The "Optional Slots" lecture I delivered in my English 402--Grammar course at the State University of New York College at Cortland.

1. Optional Slots
Ed McCorduck
English 402--Grammar
SUNY Cortland
http://mccorduck.cortland.edu

2. slide 2: definition of optional slots
English 402:
Grammar
In all the sentence patterns we’ve seen so far, slots like NP
(subj), be (pred vb), V-lnk (pred vb), ADJ (subj comp), NP
(subj comp) etc. have been required in each pattern, but
sometimes an element will not be necessary to a sentence. In
other words, the slot is optional and whether the element is
present in the surface sentence or not the sentence is still
grammatical (in the descriptive sense).

3. exx
The lemmings charged.
*The lemmings flung.
The lemmings charged madly.
The lemmings charged off the cliff.
slide 3: missing elements vs. optional slots; examples
English 402:
Grammar
* = ungrammatical, i.e., the verb fling
requires a direct object slot as in The
lemmings flung themselves (over the
cliff)

4. exx
*She devoured.
She devoured the sandwich.
She devoured the sandwich ravenously.
slide 4: another example of missing elements vs. optional slots
English 402:
Grammar

5. slide 5: adverbials and qualifiers
English 402:
Grammar
These “optional” slots are filled by adverbials, which can be
either single words or phrases. Adverbials can also include
words from the class known as qualifiers, among which are
words like very, pretty [in the sense of ‘fairly’, i.e., not the
adjective meaning ‘nice looking’] rather, less, almost, nearly
and the informal qualifier way.

6. exx
Jack runs very fast.
adverbial
The car sped nearly into a ditch.
adverbial
She discerned the problem less quickly than I did.
adverbial
He drove way slow. (informal)
adverbial
slide 6: examples of adverbials with qualifiers
English 402:
Grammar

7. Adverbials express the following concepts:
• time (can answer the one-word question When? )
• place (can answer the one-word question Where? )
• manner (can answer the one-word question How? )
• reason/cause/purpose (can answer the one-word question Why? )
• frequency (can answer the short question How often? )
slide 7: functions of adverbials
English 402:
Grammar

8. Unlike other slots, those for adverbials are quite flexible;
adverbials can generally occur in the following positions in a
sentence:
• at the beginning
• at the end
• medially, i.e., usually between other slots but sometimes
within an element that fills a slot
exx
Cyanide very often smells like almonds.
(subj) adverbial (pred vb)
Rolly is always looking hungry.
(subj) adverbial (i.e., is looking is one element, the pred vb)
slide 8: on the flexible positioning of adverbials
English 402:
Grammar

9. Regardless of where an adverbial may occur in the surface
sentence, however, in a Reed-Kellogg diagram adverbials always
go on slanted lines under the verb which is on the main line. To
illustrate, in the following sentences the adverbial desperately
occurs in three different positions, but the diagram on the next
slide is the only way to diagram each of these three variants:
Desperately the survivors swam.
The survivors desperately swam.
The survivors swam desperately.
slide 9: adverbials’ flexible surface position but set position in R-K diagrams
English 402:
Grammar

10. slide 10: example of a Reed-Kellogg diagram of a sentence with a movable adverbial
English 402:
Grammar