The English language: from sound to sense

The English Language

Grounded in linguistic research and argumentation, The English Language: From Sound

to Sense offers readers who have little or no analytic understanding of English a thorough

treatment of the various components of the language. Its goal is to help readers become

independent language analysts capable of critically evaluating claims about the language

and the people who use it.

Written in a clear style, it guides its readers on topics including basic assumptions about

language and discourse, pronunciation, word-formation strategies, parts of speech, clause

elements and patterns, how clauses may be combined into sentences, and how clauses

and sentences are modified to suit speakers’ and writers’ discourse purposes.

The English Language avoids presenting the language as set of arbitrary facts by ground￾ing its conclusions in the analytic methods that have characterized the best grammatical

and linguistic practices for hundreds of years. Although its perspectives derive from

modern-traditional and generative grammar, its goal is to provide its readers with a broad

spectrum of basic knowledge about English. Its stance is rigorously descriptive, but the

object of its description is the standard variety of the language, thus making it an invalu￾able resource compatible with a wide range of purposes, including educated engagement

with the language issues that periodically convulse the media and educational institutions.

Each chapter contains a glossary of terms, a list of readings, and numerous exercises

(many using authentic texts).

Gerald P. Delahunty is Associate Professor of Linguistics and English and Assistant

Chair of the Colorado State University Department of English, where he teaches courses

on all aspects of linguistics and occasional courses on Irish literature. He has published

on syntactic theory, English syntax, sociolinguistics, and Irish archaeology.

James J. Garvey taught linguistics and literature courses in the English Department at

Colorado State University. He died tragically in 2006.

Perspectives on Writing

Series Editor, Mike Palmquist

The WAC Clearinghouse

http://wac.colostate.edu/

816 Robinson Street

West Lafayette, IN 47906

www.parlorpress.com

S A N: 2 5 4 - 8 8 7 9

ISBN 978-1-60235-180-6

The

English

Language

From Sound

to Sense

Gerald P. Delahunty

James J. Garvey

Delahunty

Garvey

WAC

Clearing￾house

Parlor

Press

The

English

Language

PERSPECTIVES ON WRITING

Series Editor, Mike Palmquist

PERSPECTIVES ON WRITING

Series Editor, Mike Palmquist

The Perspectives on Writing series addresses writing studies in a broad sense.

Consistent with the wide ranging approaches characteristic of teaching

and scholarship in writing across the curriculum, the series presents works

that take divergent perspectives on working as a writer, teaching writing,

administering writing programs, and studying writing in its various forms.

The WAC Clearinghouse and Parlor Press are collaborating so that these

books will be widely available through free digital distribution and low￾cost print editions. The publishers and the series editor are teachers and

researchers of writing, committed to the principle that knowledge should

freely circulate. We see the opportunities that new technologies have for

further democratizing knowledge. And we see that to share the power of

writing is to share the means for all to articulate their needs, interest, and

learning into the great experiment of literacy.

Existing Books in the Series

Charles Bazerman and David R. Russell, Writing Selves/Writing Societies (2003)

Charles Bazerman, Adair Bonini, and Débora Figueiredo (Eds.), Genre in a

Changing World (2009)

David Franke, Alex Reid and Anthony DiRenzo (Eds.), Design Discourse: Composing

and Revising the Professional and Technical Writing Curriculum (2010)

Gerald P. Delahunty and James Garvey, The English Language: from Sound to Sense

(2010)

The English Language

From Sound to Sense

Gerald P. Delahunty

James J. Garvey

The WAC Clearinghouse

wac.colostate.edu

Fort Collins, Colorado

Parlor Press

www.parlorpress.com

West Lafayette, Indiana

The WAC Clearinghouse, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523-1052

© 2010 Gerald P. Delahunty

Copyeditor, Designer: David Doran

Series Editor: Mike Palmquist

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Delahunty, Gerald Patrick.

The English language : from sound to sense / Gerald P. Delahunty, James J. Garvey.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-60235-180-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-1-60235-181-3 (adobe eb￾ook)

1. Linguistics. 2. Language and languages. 3. English language--Study and teaching.

I. Garvey, James J. II. Title.

P121.D384 2010

425--dc22

2010011194

The WAC Clearinghouse supports teachers of writing across the disciplines. Hosted by

Colorado State University, it brings together scholarly journals and book series as well as

resources for teachers who use writing in their courses. This book is available in digital

format for free download at http://wac.colostate.edu.

Parlor Press, LLC is an independent publisher of scholarly and trade titles in print and

multimedia formats. This book is available in paperback and Adobe eBook formats

from Parlor Press on the World Wide Web at http://www.parlorpress.com. For submis￾sion information or to find out about Parlor Press publications, write to Parlor Press,

816 Robinson St., West Lafayette, Indiana, 47906, or e-mail [email protected].

For Marna and Cian

To the memory of James J. Garvey

vii

Contents

1 Introduction to the Linguistic Study of Language                  3

key concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

who these books are for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

how to use these books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

what these books are about . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

discourse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

genre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

ideology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

language in education. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

thinking critically about language. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

standard english . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

grammar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

other reasons for studying and teaching about language. . . . . . . . . . . . .14

the organization of these books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

hints for success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

references and resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

2 Conceptions of Language and Grammar                        23

the study of language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

the roles of the english teacher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

what is a language?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

competence and performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

approaches to the study of language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

references and resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49

glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51

3 A Skeletal Introduction to English Grammar 57

introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

clauses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58

sentences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68

phrases. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72

complementation and modification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74

words. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75

morphemes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76

parts of speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77

viii

regular and irregular forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79

grammatical categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79

sounds and spelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81

form, function, and meaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82

references and resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87

glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87

4 Phonetics and Phonology 89

introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89

articulatory phonetics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89

consonants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91

vowels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98

syllables and feet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105

phonology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107

phonemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108

allophones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108

phonological rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113

references and resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116

glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117

5 Morphology and Word Formation                           121

introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121

words and morphemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122

morphemes, allomorphs, and morphs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124

words. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125

registers and words. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137

the internal structure of complex words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138

classifying words by their morphological properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .140

references and resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141

glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141

appendix a: some english derivational morphemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142

6 The Major Parts of Speech 147

introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147

the major parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs . . . . . . . . . .148

references and resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .184

glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185

Appendix to major parts of speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187

references and resources for appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .192

7 The Minor Parts of Speech                                  193

introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .193

ix

pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .194

articles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .208

auxiliary verbs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .213

prepositions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .216

intensifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .221

conjunctions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .222

references and resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .230

glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .230

8 Word Meaning 235

introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .235

dictionary entries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .236

mental dictionaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .261

concluding remarks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .267

references and resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .268

glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .269

9 Phrases 273

introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .273

what is a phrase? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .274

modification and complementation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .277

the adverb phrase (advp) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .279

the prepositional phrase (pp) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .282

the adjective phrase (ap) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .285

the noun phrase (np) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .288

the verb phrase (vp) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .306

references and resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .318

glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .319

10 Basic Clause Patterns 321

introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .321

elements of the clause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .322

subjects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .324

semantic roles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .330

auxiliary verbs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .336

tense and aspect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .338

basic clause patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .347

references and resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .364

glossary � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 364

appendix: time and tense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .365

references and resources for appendix � 382

x

11 Modifications of Basic Clause Patterns                        383

introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .383

movement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .383

assignment of semantic roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .388

deletion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .397

insertion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .402

passive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .403

references and resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .407

glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .407

12 Multi-Clause Sentences                                    411

introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .411

multi-clause sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .411

recursion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .412

complex sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .413

finite vs. non-finite clauses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .428

coordination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .435

miscellaneous information-restructuring sentence types. . . . . . . . . . . .436

concluding remarks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .442

references and resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .442

glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .442

Index 445

The English Language

From Sound to Sense

3

1 Introduction to the Linguistic Study of

Language

key concepts

Who these books are for

How to use these books

What these books are about

Communication

Language

Discourse

Text

Genre

Ideology

Language in education

Thinking critically about language

Standard English

Grammar

Other reasons for studying and teaching about language

The organization of these books

Hints for success

who these books are for

This is the first of two books for teachers about the English language. We be￾lieve that all teachers, not just English teachers, share the responsibility for

helping students develop their abilities to speak, read, and write. Students

must learn to communicate appropriately about math, chemistry, history,

and every other school subject. Teaching students these skills necessarily ex￾tends across the curriculum. Thus, while one part of our intended audience

is English K-12 teachers, we have prepared this book and its companion

with teachers (and student teachers) from all disciplines in mind.

how to use these books

In these books, we use certain typographical marks to help you focus on key

points. Important terms are bolded. You can find their definitions in the

text and in the glossary. Examples are noted in italics or are separated from

the text.

what these books are about

These books are about language, but specifically about the English language

Delahunty and Garvey

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and its uses. The first book is about the grammar of English; the second is

about related topics, including language variation (e.g., dialects), language

learning, English spelling, and the history of the English language.

Generally, when people hear the word “grammar,” they immediately

think of “correct” or “incorrect” and “good” or “bad” language. Thinking

about language in this way is said to be prescriptive. English has a long

tradition of judging some expressions as “correct” and others as “incorrect.”

For example, expressions such as We was are viewed as “incorrect,” even

though a great many people use them. The “correct” version is said to be We

were.

Counter-posed to the prescriptive tradition is the descriptive one, which

developed in linguistics, anthropology, and sociology. This approach is

concerned with describing and understanding the linguistic behavior of a

community, without judging it. From a descriptive point of view, We was

is unobjectionable when used by a member of a community of speakers

who characteristically use this expression. However, it is unacceptable to the

wider English speaking community in, for example, formal speaking and

writing.

The point of view presented in these books is essentially descriptive.

However, except where the topic is explicitly about linguistic variation, we

describe the form of English used in relatively formal public speaking and

writing. We recognize that language changes, and that consequently even

the prescriptive rules have to change. We believe that these rules should be

descriptions of the best accepted practices of the day rather than imposi￾tions (often irrelevant) on the language and its use.

communication

Communication occurs when one person acts with the intention of influ￾encing the mind of another, for example, by getting him/her to entertain

some idea, and when that other person recognizes the first person’s inten￾tion to influence his/her mind. Clearly, it is possible to influence another

person’s mind unintentionally; for instance, if I (unintentionally) sneeze,

I might prompt you to think that I might have a cold. However, this is a

rather different kind of event than one in which I intentionally sneeze and

you recognize that my sneeze was intentional. From my first (unintentional)

sneeze, you cannot infer that I am trying to get you to think I have a cold;

from my second (intentional) sneeze, you can infer that I am trying to get

you to think something or another, perhaps that I have a cold.

Imagine that we have gone to a party together and that we want to co￾ordinate our leaving. So, before we get to the party I say to you, “I’ll pre-