nha2 - some notes on functions

8/3/2019 NHA2 - Some Notes on Functions

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SOME NOTES ON

FUNCTIONSFunction is the grammatical job

that any word (or word group) doesin its particular position. It is thegrammatical meaning [Stageberg,

1983:216].


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1. Subject of verb: that which performsaction of verb: that which is described,

identified or about which an assertion ismade, e.g. Eating chocolates made hersick

2. Verb: that which asserts an action or state,

e.g. Eating chocolates made her sick3. Subject complement: that which follows

beor a verb like become& identifies the

subject, e.g. The winners were the menfrom Hawaii

4. Direct object: that which undergoes theaction of the verb, e.g. He hated arrivinglate


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5. Indirect object: that person or thing to or for whom anaction is performed. The prepositional object containtowhen the participant is Recipientand forwhen it is

Beneficiaryand this difference is determined by theverb.

e.g.:- He did not give finding the cat a second thought(=He

did not give a second thought to finding the cat)-Would you cash me these traveler checks? (=Would you

cash these traveler checks for me?)

5. Object complement(=object-predicative): that which

completes the direct object & describes or identifies it,e.g. Eating chocolates made her sick

6. Object of preposition: that which is related to anotherword by a preposition, e.g. We thought of paying cash


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8. Complement of noun: a word group thatbehaves like a direct object of the verbcorresponding to the noun. (PrepP, that cl.& inf. Cl). A noun complement is alsoknown as contentive, so called becausethe complement clause (or phrase)normally specifies the contentof its headnoun. [Jacobs, 1995:100]

e.g.: His notion that the stars influence ourlives could not be shaken (that-clause is an-al, that is a subordinating conj.)

His refusal to submit without a fight wascourageousBut He was not the man to submit without a

fight

post.n-al mod.


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NOTES*Only nouns with related verbs like

refusal, desire, intention, promise,hope, offer, attempt, resolution,ordercan take a complement of thenoun in infinitive form

* Rel Clauses, either restrictive ornon-restrictive, are NOT nouncomplements; they are optionalpost-nominal modifiers in nounphrases.


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9. Complement of adjective: a word groupthat directly follows & completes an adjective,

e.g.: Jim is doubtful that he can pass the courseThat-cl as CAdj

Jim is doubtful of passing the course (PrepP as

CAdj)We were reluctant to leave ( Inf. Cl as CAdj)

Complement of adjective >


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10. Modifier: that which modifies, limits, or adds to themeaning of a word or word group. A modifier canbe a word or word group, e.g. He is the man to

answer this question (= He is the man who shouldanswer this question)

Compare:

-The story that Eleanor had met with the senator

nC (tells us what the story is about)

-The story that Eleanor had given to the senator

Post n-al Mod (does not supply the

content of the story)

10. Connector: that which connects words &/or wordgroups. The connectors are coordinating &

subordinating conjunctions, prepositions, &

nha2 - some notes on functions

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