Grammar Analysis

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 369.

Grammar analyses forms of words (morphology) and forms of word-combinations (syntax), establish their logic relationships and functions. The grammar hierarchy is as follows: a sentence consists of one or more clauses; a clause consists of one or more phrases; a phrase consists of one or more words. So, the sentence is the highest unit that is normally treated in grammar. Below the word is the morpheme. Affixes (prefixes, suffixes, inflections signal grammatical variations of a word or indicate what part of speech it belongs to. The main objectives of the grammar analysis are to identify the words as parts of speech and phrases (nouns, verbs, prepositions, adverbs, noun phrase, verb phrases, etc) that comprise a sentence, parts of the sentence (subject, predicate, object, attribute, etc), and to describe the sentence structure (simple, complex sentences, subordinate clauses, etc) in the text. In other words, it is important to explain how the sentence works by means of words, forms of words, and word combinations. The grammar of narratives and novels reflects the world created by writers and their viewpoints. The grammar may be as standard as non-standard. Most of the fiction is written in the simple past tense, the present tense is also used to created dramatic effects. Mood will vary depending upon the requirements of the author. Declarative mood is most common, but interrogatives and imperatives are used to vary the pace and change the focus. In fiction, sentence structures are often complex. When simple sentences are used, they are often emphatic or striking. Because writers can experiment, there can also be sentences that do not appear to conform to standard grammatical patterns. Writers vary the kind of sentence structure they use, to maintain readers' interest and to make their fictional world seem alive.
Writers can adopt a variety of approaches to convey the speech of their characters on the page. Direct speech is an exact copy of the precise words spoken, allowing characters to speak for themselves. This approach gives prominence to the speaker's point of view. If writers vary spelling, vocabulary, word order and so on, it is possible to produce an accurate phonological, lexical and syntactical written version of characters' accents and dialects. Indirect speech reports what someone has said, using a subordinate that clause. The person who is reporting the conversation intervenes as an interpreter by selecting the reported words. This submerges the original speaker's point of view. There is a good sample of the grammatical analysis of the sentence The little old lady across the street is carefully knitting a sweater for her grandson, who is a newsboy.

The is a definite article modifying the noun lady. Little and old are adjectives modifying the noun lady. Lady is a noun used as subject of the sentence. The little old lady is the complete subject of is knitting. Across is a preposition, introducing the prepositional phrase. The is a definite article modifying the noun street; street, a noun used as an object of the preposition across. The entire prepositional phrase, across the street, is used as an adjective modifying lady. Is is an auxiliary verb which with the present participle knitting forms the present continuous tense, active voice, and is the predicate of the sentence. Carefully is an adverb modifying the verb phrase is knitting. A is an indefinite article modifying sweater, which is a noun used as direct object of the verb phrase is knitting. For is a preposition; her, the possessive pronoun, third person, singular, feminine, refers to lady and modifies grandson. Grandson, a noun, is the object of the preposition for. The entire prepositional phrase for her grandson is used as an adverb, modifying is knitting, if we think of the phrase as being closely associated with and tied to the verb phrase is knitting; if, however, we think of for her grandson as closely associated with sweater, then both by logic and common sense we can call it a prepositional phrase used as an adjective modifying sweater. Who is a relative pronoun, nominative case, referring to grandson and used as the subject of is; is is a linking verb. A is an indefinite article modifying newsboy; and newsboy is a predicate noun after a linking verb. The group of words, who is a newsboy, is an adjective clause modifying grandson. The entire sentence is complex in its grammatical structure.

Another example of the grammar analysis is made in the sentence When they were gone, he locked the door, wiped the blood out of his eyes and set to work to repair the animals that had been destroyed.

It's a complex sentence made of three clauses: 1) the main clause he locked...the animals; 2) the subordinate clause of time introduced by the conjunction when; 3) the attributive clause introduced by the conjunction that. When is a conjunction of time. They is a personal pronoun, third person, plural, used as the subject of the subordinate clause. Were is an auxiliary verb, and together with past participle of gone, forms the predicate of the same clause. He is a personal pronoun, third person, singular, is used as the subject of the main clause. Locked is the predicate in the past simple. The is a definite article modifying the word door. Door is a noun used as a direct object, wiped is a past tense form of the verb to wipe and functions in the sentence as part of the homogeneous predicates. The is a definite article modifying the noun blood. Blood is a noun used as a direct object. Out of is a compound preposition of place. His is a possessive adjective, which together with the noun eyes make a modifier of place in the sentence. And is a conjunction. Set is a past tense form of the verb to sit, and it is used as the predicate. To is a preposition of work, which is a noun and used as an indirect object. To repair is an infinitive used as a direct object. The is a definite article modifying the noun animals. Animals is a noun in the plural form used as a direct object. That is a relative pronoun used as the subject of the predicate had been destroyed, which is past perfect passive tense of the verb to destroy in the attributive clause.