AJ1211 Selected Chapters from Syntax

Faculty of Education
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
1/0/0. 2 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Helena Worthington, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. Mgr. Martin Adam, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Renata Povolná, Ph.D.
Department of English Language and Literature – Faculty of Education
Contact Person: Jana Popelková
Supplier department: Department of English Language and Literature – Faculty of Education
Prerequisites
AJ1102 Practical Language 1B || AJ2102 Practical Language 1B
This course must be attended by all students who have completed the compulsory course Syntax A since it is one of the most important linguistics-oriented subjects studied before students' final bachelor exam.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course labelled Selected chapters from syntax enhances the acquisition of linguistic knowledge and teaching competencies indispensable for the professional development of future teachers of English (viz Strategic Aim 1, Strategies 2030). The main goal is to give bachelor students an overall survey of English syntax with an emphasis on the differences between the sentence structure in the English language and the students´ mother tongue.
Learning outcomes
The course will raise students’ awareness of similarities and differences between English and their mother tongue and thus enables them to identify potentially problematic areas for their future learners. The students are expected: 1. to understand the linguistic terms from the area of English syntax; 2. to be capable of forming and using correctly the simple, complex and compound sentence; 3. to recognize the differences between the structure of the English and Czech sentence; 4. to be aware of the various possible ways of expressing different syntactic relationships; 4. to know how to form different types of dependent clauses (included embedded clauses); 5. to be able to analyse texts written in English and explain them while using appropriate terms from the area of English syntax.
Syllabus
  • The lectures are related to the topics studied for the final exam in English syntax. Here follow some key terms from the topics that will be discussed in the lectures: 1. The simple sentence. Clause types. Verb classes. Clause elements and their semantic and syntactic characterization. Concord. Vocatives. Negation (focus and scope). 2. Coordination. Syndetic, asyndetic, polysyndetic coordination. Coordinators. Correlatives. 3. Simple and complex coordination. Appended coordination. Pseudo-coordination. Quasi-coordination. 4. Complementation of verbs and adjectives. Multi-word verbs. Intransitive and transitive verbs. Prepositional, phrasal and phrasal-prepositional verbs. Copular verbs. Complex-transitive verbs. Adjective complementation. 5. Sentence types and discourse functions. Four major syntactic types. Three major classes of questions. Three minor types of questions. Directives. Exclamatives. Block language. 6. The complex sentence. Subordinate and superordinate clauses. Subordination. Three structural classes of clauses: finite, non-finite, and verbless clauses. Subordinators. 7. Direct and indirect speech. Transferred negation. 8. Pro-forms and ellipsis. Recoverability. Types of recoverability. Coreference. Types of pro-forms. 9. Ellipsis. Types of ellipsis (situational, structural, textual). Appended clauses. 10. Semantic and syntactic functions of subordinate clauses. Nominal clauses and their types. 11. Adverbial clauses (time, place, condition, concession, contrast, reason, exception, purpose, result, proportion, preference). Comment clauses. Sentential relative clauses. Comparative clauses. 12. The semantics and grammar of adverbials. Semantic roles, grammatical functions, formal realization and position of adverbials. Adjuncts, subjuncts, disjuncts (content and style) and conjuncts and their types.
Literature
    required literature
  • BIBER, Douglas. Longman grammar of spoken and written English. Edited by Randolph Quirk. Harlow: Pearson Education, 2000, xxviii, 12. ISBN 0582237254. info
  • YULE, George. Oxford practice grammar : with answers. Updated edition first publis. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019, vii, 274. ISBN 9780194214766. info
  • CHALKER, Sylvia. A student's English grammar : workbook. First published. Harlow: Longman, 1992, 186 stran. ISBN 0582088194. info
    recommended literature
  • DUŠKOVÁ, Libuše. Mluvnice současné angličtiny na pozadí češtiny. 3. vyd. Praha: Academia, 2003, 673 s. ISBN 8020010734. info
  • YULE, George. The study of language. Seventh edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020, xii, 371. ISBN 9781108730709. info
  • QUIRK, Randolph and Sidney GREENBAUM. A Student s Grammar of the English Language. 1. vyd. London: Longman, 1990, 490 s. ISBN 0-582-07569-6. info
  • QUIRK, Randolph. A Comprehensive grammar of the English language. Edited by David Crystal. London, New York: Longman, 1985, x, 1779 p. ISBN 0-582-51734-639. info
Teaching methods
Mode of teaching: lecture The methods used in classes are mainly presentations of new and/or problematic grammatical issues by the teacher, followed by class discussions and questions from students if necessary. As for written assignments, students are supposed to do all the tests which accompany the topics of the individual lectures and which are included in the is.muni.cz course Selected chapters from syntax (Vybrané kapitoly ze syntaxe).
Assessment methods
At the end of the course, the students have to take two final revision tests which are included in the is.muni.cz course Selected chapters from syntax (Vybrané kapitoly ze syntaxe). Single-subject students take 10 topic tests during the semester and at the end of the course there is a final test comprising of questions included in the topic tests. All tests are compulsary.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
Information on the extent and intensity of the course: kombinované studium: výuka v blocích.
Teacher's information
https://is.muni.cz/auth/el/ped/jaro2024/AJ1211/index.qwarp
Note for students who travel on Erasmus or have a foreign internship, etc.: If you spend a semester abroad, it is theoretically possible to enroll in this course and complete it, provided you meet all course requirements through self-study and, above all, pass the final in-class exam/credit test after you return home. There is no extra work needed. It is recommended that you communicate with the teacher prior to your departure on Erasmus and then stay in touch, informing them upon your return. FOR ONLINE SEMESTER: Students are requested to secure good internet connection in order to participate in online lessons as indicated in the schedule. Students must attend these meetings with both the sound and camera on. AI Manifesto In the course, the use of AI is permitted for learning but not for cheating. It is acceptable to use AI for brainstorming ideas, basic proofreading, and suggestions for improvement. It is unacceptable to have a text generated, translated or reformulated. Remember to acknowledge all innovative ideas that are not yours. For generated ideas, use in-text citations. At the end of each assignment, state how you worked/did not work with AI. When in doubt, consult your teacher.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/ped/spring2025/AJ1211