Descriptive Syntax

1. Problem in looking at grammar without a tagged corpus (e.g. passive, progressive)

   1. Google: give it to him / give him it

   2. Google: had been being watched/used

2. Difficulty of determining part of speech (POS): light, back, fine

3. Overall differences between nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and prepositions in four major registers (spoken, fiction, newspapers, and academic)

4. Nouns / pronouns

   1. relative frequency of nouns and pronouns

   2. pronouns -- personal

   3. pronouns -- relative

   4. N + N

5. Adjectives (taller v. more tall)

6. Verbs

   1. present v. past

   2. progressive (is Ving)

   3. passive (was Ved)

   4. modals

   5. stacking: was being Ved, has/had been Ved, has/had been being Ved

   6. phrasal verbs (turn down, burn up)

   7. constructions: seems to V / seems that ...

7. Contractions

8. Clefting (it 's [n*] that)

Charts from Biber (1998)