AJ2206 Syntax B

Faculty of Education
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
0/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
doc. PhDr. Renata Povolná, 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
AJ2205 Syntax A
This course can be attended by all students who have successfully finished Syntax A.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course Syntax B enhances the acquisition of linguistic knowledge and teaching competencies indispensable for the professional development of future teachers of English, in particular communication and interpersonal skills, flexibility and adaptability (viz Strategic Aim 1, Strategies 2030). The main goal is to master characteristic features of English syntax, mainly in comparison with the structure of the students´ mother tongue. The differences between the simple sentence, compound sentence and complex sentence will be studied, including all types of dependent clauses and complex condensation.
Learning outcomes
This 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 linguistic terms from the area of syntax and to be able to explain them on concrete examples; 2. to understand the structure of the compound and complex sentence in comparison with the structure of the simple sentence, especially when compared to the structure of the sentence in the Czech language; 3. to know the language means for the expression of a variety of relations realized by different types of subordinate clauses, namely nominal, adverbial, relative and comparative clauses; 4. to be capable of identifying concrete, even more complex, syntactic structures in the written text and to know how to explain and describe them while using adequate linguistic terms.
Syllabus
  • 1. Coordination. Compound sentence and co-ordinating conjunctions, including correlative pairs. 2. Coordination of nominal phrases. Simple and complex coordination. Minor types of coordination. 3. Subordination. Complex sentence and subordinating conjunctions. Three structural classes of dependent clauses (finite, non-finite and verbless). Transferred negation. Emphasizing negation. 4. Four major semantic classes of dependent clauses (nominal, adverbial, relative and comparative). Nominal clauses. 5. Direct and indirect speech and their means of expression. Adverbial clauses of result and cause. 6. Adverbial clauses of purpose (standard and infinitive constructions). 7. Adverbial clauses of concession, time and place. 8. Alternative ways of expression for cause, purpose and concession. Prepositional constructions. 9. Types of condition (open, hypothetical, rhetorical and indirect). Adverbial clauses of condition. 10. Subordinate clauses as part of other sentence elements. Comparative clauses. 11. Two types of relative clauses. Relative pronouns and relative adverbials. Reduced relative clauses. 12. Revision of any problematic issues.
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
  • YULE, George. Oxford practice grammar : supplementary exercises with answers. First published. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009, v, 132. ISBN 9780194579872. info
  • DUŠKOVÁ, Libuše. Mluvnice současné angličtiny : na pozadí češtiny. Vyd. 1. Praha: Academia, 1988, 673 p. info
  • YULE, George. The study of language. Seventh edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020, xii, 371. ISBN 9781108730709. info
  • GETHIN, Hugh. Grammar in context :proficiency level English. New edition. Harlow: Longman, 1996, 235 s. ISBN 0-17-556420-5. info
  • YULE, George. Explaining English grammar. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998, xv, 333. ISBN 0194371727. info
  • SVARTVIK, Jan and Geoffrey N. LEECH. A communicative grammar of English. 2nd ed. London: Longman, 1994, xiv, 423. ISBN 058208573X. 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 and practical exercises selected from the compulsory textbooks. As for written assignments, students are supposed to do all the tests which accompany the topics studies and which are included in the is.muni.cz course Seminar to syntax B/Syntax B.
Assessment methods
In order to be allowed to sit for the oral exam students have to pass a mid-term test and translation, and a final exam test. The passmark of all the tests including translations is 70 per cent. The final exam test and translation are part of the oral exam, which focuses on the most important topics studied in the spring term.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
Teacher's information
https://is.muni.cz/auth/el/ped/jaro2024/AJ2206/index.qwarp
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.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/ped/spring2025/AJ2206