What do complex sentences consist of and how are they organised? This seminar will deal with form and function of syntactic units in complex sentences in present-day English. We will first revise relevant key terms, ranging from words and phrases to clause elements. Then we will delve into different types of subordinate clauses, before focusing on more complex syntactic constructions like clefts, existential sentences, and extraposition and their information-structural functions. Furthermore, the seminar will practise syntactic analysis by looking at samples from Present-Day English language use.
Arendholz, Jenny, ed. (2022): English syntax: Basic facts and in-depth analyses. Tübingen: Narr Francke Attempto Verlag
Kreyer, R. (2010). Introduction to English Syntax. Peter Lang.
Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G., & Svartvik, J. (1985). A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. Longman.
- Dozent/in: Teresa Pham