Syllabus
Each class meeting consists of a lecture focusing on a single aspect of English syntax, which is demonstrated using sentence diagrams. This includes:
Basic idea of syntax and its application in the English language: i.e., constituent units of meaning: word, phrase, and clause. Introduction to sentence diagrams. Verb: what they are and what they do. Transitive and intransitive, passive and active, verb phrases and phrasal verbs. Verbals: what they are and what they do. Verbal phrases, infinitives, gerunds, and participles. Nouns: what they are and what they do. Nouns as word, phrase, and clause: subjective and objective - including objects of verbs, verbals, and prepositions. Pronouns: what they are and what they do, including their function as nouns, conjunctions, and possessives. Adjectives: what they are and what they do, including relative clauses. Adverbs: what they are and what they do, including subordinate clauses. Prepositions: what they are and what they do, prepositions as adjectives and adverbs. Conjunctions and determiners: what they are and what they do. Overview: English as a functional syntactic language: noun pronoun verb adjective adverb pronoun determiner conjunction preposition.
Annotation
This course is designed to introduce students to the complicated world of English syntax, so as to facilitate their ability to read and comprehend advanced texts in English. Lectures will focus on advancing this goal and sample texts will be chosen accordingly; successful students will finish this course ready to study in English at a university level.