U N I T 1U N I T 1

CLAUSECLAUSESS

BASED ON GEROTBASED ON GEROT

They are the higher units on the rank-scale and they are made up of lower rank units that perform different functions within them:

ClausesClauses

Today, curiously, origami is practised all around the world

In fact, curiously, origami

is practised all around the world

Acon Amod

Acir

S

F P

NGPP AdvG

VG:::::::::::::

PP

CALLSALARMS

GREETINGS

TYPES OF CLAUSESTYPES OF CLAUSES

They have predicator

They do not have predicator

MAJORMAJOR MINORMINOR

CONTINUITYEXCLAMATIONS

Hello!!Good Morning!!

Oh, Lord!My dear!

Wow!

(they arrived last night) – Uhuh.

Willy!Mom!

EXAMPLES OF MINOR CLAUSESFire!Help!

EXAMPLES OF MAJOR CLAUSES

Shut up! She will probably come.

He was willing to stay as he liked it so much there

He gave us a poor excuse

MAJOR CLAUSESMAJOR CLAUSESRanking clauses Ranking clauses Non-Ranking/Non-Ranking/

RankshiftedRankshiftedDownranked/Downranked/EmbeddedEmbedded

clauses clauses

Clauses that function as clauses, i.e. that convey messages or extend messages

Clauses that have been brought down to the lower rank of group/phrases and are embedded in other clauses or in elements of other clauses as if they were a group or phrase. They do not convey messages or extend them, but are only part of them.

ranking independent ranking dependent

RANKING CLAUSESRANKING CLAUSESINDEPENDENTINDEPENDENT

They can stand alone.They are always finite.

DEPENDENTDEPENDENT

They cannot stand alone.

They may be F or NF

They pick up the mood of the independent clause

They choose their own mood.

They can be suppressed or moved around

The Main/Dominant clause in a hypotactic clause complex

Independent clausesSingle clauses

A Clause in paratactic clause complex

Dependent clauses

The dependent/hypotactic clause in a hypotactic clause complex

RANKING CLAUSESRANKING CLAUSES

RANKING CLAUSESRANKING CLAUSESA paratactic clause complex

Paratactic clause

Paratactic clause

A hypotactic clause complexDominant

clauseHypotactic

clause

E X A M P L E S

He was appointed president on account of his experience.

Single clausesSingle clauses

He had to stand in a queue all morning.Clauses in a paratactic complexClauses in a paratactic complex

He is very hardworking; he does his job very well and helps others do theirs.

He was very understanding and he let us stay.Stay quiet or I’ll send you out.

E X A M P L E S

She usually wakes him up just by shaking him softly.

As I was coming home, I met Laura.Since their granny died, the kids have been very sad.I got very angry because the plumber didn’t finish his work on time.If it gets late, we’ll have to finish the work tomorrow.

Clauses in a hypotactic complexClauses in a hypotactic complexWhen elections were held he was appointed president. I queued up to recharge my bus-card but after a few minutes I left as I don’t enjoy standing in queues.

DOWN -RANKED CLAUSESDOWN -RANKED CLAUSES

NON - RANKING CLAUSESNON - RANKING CLAUSES

RANKSHIFTED CLAUSESRANKSHIFTED CLAUSES

EMBEDDED CLAUSESEMBEDDED CLAUSES

EMBEDDED CLAUSESEMBEDDED CLAUSESDefinitions

it is a process whereby a clause comes to function within the structure of another clause. it is a clause that is part of a group which in turn is part of a clause.

it is a unit that functions as part of another unit at the same or lower rank.

Distinctive features

EMBEDDED CLAUSESEMBEDDED CLAUSES

They can’t stand alone They pick up the mood from an independent clause they are part to They can’t be suppressed They can’t be moved around. They can be F or NF

They can realise functions like: S – O – C – q

E X A M P L E S

[[Travelling by bus]] is cheaper than travelling by car.

SUBJECT:SUBJECT:[[What I don’t enjoy]] is standing in queues.[[What most people prefer]] is others doing the work.It doesn’t matter [[where you sit]].[[To take such a risk]] was rather foolish.

[[To err]] is human; [[to forgive]] is divine.

[[What we need]] is change.

E X A M P L E SCOMPLEMENT (Od):COMPLEMENT (Od):

I hate [[travelling by bus]].

I brought [[what I could buy]].I ate [[what was there]].

Give [[whatever you think]] best priority.

COMPLEMENT (Oi):COMPLEMENT (Oi):I gave [[whoever was there]] a present.Save [[whoever comes]] the trouble of waiting.

E X A M P L E SCOMPLEMENT (Oprep):COMPLEMENT (Oprep):

They stand below [[where we would like them to be]].

I strongly object to [[what you’re insinuating]].The party will have to draw on [[whatever resources it can]].They are all arguing about [[how much to charge for admittance]].

He was not sure about [[how he should treat him/how to treat him]].

E X A M P L E SCOMPLEMENT (Cs):COMPLEMENT (Cs):

This is how you should do it.

What I don’t enjoy is [[standing in queues.]]

To know him is [[to love him.]]

My advice is [[to withdraw.]]

My main problem is [[standing in queues.]]

E X A M P L E S

We’d better not leave the children [[playing in the garden.]]

COMPLEMENT: COMPLEMENT: (Co)(Co)

Our supporters’ enthusiasm has made the club [[what it is today.]]Dye your shoes [[whatever colour you want.]]

E X A M P L E S

That was the day [[when I fell in love with him]].

QUALIFIER OF A NOUN GROUP:QUALIFIER OF A NOUN GROUP:The fact [[that inflation is going down]] is a sign that our economy is improving.The girl [[whom I lent my book to]] has disappeared.There is no evidence [[that he committed the crime]].He’s not a man [[to lend money to]].This is the student [[applying for the job]].This is exactly the place [[where Mr. Smith was murdered]].

E X A M P L E S

He explained it so clearly [[that everybody understood]].

QUALIFIER OF AN ADJECTIVE GROUP:QUALIFIER OF AN ADJECTIVE GROUP:Many people are doubtful [[how to vote]].The minister was quick [[to reject the accusation]].My friends were all willing/reluctant [[to help]].

QUALIFIER OF AN ADVERBIAL GROUP:QUALIFIER OF AN ADVERBIAL GROUP:Please sit down anywhere [[you like]].Our coach left earlier [[than he should have]].People here don’t work as hard [[as they do in some other countries]].

CLAUSESCLAUSES

All the elements are present.

They have bits left out, but they are recoverable from

the context.

NON-NON-ELLIPTICALELLIPTICAL ELLIPTICALELLIPTICAL

E X A M P L E SNON-ELLIPTICALNON-ELLIPTICAL ELLIPTICALELLIPTICAL

•Who did this mess? Bob

•Are you coming to the party?

Yes

•Jane plays the piano and Jill

and then•Lil got furious

(did this mess)

(I’m coming to the party).

the guitar.

started to cry.

Problem-Solution text

Heavy traffic, air pollution and litter are among the most serious problems that modern cities face nowadays. Ours is no exception. What can we do, then, to help make our city more pleasant to its residents?

First of all, it would probably be a good idea to encourage people to use public transport instead of their cars, especially when commuting to work. The result would be fewer cars on the roads and therefore fewer traffic jams.

PRACTICEIdentifying different types of clauses

Secondly, steps should be taken in order to solve the problem of air pollution. The situation could be improved if factories were moved out of the city and were located far from them. If this happened, the air would not be so polluted.

Finally, efforts should be made to make our city a cleaner and healthier place to live. A useful suggestion would be to put more litter bins in the streets and encourage people to use them. If this was done, people would most probably stop dropping their rubbish on the ground, and our city would be cleaner.