Aspectos Morfossintáticos Aulas 1, 2 e 3

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Aspectos Morfossintáticos
Ao final desta aula, você será capaz de:
1. Recognize the differences between “text”, “sentence”, “clause”, “phrase” and “word”;
2. Learn the types of sentences elements: “subject”, “predicate”;
3. Study the cases of subject-verb agreement.
The Structure of the English Sentence
Present the grammatical units that form a hierarchical order:
A text consists of one or more sentences
A sentence consists of one or more clauses
A clause consists of one or more phrases
A phrase consists of one or more words
A word consists of one or more morphemes
In grammar, a clause is a pair of words or group of words that consists of a subject and a predicate, although in some languages and some types of clauses, the subject may not appear explicitly as a noun phrase. It may instead be marked on the verb (this is especially common in null subject languages.)
The most basic kind of sentence consists of a single clause; more complicated sentences may contain multiple clauses, including clauses contained within clauses.
Clauses are often contrasted with phrases. Traditionally, a clause was said to have both a finite verb and its subject, whereas a phrase either contained a finite verb but not its subject (in which case it is a verb phrase) or did not contain a finite verb.
Seven Basic Clause Patterns
SV: subject + verb - e.g The solider has recovered.
SVC: subject + verb + complemente - e.g I am happy.
SVO: subject + verb + objective - e.g She forgot the key.
SVOO: subject + verb + objective + objective - e.g He gave me a present.
SVOC: subject + verb + objective + complemente - e.g He calls her little sister.
SVA: subject + verb + adverbial - e.g The sun rises each day.
SVOA: subject + verb + objective + adverbial - e.g China is a large country with a long history.
In the sentence "I didn't know that the dog ran through the yard," "that the dog ran through the yard" is a clause, as it is the sentence as a whole, while "the yard," "through the yard," "ran through the yard," and "the dog" are all phrases. 
In grammar, a phrase is a group of words that functions as a single unit in the syntax of a sentence.
Phrases may be classified by the type of head taken by them:
The house at the end of the street is a phrase. It acts like a noun. It contains the phrase at the end of the street , a prepositional phrase which acts like an adjective. Most phrases have a central word which defines the type of phrase. This word is called the head of the phrase.
Sentence
A sentence is a grammatical unit of one or more words, bearing minimal syntactic relation to the words that precede or follow it, often preceded and followed in speech by pauses, having one of a small number of characteristic intonation patterns, and typically expressing an independent statement, question, request, command, etc.
Sentences are generally characterized in most languages by the presence of a finite verb, e.g. "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog".
Sentence elements are the groups of words that combine together to comprise the ‘building units’ of a well-formed sentence. A sentence element approach to grammar assumes a top-down methodology. In other words, it starts with the sentence as a whole and then divides it into its functional components.
There are Seven Types of Sentence Element:
- Subject (Simple and Compound);
- Predicate (Simple and Compound; Verbal, Nominal and Adjective);
- Verb Transitivity (Intransitive, Transitive, Ditransitive, Tritransitive, Ambitransitive, Circumstantial and Linking);
- Object (Direct, Indirect, Prepositional);
- Predicative (aka Predicate complement- subject complements and object complements) ;
- Adnominal Functors (Adnominal Adjectives and Noun Complement);
- Adverbial (Adjunct, Obligatory, Conjunct, Disjunct).
In the sentence every type of sentence element is present and is represented in this example by a single word.
They elected him president yesterday. 
They (=subject), elected (=verb), him (=object), president (=predicative), yesterday (=adverbial)
• She dances. (verb only predicate)
• John reads the book. (direct object)
• John's mother, Felicity, gave me a present. (indirect object without a preposition)
• She listened to the radio. (prepositional object)
• They elected him president. (predicative /object complement)
• She met him in the park. (adverbial)
Subject and Predicate
In English, the basic order is "Subject-Verb-Object;" this means that in a simple sentence, the first noun phrase is the subject, and the subsequent predicate includes the verb phrase and may contain an object.  
This allows English speakers to understand that in the sentence
"The boy kicked the ball," 
The "boy" is the subject, and therefore the one doing the kicking, whereas the "ball" is the object being kicked. 
If someone wrote the sentence, "The ball kicked the boy,"  
The meaning would be reversed somewhat strangely, and "Kicked the ball the boy," would immediately be recognized as a violation of basic syntactical order and read as nonsense.
Every complete sentence contains two parts: a subject and a predicate. The subject is what (or whom) the sentence is about, while the predicate tells something about the subject. In the following sentences, the predicate is enclosed in braces ({}), while the subject is highlighted.
Judy {runs}. 
Judy and her dog {run on the beach every morning}.  
In order to determine the subject of a sentence, first isolate the verb and then make a question by placing “who?'' or “what?'' before it - the answer is the subject.
The audience littered the theatre floor with torn wrappings and spilled popcorn. 
The verb in the above sentence is “littered.'' Who or what littered? The audience did. “The audience'' is the subject of the sentence. The predicate (which always includes the verb) goes on to relate something about the subject: what about the audience? It “littered the theatre floor with torn wrappings and spilled popcorn.''
The relation between a subject and its predicate is sometimes called a nexus.
Types of Subject and Predicate
Simple 
A piece of pepperoni pizza would satisfy his hunger.  
Compound 
Team pennants, rock posters and family photographs covered the boy's bedroom walls. 
Her uncle and she walked slowly through the Inuit art gallery and admired the powerful sculptures exhibited there.
Simple
A piece of pepperoni pizza would satisfy his hunger.
Compound
Her uncle and she walked slowly through the Inuit art gallery and admired the powerful sculptures exhibited there.
A Verbal Predicate (Predicado Verbal) occurs when, in a sentence, the linking verb is followed by a noun or a pronoun. 
Example: They gave him his hat.
A Nominal Predicate or Predicate Noun (Predicado Nominal) is a noun phrase that functions as the main predicate of a sentence (there is a linking verb).
Example: George III is the king of England. 
An Adjective Predicate or Predicate Adjective (Predicado Nominal) is an adjective that functions as a predicate (there is a linking verb) 
Example: Jenny is attractive.
So, as you can see there are two types of “Predicado Nominal” in English, one (Nominal Predicate) when the Predicate is a noun phrase and the other one (Adjective Predicate) when the predicate is an adjective.
NOTE: In linguistic typology, a null-subject language is a language whose grammar permits an independent clause to lack an explicit subject. Such a clause then is said to have a null subject. This is the case of Portuguese.
Other languages (sometimes called non-null-subject languages) require each sentence to include a subject: this is the case for English.
"Bumped into George this morning." (I)
"Agreed to have a snifter to catch up on old times." (We)
"Told me what the two of you had been up to." (He)
"Went down to Brighton for the weekend?" (You)
Look at these subjectless sentences in Portuguese and their translation in English
Tive um problema. - I had a problem.
Está chovendo. - It's raining.Fez-se o possível. - We (they) did the best.
Quebraram uma janela. - Somebody broke a window.
Ontem caiu um avião. - An airplane crashed yesterday.
Esses dias apareceu lá na companhia um vendedor. 
- A salesman came to the office the other day.  
Even in such non-null-subject languages as English, it is standard for clauses in the imperative mood to lack explicit subjects; for example:
"Take a break; you're working too hard.“
"Shut up!”
“VER ANEXO – VERBAL AGREEMENT”
Notional Agreement
Agreement (or concord) of verbs with their subjects and of pronouns with their antecedent nouns on the basis of meaning rather than grammatical form.  
Examples and Observations:
"I know that our Government are letting our troops down, big time."
(Jacqui Janes to Prime Minister Gordon Brown, quoted by Philip Webster, "Emotional Gordon Brown on Defensive." The Times, Nov. 10, 2009) 
"None of them were in court to hear the judges uphold their appeal."
(Steven Erlanger, "Terror Convictions Overturned in France." The New York Times, Feb. 24, 2009)
"Over on England's south coast, the surfers of Bournemouth are just as keen as those in Cornwall, but suffer one big disadvantage: the coast gets very poor-quality waves. But Bournemouth borough council were not prepared to let this prevent them from encouraging surfers, and their wallets, to visit."
(Alf Alderson, "Could the Perfect Wave for Surfing Be Artificial--and in Bournemouth?" The Guardian, Nov. 9, 2009)
"When mathematical equations are pronounced as English sentences, the verb is usually in the singular: Two plus two is (or equals) four. By the same token, subjects containing two noun phrases joined by plus are usually construed as singular: The construction slowdown plus the bad weather has made for a weak market. This observation has led some to argue that in these sentences, plus functions as a preposition meaning 'in addition to.' . . . It makes more sense to view plus in these uses as a conjunction that joins two subjects into a single entity requiring a single verb by notional agreement”.
(One Hundred Words Almost Everyone Confuses and Misuses. Houghton, 2004)
Also Known As: notional concord, semantic agreement, agreement ad sensum, logical agreement, synesis, constructio ad sensum
Proximity Agreement
In applying the principle of subject-verb agreement (or concord), the practice of relying on the noun that is closest to the verb to determine whether the verb is singular or plural. See also:  
"In addition to grammatical concord and notional concord, the principle of proximity sometimes plays a part in subject-verb agreement. This principle is the tendency, especially in speech, for the verb to agree with the closest (pro)noun, even when that (pro)noun is not the head of the subject noun phrase. For example: 
Do you think [any of them] are bad Claire? [Not one of the people who's auditioned] were up to par." (Douglas Biber et al. Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Pearson, 2002)
"Grammarians have also observed that that certain constructions 'sound right' to educated native speakers of English, even though the constructions defy formal or notional agreement. Such expressions exemplify the principle of attraction (or proximity), under which the verb tends to take the form of the closest subject:
For those who attended the second day of the annual meeting, there was an early morning panel and afternoon workshops. 
But as [Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage] cautions, 'Proximity agreement may pass in speech and other forms of unplanned discourse; in print it will be considered an error.'"
(Amy Einsohn, The Copyeditor's Handbook. Univ. of California Press, 2006) 
Also Known As: proximity principle, agreement by proximity, attraction, blind agreement, principal of attraction. 
 Aspectos Morfossintáticos
1. Study verb transitivity;
2. learn the types of sentences elements: “object”, “predicative”, “adnominal functors” and “adverbial”.
The Structure Of The English Sentence
In linguistics, transitivity is a property of verbs that when relates to whether a verb can take direct objects and how many such objects a verb can take. 
Traditional grammar makes a binary distinction between intransitive verbs that cannot take a direct object (such as fall or sit in English) and transitive verbs that take one direct object (such as throw, injure, kiss in English).
In practice, many languages (including English) interpret the category more flexibly, allowing: ditransitive verbs, verbs that have two objects; or even ambitransitive verbs, verbs that can be used as both a transitive verb and an intransitive verb. Further, some verbs may be idiomatically transitive, while, technically, intransitive. This may be observed in the verb walk in the idiomatic expression To walk the dog.
Some verbs can be either transitive verbs or intransitive verbs, depending on the context:
Direct Object - I hope the Senators win the next game. 
No Direct Object - Did we win?  
Types of Verbs:
Intransitive verbs (no object) 
Some verbs do not require any further elements to make their meaning complete: although there may be further elements in the sentence, these are not essential. 
This is called intransitive complementation. It involves verbs such as: appear, arrive, come, cough, decrease, die, disappear, drown, fall, go, happen, lie (tell an untruth), matter, rain, rise, sneeze, snow, stop, swim, work. 
Also note that the verb be, when followed by an adverbial expressing place or time, is used as an intransitive verb.
He is in London at the moment.
Transitive verbs (one object) (aka Monotransitive verb)
Mr. Jenner breaks the windows. 
The verb to break is monotransitive, and requires one object. 
It would be ungrammatical to say Mr. Jenner breaks, unless the verb to break conveys a different meaning.  
NOTE: Most verbs can be used both as Transitive and as Intransitive verbs. It is, therefore, better to say that a verb is used Transitively or Intransitively rather than that it is Transitive or Intransitive.
Ditransitive verb (two objects)
 According to certain linguistics considerations, these objects may be called direct and indirect, or primary and secondary. English has a number of generally ditransitive verbs, such as give and grant, and many transitive verbs that can take an additional argument (commonly a beneficiary or target of the action), such as pass, read, bake, etc.:
He gave Mary ten dollars.
He passed Paul the ball.
Jean read him the books.
She is baking him a cake. 
English grammar allows for these sentences to be written alternately with a preposition (to or for):
He gave ten dollars to Mary.
He passed the ball to Paul.
Jean read the books to/for him.
She is baking a cake for him., etc.
The latter form is grammatically correct in every case, but in some dialects the former (without a preposition) is considered ungrammatical, or at least unnatural-sounding, when both objects are pronouns (as in He gave me it).
Sometimes one of the forms is perceived as wrong for idiosyncratic reasons fixed in or the verb simply dictates one of the patterns and excludes the other:
Give a break to me (grammatical, but always phrased Give me a break)
He introduced Susan his brother (usually phrased He introduced his brother to Susan)
Tritransitive verb
It takes four arguments; one of it is a prepositional phrase: I’ll trade you this bicycle for your binoculars.
Or a “that clause”: I bet you a pound that he has forgotten.
Subject + two objects + that clause or prepositional clause
Ambitransitive verbs (one or no object) 
Miss Gold eats a banana every morning. 
The verb to eat is ambitransitive and permits, but do not requires, an object. The sentence Miss Gold eats every morning is grammatically correct.  
Circumstantial verbs (an object and an adverb) 
John put the book on the shelf. 
The verb to put requires an object and an adverb. Neither John put on theshelf, nor John put the book are grammatical sentences, at least in English.
Linking verbs
A linking verb connects a subject to a predicate complement (predicative):
Example: Some of us thought that the play was very good. 
NOTE: COMMON TEST PREP POINTS 
It is extremely important to be able to understand whether a verb is transitive or intransitive. For many verbs in class, if your teacher thinks that the verb is hard to understand, we will ask something like this: 
T: Do we cry or do we cry something? Then, the student should respond something like this:  
S: Just cry. 
In this case, we would say that cry is intransitive.
BE CAREFUL!
One reason that understanding this point is so important is that it is very easy to become confused about whether a verb is transitive or intransitive. Consider the following example: 
I went to the store yesterday. (Is went transitive or intransitive?)
Many people, including native speakers, will tell you that went is transitive since we have many words after went. However:  To say that went is transitive would be a BIG mistake!
So, what are all those other words after went? Well, first of all, to the store is a prepositional phrase. Second, yesterday is an adverb. 
One more thing: just to make life easier, instead of saying transitive and intransitive all the time, we will say vi (since that's what most dictionaries say) if the verb is intransitive and vt (again, since that's what most dictionaries say) if the verb is transitive.  
Some verbs may be linking or not, depending on the context. Let’s have a look at some of them:
LOOK
Linking: The monkey looked hungry.
(Hungry monkey or monkey is hungry) In this sentence looked is a linking verb. 
Action - Transitive: The monkey looked for food. "For food" is a prepositional phrase and it must be omitted before checking. The sentence remaining after omitting the prepositional phrase is "The monkey looked". There is no noun or adjective to link monkey to. Looked is an action verb in this sentence.
TASTE
Linking: The soup tasted good. 
Check: soup is good, good soup, soup = good 
Action - Transitive: I tasted the soup. 
Check: I am the soup (no), soup am I (no) I = soup (no)
GROW
Linking: He grew tired of walking.
“Of walking” is a prepositional phrase and not included in the check. You should omit the prepositional phrase to check: "He grew tired".
Check: He is tired, tired is he, he = tired. 
Action - Transitive: He grew tomatoes here. 
APPEAR
Linking: Mother appeared happy at her party. 
Omit the prepositional phrase, "at her party". Now the sentence reads, "Mother appeared happy."
Check: mother is happy, happy mother, mother = happy. 
Action - Intransitive: Mother appeared quietly in the room. 
Omit the prepositional phrase, "in the room". The sentence now reads: Mother appeared quietly. Quietly is an adverb, omit the adverb. "Mother appeared." There is no noun or adjective to link mother to, so appeared is used as an action verb.
SOUND
Linking: The bugle sounds loud.
Check: bugle is loud, loud bugle, bugle = loud (yes, yes, and yes) 
Action – Intransitive: The bugle sounded loudly.
Check: Bugle is loudly. (no) 
Loudly describes the verb. It answers the question How? Loudly is an adverb, omit the adverb. That leaves the sentence "The bugle sounded."
TURNED
Linking: The nation's mood turned sour.
Check: The subject is not engaged in an action. TURNED links MOOD and a state of being: SOUR.
Action - Transitive: The judge turned the pages quickly.
Check: The subject was engaged in an action (TURNED) and that action transferred to an object (PAGES).
Action - Intransitive: The lawyer turned suddenly toward the back of the courtroom.
Check: The subject was engaged in an action (TURNED) and that action was done in a particular way (SUDDENLY) but not to someone or something.
Other Considerations
I. IMPERSONAL VERBS
In linguistics, an impersonal verb is a verb that cannot take a true subject, because it does not represent an action, occurrence, or state-of-being of any specific person, place, or thing. The term weather verb is also sometimes used, since such weather-indicating verbs as to rain are usually impersonal.
In English, an impersonal verb always takes an impersonal pronoun (it in English), as its syntactical subject: It snowed yesterday.  Verbs meaning existence may also be impersonal. "There are (some) books." / "There is a book." Some linguists consider the impersonal subject of weather verbs to be "dummy pronouns", while others interpret them differently.
II. UNACCUSATIVE AND ERGATIVE VERBS
In linguistics, an unaccusative verb is an intransitive verb whose subject is not a (semantic) agent; that is, it does not actively initiate, or is not actively responsible for, the action of the verb.  
An unergative verb is an intransitive verb distinguished semantically by having an agent subject. For example, in English, run, talk and resign are unergative verbs (while fall and die are unaccusative). 
He ran towards the tree yesterday.
He resigned the Presidency.
Joan fell on the street yesterday.
Jimmy died last month.
Many unaccusatives alternate with a corresponding transitive construction where the unaccusative subject appears in direct object position:
The ice melted. ≈ The sun melted the ice. 
The window broke. ≈ The golf ball broke the window. 
Unaccusative past participles can be used as nominal modifiers with active meaning, while unergative past participles cannot:
unaccusative: the melted snow, the departed guests, the fallen soldiers.
unergative: the shouted victim, the slept child, the hesitated leader.
III. RAISING VERBS
Other examples of semantically empty it are found with raising verbs in "unraised" counterparts. 
For example: It seems that John loves coffee. (corresponding "raised" sentence: John seems to love coffee.)
Objects
In English there are three kinds of objects: direct, indirect and prepositional. 
III.1 Direct Object 
The advertising executive drove a flashy red Porsche.  
III.2 Indirect Object
I gave her some flowers.
I gave some flowers to her. 
III.3 Prepositional Object 
I have my doubts about this method – to have doubts about.
I’m not at all content with this computer – to be content with.
I don’t like listening to him – to listen to.
I warned her for the consequences. – to warn for.
I gave the book to Mary – to give something to someone.
See the difference between an indirect object and a prepositional object:
Paul won the prize. ("the prize" is a direct object.) Paul gave Mary the letter. ("Mary" is an indirect object. "letter" is a direct object.) Paul gave the letter to Mary. ("Mary" is prepositional object "to" and is an indirect object. "letter" is again a direct object.)
So, with an object preceded by a preposition can be replaced by a pronoun and be placed in front of the direct object  or can be used without the preposition in front of the direct object, it is an indirect object or a prepositional object. If it cannot be replaced by a pronoun, it is a prepositional object, only. 
The sentence “I gave the book to Mary” can be written “I gave Mary the book” or, depending on the context, “I gave her the book”. In this case “to Mary” is the indirect object and also the prepositional object. In the sentence “I warned her for the consequence”, “for the consequences” cannot be placed before “her” (direct object), so, it’s a prepositional object.
A pro-drop language (from "pronoun-dropping") is a language in which certain classes of pronouns may be omitted when they are in some sense pragmatically inferable (the precise conditions vary from language to language, and can be quite intricate). The phenomenon of "pronoun-dropping" is also commonly referred to in linguistics as zero or null anaphora. (this is the case of Portuguese).
English is considered a non-pro-drop language. It means that pronouns and nouns cannot be omitted if the verb requires an object. 
This pronoun is called dummy pronoun(formally expletive pronoun or pleonastic pronoun).
Example: He ordered a cheeseburger, and even though it took them a while to, he did get some french fries with it. 
So, in Portuguese I can say.
Eu gosto quando chove. 
In English, as the verb “to like” requires an object, we have to say: 
I like it when it rains. 
Another example:
Portuguese: Eu entreguei para ela.
English: I delivered her the book.
Dummy objects are sometimes used to transform transitive verbs to transitive light verbs form (a light verb is a verb that has little semantic content of its own and it therefore forms a predicate with some additional expression, which is usually a noun.
Common verbs in English that can function as light verbs are do, give, have, make, take, etc.) 
e.g. do → do it, "to engage in sexual intercourse"; 
make → make it, "to achieve success"; 
get → get it, "to comprehend". 
Prepositional objects are similar, e.g. with it, "up to date"; out of it, "unconscious" or "dazed". All of these phrases, of course, can also be taken literally. 
He ordered a cheeseburger, and even though it took them a while to make it, he did get some french fries with it.
Double Object Verbs
Some verbs have two objects –an indirect object and a direct object:
These clauses have the structure: V + N (indirect object) + N (direct object).
We can use a prepositional phrase with to or for with an indirect object:
These clauses have the structure : V + N (direct object) + Prepositional phrase (indirect object).
Common verbs with for and an indirect object are:
Examples:
They booked a table for me at the restaurant.
We made toys for all the children.
Common verbs with to and an indirect object are:
xamples:
He gave his programme to the man sitting next to him.
They sent Christmas cards to all their customers.
 5. If the indirect object is a long phrase we normally use to or for:
He showed his ticket to the policeman standing by the door.
We kept something to eat and drink for all the people who arrived late. 
 6. If the indirect object is a pronoun we normally use the N + V + N + N pattern:
I poured him another drink.
Their mother read them another story.
Note: Other Kinds of Objects
COGNATE OBJECT OR COGNATE ACCUSATIVE. 
Intransitive Verbs sometimes take after them an Object akin or similar in meaning to the Verb. Such an Object is called the Cognate Object or Cognate Accusative. (Latin Cognatus, akin.)
•  I have fought a good fight.
•  He laughed a hearty laugh.
•  I dreamt a strange dream.
•  He sleeps the sleep of the just.
•  Let me die the death of the righteous.
•  She sighed a deep sigh.
•  She sang a sweet song. 
•  He ran a race.
•  Aurangzeb lived the life of an ascetic.
Notice that while in Portuguese these verbs are transitive, in English they remain intransitive.
ADVERBIAL OBJECT OR ADVERBIAL ACCUSATIVE 
A noun used adverbially to modify a verb, an adjective, or an adverb denoting time, place, distance, weight, value etc, is called an Adverbial Object or Adverbial Accusative, and is said to be in the Accusative Case adverbially; as,
•  He held the post ten years.
•  I can't wait a moment longer.
•  He swam a mile.
•  He weighs seven stone.
•  The watch cost fifty rupees.
Predicative (Aka Predicate Complement- Subject Complements and Object Complements)
In addition to the transitive verb and the intransitive verb, there is a third kind of verb called a linking verb (copula). The word (or phrase) which follows a linking verb is called not an object, but a predicative.
The predicate can be:
subject complement (predicativo do sujeito)
object complement (predicativo do objeto)
Let’s remind the predicate:
A reminder of basic sentence structure 
_subject_|_predicate_
The two diagrams below are the basic sentence structure of linking verbs. 
_subject_|_linking verb_\_predicate noun_ 
_subject_|_linking verb_\_predicate adjective_
A predicate noun is located in the predicate and it renames the subject.
A predicate adjective is located in the predicate and it describes the subject.
Adnominal Functors
Adnominal functors are functors for modifications exclusively modifying (semantic) nouns. They can be of two types:
ADNOMINAL ADJECTIVES: (adjuntos adnominais)
in the Lewinsky case
notion of time
the Tate gallery
a box of paper
one half of the cake
harsh weather
five children
a vessel with a displacement of 9700 tons 
NOUN COMPLEMENT (complemento nominal)
He is interested in you. 
Notice that when there is a noun complement, it is demanded by the nominal phrase. Who is interested, is interested in someone or something.
Adverbials
The subject, verb phrase, objects and predicatives form the core of a sentence. Any other element is adverbial; it concerns the circumstances of the sentence (when, where) or relates the sentence to something else. There are four adverbials in the sentence below.
Lorna arrived (1)here (2)yesterday (3)by car (4)despite the rain.  
Adverbials may always be added to a sentence, but some main verbs require adverbials for a well formed-sentence, as in the following example:
Lorna put the book onto the table.  
As sentence elements, there are four main TYPES OF ADVERBIALS:
adverbial adjunct – integral to sentence meaning and can be removed leaving a well-formed sentence.
Mr. Bibby saw her yesterday. 
obligatory adverbial – integral to sentence meaning but cannot be removed.
They treated her well. 
adverbial conjunct - linking the sentence to another, and is removable.
You thought it was true; however, I thought otherwise. 
adverbial disjunct - making a comment on the sentence
Stupidly, I answered the question.
Kinds Of Adverbs
Adverbs of Manner
She moved slowly and spoke quietly.
Adverbs of Place
She has lived on the island all her life. 
She still lives there now.
Adverbs of Frequency
She takes the boat to the mainland every day.
She often goes by herself.
Adverbs of Time
She tries to get back before dark.
It's starting to get dark now.
She finished her tea first.
She left early.
Adverbs of Purpose
She drives her boat slowly to avoid hitting the rocks.
She shops in several stores to get the best buys.
 Aspectos Morfossintáticos
Ao final desta aula, você será capaz de:
1. Recognize the differences between "lexical" and "auxiliary" verbs;
2. learn the differences between "mood", "tense" and "aspect".
Verbs
A verb is a word that expresses an action (to run), occurrence (to happen), or state of being (to appear). It is one of the nine parts of speech in English grammar. Non-action verbs are also referred to as linking or stative verbs, such as to be, to seem, to sound. 
Verbs comprise the third largest group of words in English (about 10%) and appear in any sentence as a major mandatory element tying the subject and predicate together. Verbs indicate time (past, present, future) and are used in English in relatively many verb tenses. The verb can be thought of as the center, heart, or anchor of an English sentence.
English verbs have 6 principal parts with which other forms are derived using verb auxiliaries: base/stem, simple past/preterit, past participle, present participle and the infinitive (the “name” of the verb). 
Some also include the third person singular in the present tense as a principle part, as it is the only verb form that kept its inflectional ending in Modern English.
Tense – Aspect - Mood
Tense–aspect–mood, commonly abbreviated tam and also called tense–modality–aspect or tma, is the grammatical system in a language that covers the expression of tense (location in time), aspect (fabric of time – a single block of time, continuous flow of time, or repetitive occurrence), and mood or modality (degree of necessity, obligation, probability, ability).
Although some grammars identify anywhere between twelve and sixteen English tenses, the nineteen finite, or conjugated, verb forms in English express more than just tense.Being more precise, English has:
• Two tenses: present and past;
• four aspects: simple, progressive, perfect, perfect-progressive;
• four moods: indicative, subjunctive, conditional and imperative.
Past Tenses
The Simple Past states that an action or situation was finished in the absolute past and bears no connection with the present. The point of time in the past in which the action occurred is well defined. Most Simple Past verbs end in ed (regular verbs). 
Others very useful verbs have different Simple Past forms and must be learned (irregular verbs).
I visited my uncle in Paris last summer.
The Present Perfect Simple has quite a few grammar rules you need to follow, as it can be regarded as both a present and past tense. As a past tense, it states that an action has been completed in the past, but without reference to the time of occurrence. The action may have an influence on the current state of affairs in the present. 
This tense is formed by using the auxiliary verb have (have/has) with the past participle form of the verb.
I have already done my homework (so now I am free to go out).
The Past Progressive describes an action which went on during a stretch of time in the past and finished. Other actions may have happened at the same time (short and immediate or ongoing). This tense is formed by using the verb be (was/were) with the present participle form of the verb ending in ing.
While I was walking down the street yesterday, I suddenly met my boss.
The Past Perfect Simple states that an action was completed in the past before another point in time or action in the past (the latter expressed in the Past Simple), or that the action happened in the very distant past. This tense is formed by using the auxiliary verb have (had) with the past participle form of the verb.
By the time Dona had saved enough money, she bought a new car.
The Past Perfect Progressive describes an ongoing action that began in the past, continued incessantly, and was completed before another point in time in the past or before another more recent past action. This tense is formed by using the auxiliary verb have (had) together with the auxiliary verb been and the present participle form of the verb ending with ing.
We had been walking the streets of Paris for hours until we finally took a break.
Future Tenses
The Future Simple states or predicts that an action or situation will take place in the future. This tense is formed by using the auxiliary verb will with the base form of the verb. Under “Future Simple”, we can put three more future forms that convey different nuances in meaning, as the following examples show:
1. I think we will eat out tomorrow evening
[unsure future prediction, future with will]
2. We are going to eat out tomorrow evening.
[sure and intended future plans, future with be going to]
3. We are eating out tonight.
[arrangement for the near future, using the Present Progressive]
4. Our dinner at Chez Paul starts at 20:00 tomorrow evening, so be there on time!
[preset future schedule, using the Present Simple]
The Future Progressive describes an ongoing action that will be in process around a point of time in the future. This tense is formed by using the auxiliary verb will together with the auxiliary verb be and the present participle form of the verb ending in ing.
Tomorrow at 12 o’clock I will be giving a lecture at the university so I will not be answering any calls.
The Future Perfect Simple states that a future action will be completed before a point in time or before another action in the future. This tense is formed by using the auxiliary verb will together with the auxiliary verb have (have) and the past participle form of the verb.
Dona will have graduated from university by the end of June.
The Future Perfect Progressive describes an ongoing future action that will continue incessantly and be completed before a point in time or before another action in the future. This tense is formed by using the auxiliary verb will, the auxiliary verb have (have), and the auxiliary verb been together with the present participle form of the verb ending in ing.
Aspect 
spect is the expression of the temporal structure of an action or state. Aspect in English expresses ongoing actions or states with or without distinct end points. English has four aspects: simple, progressive, perfect, and perfect-progressive.
The Progressive (or Continuous)
The Perfect Aspect
The Perfect Progressive Aspect
The Simple (or zero)
Mood
Mood is the expression of modality of an action or state. Modality is the expression of possibility, necessity, and contingency. Modality can be expressed through modal verbs as well as through grammatical mood in English.
1. The indicative mood allows speakers to express assertions, denials, and questions of actuality or strong probability. Most sentences in English are in the indicative mood because the indicative is the most commonly used mood. 
Examples:
Little Rock is the capital of Arkansas.
Ostriches cannot fly.
Have you finished your homework?
2. The imperative mood allows speakers to make direct commands, express requests, and grant or deny permission. The form of the English imperative is identical to the base form of any English verb. The negative form of the English imperative is created by inserting the do operator and the negative adverb not before the base form of the verb.
Examples:
Go there now! 
Do not postpone this any longer!
3. The Conditional Mood regards the action as not factually occurring in reality, but only as a result of a potential fulfillment of some condition.
Examples: 
If I win the lottery, I will go on a trip around the world.
If I won the lottery, I would go on a trip around the world.
If you had told me about the party, I would have come with you (but you didn’t).
4. The Subjunctive Mood expresses desires, wishes, and assumptions that are not necessarily to be fulfilled in reality. It is used in specific figures of speech and is of little use in Modern English.
Examples:
I demand that she leave at once!
If only you were here!
If that be the case, than…
Note: Modern English speakers use indicative mood most of the time, resorting to a kind of “mixed subjunctive” that makes use of helping verbs:
If I should see him, I will tell him. 
Americans are more likely to say: If I see him, I will tell him.
“VER ANEXO - LEXICAL VERBS AND AUXILIARY VERB”
Important: 
1. Modals might and should are no longer used with past tense meaning.
2. The English verbs dare and need have both a modal use (he dare not do it), and a non-modal use (he doesn't dare to do it). 
3. British: We use can to indicate capability or possibility, e.g. "I don't know if I can lift this piano by myself." The implication here is on whether you have the physical capacity or mental acuity to get the piano lifted. May is used when you are asking permission. "May I lift your piano for a little exercise?”. Here you wish the permission of someone to carry out an action.
American: We use can to indicate capability, possibility or permission. May is used when you are asking permission. 
About this, there is a funny story:
Once Bernard Shaw, the famous Irish play writer received a note from an American director, who wanted to play Pygmalion at a theater in New York.
He wrote: Dear sir, can I play Pygmalion here in New York?
Shaw’s answer: I don’t know if you can, but you may. 
4. 'Must' and 'Have to' in the positive or question form are used to speak about responsibilities and obligations. Sometimes, 'must' and 'have to' can be exchanged, but the general rule is:
Must is used for strong personal obligations (I must do this right now!). Something that you or a person feels is necessary.
Have to is used for responsibilities (I have to file reports every week.) 
'Don't have to' and 'Mustn't' have very different meanings. 'Don't have to' is used to express that something is not required. 'Mustn't' is used to express thatsomething is prohibited. 
Let’s see:
I have to go – (perhaps you have to catch the bus – external cause)
I must go – (personal obligation – internal cause)
Modal Properties
Unlike auxiliaries, modals carry meaning and "mood". They express the speakers opinion about the following verb phrase. "They are used before the infinitives of other verbs, and add certain kinds of meaning connected with certainty, or with obligation, and freedom to act."  
The lexical forms of modals mean almost the same, but have some grammatical differences. (can–is able to, knows how to; will – is going to; must – have to; should – ought to, etc.) 
Take a look at CAN as an example:
English Quasi – Modal Verbs
Quasi-modals are a subcategory of modal verbs. Similar to modals verbs, quasi-modal verbs are common auxiliary verbs in the English language that express modality, which is the expression of subjective attitudes and opinions including possibility, necessity, and contingency. Also referred to as semi-modal verbs, the four quasi-modal verbs in English are:
OUGHT TO – should, duty, obligation, advisability, desirability, likelihood, probability.
You ought to stain your fence this year. (advisability)
USED TO – formerly, once but no longer, previously habitually.
My sister used to read a book a night. (previously habitually)
WOULD RATHER – preference, prefer to.
I would rather eat a bug than study math. (preference)
HAD BETTER/BEST – should, duty, obligation, advisability.
She had better teach her children some manners. (duty)
Position of Quasi-modal Verbs
Like modal verbs, quasi-modal verbs always appear in the initial position at the beginning of a verb phrase functioning as a predicate. The seven possible English verb phrase combinations that contain quasi-modal verbs are:
      quasi-modal verb + base form = ought to study
      quasi-modal verb + be + present participle = ought to be reading
      quasi-modal verb + have + past participle = ought to have eaten
      quasi-modal verb + be + past participle = ought to be cleaned
      quasi-modal verb + have + been + present participle = ought to have been thinking
      quasi-modal verb + have + been + past participle = ought to have been washed
      quasi-modal verb + have + been + being + past participle = ought to have been being finished 
Quasi-modal Verbs versus Modal Verbs
Quasi-modal verbs differ from modal verbs in form. While full modals are single words, quasi-modals consist of either a verb plus a preposition functioning as a particle or a verb plus an adverb. For example:
      ought to, used to = verb + preposition [particle]
      would rather, had better = verb + adverb
Note, however, that the quasi-modal verb ought to sometimes lacks a prepositional particle in negative and interrogative constructions. For example:
      He ought to buy a new car.
      He ought not buy a new car.
For an end, look at this example of modals in a context:
Programs such as Napster and Gnutella allow you to download MP3 files from other people's hard drives without paying a penny to the artist or entertainment industry. With a Napster client such as Macster (or the Mac-compatible Furi client for Gnutella) and a broadband Internet connection, Mac users can download an album's worth of MP3 files in less than an hour. This leads us to the second factor: high-speed Internet access.
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), an industry group that represents major record labels, filed suit against Napster. As we went to press, a judge had decided not to dismiss the lawsuit against Napster, leaving open the possibility of a trial.
How does this affect you? 
It might put Napster out of business, and if you're a devoted Napster user, this is certainly sad news. But Metallica's actions could bring the controversy closer to home. The fact that Metallica was able to obtain the screen names of these users should concern those who post and download files on Napster. 
Should the recording industry wish to get personal and go after individuals - and you engage in this kind of file trading - it's possible that you'll be taken to task (prosecuted) for your actions. 
Where will this all lead? While the recording industry should have seen this coming, the fact is they didn't. Moving copyrighted files across the Internet is both easy to do and easy to get away with - but it won't be for long. Though the RIAA and Metallica aren't likely to start getting people who download an MP3 or two tossed into the pokey, they will take other steps than prosecution to protect their rights and work. This means that stricter copy-protection schemes will be introduced in the near future. This too is still a short-term solution; though copy-protection measures will surely reduce piracy, savvy people will find a way to skirt them.
 With this in mind, the entertainment industry must eventually bow to the realities of this new wired world, shift its current distribution model, and seek alternative means of compensation - with actions such as advertising on online distribution centers, offering "bonus" material that can be purchased only online, and streaming "pay to play" content on demand.
Multiple Auxiliaries
Most clauses contain at least one main verb, and they can contain zero, one, two, three, or perhaps even more auxiliary verbs. The following example contains three auxiliary verbs and one main verb:
The paper will have been scrutinized by Fred.
The auxiliary verbs are in bold and the main verb is underlined. Together these verbs form a verb catena (chain of verbs), i.e. they are linked together in the hierarchy of structure and thus form a single syntactic unit. The main verb scrutinized provides the semantic core of sentence meaning, whereby each of the auxiliary verbs contributes some functional meaning. A single finite clause can contain more than three auxiliary verbs, e.g.
Fred may be being judged to have been deceived by the explanation.
Viewing this sentence as consisting of a single finite clause, there are five auxiliary verbs and two main verbs present. From the point of view of predicates, each of the main verbs constitutes the core of a predicate, and the auxiliary verbs contribute functional meaning to these predicates. The periphrastic verb combinations in the example just given are represented now using the dependency grammar tree of the sentence; the verb catena is in green:
The particle to is included in the verb catena because its use is often required with certain infinitives. The hierarchy of functional categories is always the same.
The verbs expressing modality appear immediately above the verbs expressing aspect, and the verbs expressing aspect appear immediately above the verbs expressing voice.
DIAGNOSTICS FOR IDENTIFYING AUXILIARY VERBS IN ENGLISH
The verbs listed in the previous section can be classified as auxiliaries based upon two diagnostics: they allow subject–auxiliary inversion (the type of inversion used to form questions etc.) and (equivalently) they can take not as a post-dependent (a dependent that follows its head). 
The following examples illustrate the extent to which subject–auxiliary inversion can occur with an auxiliary verb but not with a full verb:
The following examples illustrate that the negation not can appear as a post-dependent of a finite auxiliary verb, but not as a post-dependent of a finite full verb: