Syntactic linkage

1. Syntax and Teaching Grammar Lesson Four Dr. Rosario María Burneo

2. Unit 10: Syntactic linkage Syntactic linkage refers to the devices used by speakers to signal which words can be linked to form a phrase: and, which phrases can be linked to form coherent clauses Two linguistic phenomena: Agreement Government

3. Agreement It is a form of cross-reference between different constituents of a sentence or phrase. The agreement based on overt grammatical numbers formal agreement , She works in contrast, notional agreement is based on meaning: This class is large The class are discussing about new rules

4. Common type of Agreement Grammatical person: I am versus He is Grammatical number One car versus Two cars I am versus We are Grammatical gender Jenny loves her cat vs. Jimmy loves his cat . Grammatical case I told him versus He told me .

5. 1. Subjects and verbs must agree in number. The dog growls when he is angry. The dogs growl when they are angry. 2 . When sentences start with “there” or “here,” the subject will always be placed after the verb: There is a problem with the balance sheet. Here are the papers you requested. 3 . Make sure you accurately identify the subject before deciding on the proper verb form to use. Does Lefty usually eat grass? Where are the pieces of this puzzle?

6. 4. When gerunds are used as the subject of a sentence they take the singular verb form; but when they are linked by and they take the plural form. Standing in the water was a bad idea Swimming in the ocean and playing drums are my hobbies. 5. Indefinite pronouns typically take singular verbs. Everybody wants to be loved . Except for the pronouns (few, many, several, both, all, some) that always take the plural form. Few were left alive after the flood.

7. Government Government in English grammar can be found in “case” Case refers to the grammatical relationship of nouns or pronouns with other words in a clause or sentence.

8. Pronouns show three case distinctions Nominative (subjective) I, you, he, she, it, we, they Genitive (possessive) my, your, his, her,our, their Accusative (objective) me, you, him, her,us, them

9. God Bless you Thank you