Verb and adjective complement clauses

1. Verb and adjective complement clauses Chapter 10 LongmanStudent Grammar ofSpokenandWrittenEnglish Biber; Conrad; Leech (2009, p. 307-352)

2. DAFFY DEFINITIONS • A psychopath is a crazy road. • Egg white is Snow White’s brother. • A musician is someone who makes a living by playing around. • A toadstool is a small chair for frogs. • A tonge depressor is what makes your tongue feel sad. • Zinc is where one puts the dirty dishes. • Free speech is when you can use someone else’s phone.

3. Introduction • Complementclauses are dependentclausesthat complete themeaningof a verb, adjectiveornoun. Thethat-complementclause in theutterancebelowprovidesthecontentof ‘thinking’. • I thoughtthat it lookedgood. • Complementclauses are alsocalled nominal clauses, becausetheyoftenoccupy a nounphraseslot in a clause, such as subject, object, orpredicative. • I saidthat I wasn’tperfect. • Complementclausescanalso complete themeaningofanadjectiveratherthan a verb. In this case, a predicativeadjectivecontrolsthecomplementclause. • I’vegottabecarefulthat I don’tsoundtoopompous. THE TERM PREDICATE IS USED FOR THE ELEMENT THAT CONTROLS A COMPLEMENT CLAUSE: EITHER A LEXICAL VERB OR A PREDICATIVE ADJECTIVE.

4. Types of complement clauses • There are four major types of complement clauses: that-, wh-clauses are finite complement clauses, to-, and –ing clauses are finite complement clauses. The clause types can be distinguished by their complementizer (e.g. to). The absence* of the complementizer does not change the structure of the clause. • She didn’t askwhat my plans were. • He begancrying for help. • I thought (that*) it was a good film. • He never knowshow to just say no. • Less common types are the bare infinitive clause and ed-clause. • I got the doors unlocked. • Police say the film wouldhelp identify the robbers.

5. Grammatical positions of complement clauses • There are three major grammatical positions for comple- ment clauses: subject (or pre-predicate), post-predicate, and extraposed (an alternative for subject position). • That they are struggling troubles the coach. (sub. pos., verb compl. clause) • Her coming was quite useless. (sub. pos., adjective compl. clause) • They are tryingto hold it together. (verb compl. clause as direct object) • That iswhat the case is all about. (verb compl. clause after copular verb) • I’m not surewhen it’s open. (adj. compl. clause) • It was not immediately clear how the Soviets could enforce it. (Extraposed clause) • It’s good to see them in the bath. (Extraposed to-clause as adj. Compl.)

6. That-clause • Differentkindsofthat-clause serve differentfunctions. Theirfrequenciesacrossregistersreflectthecommunicativeneedsofeachregister in relation to thesetypicalfunctions. • Themostcommontypeofthat-clause is post-predicate. Its typicalfunction is reportingthethoughtsand speech ofhumans. • Subjectpredicativethat-clauses serve as subjectpredicative to a copular verb. Functions: to describe a problem, to presentreasons, resultsorconclusionsand to presentacceptedtruthsorfacts. • Extraposedthat-clausesinvolve a mainclausethatreportsanattitudeorstancewithoutattributing it to anyone. • Embeddedthat-clauses are found in conversation as well as in newsand acad. prose. • Mental verbsand speech act/communication verbs are themostcommontypeofverbwith a that-clause. • Theseverbsreflecttheprimaryfunctionofthat-clauses for reportingthoughtsand speech. • Manyoftheverb + that-clausecombinationsalsoconveystance. • Subjectpositionandextraposedthat-clauses are muchlesscommonthanpost-predicatethat-clauses. • For verbs, onlybe is commoncontrollingextraposedthat-clauses. • Theadjectivesthatcontrolthat-clausesalsoconveystance. • There are threesubcategoriesofmeaning: certainty (e.g. certain), psychological states (e.g. glad, sad), andevaluation (e.g. good, important).

7. Discourse choices with that-clauses • Extraposed that-clauses are far more common than subject that-clauses. When subject that-clauses are used, they usually conform to particular characteristics. • Subject that-clauses and extraposed that-clauses are equivalent structures (that-clause is the logical subject of the sentence). A third related structure begins with “the fact that”. • It annoys them that you don’t fit their image of a princess. • That you don’t fit their image of a princess annoys them. • The fact that you don’t fit their image of a princess annoys them. • There are four factors that are important in the choice of a subject that-clause over an exposed one: • Register: ocasionally in acad. and news; almost non-existent in conv. • Information structure: information presupposed as factual/accepted • Grammatical factors: complex construction with many phrases and clauses • Topic and personal style: sports writers have this stylistic preference • Factors associated with the retention or omission of the that-complementizer include register, the main clause verb (say, think favor omission), and certain characteristics of the subjects in the main clause and that-clause (coordinated clauses and passives favor retention).

8. Wh-clauses • There are three major typesofwh-clauses: interrogative, nominal relative, andexclamative. Interrogativeand nominal relativeclauses use thesamewh-words, exceptthatwhether is usedonlywithinterrogatives. Exclamativewh-clausesbeginwithhoworwhat. • Wh-clausescanbecomplementsofverbs(Yougivehimwhathewants), adjectives(It wasincrediblewhathadhappened to them), orprepositions(Shewasamazedathowexhaustedshewas). • POST-PREDICATE WH-CLAUSES CONTROLLED BY VERBS • Wh-complementscanoccurwithorwithout a nounphrasebetweentheverbandwh-clause.(I wantyou to show [me] wherethecarwent off.) • There are four typesofverbsthat are mostcommonwithwh-clauses: mental, speech act, other communication(show), andperception(see). • Whetherandifare used to introducedependentinterrogativeclauses. • If-clauses are more commonthanwhether-clauses, especially in conversation. • Whether-clauses are usedwith more formal discourseandwithclausesthat include choiceswithorandornot. • Verbsusedcommonlywithif-clauses in conversationandfiction are: see, wonderandknow. Ifclauses are generallyrare in academic prose.

9. Post-predicate infinitive clauses • Byfarthemostcommonposition for to-clauses is post-predicate. • Theverbsthat are commonwithto-clausesvaryacrossregistersandcovermanysemanticcategories. • Thepatternsvary in thewaynounphrases come betweentheverbandto-clause, and in thechoiceoftoor a bareinfinitive. • Some factors to consider in thegrammaticalpatternswithto-clauses : passive alternatives, theimpliedsubjectoftheto-clause, therelationshipbetweentheobjectofthemainclauseandtheto-clause, andprepositionalverbs. • Thesemanticcategoryof a verbofteninfluencesthegrammaticalpatternsthat are possible for that verb. • Subjectpredicativeto-clauseshave four major functions: introducingpoints, introducingobjectivesorplans, introducingmethodologies, andmaking a balancedstructurewhen a to-clause is alsothesubjectofthemainclause. • Conversationhastheleastvariation. Herewant + to-clause is reallycommon. • Theotherregistershave more variation, including more verbsofeffort(e.g. try), ofaspect(e.g. begin, continue), ofprobability(e.g. tend), andofcausation(e.g. allow). • Likely/unlikely is theonlyadjectivethatcommonlycontrols a to-clause. • Manyotheradjectivesoccur, conveyingcertainty (sure), abilityorwillingness(ready), emotionorstance(sorry), ease/difficulty(hard), orevaluation (nice).

10. More on infinitive clauses: Raising • Theimpliedsubjectofmostpost-predicateto-clauses is thesame as thesubjectofthemainclause. However, in some cases, theentireto-clause is theimpliedsubjectofthemainclause. For example: • Theprizepupil, however, turned out to haveanotherside to hischaracter. • Theequivalentthat-clauseconstruction is anextraposedconstruction: • It turned out thattheprizepupilhadanotherside to hischaracter. • Youcanseethatthegrammaticalsubjectofthemainclause is theimpliedsubjectoftheto-clause. However, thelogicalsubjectofthemainclause is theentireto-clause. Thiskindofstructure is calledsubject-to-subjectraising. • Raisingdescribestherelationshipbetweenthemainclausesubjectandtheto-clause. It occurswithto-complementclausescontrolledbyverbsofprobabilityandsimplefact (seem, tend) orbyadjectives • To-clausescontrolledbyverbscanhavesubject-to-subjectraising. Millarwasdetermined to changethecontentofeducation. • To-clausescontrolledbyadjectivescanhavesubject-to-subject (certaintyadjectives) orobject-to-subjectraising (adjectivesofeaseordifficulty). • Thegovernment is unlikely to meetthefullcosts. (SS) • Withoutthosepowers, computerhackingwouldbealmostimpossible to prove. (OS)

11. More on infinitive clauses: Extraposed to-clauses • There are a fewverbsthatcontrolextraposedto-clauses. Themostcommon is the copula be(oftencombinedwith a nounphrase): • It is still anadventure to traveldownthe Colorado river in a small boat. • Extraposedto-clauses are mostoftencontrolledbyanadjective, which comes from 3 major semanticdomains: necessityandimportance, easeanddifficulty, andevaluation. • It is important to staycool. • It maybetough to attractpeople. • Extraposedclauses are more commonthansubjectpositionclauses. • Thechoiceofsubjectpositionratherthanextraposed is related to register, cohesionandinformationstructure, thecomplexityofthemainclausepredicate, and individual style.

12. More on infinitive clauses • To-clauses with raising are alternatives to some extraposed constructions. • With certain verbs and adjectives, to-clauses with raising are more common than extraposed that-clauses. This choice is usually due to information structure. • Adjectives of ease or difficulty are slightly more common with raised to-clauses than extraposed to-clauses. Again, information structure and cohesion are important to the choice. • The different types of to-clauses have different frequencies across the registers, which reflect their functions. • Post-predicate to-clauses are most common in conversation, fiction, and news. They usually report activities, desires, and thoughts of humans. • To-clauses controlled by adjectives are most common in news and academic prose. They usually describe a state or an attitude.

13. Ing-clauses, ellipsis/substitution, and review • Like that-complement clauses and to-complement clauses, ing-complement clauses serve a wide range of functions. They are used most often to convey aspect, but they are also used to report speech acts, cognitive states, perceptions, emotions. • Overall, they are more common in written registers than in conversation. • The most common type of ing-clause is a post-predicate clause following a verb. • There are two major grammatical patterns, with and without a NP between the verb and the ing-clause. • The most common verbs controlling ing-clauses are verbs of manner or aspect (e.g. begin, start, stop) • Many adjectives that control ing-clauses express a feeling or evaluation (e.g. sorry, afraid, capable) • Many of these adjectives are followed by prepositions (e.g. sorry about, afraid of) • Ellipsis and substitution in complement clauses is most common in conversation. • For to-clauses and wh-clauses, the complement clause can be omitted if it is understandable from context. The complementizer to or wh-word is usually retained. • With certain verbs, so or not can substitute for a that-clause. This substitution is most common in the expression think so, but occurs with other verbs also. • The types of complement clauses are distributed differently across the registers. • The patterns of use reflect register, structural factors, and semantic factors. Overall, they reflect the typical functions of the different clause types.