Analysing English Grammar
Workshop
outline
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
Where to begin the analysis
Relationship between FUNCTION and
FORM
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
Experiential Meaning
Interpersonal Meaning
(multi)functional elements of the clause
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Each clause expresses simultaneously
3 main strands of meaning
Each of these strands expresses
meaning through different functions
– Elements of the clause

Simultaneous analysis is impossible for
the analyst
– We have to impose an order
Where do we start?

IFG (Halliday, 2004):
1.
2.
3.

Bloor & Bloor (2004):
1.
2.
3.

Textual (clause as message)
Interpersonal (clause as exchange)
Experiential (clause as representation)
Interpersonal
Textual
Experiential
Thompson (2004):
1.
2.
3.
Interpersonal
Experiential
Textual

Me?
1.
2.
3.
Experiential
Interpersonal
Textual
Function and form
Structural units
Functional Elements
Verbal group
Process
Nominal group
Participants
Adverbial group
Circumstances
This is only the most common correlation,
other groups can be found for these functions
See handout for tables of Participants and Circumstances
Process
Participants
Example
Material
Actor, Goal,
Beneficiary,
Scope,
Initiator,
Attribute
Mental
Senser, Phenomenon
John[Actor] hit the ball[Goal]
John[Actor] gave the ball[Goal] to
Jane[Beneficiary]
John[Initiator] made her[Actor] eat
John[Actor] swept the room[Goal]
clean[Attribute]
John[Senser] likes Jane[¨Phenomenon]
Relational
Attrib.
Ident.
Carrier, Attribute
Identifier, Identified
John[Carrier] is nice[Attribute]
John[Identified] is the lawyer[Identifier]
Sayer, Receiver,
Verbiage
Existent
Behaver
John[Sayer] told me[Recipient] a
story[Verbiage]
There was a lake[Existent]
John[Behaver] is laughing
Verbal
Existential
Behavioural
Circumstantial elements
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optional elements of the clause
peripheral
not directly involved in the process
occur 'freely' in all types of processes (in theory)
for Halliday, they do not have the potential of
becoming Subjects
participants are "inherent" in the process
Type
Extent
Location
Manner
Cause
Conting.
Accomp.
Role
Matter
Angle
question answered
how far?
how long?
How frequently?
where?
when?
by what means? how?
like what? How much?
why?
for what purpose?
on whose behalf?
under what conditions?
who/what with?
Who/what else?
what as?
what into?
what about?
according to whom?
from whose
viewpoint/perspective?
example
He ran three miles[Circ.:Extent:distance].
He ran for three days[Circ.:Extent:duration]
He ran every day[Circ.:Extent:frequency]
He ran in [Circ.: location: place]
He ran last year[Circ.: location: time]
He saved her with a rope[Circ.: manner: means]
She saved him quickly[Circ.: manner: quality]
She ran like the wind[Circ.: manner: comparison]
She ran because she loved to[Circ.: cause:reason]
She ran to raise money[Circ.: cause:purpose]
She ran for her sister[Circ.: cause:behalf]
In the event of fire[Circ.: contingency] leave the
building
John ran with Jane [Circ.: accompaniment]
John wears mittens in addition to his
gloves[Circ.: accompaniment]
She spoke as his mentor[Circ.: role:guise]
He was transformed into a prince[Circ.: role]
He warned me about the film[Circ.: matter]
According to the lecturer[Circ.: angle:source], the
class is cancelled
To me[Circ.: angle:viewpoint], he’s an idiot.
Source: Thompson, 2004, p. 127
identification
(labelling)
Patterns in Transitivity

via patterns
 of process types
interpretation
(discourse analysis)
 what are the dominant process types?
 why these?
 how do the types match with other aspects (e.g.
location in the text, appearing in commands vs.
statements, etc.)?
 of participants
 what (groupings of) participants are there?
 how do these compare with 'real world'
entities and events?
 what kinds of participants (e.g. concrete vs.
abstract)?
 what transitivity role(s) do they have?
 of circumstances  what types of circumstances are included, where
in the text?
 what gets expressed as circumstances rather
than in the 'nucleus' (process + participant)?
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Analysing experiential meaning
– See handout
Function and form
Structural units
Functional Elements
Nominal Group
Subject
Temporal Verbal
Operator
Modal Verbal
Operator
Finite
The Mood System
Source: Thompson p. 58
wh-subj
whwh-non-subj
interrogative
yes/no
indicative
exclamative
declarative
mood
non-exclamative
suggestive
imperative
marked
regular
imperative
unmarked
Labelling Interpersonal Meaning
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Identify the Subject
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Identify the Finite element
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Find any Polarity markers and Modal Adjuncts
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Determine the mood based on the relationship
between Subject and Finite
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Label what is left: Complement (will match onto a
Participant, Adjunct (will match onto a Circumstance)
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Determine the role of the clause in the exchange
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Analysing interpersonal meaning
– See handout