Discusses the relationship between the pragmatic and the syntactic aspects of a message or, more specifically, the relationship between the status of the information in the message (that is, whether the information is shared or not shared by speaker and listener) and the grammatical structures used to reproduce the message. (CFM)

Discusses the "g" found in first person singular present indicative forms of 14 Spanish verbs. Provides an integrated discussion of the structure and evolution of these verbs with regard to (1) morphological status of "g"; (2) reason for and nature of its extension; and (3) shared attributes of affected verbs. (Author/LMO)

Fourth graders who were good readers (N=95) and poor readers (N=27) were given tests of syntactic competence, vocabulary, and auditory and reading comprehension. Scores on the auditory and reading comprehension tests were significantly correlated. Poor readers performed significantly poorer on the syntactic test, but results did not support the…

A case study of a proficient deaf student reading two versions of the same story (one syntactically more complex than the other) supports the notion that a firm semantic base enables processing at the syntactic as well as the semantic level. (Author/CL)

Language performance at syntactic, semantic, orthographic, and discourse levels was measured for 12 learning disabled third graders, 15 normally achieving third graders, and 11 normally achieving first graders. Results indicated significant overall differences between learning disabled and normally achieving Ss, but not between the learning…

Analysis of videotaped interaction of 20 hearing impaired preschoolers showed that Ss were acquiring language using the same semantic categories, syntactic forms, and functional uses as normally developing children but at later chronological ages. All of the hearing-impaired children were developing a rule system consistent with patterns of normal…

Summarizes some findings on mood selection in Spanish resulting from various research projects and suggests guidelines for teaching the subjunctive at the beginning level. Suggests that teachers concentrate on commands and adverbial expressions in the beginning levels because they constitute the structures most needed to engage in speech. (SED)

The discussion of older language disordered children's syntactic development focuses on an increase in T-units (minimal terminal units) and an expansion of types of cohesion (ways in which children tie their utterance structures together). Implications for assessment and treatment are drawn. (CL)

Formulates the following rules for the use of the passive progressive in English: (1) if the verbal predication is "telic" we have to use the passive progressive in order to express that the action is still going on, and (2) if the verbal predication is "atelic" the use of the passive progressive is facultative. (SED)

Refutes the idea of traditional philologists that the syntax of Latin verbs of fearing is idiosyncratic. Maintains that these verbs are inherently negative in Latin, and they conform in every respect to the highest level of principles of semantic and syntactic behavior that operate throughout the language. (SL)

Citing results of an analysis of 46 college level essays, the author refutes W. Ross Winterowd's theory that, with only two exceptions, every T-unit must have one of seven transitional relationships with the unit before and after it. (HTH)

The effect of two discourse modes--description and argumentation--on the syntactic complexity of written expression of 54 learning disabled boys in grades 6, 8, and 10 was examined. Among many results was that the simple sentence was used most in the descriptive mode. (Author/MC)

Surveys 12 types of syntactic ambiguity in written English. Gives the structural characteristics, their causes, and ways of resolving the ambiguity for each type. (EKN)

A comic book format was used to test comprehension of nine previously uninvestigated syntactic structures by 187 hearing impaired students (7-23 years old). Results indicated a significant improvement across reading levels and demonstrated order of difficulty of the structures. (Author/CL)

Provides representative statistics concerning the degree and rank-ordering of irregularity among verb tenses of Spanish. Indicates that the present is the most morphologically irregular of all Spanish tenses. The least irregular tense is the imperfect. (SL)