Sentence Complexity and Embedding

Compounding

Correlative Conjunctions

Most NSEs regard sentence 2 as awkward, if not actually ungrammatical, and it is certainly nonstandard as it doesn’t follow the rule of parallel structure.  Sentence 4, however, is less egregious to most NSEs, although it also gives many of them pause, but it is nonstandard.  Sentence 6 is definitely ungrammatical, but sentence 7 sometimes slips by some NSEs.  Both 6 and 7 are nonstandard.

Activity 13.6: Both … And …

Study these sentences and note which ones are grammatical and which aren’t by writing an asterisk in front of the ungrammatical ones.  Next circle the conjunctions in each and then underline the two constituents that the conjunctions connect.  Try to explain to yourself what is abnormal about the ungrammatical sentences.

Answers

While the rule of parallel structure is a general rule that applies to all correlative conjunction structures, the rule of parallel structure alone isn’t enough to explain the usage of the correlatives.  Certain correlatives have their own unique rules in addition to the general rule of parallel structure.  Activity 13.6 show some of the details surrounding the conjunction both … and … .
First, we notice that sentences 1 and 3 in Activity 13.6 are ungrammatical even though they employ parallel structure.  Sentences 2 and 4 are grammatical.  The difference between the grammatical sentences and the ungrammatical sentences is that the grammatical sentences connect two words or phrases, and the ungrammatical sentences connect two clauses.  This means that a descriptive rule for both … and … states that this correlative can only be used with structures that are smaller than a clause.

Activity 13.7: Neither … Nor …

Study these sentences and note which ones are grammatical and which aren’t by writing an asterisk in front of the ungrammatical ones.  Next circle the conjunctions in each and then underline the two constituents that the conjunctions connect.  Try to explain to yourself what is abnormal about the ungrammatical sentences.

_____ 1. He doesn’t eat meat, nor he doesn’t eat fish.
_____ 2. He doesn’t eat meat, nor he eats fish.
_____ 3. He doesn’t eat meat, nor does he eat fish.

_____ 4. Neither he eats meat nor he eats fish.
_____ 5. Neither he doesn’t eat meat nor he doesn’t eat fish.
_____ 6. Neither does he eat meat nor does he eat fish.
_____ 7. Neither doesn’t he eat meat nor doesn’t he eat fish.

Answers

Activity 13.7 reveals details about the coordinating conjunction nor and its sister correlative conjunction neither … nor … . First, we see that only sentences 3 and 6 are grammatical. These conjunctions are a lot easier to get wrong than to get right!

When we look at the details that make the two sentences grammatical and the rest ungrammatical, we see an unusual rule: the verb must include an auxiliary which inverts its position with the subject, looking more like a question like than a statement. This is one of the rules of using a negative conjunction: a clause following a negative conjunction must employ subject-auxiliary inversion. (This rule actually applies to any situation where a negative holds the initial position in a clause.) We should also notice that we can't use a negative verb with these negative conjunctions.

Activity 13.8: Not Only … But Also …

Study these sentences and note which ones are grammatical and which aren’t by writing an asterisk in front the ungrammatical ones.  Next circle the conjunctions in each and then underline the two constituents that the conjunctions connect.  Try to explain to yourself what is abnormal about the ungrammatical sentences.

_____ 1. Not only he doesn’t eat meat, but also he doesn’t eat fish.
_____ 2. Not only he eats meat, but also he doesn’t eat fish.
_____ 3. Not only he eats meat, but also he eats fish.
_____ 4. Not only does he eat meat, but also he eats fish.
_____ 5. Not only does he eat meat, but he also eats fish.
_____ 6. Not only doesn’t he eat meat, but also he doesn’t eat fish.
_____ 7. Not only doesn’t he eat meat, but he also doesn’t eat fish.

Answers

After using the same approach to analyzing sentences that we have used throughout this chapter to analyze sentences with the correlative conjunction not only … but also… , we can see some of the unique rules that attach to this correlative. Most NSEs will label sentence 5 as grammatical, and some will also identify 4 as grammatical. What makes these sentences grammatical is the subject-auxiliary inversion in the first clause. Because the first part of the correlative contains the word not, it is a negative and the rule of subject-auxiliary inversion applies, but the rule only applies to the first part because the second part, but also, contains no negative within it.

What makes some people choose only sentence 5 as grammatical is position of the word also. In sentence 4 it is located in front of the subject, and in sentence 5 it is located after the subject. Either position is acceptable for the word also when it is functioning alone as an adverb, and that is why it is accepted as normal by some people in sentence 4. For many people, however, the word but "fills" the adverb "slot" in front of the subject, and also must shift to the slot after the subject, which is an acceptable position for it to take anyway.

In conclusion, we have seen that compounding is the joining of two structures as equals. The two structures must be of the same type, either the same grammatical category or grammatical function, and preferably both. This principle of joining type with type is the rule of parallel structure and applies to all compounds. The conjunctions that create compounds are the coordinating conjunctions and the correlative conjunctions. The challenges that these structures pose for ELs include meaning subtleties and rules that apply to individual conjunctions.

End of Lesson