Wuolah Free Notes
Wuolah Free Notes
Wuolah Free Notes
albertotierra
Morfosintaxis Inglesa I
Facultad de Filología
Universidad de Sevilla
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A morpheme is the minimal unit of grammatical analysis which goes beyond the limits of a
particular lexical form. For example, “er” in “worker”. A morph is the phonetic realization of
that morpheme; that is, they way it is formed. For example, “went” is one morph with two
morphemes (Go + Past), and “watched” are two morphs with two morphemes (Watch + Past).
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They have complementary distribution.
An allomorph is a set of different morphs in complementary distribution that make an
exclusive relationship. A portmanteau morph is a morpheme that cannot be segmented. For
example: Went [Go] + [Past].
2.2.- A TAXONOMY OF MORPHS.
1. Free morphs: A morph than can be placed alone and can potentially stand as a
lexical item without any further morphological variation. They can be used and
pronounced on its own. For example: boy, gas, hill, school, stop.
2. Bound morphs: A morph that cannot stand alone as a lexical item on their own
and requires to be attached to one or more morph to be meaningful. They indicate the
meaning of something, but do not have any communicative value. E.g.: -er, -ly, -
doom, -ee // Beautiful → Beauty (free morph) + Ful (bound morph).
3. Base morph: A morph in which any form of any kind can be added, making a sort
of combination of morphs that holds more semantic meaning. For example:
Unhappy → un- (bound morph) + happy (base + free morph).
Neighborhood → neighbor (base + free morph) + -hood (bound morph).
A base has not to be always a morph. Bases can be free or bound.
Affixes, by definition, cannot be free and used on its own, so they are always bound.
Affixes can also be classified into inflectional affixes, those that will never change the parts
of the speech (E.g. She plays the piano), and derivational affixes, those that may change the
parts of speech (E.g. happy → happily, which changes from an adjective from an adverb- In
happy → unhappy it does not change because it is still and adjective.
Inflectional affixes always block the expansion of words. For example: work → worked and
big → bigger. Derivational affixes block up to the limits of the word when you add an
inflectional suffix. For example: Verb → Verb-al-iz(e)-ation-(s).
Inflectional affixes have morphosyntactic features, e.g.: worked (the whole of it is a verb),
and derivational affixes have just morphological features, e.g. Kingdom.
Inflectional affixes are motivated by syntactic environments (e.g. I ____________-ed
(required by) yesterday), and derivational affixes are NOT motivated by syntactic
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-er (comparative) -er (deverbal nouns)
-ing (verb) -ing (link to noun domain)
-ed (past participle) -ed (participial adjectives)
− Absobloominglutely.
− Fanfuckingstactic.
− Kangabloodyroo.
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− Television
o Television – ion = Televise (Back derivation)
4.3.- BLENDING OR PORTMANTEAU WORDS.
Portmanteau words, also called blend, are words that result from blending (to blend = to fuse,
to mix) two or more words, or parts of words, such that the portmanteau word expresses
some combination of the meaning of its parts. They basically are the fusion of the allomorphs
of two words. For example:
− Smog = smoke + fog.
− Brunch = breakfast + lunch.
− Motel = motor road + hotel.
− Chocaholic = chocolate + alcoholic.
− Swatch = swiss + watch.
− Ligress = lion + tigress.
4.4.- CLIPPING.
Clipping is word formation by removing some segments of an existing word to create a
synonym: that is, make words as short as possible. For example:
− Gas > gasoline.
− Bus > omnibus.
− Photo > photograph.
− Exam > examination.
4.5.- COINAGE OR WORD MANUFACTURE.
Coinage is the process of making-up a new term from a trading name or a product on the
market that has become a general term. For example: Kodak, Exxon, Nylon.
4.6.- COMPOUNDING.
Compounding is a morphological process in which two or more separate words are combines
to form a new compound word. Different lexical categories can be combined to form
compound words.
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4.10.- REDUPLICATIVE COMPOUNDING.
Reduplicative compounds are compound words in which the first constituent is a partial (or
barely changed) copy of the second. For example: clop-clop, tick-tick, tittle-tattle, zig-zag,
piggie-wiggie, tenny-weeny or teensy-tiny.
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4.11.- EPONYMY.
An eponym is a person or a thing, whether real or fictional, after which a specific discovery,
place or era is named. They basically are words made up from proper names of classical
figures. For example: cereal, herculean, titanic, lilliputian, platonic and quixotic.
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According to Noam Chomsky, the concept of sentence belongs to the field of competence, or
i-language, and performance, or e-language. This i-language is abstract, and it is ideally
based on the rules of grammar of any kind of language; that is, the i-language is the knowledge
of the system of the grammatical rules of language. On the other hand, e-language is the
linguistic expression of our competence, our actual speech production and a reflection or
translation of our competence of speech redaction. And the utterance belongs to this domain
of performance.
1.2.- SENTENCE ELEMENTS.
There are four categories:
1) Form. Adjective, Noun, Verb, Adverb, Preposition,
2) Phrasal category: AdjP (phrase), NP (syntagma), VP, etc. A phrase is an intuitive
grouping whose main element is a noun.
3) Clausal category: Infinitival, -ing, that-, wh-
4) Function: Subject, Verb, Object, Complement, Adverbial, etc. Relationships between
elements. Within a sentence, we may find 5 elements: S V O C A
SUBJECT
A) Syntagmatic POSITIONING:
Syntagmatic appears in a preverbal position, and in a post-verbal position for question
(also when have an auxiliary).
a. Jeniffer Lopez is impressive. // Is Jennifer Lopez impressive?
b. The Columbia was lost yesterday. // Was the Columbia lost yesterday?
B) Subject Verb AGREEMENT:
The verb corresponds with the subject.
a. A leopard is a flesh-eating mammal // Leopards are flesh-eating mammals.
b. Britney Spears rushed up to the stage // Britney, Zeta-Jones and Roberts rushed up
to the stage.
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c *Ø has a problem.
2) a Bill Clanton was reading The Washington Post.
b *Bill was reading Ø.
c *Ø was reading The Washington Post.
3) a President Bush met President Aznar.
b *Presidents Bush and Aznar met Ø.
c *Ø met.
D) Nominative personal proform REPLACEMENT.
If we want to replace the subject by a personal proform, it has to be the personal or nominative
ones, never by the objective or accusative ones*. For example:
• The Columbia crew knew the risks they took.
o They knew the risks they took.
o *Them knew the risks them took.
E) Formal STRATEGIES.
The formal strategies are the way in which the message is linguistically expressed. The are
simple and complex sentences:
• Simple sentences: the subject is realised by the subject + verb structure.
o Remains of the Columbia can be seen in Texas.
o Earthly remains are observable in several states.
o The blind cannot see.
• Complex sentences: the subject is realised by another clause.
o To back a war against Iraq is not common policy among US allies.
o Flying helicopters can be dangerous in hot Iraqi summer.
o That Sadam Hussein was a dictator is nobody’s doubt.
o What we need is love.
OBJECT
A) Syntagmatic POSITIONING.
Objects can be naturally moved around the sentence’s structure without any problem:
S+V+OO+S+V
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E) Formal STRATEGIES.
The object can be also a clause.
a) Some people say that President Bush had authorized the use of special force in Irak.
b) Who can describe what we will find in outer space?
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COMPLEMENT (Entity that is required by the verb to fulfil the communicative situation)
A) Syntagmatic POSITIONING:
In statements, the complement occupies post-verbal position, right after copulative verbs,
although they can be moved to the very beginning to give emphasis. For example:
a) She became rich.
b) Rich she became.
B) NUMBER AGREEMENT with the Subject/Object.
With the subject, if is a subject complement, and with the object if it is an object complement.
This agreement differentiates the complement from the object, and also a copulative verb from
a transitive verb.
a) Fame is a fickle product.
b) *Fame is fickle products.
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c) To explore the outer space is to be on the verge of tragedy.
d) Seeing is believing.
ADVERBIAL
A) Syntagmatic POSITIONING:
Its normal position is at the end of the sentence, but it can be placed at the very beginning of
the sentence to give emphasis.
a) Unfortunately, there will be no peace in the Middle East.
b) There will be no peace in the Middle East, unfortunately.
B) Formal STRATEGIES:
Not always an adverbial is realized by an adverbial phrase. For example:
a) When you close your eyes, you feel relaxed.
b) While in London, make sure you visit the National Theatre.
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a) - Did you notice the woman who was walking in the park?
+ No, I did not see her.
b) - Have you ever been to Paris?
+ No, I have never been there.
c) - Do you like this car?
+ No, I like that one. (The real pronoun that replaces a noun)
3.2.- NP CONSTITUENTS.
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COUNT NOUN
Counts noun can be counted, and normally have 2 paradigmatic forms: singular and plural.
For example:
a) He was smoking one cigarette.
b) That will generate new ideas.
However, there are syncretic forms: that is, 1 form that share the same lexeme for singular
and plural. For example:
a) He caught three trout / He caught one trout.
b) I saw two Japanese / She was working with a Japanese.
NON-COUNT NOUN
In non-count nouns, distinction of singular and plural is not seen. For example:
a) Peace should be looked for in the Middle East / *A peace is just what they need.
b) His anger is what she felt / *Many angers decide your daily spiritual state.
DUAL NOUN
Traditionally, dual nouns are non-count nouns, but there can be a conversion or derivation from
non-count to count-nouns. It all depends in the communicative intention. For example:
a) The store has a large variety of cheeses.
b) Two (cups of) coffees.
COLLECTIVE NOUN
Depending on the perspective of the British speaker, collective nouns can be seen as:
• As a whole, one entity (singular). For example: A team was trained for the competition.
• As a collection of individuals (plural). For example: The team were trained for the
competition.
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3.3.- DETERMINERS.
Determiners would occur in the pre-modifier position (adjective is the typical modifier in
English). They establish the limits in order to determine the referent.
A determiner is a unit that determines the reference of the NP. This set of elements identify
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and quantity these NPs to relate it to its referents. For example:
• A/The book.
• My book.
• Three cars.
• All friends.
• No money.
• That side-effect.
• Kim’s lover.
Determiners can be classified into three types:
1) Pre-determiner: The
2) Central: A, one, this, possessives, some, any, every, each, no, either, much, less,
enough…
3) Post-determiners: The ones that occur with the central one,
3.3.1- ARTICLES AND TYPES OF REFERENCE.
INDEFINITE REFERENCE AND THE ARTICLE A:
The indefinite article is the one that introduces a NP. NPs make reference to something, which
is the referent, that can be identified or quantified by means of determiners. These are units that
limit the reference of the NP.
When the reference is not known, we use the indefinite article “a”, and when the reference is
known or has been mentioned before, we use the definite article “the”.
DEFINITE REFERENCE AND THE ARTICLE THE
a) The clients are exceptional.
b) A client is exceptional.
3.4.- DEMONSTRATIVES.
They have some sort of meaning, indicating the distance from the entity and the
speaker.
• This: not very far / these (plural) → This horse is the winner / These horses are the
losers.
• That: a little bit far / those (plural) → That horse is the winner / Those horses are
the losers.
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it indicates possession. For example:
i. A man’s house is his castle.
ii. The dioxin scandal has produced Europe’s words food crisis.
iii. The paramilitary group clasped the man’s head behind his back.
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1. Lexical verbs: The verbs that indicates the lexico-semantic meaning of the sentence.
2. Auxiliary verbs: The verbs that help other verbs.
NICE properties of auxiliaries:
− NEGATION: The negation cannot be placed right after lexical verbs, but after the
auxiliary verb.
1) *Some people think not about AIDS.
2) *Some people thinkn’t about AIDS.
3) Some people do not / don’t think about AIDS.
− INVERSION: Lexical verbs cannot exchange the position of the subject when there is
a question.
1) Mohammed VI pardons many prisoners.
2) *Pardons Mohammed VI many prisoners?
− CODE: Auxiliary verbs can have a proform function.
1) *She mixes sex and love and so mixes he.
2) She mixes sex and love and so does he.
− EMPHATIC AFFIRMATION: Lexical verbs cannot exchange the position of the
subject when there is a question.
1) - Teenagers learn little about sex at school.
+ *Oh yes, they ‘learn about sex.
2) - Teenagers learn little about sex at school.
+ Oh yes, they ‘do learn.
These are the exclusive properties of the auxiliary verbs, but there are two exceptions: BE
and HAVE. They do not have these properties even if they function as lexical verbs. They
behave as if they were auxiliary verbs.
OPERATOR:
When there are more than 1 auxiliary verb, the first auxiliary verbs is the operator, which
obeys the NICE properties.
a) He has been talking about his expectations.
b) Al danger could have been averted.
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VERBS ACCORDING TO THEIR MORPHOLOGY.
1) REGULAR VERBS: Forms that regularly derived from the base. E.g.: play – played.
2) IRREGULAR VERBS: Forms that irregularly derived from the base. E.g.: break –
broke.
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TIME VS TENSE:
Time is a philosophical concept, while tense is a grammatical concept, related with the
category verb. Tense tries to reflect the temporal boundaries or past, present and future by
connecting a series of events with the present moment it relates to (deictic).
a) She raised her hand.
b) I raise my hand.
c) He raises his hand.
English does not have a future tense. Instead, English has modal auxiliary verbs to express
the future (shall, will, periphrasis…).
a) *I lovell.
b) Oil will float on water.
SEMANTIC NUANCES OF TENSES:
Sometimes, tenses may be delusive. For example:
a) Genetic plays an important role in cancer.
b) Columbus discovers America in 1492.
c) If I were you, I would not do it.
d) I wonder if you can lend me 10€.
PRESENT TENSE FORM:
− Habitual present: There are present forms that do not refer to the present, but habits.
E.g.: He smokes after each meal / She goes to Paris every week.
− State present: There are present forms that imply something stable and universal.
E.g.: An apple a day keeps the doctor away / Spain borders on France.
− Performative present: Present form that is used with verbs such as beg, promise and
declare. It is an action that starts once it is uttered.
E.g.: I beg your pardon / I promise to be back at ten / I declare this international
conference closed.
− The present is also used in stage directions in fictions.
E.g.: You will have to speak French if you work for Société Générale.
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there would be less violence in the States.
− Hypothetical past: Form that reflects a hypothetical/impossible situation.
E.g.: I wish you were here / It is time we had a holiday.
− Attitudinal past: Form that implies politeness in the speaker’s attitude.
E.g.: I wondered if you could lend me 10€.
− When we reproduce the exact words with direct speech, the verbal forms are all the
same, but when we use the reported speech, we are forced to change all the forms. For
example:
o “I have no idea what the time is”, his mother said.
o His mother said that she had no idea what the time was.
4.2.- ASPECT.
Aspect is the different ways of viewing the internal temporal constituent of a situation. In
English, there are two aspects:
1) PERFECT ASPECT: Made by the operator have + lexical verb in past participle.
There are two structures:
a. Present perfect structure (have): It indicates that something that happened in
the past has consequences in the present moment. For example:
i. So far sex education at school has failed.
ii. Has Monica Lewinsky appeared on TV before now?
b. Past perfect structure (had): It indicates a situation in the past that is previous
to another situation in the past. For example:
i. Since he had taken a lot of drugs.
ii. After he had had his cup of coffee, he left.
2) PROGRESSIVE ASPECT: It indicates that the situation continues at the time and
during the moment. E.g.: Some people say that, for obvious reasons, Hillary Clinton
is drifting away from her husband. Nevertheless, sometimes it can indicate much more
than that:
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− Express arrogance with always between the operator and gerund. E.g.: He was
always spitting.
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