A Look at the Portuguese Language Workshop
Review Grammar for the Construction of Text
Juliana Vianna Segadas (UFRJ)
Michelli Bastos Ferreira (UFRJ)
Introduction
The Portuguese Language Workshop was inspired by the difficulty, observed in students enrolled in writing courses, to grammatically revise their own texts. It was observed that both groups required a greater understanding of the syntax of the language. In other words, these students lacked a better understanding of the organization of Portuguese and the fundamental relations arising from that organization, such as governance and agreement.
With the goal of solving this problem, the workshop focuses on the grammar and sentence structure of the text. Lessons are provided for general notions of syntax and punctuation, starting with the smallest constituents to the more complex processes of coordination and subordination, and general rules of agreement and governance.
In order to provide an overview of the course, this article is organized into sections: basics of syntax and punctuation, coordination and subordination, verbal and nominal governance, and nominal and verbal agreement. At the end of each section are presented proposals for activities designed to promote the assimilation of the contents studied in class, from the reflection on the English language.
Methodology
The material adopted for the preparation of this work, especially for the Portuguese Language Workshop Project CLAC/UFRJ, is noteworthy. We seek, therefore, to provide the technical and methodological guide for this pedagogy. Thus, this work shows various exercises performed during the course and their respective goals.
The research presented herein aims to point out the exercises for these students, always being careful to obey an order of increasing difficulty.
Finally, we discuss further strategies to suit the learning and heterogeneous public that often seek the course of the workshop: students of Letras interested in deepening knowledge of Portuguese and individuals interested in public service exams.
Syntax and Punctuation
As you know, punctuation is a convention that is not intended simply to imitate speech, but to order writing in accordance with a code pattern. To master the rules of punctuation, it is important to have some notions of syntax.
According to the grammarian Celso Pedro Luft, the syntax of a language is “part of grammar which deals with relations contract that the words in the phrase” that is, correspond to the ordering of words into larger units – the phrases. The organization of the phrases, in turn, implies the formation of clauses, which together make up periods. Therefore, the ordering periods as texts. See:
WORDS → PHRASE → CLAUSE → PERIOD → TEXT
You can also say that the syntax, or organization of a language, entails some fundamental relationships such as governance, agreement, and placement, which are studied throughout the course.
The term governance, derived from the verb to govern, means ‘command, administration, direction’. In a broad sense, it is the verb that governs all the terms of a clause. For example, in the phrase Those abandoned children ate the food provided, it is possible to observe that the verb “eat” implies that “someone” eats “something”. That “someone”, that is, what we are talking about, is called the subject of the clause. Now, this “something” is the complement of the verb in question, and along with it, is considered as what we say about it, i.e., the predicate of the sentence.
Agreement, in turn, is due to the relations of governance in a clause. The element that determines the verb agreement is the subject. Therefore, the best definition of the subject would be “the element with which the verb agrees.” Since the predicate would be “all that is said about the subject.”
Placement is the mechanism that regulates the spatial arrangement of words in the sentence. The way to have the words vary from language to language: each one has its own mechanisms for placement. A sentence is in direct order when the words are arranged in the progression of the antecedent for the consequent, namely:
SUBJECT → VERB → COMPLEMENTS OF THE VERB → ADJUNCT
See example:
(2) The U.S. criticized Iraq severely
SVOA
The subject and predicate of a sentence constitute what might be called basic information (SVO) in a statement.
Syntax and Punctuation in Exercises
The following are a few proposals that exemplify the activities applied for setting the course.
Proposal 1: Identify the types of syntactic structure in which clauses are made:
a) The boy asked, during class, the matter to the teacher.
Proposal (1) exercises the basics of syntax – such as governance, agreement, and placement – worked on the course and punctuation. For each item of the proposal, the student starts from the observation of the verb, trying to infer the structure designed by him. For example, in (a), the verb “ask” leads us to assume that ‘someone’ asks ‘something’ of ‘someone’, i.e., it is a verb of 3 arguments: it admits a subject and requires two objects. Thus, the student has the first contact with the notion of “sentence patterns,” which contains certain syntactic patterns from which any actual sentence of the language is constructed.
Determining the argument structure of the verb, the student returns to the proposed sentence and identifies the elements that make up the basic information. In the example, they would be: the subject, ‘the boy’, the verb ‘asked’, the direct object ‘matter’, and the indirect object ‘the teacher’. You see, then, that the phrase ‘during the class’ adds additional information to the clause, since it is not included in the argument structure of the verb. Thus, the student can understand that punctuation is used to isolate between commas the moved adjunct (further information).
Proposal 2: Construct two examples for each type of syntactic structure:
a) XVS
Proposal (2) also exercises the basics of syntax and punctuation. However, it is the student who must create the sentence. Based on the understanding that the language provides syntactic patterns for every phrase, that is, the notion of ‘sentence patterns’, the student should look for, in each item, verbs applied to design the structure. For example, in (a), we have a verb that allows a subject and does not require a complement, also designing a postponed subject structure. The student could think of several verbs designing this structure, such as ‘to be born’, ‘to be located’, ‘to appear’, among others.
After the construction of the sentence, which could be ‘Three children were born,’ he adds an adjunct – provided in the exercise by the symbol ‘X’ – understanding that this is complementary information, that is not part of the argument structure of the verb. Thus, we have the phrase ‘In the Hospital São José, three children were born’, for example, where the moved adjunct must be isolated by commas.
Proposal 3: From the examples given, punctuate the clauses properly, then, formulate rules of punctuation:
a) The room was huge empty dark.
The head teachers students participated in the gymkhana.
I liked the friends of the city school.
The wind carried the roof the world seemed to come down.
Proposal (3) is designed to exercise other punctuation rules. From the observation of the example already properly punctuated – ‘The room was huge, empty, dark’ – the student must punctuate the other sentences. It starts from the assumption that all sentences follow the same rule. In other words, by analyzing the punctuated case, the student can punctuate the other phrases and then infer the rule of punctuation that explains all the phrases listed. For example, in ‘The room was huge, empty, dark’, the punctuation separates various predicates of ‘the room’. Based on this observation, the student subliminally infers that the terms have the same syntactic function: they are predicatives.
In the other sentences, the same occurs. In ‘The principal, students, teachers participated in the demonstration’, for example, the terms ‘principal’, ‘students’, ‘teachers’ are subjects of the verb ‘participated’. In other words, they have the same syntactic function. Proceeding in this way, the student is led to infer the rule: separate by commas elements of the same syntactic function.
Coordination and Subordination
Coordination and subordination are the two processes of syntactic structure established by the Brazilian Grammatical Nomenclature in force and focused on for the most traditional grammarians’ guidance. However, the aforementioned NGB only uses the words coordination and subordination from the item on the compound period. However, in the Portuguese Language Workshop, the student will study these processes of syntactic structure in two different contexts: the formation of phrases and the training periods.
The Processes of Coordination and Subordination in the Exercises
The following are some proposals for activities we do with the students in the classroom:
Proposal 1: Examine the periods below and tell if they are composed of coordination or subordination. Justify your answer, and then establish a difference between these two processes in syntax.
He slept and dreamed. A foot-ball of dust the foliage of Imburanas, Miss Victoria was picking lice in the eldest son, whale rested his head on the whetstone.
The fragment is composed of three periods. The first period, “He slept and dreamed,” is composed of coordination. There is the addition of information and ideas, marked by the use of the coordinating conjunction and. The second sentence of the above fragment is composed of coordination, but, unlike the former, the combination of clauses takes place without the interference of conjunctive links. In this case, coordination is asyndetic. This process of internal structuring of clauses differs from subordination, because the clauses are syntactically independent, which does not occur in subordination, in which the subordinate clause has syntactic function in the main clause, in relation to the plugin, dependency.
The goal of implementing the above exercise is the intention of assisting the student in defining the concepts presented, using examples of compound periods.
Proposal 2: Make a syntactic difference (function and type of clause) and the semantics of the clauses mentioned:
The politicians who are corrupt do not fulfill their promises.
Politicians who are corrupt do not fulfill their promises.
In the 1st sentence, “who are corrupt” is a clause that serves as a bet explanatory value has non-restricted. The clause is classified as an adjectival subordinate clause. This is an additional statement.
In the 2nd sentence, “who are corrupt” acts as an adjectival subordinate clause which appears seated. It is restrictive and has a value that is essential to the sense of the period. So, do not use any punctuation between this sentence and the nucleus of the noun phrase which appears embedded.
Because it is always subject to the matters charged in open, we try to always show the student, through exercises, the syntactic and semantic features that distinguish the adjectival subordinate clauses and restrictive adjectival subordinate notes.
Verbal and Nominal Regency
As the study of syntax deals with the relations between words in the sentence, it is important that students understand the mechanism by which verbs and their complements command names.
Note the following example:
(i) The owner has canceled the sale of the property.
As you can see, the governing verb, i.e., commands the entire clause: the verb to cancel allows us to infer that “someone” cancels “something.” That “something” is the complement of the verb in question. One can therefore say that the governing verb (command) the accessories, making a verbal regency.
Moreover, there is, in that same example, that the noun sale needs a complement, that is, there is always the sale of “something.” In this case, the noun (sale) governs a complement (the property), establishing a nominal regency.
Generally, each speaker dominates the regency of verbs and the names that are part of their usual repertoire. However, there are often disagreements between popular usage and formal usage. It can also happen that the speaker is simply unaware of certain cultural norms because the regencies do not occur in popular use. Therefore, we present some cases that tend to cause doubts in each of these kinds of regency.
Verbal and Nominal Regency in Exercises
The following are a few proposals that illustrate the activities used in the course.
Proposal 1: Describe the meaning of the highlighted verbs in the sentences that follow:
a) “Do not be summoned so far in a hurry, a creature who despises (…)” (Osmar Lins)
b) I called him a fool before all that flattered.
Proposal (1) shows verbs that change meaning according to the change in the regency. The student will identify, initially, that meanings are expressed by the verb. In (a), the verb ‘to call’ brings the idea of ‘summoning the presence of someone’. In (b), the meaning is another, bringing the idea of ‘naming someone’. Thus, they are given the rudiments of verbal regency.
Proposal 2. Rewrite the following sentences according to the official language standard, noting the issues of regency:
a) The singer I most sympathize is Roberto Carlos.
b) Everybody worked in what he liked most.
Proposal (2) works with verbal regency by presenting phrases common in spoken language, where there is deviation from the standard. From the observation of the verb, the student finds the divergence and rewrites the sentence correctly. For example, in (a), the word ‘to sympathize’ presupposes that ‘someone’ sympathizes ‘with’ someone, i.e., in the phrase ‘The singer I most sympathize is Roberto Carlos’, the preposition requested by the verb has been deleted, and should be replaced. The same is true in part (b). In “Everybody worked in what he liked most,” the verb ‘to like’ presupposes that ‘someone’ likes ‘something’. Here, the preposition has also been omitted, and must be replaced when rewriting the sentence.
Proposal 3: Replace the words in bold with the words in brackets, paying attention to the phenomenon of the grave accent:
a) The temperature to strict criminal justice system are the main subject. (regulations)
b) John Alvino has obtained assurances that there would be presented to the public. (release)
Proposal (3) works with verbal and nominal regency, focusing on the phenomenon of the grave accent. By replacing the word in bold with the word provided in brackets, the student practices some basic exercises for the phenomenon, which is the contraction of the preposition requested by the verb with the definite article of the noun.
Proposal 4: Explain the difference in direction and governance of the verb to watch below, due to the differentiated regency:
“Rio 1 to watch because the Record Record watches2 Rio”
Proposal (4) exhibits a greater degree of difficulty. Here, it is part of the semantics of the verb to infer the structure projected by it. In (1), the verb ‘to watch’ means ‘to see’, ‘to witness’, and the structure designs ‘somebody’ watching ‘something’, that is, the word calls for a complement governed by a preposition. In (2), the regency is different. With the meaning of ‘to assist’, ‘to help’, the verb ‘to watch’ designs the structure ‘somebody’ watching ‘someone’, i.e., the verb requests a complement without a preposition.
Verbal and Nominal Agreement
We know that syntax, i.e., the organization of a language, entails some fundamental relations such as coordination, subordination, regency, placement, and agreement.
In the course, we refer to this study, and agreement is defined as the mechanism by which some words change their endings to accommodate other words. Therefore, it is pointed out that, in Portuguese, there are two types of agreement: verbal (1), which deals with the verb changes to accommodate its subject, and nominal (2), which deals with changes to adjectival words to accommodate the name to which they relate.
(1) The Brazilians / are / football fans.
subject → verb
(2) Many Brazilians enjoy American / basketball.
adjective → noun
In terms of agreement, either verbal or nominal, the course features several sub-cases that favor the occurrence of non-standard verb agreement in order to make the student aware of and familiar with the cases that cause misunderstandings.
Nominal and Verbal Agreement in Exercises
Note, then, some commands of activities on nominal and verbal agreement, proposed during the course of the Portuguese Language Workshop:
Proposal 1: From the examples given, complete the sentences properly, then, formulate rules for nominal agreement:
Do not leave the doors open. (open)
The black bag and white shoes are in the closet. (black / white)
Principle
Adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun to which they refer.
Proposal 2: From the examples given, complete the sentences properly, then, formulate rules of verb agreement:
1. The rain fell violently in the backyard and soaked the red sand. (to fall / to soak)
2. When Joseph and his daughter arrived, they soon announced. (to arrive / to announce)
3. Among them, they were left with no feeling. (to be left)
Principle
The verb must always agree in number and person with the subject to which it refers, since it is the element that determines the verbal agreement.
The aim of proposals 1 and 2 is to sensitize the student to drawing on examples of language use (Step 1 of the year), to conclude the rules governing employment in focus (2nd stage of the activity pointed).
Final Thoughts
Over a four-month process, the duration of the course, one can see that students are able to comment, explain and understand the grammatical assumptions about what is studied. The view that acquire a much broader and questioning of what you see and what applies in the interaction process in relation to language.
It is understood the studied options such as the speaker of the language in situational context, as part of his speech. Thus, a mistaken use of certain punctuation, can compromise the whole text in the sense that the intention/purpose for which it was written is not answered. Similarly, the strategies of subordination and coordination will influence the process of writing the student, showing greater control and coordination of existing mechanisms of language.
It is with this objective that organizes the course of the Office of the Portuguese language. The aim is therefore to point out the grammatical rules and classifications as well as subsidies for the production of student writing, and preparing for the exam and other Public Procurement.
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