Category: Learn/Brainstorm/Try

Goal: Explore options for headless relative clause forms Note: These include structures like “I’ll go wherever you go” or “Love what you do.” Tip: These may be similar to your non-embedded clause forms or to your relative clause strategies. Work focus: Learn/Brainstorm/Try Take some time to explore options for handling headless relative clause situations in…

Goal: Explore options for forming adverb clauses Note: These dependent clauses differ from others in that they are not embedded in the matrix clause. Tip: Consider options such as subordinating conjunctions, placement, and word order. Work focus: Learn/Brainstorm/Try Today’s goal is to explore options for forming adverb clauses. These are a type of dependent clause—they…

Goal: Brainstorm ideas for coordinating clauses Note: You may use the same strategy you created for phrasal coordination. Tip: You can opt to string clauses together without a coordinator. Work focus: Learn/Brainstorm/Try Today’s goal is to brainstorm ideas for coordinating clauses. You might want to use the same strategy (or strategies) that you created for…

Goal: Explore options for gerunds in nominal positions Note: Include reduced verb phrases in this exploration—focus on verb forms allowed in nominal positions. Tip: An example is “Baking (cupcakes) relaxes me.” Work focus: Learn/Brainstorm/Try Today’s goal is to explore ways verbs can function as nouns, including gerunds (e.g. “Baking relaxes me”), fuller gerund phrases (e.g.…

Goal: Decide whether to allow noun clauses as subjects Note: Even if languages allow this structure, it might be dispreferred by speakers. Tip: An example is “That they gave North Pole the zip code HOH OHO is hilarious.” Work focus: Learn/Brainstorm/Try If your language allows embedded finite clauses to function in nominal positions, consider if…

Goal: Explore evidential marking Note: Reconsider your verb system and verb inflections to decide if you will mark evidentiality. Tip: Evidentials can provide the same information as a matrix verb. Work focus: Learn/Brainstorm/Try Another verbal area to explore is evidential markers. These markers indicate how the speaker knows the information in the clause. A common…

Goal: Explore subjunctive-like marking Note: Reconsider your verb system and verb inflections to decide if you will mark conditionality. Tip: Complement clauses may be marked in the conditional. Work focus: Learn/Brainstorm/Try Take a step back and reconsider your verb system and the inflections you’ve created so far. Explore options for marking information that generally falls…

Goal: Explore options for noun clauses Note: Noun clauses can function as a subject, direct object, or complement. Tip: See how languages incorporate these structures or use other ones for similar purposes. Work focus: Learn/Brainstorm/Try Noun clauses are finite clause structures that function as nominal elements, such as the object of a verb. Common verbs…

Goal: Consider phrasal modification strategies for nouns Note: Along with relative clauses, phrases can modify head nouns within the noun phrase. Tip: Adposition phrases are common phrasal modifiers. Work focus: Learn/Brainstorm/Try Relative clauses modify head nouns in full clause form, but phrases can also modify head nouns, such as adposition phrases. For instance, in “The…

Goal: Brainstorm ideas for relative clause components Note: Decide whether you will have a relative pronoun or other relativizer. Tip: Also consider where any relative clause markers might occur within the clause structure. Work focus: Learn/Brainstorm/Try Continue your relative clause brainstorming by focusing on the internal structures of the relative clause, including options for relative…