Essential Elements of Morphosyntax in English for Effective Communication
1. Introduction
The description of language includes three components: phonology, grammar, and lexicon. Phonology describes the sound system, the lexicon lists vocabulary items, and grammar deals with words and sentences.
Furthermore, there is no doubt that knowledge of grammar is essential to mastering a language. It establishes the grammatical competence included in Communicative Competence and multilingual competence according to LOMLOE 3/2020, December 29th, which was developed in Royal Decree 157/2022, March 1st. This decree also divides Primary Education content into three blocks: Communication, plurilingualism, and interculturality.
However, regarding grammar teaching, Decree 61/2022, July 13th, for the Madrid Autonomous Community, defined a fourth block of content: Syntactic Discourse content. This decree sequences grammatical content for each Primary Education school stage. Additionally, in Primary Education Bilingual Schools, Decree 5958/2010, December 7th, sets other grammatical orientations to consider.
This topic will showcase how we use different word types in speaking and writing. It will mainly focus on how words are formed, how sentences are structured, and the different kinds of words we use. Then, it will explain the basic structures we use when communicating, like how sentences are put together and what kinds of sentences there are.
Finally, it will explain how we can teach grammar step by step and show some activities. In the end, it will summarize the main points and list the main references used to write this topic.
2. Essential Elements of Morphosyntax in English
After this brief introduction, I will discuss the essential elements of morphosyntax in English. For this purpose, I will start from the easiest units to the more complex ones, as well as the science in charge of governing them.
The grammatical structure of a language comprises two levels: MORPHOLOGY and SYNTAX. Let us see both.
2a. Morphology
Morphology is defined as the branch of grammar that studies the structure of words. Moreover, the smallest meaningful elements into which words can be analyzed are known as morphemes, and the way morphemes operate in language is the subject matter of morphology.
For example, unhappy is composed of two morphemes: un-, which carries a negative meaning, and –happy, which carries a plain meaning.
Furthermore, morphemes can be classified into two categories:
- Free morphemes: those which can occur as separate words (iron, cab, metal…).
- Bound morphemes: those which cannot occur on their own (-tic, inter-, re-…). They are attached to a free morpheme. Bound morphemes are also divided into:
-Prefixes, which are placed at the beginning, like in unconscious.
-Suffixes, which are placed at the end of the word, like in happiness.
Within morphology, two main fields are traditionally recognized:
- Inflectional morphology: studies the way words vary to express grammatical contrasts in sentences. They are called GRAMMATICAL CATEGORIES (number, person, gender, case, tense, etc.). An inflectional affix can be -s in books.
- Derivational morphology: studies the principles that govern new words’ construction. The major processes in English to create new words are the following:
–Composition: combining two bases together into one word. (Example: teapot)
–Derivation: adding an affix to a base because they cannot be used as separate words. They can be divided into prefixes and suffixes. Both modify the meaning of the base (Example: dress-undress)
–Conversion: from one-word class to a different one. (Example: walk as a noun – to walk as a verb).
At this point, we cannot forget to talk about words since words are at the boundary between morphology and syntax.
2.b. Words
Leonard Bloomfield defined words as “minimal free forms” in written language. There are two criteria to identify them:
- Words are characterized by standing on their own as isolated.
- Words are units, that is, they have internal cohesion.
* Word Classes
Within English grammar, nine-word classes have been generally recognized: nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, interjections, and determiners.
Quirk organized them into two main classes:
- Open classes: include nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and verbs since new items can be added.
- Closed classes: include determiners, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, and modals. They are considered closed classes because they cannot be extended by creating additional members.
Once I have dealt with morphology or the structure of words, let’s move on to syntax.
2c. Syntax
Regarding syntax, it can be defined as the study of sentences’ structure and how words combine to form phrases, clauses, and sentences. In this sense, when dealing with syntax, we must distinguish between these three concepts: sentences, clauses, and phrases.
It is required to consider that sentences are the most elementary communicative structure. A phrase is defined as a sequence of two or more words that form a syntactic unit. There are different types according to their principal element: noun phrase, verb phrase, adverb phrase…
In contrast, a clause is a group of words with a subject and a predicate that are part of a compound or complex sentence.
- Sentence elements. Bearing in mind these differences, let’s deal with the main elements that can be found in any sentence:
Subject: In statements, the subject comes before the verb, and they must agree. The subject can represent the person doing the action or the one affected by it.
Predicate: Within the predicate, the verb carries out the sentence’s action and can express tense, indicating if it occurs in the present or past.
Direct Object: It appears when transitive verbs are used. This element is affected by the verb’s action and performed by the subject (“He bought a new dictionary”).
Indirect Object: Some transitive verbs can have a complement placed after the verb and before the direct object, often introduced by “to” or “for” (“They offered him a new job”; “I will cook you a pizza”).
Adverbials possess two primary syntactic traits: they can be removed from a sentence without changing its meaning, and they are often flexible in placement, able to occupy either the beginning or end of a sentence. Essentially, adverbials convey details about the circumstances of the action occurring.
Complements: It is a noun or an adjective phrase (“They elected him president”).
- Sentence types. Once we have studied the elements that can appear in a sentence, it is time to explain the different types of sentences we can find depending on our purpose. The first aspect we must consider is that sentences can be grouped into SIMPLE (in which no one of the functions is realized by another sentence), COMPOUND (in which two or more sentences have been coordinated with a conjunction but they are independent), and COMPLEX (in which one or more functions are performed by a subordinate clause).
Sentence classification
Moreover, sentences can be classified according to the relationship between the speaker and the listener into: DECLARATIVE sentences, INTERROGATIVE, IMPERATIVE sentences, EXCLAMATORY sentences, and SUBJUNCTIVE sentences, which express wishes, suggestions…
Once I have dealt with the essential elements of morphosyntax in English, I will move on to explain the basic communicative structures students will need to communicate.
3. Elementary Communicative Structures
When teaching basic communicative structures, differentiating between form and function is important. Form refers to the grammatical structure, while function pertains to the meaning and usage of structures. For example, the present continuous form serves various functions, such as indicating future plans or describing present actions. Likewise, a particular function can be expressed using different forms; for instance,
the future tense can be conveyed using “will” or “going to.”
Current language teaching bases its principles on the Communicative Approach. This approach emphasizes using function rather than form. Therefore, some elementary communicative structures the student will need to master to communicate are:
- Social conventions like greetings, introducing oneself, apologizing…
- Giving and receiving information about different topics.
- Expressing opinions and preferences like likes and dislikes…
4. Progressive Use of Grammar Categories in Oral and Written Production to Improve Communication
After dealing with this topic’s theoretical part, I will explain how aspects such as morphology or syntax can be taught at the Primary Level.
4.a. Role of Grammar in Language Learning
In this sense, our students need to feel involved in real situations to communicate well. For this purpose, it is very important to settle down the grammatical bases and learn them properly. To develop our students’ Communicative Competence and, according to Penny Ur, the teaching and learning process of grammar categories can be summarized in four skills: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing, which are nowadays worked throughout inductive approaches.
In Primary Education grammar teaching, two primary approaches are commonly employed. The deductive approach involves presenting students with a grammatical rule upfront, followed by examples for repetition and opportunities for practice. Conversely, the inductive approach provides students with specific grammar within a context, prompting them to discern underlying rules based on the information given.
Each method offers distinct benefits and can be tailored to suit students’ learning needs and preferences. However, in the Primary Education Stage, following the inductive approach is advisable since the deductive one implies knowledge of the grammar meta-language and advanced cognitive development and should only be recommended for older students or with simple items.
Once essential aspects within grammar learning in class are explained, let us move on to how to work on grammar activities step by step.
4.b. Grammar Activities in the FL Classroom
The first aspect we must contemplate is that grammatical items must be introduced at the presentation stage. Our main aim is for students to internalize these items to use them. The most useful activities are taped dialogues, realia, miming, drawings…
Once students understand the grammatical structure, they need to practice it to absorb the structure and learn it correctly. In the practice stage, we can introduce activities like drills, gap-filling exercises, spot the mistake, multiple-choice exercises, jumble sentences, scrambled words…
After students have practiced the linguistic forms, the teacher must provide opportunities to use the language independently. Some oral communicative activities to work on in the production stage are information-gap activities, communicative games like “out of place”, “Chinese Whispers”… role plays, following instructions, describing people, projects…
5. Conclusion
In conclusion, noting that morphosyntactic elements and communicative structures are not explicitly included in the foreign language curriculum is important. However, according to the inductive approach, students should internalize this knowledge to develop effective Communicative Competence.
In relation to this, a famous anonymous quote states: “Words are powerful; they can create or destroy. So, choose your words wisely.”
Therefore, our mission as teachers is to help our students choose words that enable them to create dreams that will become actions towards a happier life.
6. Bibliography
- BREWSTER, J, ELLIS, G & GIRARD, D: “The Primary English Teacher’s Guide”. Penguin (2002).
- HARMER, J: “The Practice of English Language Teaching”. Longman. London (1983).
- HADLEY, A.O: “Teaching Language in Context”. Heinle and Heinle. United Kingdom (2001).