Grammar Project

Communicative Grammar

Final Project:

"Analysing grammatical phenomena and structures" based on the material of the book "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee

220212 Nikolaenko Valeria

Index

01. Conditional Sentences

02. Clauses

03. Cleft Sentences

04. Inversion

05. Ellipsis

06. Modal Verbs

07. Conclusion

01. Zero Type

examples

Analysis

If Mrs. Grace Merriweather sips gin out of Lydia E. Pinkham bottles it’s nothing unusual. It helps folks if they can latch onto a reason.

Mood - indicative. Zero type conditional is used to talk about facts, general truth

Latch onto sth - to become interested in sth

01. First Type

Analysis

examples

They’ll think it’s funny if wedon’t show up. Show you some of ‘em if we see ‘em I’ll go next Sunday, if it’s all right, can I?

In the 2nd senence the subject and auxilliary verb "will" are both omited. However, it is still 1st type conditional.

01. Second Type

Analysis

examples

In the first sentence we can see that isntead of the usual way of forming Subjuncive II (which is using "were" after any pronouns) "was" is used.

If your father was thirty you'd find life quite different. - subjunctive II pr. + conditional pr. If he did he’d say he did - subjunctive II pr. + conditional pr.

01. Third Type

Analysis

examples

I reckon if he’d wanted us to know it, he’da told us. - subjunctive II past + conditional past If you hadn’t fallen into her hands, I’d have made you go read to her anyway. - subjunctive II past + conditional past

Third Type conditional. Used to talk about unrealistic events in the past.

01. Mixed

Analysis

mixed conditional example

Subjunctive II present + conditional past

If he was proud of it, he’da told us

01. Constructions

Analysis

examples

Aunt Alexandra seemed as if she had always lived with us. It’s time you started bein’ a girl and acting right! In the silence that followed, I wished he’d start ringing it again

subjunctive II

02. Clauses

Relative clauses

I looked at Jem, who was looking at Zeebo from the corners of his eyes.

We know who the narrator is refering to, thats why there is a coma before the relative clause.

The older citizens, the present generation of people who had lived side by side for years and years, were utterly predictable to one another .

There is no coma before the relative clause as we don't kmow what people the narrator is reffering to.

02. Clauses

Adverbial clauses

Please tell him to come over here as soon as he comes in.

Adverbial clause of time

He said he wouldn’t be caught anywhere near the high school at something like that.

Adverbial clause of place

She’s a faithful member of this family and you’ll simply have to accept things the way they are.

Adverbial clause of manner

02. Clauses

Nominal clauses

The most ridiculous example I can think of is (that the people who run public education promote the stupid and idle along with the industrious)

Which reminded me (that I had a question to ask Atticus).

I noticed not without satisfaction (that the mark of my knuckles was still on his mouth)

03. Cleft sentences

1. All I know is if it freezes tonight these plants’ll freeze, so you cover ‘em up.

2. What bothers me is that she and Jem will have to absorb some ugly things pretty soon.

3. It was then my burning ambition to grow up and twirl with the Maycomb County High School band.

04. Inversion

Had I been attentive, I would have had another scrap to add to Jem’s definition of background

There goes the meanest man ever God blew breath into.

The jury, thinking themselves under close scrutiny, paid attention; so did the witnesses, thinking likewise.

Ewell didn’t seem to help her none, and neither did the chillun, and I knowed she didn’t have no nickels to spare.

04. Inversion

Had I ever harbored the mystical notions about mountains that seem to obsess lawyers and judges, Aunt Alexandra would have been analogues to Mount Everest: throughout my early life, she was cold and there.

Conditional type 3 (unrealistic events in the past) Subjunctive II past + Conditional Relative clause

Ellipsis

05.

Jem was carrying my ham costume, rather awkwardly, as it was hard to hold. I thought it gallant of him to do so.

Besides, sister, I don’t want you working your head off for us—you’ve no reason to do that.

You rarely win, but sometimes you do

06. Modal verbs

I figure if he’d come out and sit a spell with us he might feel better. - possibility Dill said he must drink a gallon a day. - obligation Could I ask you a question or two? - asking permission I can use one hand good as the other. - ability They didn’t have to shoot him that much. - obligation

07.

Conclusion

Since the grammatical analysis has been based on a book, it was relatively easy to find all the grammatical structures. However, it was hard to find many examples of ellipsis, which is mostly used in colloquial speech, in written text. Also there weren't many examples of Zero and First Conditional sentences as the narrator mostly talks about the past events.

Thanksfor your attention

Any question?