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Lingua inglese-specialistica I anno
AA 2013/14
M. Boyd
HANDOUT#1
Describing English
DIFFERENT LEVELS OF LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS
SOUNDS: Phonetics and Phonology
 phonetics is concerned with the physical production and
perception of speech sounds
 phonology is concerned with the sounds of a language are
distinctive in creating meanings (phonemes)
WRITING SYSTEM:
 Orthography is both the set of symbols used in any particular
writing system as well as the rules for writing symbols
(punctuation, spelling, capitalisation, etc.)
 English has 44 phonemes vs. 26 letters
GRAMMAR: morphosyntax
 morphology: the study of word structure
o inflection
o derivation
o grammatical vs. lexical words
 syntax: linguistic forms combine according to grammatical
rules to form utterances (or phrases and clauses). Some key
aspects:
o negation
o question formation
o coordination and subordination
o passivisation
MEANING: Semantics and Pragmatics
 semantic meanings are encoded into the lexis and grammar
 pragmatic meanings provide the meaning according to certain
situations and contexts
o context=aspects of a situation which are relevant to
communication
o the inferences we make from the situation we are in,
firstly based on semantic meaning, are known as
pragmatic meanings;
HOW TO DESCRIBE ENGLISH GRAMMAR
VERBS: express actions or states
 action (dynamic) – physical (jump), mental (think), perceptual (see)
 stative – states of being or processes in which there is no obvious action
o Cf. I’m seeing the doctor at ten o’clock. // I see what you mean.
 lexical – express meaning in the verb phrase
 auxiliary – used to construct different timescales, questions and negatives, as
well as to add emphasis or give information about the mood or attitude of a
speaker/writer
 MODAL – convey a range of attitudes and moods about the liklihood and/or
necessity of an even taking place.
 Generally divided into two groups: one to do with
degrees of certainty and others to do with obligation or
freedom to act.
o ability (He can speak English almost fluently.)
o intention (I think I will go to the movies tonight.)
o necessity/obligation (You have to be here by 9AM.)
o permission (May I go to the toilet?)
o prediction (That could be Tom. He was supposed to call at this
time.)
o possiblity (He may arrive on time.)
 PRESENT vs PAST TENSES
o present – used to describe states of affairs and evnts that occur
on a regular basis; also used in sports commentaries, proverbs
and sayings
o past – actions that took place in the past; sometimes used to
record indirect/reported speech, or something that is supposed to
be happening
 FUTURE TIME
o simple present
o modal
o be going to
o to be + present participle (present continuous)
o future perfect
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Lingua inglese-specialistica I anno


ASPECT – established whether the action or stat of a verb is complete or in
progress
o perfect - describes events occurring in the past but linked to a
later time, usually the present
o progressive - describes an event that takes place during a
limited time period
VOICE
o active
o passive
 subject delayed (for suspense)
 when actor is too long
 to exclude person/thing from responsibility
M. Boyd
HANDOUT#1
AA 2013/14
2.
3.
4.
5.
Find examples of the following:
a. two lexical verbs
b. two stative verbs
c. two dynamic verbs
d. two primary auxiliary verbs
e. two modal auxiliary verbs
Find an example of the passive voice and explain its use.
Find one example of the progressive aspect and one of the perfect(ive)
aspect
Find one example of the past simple and one of the present simple
Discuss the following sentences in pairs
Read the passage and follow the directions below
Wednesday December 26
Boxing Day
I was woken at dawn by the sound of Grandad Sugden’s rusty Ford Escort
refusing to start. I know I should have gone down into the street and helped to
push it but Grandma Sugden seemed to be doing all right on her own. It must be
all those years of flinging sacks of potatoes about. My parents were wisely
pretending to be asleep…
Went back to sleep but the dog licked me awake at 9.30, so I took it for a walk
past Pandor’s house. Her dad’s Volvo wasn’t in the drive, so they must still be
staying with their rich relations. On the way I passed Barry Kent, who was kicking
a football up against the wall of the old people’s home. He seemed full of seasonal
goodwill for once and I stopped to talk with him. He asked what I’d had for
Christmas…
1.
Underline all the verbs
A. Simple vs. Continuous
1a. I’m sorry I didn’t hear what you said.
1b. Can you please repeat what you said, I wasn’t listening.
2a. Johnny is always acting strangely on occasions like this. I don’t think
he’ll ever change.
2b. Every time Johnny sees his cousins, he behaves badly.
3a. I work for a small company.
3b. I’m working for this small company until I find something better.
4a. I’ve already read that book. Can’t we read something else for our
project?
4b. I’ve been reading this great book. It’s so good, I almost don’t want to
finish it.
5a. We all hope that building is finished for the grand opening.
5b. I can’t drive you to the airport because my car is being fixed at the
moment.
6a. What did you do yesterday?
6b. What were you doing yesterday at 6:00?
B. Present Perfect. Remember that the present perfect “often expresses how the
speaker views himself/herself relative to the event(s) he/she is talking
about.”
7a. I have lived in Rome for three years.
7b. I lived in Columbus, Ohio for six years.
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Lingua inglese-specialistica I anno
8a. We’ve already seen that movie. Why don’t we go to another one?
8b. What was the name of the movie you saw last weekend?
9a. She won’t be happy until she has finished her thesis.
9b. She defended her thesis last week. She’s over the moon, as you can
imagine she should be.
10a. The value of their house has decreased quite a lot in the last year.
10b. Last year the value of our house dropped by 20%.
11a. I’ve been doing the gardening, so that’s why I’m so dirty.
11b. Yesterday I did the gardening and it took me a long time.
NOUNS: traditionally known as naming words in that they name people, places
and things
 Common
 Proper
 Abstract
 Concrete
 Count
 Non-count (uncountable)
 Plurals
o regular
o irregular
 Possessives
ADJECTIVES: proved extra information about nouns by giving details of
physical quantities like colour and shape and of psychological qualities like
emotions, and by providing evaluative judgements
 Attributive
 Predicative
 Grading
o superlative
o comparative
M. Boyd
HANDOUT#1
AA 2013/14
ADVERBS: give information about time, place and manner. They can modify:
 Verbs
 Adjectives
 Other adverbs
 Sentences
o disjuncts – express speakers’ attitudes
o conjuncts – link sentences
 Circumstantial adverbs:
o manner
o time
o frequency
o place
PRONOUNS


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




Personal
Object
Possessive
Reflexive
Demonstrative
Interrogative
Relative
Indefinite
DETERMINERS
 Articles
 Possessive
 Demonstrative
 Indefinite
 Numbers
o cardinal
o ordinal