English Grammar II: Sentence
Code: 106280 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2504212 English Studies | FB | 1 | 2 |
Contact
- Name:
- Montserrat Capdevila Batet
- Email:
- Montserrat.Capdevila@uab.cat
Use of Languages
- Principal working language:
- english (eng)
- Some groups entirely in English:
- No
- Some groups entirely in Catalan:
- Yes
- Some groups entirely in Spanish:
- No
Prerequisites
The knowledge learnt in the first-year subjects English Grammar I: from the word to the sentence and Introduction to Linguistics are taken for granted.
The course requires an initial level of English C1 (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment). Students with C1 can understand a wide range of demanding, long texts, and recognise implicit meaning; they can express themselves fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions; they can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes; they can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.
Objectives and Contextualisation
The main objective of the present course is to introduce students onto the basic concepts of English sentences and their components. It offers students the basic terminology to explain the structure of English sentences.
Competences
- Describe and analyse—synchronically and comparatively—the main phonetic, phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic properties of English and its historical development.
- Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
- Take sex- or gender-based inequalities into consideration when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
- Understand and produce written and spoken academic texts in English at an advanced proficient-user level (C1).
- Use digital tools and specific documentary sources for the collection and organisation of information.
- Use written and spoken English for academic and professional purposes, related to the study of linguistics, the philosophy of language, history, English culture and literature.
Learning Outcomes
- Distinguish grammatical gender from natural gender.
- Express oneself in writing in English, in an academic register and using appropriate terminology, in relation to the study of English linguistics and grammar.
- Express oneself orally in English, in an academic register and using appropriate terminology, in relation to the study of English linguistics and grammar.
- Identify, describe and analyse the main morphological and syntactic properties of the English language.
- Locate specialised and academic information and select this according to its relevance.
- Produce non-extensive specialised texts on general linguistics and English grammar.
- Understand and apply the knowledge and skills acquired from basic and advanced texts in linguistics and English grammar.
- Understand specialised academic texts on general linguistics and English grammar.
Content
UNIT 1. Predicates and arguments
UNIT 2. Syntactic categories
UNIT 3. Constituents
UNIT 4. The structure of phrases
UNIT 5. The sentence as a phrase
UNIT 6. Embedded clauses: a deeper analysis
UNIT 7. Derived constructions
Methodology
The teaching methodology and the evaluation proposed in the guide may undergo some modification subject to the onsite teaching restrictions imposed by health authorities.
Directed activities:
Lectures with IT support and group debate.
Supervised activities:
Exercises.
Back-up tutorials to help in the realisation of exercises.
Autonomous activities:
Reading of manuals, textbooks, articles and handouts.
Elaboration of study diagrams, summaries and texts.
Practical exercises (individual and in group).
Use of the Virtual Campus (Moodle).
Annotation:Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Lectures and group debate | 50 | 2 | 7, 8, 1, 3, 2, 4, 5, 6 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| In-class exercises and individual tutorials | 25 | 1 | 7, 3, 2, 4, 6 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Reading, self-study, exercises and use of Moodle | 50 | 2 | 7, 8, 1, 3, 2, 4, 5, 6 |
Assessment
- This course is assessed through 2 partial exams (40% Test 1 and 40% Test 2) ad practical exercises (20%)
- The dates of tests and submissions are specified in the course calendar, published in Moodle at the beginning of the semester. Any change will be duly announced.
- Students will obtain a Not assessed/Not submitted course grade unless they have submitted more than 35% of the assessment items.
- In case of absence on the day of an exam (e.g. due to illness) students must provide a certificate to justify their absence to gain the right to re-assessment.
- In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.
- In the event that tests or exams cannot be taken onsite, they will be adapted to an online format made available through the UAB’s virtual tools (original weighting will be maintained). Homework, activities and class participation will be carried out through forums, wikis and/or discussion on Teams, etc. Lecturers will ensure that students are able to access these virtual tools, or will offer them feasible alternatives.
Review of assessment items:
On carrying out each assessment activity, lecturers will inform students (on Moodle) of the procedures to be followed for reviewing all grades awarded, and the date on which such a review will take place.
Re-assessment:
Re-assessment for this course will involve a final summative test (date and time to be announced by the Faculty) which will cover all course content with the following conditions:
- The student must have obtained a minimum course mark of 3.5/10.
- The student must have taken/submitted all assessment items.
- The student must have passed at least 35% of the course.
- The final course mark if the student passes the re-assessment test is 5. Students cannot re-assess to improve their course mark.
VERY IMPORTANT: Total or partial plagiarism of any of the exercises will automatically be considered "fail" (0) for the plagiarised exercise. If plagiarism occurs for a second time, the entire course will be failed. PLAGIARISM is copying one or more sentences from unidentified sources, presenting it as original work (THIS INCLUDES COPYING PHRASES OR FRAGMENTS FROM THE INTERNET AND ADDING THEM WITHOUT MODIFICATION TO A TEXT WHICH IS PRESENTED AS ORIGINAL). Plagiarism is a serious offense. Students must learn to respect the intellectual property of others, identifying any source they may use, and take responsibility for the originality and authenticity of the texts they produce.
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exam 1 | 40% | 6 | 0.24 | 7, 8, 1, 3, 2, 4, 5, 6 |
| Exam 2 | 40% | 6 | 0.24 | 3, 2, 4, 5, 6 |
| Practical exercises | 20% | 13 | 0.52 | 7, 8, 1, 3, 2, 4, 6 |
Bibliography
Aarts, Bas. (2001) English Syntax and Argumentation. 2nd edition. London: Macmillan Press.
Berry, Roger (2012). English Grammar. A resource book for students. New York: Routledge.
Brinton, Laurel (2000). The structure of modern English. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Capdevila, Montserrat, Curell, Hortènsia & Llinàs, Mireia (2007) An Introduction to English Descriptive Grammar. Volume I. Bellaterra: Servei de Publicacions.
Capdevila, Montserrat, Curell, Hortènsia, Llinàs, Mireia & Cuartero, Néstor (2008) An Introduction to English Descriptive Grammar. Volume II. Bellaterra: Servei de Publicacions.
Carnie, Andrew. 2011. Modern Syntax: A Coursebook. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Haegeman, Liliane. 1991. Introduction to Government and Binding Theory. Oxford: Blackwell.
Miller, Jim (2002) An Introduction to English Syntax. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Nelson, Gerald and Greenbaum, Sidney (2016). An Introduction to English Grammar. 4th Edition. London: Routledge.
Radford, Andrew. 2016. Analysing English Sentences, Cambridge University Press.
Software
This subject does not require specific programmes.