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Rules') - Aceste Structuri de Adâncime ( D-Structures) Sunt Secondate de
Rules') - Aceste Structuri de Adâncime ( D-Structures) Sunt Secondate de
de
PART ONE
LINGUISTICS is the discipline that studies the nature and use of language,
i.e. its system of rules and categories.
BRANCHES OF LINGUISTICS:
1. PHONETICS studies the sounds of language
2. PHONOLOGY studies the function and patterning of sounds
3. MORPHOLOGY deals with the analysis of word structure.
4. SYNTAX deals with the analysis of sentence structure.
5. SEMANTICS deals with the analysis of meaning.
and categories that underlies sentence formation in human language, i.e. with the
manner in which words are combined to form various types of sentences.
The precise rules for sentence formation differ from language to language.
However, the same general types of devices are used in the analysis of sentence
formation. They are:
syntactic categories
transformations
hierarchical design in which words are grouped together into successively larger
structural units. Such syntactic units can be built around nouns, verbs,
adjectives, adverbs and prepositions. They are called phrases. Consequently,
there are:
Noun Phrases (NP)
Verb Phrases (VP)
Adjective Phrases (AP)
Adverb Phrases (AdvP)
Prepositional Phrases (PP)
Phrases are built around a Head, which is at the word level:
A noun for a NP
A verb for a VP
An adjective for an AP
An adverb for an AdvP
A preposition for a PP
Phrases can consist of just one word, i.e. the head of the phrase:
NP
VP
V
AP
(he went) in
PP
P
Adv
Adv
In addition to the head of the phrase, phrases can also include a second
word, which is called specifier. Specifiers are placed before the head of the
phrase. The syntactic category of specifiers (determiner, qualifier, degree
word) differs depending on the category of the head of the phrase. Thus:
a) determiners are specifiers of nouns, e.g. a/an, the, this that, these, those,
no, his, her, my, your, their, etc.
b) qualifiers are specifiers of verbs, e.g. never, ever, always, perhaps, also, etc.
c) degree words are specifiers of adjectives and some prepositions, e.g. very,
quite, more, almost.
In more complex phrases the head of the phrase can be preceded by
specifiers and followed by a third word, which is called complement.
Complements are placed after the head of the phrase. They provide information
about entities and locations whose existence is implied by the meaning of the
head. They are also phrases. A verb can have one, two or more complements.
E.g. NP the books about the war
VP never leave a friend
AP quite certain about Mary
PP almost in the house
AdvP early towards home
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S = NP + Infl + VP (V + NP)
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e) With some verbs, we can use either two objects (i.e. complements) or an
object + prepositional phrase:
E.g.
I sent you the package.
phrases:
E.g.
I am a little nervous about the concert.
S = NP + Infl + VP (V + AP + PP)
The whole thing seems a waste of time to me.
S = NP + Infl + VP (V + NP +PP)
h)
E.g.
He is going to stand down as President at the next election.
S = NP + Infl + VP (V + NP + PP)
To sum up what has been said so far, the phrase structure template shows
as follows:
XP
X = N, V, A, Adv, P.
Specifier
Complement
X
Head
We can see from the template above that the five different phrase types
share structural properties.
THE SENTENCE (S) is the largest unit of syntactic analysis. Sentences are
formed by combining a NP (often called the subject) with a VP (often called the
predicate).
S = NP+VP
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The Head position being obligatory is taken at the level of the sentence by
an abstract category, INFL (Inflection) which accounts for the fact that all
sentences of English have tense (past /non-past). Auxiliaries (e.g. will, can,
may), when present are used instead of the Infl category.
E.g.
The doctor knows that his patient will recover.
S = NP + VP (V + S)
Words such as that, if, whether are known as complementizers (Cs). They
introduce an S complement forming the CP (complemetizer phrase). In a CP,
the complementizer (C) functions as the head, while the sentence (S)
functions as the complement of the CP.
E.g.
that his patient will recover:
S = CP = C + S
The doctor knows that his patient will recover:
S = NP + VP (V + CP)
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Infl
VP
Pst
Det
NP
The
man
repaired
the car
According to the syntactic analysis presented here the words that make up
a sentence form intermediate structural units called phrases. Words are grouped
together into phrases, called syntactic units or constituents (the man, repaired,
the car). The existence of constituents within sentences can be verified with the
help of 3 (three) special tests:
1. The substitution test: NPs are syntactic units or constituents because they
can be replaced by an element such as they, it, do so. It is the same for VPs, PPs,
etc.
E.g.
E.g.
The students will leave the hall if the teachers will do so.
VP = leave the hall = do so
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E.g.
are called co-ordinate structures. Co-ordinate structures can link only structures
of the same type: NP + NP; VP + VP; AP + AP; PP + PP. A group of words
forms a constituent if it can be joined to another group of words by such a
conjunction.
E.g.
Mary is keen on calculus but tired of chemistry.
AP + but + AP
E.g.
The teacher said that there was a student that another student reported that
S
NP Infl VP
Pst
CP
S
NP Infl VP
Pst
NP
CP
S
NP Infl VP
Pst
Det
N V Det
Det
CP
C
The teacher said that there was a student that another student reported that
A CP may serve as a complement to a V, N, A, Adv, or a P:
E.g.
He said that he was right
They lack proof (that) he was right
He was certain that he was right
They talked about whether he was right
S
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NP
Infl
VP
Pst
CP
C
S
NP
VP
AP
He
said
he
was
right
NP
N
Proof
CP
that he was right
AP
A
CP
certain
PP
P
(talk) about
CP
whether he was right
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Inversion (the sentence contains an auxiliary verb to the left of the sentence)
B.
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S
D-structure
NP
VP
Det
Infl
The
boy
can
jump
PP
over the fence
S-structure
Inversion
S
(complement)
C = whether
S = she comes
S
NP
VP
CP
S
Infl
N
I
V
C
know whether
dont
NP
she
NPst VP
comes
E.g.
I know (that) she comes.
S
NP
VP
CP
S
Infl
NPst
N
I
V
know
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C
(that)
NP Infl VP
she
comes
Infl
Will
NP
Infl
Det
the
boy
VP
V
jump
Trace = the empty element, marked by the symbol e, that is left in syntactic
structure after an element has been moved (from the head position within S)
NOTE:
a) a transformation can change only an elements position.
b) it does not change the categories of any words
c) it cannot eliminate any part of the structural configuration created by the
phrase structure rules:
E.g. can retains its Infl label even though it is moved into the C position, and the
position that it formerly occupied remains in the tree structure.
Do Insertion (to form questions corresponding to sentences that contain
no auxiliary).
E.g.
The students attended the lecture.
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STAGES:
1. The usual XP rule gives the deep structure which contains no auxiliary verb
in the Infl position.
CP
S
C
NP
Infl
VP
Pst
Det
The
NP
Det
students
attended
the
N
lecture
CP
S
C
NP
VP
NP
2.
Det
Infl
The
students
did
V
attend(ed)
Det
the
N
lecture
Inversion applies, moving interrogative did to the C position and giving the
desired surface structure.
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CP
C
S
NP
VP
Infl
Infl
Det
Did
the
N
students
NP
V
Det
attend
the
lecture
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NP
D-structure
VP
Infl
He
should
NP
Det
buy
which
book
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CP
S-structure
NP
S
NP
Infl
VP
Infl
NP
N
Which book should he
V
e
buy
E.g.
Who called Tom?
Since there is nothing for the subject wh-word to move over in such cases,
there is no visible change in word order.
e.g. Who
-------------
called Tom?
Wh-Movement
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AMBIGUOUS SENTENCES:
E.g.
A. Who called Tom? (subject)
B. Who did Tom call? (direct object)
Surface structure:
1.
Who
Wh movement
CP
NP
S
NP
Infl
VP
Pst
NP
Who
B.
----------
call
Inversion
Wh-Movement
CP
NP
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called
Tom
----- ?
Infl
Who
Infl
NP
did
Tom
VP
NP
call
1. Co-ordinate structures
= a phrase that is formed by joining two (or more) categories of the same
type with a conjunction such as and, or, but.
E.g. a man and a woman
Co-ordination = the operation that groups together two or more categories
of the same type with the help of a conjunction:
Ns: the book and copy-book
Vs: repair and paint the house
Ps: up and down the stairs
As: beautiful and expensive dress
Advs: a beautifully and smartly-dressed woman
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AP
A
Con
Deg
Quite beautiful
and
very
expensive
E.g. The teacher entered the room and the students stood up.
S
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stood up.
NP
Con
Infl
VP
NP
Pst
Infl
VP
Pst
V
NP
the room
stood
PP
up
famous
writer
Never
listen
Adv
attentively
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NP
AP
Det
A
Deg
very
A
high
N
building
Infl
Pst
VP
AP
She
B.
seemed
Deg
quite
A
happy
NP
Infl
VP
Pst
AdvP
N
She
left
C.
early
D.
E.g. He stayed for two days.
S
NP
Infl
Pst
VP
PP
NP
V
He
stayed
(Spec) X
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for
two days
(Mod) X (Mod)
X (Complement) (Mod)
3. Relative Clauses
= a CP-sized modifier that provides information about the noun head to its left.
E.g.
the man that Sue met.
Like other modifiers, relative clauses occur within the same phrase as the
NP
NP
Infl
VP
Pst
Det
The
man
that
Sue
met
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b) There is an empty position within the sentence from which the wh-phrase has
apparently been moved.
e.g.
She may read the book which Tom bought.
S
NP
VP
Infl
NP
CP
NP
Infl
VP
Pst
N
She
may
Det
read the
book which
Tom
bought
3. Passive Sentences
= a sentence in which the NP bearing the theme role is encoded as subject.
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Infl
Pst
VP
VP
V
NP
V
Was
written
*<ag, th>
the students
Pst
VP
NP
NP
The thief
PP
was arrested
P
e
by
NP
the police
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It results that:
PP
NP
From
India
P
to
<Source>
<goal>
NOTE:
Theme roles are assigned to the Vs complement:
E.g. He bought the present.
<theme>
Agent roles are assigned to the Vs subject:
E.g. He bought the present.
<agent>
So we have:
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NP
India
Verbs assign agent roles to their subject and theme roles to their complement:
e.g. He bought the present.
<ag, th>
In a passive construction a passive V cannot assign agent role:
E.g. The present was given by him.
<ag, th> < th>
S
NP
Infl
VP
Pst
VP
NP
Det
The
present
was
given
PP
P
NP
by
him
<ag, th>
It shows that syntactic structure not only represents the way in which
words are organised into phrases, but also is relevant to semantic interpretation.
2.
The fact that a NPs position in deep structure determines its thematic role
provides additional support for the existence of this underlying level of syntactic
structure; there are at least two types of syntactic rules.
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ANNEX
Proved
Vanish
Become
Dash
very angry)
The dog dashed (PP to
Hand
the door)
We handed (NP the
Talk
Example
the presentation (PP of
a medal) (PP to the
Adjective
Sample heads
winner)
Example
complements
O
Preposition
Tall
Sample heads
very tallExample
40
complements
NP
In
EXERCISES
1.
a)
the zoo
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b)
always try
c)
so witty
d)
perhaps pass
e)
less bleak
f)
this house
g)
very competent
h)
quite cheap
i)
never surrender
j)
those books
2.
The following phrases include a head, a complement, and (in some cases)
a specifier. Draw the appropriate tree structure for each example.
a)
b)
c)
full of mistakes
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
3.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
4.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
5.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
Gillian will play the trumpet and the drums in the orchestra.
6.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
7.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
8.
Options
a)
Expire
or NP NP
b)
Destroy
NP or
c)
Observe
NP or PPto PPabout
d)
Discuss
NP or
e)
Clean
NP PPfor or NP NP
f)
Mumble
NP
g)
Throw
or NP PPloc
h)
Paint
NP PPto or NP PPfor
or NP NP
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Noun
Options
a)
Debate
b)
Hammer
or PP PPwith PPabout
c)
Success
d)
Transfer
e)
Sickness
or PPwith PPabout
Adjective
Options
a)
Strong
or PPabout
b)
sick
NP or PPof
c)
bored
PPwith or PPof
d)
knowledgeable
PPto or PPabout
e)
small
PPof or
9.
a)
b)
c)
Barbara reported that a student asked whether the eclipse would occur.
10. The following sentences all contain embedded clauses that function as
complements of an adjective, a preposition or a noun. Draw a tree structure
for each sentence:
a)
b)
That officer was sure that Gerry often speeds down the motorway.
c)
Anna wondered about whether the exam would cover that section.
d)
The jury will never believe the claim that the driver wrecked the Porsche.
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b)
c)
d)
e)
12. The following sentences involve the rules of Wh- Movement and
inversion. Give the deep structure and the surface structure for each of
these sentences. Then draw a tree structure for each sentence:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
13.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
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14.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
15.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
16.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
Hemingway.
k)
l)
m)
n)
o)
p)
q)
Last week I ran into an old friend whom I hadnt seen for
r)
17.
ages.
following sentences:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
18.
appointment in Africa.
for each of the sentences. Show two possible tree structures (a conjunction
can link two phrases or two sentences):
a) The cyclist drank a gallon of water and a litre of Coke.
b) The airplane will land at the airport and taxi to the terminal.
c) The dog went down the stairs and out the door.
d) Crusoe landed on an island and ate a goat.
e) Jill should recycle that book and magazine.
f) Hillary knows that spring will come and that the snow will
g) Mary is keen on calculus but tired of chemistry.
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melt.
LANGUAGE TERMINOLOGYY
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50
to
understand
syntactic
phenomena
in
terms
of
their
communicative function.
[21] FUNCTIONAL CATEGORY = A word-level syntactic category whose
members are harder to define and paraphrase than those of lexical
categories (e.g. auxiliary verbs, conjunctions, determiners, and degree
words; also called NON-LEXICAL CATEGORY).
[22] HEAD (of a phrase) = The word around which a phrasal category is
built (e.g. V, N, A, P).
[23] INFL (INFLECTION) = The node that appears directly under S in a
phrase structure tree and dominates tense as well as other verbal inflection
(i.e. person and number); the constituents of INFL take part in subject-verb
agreement. INFL is often abbreviated to I).
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53
[33] NOUN = (N) A lexical category that typically names entities, can
usually be inflected for number and possession (in English), and functions
as the head of a noun phrase (e.g. key, Bob, perception).
[34] NP MOVEMENT = A transformation that moves a noun phrase into
the subject position.
[35] PASSIVE SENTENCE = A sentence in which the noun phrase bearing
the theme role is encoded as subject (e.g. The paper was written by a good
student).
[36] PHONETICS = The branch of linguistics that examines the inventory
and structure of the sounds of language.
[37] PHONOLOGY = The component of a grammar made up of the
elements and principles that determine how sounds pattern in a language.
[38] PHRASE LEVEL = The metrical level on which the stress patterning
of phrases is represented.
[39] PHRASE = One or more words that are built around a skeleton
consisting of two levels, a phrase level and a word level, and act as a
syntactic unit (e.g. the apple, Bob, hurried to class).
[40] PHRASE STRUCTURE RULE = A rule of grammar that states the
composition of a phrase (e.g. XP(Specifier) X).
[41] PREPOSITION = (P) A lexical category that functions as the head of a
prepositional phrase and occurs before its complement (e.g. into, with, for).
54
55
structure
rules
(which
generate
deep
structures)
and
56
57
PART TWO
58
(PP), Adverbial
Phrase
(AdvP),
Conjunction
Phrase
(ConP),
CLAUSES
A clause is a syntactic construction containing a subject and predicate (a
finite verb) and forming part of a sentence or constituting a whole simple
sentence.
59
E.g.
Mary said that she was tired. (two clauses)
I waited.
She married a young engineer.
Because I was late, they went without me. (two clauses)
Clauses can be: main (independent) and subordinate (subclause,
dependent), finite or non-finite.
A main clause (also called simple clause) is a finite clause that has a
subject and a finite verb.
e.g.
She failed.
I hurried.
A subordinate clause is a finite clause that gives more information about
comfortable.
SENTENCES
A sentence is the largest unit of grammatical organisation within which
parts of speech (e.g. word, phrase, clause) are said to function. It is a structurally
independent grammatical unit of one or more words, in speech often preceded
and followed by pauses and in writing begun with a capital letter and ended with
a period or other end punctuation, typically consisting of a subject and a
predicate containing a finite verb and expressing a statement, question, request,
command or exclamation.
E.g.
Summer is here.
Who is it?
Stop!
Sentences are made up of one or more clauses, which are the basic units
of grammar. In English, a sentence normally contains one independent clause
with a finite verb. Units which are larger than the sentence (e.g. the paragraph)
are regarded as examples of discourse.
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(ind cl)
62
conjunction)
cancelled.
b)
were cancelled.
63
64
Clauses: He said that he was tired and that he was going to bed.
A complex sentence has one main clause (on which the subclause
depends) and one or more subclauses (subordinate/dependent clauses) joined by
subordinate conjunctions, e.g. as if, when, after, before, etc.
A dependent (subclause, subordinate) clause contains a full subject and
a predicate with a finite verb and begins with a word that attaches the clause to
an independent clause (called the main clause). According to function in the
sentence, sub-clauses may be:
1.
Noun Clauses
Adverbial Clauses
E.g. All classes were cancelled because the weather was bad.
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66
NP = they
VP (predication) = elected him chairman.
Verb = elected
Object = him (DO)
Complement = chairman (OC)
adjective as head) (She made him very much happier; His brother grew happier
gradually).
Indirect objects, on the other hand, have fewer possibilities than subjects,
and their realisations are chiefly NP (He had given the girl an apple; That she
answered the question correctly pleased him enormously); unlike direct objects
and subjects they cannot be realised by that-clauses (She saw that it rained all
day; That she answered the question correctly pleased him enormously).
Finally, adverbials can be realised by AdvP (having an adverb as head),
e.g. John carefully searched the room; It rained steadily all day; by NP (It
rained steadily all day; They make him the chairman every year); by PP
(structures consisting of a NP dominated by a preposition), e.g. The girl is now a
student at a large university; and by finite clauses (His brother grew happier
when his friend arrived) or non-finite clauses (Having been challenged rudely in
the street, John was angry).
70
related to it.
b.
determines Concord
c.
Predicate
The woman
smiled.
Fish
DEFINITION
The term phrase is used to mean group(s) of words e.g. the student or
single words, e.g. Henry, they.
The Noun Phrase (NP) is a word or group of words with a noun or a
noun substitute (pronoun or numeral) as its head and functioning like a noun in a
sentence.
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CHARACTERISTICS
Its function is equivalent to that of a noun, e.g. Living alone in the sentence
Living alone has its advantages.
The NP can consist of a single noun or pronoun, or of a noun or pronoun with
modifiers, e.g. Henry, the assignment, happiness, he, it, somebody, the white
iron gate of the house, the assignment which Henry had to write, he who runs,
etc.
Besides nouns as heads (Mary, staff, friend, present, word), occasionally we
use pronouns and adjectives as heads of NPs, e.g. One of the worst (pronoun as
head); the blue of his eyes (adjective as head).
In some Traditional Grammars, a Participial or Infinitive phrase which could
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The Head is the central part of a phrase. Other elements in the phrase are in
some grammatical or semantic relationship to the head. For example, in the
English NP: the fat lady in the floral dress the noun lady is the head of the
phrase.
A Modifier is a word or group of words which gives further information about
(modifies) another word or group of words (the Head).
Modification may occur in a NP, a VP, an AP, an AdvP, etc.
a. Modifiers before the head are called premodifiers, for example expensive in
this expensive camera.
b. Modifiers after the head are called postmodifiers, for example with a stumpy
tail in The cat with a stumpy (short and thick) tail.
A Constituent is a linguistic unit, (usually in sentence analysis) which is part of
a larger construction.
The Constituents of a NP are:
Determiner + Premodifier + Noun Head + Postmodifier
E.g. The nice lady in grey
the = determiner
nice = premodifier
lady = noun head
in grey = postmodifier
E.g. the sheltered western site away from the ocean
the sheltered western = premodifier
site = head
away from the ocean = postmodifier
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74
SYNTACTIC FUNCTIONS
Noun phrases may function:
a) as subject of a sentence:
E.g. Mary looked at the boy attentively.
The red dress on the bed is hers. The blue one is mine.
The cinema staff was very polite.
b) As object:
E.g.
Have you seen these Romanian paintings? Ive seen all of them. (direct objects)
He gave his friend a nice present. (indirect object; direct object)
c) As subject complement:
E.g. He is one of the worst candidates. He is one of them.
d) As object complement:
E.g. They elected him President of the company.
e) As object of a preposition:
E.g. She left without another word.
He lives in a big house.
I am waiting for one of them.
f) As adverbial modifier:
E.g. Walk that way. I wrote to him last month.
g) As premodifier:
E.g. This is the Queen of Englands Palace.
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h) As postmodifier:
E.g. It was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the great American romancer.
i) As free modifier:
E.g. A professional man, he retired when his wife died. He felt helpless, a
spectator who had enough troubles of his own.
DETERMINERS
A determiner / a determinative is a word used in front of a noun and
before any adjectives in the phrase to indicate whether you are referring to a
specific thing or just to something of a particular type. It may function as an
adjunct word (a. modifying word or phrase depending on some other word or
phrase; b. an element of clause structure with adverbial function. in a noun
phrase)
E.g.
all the day
three whole years
enough trouble
either arm
There are two types of determiners: specific and general.
Specific determiners are used to help to identify persons or things, when the
person you are talking to will know which person or thing you are referring to.
They are:
a)
b)
c)
e.g.
e.g.
E.g.
/ this/ book.
General determiners (most of them quantifiers) say how much or how
many we are talking about. They are used when you are mentioning people or
things for the first time, or talking about them generally without saying exactly
which ones you mean. They are:
Some, any, no
Each, every, either, neither
Much, many, more, most
Little, less, least
A few, fewer, fewest
Enough, several
All, both, half
What, whatever, which, whichever
One, two, three, etc., other
E.g.
There were several reasons for this.
You can stop at any time you like.
There was a man in the lift.
We can put together two general determiners if the combination makes
sense,
E.g.
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frequently)
E.g.
all these six boys
79
80
heavily-built machine
a four-month-long winter
the floor-washing mornings
e) sentences:
E.g.
a live-and-let-live individualism
devil-may-care characters
stick-in-the-mud opinion
a wash-at-night-and-wear-in-the-morning dress
Postmodifiers can be:
a) adjectives:
E.g.
William the Silent
It is the only thing notable
It is the only solution possible. (which is possible)
A road fifty feet wide
The house ablaze (on fire) is next door to ours.
Compare:
Notes:
1. The following adjectives: elect (soon to take office), proper (as strictly
defined), absent, present, concerned, involved
E.g. the president elect
syntax proper
all the people present
The idea came from the party concerned.
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84
Appositive clauses are nominal clauses marked off by commas, which have a
similar relationship to the preceding noun head. They may be:
- That clauses, e.g. She sent a message that Castor would be out.
- Wh clauses, e.g. Lewis knew what bitterness was in his mind.
- To- Infinitive clauses, e.g. I do not mean to be rude.
Both appositive and relative clauses may start with that. But appositive
clauses may not start with which, as relative can. So where which can alternate
with that, the clause is likely to be relative and not appositive.
E.g.
The premature news that this battle was lost caused consternation.
(appositive clause)
The premature news that / which said the battle was lost caused
consternation. (relative clause)
Appositive clauses may be defining and non-defining:
E.g.
Mary had a strong belief that her husband intended to leave her. (defining)
Marys belief, that her husband intended to leave her, resulted in reality. (nondefining)
THE NOUN (also NOMINAL) CLAUSE
A noun clause is a clause which acts as the subject or object of a
sentence.
E.g. Lucy told me why she was worried.
Nominal is:
1. a term used instead of a Noun.
85
2. A term for a linguistic unit which has some but not all characteristics of a
noun, e.g. wounded in The wounded were taken by helicopter to the hospital.
Although wounded is the Head of the noun phrase the wounded and is
preceded by an article, it would not be modified by an adjective but by an
adverb, e.g. the seriously wounded.
A Nominal Clause (also a Noun Clause) is a clause which functions like
a noun or noun phrase; that is, which may occur as subject, object complement,
in apposition, or as prepositional complement.
For example:
Nominal clause as subject: What she said is awful.
Nominal clause as object: I dont know what she said
Nominalization is the grammatical process of forming nouns from other
parts of speech, usually verbs or adjectives. For example, in English:
nominalized forms from the verb to write: writing, writer as in: His writing is
illegible. Her mother is a writer.
Noun clauses are introduced by the following subordinators:
Conjunctions: that, whether, if (as if);
Pronouns: who (whoever, whomever), what (whatever, whatsoever), which
(whichever, whichsoever);
Adverbs: where, when, how, why.
NOTES:
- the most common subordinator is that
- whatsoever and whichsoever are archaic.
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SYNTACTIC FUNCTIONS:
Noun clauses may function as:
1. Subject (S)
E.g.
That all of them are happy is visible.
What she said is unclear.
How he got into the house is a mystery.
It (preparatory) + V + SC + S (sentence)
E.g.
It is strange that they did not come at all.
It is necessary that we should learn for the exam.
It + V + S (sentence)
E.g. It seemed that the meeting would never end.
Does it matter whether I tell you the truth or not?
NOTE: The subject clauses are never separated by a comma.
2. Subject Complement (SC)
E.g.
You became what you you had always wanted to be.
That is why she came to see me.
It looks as if it were going to rain.
This is where we work.
The trouble is that I am short of money.
3. Object (O)
NOTE: This is the most usual function of the noun clause.
An object clause (i.e. a noun clause which is the object of a verb) may be:
87
A statement:
a. S + V + DO (=that-clause; lest, etc.)
E.g.
She said that she had been ill.
He suggested that we should read the whole novel.
I think that they will accept the invitation.
I feared lest he should fail. (formal style)
I am afraid he might fail. (informal style)
b. S + V + (to + IO) PIO + DO
We suggested to her that he might be the thief.
S + V + it (DO) + OC + DO (clause)
E.g. We considered it a compliment that the BC should visit our university.
I thought it right that he should be invited.
S + V + DO (=Subordinator + Clause)
E.g. He asked whether I had bought a new car.
I wonder what it is.
I know how hard you worked.
S + V + IO + DO (clause)
E.g. He told me what the time was.
S + V + PO (Preposition+ Subordinator + Clause)
E.g. It depends on whether they arrive in time.
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THE SUBJECT
DEFINITION
The subject is a syntactic unit that functions as one of the two main
constituents of a sentence, the other being the predicate, and that consists of a
noun, noun phrase, or noun substitute typically referring to the one performing
the action or being in the state expressed by the predicate, as I in I gave notice.
E.g.
The students like to listen to good music.
Men are used to working harder than women.
The chief export of Cuba is sugar.
In an active clause, the subject is the part of the clause that refers to the
person or thing that does the action indicated by the verb, or that is in the state
indicated by the verb.
E.g.
Helen broke another glass today.
Oil floats on water.
In a passive clause, the subject refers to the person or thing that is affected
by an action or involved in someones thoughts.
E.g.
She had been taught logic by an uncle.
The examination is regarded as an arbitrary, unnecessary barrier.
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The subject is that principal part of the sentence which shows who / what
performs the action expressed by the predicate or to whom / to what a feature or
characteristic expressed by the predicate is ascribed.
You do not add a pronoun after the subject in a clause, e.g. you do not say
My sister she came to see me yesterday. You say My sister came to see me
yesterday.
AGREEMENT
The verb in a clause should agree with the subject. This means it should
have an appropriate form depending on whether the subject is singular,
uncountable, or plural.
E.g.
He wears striped shirts.
People wear wollen clothing here even on hot days.
POSITION
The subject occupies fixed positions in the English sentence.
In a statement, the subject usually comes in front of the verb.
E.g.
In questions, the subject comes after an auxiliary or after the verb be, unless
In writing mainly, the main verb is put in front of the subject when an
adverbial of place is put at the beginning of a clause.
E.g. Behind the desk was a middle-aged woman.
Inversion also takes place in speech after here and there when you are
E.g. only when / then are put at the beginning of a clause for emphasis. This
structure is used in formal speech and writing.
E.g.
Never in my life have I met such a beautiful girl.
Only when he saw her again, did he realise he was in love with her.
Only then did he start meeting her again.
You use inversion after so when you are saying that the previous positive
E.g.
I read a lot for this exam as did all my colleagues.
KINDS OF SUBJECTS
Subjects may be simple, compound, coordinated, complex, and double.
Simple subjects are expressed by one word, usually a noun or a noun
equivalent, possibly accompanied by attributes.
E.g.
A train was coming in.
Whistling would be heard.
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E.g.
For him to do that is rather difficult.
b. The Nominative with the Infinitive
E.g.
He is said to be a good student.
c. The Nominative with the Indefinite Participle
E.g.
The students were seen taking part in the course.
d. Subordinate Subject Clauses
E.g. That he will manage is beyond any doubt.
Double subjects appear only in folk poetry, in nursery rhymes and in
careless speech and consists in both a noun and a pronoun which is a substitute
for the former (clearly a case of redundancy).
E.g.
O, my trade it is the rarest one.
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Logical / real / notional subject = points to the agent, i.e. to the real author or
doer of the action.
Usually, the grammatical subject is identical with the logical subject.
There are, however, two categories of exceptions:
a. passive constructions
E.g.
This bed (grammatical subject) has not been slept in by anyone (logical subject).
b. introductory constructions (it, there, here)
It (grammatical subject) is nice of you to have come (logical subject); There
it comes again. (anticipatory it and there)
Here we ride (exclamatory)
It is he who broke the window. (real subject is emphasised)
It was his sister that I met in the hall. (direct object is emphasised)
It was to him that I spoke, not to her. (indirect object is emphasised)
It was about you that I was talking, not about him. (prepositional object is
emphasised)
It is but reluctantly that I gave my consent. (adverbial modifier of manner is
emphasised)
It was in a frightful snowstorm that he arrived at the chalet. (adverbial
modifier of attending circumstances is emphasised)
It was at the library that I lost my book. (adverbial modifier of place is
emphasised)
It was long ago that I met him. (adverbial modifier of time is emphasised)
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E.g.
It was impossible not to laugh.
A wh-clause
E.g.
It was known where he was staying.
A as if / though clauses
E.g.
It was nice taking care of him.
A since clause:
E.g.
It is a long time since I last saw him.
Remember that introductory it always occurs first in a sentence, or
immediately after an adverbial. Do not confuse introductory it with empty it as
in It was about five years after the event that I decided to live in Paris for a
time.
Introductory (also existential there)
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There are six people present in my room already. (also called existential
there)
There = grammatical subject
are = verb
six people = notional / logical subject
present = complement
in my small room / already = adverbial modifiers
A less likely sentence would be: Six people are present in my small room
already.
There is / are, however, introduce not only the idea of existence, but of
happening as well. In that case, we can substitute there by to exist or to occur.
E.g.
There has been an accident on the road to Oradea.
Impersonal subjects (also Impersonal Constructions) do not refer to a
definite /well-established person or thing. Such subjects may be used to denote
time and weather, distance or the state of things in general.
They refer to:
time (chronological)
E.g. It was nearly the time of full moon.
lapse of time
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E.g.
as usual, as is normal, as is but natural, as was to be expected, as was
shown elsewhere.
Unlike Romanian grammar, English grammar requires an expressed subject
in the great majority of cases. The omission of the subject, much less frequent
than in other languages, is however possible (in certain styles) with co-ordinated
predicates and in set phrases.
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Dative constructions (imi place, mi-e foame) I liked / enjoyed the picture.
I = subject
must go = predicate (verb phrase)
must = operator (inflection)
go home these days = predication (verb + adverbial
modifiers)
The operator is the first, or the only auxiliary verb in a sentence. In the
sentence I may have just missed the party, there are two auxiliaries, may and
have, but only the first one, may is the operator. The operator is important in the
forming of interrogatives, negative declarations and other constructions. Where
there is no operator in a simple declarative sentence, like I know, we use the
verb do as a dummy operator to form questions, e.g. Do you know?, and
negatives, e.g. I do not know.
The predication is always the rest of the predicate, in this case have just
missed the party.
We change the order of the subject and the operator to make other kinds
of sentences from declaratives. This inversion is found in:
Yes / No questions: Have you parted company?
Wh-questions: Why have you parted company?
Negative questions: Cant you understand that?
Question tags: Ill pack them, shall I?
Response questions: I gave Tim a present. Oh, did you?
Fronting of negative and semi-negatives: Nor is there anything like ones
hatred for an ex-spouse.
Fronting of so (meaning me too): I feel shy now. So do I.
Hypothetical conditions with omitted if: I Should we meet again, I would
reveal my love for her.
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103
interrogatives:
E.g.
Why shouldnt you have a private place?
2. In affirmative sentences with an operator, the middle position for adverbs is
Combinations:
8. V + NP + NP: She gave the child an apple; They elected him president.
9. V + NP + AP: He painted it blue.
10. V + NP + ValP: We made them do it; She saw the thief running away.
11. V + NP + PP: He gave them to his brother; Thank you for coming.
12. V + PP + NP: She dictated (to) me the letter.
13. V + NP + Cl: She asked me if I knew him; He told us that he had not found
it.
14. V + PP + CL: He confessed to her that he had spent all his money.
KINDS OF PREDICATES
All predicates fall under 2 (two) main divisions: simple (verbal) and
compound (nominal or verbal)
The simple verbal predicate, which denotes an activity performed (or
suffered) by the subject is expressed by a finite verb (in a simple or compound
form: present, past and future tenses, Indicative, Imperative and Conditional
Moods, active and passive voice); adverbial modifiers can complete the meaning
of the predicate.
E.g.
She speaks fluently.
I have been speaking for two years.
The compound nominal predicate denotes a certain state or quality of
the subject. It consists of a link verb, or a verb of incomplete predication (nonfinite) and a subject complement (element predicativ suplimentar).
The subject complement (SC) is an adverb of location, a (pro)noun, or an
adjective, or the equivalent, which completes the predicate and refers to the
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The link verb is in the main clause. There are certain link/linking verbs
(verbe copulative; copule):
Verbs of being or state: to be, stand, feel.
E.g.
The meeting stands adjourned. (ridicm edina)
Verbs of remaining or continuing: continue, keep, remain, hold, stay.
E.g.
The rule still holds good.
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108
A clause
E.g.
Nobody knows whose it is.
Ill ask when he comes.
He said he was busy.
Kinds of DO:
dissimilar in that the two or several nouns refer to only one person, object or
abstract notion:
E.g.
He is my friend and adviser.
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Double DO: connected with the same v.t., yet answering different, separate
questions (who, what). They usually follow a limited number of verbs such as:
to ask, answer, forgive, envy.
E.g.
Ask me no questions.
There are verbs that take 2 (two direct objects): to ask, to answer, to take,
to envy, to hear, to forgive, to save, to strike. V + DO + DO
E.g.
They envy him his success.
Forgive them their rudeness.
Some transitive verbs may take two objects: an indirect object and a direct
object.
E.g.
I gave him the book.
I made myself a cup of tea.
THE INDIRECT OBJECT (IO) usually refers to the person who
benefits from an action or receives something because of it. You can put an IO in
front of the DO or in a prepositional phrase (PP) after the DO.
V + IO + DO
V + DO + PIO
E.g.
Dad gave me a car.
He handed his room key to the receptionist.
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112
113
V + PO
E.g.
It consists of two parts.
They live on rice.
He recovered from his illness.
They were listening to music.
Who cared for your opinion?
What are you about?
The PO may correspond to the S of a verb in the passive to which the
preposition remains attached:
E.g.
They sent for the doctor. (PO)
The doctor was sent for. (S)
Kinds of PO:
PO of agent: it denotes the person (more rarely the thing, the natural element
participating in the action (more rarely the state) with the speaker or writer. The
preposition with (also together with, alongside of / with)
E.g.
I went there with my bother.
feelings, etc.:
E.g.
My reaction / response to such proposals is always the same.
THE OBJECT CLAUSE
functions as a noun clause when the clause acts as the object of a
sentence.
E.g.
115
SUBJECT
COMPLEMENT
(also
called
SUBJECTIVE
V + SC
E.g.
We were very happy.
The other child looked neglected.
Their hall was larger than his whole flat.
Adjectives can be used as SC after the following link verbs: appear, be,
become, come, feel, get, go, grow, keep, look, pass, prove, remain, seem, smell,
sound, stay, taste, turn.
A NP (or substitutes):
E.g.
I feel a bit of a fraud.
Hell make a good president.
He always seemed a controlled sort of man.
Its me again. (pronoun)
This one is yours. (pronoun)
Youre someone who does what she wants. (pronoun)
Its an easy mistake to make.
A NP can be used as SC after the following link verbs: be, become,
comprise, constitute, feel, form, look, make, prove, remain, represent, seem,
sound
.
After the following verbs which refer to actions: be born, die, emerge,
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THE
OBJECT
COMPLEMENT
(also
called
OBJECTIVE
The OC describes the object. The following transitive verbs are used with an
adjective as OC: believe, call, certify, consider, declare, eat, find, hold, judge,
keep, label, leave, like, make, prefer, presume, pronounce, prove, reckon, render,
serve, term, think, want.
E.g.
Toms jokes made her uneasy.
He had proved them all wrong.
Do you want it white or black?
The OC may be expressed by an adjective (AP):
E.g.
He has painted the house blue.
I want everything ready by seven oclock.
Some verbs are used with a very restricted range of OC: to drive someone
crazy / mad, to burn someone alive, to get someone drunk / pregnant, to knock
someone unconscious, to paint something red / blue, etc, to pat something dry,
to pick something clean, to plane something flat / smooth, to rub something dry /
smooth, to send someone mad, to shoot someone dead, to sweep something
clean, to turn something white / black, etc, to wipe something clean / dry.
E.g.
118
OC
119
He
V + DO
OC
They came.
S
OC
V + SC
OC
V + SC
OC
SC
120
V + ADV M
Adverbs:
E.g.
Ill see you tomorrow.
E.g.
He is in the bathroom.
Adverb Clause:
E.g.
Ill see you when you come back.
Adverbials can be finite or non-finite:
E.g.
He fell in love, just as he was afraid of. (finite)
Students listened to learn the words in the classroom. (non-finite)
When asked where his wife was, Henry replied she was lying down.
TYPES OF ADVERBIAL CLAUSES (COMPLEX SENTENCES)
TIME: (WHEN?) introduced by the conjunctions when, after, as, as long as,
as soon as, before, by the time (that), directly, during the time (that),
immediately, the moment (that), now (that), once, since, until / till, whenever,
while. We generally use a comma when the adverbial clause comes first.
E.g.
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as if / as though after the verbs act, appear, behave, feel, look, seem, smell,
sound, taste. They normally come after the main clause.
E.g.
This fish is cooked as I like it. (colloquial: how / the way I like).
She trembled as if she had seen a ghost.
REASON: (Why?) introduced by the conjunctions because, as, seeing
(that), since.
E.g.
As / Because / Since there was very little support, the strike was not successful.
I am afraid I cannot go to the party as I feel very tired.
CONDITION: introduced by the conjunctions assuming (that), on condition
(that), provided (that), providing (that), so / as long as, unless.
E.g.
Unless it stops raining soon, they will have to cancel the ball game.
I am not afraid of anything, as long as you are near me.
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compared with). They involve the use of as + adjective + as (as quick as), as +
adverb + as (as quickly as), not so / as , -er than, more than, less than, the
the.. .
E.g.
He is as quick in answering as his sister (is).
The more you practise the better you get.
He did not sell half as / so many videos as he thought he would.
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(IP),
GERUNDIAL (GP)
AND
PARTICIPIAL (PP)
PHRASES.
Syntactic functions:
Subject (S):
IP:
GP:
GP:
Object (O):
IP:
GP:
PP:
GP:
PP:
Noun modifier:
a) premodifier:
GP:
PP:
b) postmodifier:
IP:
PP:
126
GP:
Syntactic Functions:
127
128
129
130
E.g.
He paid the money to the man who had done the work. (subject)
He paid the money whom he had hired. (object of a verb)
He paid the man from whom he had borrowed the money. (object of a
preposition)
This is the girl whose picture you saw. (possessive adjective)
Here is a book which / that describes animals. (subject).
The chair which / that he broke is being repaired. (object of a verb)
She was wearing the coat for which she had paid a lot. (object of a preposition)
A relative adverb:
E.g.
This is the year when the Olympic Games are held. (time)
Here is the house where I live. (place)
Give me one good reason why you did that. (reason)
131
Sample sentence
The two houses sit concurrently,
but
in legislation a bill is
2
and
after it
I.
1. Main Clause
2. Main Clause
Composite Sentence
3. Main Clause
4. Subordinate Clause
132
II.
III.
A. SG = NP
1. The two houses = Simple Subject
2. A bill = Simple Subject
3. it = Simple Subject
4. it = Simple Subject
NP
1. Determiners = the
2. Determiners = a
Pre Modifiers =
Post Modifiers =
Post Modifiers =
3. Determiners =
4. Determiners =
Pre Modifiers =
Pre Modifiers =
Head Noun = it
Head Noun = it
Post Modifiers =
Post Modifiers =
B. PG = VP
1. sit concurrently = Simple Verbal Predicate
2. in legislation . is introduced on One House, normally the
Commons = Simple Verbal Predicate
3. completes its stages there = Simple Verbal Predicate
4. is passed on to the other House = Compound Verbal Predicate
133
VP
Verb: 1. sit
2. is introduced
3. is passed on
4. completes
Predication 1. concurrently
2. in legislation.in one House,
normally the Commons
3. to the other House
4. its stages there
II.
134
\
SYNTAX EXERCISES
1. Assign appropriate parts of speech ( ) to the words in each sentence:
S, V, DO, IO, SC, OC, AdvM
a)
John
carefully
b)
His brother
c)
It
d)
He
e)
The girl
f)
They
g)
She
h)
His brother
searched
grew
rained
is
make
saw
happier
steadily
had given
now
him
that it
a student
135
at a large
the chairman
happier
an apple
rained
gradually
all day
the girl
grew
the room
all day
university
every year
arrived
i)
That she
him
j)
The girl
answered
the question
enormously
is
a student
now
correctly
at a large
pleased
university
His parents
dont live
b)
c)
Their hall
d)
He
e)
She
painted
f)
He
finished
will give
the conch
was
wiped
the editor
g)
h)
He
i)
George
j)
Everyone
in this town
the bottle
dry
her eyelids
with a dishcloth
deep blue
and passed
It
to
climbed
up the tree
handed
stood
called
to the receptionist
motionless
her
for at least a
Molly
minute
b)
c)
Shakespeare wrote his plays while he was working for the Lord
Chamberlains Men and this explains why he
stagecraft.
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
The teacher corrected the papers while he was away to Paris and
explained to the students why he had left them at home.
j)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
Do stop crying!
k)
l)
He is good at swimming.
b)
He introduced himself.
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
k)
l)
m)
n)
o)
p)
q)
r)
s)
t)
u)
v)
w)
x)
y)
z)
aa)
bb)
cc)
dd)
ee)
138
b)
c)
d)
e)
Ne era somn.
f)
Ii ade bine.
My, your
b)
Enough, both
c)
A, an
d)
What, much
b)
c)
d)
b)
c)
d)
e)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
wedding
anyhow.
i)
bad,
and
when
classes
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
k)
l)
m)
n)
15. Find the subject in the following sentences and state what it is
expressed by:
a)
b)
c)
d)
poetry.
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
16. Which of the three predeterminers all, both, and half could
acceptably replace X as predeterminers? Note that more than one
answer may be acceptable:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
X had influenza.
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
17. The non-finite clauses in the sentences below are open to more than
one interpretation. Illustrate this by expanding each dependent clause in
two different ways:
a)
b)
c)
Though shouting as loud as possible, the rescuers could not hear us.
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
b)
c)
My opinion that you disagree with so strongly has not been properly
represented.
d)
e)
The main difficulty lies in the fact that we have nobody properly
qualified for this work.
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
k)
l)
m)
n)
You always feel nervous the first time you speak in front of many
people.
o)
p)
q)
r)
s)
t)
u)
144
b)
It is windy today.
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
I like it here.
i)
j)
k)
l)
m)
n)
o)
p)
q)
r)
s)
t)
22. State the nature of there; choose from existential there, indefinite
subject, subject in to Infinitive clauses, subject in ing clauses,
exclamatory there, definite subject, subject in yes / no questions.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
k)
There he comes.
l)
m)
n)
o)
g) The room was filled with massive furniture, and on each of the sofas were
three big cushions.
h) The clouds hung heavily, and there was a rawness in the air that suggested
snow.
i) Then a friend of one of his brothers said that if the boys head was
plunged into a bucket of cold water and the eyes held open beneath the water
for five minutes or so at a time, several times a day, this would bring
hardiness to the most stubborn weakness any eye ever had.
j) Richard Skate had taken a couple of hours away from the Ministry to see
whether his house was still standing after the previous nights raid.
k) As long as certain occupations require higher levels of ability and
training, some form of examinations will be needed to determine those best
able to benefit from such training and to determine whether in fact they have,
in the end, measured up to the required standards.
24. Identify the following underlined phrases as Cs or Co:
a) - We consider him an idiot.
b) - The reports were believed false.
c) - They made them angry.
d) - He entered the room in a foul mood.
25.
Choose
the
right
definition
for
complementizers and
147
- they are clauses that are not arguments of a predicate. They are thus not
used as subjects or objects.
27. State the type of clause for the underlined clauses:
a) - That Sharons car had broken down astonished the mechanic.
b) - We visited the Olympics, although we avoided the crowds.
28. Choose the appropriate characteristics referring to non-finite
clauses, mentioning the letter:
a) They can function on their own as grammatical sentences or as the main
clause of a larger clause.
b) They cannot function as declarative or interrogative clauses.
c) They dont need to have overt subjects.
29. The contrast between finite and non-finite clauses must be shown as a
mood contrast on the trees. How is the mood marker called and how is it
abbreviated on a D-structure tree?
30. Analyse the following sentences into clauses. Write out each clause
separately and specify whether it is finite or non-finite, what its subject
is (even if it is just (e)), and what tensed verb or modal it has, if any.
Where the clause has another clause embedded in it, include the
embedded clause in parentheses.
- Eliot ordered his deputy to arrest the smugglers.
31.Sentences are simple, compound, and complex. State the type of
sentence:
a) - The wife of a friend of mine has had an accident.
b) - Jack came up the hill, but Jill went down the hill.
148
answered.
(noun)
39. Both appositive clauses and relative clauses may start with that. But
appositive clauses may not start with ------ as relative can. Which of the
two underlined clauses below is an appositive clause and which is a
relative clause:
a) - The premature news that this battle was lost caused consternation.
b) - the premature news that said the battle was lost caused consternation.
40. Explain the difference in meaning between the two phrases below:
a) - the stars visible
b) - the visible stars
41. Use the appropriate for of the verb:
a) - A number of people (was, were) standing in front of the booking-office.
b) - The red and green plaid (is, are) in the cupboard.
c) - The number of books in my library (has, have) increased.
d) - A lecture and a report on this subject-matter (is, are) to be delivered on
Friday.
151
e) - Not only the professor, but also the students themselves (disapprove,
disapproves) of his behaviour.
42. State the type of the underlined subordinate clauses:
a) - What this country needs is a period of peace.
b) - If you follow my instructions, nobody will be hurt.
c) - The man who owes me money lives in Australia.
d) - Kicking the ball, he injured his foot.
43. State the type of the main clauses below:
a) - We are lucky.
b) - How are you?
c) - Dont be silly.
d) - Im so hungry!
152
SYNTAX KEY
1.
a)
S; AdvM; V; DO.
b)
S; V; OC; AdvM
c)
S; V; AdvM; AdvM;
d)
S; V; IO; DO.
e)
f)
g)
S; V; O (S; V; AdvM)
h)
i)
j)
2.
a) S; V; AdvM
b) S; V; DO; IO.
c) S; V; SC.
d) S; V; DO; OC; AdvM
e) S; V; DO; OC.
f) S; V; DO; V; DO; PO.
g) S; V; PO.
h) S; V; DO; IO.
i) S; V; SC; AdvM
j) S; V; DO; OC.
153
3.
a)
simple
b)
complex
c)
composite
d)
compound
e)
compound
f)
complex
g)
simple
h)
complex
i)
composite
j)
compound
4.
a)
declarative (negative)
b)
declarative (negative)
c)
declarative (negative
d)
interrogative (positive)
e)
exclamatory (positive)
f)
interrogative (negative)
g)
imperative (positive)
h)
interrogative (negative)
i)
exclamatory (positive)
j)
imperative (positive)
k)
declarative (positive)
l)
declarative (negative)
154
5.
a)
SC; PIO
b)
IO
c)
d)
DO; of; IO
e)
IO; DO
f)
IO; DO
g)
IO; DO
h)
DO; for; IO
i)
PIO; DO
j)
DO; PIO
k)
DO; AdvM
l)
PIO
m)
DO
n)
DO
o)
DO; AdvM
p)
SC; AdvM
q)
DO; PIO
r)
DO; for; IO
s)
DO; DO
t)
DO; OC
u)
v)
DO; OC
w)
DO
x)
SC
y)
DO; OC
z)
DO; AdvM
aa)
SC; with; IO
bb)
DO; OC
155
cc)
DO; DO
dd)
DO; OC
ee)
DO; OC
6.
a) It is said that he is an adept at mathematics.
b) It is believed that it is the only solution.
c) Conditions have been created.
d) The problem is being examined by a commission.
e) We were sleepy.
f) It suits / fits you well.
7.
a) specific
b) general
c) specific
d) general
8.
a) the two determiners; leading social premodifiers; orders head.
b) A man head; of strong will postmodifier (qualifier).
c) A man head; with long hair postmodifier.
d) Neither of premodifier (quantifier); the boys (head).
156
10.
a)
result
b)
contrast
c)
addition
d)
condition
e)
sequence
11.
a)
compound
b)
compound
c)
complex
d)
complex
e)
simple
f)
complex
g)
simple
h)
compound
i)
composite
12.
a)
subject of a verb
b)
object of a verb
c)
object of a verb
d)
complement after be
e)
subject
f)
13.
a)
Do
b)
Oc
157
c)
Sc
d)
e)
Io
f)
Apposition
14.
a) S
b) Sc
c) Do; Oc
d) SC; PIO
e) SC
f) SC; S
g) S; SC
h) S; SC
i) SC; S
j) SC
k) DO; OC
l) SC; S
m)
DO
n) DO; OC
15.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
16.
a)
all, half
b)
c)
d)
both
e)
f)
all, both
g)
h)
all, half
i)
all
j)
all, both.
17.
a)
b)
For you to see her / For me, or someone else, to see her.
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
18.
a)
from cheese
b)
for promotion
c)
d)
of anyone
e)
to the task
f)
at anything
g)
to me
h)
i)
j)
of Mary
19.
a); d); e); I)
20.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
It = NP (noun substitute)
i)
j)
k)
l)
m)
n)
o)
p)
q)
r)
s)
t)
u)
21.
a) personal pronoun
b)
impersonal pronoun
c) impersonal pronoun
d)
introductory / emphatic
e) introductory / emphatic
f) demonstrative
g) personal pronoun
h)
impersonal pronoun
i) impersonal pronoun
j) impersonal pronoun
k)
impersonal pronoun
l) introductory / preparatory
m)
impersonal pronoun
161
(verbal
n)
introductory / emphatic
o) introductory / emphatic
p) personal pronoun
q) impersonal pronoun
r)
preparatory / introductory
s)
preparatory / introductory
t)
preparatory / introductory
22.
a) existential
b) existential
c) indefinite subject
d) indefinite subject
e) exclamatory
f) indefinite subject
g) subject in yes / no questions
h) existential
i) subject in to- infinitive clause
j) subject in ing clause
k) exclamatory
l) existential
m)
indefinite subject
n) definite subject
o) definite
23.
l) An artist living in Paris, read this terrible news one April
1937.
1.
morning
in
1937 = main
non-finite
S + V + AdvM + V + DO + AdvM
3.
Sentence (1):
A. Subject Group (NP): an artist
(simple subject)
Determiners:
Pre-modifiers:
Post-modifiers:
(simple predicate)
Operator: (did)
Sentence (2):
A. Subject Group (NP): (an artist elliptical)
Determiners:
Pre-modifiers:
Head Noun:
163
morning
in
Post-modifiers:
Operator: (was)
Eliot
ordered
[e]
(none)
phrase-preposition+adjective+noun);
e)
head
(NP-
165
LANGUAGE TERMINOLOGY
[1] ADJUNCT
Adverbials may be classified as adjuncts, conjuncts, or disjuncts.
An adjunct is part of the basic structure of the clause or sentence in which it
occurs, and modifies the verb. Adverbs of time, place, frequency, degree, and
manner, are examples of adjuncts.
He died in England.
I have almost finished.
Conjuncts are not part of the basic structure of a clause or sentence. They show
how what is said in the sentence containing the conjunct connects with what is
said in another sentence or sentences.
Altogether, it was a happy week.
However, the weather was not good.
Disjuncts (also called sentential adverbs) are adverbs which show the
speakers attitude to or evaluation of what is said in the rest of the sentence.
Naturally, I paid for my own meal.
I had to pay for my own meal, unfortunately.
[2] ADVERBIAL (Adv) = any word, phrase, or clause that functions like an
adverb. An adverb is a single-word adverbial.
[3] ADVERBIAL CLAUSE (Adv Cl) = a clause which functions as an adverb.
For example:
When I arrived I went straight to my room. (adverbial clause of time)
Wherever we looked there was dust. (adverbial clause of place)
166
be or a linking verb:
She is a doctor.
o
adjective:
I am glad that you can come.
o
preposition:
They argued about what to do.
While Adjuncts are optional parts of sentences, complements are often
obligatory parts of the sentences in which they occur.
[8] COMPLEMENT (ARY) CLAUSE (CCL) = a clause which functions as a
complement. For example:
The question is why you did it.
[9] COMPLEX SENTENCE = a sentence which contains one or more
dependent clauses, in addition to its independent, or main, clause. For example:
When it rained, we went inside.
(dep cl)
(ind cl)
(ind cl)
168
VP
Noun
Verb
NP
Det
The
penguin
swallowed
the
fish
[14] DETERMINER (Det) = a word which is used with a noun, and which
limits the meaning of the noun in some way. For example, in English the
following words can be used as determiners:
ARTICLES, e.g. a pencil, the garden
169
170
Modifiers before the head are called premodifiers, for example expensive
Modifiers after the head are called postmodifiers, for example with a
171
Although wounded is the Head of the noun phrase the wounded and is preceded
by an article, it would not be modified by an adjective but by an adverb, e.g. the
seriously wounded.
[22] NOUN PHRASE (NP) = (in Structuralist Linguistics, Transformational
Generative Grammar and related grammatical theories) a group of words with
a noun or pronoun as the main part (the Head).
The NP may consist of only one word (for example Gina in Gina arrived
yesterday) or it may be long and complex (for example, all the words before
must in: The students who enrolled late and who have not yet filled in their
cards must do so by Friday).
[23] NOMINAL CLAUSE
functions like a noun or noun phrase; that is, which may occur as subject, object
complement, in apposition, or as prepositional complement.
For example:
Nominal clause as subject: What she said is awful.
Nominal clause as object: I dont know what she said
[24] NOMINALIZATION = the grammatical process of forming nouns from
other parts of speech, usually verbs or adjectives. For example, in English:
nominalized forms from the verb to write: writing, writer as in: His writing is
illegible. Her mother is a writer.
[25] NOTIONAL GRAMMAR = a grammar which is based on the belief that
there are categories such as tense, mood, gender, number, and case which are
available to all languages although not all languages make full use of them. For
example, a case system is found in German, Latin, and Russian, but not in
modern English.
172
173
174
related to it.
determines Concord
Predicate
The woman
smiled.
Fish
176
BIBLIOGRAPHY - Part I
[1] Banta, A. (1996). Descriptive English Syntax. Institutul European Iai:
Editura Didactic.
[2] Budai, Laszlo. (1999). Gramatica englez. Teorie i exerciii. Bucureti:
Teora.
[3] Chomsky (1957). Syntactic Structures. The Hague: Mouton. Reprint. Berlin
and New York (1985).
[4] Chomsky (1965). Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. Cambridge: The MIT
Press.
[5] Chomsky (1981). Lectures on Government and Binding: The Pisa Lectures.
Holland: Foris Publications. Reprint. 7th Edition. Berlin and New York: Mouton
de Gruyter, 1993.
[6] Grady, William O. (1996). Contemporary Linguistics. An Introducation.
London and New York: Longman.
[7] Haegeman, L. (1993). Introduction to Government and Binding Theory.
Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers.
[8] Jacobs, R. (1995). English Syntax. A Grammar for English Language
Professionals. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[9] Quirk, R. (1990). A Grammar of Contemporary English. Longman Group
Ltd: William Clowes & Sons Ltd. Beccles & London.
177
BIBLIOGRAPHY Part II
[1] Banta, A. (1996). Descriptive English Syntax. Institutul European Iai:
Editura Didactic.
[2] Broughton, G. (1990). The Penguin English Grammar A Z for Advanced
Students. London: Penguin.
[3] Budai, Laszlo. (1999). Gramatica englez. Teorie i exerciii. Bucureti:
Teora.
[4] Capot, T. (2000). Dicionar explicativ de termeni gramaticali. Cluj Napoca:
Dacia.
[5] ------------. (1992). Collins Cobuild English Usage. Birmingham: Harper
Collins.
[6] Haegeman, L. (1993). Introduction to Government and Binding Theory.
Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers:
[7] Iacob, Olimpia (2002). English Syntax through Exercises. Cluj Napoca:
Dacia Educational.
[8] Jacobs, R. (1995). English Syntax. A Grammar for English Language
Professionals.
[9] Lctuu, T. (2000). Essentials of English Syntax. Complex Structures. Iai:
Demiurg.
[10] Popa, E. (1997). Elemente de sintax englez. The Simple Sentence. Cluj:
Presa Universitar Clujean.
[11] Quirk, R. (1990). A Grammar of Contemporary English. Longman Group
Ltd.: William Clowes & Sons ltd. Beccles & London.
[12] Wilson, Misty. (1998). Syntax. Pembroke: University of North Carolina at
Pembroke.
178
CONTENTS - Part I
Linguistics definition
Branches of Linguistics:
Phonetics
Phonology
Morphology
Syntax
Semantics
Syntax Definition
Syntactic Categories
Transformations
Co-ordination
Specifiers of:
Nouns (determiners)
Verbs (qualifiers)
Complemetizers (C)
Complement Clauses
Ambiguous Sentences
Co-ordinate Structures
Modifier Structures
Relative Structures
180
CONTENTS Part II
Phrases. Clauses. Sentences
Phrases (P)
Clauses Cl)
Sentence (S)
The Simple Sentence
The Subject and Predicate Groups
A.
182