Vocatives, Compounds, Clauses

Vocative

= a name used for the person to whom a sentence is addressed

• it was claimed to be a distinct noun case, and glossed by the word O – a usage now only found in religious contexts (O God, who…)

• vocative is an optional element – it can be removed without affecting the rest of the sentence

• it may occur in various positions in a sentence

• it is not an element of a clause (subject, verb..)

Several kinds of vocatives:

• Names with/without titles (David, Mrs Smith)

• Family labels (uncle)

• Markers of status or respect (sir, my lord)

• Labels for occupations (waiter, nurse)

• Evaluative labels (darling, pig, dear)

• Genereal labels (ladies and gentlemen)

• The pronoun you (impolite) you, where is the phone?

Compounds

• Important part of the lexicon, but they can be classified into types

Nouns

(subject + verb) – sunrise, headache, popcorn

(verb + object) – haircut, chewing-gum, sightseeing

(verb + adverbial) – living-room, playgoer

(subject + object) – motorcycle, oil well, postman

(subject + complement) – oak tree, handyman, darkroom, flypaper

Adjectives

(verb + object) – breathtaking, man-eating

(verb + adverbial) – handmade, typewritten

(verbless) – homesick, camera-ready

Clause elements

• Traditional grammar recognized two main elements – subject and predicate

1That cyclist / 2has called / 3Dave / 4a fool / 5twice.

1 = subject – usually identifies the theme or topic of the clause

• Question – after the first verb, statements – before the verb

• Controls, whether the verb is singular/plural in the third person of the present tense

• Controls the form of certain objects and complements

2 = verb – expresses actions, sensations, states of being

• Cannot be omitted, exceptions are “verbless” clauses – if possible

3 = object – identify who has been directly affected by the action of the verb

• Usually follows the subject and the verb

• Two types – direct (reffering to some person or thing directly affected by the action) and indirect (typically refers to an animate being which is the recipient of the action, usually in this clause we have direct object too)

4 = complement – futher information about another clause element

• Express meaning which adds to another clause element – the subject complement (usually follows the subject and the verb, verb is usually “to be”), the object complements (usually follows a direct object and its meaning relates to that element)

5 = adverbial – adds extra info about the situation (time of an action, location, manner)

• They may add information to an event, or link clauses together, add some comment

Clause element ≠ word

Clause types

S+V (I yawned.)

S+V+O (I opened the door.)

S+V+C (I am ready.)

S+V+A (I went to London.)

S+V+O+O (I gave him a pen.)

S+V+O+C (I got my shoes wet.)

S+V+O+A (I put the box on the floor.)