, eaves, fireworks, goods, minutes, morals, thanks, wages +are;nouns ending in s as subject:7) ings: clippings, belongings, sweepings, earnings, savings, diggings, filings, lodgings, surroundings +are; 8) barracks, headquarters, means, series, species, works +are/is; 9) Whats the odds?The odds are against us. 10) His remains lie in the churchyard.The remains of the meal is/are fed to the pigs.Collective nouns as subject: Police, people, cattle, militia, poultry, vermin +are; Foliage, machinery, jewelry, equipment, clothing, merchandise, furniture +is; Audience, family, team, class, government, committee, board +are/is.Coordinate structure as subject:1) the bread and butter is;the bread and the butter are;her teacher and lover is; her teacher and her lover are;good and bad taste are; American and Dutch beer are;the eighth and the last chapter are; the eighth and last chapter is. Every/each/no/many a boy and (every/each/no/many a) girl is.Coordinate structure as subject:2) when the noun phrases are coordinated by “or, nor, eitheror, neithernor, not onlybut also”, we use the principle of proximity: He or I am right. 3) when the noun phrases are coordinated by “as much as, no less than; rather than, more than; as well as, in addition to, with, along with, together with, including; except, with the exception of, apart from, etc.”, the verb agrees with the first noun phrase:He as well as I is right.a noun phrase of definite quantity as subject:1) six months is, but the last six months are; 2) two-thirds/ 30 percent of +n. +is/are; 3) Forty minus fifteen leaves 25.Forty divided by 8 is five.Seven plus/and five make/makes 12.Five times/ multiplied by eight is/are 40.Six sevens are 42. 4) one in/to/out of twenty students are/is.a noun phrase of indefinite quantity as subject: all/some/none/half/most/the rest/the remainder of n.+is/ar