The Structure of Modern English: Sentences and their Uses
Term 1
TTh, 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the structure of sentences and their uses in Modern English. We study the structure of phrases and the clause functions of phrases, sentence types, finite and non-finite clauses and sub-clauses, the meaning of sentences, information packaging and speech acts. Students are required to learn the techniques of labelled bracketing and tree diagrams for syntactic description. The course is offered from a descriptive perspective, an approach not situated exclusively in any specific linguistic theory. To be successful in this course, it is important to participate in the numerous exercises assigned from the workbook and in addition to it. There are three monthly tests, the last of which is the final exam, each contributing one third towards the final grade. The prescribed book is Brinton & Brinton (2010). More details are available on the course website on connect.ubc.ca.
