SYNTAX OF THE SIMPLE SENTNECE 2ND YEAR TRANSLATION STUDIES

COURSE COORDINATOR: PROF.DR.ROXANA- CRISTINA PETCU

REVISION JANUARY 2018

I. Enlarge upon the following: a) Define unergativity. Supply two examples of unergative verbs and illustrate
their behaviour; b) the external argument of passives, unaccusatives and middles; c) the ergative alternation; d)
Define unaccusativity. Supply two examples of unaccusative verbs and illustrate their behaviour in sentences of
your own; e) unergative verbs and the Resultative Construction; f) The Location/Locatum alternation; g) Define
transitivity. Discuss the properties of transitive verbs. Illustrate in sentences of your own h) The Passive. Define
and illustrate; i) The syntactic structure of there-insertion sentence; j) Properties of Middle verbs. Middle
Formation; k) The Resultative Construction; l) The Syntax of the Double Object Construction
II. Explain why the sentences below are ungrammatical:
1. *When I entered the room I saw an asleep man. 2.*Such stories know easily.3. *The prices decreased cheese. 4.
*He explained me that he had already finished doing it. 5.*There laughed a man outside. 6.**This book belongs.
7. *The professor gave a book. 8. *The overdosed man was John Smith. 10. *She laughed silly
III. Are the predicates in the sentences below inherently transitive? Justify your answer
1. The nurse was jumping the baby on her knees. 2. The Prince retired the cavalry from Poland.3. The teacher
stood the pupils in a row. 4. She stood a case against a wall. 5. We shall dine the Japanese in our living room.
6.The captain rested his soldiers and horses. 7. The waves floated the boat away. 8. The sight curdled the blood in
her veins. 9. The scorching heat withered the leaves. 10. He pointed the weapon at the wolf.
IV. What type of alternations do the sentences below illustrate?
1. Mary put the cows in the corral./ Mary corralled the cows./*Mary cowed the corral. 2.The leaves turned red. /
The cold turned the leaves red. 3. His eyes narrowed./ He narrowed hid eyes. 4. He fitted the saddle on the
horse. / He saddled the horse. 5. Mother made a cake for her children./Mother made her children a cake. 6. He
put the glasses on the shelf./He shelved the glasses. 7. He sank the ship./The ship sank. 8. The cold turned the
leaves red./The leaves turned red. 9. The soldiers marched into town. / The general marched his soldiers into
town. 10. The wind cleared the sky./ The sky cleared
V. Indentify and analyze the predicates in the sentences below
1. Dogs bark. 2. He emerged as a leader at the age of 40.3. He gave Mary the flowers. 4. The manager has already
clarified the situation. 5. He is at home. 6. They slept the sleep of the just. 7. He has been running his father’s
business for years. 8.I galloped the horse./The horse galloped. 9. The wind moved the branch. /The branch
moved. 10. You’ve cried your eyes out. 11. She gave a kiss to her son. 12. Who would like to carve the chicken? 13.
War causes great human losses. 14. Poetry does not translate. 15. The ice melted. 16. There is a man in the room.
17.He remained a doctor all his life. 18. To her disappointment there hadn’t arrived any guests yet. 19, He boiled
the eggs soft. 20. At the party she simply ate herself sick.
VI. Represent in X-bar: 1.They might have been travelling for two hours. 2. Certainly, the problem will be
solved soon. 3. She looked up the phone number. / She looked the phone number up.4. There stood an ugly statue
infront of my house. 4. Will Grandmother make a cake in the afternoon?
VII. Analyse the syntactic functions of the constituents in the sentences below
1. There is a problem that will touch us all in the not two distant future, a problem that resolves itself into a
question: what is education for? 2. As he sat on the grass and looked across the river, a dark hole in the opposite
bank caught his eye. 3. This shirt does not iron well so I am not going to put it on tonight, although mother would
like me to wear it just to annoy everyone. 4.The frost turned the water into ice, but it was not thick enough for to
go skating, so we finally persuaded our friends to give up that idea and go home. 5. On leaving school he became a
bank clerk. 6. She was so miserable when she broke pu with her boyfriend that she came home and cried herself to
sleep. 7. She took advantage of the means of study the place offered her, and as she was already a musician and a
good pianist, she speedily went trough the course which was considered necessary for young ladies in those days.
8. We shall dine the Browns in the our living room. 9. Everything will come right in the end. 10. This fabric has
worn thin. 11. There were a lot of people at the station.
VIII. Passivize the sentences below; if passivization is not possible, explain why.
1.The cargo weighs 10 tons. 2. They lost sight of the ship. 3. Bob nodded approval. 4. Mary is tasting the
pudding. / The pudding tastes delicious. 5. They took great care of her. 6.They proved that they had been right to
say that somebody had broken into the house while they had been away on holiday. 7.A gang of thieves broke into
the house last night. 8. He admired himself in the mirror. 9. He glanced through the article quickly. 10 The house
stands up the hill. 11. You should not look down on such people.12.They proved that they had been right to say
that somebody had broken into the house while they had been away on holiday. 13.. We will go very carefully into
these proposals.14.. We ran through the main points. 15. They are looking forward to their voyage.16.The speaker
did not put up with the interruptions so cheerfully.17. They agreed with him on the matter.18. They discussed the
matter and put forth their proposal
IX. Give three examples of Middle sentences and two examples of Induced Action Alternation
X. Decide whether the sentences below containing phrasal verbs are grammatical or not. If they
are ungrammatical explain why
1. She stood up and switched straight on the lamp. 2. I can drop Daisy off on my way home. 3. The French and the
British wanted to hold Chinese textile competition on the free market off as long as possible.4. Don’t out off it till
tomorrow. 5. She handed the book back to Peter. 6.She handed Peter the book back. 7. Epidemics wiped right out
the local population. 8. Visitors wear out us more than the children do. 9 Inspector Standish was trying to clear a
complicated problem up. / Inspector Standish was trying to clear up a complicated problem. / Inspector Standish
was trying to clear what seemed to be a very complicated problem up. 10. Mother told off Doris because she had
been impertinent. 11. Put your hat on./ Put on it.
XI. Discuss the grammaticality/ungrammaticality of the following NPs; if they are grammatical
use them in sentences of your own:
Tarnished metal, an existed solution, fallen leaves, a trembled student, withered plants, an already occurred event,
a sparkled diamond, a gushed fountain, a bubbled stew, dried clothes.
XII. Apply Dative Movement to the sentences below; if it is not possible explain why : 1. They brought
some flowers to the table. 2. He sent a letter for his sister. 3. They built a new house for us. 4. He donated the
books to Tom. 5. Mother gave some cakes to the children.
XIII. Identify and analyze the objects in the sentences below
1. The general retired his cavalry from the battle field. 2. He shouted himself hoarse. 3. That famous sculptor
carved a wonderful statue. 5. She takes a nap every afternoon. 6. I do not know what he will do in that respect. 7.
They are unaware of the news. 8. The dog barked him awake.9. Give the book to John. 10. They slept the sleep of
the dead.
XIV. Decide whether the sentences below are grammatical or ungrammatical; justify your
answers
1. There banged a man at the door. 2. There thawed the snow in the early spring. 3. The earthquake brought Japan
disaster. 4. There was Ann. 5. The professor gave a book. 6. The house was owned by John. 7. The chair has been
sat on. 8. I can drop Daisy off on my way home. 10. The French and the British wanted to hold Chinese textile
competition on the free market off as long as possible.
XIV. Translate the following sentences into English:
1. Am aranjat să plecăm la munte săptămâna viitoare. 2. Şi-a luat licenţa în drept. 3. Deşi nu ar fi vrut-o, s-a văzut
nevoit să mărturisească totulpentru că ceilalţi aveau deja prea multe dovezi împotriva lui. 4. Ai apelat la un
specilist să-ţi facă aranjamentele florale la petrecere? 5. Trebuie neapărat să-mi promiţi ceva. 6. A păstrat puterea
numai pentru sine. 7. Mama a îngroşat sosul adăugând nişte făină. 8. Am intrat în casă şi am aşezat umbrela în
picioare lângă perete. 9.A tot mers până a obosit. 10.In favoarea cărui candidat ai votat la ultimele alegeri? 11.
Masa aceasta are un capăt. 12. Secundele treceau foarte încet. 13. A devenit un mare pictor prin propriile sale
puteri. 14. Bazinul s-a umplut. Te poţi duce să înoţi. 15. Priveliştea masacrului le-a făcut privirea să li se
înceţoşeze. 16. Poate să se mişte să răspundă la telefon. 17.Isus Christos I-a împuternicit pe apostolic să-l
reprezinte pe pământ. 18. Vine cineva la cină? Da, este vorba de un vecin nou, prietenul său şi directorul şcolii. 19.
Karen şi-a făcut o intrere trumfală la petrecerea de aseară. 20. A dormit până i-a trecut mahmureala.21. A cazut
victimă epidemiei de ciumă. 22. A gustat supă să vadă dacă are suficientă sare. 23. Masa accea bogată i-a căzut
greu la stomac. 24. In cele din urmă neglijenţa le-a ruinat afacerea. 25. Dl. Jones se bucură de un prestigiu imens
în rândurile comunităţii. 26. Rămăsese în urmă cu plata chiriei. 27. Tânjea după pace şi linişte. 28. Până la urmă
tot o să facem un acotr din el. 29. Drumul acela prin oraşul întunecat şi pustir mi-a adâncit şi mai mult teama. 30.
Nu-mi mai rămâne nici o altă cale decât să mă adresez justiţiei. 31.Tu ai ajuns, conform previziunilor mele, pictor.
32. Lipsa de perspectiva l-a demoralizat complet.33. Radia de bucurie în timp ce vorbea cu toţi cei din jurul
său.34. Cauciucurile maşinii o să putrezească de atâta ulei şi unsoare.35. A făcut pe dracul în patru şi a reuşit să-I
convingă să meargă cu el în acea călătorie periculosă. 36. A ajuns să fie cel mai bun prieten al meu. 37. Milton a
orbit.38. Mi s-a făcut firg la picioare. 39. Cred că această schimbare de înfăţişare te înfrumuseţează. 40. Era
posibil să apară probe noi.