What can corpus linguistics tell us about English grammar

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What can corpus linguistics tell us about
English grammar?

• Douglas Biber
• Northern Arizona University

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Major themes in the talk

• A survey of corpus-based analytical techniques
• Illustrate the research findings from the Longman
  Grammar of Spoken and Written English
• The unreliability of intuitions
• The centrality of register for descriptions of
  language use
• Grammatical complexity in conversation
• Implications for ESL/EFL teaching and materials

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Composition of the Longman Spoken and Written
English (LSWE) Corpus

• of texts of words
• Conversation BrE 3,436 3,929,500
• Conversation AmE 329 2,480,800
• Fiction 139 4,980,000
• News BrE 20,395 5,432,800
• News AmE 11,602 5,246,500
• Academic prose 408 5,331,800

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Pronouns

• Many simple analyses can be carried out using
  only concordancing software

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KWIC Screen from MonoConc
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Modal verbs

• Modal verbs (e.g., can, must) and semi-modals
  (e.g., have to) express similar meanings
• Semi-modals are especially common in conversation
• Are the core modal verbs more common in academic
  writing or in conversation?

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Basic decisions that all materials developers
make

• Which grammatical features to include in a lesson
  or book which to exclude? How much space should
  be given to included topics?
• What order of topics?
• Which specific words to include when illustrating
  a grammatical feature?
• Identifying the features and words that are
  "common".

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ESL/EFL grammar books surveyed for the study

• Low intermediate
• Basic grammar in use
• Intermediate
• Focus on grammar
• Fundamentals of English grammar
• Grammar in use
• Intermediate to advanced
• Grammar dimensions (Book 3)
• Oxford practice grammar

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1) Which topics to include / exclude, focusing
on noun pre-modifiers

• Adjectives as pre-modifiers (the big house)
• Participles as pre-modifiers (flashing lights, a
  restricted area)
• Nouns as pre-modifiers (plastic trays)
• In newspaper writing, are all three types of
  modification equally important? Which one(s)
  should be emphasized?

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Which topics to include / exclude, focusing on
noun pre-modifiers (cont.)

• Survey of ESL/EFL grammar books
• a) no discussion 1 book
• b) adjectives as pre-modifiers 5 books
• c) participles as pre-modifiers 4 books
• d) nouns as pre-modifiers 1 book

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Excerpt from a tagged text

• The ati
• Civil jjatrb
• War nn
• tore vbdxvbn
• the ati
• United np
• States nps
• apart rp
• . .clp
• After cssub
• the ati
• war nn
• Americans nnnom
• had md"pmd"
• to mdnec
• put vbxvbn
• the ati
• nation nn
• back rp

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Meaning relations expressed by Noun-Noun sequences

• Example N-N sequences Meaning relationship
• glass windows, metal seat, N2 is made from N1
• tomato sauce
• pencil case, brandy bottle, N2 is used for
  the purpose of N1
• patrol car
• sex magazine, sports diary N2 is about N1
• farmyard manure, computer printout N2 comes
  from N1
• summer rains, Paris conference N1 gives the
  time or location of N2

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2) What order of topics, focusing on progressive
(continuous) and simple present tense

• Three verb aspects in English
• Simple He works very hard
• Progressive (or continuous) Tom is writing a
  letter
• Perfect Charlie has gone home
• In conversation, which is the most common aspect?

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What order of topics, focusing on progressive
(continuous) and simple present tense (cont.)

• progressive introduced before the simple present
  3 books
• progressive introduced in the first chapter
  4 books
• progressive introduced before or with the simple
  present 5 books
• progressive introduced after the simple present
  1 book

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Simple aspect verbs in conversation

• B -- What do you do at Dudley Allen then?
• A What the school?
• B Yeah. Do you -
• A No I'm, I'm only on the PTA.
• B You're just on the PTA?
• A That's it.
• B You don't actually work?
• A I work at the erm -
• B I know you work at Crown Hills, don't you?
• A Yeah.

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• Which specific words to include when illustrating
  a grammatical feature, focusing on the initial
  chapters that describe verb tenses
• What are the most common lexical verbs in
  conversation?

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Selected meanings of GET in conversation

• Obtaining something (activity)
• See if they can get some of that beer.
  (Conv)
• How much are you getting a pay raise for?
  (Conv)
• Moving to or away from something (activity)
• Get in the car. (Conv)
• Causing something to move (causative)
• Jessie get your big bum here. (Conv)
• We ought to get these wedding pictures into an
  album of some sort. (Conv)
• Causing something to happen (causative)
• Uh, I got to get Max to sign one, too (Conv)
• It gets people talking again, right. (Conv)
• Changing from one state to another (occurrence)
  
• She's getting ever so grubby looking now.
  (Conv)
• So I'm getting that way now. (Conv)
• Understanding something (mental)
• Do you get it? (Conv)
• Get in the perfect asoect with a stative meaning
  similar to have
• The Amphibicar - It's got little propellers in
  the back. (Conv)
• You got your homework done, Jason? (Conv)

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Verbs illustrated in the first lessons on present
progressive and simple present tense(four low
intermediate and intermediate books)

• common verbs included in these textbooks
• is, has, do, like, want, know, mean
• moderately common verbs included in these
  textbooks
• eat, work, feel, work, play, watch, talk, call,
  remember, hear, seem
• less common and rare verbs included in these
  textbooks
• run, listen, wear, cry, revolve, arrive, touch,
  stand, travel, read, rain, shine, write, ring,
  drive, enjoy, study, build, rise, smoke, close,
  speak, grow, kiss, stay, own, taste, cause, boil
• common verbs that are NOT included in any book
• say, get, go, think, see, make, give
• common verbs included in only one book come,
  take

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Meanings of modal verbs

• Personal meanings -- permission and obligation
• You can't mark without a scheme. You must make
  a scheme. (Conv)
• I know you have to protect your eyesight.
  (Fict)
• Logical meanings -- possibility and logical
  certainty
• Or he might accept it but reach different
  conclusions. (Acad)
• You must have thought that you would have so
  much time. (Conv)
• Personal meanings -- ability
• I think we can beat Glenavon. (News)
• He thought he could help his brother in his
  illness by writing about their childhood. (News)

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may marking permission in teacher talk

• Students many voices talking
• Teacher Yes Carl. You may do some maths if you
  want to.
• Student No.
• Teacher You may do your language work if you
  want to.
• Student I thought you said anything.
• Teacher If you don't want to do - either of
  those things and you are - keen on writing a
  story, you may write.
• ...
• Teacher No you may not draw a picture.

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could, might and may marking logical possibility
in academic prose

• The two processes could well be independent.
  (Acad)
• Of course, it might be the case that it had been
  settled long before that. (Acad)
• The only problem may be that the compound is
  difficult to remove after use. (Acad)
• Legumes may have smaller conversion efficiencies.
  (Acad)
• The problems encountered may be entirely physical
  in nature. (Acad)

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must marking logical certainty in conversation

• Your mum must not care. (Conv)
• It must have fallen out trying to fly.
• (Conv)
• Your feet must feel wet now. (Conv)

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must marking personal obligation in academic prose

• I must now confess something which I kept back
  from you in Chapter 3. (Acad)
• The permanence of dams already constructed must
  be ensured. (Acad)
• This is the sort of case in which judges must
  exercise discretionary power. (Acad)

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Selected common lexical bundles with simple
present tense verbs in conversation

• I dont know what __________________
• how
• if
• why
• where
• who
• I dont think he/she __________________
• I
• its
• you
• they

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Example exercise to practice the use of lexical
bundles

• Choose from the following endings to complete the
  lexical bundle
• if I would like that
• where it is
• he actually wrote it
• it's too dirty yet
• I don't think his speech delivery was very good.
  I think he read it.
• But I don't think ______.
• We have that book, but I dont know _________.
• We've only lived in the apartment for a year. I
  don't think ________.
• Melissa They went swimming in the ocean. She
  said the water was like bath temperature.
• Sam Well, I dont know __________. Thats a
  little too tropical!