S contains NP and VP and that S may be a constituent of NP and VP. NP and PP can be mutually inclusive. If phrasal categories appear on both sides of the arrow in phrase structure rules, the rules are recursive. Recursive rules can be applied again and again, and the phrase structure can grow endlessly.
Sub-categorization of the lexicon.
The process of putting words of the same lexical category into smaller classes according to their syntactic characteristics is called sub-categorization.
Transformational rules (T-rules)
Particle movement T-rule
John turned the machine off. John turned off the machine.
Replacement T-rule
John beat Tom. He beat Tom.
The house needs repairing (to be repaired).
Insertion T-rule
A fish is swimming in the pond. There is a fish swimming in the pond.
Deletion T-rule
They came in and (they) sat down.
Copying T-rule
He is coming, isn’t he?
He has finished his homework, hasn’t he?
Reflexivization T-rule
I wash me (myself).
TG grammar accounts for the mental process of our speaking.
Systematic-functional grammar
Background and the goal of systemic-functional grammar
M. A. K. Halliday
Language is a system of meaning potential and a network of meaning as choices.
Meaning determines form, not vice versa. Meaning is realized through forms.
The goal of systemic-functional grammar is to see how function and meaning are realized through forms.
The three meta-functions of language
Ideational function
Interpersonal function
Textual function
The transitivity system of language
Elements
Process
Participants
Circumstances
Categorization of reality
Doing – material process
Processes involving physical actions: walking, running, throwing, kicking, wrapping, etc.
Actor, goal and circumstance
Being – relational process
Processes representing a relation being set up between two separate entities.
Be (identifying), have (attributive)
Carrier/possessor and attribute/possessed
Sensing – mental process
Processes of sensing, including feeling, thinking, perceiving, imagining, wanting, liking, etc.
Senser and phenomenon
Less central types of linguistic process
Verbal processes – saying something
Sayer and receiver
Behavioural processes – active conscious processes
Behaver and range
Existential processes – existence of an entity
Existent
Mood and modality
Mood expresses the speaker’s attitude and serves for interpersonal function. It is a syntactic constituent made up of the subject and the finite.
Modality is the degree of certainty or frequency expressed by the grammatical forms of finite. It can be categorized by modalization and modulation.
Theme and rheme
Theme is the given information, while rheme is the new information.
Examples:
