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Spanish Syntax: Complex Sentence

Code: 100584
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Spanish and Chinese Studies: Language, Literature and Culture OP 4
English and Spanish Studies OP 3
English and Spanish Studies OP 4
Catalan and Spanish Studies OP 3

Contact lecturer

Name :
Ángel J. Gallego Bartolomé
Email :
angel.gallego@uab.cat

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

As the student has demonstrated, by obtaining the credits corresponding to the basic and compulsory training subjects, that he / she has acquired the basic competences, he / she must be able to express himself / herself correctly orally and in writing. For this reason, any spelling and expression errors you may make will result in a drop in the score in the final grade.
 
The practical activities and the works presented in the subject will have to be original and will not admit, in no circumstance, the total or partial plagiarism of other people's materials published in any support. The possible presentation of non-original material without properly indicating its origin will automatically lead to the rating of suspense (0).
 
It is also considered that the student knows the general rules of presentation of an academic work. However, the teacher of the subject may give specific rules, if he deems it necessary.
 

Objectives

The subject is integrated into the subject as a whole, which is part of the 108 compulsory credits of the Degree in Spanish Language and Literature, and which the student takes together with other language and literature subjects. This is a syntax course that complements and deepens the subject "Syntax of Spanish: the simple sentence". It starts from a descriptive approach to the phenomena that "Spanish Syntax: the simple sentence" affect to the compound sentence and provides the fundamental theoretical tools for its analysis and understanding.

The practical activities and the works presented in the subject will have to be original and the total or partial plagiarism of third-party materials published in any medium will not be accepted under any circumstances. The eventual presentation of non-original material without properly indicating its origin will automatically lead to a fail grade (0).

Likewise, it is considered that the student knows the general rules of presentation of an academic work. However, the professor of the subject can give specific rules, if he considers it necessary.

Learning outcomes

  1. Construct texts according to the established rules.
  2. Use the adequate terminology in the construction of an academic text.
  3. Use digital tools for collecting, classifying, interpreting and analysing relevant data.
  4. Carry out predictions and inferences abut the content of a text.
  5. Summarise the characteristics of a written text in accordance with its communicative functions.
  6. find out the meaning of unknown words in a text.
  7. Identify the pragmatic factors affecting the use of different linguistic structures.
  8. Analyse linguistic structures in Spanish.
  9. Analyse the structure of words from a morphological point of view.
  10. Correctly identify linguistic units.
  11. Analyse the relations between vocabulary and grammar.
  12. Use the necessary resources, both digital and non-digital (data bases, text repositories, dictionaries, reference works), for the analysis of any document, spoken or written, from a linguistic point of view.
  13. Analyse different types of linguistic data.
  14. Appropriately use the different available formal and technical resources.
  15. Solve complex problems of linguistic analysis at any level and with the appropriate instruments.
  16. Locate specialised and academic information and select this according to its relevance.
  17. Incorporate ideas and concepts from published sources into work, citing and referencing appropriately.
  18. Use traditional sources to obtain, classify, interpret and analyse relevant data related to the study of Spanish language and literature.
  19. Identify and describe the syntactic constructions of Spanish.
  20. Characterise linguistic phenomena taking into account the different levels of analysis.
  21. Justify by means of appropriate terminology the analysis of data from a linguistic point of view.
  22. Make use of the knowledge acquired while respecting diversity of opinion and varieties of a language.
  23. Develop effective written work and oral presentations and adapted to the appropriate register.
  24. Strengthen the capacity of reading, interpretation and critical analysis of literary texts and language.
  25. Analyze properties phonetic, phonological, morphological, syntactic, lexical and semantic language that current problems arise.
  26. Analyse the syntactic structures of simple, complex, modalised and discursively marked clauses.
  27. Describe the process of creating combinatorial linguistic units.
  28. Analyze linguistic structures.
  29. Identify the source of errors in the use of language by non-native speakers.
  30. Use technological resources (digital and audiovisual) to acquire knowledge and apply it in language and literature.
  31. Write text commentaries from a critical standpoint.
  32. Plan, organise and carry out work in a team.
  33. Analyse the principles of lexical semantics that affect the internal structure of words and their syntactic combination.
  34. Use digital tools to obtain, classify, interpret and analyse relevant data related to the study of Spanish language and literature.

Contents

  1. The external domain of the sentence: from subordination and modality to interface phenomena
  2. Coordinated and subordinate structures
  3. Adverbial subordinate clauses and related constructions

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Individual work 79.5 3.18 3, 7, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 24, 30, 32, 33, 34
Master classes, seminar sessions and teacher-led practices 50.5 2.02 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 33
Scheduled tutorials 15.5 0.62 1, 5, 8, 10, 13, 19, 21, 26, 28, 31
- A basic purpose of teaching grammar is to train students in the practice of parsing. Consequently, theory and practice are two closely related aspects in the development of the subject. In the development of the subject both aspects will be combined: 1) the theoretical exposition of the contents of the program and 2) the practical illustration with the end to enhance the capacity of syntactic reflection of the students. The classroom will be an open space for the discussion of problems, the syntactic argumentation, the commentary of the relevant bibliography and the resolution of exercises (previously prepared by the students).
- 15 minutes of a class will be reserved, within the timetable established by the centre/title, for the complementation by the students of the assessment surveys of the teaching staff's performance and the assessment of the subject.
 
Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Practical exercise in syntactic analysis and linguistic reflection 45% 1.5 0.06 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34
Multiple-choice examination 20% 1.5 0.06 7, 8, 10, 13, 15, 19, 20, 21, 25, 28
Linguistic reflection exercise 35% 1.5 0.06 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 33

1. Continous assessment


Assessment Activities Pes
Linguistic reflection exercise 35%
Practical exercise in syntactic analysis and linguistic reflection 45%
Multiple-choice examination 20%


  • The multiple-choice examination will consist of a series of multiple-choice questions.
  • The linguistic reflection exercise will have a more extensive format. It may include a (limited) section of closed-ended questions (multiple-choice), in addition to two further sections involving reverse analyses and questions requiring argumentation or the interpretation/construction of a tree diagram.
  • The practical linguistic reflection exercise will also have a more extensive format. It may include a (limited) section of closed-ended questions (multiple-choice), in addition to two further sections involving reverse analyses and questions requiring argumentation or the interpretation/construction of a tree diagram.


1.1 Criteria for the evaluation of the subject

To pass the course, after completing the four assessable activities mentioned above and after applying the percentages indicated above, the student must obtain a final grade equal to or greater than 5. If the final grade is...


  • Less than 3.5, the student will receive a failing grade.
  • Between 3.5 and 4.8, the student will be eligible to retake the course.
  • The student will receive a grade of not assessable as long as they have not submitted more than 1/3 of the assessment activities.


1.2. Re-evaluation criteria

Students who obtain a final grade between 3.5 and 4.8 and who have completed two-thirds of the aforementioned assessment activities may retake the subject on the date scheduled by the Faculty, where they will take the test(s) / exam(s) they failed.

The grade obtained in the retake will be their final grade for the subject.

Students who pass the subject will be allowed to retake the retake to improve their grade. Therefore, they will waive their previous grade, and the grade obtained in the retake will be their final grade.


1.3. Assessment Criteria

In order to pass the exam, mastery of the normative is considered essential; therefore, when evaluating the activities mentioned above, spelling errors, incorrect use of punctuation, lexical errors and morphosyntactic errors will be penalized.


1.4 Review procedure for evaluable evidence

After the publication of the gradingof the evaluable activities mentioned above, the teacher will inform the students through Moodle of the day and time for the review of such activities.


1.5 Misconduct in assessment activities

In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.


1.6 Artificial Intelligence

In this subject, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is not allowed in any of its phases. Any work that includes fragments generated with AI will be considered a lack of academic honesty and will result in the activity being evaluated with a 0 and not being able to be recovered, or greater sanctions in serious cases.


1.7 Erasmus Students

Erasmus students who request to advance an exam must present the teacher with a written document from their home university justifying their request.


2. Single assessment

Assessment Activities Pes
Linguistic reflection exercise 35%
Practical exercise in syntactic analysis and linguistic reflection 45%
Multiple-choice examination 20%


Everything established in sections 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, and 1.7 of the previous section also applies to the single-assessment system. The date of the single assessment will coincide with the date of the multiple-choice examination in the continuous assessment system. The instructor will inform the student of the date of the single assessment through Moodle at the beginning of the course.

Bibliography

Bosque, Ignacio & Violeta Demonte (eds.) (1999): Gramática descriptiva de la lengua española. Calpe. 3 vols. Madrid, Espasa.

Bosque, Ignacio & Javier Gutiérrez-Rexach (2009): Fundamentos de Sintaxis Formal. Madrid, Akal.

Gutiérrez, Mª Edita & Ángel J. Gallego (2022). "La subordinación en el Glosario de términos gramaticales. Teoría, didáctica y su aplicación a la escritura". Tejuelo 35.2: 173-204.

RAE-ASALE (2019): Glosario de términos gramaticales. Salamanca: Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca.

RAE-ASALE (2025): Nueva gramática de la lengua española. 2ª edición (3 vols.) Madrid: Espasa.

Pavón Lucero, María Victoria (1999). "Clases de partículas: preposición, conjunción y adverbio". In I. Bosque & V. Demonte (Dirs.), Gramática descriptiva de la lengua española. Vol. 1, Madrid: Espasa, 565-656.

Pavón Lucero, María Victoria (2012). Estructuras sintácticas en la subordinación adverbial. Madrid: Arco-Libros.

Pavón Lucero, María Victoria (ed.) (2016): Las relaciones interoracionales en español. Berlin: De Gruyter.

Rodríguez Ramalle, Teresa Mª. (2005): Manual de Sintaxis del Español. Madrid, Castalia.

Rodríguez Ramalle, Teresa Mª (2015): Las relaciones sintácticas. Madrid, Síntesis.

Software

Does not apply.

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE