Learning outcomes

Students are expected to acquire analytical skills in the domains of complex sentence grammar, in particular coordinated and subordinated clauses of different types and reported speech and thought complements, and also at the discourse level (i.e. above the level of the complex sentence).

Goals

To complete and further develop the study of English grammar started in the Linguistics course (LANGB101) via a study of complex sentences and of discourse.

In terms of linguistic skills, the goal is to help students attain (or exceed) proficiency levels C1 for receptive skills, and B2 for productive skills, as defined in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Content

The course studies a number of complex sentence types in present-day English, viz. coordinated structures, subordinated clauses of various subtypes (covering the area traditionally referred to as 'adverbial' clauses), and reported speech and thought complement clauses, adopting a usage-based and broadly functional-cognitive perspective. Studying these phenomena, but also complementing them, the course also aims to illustrate how linguistic approaches deal with units of discourse beyond the sentence level.

Table of contents

Table of contents of the course notes (subject to revision for the academic year 2026-2027, when the course of the reformed programme starts):


Part 1. Coordination and types of subordination               

1.1 Parameters of interpersonal grammar relevant to clause combining

1.1.1 Modality: Construing a position     

1.1.2 Speech function: Assigning responsibility  

1.1.3 Focus and scope: Delineating a domain      

1.1.4 Combining the parameters              

1.2 Defining four types of clause combining on interpersonal grounds    

1.2.1 Operationalizing the interpersonal parameters      

1.2.2 Coordination and three types of subordination      

1.2.3 Polysemous conjunctions 

1.3 Grammatical reflexes of the interpersonal parameters          

1.3.1 [- Speech function] & [- Scope]: Preposability of the secondary clause        

1.3.2 [+ Scope]: Clefting and wh-questioning     

1.3.3 [+ Modality]: Discursive main clause phenomena  

1.4 The semantics of coordinating and subordinating constructions         

1.4.1 The constructional polysemy of conjunctions          

1.4.2 Argumentative vs. non-argumentative coordination            

1.4.3 Temporal vs. non-temporal free/bound subordination       

1.4.4 Content-related vs. speaker-related interpretations           

1.5 Special cases              

1.5.1 Narrative temporal clauses              

1.5.2 Non-finite clauses

1.5.3 An odd one out: Insubordinated constructions       

Part 2. Represented speech and thought constructions

2.1 Preliminary questions            

2.1.1 Delineating the construction types considered       

2.1.2 Terminology and basic concepts    

2.1.3 Does represented speech or thought represent speech or thought?           

2.1.4 ‘Quotation’ as demonstration        

2.2 Direct and indirect speech or thought             

2.2.1 The main features of direct speech or thought       

2.2.2 The main features of indirect speech or thought   

2.2.3 Mixed quotation  

2.2.4 The structural integration of reporting and reported clauses            

2.2.5 Some recent developments in the quotative system of English      

2.3 Free indirect speech or thought        

2.3.1 The structure of free indirect speech/thought        

2.3.2 The deixis of free indirect speech/thought               

2.3.3 The viewpoint expressed in free indirect speech/thought

2.4 Distancing indirect speech or thought             

2.4.1 Distinguishing distancing from free indirect speech/thought            

2.4.2 Current speaker attitudes expressed in DIST           

2.4.3 A note on diachrony           

2.5 Subjectified forms of speech and thought representation    

2.6 Fact constructions   

Exercices

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Teaching methods

Lectures (with sample analyses carried out in class).

Taking part in any activities organised by the department (whether intra muros or extra muros) as part of this course is considered to be part and parcel of the learning experience and is obligatory.

Assessment method

Written exam

Sources, references and any support material

Vandelanotte, Lieven (2026) English from sentences to discourse. University of Namur. 

Language of instruction

English