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Q. 1 What is lesson planning? Explain the various steps involved in planning a lesson and how can we plan opportunities for students participation?

Lesson plan
A lesson plan is a teacher's detailed description of the course of instruction for one class. A daily lesson plan is developed by a teacher to guide class instruction. Details will vary depending on the preference of the teacher, subject being covered, and the need and/or curiosity of children. There may be requirements mandated by the school system regarding the plan.[1]

Developing a lesson plan

While there are many formats for a lesson plan, most lesson plans contain some or all of these elements, typically in this order:

Title of the lesson Time required to complete the lesson List of required materials List of objectives, which may be behavioral objectives (what the student can do at lesson

completion) or knowledge objectives (what the student knows at lesson completion)

The set (or lead-in, or bridge-in) that focuses students on the lesson's skills or concepts

these include showing pictures or models, asking leading questions, or reviewing previous lessons

An instructional component that describes the sequence of events that make up the lesson,

including the teacher's instructional input and guided practice the students use to try new skills or work with new ideas

Independent practice that allows students to extend skills or knowledge on their own A summary, where the teacher wraps up the discussion and answers questions An evaluation component, a test for mastery of the instructed skills or conceptssuch as a

set of questions to answer or a set of instructions to follow

Analysis component the teacher uses to reflect on the lesson itself such as what worked,

what needs improving

A continuity component reviews and reflects on content from the previous lesson[2]

A well-developed lesson plan

A well-developed lesson plan reflects the interests and needs of students. It incorporates best practices for the educational field. The lesson plan correlates with the teacher's philosophy of education, which is what the teacher feels is the purpose of educating the students.[3] Secondary English program lesson plans, for example, usually center around four topics. They are literary theme, elements of language andcomposition, literary history, and literary genre. A broad, thematic lesson plan is preferable, because it allows a teacher to create various research, writing, speaking, and reading assignments. It helps an instructor teach different literature genres and incorporate videotapes, films, and television programs. Also, it facilitates teaching literature and English together.[3] Similarly, history lesson plans focus on content (historical accuracy and background information), analytic thinking, scaffolding, and the practicality of lesson structure and meeting of educational goals.[4] School requirements and a teacher's personal tastes, in that order, determine the exact requirements for a lesson plan. Unit plans follow much the same format as a lesson plan, but cover an entire unit of work, which may span several days or weeks. Modernconstructivist teaching styles may not require individual lesson plans. The unit plan may include specific objectives and timelines, but lesson plans can be more fluid as they adapt to student needs and learning styles.

Setting an objective
The first thing a teacher does is create an objective, a statement of purpose for the whole lesson. An objective statement itself should answer what students will be able to do by the end of the lesson. Harry Wong states that, Each [objective] must begin with a verb that states the action to be taken to show accomplishment. The most important word to use in an assignment is a verb, because verbs state how to demonstrate if accomplishment has taken place or not.[5] The objective drives the whole lesson, it is the reason the lesson exists. Care is taken when creating the objective for each days lesson, as it will determine the activities the students engage in. The teacher also ensures that lesson plan goals are compatible with the developmental level of the students. The teacher ensures as well that their student achievement expectations are reasonable.[3]

Selecting lesson plan material

A lesson plan must correlate with the text book the class uses. The school usually selects the text books or provides teachers with a limited text book choice for a particular unit. The teacher must take great care and select the most appropriate book for the students. [3]

Types of Assignments
The instructor must decide whether class assignments are whole-class, small groups, workshops, independent work, peer learning, or contractual:

Whole-classthe teacher lectures to the class as a whole and has the class collectively

participate in classroom discussions.

Small groupsstudents work on assignments in groups of three or four. Workshopsstudents perform various tasks simultaneously. Workshop activities must be

tailored to the lesson plan.

Independent workstudents complete assignments individually. Peer learningstudents work together, face to face, so they can learn from one another. Contractual workteacher and student establish an agreement that the student must perform

a certain amount of work by a deadline.[3] These assignment categories (e.g. peer learning, independent, small groups) can also be used to guide the instructors choice of assessment measures that can provide information about student and class comprehension of the material. As discussed by Biggs (1999), there are additional questions an instructor can consider when choosing which type of assignment would provide the most benefit to students. These include:

What level of learning do the students need to attain before choosing assignments with

varying difficulty levels?

What is the amount of time the instructor wants the students to use to complete the

assignment?

How much time and effort does the instructor have to provide student grading and feedback? What is the purpose of the assignment? (e.g. to track student learning; to provide students

with time to practice concepts; to practice incidental skills such as group process or independent research)

How does the assignment fit with the rest of the lesson plan? Does the assignment test

content knowledge or does it require application in a new context?[6]

4 Q. 2 Describe the meaning and characteristics of evaluation. Make valid decisions about using different criteria for evaluating students performance in English.

various steps involved in planning a lesson

Technology Integration Lesson Planning Process
When designing computer-based activities, you must give consideration to how technology can be used to acquire, organize, demonstrate, and communicate information. The planning process for technology integration is similar to planning a curriculum unit. The main differences are HOW the students acquire the knowledge and skills, HOW they demonstrate and apply the knowledge and skills, and HOW learning will be assessed or evaluated. These differences have a major influence on the structure of a lesson plan as they incorporate the use of the computer. In addition to the skills and knowledge that must be taught as part of the curriculum, consideration must also be given to the technology skills students need to learn. Often teachers assume that the students will figure it out on their own. However, this can waste instructional time. It is a good idea to plan ahead, so that the time in the computer lab is well spent.

Step 1: Examine Curriculum Documents

select the topic identify learning objectives within a subject

Step 2: Determine Knowledge and Skills

determine students background knowledge and existing technology skills decide how students will acquire new knowledge and skills gather resources required to achieve instructional goals

Step 3: Select a Technology Product to Apply Learning

choose a technology-based product for students to create outline the content it will contain select the software program(s) needed list the technology skills required to complete the task

Step 4: Select a Method of Assessment and Criteria for Evaluation

determine the method of assessment set the criteria to evaluate the technology product with a focus upon content, quality of information, layout and design, and technology skills demonstrated

Technology Integration Sample: Lesson Planning for Teachers

Imagine you are planning an endangered species unit. Step 1 Examine Curriculum Documents: As part of this unit, your students must investigate how animals have adapted to their environment and analyze the effects of human activities on habitats. You decide that you are going to integrate technology to achieve these aims. Step 2 Determine Knowledge and Skills: One of your first considerations is what your students already know about the computer. They need to have basic computer skills. For example, they need to know how to use the keyboard and mouse, login to the computer, open and close programs, and save files. If your students do not possess these skills, you will need to teach them. Another consideration is what your students know about endangered species and what they still need to learn. You may decide that in addition to books, your students will use the Internet to research. However, they may not have the skills to use the Internet. Perhaps students have never used a web browser or search engine. This means that you will need to teach these skills as well. Step 3 Select a Technology Product: You decide your students will write a brief report about their animal using a word processing program. The report will include facts and pictures. Again, your students may not possess the technology skills necessary to complete this task, so you will need to teach them. Step 4 Select a Method of Assessment and Criteria for Evaluation: Upon completion of the report, you will evaluate the work. Consider a method of assessment and criteria for evaluation. When selecting the criteria, decide if you plan to evaluate only the content and design of the report or if you will also include the application of technology skills. Lesson planning for teachers involving technology integration can be simple. Planning ahead is the key to success.

Increasing Student Participation

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While increasing participation is an obvious goal in courses that include frequent discussions and small-group work, it is also important in a lecture course. In short, if only a few students participate by volunteering answers, asking questions, or contributing to discussions, class sessions become to some extent a lost opportunity to assess and promote learning. You can improve student participation in your course by devoting time and thought to shaping the environment and planning each class session. Furthermore, the way in which you interact, both verbally and non-verbally, communicates to students your attitude about participation. Ideally, the goal of increasing participation is not to have every student participate in the same way or at the same rate. Instead, it is to create an environment in which all participants have the opportunity to learn and in which the class explores issues and ideas in depth, from a variety of viewpoints. Some students will raise their voices more than others; this variation is a result of differences in learning preferences as well as differences in personalities. For example, some students who do not speak often in class are reflective learners, who typically develop ideas and questions in their minds before speaking; others are shy students who feel uncomfortable speaking in front of groups (at least initially). Many students who frequently volunteer to contribute are active learners, who typically think while they speak. The instructors goal is to create conditions that enable students of various learning preferences and personalities to contribute. To reach this goal, you will need to take extra steps to encourage quiet students to speak up and, occasionally, ask the more verbose students to hold back from commenting in order to give others a chance. This handout is divided into the following sections: Shaping the Environment Planning Listening and Responding Links and References

Shaping the Environment

Reserve a classroom that will accommodate the kind of participation you have in mind. Starting on the first day of class, arrange the room in a way that encourages active engagement. When it is time to reserve a classroom, keep in mind not only the number of student chairs you will need, but also whether these chairs should be moveable. If you lead frequent discussions, consider moving the chairs into a circle or U to ensure that students can see, and speak to, one another. If you are teaching in a large lecture hall, consider asking students to move so that they are concentrated near the front of the room. Move the chairs back to their standard configuration at the end of class (in University-managed classrooms, see the diagram posted near the door). Make clear from the beginning your expectation that students will participate. On the first day of class, explain what you see as valuable about class participation. Indicate that you want to do all you can to ensure that the classroom dynamics and activities support full

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participation, including calling on students who do not raise their hands and sometimes asking frequent contributors to allow others to have a chance. Ask students to inform you if you can make any changes to improve the classroom dynamics and rates of participation. On the first day of class, give students a clear idea of what to expect regarding participation. If you plan to lecture each day with pauses for questions and discussion, do so on the first day; if you plan to lead more extended discussions, then do so on the first day (see Tips for Teaching on the First Day of Class). Consider whether you will assign a grade to students performance in discussions so that they understand the importance of participating. If you do plan to grade participation, inform students of the specific criteria that you will use. For example, will you evaluate the frequency and quality of their contributions, as well as how effectively they each respond to others comments? Will you include in each participation grade the students performance on informal writing, online discussions, minor group projects, or other work? Grading student participation is especially important, and usually essential, in discussion courses (see Teaching with Discussions). Learn and use students names. Students will be more engaged if they believe that you perceive them as individuals, rather than as anonymous members of a group. Encourage students to learn one anothers names, as well; this strategy will increase the possibility that they will address one another by name and direct their comments to one another, not just to you. Return to top.

Planning
In a discussion course, assign to your students some of the responsibility for increasing participation by all. For example, on the first day of class, you might tell students your goals for class participation (e.g., informed and lively discussions in which everyone participates) and ask them to come up with a list of guidelines that will help the class reach this goal. Typically, they will generate excellent guidelines such as do not interrupt others when they are talking and critique the ideas; dont criticize the person. Post this list on the course Web site and hand it out in class. Students who feel invested from the beginning in making the discussions successful will be more likely to work together to increase participation. Consider requiring students to lead discussions or to submit discussion questions before class. Provide guidance and assess student performance on these tasks (assigning a score, for example, that forms a part of the class participation grade.) In discussion courses in which you are having trouble getting students to participate, consider asking students to submit anonymous comments on class participation as well as suggestions on

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how to get more people involved; often, they will let you know that there are problems with the classroom dynamics that you may not see yourself (such as that some students resent the domination of discussion by one or two others) or that the structure of the discussions has become too predictable or formulaic.

Use a variety of teaching methods, including lectures, discussions, and small-group work.

If you are teaching a lecture course, set aside time during each lecture to ask and answer questions, to ask students to solve a problem, or to discuss an issue. Pause every 15-20 minutes for this purpose. When students learn to expect these opportunities for discussion or questioning, they will listen more actively to the lecture. If you lecture for 45 minutes before you pause for questions or discussion, your students will have been taking notes for so long that they may find it difficult to switch modes quickly. Furthermore, they may well have forgotten questions, comments, or unclear concepts from the earlier parts of class (see Teaching with Lectures). If you are teaching a discussion course, integrate short lectures into the lesson plan in order to introduce concepts, clarify and order ideas, and help students make connections. Use small-group discussions, informal writing assignments, and online discussions before or at the start of class to prompt student thinking about the discussion topic. These strategies can be effective ways to provide reflective learners and shy students a means of developing ideas that they can then contribute to the class discussion. Commenting on the insights that quieter students contribute in small-group discussions and on informal writing assignments and online discussions can encourage them to speak up in the larger group; you might comment on a students written work, for example, this analysis is insightful; the entire class would benefit from hearing your ideas more often (see Teaching with Discussions). Organize each class session to include opportunities throughout to ask and answer questions; prepare initial and follow-up questions ahead of time.

Use questions to assess student learning, to signal to students which material is the most important, and to help students advance their knowledge and thinking. (For a discussion of strategies for formulating questions, see Asking Questions to Improve Learning). Encourage students to ask questions throughout the class (approximately every 15 minutes), not just at the end.

If grading student participation, plan to give students a preliminary participation grade, as well as a brief written evaluation of their performance.

If you will grade class participation, give students preliminary grades as early as 3-4 weeks into the semester and at midterm so that they will know where they stand. Your written evaluation can be designed to encourage the quiet students to talk more often and the verbose students to hold their comments to give others a chance to participate).

Listening and Responding

Use verbal and non-verbal cues to encourage participation.

Do not rely on the same volunteers to answer every question. Respond to frequent volunteers in a way that indicates that you appreciate their responses, but want to hear from others as well. Move to a part of the room where quiet students are sitting; smile at and make eye contact with these students to encourage them to speak up. By the same token, when frequent volunteers speak, look around the room rather than only at them to encourage others to respond (see below). Reduce students anxieties by creating an atmosphere in which they feel comfortable thinking outloud, taking intellectual risks, asking questions, and admitting when they do not know something; one of the best ways to do this is to model these behaviors yourself. Give students time to think before they respond to your questions.

Do not be afraid of silence. Give students 5-10 seconds to think and formulate a response. If 10-15 seconds pass without anyone volunteering an answer and the students are giving you puzzled looks, rephrase your question. Do not give in to the temptation to answer your own questions, which will condition students to hesitate before answering to see if you will supply the answer. Patience is key; do not be afraid of silence. The longer you wait for students to respond, the more thoughtful and complex those responses are likely to be. Often, there is at least one student in every class who will quickly raise her or his hand to answer nearly every question. If you consistently call on this student, those who require more time to formulate answers will simply learn to wait for this student to answer

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Listen fully to your students questions and answers; avoid interrupting.

Resist the urge to interrupt when you think you know what the student is going to say or ask. Often, well-meaning and enthusiastic instructors make incorrect assumptions and leave their students actual questions unanswered or misrepresent what the students had planned to say. Provide specific, encouraging, varied responses.

Point out what is helpful or interesting about student contributions. Pick up on comments that were made but not discussed. Do not use the same, standard praise to respond to every comment. When students hear good point again and again, they start to lose motivation. Ask follow-up questions to prompt students to clarify, refine, and support their ideas. When a student gives an incorrect or ill-conceived answer, respond in way that challenges the student to think more deeply or to reconsider the evidence. The best way to shut down participation, and learning, is to embarrass a student. Repeat student responses to summarize or clarify ideas.

Use this strategy when a students comments are vague or all over the map, but do not over-use it, leading students to rely on you to translate or validate their ideas. Redirect comments and questions to other students.

Encourage students to respond to one another, rather than merely to you. When a student is speaking, look around the room, not just at the student who is speaking; making eye contact with other students lets them know that you expect them to be listening and formulating responses. Provide students with a model of civil discourse by demonstrating respect for, and interest in, the views of others. Learn to limit your own comments. Particularly when facilitating a discussion, hold back from responding to every comment; otherwise, students will learn to wait for you to respond rather than formulating their own responses. Place the emphasis on student ideas.

Encourage students to share their ideas and use those ideas (with attribution) whenever you can. Referring back to a comment made by a student in an earlier class demonstrates that you have thought about and appreciated what your students have to say.

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Active student participation does not happen naturally in university courses; it must be carefully planned and encouraged. Set aside time throughout the semester to assess student participation in your course and to develop strategies for improvement; administer midterm student evaluations to help you with this process. Consider asking a colleague to observe your class; often, outside observers can discern patterns that hinder participation but that may not be apparent to participants. Take notes during and after a semester so that you have a record of what went well and what you would like to change the next time you teach the course in order to increase student participation.

Q NO;2

Describe the meaning and characteristics of evaluation. Make valid decisions about using different criteria for evaluating students performance in English. (20)

A Definition of Evaluation
Kate Kiefer, English Professor Like most specific assignments that teachers give, writing evaluations mirrors what happens so often in our day-to-day lives. Every day we decide whether the temperature is cold enough to need a light or heavy jacket; whether we're willing to spend money on a good book or a good movie; whether the prices at the grocery store tell us to keep shopping at the same place or somewhere else for a better value. Academic tasks rely on evaluation just as often. Is a source reliable? Does an argument convince? Is the article worth reading? So writing evaluation helps students make this often unconscious daily task more overt and prepares them to examine ideas, facts, arguments, and so on more critically. To evaluate is to assess or appraise. Evaluation is the process of examining a subject and rating it based on its important features. We determine how much or how little we value something, arriving at our judgment on the basis of criteria that we can define. We evaluate when we write primarily because it is almost impossible to avoid doing so. If right now you were asked to write for five minutes on any subject and were asked to keep your writing completely value-free, you would probably find such an assignment difficult. Readers come to evaluative writing in part because they seek the opinions of other people for one reason or another.

Characteristics of evaluation

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Strategy evaluation
must meet several basic requirements to be effective. First, strategy-evaluation activities must be economical; too much information can be just as bad as too little information and too many controls can do more harm than good. Strategy evaluation activities also should be meaningful they should specifically relate to a firms objectives. They should provide managers with useful information about tasks over which they have control and influence. Strategy-evaluation activities should provide timely information on occasion and in some areas, managers may daily need information. For example, when affirm has diversified by acquiring another firm, evaluative information may be needed frequently. However, in an R&D department, daily or even weekly evaluative information could be dysfunctional. Approximate information that is timely is generally more desirable as a basis for strategy evaluation than accurate information that doses not edict the present. Frequent measurement and rapid reporting may frustrate control rather than give better control. The time dimension of control must coincide with the time span of the event being measured. Strategy evaluation should be designed to provide a true picture of what is happening. For example, in an ever economic downturn, productivity and profitability ratios may drop alarmingly, although employees and managers are actually working harder. Strategy evaluations should fairly portray this type of situation. Information derived from the strategy-evaluation process should facilitate action and should be directed to those individuals in the organizations who need to take action based on it. Managers commonly ignore evaluative reports that are provided only or informational purposes; not all managers need to receive all reports. Controls need to action-oriented rather than information-oriented. The strategy-evaluation process should not dominate decisions; it should foster mutual understanding, trust, and common sense. No department should fail to cooperate with another in evaluating strategies. Strategy evaluations should be simple, not too cumbersome, and not too restrictive. Complex strategyevaluation system is its usefulness, not its complexity. Large organizations require a more elaborate and detailed strategy-evaluation system because it is more difficult to coordinate efforts among different divisions and functional areas. Managers in small companies often communicate daily with each other and their employees and do not need expensive evaluative reporting systems. Familiarity with local environments usually makes gathering and evaluating information much easier for small organizations than for large businesses. But the key to an effective strategyevaluation system may be the ability to convince participants that failure to accomplish certain objectives within a prescribed time is not necessarily a reflection of their performance. There is no one ideal strategy-evaluation system. The unique characteristics of an organization, including fits size, management style, purpose, problems, and strengths, can determine a strategy-evaluation and control systems final design

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Q. 3 Identify different types of nouns and pronouns with examples.

Common nouns
are the names of things in general, such as cat, dog, road, city, skirt, colour etc.

proper noun
is the name of a particular person, place or thing, such as Kate, Billy, Manchester, Thames, Rover etc. All proper nouns start with a capital letter.

collective noun
is the name given to a group of things, for example a flock of birds or a herd of cows.

abstract noun
is something you can't see, hear, touch or taste. These can be emotions (happiness, grief) or states (peace, quiet) for example. Decide which type of noun best describes the next ten words from the drop-down lists, then click on "Finished" to see how you did.

HOME

PARTS OF SPEECH

SENTENCE STRUCTURE

PUNCTUATION

USAGE

EXERCISES

PRONOUNS
Pronouns are words that substitute for nouns. Every pronoun must have a clear antecedent (the word for which the pronoun stands).

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KINDS OF PRONOUNS
A. Personal Pronouns: SINGULAR 1st person I 2nd person you 3rd person he she it me you him her it my, mine we your, yours you his they her, hers its PLURAL us you them our, ours your, yours their, theirs

subjective objective possessive subjective objective possessive

Personal pronouns have the following characteristics: 1. three persons (points of view) 1st person - the one(s) speaking (I me my mine we us our ours) 2nd person - the one(s) spoken to (you your yours) 3rd person - the one(s) spoken about (he him his she her hers it its they their theirs) Examples

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2. three genders feminine (she her hers) masculine (he him his) neuter (it its they them their theirs) Examples

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3. two numbers singular (I me my mine you your yours he him his she her hers it its) plural (we us our ours you your yours they them their theirs) Examples

4. three cases subjective (I you he she it we they) possessive (my mine your yours his her hers our ours their theirs) objective (me you him her it us them) Examples - subjective case

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Examples - possessive case

Examples - objective case

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NOTE: Because of pronoun case, the pronoun's form changes with its function in the sentence. Follow this link to pronoun case for more information.

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B. Demonstrative Pronouns:

Demonstrative pronouns can also be used as determiners. Example: Hand me that hammer. (that describes the noun hammer) Demonstrative pronouns can also be used as qualifiers: Example: She wanted that much money? (that describes the adjective much)

C. Reflexive / Intensive Pronouns : the "self" pronouns These pronouns can be used only to reflect or intensify a word already there in the sentence. Reflexive / intensive pronouns CANNOT REPLACE personal pronouns. Examples: I saw myself in the mirror. (Myself is a reflexive pronoun, reflecting the pronoun I.) Ill do it myself. (Myself is an intensive pronoun, intensifying the pronoun I.) Note: The following words are substandard and should not be used: theirselves theirself hisself ourself

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D. Indefinite Pronouns: Singular: one each (n)either someone somebody something anyone anybody anything no one nobody nothing everyone everybody everything

Examples: Somebody is coming to dinner. Neither of us believes a word Harry says. Plural:

Examples: Both are expected at the airport at the same time. Several have suggested canceling the meeting. Singular with non-countables / Plural with countables:

Examples: Some of the dirt has become a permanent part of the rug. Some of the trees have been weakened by the storm. Indefinite pronouns use apostrophes to indicate possessive case. Examples: The accident is nobodys fault. How will the roadwork affect one's daily commute? Some indefinite pronouns may also be used as determiners.

21 one, each, either, neither, some, any, one, all, both, few, several, many, most Note the differences: Each person has a chance. (Each is a determiner describing person.) Each has a chance. (Each is an indefinite pronoun replacing a noun.) Both lawyers pled their cases well. (Both is a determiner describing lawyers.) Both were in the room. (Both is an indefinite pronoun replacing a noun.)

22 E. Interrogative Pronouns:

Interrogative pronouns produce information questions that require more than a yes or no answer. Examples: What do you want? Who is there? F. Relative Pronouns:

Relative pronouns introduce relative (adjectival) clauses.

Note: Use who, whom, and whose to refer to people. Use that and which to refer to things.

23 Q. 4 Define the terms verb, adverbs and preposition and explain their uses with examples.
Definition:
The part of speech (or word class) that describes an action or occurrence or indicates a state of being. There are two main classes of verbs: (1) the large open class oflexical verbs (also known as main verbs or full verbs--that is, verbs that aren't dependent on other verbs); and (2) the small closed class of auxiliary verbs (also called helping verbs). The two subtypes of auxiliaries are theprimary auxiliaries (be, have, and do), which can also act as lexical verbs, and the modal auxiliaries (can, could, may, might, must, ought, shall, should, will, andwould). Verbs and verb phrases usually function aspredicates. They can display differences in tense,mood, aspect, number, person, and voice. See "Observations," below. See also: Notes on Verbs and Verb Phrase.

Types and Forms of Verbs:

Ten Types of Verbs Ten Quick Questions and Answers About Verbs and Verbals in English Auxiliary Verb A-Verbing Base Form Catenative Verb Causative Verb Copula Denominal Verb Dynamic Verb & Stative Verb Finite Verb & Nonfinite Verb Hidden Verb Intransitive Verb & Transitive Verb Irregular Verb & Regular Verb Iterative Lexical Verb Light Verb Linking Verb Main Verb Modal Mood Performative Verb Phrasal Verb Prepositional Verb Principal Parts of a Verb Psych Verb Reporting Verb

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Etymology: From the Latin, "word"

Examples:

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." (Theodore Roosevelt)

"First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you." (F. Scott Fitzgerald)

"In the whole vast configuration of things, I'd say you were nothing but a scurvy little spider." (Jimmy Stewart, It's a Wonderful Life)

"Automobiles, skirting a village green, are like flies that have gained the inner ear-theybuzz, cease, pause, start, shift, stop, halt, brake, and the whole effect is a nervous polytone curiously disturbing." (E.B. White, "Walden")

"Behind the phony tinsel of Hollywood lies the real tinsel." (Oscar Levant)

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"Some people say that I must be a terrible person, but it is not true. I have the heart of a young boy in a jar on my desk." (Stephen King)

"Don't you dare use 'party' as a verb in my shop." (Dylan Moran, Black Books) Observations:

"I am a serious little nerd. You see, I use verbs. Verbs are our friends. They help move along our sentences." (Steve Urkel in Family Matters)

"A better way to recognize the verb . . . is by its form, its -s and -ing ending; verbs also have an -ed and an -en form, although in the case of some irregular verbs these forms are not readily apparent. And every verb, without exception, can be marked by auxiliaries." (Martha Kolln, Understanding English Grammar, 1998)

Among the formal characteristics of English verbs are that they typically:

a. may be made past in meaning by suffixing -(e)d as in walked, opened, said; b. may be made into agents by suffixing -er as in doer, walker, knower. c. may be made negative by prefixing dis- as in disagree, disappear, dislike. (Grover Hudson, Essential Introductory Linguistics. Blackwell, 2000)

"Some verbs are recognizable by form because they have been created from other parts of speech with derivational verb-making morphemes (falsify, enrage). Verbs are also recognizable because of their ability to change form through inflection, by taking endings that indicate third-person singular (eats), past tense (ate), past participle (eaten), andpresent participle (eating). But in isolation, without a context, it is impossible to tell whether words like dog/dogs and head/heads are nouns or verbs." (Thomas P. Klammer, et al., Analyzing English Grammar. Pearson, 2007) Pronunciation: vurb Grammar Basics The Basic Parts of Speech The Basic Sentence Unit Basic Sentence Structures Verb Terms Verbing

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Irregular Verb Aspect Verb Types Base Verb Auxiliary Verb Linking Verb

QNO 5

Syntax - English sentence structure

Introduction: This page contains some basic information about sentence structure (syntax) and sentence types. It also includes examples of common sentence problems in written English. ESL students who understand the information on this page and follow the advice have a better chance of writing well. [Note to teachers/advanced students]
Definition: Linguists have problems in agreeing how to define the word sentence. For this web page, sentence will be taken to mean: 'a sequence of words whose first word starts with a capital letter and whose last word is followed by an end punctuation mark (period/full stop or question mark or exclamamtion mark)'. On the basis of this definition, some of the sentences written by ESL students (indeed by all writers) will be correct, and other sentences will be problematic. Good readers (English teachers, for example!) can quickly see the difference between a correct and a problematic sentence.

Subject/predicate: All sentences are about something or someone. The something or someone that the sentence is about is called thesubject of the sentence. In the following sentences the subjects are shown in red. Note how the subject is often, but not always, the first thing in the sentence.

John often comes late to class. My friend and I both have a dog named Spot. Many parts of the Asian coastline were destroyed by a tsunami in 2004. The old hotel at the end of the street is going to be knocked down to make way for a
new supermarket. Sitting in a tree at the bottom of the garden was a huge black bird with long blue tail

feathers. The grade 7 Korean boy who has just started at FIS speaks excellent English. On Saturdays I never get up before 9 o'clock. Before giving a test the teacher should make sure that the students are well-prepared. Lying on the sofa watching old films is my favourite hobby.

The predicate contains information about the someone or something that is the subject. The

27 example sentences above are shown again, this time with the predicate marked in green.

John often comes late to class. My friend and I both have a dog named Spot. Many parts of the Asian coastline were destroyed by a tsunami in 2004. The old hotel at the end of the street is going to be knocked down to make way for a new supermarket. Sitting in a tree at the bottom of the garden was a huge black bird with long blue tail feathers. The grade 7 Korean boy who has just started at FIS speaks excellent English. On Saturdays I never get up before 9 o'clock. Before giving a test the teacher should make sure that the students are well-prepared. Lying on the sofa watching old films is my favourite hobby.

Do a quiz on the subject and predicate. Simple subject/predicate: As you can see from the example sentences above both the subject and the predicate can consist of many words. The simple subject is the main word in the subject, and the simple predicate is the main word in the predicate. The simple subject is always a noun/pronoun and the simple predicate is always a verb. In the following sentences the simple subject is shown in red and the simple predicate is shown in green.

My ESL teacher speaks a little Russian. The young girl with the long black hair fell from her bike yesterday in heavy rain. At the back of the line in the cafeteria yesterday was a large brown dog with a yellow collar around its neck! My friend and I are going on holiday together this year. Your mother or your father must come to the meeting. Sitting in a tree at the bottom of the garden was a huge blackbird with long blue tail feathers.

From the last three examples sentences above you will notice that the simple subjects and simple predicates can be more than one word. Advice: To write strong, clear sentences you must know who or what you are writing about (subject) and what you want to say about them or it (predicate). Your writing will be more interesting if the subject is not the first thing in every sentence you write. Do a quiz to identify simple subjects and predicates. Sentence types: One way to categorize sentences is by the clauses they contain. (A clause is a part

28 of a sentence containing a subject and a predicate.) Here are the 4 sentence types:

Simple: Contains a single, independent clause. o I don't like dogs. o Our school basketball team lost their last game of the season 75-68. The old hotel opposite the bus station in the center of the town is probably going to be knocked down at the end of next year. Compound: Contains two independent clauses that are joined by a coordinating conjunction. (The most common coordinating conjunctions are: but, or, and, so. Remember: boas.) o I don't like dogs, and my sister doesn't like cats. o You can write on paper, or you can use a computer.
o

A tree fell onto the school roof in a storm, but none of the students was injured. Complex: Contains an independent clause plus one or more dependent clauses. (A dependent clause starts with asubordinating conjunction. Examples: that, because, while, although, where, if.) o I don't like dogs that bark at me when I go past. o She did my homework, while her father cooked dinner. o You can write on paper, although a computer is better if you want to correct mistakes easily.
o

Note: A dependent clause standing alone without an independent clause is called a fragment sentence - see below. Compound-complex: Contains 3 or more clauses (of which at least two are independent and one is dependent). o I don't like dogs, and my sister doesn't like cats because they make her sneeze. o You can write on paper, but using a computer is better as you can easily correct your mistakes.
o

A tree fell onto the school roof in a storm, but none of the students was injured, although many of them were in classrooms at the top of the building. Advice: Writing that contains mostly short, simple sentences can be uninteresting or even irritating to read. Writing that consists of mostly long, complex sentences is usually difficult to read. Good writers, therefore, use a variety of sentence types. They also occasionally start complex (or compound-complex) sentences with the dependent clause and not the independent clause. In the following examples the dependent clause is shown in red:

Although it was raining, we decided to go fishing. If it doesn't rain soon, the river will dry out. Because the road was icy and the driver was going too fast, he was unable to brake in time when a fox ran into the road in front of him.

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Note: Sentences can also be categorized according to their function. [More] Note: Independent clauses are also called main clauses. Dependent clauses are also called subordinate clauses. Do a quiz to identify clause types. Do a quiz to identify sentence types. Problematic 'sentences': To write a correct sentence, you need to have a good understanding of what a sentence is. Students who don't have this understanding, or don't take care, often include problem sentences in their writing. Native English speakers are just as likely to write problem sentences as ESL students. There are three main types of problem sentence:

Run-on sentences: These are two sentences that the writer has not separated with an end punctuation mark, or has not joined with a conjunction. (Click the following run-ons to see where they should be separated into two sentences.) o I went to Paris in the vacation it is the most beautiful place I have ever visited. o It's never too late to learn to swim you never know when you may fall from a boat. o If you're going to the shops can you buy me some eggs and flour I want to make a cake. o I like our new math teacher, she always explains the work very clearly. o He was late to school again, his bus got caught in heavy traffic. Advice: It is helpful to read your written work aloud. When you speak, you will make natural pauses to mark the end of your sentences or clauses. If there is no corresponding end punctuation mark in your writing, you can be almost certain that you have written a run-on sentence. Sentence fragments: Fragment sentences are unfinished sentences, i.e. they don't contain a complete idea. A common fragment sentence in student writing is a dependent clause standing alone without an independent clause. In the each of the following examples the fragment is the second 'sentence', shown in red: o I don't think I'm going to get a good grade. Because I didn't study. o She got angry and shouted at the teacher. Which wasn't a very good idea. o He watched TV for an hour and then went to bed. After falling asleep on the

sofa.
o o o

She got up and ran out of the library. Slamming the door behind her. I have to write a report on Albert Einstein. The famous scientist who left

Europe to live in the USA.

After riding my bike without problems for over a year, the chain broke. 40

kilometers from my house!

Advice: If your 'sentence' is a dependent clause, or it doesn't contain both a subject and a predicate, then it is not a proper sentence. You can often detect fragments if you read your writing backwards sentence by sentence, i.e. from the last sentence to the first one. You can

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usually correct a fragment by connecting it to the sentence before or after it. Good writers, who have a full understanding of the sentence, occasionally choose to write a sentence fragment. So you may see sentence fragments in the fiction or even some of the non-fiction you read. As an ESL student, however, you should avoid fragments (except when writing your own creative stories). Rambling sentences: A rambling sentence is a sentence made up of many clauses, often connected by a coordinating conjunction such as and, or, so. o John usually gets up before 7 o'clock, but yesterday his alarm clock did not ring, so he was still asleep when his boss called him at 10.30 to ask where he was and tell him that he would lose his job if he was late again. o Although the blue whale has been protected for over 30 years and its numbers are increasing, especially in the North Pacific, where whale hunting has been banned, it is still at risk of extinction as its habitat is being polluted by waste from oil tankers and its main food, the plankton, is being killed off by harmful rays from the sun, which can penetrate the earth's atmosphere because there is a huge hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica. Advice: A rambling sentence is quite easy to spot. You have almost certainly written one if your sentence contains more than 3 or 4 conjunctions. If you read the sentence aloud and run out of breath before reaching the end of it, you have written a rambling sentence. If your sentence stretches over many lines of writing, you have certainly written a rambling sentence and most probably a run-on sentence too. Unlike run-ons or fragments, rambling sentences are not wrong, but they are tiresome for the reader and one of the signs of a poor writer. You should avoid them. Do a quiz to identify problematic sentences. General advice: If you are not sure whether you have written a good, correct sentence, ask your teacher! And remember: The more you read in English, the better a writer you will become. This is because reading good writing provides you with models of English sentence structure that will have a positive influence on your own written work. Note: Good writing consists not only of a string of varied, correctly-structured sentences. The sentences must also lead from one to the next so that the text is cohesive and the writer's ideas are coherent. For information on these two important concepts, go to the Language words for non-language teachers page and click on Cohesion.
There are links to more sentence identification and sentence building exercises on theWriting Index of this website.

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1. INTRODUCTION This assignment is based on the detailed analysis of sentence and its constituents from different points of view. The concept of sentence is important in the sense that all the languages combine them. In other words, speakers use sentences in order to communicate their ideas or thoughts. So, sentences have a decisive role within communication. Generally speaking, there are lexical, morphological and syntactic between the different categories. This assignment has been done by using Radfords and Ouhallas works. 2. The Sentence: definition of this grammatical concept with its main and general characteristics from different points of view According to the traditional grammar, sentences consist of words, but not every string of word constitute a sentence as we can see in the following example: Lion cage this less in dangerous is the. A possible analysis is that if we look at this example we know the meaning of the individual words, but the sequence as a whole does not make sense, so we cannot consider this structure a sentence. Thus, we can affirm that if a sequence of words is to constitute a sentence, it must he meaningful, for instance: The lion is less dangerous in this cage. The network of relations between the words of a sentence is called its structure. There are many different aspects that influence the structure of a sentence. A very important one is word order. The different order of the words in a sentence can bring by a difference in its meaning, as in the following example: Did he say who he was?= Who did he say he was? But a difference in word order does not always imply a difference in meaning. Sometimes it simply entails a difference in emphasis: John ran away //A way ran John . In relation with the words, the structure of the sentence also depends on the individual meaning of the words or word-groups making up the sentence; in the following example the difference of structure is not due to word order but to the relationship between the words: Peter was waiting for seven friends. //Peter was waiting for seven minutes. Then this kind of Grammar deals with the concept of Ambiguous sentences and explains that the structure of sentences is not always unambiguously derivable from overt marks like word order, lexical items etc... Sometimes we come across sentences to which more than one structure can he assigned, having therefore, more than one meaning. This type of sentence receives the name of Ambiguous Sentence, as in the following examples: George likes Susan more than Joan // Visiting relatives can be boring. Only through the context in which these sentences may appear can we know which of the two possible meanings is intended.

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According to the Transformational Grammar, it deals with the idea that a sentence has a syntactic structure, and it follows this term in order to develop its theory. The first important point deals with the idea that the evidence for claiming that sentences have a syntactic structure in language comes from the native speaker's intuition about the structure of sentences in his language. These structural intuitions which native speakers have about the Syntax of their languages are two types:

1. The constituents: intuitions about how sound-sequences in sentences are structured into larger structural units. 2. Categories:
intuitions about whether structural units belong to the same category or not. So, the following example is going to illustrate this fact: This pupil must seem incredibly intelligent to that teacher. To analyse the concept of sentence we can do the following analysis: words are grouped into lower constituents. For example incredibly" modifies "intelligent, so the sequence [ incredibly intelligent] is a phrasal constituent of the sentence. Also, following the analysis, 'this" modifies "pupil", so the sequence [that pupil] forms a single structural unit, a constituent of the sentence. The same happens in the sequence [that teacher]. But furthermore also the sequence [to that teacher] is another constituent. To the transformational grammar, the phrases [incredibly intelligent] and [to that teacher] both modify "seem, then the whole sequence [seem incredibly intelligent to that teacher] is also a constituent. Thus, all this information can he represented as we see before in diagrammatic form, that is a tree diagram. Each point in the tree is called a node, and each node represents a constituent. But, however, since nodes are predictable, later they were suppressed in subsequent treediagrams. But a tree-diagram does not provide any representation of our intuitions about which constituents are constituents of the same type. The traditional way of describing the similarities and differences between constituents is to say that they belong to categories of various types. And the same happens with the phrases. Finally, to this type of grammar, the whole sequence [that pupil must seem incredibly intelligent to that teacher] is a special type of constituent traditionally termed a clause or sentence.

3. conventions to Be used in the analysis of a sentence, the constituents aNd its levels
Every sentence can he analysed at four distinct form levels: the word-level, the phrase-level, the clause-level and the sentence- level. And this is called the rank scale. Later, after the explanation of the constituents of a sentence we will see the different levels and how they can he analysed following the same example. Then, following the example mentioned before: "This pupil must seem incredibly intelligent to the teacher" We can represent the categorical constituent structure of the sentence in terms of labelled tree diagram below: Thus, a diagram as this provides a visual presentation of the categorial constituent structure of the sentence. It shows us how sentence is structured out of its constituent phrases, and how each of the phrases is structured out of its component words, and also it provides a visual presentation of the phrase structure of sentence. The type of labelled tree- diagram used here is referred to as a Phrase-marker (P-marker) because it marks the hierarchical grouping of words into phrases, and phrases into sentences.

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Another method of visual display used in the linguistic literature is to make use of labelled bracketing. Within this system, we could represent the categorial status of the words in the structure mentioned before as in the following example: [D This] [N pupil] [M must] [V seem] [Adv incredibly] [A intelligent] [P to] [D that] [N teacher] We could use this system of labelled bracketing to represent the fact that [this pupil] and [that teacher] are noun phrases, that [to that teacher] is a prepositional phrase. That [incredibly intelligent] is an adjective phrase, that [seem incredibly intelligent to that teacher] is a verb phrase, and that [this pupil must seem incredibly intelligent to that teacher] is an "S" = clause. As follows: [S [NP [D this] [N pupil]] [M must] [VP [V seem] [AP [ADV incredibly][A intelligent]] [PP [P to] [NP [D that] [N teacher] ] ] ] ] Then the two diagrams represented here contain the same information. Many linguists prefer tree-diagrams as a form of visual representation of syntactic structure because they are easier to read, and the reason for that is that the information they contain is less condensed. Thus, diagrams like these provide a virtually complete representation of the syntactic structure of the sentence. Also we can find partial tree-diagrams or partial labelled bracketings: for instance if we take the sentence mentioned before, we can see that it contains three major constituents: 1. The noun phrase [this pupil]. 2. A modal auxiliary verb [must]. 3. A verb Phrase [seem incredibly intelligent to that teacher]. Then in place of the full tree-diagram, we also can have the partial P-maker, that follows this scheme: This pupil must seem incredibly intelligent to that teacher. In this type of diagrams it is quite common to use a triangle" to represent constituents with a complex internal structure. Also in place of the detailed labelled bracketing, we can have the partial bracketing as we can see in the following example: [S [NP this pupil] [M must] [VP seem incredibly intelligent to that teacher]] Linguists tend to use labelled tree diagrams for a full representation of the syntactic structure of a sentence, and labelled bracketings for partial representation of structure. But both systems of representation are equivalent. In relation with the constituents, we speak of constituents to refer to the different parts in which a sentence can be divided, as we have seen before. Constituents can be regarded as elements that play a role in larger structures or can also be looked upon as linguistic units in their own right. So we can say that sentences are built up out of sets of constituents, each of which belongs to a specific category. And as we have seen before this categorial constituent structure can be represented schematically in the form of a Phrase-marker-labelled tree diagram or labelled bracketing. Then again, regarding the concept of constituents, if we consider the constituents of a sentence as individual linguistic units we can speak of phrases, words and morphemes and their different types: 1 .Phrases: noun phrases, verb phrases, adjective phrases, prepositional phrases, adverbial phrases and so on.

34
2.Words: Noun, verb, adjective, adverb , prepositions and so on . 3.Morphemes: bound and free morphemes. These constituents can be regarded as elements that play a role in larger structures, and also we can look upon them as linguistic units in their own right, and as independent linguistic units they have their own characteristics. For instance phrases do not resemble sentence, although it is their natural function to serve as constituents of sentences; for instance in: "Their grandmother takes the train " We see that all the constituents serve to form the sentence: [their grandmother], [takes] [the train]. Then we can distinguish different types of phrases: 1. Noun phrase. 2. Adjective phrase. 3. Adverb phrase. 4. Verb phrase. 5. Prepositional phrase. Then a phrase can be identified on the basis of the word class membership of its most important constituent; Thus, a noun phrase is a phrase which has a noun as its most important constituent, an adjective phrase is a phrase whose principal element is an adjective and so. The element that gives name to a noun phrase, adjective phrase or other phrases is the head of the phrase. The other elements in the phrase stand in a relation of dependency on, or subordination to, the head. This fact usually happens in the noun phrase, adjective phrase or adverb phrase. In these three types of phrases, the dominant element is that which can replace the whole phrase without affecting the structure of the sentence, as we can see in the following examples: 1. " She likes classical music" can be replaced by "She likes music = that is a noun phrase. 2. "Sarah is quite nervous" can be replaced by "Sarah is nervous" = that is a verb phrase. Noun phrases can function as immediate constituents of sentences and immediate constituents of other phrases. Sentence functions are typically realised by noun phrases are those of: Subject, direct object, indirect object, benefactive object, subject attribute and object attribute. There are two sentence-functions that are less closely associated with the noun phrase, that of predicator complement and that of adverbial. The only phrase type in which the noun phrase functions as a typical immediate constituent is the prepositional phrase. In prepositional phrase the noun phrase is the usual realization of the function prepositional complement: "opposite the parking". Also sometimes a noun phrase is found within another noun phrase, where it follows the head of that phrase in a function resembling that of postmodifier. The adjective phrases as constituents of clauses and sentences, can only realise the functions subject attribute and object attribute. Adverb phrases as constituents of sentences and clauses nearly always realise the function adverbial. Three types of adverbial functions can be distinguished: 1. Conjuncts: they function as the connecting link between the sentence in which they occur and the preceding context. 2. Disjunct:

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they usually function as comment words, that is they provide the speaker's comment on the content or form of the utterance. 3. All other adverbs that are constituents of a clause or sentence function as adjuncts. Then the most important idea is that the dominant element has been called HEAD and any other element in the phrase depends on it. Verb phrases and prepositional phrases do not have a head. In the verb phrase all the constituents are always verbs and none of them can replace the others. In this type of phrases all the immediate constituents are verbs. Every verb phrase has a dominant member, which is invariably a lexical verb. The lexical verb is always the last constituent of the phrase. Other, subordinated, constituents precede the lexical verb, and invariably belong to the class of auxiliary, or "helping" verbs (either modal or primary). There is thus a one-to-one correspondence between function and category within the internal structure of the verb phrase. When we consider the verb phrase as a constituent of the clause or sentence, the verb phrase can realise only one function on sentence level, viz that of predicator. The verb phrase exhibits a number of features that are not found in any of the other phrase types: aspect, voice, tense and mood. Another feature of the finite verb phrase is that it often exhibits concord: agreement in person and number between the verb phrase and the subject. In the prepositional phrase the preposition, which is the dominant element, cannot replace the whole phrase either. However, all the elements in the prepositional phrase depend on it. The preposition is said to govern them. Then, the structure of the prepositional phrase is determined by its two functions: prepositional and prepositional complement. The constituent realising the former governs the one realising the latter. Both functions are obligatory and they usually occur immediately after each other. The immediate constituents of prepositional phrases that function on clause or sentence level may, under certain conditions, be found in different places in the clause or sentence, the prepositional complement occurring in initial position and the prepositional after the predicate or in final position. As an immediate constituents of the sentence or clause, the prepositional phrase usually functions as adverbials, either as adjunct, as conjunct or as disjunct. Less usually, a prepositional phrase may occur as subject, as subject attribute, as object attribute or as predicator complement. Then, we can see that within a phrase we can also find different functions, functions at the level of the phrase. The head is the most important one, but there are also others such as the modifiers. Finally, as the most important idea in relation with the phrases is that they are usually constituents of sentences but they can also be constituents of other phrases. Then the following level in relation to the constituents are the words as constituents of phrases and within them we can find the morphemes as constituents of words. So the morpheme is the minimal unit of grammatical description in the sense that it cannot be segmented any further at the level of grammatical analysis. In relation with the words, we see how they form phrases, which in turn combine into sentences Then the structure of the sentence also depends on the individual meanings of the words or word-groups making up the sentence. Then through the following examples: Maggie was speaking for two friends. Maggie was speaking for two minutes.

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Here the difference of structure is not due to word order but to the relationship between the words. Then words can be grouped together into word classes. This can be done taking into account morphological, syntactic and semantic criteria. 1.morphological: words that belong to the class of verbs generally take inflectional endings such as -s,-ing, .ed. 2.Syntactic: it has to do with the way words function in sentences and phrases. From a syntactic point of view, we can affirm that although there is not a one correspondence between functions and categories like in the phrases, most categories have a typical function associated with it. Verbs are associated with the sentence function predicator, nouns with subject or direct object, adverbs with adverbial and so on. 3.Semantic: this type of criteria is less reliable indicator of word class membership. We may distinguish two classes of words: open word class and closed word class: -open word class: the membership is unrestricted, that is, new words can be added. Within the class we have nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and verbs. -Closed word class: the membership is restricted, that is, it does not allow the addition of new members. We have prepositions, conjunctions, articles, numerals, interjections, pronouns and quantifiers. Then if we consider constituents as part of a larger structure we can establish a hierarchy of linguistic units. Morphemes function as constituent of words, words as constituents of phrases and phrases as constituents of sentences. This hierarchy is called rankscale as we can see in the following example: "her friend has bought the house" the house house Also in relation to the constituents of a sentence, we can observe that the subordinators for instance introduce clauses as constituents of sentences or phrases, as we can see in the following example: That Peter is intelligent is obvious" In relation to the concept of clause as constituent of the sentence, clause is a synonym of sentence. Then in terms of the functions they can play in the structure of the sentences, we can distinguish the following types: a. Subject clauses. b. Direct object clauses. c. lndirect object clauses. d. Benefactive object clauses. e. Subject attributive clauses. f. Object attributive clauses.

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g. Predicator complement clauses. h. Adverbial clauses. However, units are not always composed of units of the next lowest rank. A unit of a given rank may function as a constituent of a unit of the same rank or even of a unit which is one step lower down the rankscale. This is called rankshift. Then after this explanation of the constituents of a sentence, we can affirm that the sentence can be analyzed from four different levels: 1.The word-level. 2.The phrase-level. 3.The clause-level. 4.The sentence-level. Then as a conclusion we can say that tree-diagrams are very useful to represent the hierarchical relations between the various constituent parts of a sentence. Then in relation with the semantic analysis of a sentence, we look at its meaning: 1. The thematic role or participant role. 2. Predicates and their elements. When we talk about the thematic structure, we deal with the argument of the structure. For instance in relation to the argument: NP, and the thematic role, for instance we can say agent. To illustrate this we can see the following example: Sheila sent a letter Then we can represent its thematic structure and its argument through the following way: [1 NP, Agent, 2 NP, Theme] Or for instance another example could be: " Anthony puts the fish on the fridge" = puts (verb) [1 NP, Agent, 2 NP, Theme , 3 PP, Goal ] Then this is what is called the thematic structure of the preposition. Then following this analysis , also we can make representations through these tree-diagrams or labelled bracketing not only the representations of sentences, but also analysis of the constituents of the sentences, for instance of the phrases which are the most common ones, as we can see in the following examples: A window and a key"= [NP[NP a window] and [NP a key] ] NP NP NP A window and a key intelligent and serious" = [AP[AP intelligent] and [ AP serious] ] AP AP AP Intelligent and serious

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Then as a conclusion to this point, there is a hierarchical order and two words (for example: key and window or intelligent and serious) can be grouped together in order to form a phrase. In the case of a window and a key, both of them form a noun phrase. However, in the case of intelligent and serious, both of them form an adjective phrase because the two heads ( intelligent and serious) are adjectives.