Linking verbs and subject complement: S+V+C

A linking verb is a special kind of verb, it doesn’t state an action but rather, it connects the subject to a word or word group that describes or gives us more information about the subject.
Here are some examples of linking verbs: be, appear, feel, look, seem, sound, taste, become, grow, remain, smell, stay, and turn.

Linking verbs are accompanied by a subject complement. Typically a subject complement takes the form of noun or adjective, as in [1] noun group and [2] adjective.

1.      Llewellyn is a goblin.

2.      Llewellyn is adventurous.

Another basic sentence structure is that formed in the following manner:

Subject + (linking) Verb + (subject) Complement

Lewellyn (subject) + is (linking verb) + a goblin (subject complement) 

Lewellyn (subject) + is (linking verb) + adventurous (subject complement) 

Basic sentence structure: SVO

The sentence structure known as SVO is a structure that refers to a sentence composed in the following manner:

Subject + Verb (transitive) + direct Object 

S + V + O

Here we have some examples of sentences that follow the SVO structure:

1. I told DB. 

NP = I (Subject) 

V = told (Trans. V) 

NP = D.B (direct Object) 

2. I liked her. 

NP = I (Subject)
V = liked (Trans. V)
NP = her (direct Object) 

3. He wrote this terrific book of short stories. 

NP = He
V = wrote
NP = this terrific book of short stories

4. I brushed my hair 

NP = I (subject)

V = brushed  (trans. V)

NP= my hair (direct Object) 

5. The whole team ostracized me. 

NP = The whole team (Subject)
V = ostracized (Trans. V)  
NP = me (direct Object) 



Note: All the sentences are from The Catcher In The Rye (1951) by J.D. Salinger. 

Transitive verbs and direct object

A transitive verb is one that requires a direct object to complement it. If the main verb requires a direct object to complete the sentence then we are talking about a transitive verb.
Look at the following example:

NP = An 11-year-old Canadian Boy     (Subject) 

V (trans) = saved  (Verb) 

NP = his whole family (Direct Object)  

The direct object is something or someone who receives the action or was affected by the action.

“One way of identifying the direct object in a declarative sentence is by asking a question introduced by who or what followed by the operator and the subject. The object is the constituent that who or what questions:” (Greenbaum and Nelson 15). 

What (dO) did (Op) an 11-year-old Canadian boy (Subject) save?
His whole family (dO)

Note: Remember that a transitive verb must have a direct object.

Subject and predicate

One of the most basic analysis of a sentence is that which divides a sentence into a subject and a predicate. Probably, you have learned this at elementary school and if you were attentive to your classes you can remember it. The subject in most of the cases show us who is performing the action while the predicate show us which action the subject is performing. To identify the subject and the the predicate we can ask us two questions: Who is performing the action? Which action is happening?

[The cat] plays outside.
Subject     Predicate

In a syntax tree diagram it will looks like this: 

Now we are going to analyse a couple of sentences:

1. G20 leaders steel themselves for Trump's next trade move.

2. G20 leaders reaffirm support of Paris climate change agreement without U.S.

3. European Union officials who briefed reporters on draft final statement say the document contained a general commitment to fighting climate change.

Click on the image to enlarge.

4. Officials debated language pushed by the U.S.

5. Chinese President Xi Jinping told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Saturday that China will fulfil its obligations under the Paris climate change agreement.

Click on the image to enlarge. 

Form and function

Each word or unit belongs to a grammatical group. The word cat is part of the group of the nouns, that is what we call grammatical form. We can identify words by the group to which they belong as nouns, verbs, articles, adverbs and so on. Getting back to the word cat, such word can perform different functions within a sentence.

            [1] The cat is playing in the garden. (S)

[1a] I gave the cat a ball. (iO)

[1b] My pet is a cat. (sC)

[1c] I love my cat. (dO)

            In [1] the word cat has the function of subject (S), while in [1a] it is working as a indirect object (iO). Then in [1b] the same word performs the function of subject complement (sC), finally in [1c] it works as direct object (dO). This what we call grammatical function. 

Grammar and learning grammar

What is grammar?

This a great question to ask ourselves. The term grammar has always been mystified to the point that we think is an ability that only some people born with, but the true is that grammar is something more close to our lives; it is the way in which we order our thoughts, ideas and actions. A more formal definition of grammar is the following one:

“Set of rules that allow us to combine words into larger units” (Greenbaum and Nelson 1).

In this sense we can think of grammar as a puzzle or as a Lego set, we have different pieces and we assemble them in a specific way to create meaning, for example given the following words:

cat, the, sat, mat, on, the

           We can rearrange them forming the next sentence:

The cat sat on the mat.

The words alone are not enough to communicate more elaborate thoughts. The value of the words arises when we are able to use them in meaningful constructions. Grammar is interested in the way in which we organize such constructions.  

Why I should learn grammar?

There is a variety of reasons to learn grammar, in my particular case I am trying to learn more about grammar, because an internal curiosity arose in me, and as an English teacher I feel a greater duty in learning about it, but there are other practical reasons to study grammar: it helps you to organize your thoughts, the formal knowledge of the grammar of our native language provides us with a working framework to learn other languages, thus we can distinguish between structures that belongs to our native language and those of the foreign language we are learning, it also help us to understand and interpret a wide variety of texts.  

Welcome!

Hi everyone! Welcome to my blog! I decided to open this blog because I really like to learn about grammar. I think that language plays an important role in our lives. Recently I started reading a book called “An Introduction to English Grammar” whose authors are Sidney Greenbaum and Gerald Nelson. From this reading I found that the idea of opening a blog would be useful and here we are. In this blog I hope to share my progress with this particular book sharing my personal annotations and grammar exercises. Also, I hope to find other grammar/linguistics enthusiasts from all over the globe.