Clause Structure in SFG: What You Should Know
Clause Structure in SFG: What You Should Know
There is a standard compositional structure for clauses in the systemic functional grammar. Clauses are elements of structure below the sentence in other grammatical models, but in SFG, the element of structure above the clause is the clause-complex. The arrangement of clauses according to systemic functional grammarians follow a particular pattern: (S)P(C)(A).
S= Subject
P = Predicator
C = Complement
A = Adjunct
All the elements in brackets: subject, complement, and adjunct, are all optional elements of a clause structure in SFG, while predicator—known as verb phrase in TGG, is the obligatory element of a clause structure. This is because every clause must have a verbal element to be considered a clause.
Now I will be explaining each of the elements of a clause structure individually and how they are represented.
Subject
The subject element of a clause is always represented by a nominal group: which serves as the initiator or enforcer of an action. For example;
1. He ate the hood.
"He" is the subject of the main clause above, and since it is a pronoun—an element that acts in place of a noun—it can be classified as a nominal group. So a noun or any element functioning as a noun which forms the nominal group, represents the subject element of a clause structure. To exemplify:
Subject = Nominal group
Predicator
Traditional grammarians introduced the predicate as every other element in a sentence after the subject, starting from the verb. However, systemic grammarians introduced the predicator element which represents every verbal element in a clause or clause-complex. Take for example:
1. They will travel home tomorrow.
"will travel" is a verbal group because it is a group made up of verbs and it has a lexical verb as its headword—"travel". Hence it forms the predicator element of the clause structure above. This shows that the predicator element of a clause structure, which is the obligatory element, is always represented by verbal groups. To exemplify;
Predicator = Verbal groups
Complement
The complement element of a clause structure is one of the elements of clause structure that can be represented by more than one group. It can be represented by an adjectival group or a nominal group even though, typically, it is represented by an adjectival group. Here is an example of a complement element of a clause structure being represented by an adjectival group:
1. He is nice.
"Nice" is an adjective hence it forms an adjectival group giving information or qualifying the subject, "He".
And here is an example of the complement element being represented by a nominal group:
1. He is a nice guy.
"a nice guy" is a nominal group because of the headword, "guy", which is a noun. It represents the complement element of the clause structure because of its role of describing the subject. Note, however, that a complement element does not necessarily have to be a description of the quality of the subject, it could also be the object or receiver of the actions of the subject. For example;
1. John picked up the phone.
"the phone" is a nominal group and the reciepient of the action of the subject, "John". It is also a complement element because of its position, coming after the predicator element without providing circumstantial information about the action of the subject. So to exemplify the complement element:
Complement = Nominal group or Adjectival group
Adjunct
The adjunct element is the most varied element of clause structure in terms of groups that represent it. It can be represented by a nominal group, an adverbial group, and a prepositional group. It is the element of clause structure that gives information about the clause in terms of where, when, how, and why an action took place. Example of an adjunct element represented by a nominal group:
1. Sharon left this morning.
"this morning" is a nominal group because of the headword, "morning", but because of the function it performs in the sentence—providing information about when the subject performed the action of leaving—we can say it represents the adjunct element of the clause structure. Evidently, the nominal group is the most versatile group in terms of representing the elements of a clause Structure.
Example of an adverbial group representing the adjunct element of a clause structure:
1. Brian walks very smartly.
"very smartly" is an adverbial group because it contains two adverbs. It describes the manner in which the subject walks which is a circumstantial information, hence it represents the adjunct element of the clause structure.
Example of a prepositional group representing the adjunct element of a clause structure:
1. The book is on the table.
"on the table" is a prepositional element having "on", a preposition, as its headword. It represents the adjunct element of the clause structure because it provides circumstantial information about the whereabouts of the book—on the table. Prepositional groups are the most reoccurring groups in terms of groups that represent the adjunct element of a clause structure. So the adjunct and it's representative groups are written as;
Adjunct= Nominal group, or Adverbial group, or Prepositional group
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