Odile,



In a previous post I listed the 27 connectives of the indefinite nominal clause (INC, headless relative clause or a variety of the content clause).  They are of three kinds.  Traditional grammar (e.g., Southworth & Goddard, 1889) makes these connectives "conjunctive pronouns," and indeed most of them (12) are.  But some of them are "conjunctive adverbs" (9) and some "conjunctive articles" (6).  The Reed-Kellogg diagrams handle the INC like a noun but separates the clause from the base line putting it on stilts.  The connective is not given special consideration.  As it may appear in three different roles (pronoun, adverb, or article) it is diagrammed variously. When the clause is reduced to an infinitive phrase or "small clause" it seems the diagram should not be much different.  However, R&K make the infinitive phrase like a prepositional phrase, and this complicates matters.  In German such a reduction corresponds to the clause with impersonal subject "man" and in French one with "on" so perhaps one could place an "x" in the subject position of these particular small clauses.  



When the INC is introduced with a pronoun it corresponds with an adjective clause but is indefinite:



I saw what he bought at the store. (indefinite)

I saw the thing that he bought at the store.  (definite)



They hired whoever applied for the job.  

They hired anyone who applied for the job.  



The 12 pronoun connectives are: whosoever, whosesoever, whomsoever, whatsoever; whoever, whosever, whomever, whatever; who, whom, whose, what. The last four of thse are wh-pronouns indicating case or non-animateness.  They are often used to ask questions.  Three of them (who, whom, whose) are animate and used to introduce relative adjective clauses.



The 9 adverb connectives are: wheresoever, whensoever, howsoever; wherever, whenever, however; where, when, how. The last three are wh-adverbs indicating place, time, or manner/means.  These are also often used to ask questions or to introduce relative clauses, provided the antecedent refers to a place, time, or manner/means.



The 6 article connectives are: whatsoever, whichsoever; whatever, whichever; what, which   The last two are wh-articles and can sometimes be mistaken for pronouns.  The one is for classifying and the other for identifying.  As a pronoun the former indicates non-animateness and the latter is relative, used in adjective clauses.  



The -ever suffix makes the connective selective, i.e., the item is selected out of a group of such items.  The -soever suffix emphasizes this selective feature.  Notice that the adjective clause paraphrase uses the selective pronoun (or identifier for the indefinite article) any.   



I hope this will help.



Bruce





--- [log in to unmask] wrote:



From: Odile Sullivan-Tarazi <[log in to unmask]>

To: [log in to unmask]

Subject: Construing "how to" and "what to"

Date:         Wed, 26 Jun 2013 09:11:40 -0700



In a sentence such as "you will learn how to <do something>" or "you will learn what to <do with something>," how would you construe and diagram those cores? (I mean, in terms of Reed-Kellogg diagrams.)



Would the infinitive phrases be up on stilts in the direct object position? With "how" in the adverbial slot, "what" in the direct object slot, within the portion on stilts? Or have I got this wrong? Would some other pictorial representation (within this system of diagramming) better reflect the relationships here?



When I think of the phrase "how to <do something>," for whatever reason, I have a hard time thinking of the "how" as an adverb, particularly when the phrase stands on its own. The same goes for the similar construction that begins with "what," again when on its own. In these cases, the "how" and the "what" seem to me in some way to govern the infinitive phrase that follows. 



I'm thinking of standalone phrases such as —



     How to survive the big one

     How to create a restricted list on Facebook

     What to do in San Francisco

     What to make of a climate-change plateau





Would you say there's something different about these phrases when they're on their own? Or am I being woefully misled by Wrong Thinking?





Thanks!



Odile



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