MADALINA CERBAN

The Syntactic Structure of Simple

Sentences

Theory and Practice

Editura Universitaria
Craiova
2011
 Contents

Contents…………………………………………………. 3
Foreword………………………………………………….. 7

Chapter 1: Sentence Structure: Constituents……….. 9

1.1. Constituents……………………………………….. 9
1.2. Identifying constituents…………………………… 11
1.3. Ambiguous constructions…………………………. 13
1.4. Exercises…………………………………………... 13

Chapter 2: Sentence Structure: Functions………….. 15

2.1. Subject – Predicate………………………………… 15
2.2. Noun Phrases and Verbal Phrases…………………. 17
2.3. Dependency and Function…………………………. 18
2.4. Constituents: ………………………………………. 19
(i). The Modifier and the Head…………………….. 19
(ii). The Head and the Complement……………….. 20
2.5. Exercises…………………………………………… 22

Chapter 3: Sentence Structure: Categories………….. 24

3.1. The Noun Phrase……………………………………25
3.1.1. The Structure of the Noun Phrase…………. 25
3.1.1.1. Types of Dependants……………… 25
3.1.1.2. Complements……………………… 33
3.1.1.3. Types of modifiers………………… 35
3.1.2. The Functions of the Noun Phrase………… 38
3.1.2.1. The Subject……………………….. 38
3.1.2.2. The Object………………………… 43
3
 3.1.2.3. The Predicative……………………. 46
3.1.2.4. The Apposition……………………. 47
3.2. The Verb Phrase…………………………………… 47
3.2.1. The Structure of the Verbal Group……….. 48
3.2.1.1. The Simple Finite Verbal Group….. 48
3.2.1.2. The Structure of the Auxiliary…….. 49
3.2.2. The Complements of Verbal Group……….. 57
3.2.3. Passive constructions.....…………………… 63
3.3. The Adjectival Phrase……………………………… 68
3.3.1. The structure of Adjectival Phrases………... 68
3.3.2. The functions of the Adjectival Phrases…… 71
3.4. The Adverbial Phrase……………………………… 72
3.4.1. The structure of Adverbial Phrases……….. 73
3.4.2. The functions of the Adverbial Phrases…… 74
3.4.2.1. Adverbial Modifier of Place……… 74
3.4.2.2. Adverbial Modifier of Time……… 76
3.4.2.3. Adverbial Modifier of Manner…… 78
3.4.2.4. Adverbial Modifier of Concession…80
3.4.2.5. Adverbial Modifier of Reason…….. 81
3.4.2.6. Adverbial Modifier of Result………81
3.4.2.7. Adverbial Modifier of Purpose……. 82
3.4.2.8. Adverbial Modifier of Condition….. 83
3.4.2.9. Adverbial Modifier of Exception…..83
3.4.2.10. Adverbial Modifier of Relation….. 84
3.5. Exercises…………………………………………… 84
3.5.1. Theoretical Exercises……………………….. 84
3.5.2. Practical Exercises………………………….. 90
3.5.2.1. The Subject……………………….. 94
3.5.2.2. The Predicate…………………….. 102
3.5.2.3. The Subject-Predicate Agreement… 108
4
 3.5.2.4. The Attribute…………………….. 113
3.5.2.5. Direct, Indirect and Prepositional
Objects…………………………… 120
3.5.2.6. Passive Constructions…………… 129
3.5.2.7. The Adverbial Modifiers………… 134

Chapter 4: Classification of Sentences……………… 163

4.1. Clause types and speech acts……………………… 163
4.2. Declarative sentences……………………………… 164
4.3. Interrogative sentences……………………………. 164
4.3.1. Closed and opened interrogatives…………. 164
4.3.2. Interrogative tags…………………………... 169
4.3.3. Direction questions………………………… 169
4.3.4. Echo questions…………………………….. 170
4.4. Exclamative sentences…………………………….. 171
4.5. Imperative and directive sentences………………… 173
4.6. Minor clauses……………………………………… 177
4.7. Exercises…………………………………………… 177
4.7.1. Form of sentences…………………………… 177
4.7.2. Negation…………………………………….. 182
4.7.3. Interrogation………………………………… 188
4.7.4. Inversion…………………………………….. 195
4.7.5. Independent elements……………………….. 198
4.7.6. Elliptical sentences………………………….. 202
4.7.7. Translation exercises…………………………204

References………………………………………………… 207

Glossary…………………………………………………… 211

5
 Foreword

This book is an introduction to the practical analysis of

English sentences rather than an introduction to linguistic theory.
But since we are concerned with a language and its syntax, some
of the concepts, aims and methods of linguistics are also relevant.
We intended to provide a systematic and coherent
introduction to the syntax of English simple sentences, being
concerned with their syntactic structure, namely with analyzing
linguistic expressions into their constituent parts, identifying the
categories of those constituents, and determining their functions.
This work is structured into four chapters. Chapter one
approaches the most important concepts of syntax, namely
constituents, phrases. Chapter two describes the functions the
constituents can discharge in the sentence. In the next chapter we
analyse the four types of phrases: Noun Phrases, Verbal Phrases,
Adjectival Phrases and Adverbial Phrases, paying particular
attention to the syntactic functions they can discharge. We kept
the traditional classification of syntactic functions in order to help
our students understand more easily the structure, the syntactic
patterns of English sentences.
The last chapter of this book is concerned with the types of
sentences and the criteria according to which they are classified.
Every chapter is followed by exercises. Some of these are
designed to test comprehension, others to give practice in
handling new data.

The Author

7
 Chapter 1

Sentence Structure: Constituents

1.1. Constituents
The concept of structure is fundamental to the study of the
syntax. But it is a very general concept that can be applied to any
complex thing, such as a company or an electronic device. When
we say that a thing is complex we mean that:

(a) it is divisible into parts (Constituents)

(b) there are different kinds of parts (Categories)
(c) the constituents are arranged in a specific way
(d) each constituent has a specific function in the structure
of the thing as a whole.

When anything can be analysed in this way, we say that it

has a structure. When we analyse a sentence it is important to
notice that every constituent may be a complex structure. In other
words, the parts themselves consist of parts which may consist of
further parts. This is called hierarchical structure.
We have to observe that when we make a statement we use
several words, but these words must be put in a certain order to
express something correctly. In conclusion, the structure results
from fitting these words together in a particular way. Not all
sequences of words would be acceptable expressions or sentences
of English. When a sequence of words fails to constitute a good
expression in the language, we will describe it as ungrammatical
(ill-formed) and mark it with an asterisk.
9
 Finally, a full syntactic description of the English language
consists in explaining why some strings of words of the language
are well-formed expressions and why others are not. We have to
mention that this description can not be achieved without
recognizing the importance of structure. This concept is essential
in distinguishing between strings of words that are well-formed
expressions and those that are not. We have mentioned that
constituents can be complex being made of two or more
constituents called immediate constituents.
This book is concerned with syntactic structure, namely
with analyzing linguistics expressions into their constituent parts,
identifying the categories of those constituents, and determining
their functions. We shall take the sentence as starting point of
analysis and we will try to demonstrate that a sentence is more
than a sequence of words. In fact, the discussion of hierarchical
structure and the importance of recognizing that sentences have
such structure make us understand that the sentences are more
than strings of words.
This can be shown by asking whether a relationship
between a sentence and its words is direct, or whether it is indirect.
This makes us question if immediate constituents are represented
by words. It is only if the words contained in a sentence are its
immediate constituents that we can allow that sentences actually
consist of words. Let’s take the example: The old lady was eating
in a restaurant.
The diagram that says that its words are its immediate
constituents looks like this:
Sentence

[The old lady] [was eating] [in a restaurant]

10
 This diagram shows what words appear in the sentence
and the order in which they appear. But the diagram tells us
nothing more. It says only that the words are in a certain order
without specifying if there is any relation among these words. For
example, it does not explain to us why the following strings of
words do not form sentences:
e.g. * Eating in a restaurant the old lady was
* Restaurant the old lady was eating in a.

We have to notice that the sentence is more structured than

the diagram shows us. The arrangement of words in a sentence is
mostly determined by the fact that the words are not immediate
constituents of the sentence, but belong with other words to form
groups which have their own specific position in the structure of
the sentence. These groups function as immediate constituents of
the sentence. In short, while sentences contain words, they don’t
consist of words.
In addition, we have to be able to say what kinds of words
(Categories) can combine to form structural groups. The above
sentences are wrong because the order of the words is wrong; they
do not form constituents.
We can conclude that sentences are formed of constituents
which are formed of words arranged in a proper order. Due to this
construction we can say that sentences have hierarchical structure.

1.2. Identifying constituents

There are several tests that can help us identify
constituents. The first step would be to leave out the words which
are optional. If the sentence makes sense and it is grammatically

11
correct, the words which were left out can be considered to be
constituents.
e.g. Mary sings beautifully.

In this case beautifully is an optional part of the sentence

and it is a constituent.
We have to notice that the other two words (which
represent the Subject and the Predicate) can not be left out, being
obligatory parts of the sentence. We can add other words to the
sentence
e.g. My sister Mary sings beautifully every time.

We notice that my sister Mary represents a constituent,

functioning as Subject, every time is another constituent,
functioning as adverbial modifier of Time. Words or sequences
of words that can function as constituents in the structure of
sentences are called phrases.
In the above example we showed that some constituents
can be omitted. However, not all constituents can be omissible.
We must therefore find a more general and systematic way of
demonstrating that a given sequence of words is a phrase or not.
There are different ways of doing this. The simplest
method is to replace a constituent with one single word. For
example, every time can be replaced with always or My sister
Mary can be replaced with she. This suggests that if we can
replace a sequence of words in a sentence with one single word
without changing the overall structure of the sentence, then
that sequence functions as a constituent of the sentence and it
is therefore a phrase.

12
 A second test would be the use of Wh- questions since
answering such questions is a matter of replacing the question
word with an informative phrase.
e.g. When does Mary sing beautifully?
Every time./ always.

1.3. Ambiguous constructions

As we said, phrases are sequences of words which
function as constituents. Nevertheless, there are constructions
where we have several possibilities to establish the constituents.
For example, I like Egyptian cotton shirts can be interpreted in
two ways. We can either consider that Egyptian determines cotton
or that Egyptian determines shirts.

1.4. Exercises
I. Decide whether the italicized strings in the following
sentences are constituents or not. One of the sentences is
ambiguous, and in this case you should identify the two
interpretations, and to decide which strings of words are
constituents:
1. John considered visiting her great aunt.
2. Mary retreated from the house she had just demolished.
3. Mary retreated from the house she had just demolished.
4. Sam managed to touch the man with umbrella.
5. Rory put a silencer on the gun.

II. How many constituents can you identify in the following

sentence:

13
 Being of a cautious disposition, Timothy very wisely
avoided the heavily built man whenever he drank at the Wrestler’s
Arms.

III. All the following sentences are structurally ambiguous. In

each case identify the source of the ambiguity in terms of two
different constituent analyses:
1. This story shows what evil men can do.
2. They only sell rotten fruit and vegetables.
3. She returned early that morning.
4. More interesting meals would have been appreciated.
5. We need an agreement between workers on overtime.
6. Bill asked the man who he had seen.
7. She was at the window, the street atlas in her hand, looking up
the street.

14
 Chapter 2

Sentence Structure: Functions

Understanding the structure of a sentence involves more

than knowing what its constituents are. It involves knowing the
category and the function of those constituents. All these three
aspects of syntactic analysis are closely bound up with one
another. This chapter is mainly about syntactic functions, and
about how function relates to category and constituency.
A good syntactic analysis does not start with the
identification of immediate constituents, but with the
identification of the largest phrase, those phrases which are
immediate constituents, not of any other phrase, but of the
sentence itself. So, the first relationship between constituents is
concerned with the immediate constituents of the sentence itself.
These are the Subject and the Predicate. We are going to make a
short presentation of both of them, but we are going to analyse
them in detail in the future chapters.

2.1. Subject and Predicate

In order to be sure of identifying only the very largest
(immediate) constituents of a sentence we will divide the sentence
into the fewest possible parts, i.e. into two parts. Let’s take a
simple sentence like:
e.g. Birds fly.

15
 In this case it is clear that we have no option but to analyse
the sentence as consisting of two parts: birds and fly. But the
problem is what we can say about more complicated sentences. A
speaker’s ability to recognize the structure of the sentences of his
language is largely a matter of being able to perceive a similar
pattern across a wide range of apparently different sentences.
Let’s take to following example: Birds are flying away.
This sentence has the same general structure as the
previous example, meaning that it is divisible into two
constituents in exactly the same way, that the two constituents are
of the same general kind (or category) as the corresponding
constituents of the first example, and they have the same syntactic
functions: Subject and Predicate. The Subject is used to mention
something and the Predicate to say if something true or false about
the Subject.
Sentences can be far more complicated than the one we
analysed. In fact, theoretically, there is no degree of complexity.
When we are in doubt as to the correct Subject-Predicate division
in very complicated sentences a simple test should be applied:
turn the sentence into a yes/no question. The phrase functioning as
Subject is the one that requires the change of its position when the
sentence is so changed.
e.g. Those big birds were flying away.

As we previously mentioned, the sequence of words that

moves in forming the question shows that it is a constituent. This
particular movement test will confirm not only that those bug
birds is a constituent, but that this constituent is functioning as
Subject of the sentence they appear in:
e.g. Were these big birds flying away?
16
 Generally we do not find difficult to identify the Subject in
a sentence, but sometimes this test is very useful; for example in
cases like the following:
e.g. It is snowing again.

It is rather difficult to view the Predicate (is snowing again)

as being used to say something true or false of It (the Subject). It
does not mention anything. The Subject is not the answer of the
question What is snowing again? (which is an odd question).
Nevertheless, it is the Subject of the sentence precisely because it
changes the position in the yes/no question.

2.2. Noun Phrases and Verb Phrases

The problem we are going to discuss is what kind of
phrases function as Subjects and Predicates. We have seen that
these phrases can vary in their form and complexity. Nevertheless,
all the Subjects have one thing in common: they all contain, and
are centered on, the same category of word, a noun. They are all
Noun Phrases (NP). The single words that can replace them are
only Nouns or Pronouns. The phrases functioning as Predicates,
on the other hand, all contain, and are centered on, a verb. They
are all Verb Phrases (VP). They are all replaceable by single-word
verbs.
Any phrase that can function as a Subject is a Noun Phrase.
We need to distinguish between the category and the
function of a constituent because most categories of phrase have a
variety of different functions. Although Subjects are always Noun
Phrases, this does not mean that all Noun Phrases function as
Subjects. For example, we saw in the previous examples the birds

17
functioning as Subject, but in an example like The hunter shot the
birds, it is part of the Predicate and it functions as Direct Object.
Information about the categories of the immediate
constituents of the sentence can be included in a phrase-marker,
by labeling the appropriate nodes as in:
e.g. The birds are flying away.
NP VP

We can interpret the above analysis as follows: the

sequence the + birds forms a constituent belonging to the
category of Noun Phrase; the sequence are flying away forms a
constituent belonging to the category Verb Phrase; the NP and the
VP forms a sentence. The Subject of a sentence can be defined
as that NP which is immediately dominated by S (sentence). A
Predicate is a VP immediately dominated by S.
We haven’t said anything yet about how to identify nouns,
verbs, or other categories of words. This will be discussed in the
next chapter. What is important in the first phase is to be able to
perceive how the various parts of a sentence can function in
relation to each other. Without the idea of Subject function and
Predicate function, it would be difficult to start to analyse a
sentence. Every time we analyse a sentence we have to identify
the function and meaning of every constituent. The constituents
have relationships of dependency.

2.3. Dependency and function

Since we are discussing the functions of the constituents, it
will help if we introduce some terminology to describe
relationships between them. When two constituents are dominated
by the same node they are named equal constituents. Equal
18
constituents are usually represented at the same level of structure
in phrase-markers. In general, constituents have their functions in
respect of their equal constituents. Thus, in each of the sentences
that we have analysed so far the Subject and the Predicate are
equal constituents represented at the same level of structure, and
the NP (the birds) has the function of Subject in respect of its
equal constituent, the Predicate (are flying away); and the VP has
the function of Predicate in respect of the NP (Subject). Notice
that the Subject and the Predicate are dependent on each other
(mutually dependent) in the sense that an NP functions as Subject
only in the presence of a VP, and a VP functions as Predicate only
in the presence of a NP. The two of them form a complete
sentence; neither of them can be omitted in a well-formed
sentence.
Anticipating later chapters, let us have a short look at the
other main functions. There are three concepts here. These are the
Head and the functions the other elements of the same constituent
have in relation to the Head, namely the Modifier and the
Complement.

2.4. Constituents
(i). Modifier and Head
The phrase we are going to analyse is their quite amazing
courage. The relationships are:
Phrase-a: their + Phrase-b
Phrase-b: Phrase-c + courage
Phrase-c: quite + amazing
There are three relationships of equality:
(1) their and Phrase-b (quite amazing courage)
(2) Phrase-c (quite amazing) + courage
19
 (3) quite + amazing.
The relations that hold between equal constituents are of the same
kind, that of modification.
To begin at the lowest level of structure, quite has its
function in respect of its equal amazing. It specifies the degree of
amazingness, telling us how amazing their courage is. Quite is
dependent on amazing, in the sense that it is present only because
amazing is present. If we take out amazing the expression left
would be a ill-formed one: *their quite courage. Notice that
amazing does not depend on quite. If we take quite out the
expression is a well-formed one: their amazing courage. This type
of dependency is a one-way dependency. This function is called
modification because the function of quite is to modify amazing.
When discussing the function of amazing we have to notice that in
a phrase containing a modifier, the element that is modified forms
the essential element of the phrase and it is called the Head. In this
case amazing functions as the Head of the phrase quite amazing.
A Modifier-Head relationship exists at the higher level of
structure, namely between quite amazing and courage. Quite
amazing shows us the quality of their courage. This is also a one-
way dependency because only quite amazing is a dependent
modifier of courage and not vice-versa. Quite amazing can be
omitted, but not courage which is the Head of the phrase.

(ii). Head and complement

So far we have discussed the two-way function/
dependency of Subject and Predicate and the one-way function/
dependency of Modifier and Head. Let’s analyse now the phrase
near the street from the sentence The children were playing near
the street.
20
 In this phrase there are two relationships:
(1) at the lowest level of the structure, between the and street
(2) at the level up between near and Phrase-b (the street).

The first relationship is the same kind with the relationship

between their and quite amazing courage. The has its function
only in respect of street, and it has no relationship with near.
In order to establish if the second relationship is a two-way
dependency or one-way dependency of modifier and head we
have to analyse the whole sentence. The way to do this is to see if
either of the constituents can be omitted individually in the
context of the sentence. We will have ill-formed structures in both
cases, when omitting near and the street.
e.g. * The children were playing the street.
* The children were playing near.

We have to notice that in case we want to omit the whole

phrase the sentence is correct:
e.g. The children were playing.

But neither of its constituents can be omitted individually.

It appears that near needs the presence of the Noun phrase the
street and that the street needs the presence of near. It is therefore
a two-way dependency.
The phrase near the street is telling us where the children
were playing. It specifies a location. The location of a thing or
activity is usually expressed by orientating it in space in relation
to some other thing, activity, event or time. Although near and the
street express the spatial orientation, it is clear that the word near
is giving the whole phrase its locational character. So, near is the
21
Head of the phrase. Due to the fact that the Head is a preposition
followed by a Noun Phrase, this construction is called
Prepositional Noun Phrase.
We have seen that the relationship between near and the
street is a two-way dependency. Notice also that the street does
not tell us anything about the Head. So we distinguish between the
function of elements that relate to a Head in an one-way
dependency from the function of elements that relate to a Head in
a two-way dependency. When the Head demands a further
expression in this way, the other obligatory expression is said to
be the COMPLEMENT of the Head.
What we have here is not a process of Modification (as in
the previous case), but a process of Complementation.
Complements typically follow their Heads in English. In
contrast, Modifiers can precede or follow their Heads.

Conclusions:
Throughout this chapter we showed how dependency,
function, and meaning are interrelated. A correct analysis of
sentences in terms of their constituents depends on how we
actually understand those sentences. The meaning of a sentence
depends not just on the meaning of its words, but also on how
these words are structured into phrases, and on the functions these
phrases have.

2.5. Exercises
I. Identify the Subjects and the Predicates of the following
sentences:
1. Her memory for names and dates was a constant source of
amazement to him.
22
2. There are too many uninvited guests here.
3. It was Jane who finally decided to go.
4. That fact that you received no birthday presents shouldn’t
depress you.
5. Only six of the thirty people were properly equipped.
6. The income received from fines can not be taken into account.
7. Next Sunday or the Sunday after that would be convenient
dates.
8. One day will be enough for this job.
9. The existence of stars with high density has been doubted
recently.
10. I am accepting your invitation.

II. Identify the category of the following phrases:

1. installed for only 20$.
2. were being given away.
3. too far to drive in a day
4. old washing machines
5. ten long holidays at the Ritz Hotel
6. which I had bought only the day before
7. have made me realize that ‘cheap’ indeed means ‘nasty’

III. Decide on the functions of the bracketed constituents in

the following structures:
1. Old Sam sunbathed [beside a stream].
2. The [well-built] man offered me a cigar.
3. People [in the running kit] are going on the avenue.
4. People in [the running kit] are going on the avenue.

23
 Chapter 3

Sentence Structure: Categories

It is a known fact the way speakers that understand their

language recognize in fact several different kinds of words – in
other words they assign the words of their language to several
distinct categories. In doing so, they recognize that each word has
a restricted range of possible functions and that there are
restrictions on how words can combine in order to form phrases.
In order to demonstrate this we can do the following
exercise. We try to replace the words from the phrase we used
before their quite amazing courage and replace them with words
which belong to the same category. For example, we can replace
quite with extremely, rather or any other adverb. In this case we
can say that quite and extremely, rather have the same distribution.
By this I mean they all have the same functions and can combine
with the same elements and can occupy the same position in the
phrases. In short we can say that all these three words belong to
the same category.
Until now we have mentioned only the category of single
words. Categories of single words are called lexical categories.
“Noun” is an example of lexical category. Nevertheless, we have
to notice that phrases have categories, too. These are called
phrases categories (for example Noun Phrase). They have the
same properties as lexical categories, namely they should have the
same internal structure, they must have the same distribution –
they will be able to occupy the same positions in sentence
structure and the have the same range of functions.
24
 It is clear that, instead of talking about individual words
and phrases, we need to make more general statements about what
does and what does not constitute a well-formed expression in the
language in terms of the categories involved.
In the rest of the chapter we will present some lexical
categories and give hints on how to identify their members. We
will also discuss the phrases and how this relates to the category
of the words they contain. According to their Heads, there are four
major types of phrases: Noun Phrases, Verbal Phrases, Adjectival
Phrases and Adverbial Phrases. We will also pay attention to
Prepositional Noun Phrases which are in fact Noun Phrases
preceded by preposition.

3.1. The Noun Phrase

As we said before, a Noun Phrase is made up of the Head
(a noun) and various accompanying dependents. The main
functions in which NPs occur are:
- in clause structure:
Subject: John is smart.
Object: They bought a book.
Predicative complement: Mary is his wife.
- in Prepositional Structure:
Complement: They talked to him.

3.1.1. The Structure of the Noun Phrase

3.1.1.1. Types of dependants
Dependents in the structure of the Noun Phrase are of three main
types:
i. determiners, e.g. the news, no reason, two films;
ii. complements, e.g. the loss of blood, the fact she is nice
25
 iii. modifiers, e.g. a young man, a friend from childhood

i. the determiner is a kind of dependent found only in NP structure.

It is normally an obligatory element in NPs with certain types of
singular nouns as Head.
e.g. The door is open and *Door is open.
I bought a book and *I bought book.
ii. the complements have to be licensed by the head noun in the
same way complements are licensed by head verb.
e.g. His loss of blood can be rephrased as He was losing blood.
iii. the modifiers are the default type of dependent, lacking the
above special features; there is no limit to the number of modifiers
that can occur in a NP: an old friend from school who died.

Internal and external dependents

Dependents in the structure of the Noun Phrase can be
distinguished as internal and external according as they fall inside
or outside the Head. Complements are always internal, and
determiners are always external. All the modifiers can be both
internal and external. Compare the following examples where
underlining marks the dependent:
i. complement: internal: the idea that he liked
ii. determiner: external: some old friends
iii. modifier: internal: a big dog
external: even an old man

Types of determiners and determinatives

The determiner position in NP is usually filled by one of
two kinds of expression:

26
 A. definite and indefinite articles, pronouns, quantity
expressions, numerals and so on;
B. determiners may have the form of a genitive NP

A. definite and indefinite articles, pronouns, quantity

expressions, numerals and so on; some of them can have their
own determiners:
e.g. some few books, almost all participants
In these cases some determines few and almost determines
all. These constructions are called “determinative phrase”,
abbreviated DP.
The determiner is generally an obligatory element with
count singular common nouns, but it is incompatible with
pronouns:
e.g. I am ready, but not *The I am ready.

I. Definiteness
The semantic contribution of the determiner is to mark the
NP as definite or indefinite. The is known as definite article and a
as the indefinite article since these are the most basic and
elementary markers of definite and indefinite NPs, but all NPs can
be classified as definite and indefinite.

Definite article
What is meant by definite article here can be understood by
analyzing the following examples.
e.g. [The President of France] has appointed a new prime
minister.
Where did you buy [the book] from?

27
The definite NP is in square brackets, the part following the is the
Head. The indicates that the Head of the NP is considered
sufficient for identifying the referent. In the first example, only
one person can be the president of France (unique reference),
while in the second sentence, although there are many books, the
use of the makes clear which one I’m talking about (the book on
English syntax).

Indefinite article
The indefinite article does not indicate that the description in the
Head is defining. The description is not present as unique in the
context.
e.g. [A young thief] has been arrested.
I’ll give you [a book].

In the first example, there were several thieves and we

don’t know exactly which thief has been arrested. The context for
the second example is likely to be one where it is clear that you
expect me to give you a book, but I haven’t decided which book
I’ll give you; this is why we use the indefinite article.

Articles with plural NPs

Articles use has been illustrated so far with singular NPs,
but, of course, the occurs in plurals:
e.g. [The president of France and Italy] are meeting tomorrow.
Where did you put [the books]?

These sentences are very similar in singular. A which

question would be inappropriate.

28
 In the first example the Head uniquely defines a set of two
people, so the referent is clearly identifiable. In the second
example we are talking about a set of books, and the context is
supposed to make clear which set is about.

Definite and indefinite determiners

The words that mark the NP as definite or as indefinite
when they serve as determiners are given in the following
examples:
e.g. Definite: the, this, that, all, both
relative: which, whichever, what, whatever
Indefinite: a, each, every, some, any, either, no,
another, a few, a little, several, much, many,
more, most, few, fewer, little, less, enough,
sufficient;
Interrogative: which, whichever, whatever, one, two

Among from the interrogatives, all the indefinite markers

have to do with quantification. Among the definite markers, all
and both also quantificational, but illustrate the special case of
quantification that involves totality.
This and that are unique among the determinatives in that
they inflect for number, in agreement with the Head Noun:
e.g. this house – these houses
that house – those houses

II. Determiners as modifiers

Although determinatives are a class of words that most
commonly function as determiners, many can also be found in
other function, particularly modifier.
29
e.g. Determiner Modifier
[The young man] died. I feel [all the better] today.
Who is [that man]? Don’t drive [that fast]!

While the italicized determinative is determiner in NP structure in

the examples in the left, it is modifier in the right examples: a
modifier in an AdjP and in a NP.

III. Determinative Phrases

A number of the quantificational determinatives accept
dependents of their own. A determinative with dependents
functions as the Head of a phrase which we call a determinative
phrase (DP). In most cases the dependents are modifiers
preceding the Head of the DP. In the following examples, NP are
between square brackets with DP in italics:
e.g. [Not many people] came.
[Almost every house] was damaged.
[Some seven man] were killed in the storm.

B. Genitive NP as determiners
e.g. her income
the senator’s son

(i). Genitive NPs as Subject-determiner

The most frequent use of genitive case is to mark a
dependent in the structure of a NP:
e.g. 1. a. [The teacher’s car] was stolen.
b. I phoned [my mother].
2. a. [These people’s destiny] was tragic.
b. I met [the Secretary of State’s wife].
30
The italicized words mark the genitive dependent, while brackets
enclose the NP in which it functions. The genitive dependent is an
NP: we have one NP functioning in the structure of another. We
can divide the NP in the following way:
the teacher’s + car, not the + teacher’s car
The ‘s suffix occurs at the end of the genitive NP; the
latter usually has the Head in the final position, as in ‘a’ examples,
but it can contain a relatively short post-head dependents, like in
of State.

(ii). Dual Function of the Genitive NP

The genitive NP in the above examples combines the
functions of determiner and complement. The construction is
semantically equivalent to one where the two functions are
realized separately, by a definite determiner and a post-head of
phrase complement. Compare:
e.g. the patient’s condition
the condition of the patient
The single dependent in the first example does the work of the
two dependants of the second example.
 As a determiner the genitive is always definite.
 As a complement, the genitive is comparable to the
Subject of a clause. It occurs before the Head nominal as a clause
subject occurs before the Head VP. And where the noun is
morphologically related to a verb the Genitive has the same role
as a clause Subject.
e.g. John’s criticism of the report can be rephrased as
John criticizes the report.

31
 (iii). ‘Genitive’ versus ‘Possessive’
The term ‘possessive’ is often used instead of ‘genitive’,
especially for pronouns, but it is important to see that the semantic
relation between the genitive NP and the following head by no
means limited to that of possession. Let’s analyse the following
cases and say if they have something to do with possession:
e.g. her father, their car, her lack of time, his refusal to go, his
rapid action, her acceptance of your offer
They permit a paraphrase with the verb possess. For
example, her car can be rephrased such as: The car she possesses.
In other cases there are possibilities. For example, her
offer might be the letter that was written or sent, etc.

(iv). Other uses of the Genitive

Genitive cases is also used in the following constructions:
e.g. a. Subject: She didn’t approve of [his leaving].
b. Fused-Head: I liked Mary’s dress, but not Helen’s.
c. Oblique: This situation is due to a remark of Kim’s.
d. Predicative: All the books are Mary’s.
e. Attributive: They’ve just moved to an old people’s
house.
a. In formal style the Subject of a non-finite clause
functioning as complement (of a verb or preposition) appears in
genitive case.
b. like most other determiners, a genitive can fuse with the
Head.
c. the oblique genitive occurs as complements to of in a
post-head dependent. Note the contrast between a remark of
Kim’s, which is marked as indefinite by the article a, and Kim’s
remark which is marked as definite by the genitive.
32
 d. the predicative genitive functions as complement of be,
become, etc, and here it indicates possession.
e. the attribute genitive functions as internal modifier in
NP structure. We have to note that an is determiner to a larger
nominal (an old people’s house)

3.1.1.2. Complements
One strong difference between nouns and verbs is that
nouns do not take objects. With nouns that are morphologically
related to transitive verbs, as criticism is related to criticize, the
complement of the noun that corresponds to the object of the verb
has formed a prepositional phrase.
e.g. Verb + Object: I criticized her decision.
She married John.
Noun + PP Complement: my criticism of her decision
Her marriage to John
The preposition that is mostly used is of, but there are
some prepositions that can be used, as in the latter example.
Complements in NP structure are therefore restricted to
PPs and subordinate clauses.

Types of Complements
I. PP Complements
Dependents with the form of PPs qualify as complements
when they depend especially on the Head noun. The clearest cases
have one or more of the following properties.
(a) They correspond to object or Subject NPs in clause
structure. They object case has been illustrated in the examples
above, while the correspondence with a Subject is seen in the
examples below:
33
e.g. Subject + Verb: The team returned
The president attacked
Noun + PP Complement: the return of the team
An attack by the president

This type of PP complement can combine with one

corresponding to the object in a clause, as in:
e.g. The removal of the wheel by the mechanic, meaning The
mechanic removed the wheel
(b) The choice of preposition is specified by the Head
noun. Many nouns take complements headed by a particular
preposition:
e.g. their belief in God, the introduction to the book, familiarity
with the place
(c) the PP is obligatory because the noun does not make
sense without it.
e.g. the abandonment of budgetary policies, the fesability of
the project
The Nouns almost occur with a PP headed by of, and if someone
did say something like What is the fesability?, we have to
understand them as having asked about the fesability of some
particular planned action that they had left to be understood from
the context.

II. Subordinate Clause Complements

Subordinate clauses may be finite or non-finite, and both types are
found as complements to nouns:
e.g. Finite: the excuse that he has been late
a suspicion that they took bribe
Non-finite: her ability to fulfill the requirements
34
 his hurry to finish the job

III. Indirect Complements

Consider the following examples, where brackets enclose
the NP and the words in italics represent the complement:
e.g. We had to put up with [a longer speech that we expected]
The teacher gave us [such complicated explanations that
we were completely lost].
It was [a too serious problem for us to ignore].
We call these indirect complements because although they follow
the Head noun it is not the Head noun that licenses them.
In the first example the complement is licensed by the
comparative adjective longer. If we left it out the sentence
becomes ungrammatical:
* a speech that we expected
Similarly, in the second example the complement is licensed by
the such that modifies complicated.
In the third example it is licensed by too. This time we
could drop too serious, and the sentence remains grammatically
correct: It was a problem for us to ignore, but the meaning
changes: we can ignore the problem.

3.1.1.3. Types of Modifiers

Modifiers can be internal and external:
(i). Internal modifiers
Internal modifiers are the modifiers which are located
inside the nominals. Some precede the head of the NP, while other
follow.
(a) Pre-head Modifiers
e.g. Adj.P. a long dress, this latest news
35
 DP another two girls, the more than thirty man
Nominal a brick wall, a silk dress
VP a sleeping child, a broken glass
The most common type of pre-head modifier is an
adjective, either alone or with its own dependents like in the first
examples.
Determinatives, alone or with dependents, are modifiers
when they follow a determiner rather than functioning by
themselves.
The modifiers in the third line are nominals consisting on
noun, either alone or with their own internal dependents.
VP modifiers have either a gerund or participle or a past
participle form of the verb as head.

(b) Post-head modifiers

e.g. PP food for the baby, the car next to the house
AdjP people fond of animals, the ones most likely
to succeed
Appositive NP: my friend Mary, the president Bush
Non-appositive NP: a woman my age, a car this colour
Finite clause: the guy who spoke first, the man I met
Non-finite clause: a letter written by me, students living here

The PP are not syntactically licensed by the head.

AdjP in post-head position usually contain their own dependents,
especially post-head ones; the AdjP from the examples above can
not be placed in pre-head position.
Appositive NP modifiers are distinguished from the non-
appositive ones by their ability to stand one in place of the whole

36
NP. Instead of They invited my friend Mary can be rephrased as
They invited my friend.
Finite clauses modifiers are all relative clauses.
Non-finite clauses may be infinitival, gerundial, participial or
past-participial.
(c) Combinations of modifiers
There is no grammatical limit to the number of modifiers
that can occur within a single NP. The following examples contain
two, three, four and five modifiers:
e.g. a big black dog
the two books we had to study
an old Italian painter of 16th century who impressed
everybody
that nice old man at the library with the umbrella
The modifiers can have different orders, especially the pre-head
modifiers. For example, a big black dog can also be said a black
big dog. Numeral modifiers usually precedes adjectives, as in
three young men, but under certain conditions, the order can be
reversed: enjoyable three hours.

(ii) External modifiers

External modifiers in an NP are located within the NP, but outside
the Head nominal. There are various subtypes, all highly restricted
with respect to the range of expressions admitted. Let’s illustrate
these three subtypes:
e.g. a. all the children, both her sons, half a day
b. such a disaster, so difficult a matter, too long a journey
c. even the children, only the men, the princess herself

37
a. These modifiers are quantificational expressions that occur
before various determiners
b. These modifiers are adjectives or adjectival phrases which
occur as external modifier only before the indefinite article
c. These modifiers do not require the presence of a determiner;
they occur with proper nouns, as in even John, Melissa herself

3.1.2. The Functions of the Noun Phrase

The functions of the Noun Phases are: Subject, Object, predicative
and apposition.

3.1.2.1. The Subject

We mentioned in the previous chapters that the Subject
and the Predicate are the main syntactic parts of a sentence. In this
chapter we are going to discuss the classification of Subject from
a semantic point of view.
The Subject plays a number of different semantic roles,
and we identified some of the most common:
(i). Agent Subjects
The agent Subject is the classic doer of the action. An
agent subject is an animate being that acts with intention. The
agent Subject is considered the most typical Subject:
e.g. The girl crossed the street.
Fred washed the car.
The baby was crying.
The teacher stood up.

We have to notice the difference between the first two

examples and the last two ones. In the first examples the agents

38
acts on somebody (the D.O.), and in the last two examples the
agents act on themselves.
(ii). Causer Subjects
A causer is either an animate being who acts without
volition or an inanimate entity. Causers are quite different from
agents because the semantics of the two roles are quite different.
A sentence like Rob tripped John is ambiguous; if Rob tripped
John means only to see Roy fall, Rob is an agent, but if Rob
tripped John accidentally, then Rob is a causer.
All the examples below contain animate causer subjects.
e.g. He cut his finger by accident.
The child bumped his head.

Sometimes animate causers affect the psychological state

of other persons.
e.g. The mad man frightened my little daughter.
The Olympic champion amazed me.

It is not always easy to tell whether an animate subject is

an agent or a causer. Out of context, we do not know whether the
following subjects are acting deliberately or not.
e.g. The child amused the adults.
The professor intimidates her students.

Inanimate entities lack volition or intention due to their

nature. Causers can be expressed by any things such as oil, rock or
can be abstract qualities.
e.g. Oil stained the carpet.
The wind broke the window.
The revolution took the king by surprise.
39
 Hate destroyed her.

Unlike agents, causers always act on something or

somebody else. In other words, they are always followed by a
direct object.
(iii). Instrument Subjects
An instrument subject is an inanimate entity which acts on
someone or something else because it is being used as an
instrument.
e.g. The key opened the door.
Sometimes an instrument subject allows the speaker to
avoid taking responsibility. A child may say “The ball broke the
window” instead of “I broke the window with the ball”. Here the
ball is the instrument used by the child in the breaking of the
window. On the other hand, in “The stick blocked the window”,
the stick is a causer, not an instrument.
Instrument Subjects are not very common in English.
Instruments are often found in prepositional phrases.
e.g. The girl opened the door with a key.
The boy broke the window with his ball.

(iv). Experiencer Subjects

Experiencer Subjects are always animate, usually human.
This type of Subject experiences a sensory perception or a
psychological state. In other words, this Subject does not do
anything, but it experiences something through the senses or the
mental capabilities.
e.g. Jane saw some blood. (She didn’t want to see it)
Tony could taste salt in the soup. (it was too much salt in it)

40
 Mental state verbs, most often called psych-verbs, also
take experiencer Subjects. These Subjects do not really engage in
action. Normally, when an agent acts, the direct object is directly
affected by the action. But none of the experiencer Subjects has a
direct effect upon the direct object.
e.g. I believe them.
She admires her mother.
The baby is dreaming.
(v). Patient Subjects
In sentences such as:
e.g. The book lay on the table.
The vase broke.
The Subject is affected by the action expressed by the verb.
The traditional label for affected Subjects is patient. A patient is
never volitional, it never exercises control. Most patient Subjects
occur with verbs that denote a change of state:
e.g. The mirror shattered.
The water boiled.

There are sentences that can be considered ambiguous. A

sentence like The child fell off the ladder can be interpreted in two
ways: the child is an agent subject if he fell off on purpose or a
patient subject if he fell off because somebody pushed him.
Usually, when a sentence contains an animate subject which acts
involuntarily, the agent/ instrument can be found elsewhere in the
discourse.
(vi). Described and located Subjects
Some Subjects are simply being characterized r described
by the information in the Predicate. These Subjects always co-

41
occur with copulas, verbs that have little independent meaning but
relate the information in the predicate back to the Subject.
e.g. The man is fat.
The water is warm.

Other Subjects are simply located in space. In the

following sentences the location is in italics.
e.g. Mary is in the house.
The children are on the playground.
(vii). Empty IT
The normal function of the pronoun it is to refer to
something that has already been mentioned in the discourse
(anaphoric reference).
e.g. My neighbor bought a new car. It is expensive.

Many languages have special ways of expressing the

weather. In sentences like It is raining or It is sunny today the
Subject it does not refer to any previously introduced noun. It is
Subject in those cases where there is not a semantically
meaningful Subject.
e.g. It is hot.
It was smoky in that room.
Empty it is sometimes called expletive it in traditional grammars.
(viii). Cataphoric it
When a complex clause functions as the semantic Subject
of a sentence, a speaker will put the clause at the end and replace
it with it.
e.g. That my friend lied to me was surprising.
It was surprising that my friend lied to me.

42
This is called cataphoric use because it refers to something that
comes after.

3.1.2.2. The Object

There are three types of objects: the Direct Object, the
Indirect Object and the Prepositional Object. Now we are
concerned with the semantic roles of the Direct Object which are
less varied than those of Subjects and lines between semantic
types are less clear.
(i). Patient Direct Objects
Patient Direct Objects are always affected by the action of
the verb (to a greater or lesser degree). In fact, direct objects are
so named because they are in a sense the direct target or object of
the verb’s action.
e.g. Helen ironed her clothes.
The man lifted the heavy box.
As we said, the Subject can also have the semantic role of patient.
If a sentence contain a direct object, it will be the patient, not the
subject.
(ii). Experiencer Direct Object
Direct Objects can be experiencers as well if the verb
causes the direct object to achieve a new psychological state. It
does not matter whether the Subject is an agent (volitionl and
animate) or a causer (nonvolitional and animate or inanimate). In
a sense experiencer is a subcategory of patient in that the direct
object is affected by the action of the verb in a very particular way.
e.g. Mother calmed the baby.
The lesson bored the students.

43
 A Direct Object can be an experiencer only when the
Subject is not. There can be only one experiencer in a simple
sentence. When the Subject of a verb is an experiencer, the Direct
Object is relatively unaffected by the action of the verb.
e.g. I like American movies.
I smell smoke.

(iii). Created Direct Object

Sometimes a transitive verb actually creates a direct object,
rather than affecting an already existing entity. Such direct objects
are created direct objects. The difference between a patient direct
object and a created one explains the ambiguity of some sentences:
e.g. The man painted the walls of the room.

Walls of the room is a patient D.O. if the man paints

pictures on the wall, and a created D.O. if the man put a different
colour on the wall.
Other examples:
e.g. Lynn is painting the ceiling. Patient D.O.
Lynn is painting a landscape. Created D.O.

(iv). Locative Direct Objects

Sometimes noun phrases expressing location are used as
direct objects.
e.g. My cousin swam the English Channel.
I have climbed Mr. Everest.

(vi). Empty IT Direct Object

In some highly idiomatic expressions, empty it occurs as a
direct object. In utterances like Let’s call it a day, They are living
44
it up, it has no reference. Nevertheless, these constructions are not
very often.

Indirect Object
It is expressed by to/for prepositional Phrases.
e.g. I bought a bunch of flowers for my mother.
I gave a book to John.

Most grammarians (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980) consider

that there is no complete synonymy between the constructions
with and without proposition. Indirect Objects can be moved
immediately after the verb only if the Direct Object is expressed
by a Noun Phrase.
e.g. I bought my mother a bunch of flowers.
I gave John a book.

With some verbs NP Indirect Objects reflect the

completion of the action while PP Indirect Objects is not clear
about it.
e.g. I taught my students English. (they actually learned it)
I taught English to my students. (it expresses only the
attempt)

The explanation reflects the general tendency in grammar:

the closer an object is to the verb, the more likely is to be affected
by the action of that verb. Thus, when the Indirect Object follows
the Verb directly, the completion of the action is felt stronger than
in the case when the Indirect Object comes later in the sentence.

45
 3.1.2.3. The Predicative
It occurs after link verbs forming with them Nominal
Predicates. It is expressed by means of:
(i). a noun phrase, usually a [-definite] NP,
e.g. He is a teacher.

(ii). a prepositional noun phrase:

- with deletable preposition: a NP indicating attributes connected
with colour, size, age, quality, shape. They may undergo
preposition deletion,
e.g. These shoes are (of) the same size.
Her dress is (of) the same colour as mine.
- with undeletable preposition
e.g. They are of the same opinion.
She is in good health.

(iii). a noun substitute:

- a numeral
e.g. John arrived the second.
- a pronoun (personal, possessive, interrogative, indefinite)
e.g. This car is mine.
- a non –finite verbal form (an infinitival or gerundial phrase),
e.g. His favourite activity is to read.
His hobby is driving.
(iv). a predicative clause
e.g. His problem was that he didn’t have enough time.

46
 3.1.2.4. The Apposition
The apposition is an element which renders the main noun
more precise or definite. The apposition resembles coordination
since two or more units in apposition are constituents of the same
level. For units to be appositives, i.e. in apposition, they must
normally be identical in reference or else, the reference of one
must be included in the reference of the other.
e.g. My English teacher, Mrs. Jones, is at the door.

My English teacher and Mrs. Jones refer to the same

person.
In terms of structure, appositions are subdivided into:
a) the simple (close) apposition is closely connected with the
respective head noun; it determines or defines names of persons,
titles, professions, geographical names.
e.g. I think that Professor Jones should resign.

b) The loose apposition is considered less important than the close

apposition; it is separated by commas even if it does not include
more than one word. The loose apposition follows the head noun
and has the force of a descriptive attribute.
e.g. Mary, John’s cousin, broke her leg.

3.2. The Verb Phrase

As we have already said a sentence is made up of a NP
(functioning as Subject) and a VP (functioning as Predicate) as
immediate constituents. This sub-chapter is concerned with the
general structure of the VP.

47
 3.2.1. The Structure of the Verbal Group
The one constituent that a Verbal Phrase must contain is
the Verbal Group. The Verbal group consists of a lexical verb
which can be optionally preceded by one or more auxiliaries. A
Verbal group consisting only of a Head verb (without auxiliaries)
is called Simple Verbal group. A Verbal group with auxiliary
verbs is called Complex Verbal group.
Lexical verbs can be easily identified by their
morphological possibilities. They are those words that can take
some if not all of the following inflections: -s, -ing, -ed, -en.
e.g. play: plays, playing, played
eat; eats, eating, eaten

3.2.1.1. The Simple Finite Verbal Group

A simple Verbal group contains only a lexical verb:
e.g. He decides to become a doctor..
He decided to become a doctor.

From the examples above we can notice that the Verbal

group can be further analysed. These two sentences differ in tense.
A Verbal group that contains a tensed verb is traditionally called a
Finite group. Every sentence must contain a Finite Verbal group.
A sentence can contain more than one Verbal group, but only one
can be Finite. In the examples above the form of verb is made up
of the stem + present tense inflection (in example 1), and stem +
past tense inflection (in example 2). In sentences which contain
irregular verbs the separation is not so easy to notice. The marker
of the past tense is so bound up to the stem that it is impossible to

48
distinguish them. There are cases in which the marker of the past
tense does not exist.
e.g. I put a book on the shelf. (present)
I put a book on the shelf. (past)

3.2.1.2. The Structure of the Auxiliary

As we know, every Verbal group (excepting the elliptical
ones) contains a lexical verb as its Head. Lexical verbs are those
verbs which belong to the general vocabulary of a language. The
lexical Head always appears last in the Verbal Groups. The lexical
Head Verb may or may not be modified by auxiliary verbs.
There are two types of auxiliaries:
(i). primary auxiliaries, e.g. be, do and have
(ii). modal auxiliaries, e.g. can, may, must, shall, will, and need.
We shall see that, in addition to being auxiliary verbs, the
primary auxiliaries and the modal auxiliary need can all function
as lexical Head verbs as well.
Since some auxiliaries can also function as lexical verbs,
we must mention some of the differences between them. There are
three important differences are:
(i). in questions an auxiliary verb can move in front of the
Subject Noun Phrase. A lexical verb can not.
(ii). the negative particle (not or n’t) can be attached to an
auxiliary verb but never to a lexical verb.
e.g. He can drive./ Can he drive?/ He can not drive.
He spoke./ *Spoke he?/ *He spoke not.

Notice that there are two verbs need, one an auxiliary, the
other lexica, with a subtle difference in meaning.
e.g. He doesn’t need to work. (lexical)
49
 He needn’t work. (auxiliary)
We can notice that only when it functions as lexical verb,
need can be followed by a long infinitive. This leads us to the
third difference:
(iii). When a verb follows a lexical verb, it can be
introduced by the infinite particle to, but not when it follows an
auxiliary verb (within the same Verbal group).

The Structure of the Auxiliary

The auxiliary contains up to four immediate constituents,
each one being represented by its own auxiliary verb: modal,
perfect aspect, progressive aspect and passive voice. It is possible
to combine them in any way, but the order they appear in is very
strict, each of them is optional and can appear only once. We also
have to bear in mind that only the first auxiliary is tensed, and the
form of each auxiliary is determined by the auxiliary before it.

(i). Modal Auxiliaries

They can be represented by any modal verbs. The main
difference between modal auxiliaries and primary auxiliaries and
lexical verbs is that the modal auxiliaries do not have non-finite
forms, namely they are always tensed.
Some modals have both a present and a past tense form:
e.g. can/ could, may/might, will/ would, shall/should
He says he will come. (present)
He said he would come. (past)

Must and need do not have a past form. However, the verb
need has a special situation. Need has a past tense form, needed,

50
but this is used when the verb is a lexical one, not an auxiliary.
Let us analyse the following examples:
e.g. *He needed hurry.
He needed to hurry.
From these examples we can notice that it is only the
lexical verb, not the auxiliary verb that can appear in a past tense
form.
Another characteristic of modal auxiliaries is that they do
not fulfill the Subject – Predicate agreement. They do not change
their form in the third person singular in present tense.
e.g. I can dance.
He can dance.

We mentioned that each constituent of the auxiliary

determines the form of the verb that follows it in the Verbal group.
“The verb following the modal auxiliary in the Verbal group
appears in its basic stem form” (Burton-Roberts, 1998:132). This
rule applies to all following verbs, auxiliary or lexical.
e.g. I can dance. (present modal Verbal group)
I could dance. (past modal Verbal group)

(ii). Perfect Auxiliary

The perfect auxiliary is the verb to have. Let us analyse the
following Verbal groups.
e.g. has gone (present perfect Verbal group)
had gone (past perfect Verbal group)
will have gone (present modal perfect Verbal group)
could have done (past modal perfect Verbal group)

51
 In the first two examples the perfect auxiliary comes in
front of the Verbal group, so it appears in a finite form; in the last
two examples the perfect auxiliary follows the modal verb (in
present and past tense), so it must be in a non-finite form. One
aspect that should be taken into account is that sometimes the
tensed form of a verb is not different from the stem form, e.g. the
simple present tense differs from the stem only when the Subject
is in the third person singular, e.g. They have left the house.
Notice that, although the tense used is the present, the sentence
refers to past tense, showing a lack of correlation between time
and tense.
There are several ways of referring to the past than using a
past tense:
a. the use of the perfect auxiliary have. As our first two
examples how, the perfect auxiliary itself can be used in
both present and past tense.
b. the verb that follows the perfect auxiliary have in the
Verbal group always appears in its non-finite perfect
participle form. This applies whether this following verb is
a lexical verb or another auxiliary.
Note: Have can function both as the perfect auxiliary (modifying
its Head verb) and as the Head verb itself:
e.g. I will have enough time to visit the city. (lexical verb)
I have decided not to go on. (perfect auxiliary)

(iii). Progressive Auxiliary

The progressive auxiliary is the verb to be. Let us analyse
the following Verbal groups:
e.g. was crying (past progressive Verbal group)
is crying (present progressive Verbal group)
52
 would be crying (past modal progressive Verbal
group)
have been crying (present perfect progressive Verbal
group)
All these examples have in common is a form of the
progressive auxiliary be, but they also have in common the -ing
inflection of the lexical verb within the Verbal group. Just as the
perfect auxiliary have determines the form of the following verb,
requiring a perfect participle form, the progressive auxiliary
requires a progressive participle.

Note: Like the verb to have, to be can function both as progressive

auxiliary, but also as a lexical verb (Head Verb).
e.g. He is smart.
You are being rude.
In the second example, is is the present tense form of the
progressive auxiliary be, and being is the progressive participle of
the copula.
Before analyzing the passive auxiliary, it would be useful
to review all the possible structures of a Verbal group which
contain modal, perfect and progressive auxiliaries.
Present/ past Verbal group (general structure)
present/ past modal Verbal group
present/ past perfect Verbal group
present/ past progressive Verbal group
present/ past modal perfect Verbal group
present/ past modal progressive Verbal group
present/ past perfect progressive Verbal group
present/ past modal perfect progressive Verbal group

53
 (iv). Passive Auxiliary
All the Verbal groups we have examined so far are in
Active Voice. Verbal groups which are in Passive Voice must
contain the passive auxiliary to be.
e.g. stole/ was stolen (simple Active/ Passive)
is stealing/ is being stolen (present progressive Active/
Passive)
has stolen/ has been stolen (present perfect Active/
Passive)
must steal/ must be stolen (present modal Active/
Passive)

The verb to be can function both as progressive auxiliary

and as passive auxiliary. However, it is easy to distinguish them:
the difference lies in the form of the following verb. After the
progressive auxiliary, the verb is in progressive participle, while
after the passive auxiliary, the verb is in perfect (passive)
participle. Notice that the passive participle and the perfect
participle have the same form. In traditional grammars this
participle is called past participle. The Verbal phrases which
contain a passive participle are similar to the ones mentioned
above:
e.g. Present/ past passive Verbal group (general structure)
present/ past modal passive Verbal group
present/ past perfect passive Verbal group
present/ past progressive passive Verbal group
present/ past modal perfect passive Verbal group
present/ past modal progressive passive Verbal group
present/ past perfect progressive passive Verbal group

54
 present/ past modal perfect progressive passive Verbal
group

Note: Passivization is the only grammatical transformation that

influences the structure of the whole sentence, not only the Verbal
group. The Direct or Indirect Object becomes the Subject and the
Subject becomes a Prepositional phrase introduced with by
functioning as an Adverbial. As a result, the Direct Object
position with a monotransitive Verbal Group will not be filled
when the Verbal group is passive.
e.g. The thieves are being taken to prison by the officers in
charge.

A more complex passive Verbal group is the one which

contain a Direct object and a Predicative that characterizes the
Direct Object.
e.g. He hammered the metal flat.
The metal was hammered flat.
After passivization the Predicative does not describe the Object,
but the Subject.

Have and be
In this paper we mentioned that have and be can function
both as auxiliary verbs and as Head verbs. When they function as
auxiliaries, they must behave like auxiliaries, moving in front of
the Subject in questions and accepting the negative particles. Do
which is required in the absence of the auxiliary is ungrammatical
when the verbs have and be are used as auxiliaries.
e.g. *Do they be going?
*Do they have gone?
55
Note: Have can behave like an auxiliary even when it is
functioning as Head verb.
e.g. - functioning as Head Verb, behaving like a Head Verb
Do you have enough money?
I do not have enough money.
- functioning as a Head verb, behaving like an auxiliary
Have we money?
We haven’t money.
This is not possible in the case of be which can not
function as a Head verb and behave as an auxiliary.
e.g. *Does he be skillful?
* He doesn’t be skillful.

Negative particle and auxiliary do

The auxiliary do is obligatory in certain questions and in
negative sentences with not. The negative particle not is placed
immediately after the auxiliary that carries the tense (the first auxiliary).
e.g. He may not come.
We haven’t been studying.
The above rule refers to the first auxiliary in the Verbal Group.
The problem appears when the Verbal group in simple.
e.g. John left.
In this example the tense is expressed by the lexical verb.
In contrast to auxiliary verbs, lexical verbs do not accept the
negative particle.
e.g. John left not.
In such cases, an auxiliary verb is necessary for carrying
the tense. In order to achieve that the auxiliary verb do is inserted
in the sentence.
56
e.g. John did not leave.
Since the auxiliar do carries the tense, the lexical verb is
used in its stem form.
The auxiliary do has no meaning. Its only function is to
carry the tense instead of a lexical Head verb when required.
Like the auxiliaries have and be, do can function as an auxiliary
verb and as a lexical verb.

Moving the auxiliary in front in questions

Let us analyse the following examples:
e.g. They have been reading.
Has they been reading?
He left.
Did he leave?

As we can notice, the auxiliary verb that carries the tense

moves in front of the Subject. If there is no auxiliary we have to
use the auxiliary do to carry the tense. The auxiliary do moves in
front of the Subject. This movement is called ‘Subject-Auxiliary’
inversion. The Subject remains in its position, only the auxiliary
moves in front of the sentence.

3.2.2. The Complements of the Verbal Phrase

This part is concerned with the functional relations
between the Verbal Group and other constituents that appear in
the basic Verb Phrase. In a sentence like John put the book down.
The Verb Phrase is put the book down, and put is the verb. We can
say that the relation between the VP (as head) and the NP (as
complement). The use of the verb put with a NP is ungrammatical:
e.g. *He put down.
57
 Not all VP require a following NP. In fact, if we replace
the verb we can get an ungrammatical construction with NP and a
correct one without NP:
e.g. *He sleeps the book.
He sleeps.
We can conclude that the NP depends not just on there
being Verbal Group present, but also on what kind of verb is the
Head of the Verbal Group. Verbs are sub-categorized according
to what other elements must appear with them in the VP. In
other words, they are sub-categorized in terms of their
complementation types (in terms of what complements they
must take).
There are six sub-categories of Verbal Groups:
(1) Transitive (sometimes called monotransitive)
(2) Intransitive
(3) Ditransitive
(4) Intensive
(5) Complex Transitive
(6) Prepositional

(1) Monotransitive Verbal Groups

A monotransitive Verbal Group is one which requires a single
Noun Phrase to complement it. The Noun Phrase that
complements a transitive verb is said to function as its Direct
Object. We have to notice that the pronoun functioning as a Direct
Object is in objective (accusative) case.
When the form of an NP is determined by its complement
relation with another constituent, it is said to be governed by that
other constituent (in this case the verb).

58
 (2) Intransitive Verbal Groups
An intransitive Verbal Group is one that does not require any
further constituent. For example, to die, to disappear, etc.
Since an intransitive Verbal Group does not require any
further element to form a complete predicate, a single-word verb
can count not only as a complete Verbal Group, but also as a
complete VP.

(3) Ditransitive Verbal Groups

A ditransitive Verbal Groups is one which requires TWO NPs as
its complementation, one functioning as Direct Object and the
other as Indirect Object.
e.g. John sent his mother a letter.
The students bought their teacher a bunch of flowers.

The complements in italics are the Indirect Objects of the

ditransitive verbs. The second complements NP (underlined)
function as Direct Objects. Both NPs are in objective case.
An important characteristic of VPs consisting of a
ditransitive verb complemented by two NPs that they are
systematically related to VPs in which the Indirect Object NP
corresponds to a Prepositional Phrase (PP) in a position following
the Direct Object.
e.g. John sent a letter to his mother.
The students bought a bunch of flowers to their teacher.

The only two prepositions that can precede an Indirect

Object are TO and FOR.
The PP corresponding to an Indirect object NP has a rather
special status. With monotransitives, when a PP follows the Direct
59
Object NP, it is not part of the complementation of the verb, but is
an optional modifier. However, in using a ditranstive verb such as
send, we need to specify not only:
- a sender (usually the Subject)
- what is sent (usually the Direct Object)
- to whom it is sent (usually the Indirect Object). The Indirect
Object can be specified either by an NP or by a PP containing
TO or FOR. So PPs that correspond to Indirect Objects are part
of the complementation of ditransitive verbs.

(4) Intensive verbal Groups

Intensive Verbal Groups require a single complement,
which can take the form of an Adjective Phrase, or a Noun Phrase,
or a Prepositional Phrase. The most obvious intensive verb is to be.
As the most central of the intensive sub-category of verb, be is
called ‘the copula’.
e.g. Michael is rather strange. (AdjP)
His mother is a teacher. (NP)
The boss is in the conference room. (PP)

The complement of an intensive verbal Group functions

(more specifically) as a Predicative. Other intensive verbs (other
verbs taking a predicative as complement) are: become, seem,
appear, turn, remain, look, taste, feel, smell, sound.
e.g. The leaves are turning yellow.
They remained silent.

When a verb is complemented just by an AdjP (VGroup +

AdjP) you have to be sure that you are dealing with an intensive
Verbal Group + Predicative because [intensive] is the only sub-
60
category of verb that can take just as AdjP complement. This
point is worth mentioning because intensives can also be
complemented by a PN or a PP. When a verb is complemented by
a NP we have to decide whether VGroup + NP is monotransitive
+ DO or intensive VGroup + Predicative. Understanding the
concept of ‘predicative’ involves understanding the difference
between predicative and Direct Object.
e.g. Her mother is a teacher. (predicative)
Her mother saw a teacher. (Vt + DO)

Predicatives are used to attribute properties to the things

picked out (or referred to) other expressions. Predicatives (unlike
Direct and Indirect Objects) do not refer to the things in the world.
It is because intensive verbs only take predicatives that can be
complemented by Adjective Phrases because these can identify
properties.
Prepositional Phrases can also function as Predicatives.
We have already mentioned that all Verbal Phrases can include
optional modifiers by PPs. PPs should be treated as part of the
necessary complementation of an intensive verb (i.e. as Subject-
predicative) if they can not be omitted. So, in our example above
The boss is in the conference room, is a predicative since the
sentence is not complete without the PP:
e.g. *The boss is.

(5) Complex Transitive Verbal Phrases

Complex Transitive Verbal Groups take two complements: a
direct object (NP) and an objective- predicative. Again, the
predicative can be expressed by an AdjP, NP or PP.
e.g. Michael found his own jokes funny. (AdjP)
61
 The prime minister made her his spokesperson. (NP)
She put the books on the shelf. (PP)

We have to notice that there is a big difference between

the predicatives discussed in the previous section and these
predicatives. The difference in a complex transitive VP
characterizes the Direct Object, not the Subject, hence the name
‘object-predicative’. The semantic relation between Direct Object
and object-predicative in a complex transitive Verbal Group is
similar to the one between Subject and subject-predicative in an
intensive sentence.

(6) Prepositional Verbal Groups

Prepositional Verbal Groups are the Verbal Groups followed by a
compulsory preposition:
e.g. *He looked.
*He looked the girl.
He looked at the girl.

These constructions need to be distinguished from

intransitive verbs with optional modification by PP (e.g. Sam was
sleeping near the river).
The PP that complements a (prepositional) Verbal Group
is called a prepositional complement. In sub-categorization
offered in this chapter such Verbal Groups also need to be
distinguished from intensive Verbal Groups when they are
complemented by a Prepositional Phrase, as in Michael is in the
classroom. This Verbal Group has been sub-categorized as
intensive rather than prepositional because it can alternatively be
complemented by an Adjectival Phrase or Noun Phrase
62
functioning as Subject-Predicative. Prepositional Verbs can be
complemented only by PPs.
As mentioned, other elements may optionally appear.
These are not part of the necessary complementation of the verb,
but are modifiers. The next chapter is concerned with these and
with some of the factors that need to be taken into account in
distinguishing between complements and modifiers in the Verbal
Phrase.
The sub-categorisation can be summarized as follows:
1. monotransitives: Subject – Verbal Group – DO
2. intransitives: Subject – Verbal Group
3. ditransitives: Subject – Verbal Group – IO – DO
or Subject – Verbal Group – DO – to/for IO
4. intensive: Subject –Verbal Group –subject-predicative
5. complex transitive: Subject – Verbal Group –DO – object-
predicative
6. prepositional: Subject – Verbal Group – prepositional
complement

3.2.3. Passive Voice

Voice is a very different phenomenon from aspect and
tense which work together in order to place an event or a state in a
time frame. Unlike them, voice provides a strategy for focusing on
different participants in an event.
The English language has two voices: active and passive.
The active voice is unmarked, i.e. if a sentence is not specifically
marked passive, it is technically active.
Like the perfect and the progressive, passive sentences
have a distinctive structure. Most passive sentences contain the

63
verb to be followed by a past participle. In some cases the passive
constructions contain the verb to get.
Some passives verbs may be followed by a prepositional
phrase formed with the preposition by, but it is not compulsory.
The prepositional phrase indicates who performs the action and it
is used only when the agent is known. Otherwise, it is left out.
The transformation from active voice to passive
counterparts does not imply any major difficulties.
e.g. My mother cleaned the room.
The room was cleaned by my mother.

In the above examples the Direct Object of the active

sentence becomes the Subject of the passive one, while the old
Subject is sometimes moved at the end of the sentence, and it has
the form of a by - prepositional phrase.
In most cases, the verb that can turn into passive is
transitive, but this is not always the case. On the other hand, not
all transitive verbs participate in passive constructions. We can
say that some passive verbs are “more passive” than the others.
This depends partly on the relative agentiveness of the
Subject and partly on the degree to which the Direct Objects is
affected by the action of the verb. The ability of a sentence to
passivize is affected by the degree of transitivity of a sentence.
The most important type of transitive verbs that can
passivize are those with agent and causer Subjects because they
affect the Direct Objects.
e.g. The mother was feeding the baby.
The baby was being fed by its mother.
Earthquakes scare everybody.
Everybody is scared by earthquakes.
64
 Sensory verbs with experiencer Subjects can passivize, but
the passive counterparts sound sometimes awkward.
e.g. The passers-by saw the accident.
?The accident was seen by the passers-by.

Psychological verbs do not passivize because the Subjects

are experiencer:
e.g. Mike wants a new car.
*A new car is wanted by Mike.
I enjoy swimming.
*Swimming is enjoyed by me.

Some grammarians (Berk, 1999), noticed that the category

of sensory and phychological verbs are somehow more acceptable
in the passive counterparts if the by prepositional phrase is
indefinite:
e.g. Everybody likes my sister.
My sister is liked by everybody.

Nevertheless, we have to mention that sentences with

experiencer Subjects do not make good passive constructions.
This is mostly because their Direct Objects are slightly affected by
the action of the verb.
One special category of verbs is represented by reciprocal
verbs. What is special about this category is that the Subject and
the Direct Object have the same status, having the same
relationship to one another.
e.g. The car collided with the bus.
The bus collided with the car.
65
 Mike resembles James.
James resembles Mike.

Neither of the above examples contains an agent nor an

affected patient. As a result it is normal that these constructions do
not have passive counterparts:
e.g. *The car is collided by the bus.
*Mike is resembled by James.

On interesting example is represented by the verb marry. It

can be used as both reciprocal verb and non-reciprocal verb:
e.g. The priest married Mike and Sarah. (non-reciprocal)
Mike married Sarah. (reciprocal)

In the first case the verb can passivise: Mike and Sarah
were married by the priest. In the second case passivization can
not be applied: *Mike is married by Sarah.

The “Get” Passive

There are the passive constructions that use the verb to get
as an auxiliary. The “get” passive is used especially in colloquial
speech, being mostly used when the Subject of the active is
affected by the action of the verb.
e.g. I had my car repaired yesterday.
My father got fired.
I had my hair cut.

In very few cases get is preferable to be. For example, it is

preferable to say Mike got married last week instead of Mike was
married last week.
66
 Ditransitives and Passive Voice
Ditransitive verbs are the verbs followed by a Direct
Object and an Indirect Object. Unlike the Romanian language,
both the Direct Object and the Indirect Object can become
Subjects.
e.g. The teacher gave his students high marks.
His students were given high marks by their teacher.
High marks were given to the students by the teacher.

Note that the Indirect Object is expressed by a

prepositional phrase. Indirect Objects that can be paraphrased as
prepositional phrases preceded by for can not become Subjects.
e.g. Father made a house for the whole family.
* The whole family was made a house by father.

Passives without Agents

While agents are usually Subjects, they can appear in
Prepositional noun phrases as well. If a passive construction
contains an agent, cause or instrument, this role will be expressed
in a by phrase:
e.g. The food was cooked by my mother.

Most passive constructions do not have a by phrase. These

constructions are called agentless passives because the agent,
causer or instrument is unspecified:
e.g. My house was broken into.

The agent can be omitted in several situations:

- if it is unknown:
67
e.g. My grandfather was killed in the World War II.
- if it is irrelevant to the speaker, indefinite or obvious from the
rest of the discourse.
e.g. Tango can be learnt with difficulty.
The law was adopted with a large majority.
- if the speaker wants to avoid responsibility of the agent
e.g. The report was full of wrong figures.

Note: The agentless passive is very much used in scientific

writing due to the fact that the agent or the causer in a passive
construction is new information.

Constructions active in form and passive in meaning

This type of constructions has patients as Subjects, not
agents or causers.
e.g. These shirts iron easily.

This type of sentences shares some characteristics with

passive constructions:
(i) they can be turned into passive constructions by
retaining the Subject in the same position:
e.g. These shirts can be ironed easily.
(ii) these Subjects are affected by the action of the verb.
These constructions are called pseudo-passives.

3.3. Adjectival Phrases

3.3.1. The Structure of Adjectival Phrase
An Adj.P consists of an adjective as Head, alone or
accompanied by one or more dependants. The dependents may be

68
complements, licensed by the Head, or modifiers, less restricted in
their occurrence.
(a) Complements
The complements are almost always PPs or subordinate clauses:
e.g. afraid of the dark, good at chess
busy making lunch, difficult for us to see

The choice of the preposition depends on the Head

adjective. With some Adjectives the PP is obligatory.
The kind of subordinate clauses likewise depends on the adjective:
we couldn’t say *busy to make lunch, for example.

(b) Modifiers
The most common type of modifier is an adverb (or AdvP), but
other categories are: determinatives, PPs or NPs.
e.g. AdvP: extremely difficult, very useful
determinatives: that man, old enough
PP: dangerous in the extreme
NPs: five years old, two hours long

Adjectives restricted to attributive or predicative function

Although most adjectives can be used both attributively
and predicatively, there are nevertheless many that are restricted
to one or other of these two uses:
Attributive use: a big house
Predicative use: The house is big.
Attributive use: proper statement
Predicative use: *The statement is proper.
Attributive use: *the asleep child
Predicative use: The child was asleep.
69
 We can notice that big can be used both attributively and
predicatively, proper can be used only attributively, and asleep
can be used only predicatively.

Structural restrictions on attributive adjectives

Attributive Adjectival Phrases mostly can not contain
dependents that follow the Head. The typical case is as in the
following examples where the underlined adjective licenses a
post-head dependent (in italics), and the Adjective Phrase is
allowed only predicatively as in the (a) cases, not attributively as
in the (b) cases:
Predicative: i.a. She was devoted to her children.
ii.a. She was cautious not to fall.
Attributive: i.b. *a devoted to her children mother
ii.b. *a cautious not to fall girl

There are a few post-head dependents that can occur with

attributive adjectives:
Predicative: i.a. The house was big enough.
ii.a. The result was better than expected.
Attributive: i.b. a big enough house
ii.b. a better than expected result

Enough is allowed quite generally after gradable adjectives.

Than expected is a short comparative complement that is allowed
within an attributive Adjectival Phrase.

70
 3.3.2. The Functions of the Adjectival Phrase
I. Predicative complements and predicative Adjuncts
In their predicative use, adjectives generally function as
complement in clause structure. As we saw, predicative
complements appear in intransitives and complex transitives.
e.g. intransitive: The suggestion is ridiculous.
complex transitives: I consider the suggestion ridiculous.

The adjective is related to the Subject in the first example,

and to the DO in the second example.
In addition to being complements, licensed by the head,
AdjP can also function as adjuncts. Compare:
e.g. Max was unwilling to accept these terms. (Pred.compl.)
Unwilling to accept these terms, Max resigned.
(Predicative Adjunct)

In the first example AdjP is a complement licensed by the

verb (to be), but in the second example it is an Adjunct, detached
by punctuation from the rest of the clause, being still predicative.

II. Other functions of Adjective Phrases

Besides the two major functions discussed above, there are
two relatively minor functions in which adjectives and Adjectival
Phrases are found:

(a) Post-head internal modifier

Adjective Phrases functions as post-head internal modifier
in a Noun Phrase structure. There are three cases that should be
taken into account:
i. everything useful, those responsible
71
ii. children keen on sports, a paper full of mistakes
iii. the president elect, the children asleep
i. The examples have fused determiner-heads, making it
impossible for the adjectives to occur in the usual pre-head
position. Compare everything useful with useful thing.
ii. The modifiers would be inadmissible in pre-head
position because the adjective has its own post-head dependents.
Such Adjectival Phrase can not be used as attributive modifiers.
iii. A limited number of adjectives can occur in post
position without their own dependents and with a non-fused head
noun: for example asleep can not be used attributively, while elect
is one of a very small number of adjectives which can be used
only in post-position.

(b) External modifiers

Certain forms of Adjectival Phrases occur right at the beginning
of the NP, before the indefinite article a:
e.g. It seemed [such a bargain].
[What a fool] I was!

3.4. The Adverbial Phrases

The Adverb is the fourth and last of the categories of
lexemes that we call open – the categories which can be expanded.
Nouns and verbs are the main open categories. Every clause must
contain a NP and a VP. Such elementary constructions can be
expanded by adding adjectives and adverbs as modifiers. Nouns
take adjectives, while verbs take adverbs.
The main thing that makes the adverb category open is that
such a high proportion of adverbs are morphologically derived
from adjectives by adding the suffix –ly. It is with these related
72
adjective-adverb pairs that can see most clearly the contrast
between the modifiers of nouns and the modifiers of verbs:
e.g. a happy familyThey all lived happily.
a passionate lover He loved her passionately.

3.4.1. The Structure of the Adverbial Phrases

The structure of the AdvPs is similar to that of AdjPs, but
simpler. Dependents can be divided again into complements and
modifiers:
(a) Complements
A few adverbs formed with –ly suffix license complements:
e.g. This situation is handled similarly to last year’s situation.
Happily for the boys, the class was cancelled.

In the first example, the adverb licenses the same kind of

complement as the adjective from which it is formed. Compare
the example with This situation is similar to last year’s situation.
Other adverbs of this kind are: separately (from), independent (of),
equally (with).
A very few adverbs, such as happily in the second example,
take complements that are not licensed by a corresponding
adjective with a matching sense: * The cancellation of the class
was happy for the boys.

(b) Modifiers
Modifiers are mostly AdvPs, but again determinatives, PPs
and certain NPs can be found:
e.g. AdvPs: She sang very well.; She spoke clearly.
Determinatives: I didn’t do it that well.
PPs: He didn’t answer at all convincingly.
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 3.4.2. The Functions of the Adverbial Phrases
The adverbial Phrase discharges the function of an
adverbial modifier or of a predicative in the sentence.
The adverbial modifier is a secondary part of the sentence
which modifies or renders more precise a verb, an adjective or
another adverb. It expresses the various circumstances that may
attend an activity or a state such as place, time, manner, cause etc.

3.4.2.1. Adverbial Modifier of Place

Adverbs of place indicate when someone or something is
located or where an event takes place. Adverbs of place usually
answer the question where? These adverbs are typically
prepositional phrases but can also be single lexical items.
e.g. They played football on the lawn.
John is here.

There is one further sub-type of adverbial modifiers of

place: adverbial modifier of direction. Unlike adverbs of place,
adverbs of direction must co-occur with dynamic verbs. Adverbs
of direction typically include a preposition that inscribes an actual
direction in space: up, down, under, across, into, etc.
e.g. The baby crawled up the stairs.
The police walked around the crime scene.
Not all adverbs of direction are prepositional phrases.
e.g. He walked downstairs.
They climbed aboard.
In adverbs of direction, English speakers can sometimes
omit the object of a preposition if it is obvious from the discourse
context.
74
e.g. Come in!
It is obvious that the full sentence is “Come in the house!”
Sometimes adverbs of direction literally name directions:
e.g. We traveled west.
Sometimes they indicate moving toward a goal:
e.g. The men headed for the woods.
In other cases, adverbs of direction simply indicate a path:
e.g. She drove across the bridge.
All directions adverbs can be preceded by other modifiers:
e.g. He walked straight to the house.

The Place of Adverbial Modifiers of Place

The Adverbial Modifiers of Place usually appears in the
end position.
e.g. My mother went to the market.
Nevertheless, there are some exceptions:

(i). the adverbial modifier of place can appear in front position if

it indicates the place, especially when it is expressed by a
prepositional phrase:
e.g. Close to the gate the rose bushes were in blossom.

(ii). the adverbial modifier of place can be place between the

Predicate and the Direct Object if the Direct Object is too long.
e.g. They found inside the corpse of an unknown person.

(iii). The adverbial modifier of place which indicates direction can

be sometimes placed immediately after the predicate.
e.g. He usually go to school by bus.

75
(iv). Some adverbial modifiers of place can come in the initial
position for stylistic reasons:
e.g. Away they went.

3.4.2.2. Adverbial Modifier of Time

English has at least four different types of adverbs related
to time. Like locative adverbs, temporal adverbs take a variety of
forms – single words, prepositional phrases and complex clauses.
(i). Adverbs of point or boundary in time
Adverbs of point or boundary in time indicate when an
event occurs, and, as a rule, answer the question when? Such
adverbs are generally prepositional phrases but they can also be
lexical items or phrases.
This type of adverbs can be divided into several categories
according to the way the bound the time frame:
- specific time frame:
e.g. I washed the car yesterday.
I went to Paris last week.
I’m watching TV right now.
- time frame bounded on one side:
e.g. We will talk after dinner.
This offer is good until March 15.
- time frame bounded on two sides
e.g. I should arrive between 5 and 7.
She lived in Canada between 1985 and 1990.
- vague time frame
e.g. My mother was promoted recently.
I’ll come and visit you later.
I haven’t seen you lately.

76
(ii). Adverbs of duration
Adverbs of duration specify how long an event or state
lasts. They typically answer the question how long? and usually
take the form of prepositional phrases, noun phrases or clauses.
Adverbs of duration constitute one of the most important
strategies for constraining the time frames communicated by the
perfect tenses, although they can appear in other constructions, too.
e.g. They have lived in France for twenty years.
I worked here a few weeks.
We lived here from June to September.

(iii). Adverbs of frequency

Adverbs of frequency specify the frequency with which an
event occurs. They typically answer the question how often?
Nouns referring to time units can often be transformed into
adverbs of frequency by adding –ly suffix, e.g. daily, monthly,
yearly. Adverbs of frequency can range from common
occurrences, e.g. usually, always to few or zero occurrences, e.g.
seldom, rarely, never.
e.g. He travels frequently.
Do you come here often?

(iv). Time relationship adverbs

There are some adverbs of time which do not fall into any
of the above categories. These adverbs usually communicate a
time frame which is relative to some other time frame and the
semantics are sometimes quite complex. None of these adverbs
answers the adverbial questions When? How long? How often?
e.g. Scott lost his keys again.
I don’t drink coffee any more.
77
 I haven’t finished my work yet.

The Place of the Adverbial Modifiers of Time

(i). Most of the adverbials of point or boundary in time
come in the end position after the adverbial modifiers of manner
and place.
e.g. They left the house in a hurry yesterday.

A special case in represented by nowadays which is placed

in initial position.
e.g. Nowadays people are turning away from church.
(ii). If there are more than one adverbial modifier of place
they are place from the shortest period of time to the most
extended period of time.
e.g. I’ll meet you at 6 o’clock on Sunday.
(iii). Adverbials modifier of time expressed by adverbial
phrases are usually placed at the end of the sentence.
e.g. He shaves every day.
(iv). Adverbial modifiers of time expressed by adverbs of
frequency are place between the auxiliary (if present) and the
Verb, or between the Subject and the Predicate.
e.g. He has never been to Brazil.

3.4.2.3. Adverbial Modifier of Manner

Adverbs of manner indicate the manner or style in which
the Subject of the sentence acts or is acted upon. Adverbs of
manner are often formed by adding the suffix –ly to an adjective
form. Adverbs that are formed this way have degrees of
comparison. There are also a few uninflected one-word adverbs of
manner that are gradable
78
e.g. They drive really fast.

We can also use a prepositional phrase headed by the

preposition like or with to form an adverbial modifier of manner.
e.g. He drives like a maniac.
They danced with grace.

Adverbs of manner most often occur with agent Subjects

but they can also occur with patient, causer, and even instrument
Subjects. Sentences containing experiencer Subjects seldom occur
with adverbs of manner because they reflect internal states.
A sub-type of adverbials of manner is represented by the
adverbs of means. They express by what means or method an
action is carried out. When an agent, causer or instrument appears
in position other than Subject, it is usually an adverb of means.
They are expressed by:
- by prepositional phrases, especially in passive constructions
e.g. Mike was fired by his boss.
- with prepositional phrases, used especially with instruments
e.g. He repaired the fence with a hammer.
- adverbs derived from adjectives with the suffix –ly
e.g. Analyse this sentence grammatically.

The Place of the Adverbial Modifier of Manner

(i).The Adverbial Modifiers of Manner are usually placed
after the Predicate, before the adverbial modifiers of place and
manner.
e.g. She ran fast to the school yesterday.
If the verb is transitive, the adverbial modifier of Manner
is placed after the Direct Object:
79
e.g. He moved the car carefully to the other parking lot.
(ii). Adverbial modifier indeed can be placed in finl
position:
e.g. Thank you very much indeed.
(iii). The Adverbial modifiers of manner expressing
quantity precede or follow the words they refer to:
- very much usually precede a participle used predicatively, but
follows a Direct Object:
e.g. I was very much impressed by his show.
I like English very much.
(iv). The Adverbial modifiers of manner which emphasize
the idea expressed by the verb such as absolutely, fairly, quite,
fully, so, well are placed before the main verb or in final position
in negatives, interrogatives and imperatives.
e.g. I can fully disapprove of your behaviour.
Did he speak English well?
Don’t do so!

3.4.2.4. The Adverbial Modifier of Concession

It may be expressed by:
- a prepositional noun phrase formed with the prepositions: in
spite of, despite, for, with.
e.g. I like him in spite of his rudeness.
Despite his intelligence, he made mistake after mistake.
The prepositions for and with can occur in the construction:
for/with + all + NP
e.g. For all his rudeness, he has a good heart.
- a NP introduced by the conjunction though in the structure
though + not/no + NP

80
e.g. Though not cheerful, he accepted the invitation to the
party.
- an adjective, or a past participle introduced by the conjunctions
(al)though, however, whatever
e.g. However upset, Mike called her.

3.4.2.5. The Adverbial Modifier of Reason

Adverbs of reason/ purpose indicate why or to what
purpose something occurs. They usually answer the question why?
These two semantic categories are often grouped together because
they have a similar semantic area.
e.g. He did it for love. [reason]
I searched the room for evidence. [reason/purpose]

They can be expressed by:

- prepositional noun phrases introduced by because of, on
account of, owing to, thanks to, from, out of, for, with, through.
e.g. The program failed because of a software error.
- a non-finite form:
a. gerundial phrase introduced by the prepositions by,
owing to, for, because of
e.g. I couldn’t see to him because of my being busy.
b. participial construction
e.g. Finding it useless to argue with him, I left the room.
c. an absolute construction
e.g. It being very hot, we went to have a swim.

3.4.2.6. The Adverbial Modifier of Result

It is expressed by means of an infinitival phrase in four
patterns:
81
a) a to-infinitive
e.g. They starved the prisoner to death.
b) an infinitive preceded by as to whose correlative can be: so-
Adj./Adv.
e.g. I hope the baby would be so tired as to sleep.
c) a to-infinitive whose correlative is too + Adj/Adv.
e.g. He is too smart to make a mistake.
I am too tired to go out.
d) a non finite form:
- a participial construction,
e.g. Taken in small amounts it can do no harm.
The construction may be introduced by the conjunctions if,
unless,
e.g. If broken, it can not be repaired any more.
I’ll not take any decision unless being given more details.
- an absolute construction,
e.g. Weather permiting, the expedition will set out in May.

3.4.2.7. The Adverbial Modifier of Purpose

It is expressed by:
a) an infinitival phrase preceded by in order to, so as, for + NP.
The infinitive preceded by in order to is rather more formal and
more emphatic than the infinitive alone
e.g. Children go to school to learn things.
We had to hurry in order to catch the plane.

The construction so as + Infinitive is used especially when

the idea of result is also present.
e.g. I want to finish my work today so as to be free tomorrow.
(Purpose + Result)
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So as is frequently used with a negative purpose.
e.g. We hurried so as not to be late. (We didn’t want to be late).
The construction for + NP + to – infinitive is employed
when the two actions have different subjects/agents.
e.g. Mike moved to the other chair for her wife to sit.
b) A gerundial phrase preceded by the prepositions for, with a
view to,
e.g. This equipment is for cutting fabric.
c) A noun phrase preceded by the preposition for.
e.g. All of us work for money.

3.4.2.8. The Adverbial Modifier of Condition

It is expressed by:
- a noun phrase introduced by the prepositions with, without, but
for
e.g. But for her help, I wouldn’t have done it.
- an adjective or participle introduced by the conjunctions if,
unless.
e.g. If wrong, we are in trouble.
- a non finite form:
- a participial construction,
e.g. Being late, we left the house.
- an absolute construction,
e.g. Weather permitting, the expedition will set out in May.

3.4.2.9. The Adverbial Modifier of Exception

It is expressed by means of a noun phrase introduced by except
(for), with the exception of, but.
e.g. All the student took the test except Mike.
We had a very pleasant time except for the weather.
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 3.4.2.10. The Adverbial Modifier of Relation
It is expressed by means of a noun phrase introduced by
the prepositions about, on, concerning, regarding, respecting, as
for, as to, with regard to, with reference to, with respect to.
e.g. He can talk about films hours on end.
As for the educational law, the government changed it.

As we have mentioned an adverb can also discharge the

function of a Predicative:
e.g. My patience is over.
Time is up.
An adverb used as a subject complement loses its
adverbial meaning and begins to indicate state.
Compare: He drives so-so (An adverbial Modifier of Manner) and
“Are you tired?” “I’m so-so”(a subject complement).

3.5. Exercises
3.5.1. Theoretical Exercises
I. State whether the following statements are true or false:
1. Nouns and noun phrases can be subjects, objects
and complements of the verbs. T or F
2. Nouns may be gradable or non-gradable. T or F
3. Nouns may be count or non-count. T or F
4. Both proper and common nouns start
with a capital letter. T or F
5. Nouns typically follow articles. T or F
6. A noun phrase always have a head, which is
always a noun. T or F
7. Proper names and pronouns usually stand alone
84
 as a noun phrase. T or F
8. Noun phrases never include a finite verb. T or F
9. Premodifiers stand before and/or after the head. T or F
10. Like nouns, noun phrases are used as complements
of prepositions. T or F

II. State whether the following statements are true or false:

1. Direct and indirect objects are either a noun phrase
or a nominal clause. T or F
2. The direct object names a person or thing
affected by the action of the verb. T or F
3. The indirect object names the animate receiver of the
action. T or F
4. A noun phrase can be the joint object of more than
one verb. T or F
5. A verb can not have more than one direct object. T or F
6. For emphasis we can place a direct object
in front position. T or F
7. When a direct object and an indirect object are
both present, the direct object usually comes first.T or F
8. The indirect object may take the form of a final
prepositional phrase. T or F
9. Personal and reflexive pronouns take objective forms
for any kind of object. T or F
10. In passive sentences, the active direct object becomes
the subject of the passive sentence. T or F

III. State whether the following statements are true or false:

1. The operator is the first or only auxiliary verb
in a sentence. T or F
85
2. The operator forms interrogatives and negative
declaratives. T or F
3. In the absence of an operator, we use the verb
to have to form interrogatives. T or F
4. We invert the subject and operator to form
several kinds of questions. T or F
5. In elliptical sentences we often omit the operator.T or F
6. We frequently use the operator in short sentences.T or F
7. We form negative sentences by adding not
or n’t to the operator. T or F
8. In affirmative sentences, the mid-position for
adverbs is immediately before the operator. T or F
9. In a yes/no question, the operator is the final word.
T or F
10. Modal auxiliaries can not be operators. T or F

IV. State whether the following statements are true or false:

1. Premodifiers are words that stand before
the head in a noun phrase. T or F
2. Adjectives, participles, nouns and compounds
are used as premodifiers. T or F
3. We do not use adverbs as premodifiers. T or F
4. With two or more premodifying adjectives
we normally place and before the last. T or F
5. This does not apply if the adjectives describe
different kinds of qualities. T or F
6. Adjectives themselves can not be premodified. T or F
7. We often use nouns, including the
genitive, to premodify a head noun. T or F
8. Genitives are premodifiers only when
86
 they have specific meaning. T or F
9. Intensifiers like rather can be premodifiers. T or F
10. Premodifying adjectives can not stand in
random order. T or F

V. State whether the following statements are true or false:

1. A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition and
its complement. T or F
2. The complement is usually nominal, but occasionally
an adverb or an adjective. T or F
3. A prepositional phrase has the same function as a
preposition. T or F
4. Prepositional phrases commonly function
as postmodifiers in a noun phrase. T or F
5. We also often use them as adverbials of time,
place and manner. T or F
6. They can complement verbs and adjectives. T or F
7. Mid-position is commonest fro adverbial
prepositional phrases. T or F
8. We never use prepositional phrases as
sentence adverbials. T or F
9. The commonest use of prepositional phrases is as
complement to adjectives and verbs. T or F
10. Prepositional phrases can function as
linking adverbials. T or F

VI. State whether the following statements about linking verbs

are true or false:
1. Linking verbs are also called copula verbs. T or F
2. They link their subject to their complement
87
 or adverbial. T or F
3. Subject and complement/ adverbial may refer
to the same person or thing. T or F
4. The two types of linking verb are current and
resulting. T or F
5. Current types usually appear in progressive tenses.
T or F
6. Resulting type verbs have complements naming
an attribute developing from the verb. T or F
7. The commonest linking verb is to be. T or F
8. Verbs of perception are often used as resulting
linking verbs. T or F
9. Verbs of perception are followed by
adverbials beginning as if/ as though. T or F
10. Many linking verbs can take nouns and adjectives
complements as well as adverbials. T or F

VII. State whether the following statements about reporting and

thinking verbs are true or false:
1. These are verbs we use to introduce direct and indirect
speech. T or F
2. The reporting verb and its subject can only
take front- position. T or F
3. Inversion of subject and reporting verb does
not happen in front-position. T or F
4. Inversion only occurs with verbs in the present
simple and past simple tense. T or F
5. Few of the verbs can take a that-clause as object.T or F
6. We can often omit the that after a reporting verb.T or F
7. Verbs like remind have an obligatory indirect
88
 object before a that-clause. T or F
8. Many reporting verbs are followed by a wh-clause.
T or F
9. Reporting and thinking verbs are not
found in catenative use. T or F
10. Some reporting verbs can be followed by
pro-forms like so and not. T or F

VIII. State whether the following sentences are true or false:

1. Adverbials are clauses functioning as adverbs,
and simple adverbs themselves. T or F
2. Longer adverbials can stand in the same three
sentence positions as adverbs. T or F
3. A general rule is that shorter adverbials follow
longer ones. T or F
4. A general rule is that adverbials appear in a
manner/ place/ time sequence. T or F
5. We usually place longer adverbials in end-position.
T or F
6. We place as many adverbials as possible
in end-position. T or F
7. When fronting one of two similar adverbials,
we only move the longer one. T or F
8. Of two end-position place adverbials the
longer ones come first. T or F
9. Of two end-position time adverbials the
longer one comes second. T or F
10. Fixed phrases sometimes compel us to
break the manner/ place/ time rule. T or F

89
IX. State whether the following statements are true or false:
1. Adverbials clauses operate in sentences
in the same way as simple adverbs. T or F
2. Adverbial clauses may be finite or reduced clauses.
T or F
3. Reduced clauses are usually verbless. T or F
4. Adverbial clauses can have meanings not
expressed by simple adverbs. T or F
5. Adverbial clauses may take front- and
end- postitions. T or F
6. All adverbial clauses are introduced by
subordinating conjunctions. T or F
7. Reduced clauses take the same sentence positions
as full clauses. T or F
8. Absolute clauses are reduced adverbial clauses. T or F
9. Reduced clauses can express meanings which
finite clauses can not. T or F
10. We never use the bare infinitive in reduced clauses.
T or F

3.5.2. Practical Exercises

I. Identify the noun phrases, analyse them into determiners,
heads, pre- and post-modifiers, and identify their grammatical
function in the following paragraph:
“The nature of this part of Marco Polo’s Book is now
becoming clearer. It is a narrative describing occupied China…
The Mongol occupation of China lasted from 1276, the year in
which Kublai overcome the resistance of the Chinese in the South,
to 1368, when his descendants were driven out of the country…
Marco Polo’s Book has been so much more popular than any other
90
book on China that even today many people see that country
through his eyes.”
(Maurice Collins, Marco Polo)

II. Build single noun phrases from each of the following

groups:
1. Penicillin was discovered. It happened by accident.
Fleming discovered it.
2. The case was heavy. It was made of leather. It was blue.
3. The village is small. I was born there. It is in Scotland.
4. The company belongs to a theatre. They travelled. They
had been selected.
5. The objective had been achieved. It was another one.
6. The white parts. They were parts of his eyes. They were
pink. This was the result of crying.
7. The trains will be electric. They will move fast. These are
the trains of the future.
8. There was silence. It was unbroken. No human sound
broke it.
9. The secret was open. It concerned a divorce. It was the
divorce of Mr. and Mrs. Marshall.

III. In the following quotations from Nineteen Eightty-Four by

George Orwell, identify the direct and the indirect objects and
comment on their form:
1. They found themselves a place on the floor.
2. They might start wondering why he had been writing, …
what he had been writing.
3. He could not help sharing in the general delirium.
4. Only the Thought Police would read what he had written.
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5. He was advocating freedom of speech, freedom of the
press, freedom of thought.
6. She gave him the impression of being more dangerous
than most.
7. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption said.
8. He tried to squeeze out some childhood memory that
should tell him whether London had always been like this.
9. I wanted to ask you whether you’d got any razor blades.
10. I only gave my wrist a bit of a bang.

IV. The following sentences have both direct and indirect

objects. Where possible, rewrite them with a final indirect object
and state which pattern is preferable. Place brackets round objects
which can be deleted.
1. She has got herself a new house.
2. We’ll have to get the house a new paint.
3. She gave his brother her old car.
4. It will cast you a lost of money.
5. We asked whoever the same old question.
6. My teacher told me I was wrong.
7. I have never let anyone drive my car.
8. The travellers asked the man the way to the museum.
9. We asked them a favour.
10. Bring my good friend here a pint of beer.

V. In the following quotations from The Hound of the

Basketvilles by sir Arthur Conan Doyle, identify the operator and
say what use it has been put to.
1. Would that suit Dr. Watson?
2. I do not know how I could better employ my time.
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3. ‘And so did I’, said Basketvilles.
4. He professed to know nothing of the matter, nor could any
enquiry.
5. When did he say this?
6. Of, he mentioned his name, did he?
7. Never have I seen my friend more completely taken aback.
8. And yet it was not entirely a question of imagination.
9. Is it not very picture of an old family home?
10. ‘I’m as keen as possible to see the moor’. ‘Are you?’

VI. Join the following sentences, making a single noun phrase

as subject, object or complement of the first verb.
1. You are an old man. You are very silly.
2. Poisoning is a painful way to die. It is a slow way.
3. It was a large cat. It was a Persian, it was blue, it was long-
haired.
4. Perhaps I’m a very vain woman. Perhaps I’m old. Perhaps
I’m very arrogant.
5. A handkerchief lay on the ground. It has spots on it, which
are red and white. It was a man’s. It was dirty.
6. It was a thought-provoking play. It was quite entertaining.
7. The herd consisted of Friesian cattle. They were black and
white. Also Jersey cattle. They were very light brown.
8. The communities met (the Flemish-speaking community,
also the French-speaking community).
9. No one wants a 1960s computer. It is slow and clumsy. It
is capricious. It is completely out-dated.
10. He adopted an attitude. It was reckless. It was hysterical.
The recklessness was unnatural.

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VII. Rewrite the following sentences with reporting verb +
subject in front- and mid-positions and with inversion where
possible.
1. ‘It was always the old man’s way’, John said.
2. ‘It was always the old man’s way’, he thought.
3. ‘Yes, we will,’Mary and her sisters replied together.
4. ‘Yes, we will’, they all replied together.
5. ‘Please forgive the delay’, Helen wrote.
6. ‘Please forgive this haste’, Helen said.
7. ‘Never, never, never’, Helen says.
8. ‘It is totally wrong’, Helen says.
9. ‘It is totally wrong’, Helen often says.
10. ‘It is totally wrong’, Helen will say.

3.5.2.1. The Subject

I. Point out the Subject of the following sentences and state
by what part of speech it is expressed:
1. Jane is my friend. 2. He is my neighbour. 3. The two
walked in silence. 4. One of them was late. 5. It was getting colder
and colder. 6. One should do one’s duty. 7. Neither she nor her
brothers went on holiday with us. 8. There were only three books
on the table. 9. It is too late for me to come with you; I’m tired. 10.
Perhaps it’s no use my mentioning it at present. 11. The sight
surprised everybody present. 12. Everybody there was surprised
by the sight. 13. To err is human. 14. Collecting stamps is a very
interesting hobby. 15. Whoever did that must be punished. 16.
The pale moon rose. 17. My English teacher and I had an
interesting conversation. 18. Anybody could have done it. 19.
There is no money left in the drawer. 20. For Samuel to teach
German would be a joke. 21. His was a blue, sport car. 22. What
94
to say was an embarrassing problem for everyone present. 23. The
poet and the musician talk about their creations. 24. Over the
bridge and down the road makes a delightful walk. 25. Going
there is a big mistake.

II. Underline the subjects in the following sentences. State

what they are expressed by. Translate the sentences into
Romanian.
1. Someone wants to speak to you. 2. What he says is always very
interesting. 3. “Off” gives the signal to start. 4. Ten were attending
the course on linguistics. 5. The old and the young should work
together in order to improve the life conditions in our country. 6.
A large number of flowers were planted in the garden this spring.
7. How to do this is a difficult question. 8. A lot of people intend
to take part to the party. 9. A quarter of an hour has passed
without his turning up. 10. Some of the students were present in
the classroom. 11. Some of the girls decided to have their hair cut.
12. Many of the hotels are clean and offer good services. 13. He is
expected to arrive in Bucharest. 14. None of you is at fault. 15.
The palace and its gardens are very famous in the whole country.
16. Smoking is not allowed in hospitals. 17. There were several
people left in the house. 18. To manage the company well is a
difficult task. 19. His was a lucky lot. 20. He had to buy a new car
for his wife. Hers was broken. 21. It is necessary for John to finish
his paper in time. 22. How to decide this matter was not our
problem. 23. It was stupid to argue with him on this point. 24. To
know a rule means to use it correctly. 25. Of these two books the
first is the better.

95
III. Underline all the subjects in the following sentences and
state by which part of speech they are expressed:
“A Forsyte,” replied young Jolyon, “is not an uncommon animal.
There are hundreds among the members of this club. Hundreds
out there in the streets: you meet them wherever you go!”
“And how do you tell them, may I ask?” said Bosinney.
“By their sense of property. A Forsyte takes a practical – one
might say a commonsense – view of things, and a practical view
of things is based fundamentally on a sense of property. A Forsyte,
you will notice never gives himself away.”
(J. Galsworthy, The Forsyte Saga)
IV. Analyse the subject in the following text and translate it
into Romanian:
Wasn’t it late? She asked. They hadn’t come home yet. He flicked
his watch carelessly open. But it was only just past seven. He held
his watch open for a moment, deciding that he would tell her what
he had felt on the terrace. To begin with, it was not reasonable to
be so nervous. Andrew could look after himself. Then, he wanted
to tell her that when he was walking on the terrace just now – here
he became uncomfortable, as if he were breaking into that solitude
[…] of hers… But she passed him. What had he wanted to tell her,
she asked, thinking it was about going to the lighthouse.
(Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse)
V. Apply the following statements to new subjects according
to the example below:
She is working hard.
So do we.
96
 They left very early in the morning.
So do I.
1. He can speak English (I can speak English too). 2. Mary will
study medicine (Peter will study medicine too). 3. I felt very tired
after the trip (Our friends felt tired too). 4. I have understood the
rules (My brother has understood the rule too). 5. She left the
country last year (All her relatives left the country too). 6. John
goes to office by bus every day (His neighbour goes to office by
bus too). 7. Her friends have decided to organize her a surprise
party for her birthday (Her parents have decided to organize her a
surprise party too).

VI. Substitute the Nominative + Infinitive Construction for the

Subordinate (Subject) Clause:
MODEL: It is said that John is a kind man.
John is said to be a kind man.
1. It is reported that that the football match will take place
next Saturday. 2. It is expected that the strike will end soon. 3. It
is expected that the weather will be sunny tomorrow. 4. It was
believed that the thieves got in through the kitchen window. 5. It
has been reported that many people are homeless after the floods.
6. It seems that you are against the idea. 7. It is though that the
prisoner has escaped by climbing over a wall. 8. It is alleged that
the man drove through the town at 60 miles an hour. 9. It is
reported that the building has been badly damaged by the fire. 10.
It is said that the company has lost a lot of money this year. 11. It
was understood that the parties had come to an agreement. 12. It
was proved that the judge was right when he had convicted him to

97
life imprisonment. 13. It has been found that the mineral water is
very god for the liver. 14. It is known that Japan is one of the most
expensive countries in the world. 15. It is said that she is very
popular.

VII. Fill in the blanks with it or there. Comment on their use:

1. … is five miles away from my house. 2. … is a long time since
I gave up smoking. 3. Is … someone you would like to help you?
4. … is very hot outside, isn’t …? 5. … are some people standing
in front of the city hall. What de they want? 6. … Don’t eat
that; … is a poisonous mushroom. 7. … a shame that … are so
many poor people in this part of the country. 8. … was a charming
village and I was very happy there, but my children were bored
because … nothing to do in the evenings. 10. The journey took a
long time. … was a lot of traffic. 11. What the new restaurant?
Is … good? 12. When we got to the cinema, … was a queue
outside. … was a very long queue that we decided not to wait. 13.
I wanted to visit the museum, but … was no enough time. 14. …
are three years since I last went there. 15. … trouble at the club
last night. They had to call the police.

VIII. Complete the following sentences with it or there:

1. …was a loud bang in Teddy’s room. …scared me a lot as he
wasn’t … alone. 2. … must be something wrong with your phone
because … has been hours since I tried to get in touch with you.
3. … is a toy lying at your feet. Why don’t you pick…up? …has
been there since you dropped ... 4. …was something strange about
his walking. I thought… was his injured leg that made him limp. 5.

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When Tania opened the fridge she saw that …a bottle of milk and
two apples. 6. The waiter told the customer that …a choice of
over 20 pizzas on the menu. 7. …was a dark-haired man in the
corner of that room and…was his look that scared me off. 8. …is
no secret that the chairman of our company has a mistress so…no
point in lying for him. 9. … is no doubt about his lying to his boss
so … is no good postponing his dismissal. 10. …is no chance of
crossing the border to Bulgaria without being caught so …is no
use thinking about it any longer. 11. …’s no reason for him to be
pessimistic as everything will be just fine and he owes…his
parents that things stand like this. 12. … is no need to complain all
the time about his treating you badly as I see … as a result of your
not being a good wife. 13. … was a time when he owed … to his
friends that his life was good. 14. … is no chance of recuperating
your stolen goods as long as the burglars haven’t been caught
so … is no use being optimistic about that. 15. … is no longer
necessary to get a visa to travel to western countries but … is
compulsory to behave in a civilized way.

IX. State the nature of it, whether it is a personal or an

impersonal pronoun; an introductory it or a demonstrative it.
1. It a terrible thing to be blind. 2. I looked at my watch. It was
eleven. 3. The phone was ringing. It was Tom. 4. “Who is there?”
“It’s Mary”. 5. It was a real pleasure to return to my native town.
6. It was possible to see the mountains before the train reached the
station. 7. “What is the title of the book you were reading when I
came back home?” “It is called: “Gone with the wind”. 8. It is
cold outside. Don’t stay out too much! 9. It is no use trying to
understand her. She is too stubborn. 10. It is certain that he is the
thief. I saw it on the news. 11. It is Stratford-upon-Avon that
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Shakespeare was born. 12. It is not Manchester that the Beatles
left from. It is Liverpool. 13. It is compulsory to wear uniforms in
high schools. 14. It can’t be true. He is an honest man. 15. It is
most urgent to do it.

X. Use the emphatic (introductory) it in the following

sentences. Make the sentences emphatic as in the example below.
Emphasize the part of sentences in italics:
We first met in Paris.
It was Paris where we first met.
I saw her yesterday.
It was she whom I saw yesterday.
1. She showed me the way. 2. He improved his performances by
hard work. 3. I met him several weeks ago in a restaurant. 4. I
spotted her only when the lights were on again. 5. Her smile made
me remember her immediately. 6. He was the only one who
understood me. 7. I have never understood the way she dressed. 8.
Somebody made a terrible noise outside. 9. John and Mary
decided to get married in June. 10. The accused left the court in
silence.

XI. Insert it or there, the impersonal it or the anticipatory it:

1. …a storm coming. 2. Something could be heard from next
door. …. the TV. 3. The version was easy enough; … took me
very little time. 4. … is no use trying to make peace with him.
5. …is time to go home. 6. …is no time left. 7. …was raining
heavily. 8. I’m sure…is a problem that you don’t mention. 9. At
that moment…was a knock on the door. …the neighbor next door.
10. Although…got dark, the men continued their way through the
forest. 11. …can no doubt about …. 12. ….was the girl who
100
decided to give up. 13. …was not until May that we got the news
from him. 14. …were three books on the table. 15. …is often a
problem of misunderstanding.

XII. Translate into English:

1. Nu se pot face două lucruri bune în acelaşi timp. 2. Trebuie să
fii mai atent şi să conduci mai încet când este atât de multă
aglomeraţie. 3. Dacă mâine dimineaţă pacientul nu se simte mai
bine, trebuie să trimitem după doctor. 4. Turiştilor li s-au arătat
toate muzeele şi locurile istorice din oraşul nostru. 5. Pe câmp
erau o mulţime de flori de nu mă uita. 6. Redactorul-şef m-a rugat
să nu folosesc calculatorul atunci pentru că ar putea fi infectat cu
un virus. 7. Ultimul cutremur a produs multe stricăciuni. 8. Era un
spectacol minunat să admiri de pe stânci răsăritul soarelui. 9.
După un zbor de trei ore am ajuns la Londra. 10. Jane a urmat un
curs de engleză de patru luni.11. Informaţiile pe care le-am primit
până acum nu sunt sigure.12 Nu am crezut că mă vei înţelege atât
de bine. 13. Nu speram că vei termina scrierea corespondenţei
înainte de venirea noastră. 14. Cred că a fost foarte bucuros când a
auzit că va pleca în Anglia pentru trei luni. 15. Tata dorea să
mergem pe jos, dar mama vroia să mergem cu maşina. 16.
Sfaturile părinţilor noştri sunt întotdeauna foarte valoroase. 17. Ei
se cunosc din copilărie şi sunt foarte buni prieteni. 18. Fiica
profesorului de engleză este în aceeaşi clasă cu mine. 19. Ziarul de
ieri a fost plin de ştiri despre accidentul aviatic care avusese loc cu
o zi înainte şi în care muriseră 10 oameni. 20. Fratelui meu nu îi
place economia şi nici mie nu îmi place prea mult. 21. Din păcate,
în curând va fi toamnă, iar zilele vor deveni din ce în ce mai scurte
şi din ce în ce mai reci. 22. Nu aveţi nimic de întrebat cu privire la
problemele pe care trebuie să le rezolvaţi până mâine? 23.
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Matematica a fost întotdeauna materia mea preferată în liceu. 24.
Toata lumea a stat cel puţin trei ore la vamă pentru că fiecare
călător avea multe bagaje. 25. Fratele directorului băncii lucrează
la o firma importantă de investiţii bancare.

3.5.2.2. The Predicate

I. State the types of predicates (verbal, nominal) in the
following sentences:
1. How can you say such a thing? 2. It is getting colder and
colder. 3. Jane is of her age. 4. After a while they began talking
over their planes. 5. I ran across John on his way to the office. 6.
She was very upset when he found out the truth. 7. That boring
man called again this morning, but my sister was out. 8. We were
always got along very well. 9. I stopped going there a long time
ago. 10. They were advancing slowly towards the peak. 11. A
road is being built near my house. 12. Why weren’t you ready
when I called you? 13. She will make a good wife. 14. His joke
felt flat. 15. The teacher gave us a very difficult homework.

II. Indicate whether the predicate in each sentence is

expressed by a) an intransitive; b) a transitive or c) a link verb:
1. The tomatoes are growing well. 2. He is growing tomatoes. 3.
The actress slowly turned towards the audience. 4. He turned the
key very slowly. 5. The witness turned pale when he heard the
question. 6. Tell hi he must call me immediately. 7. Soon I came
to realise how wrong I had been. 8. It wasn’t his best day; he was
feeling weak and tired. 9. I gave a book to John last week, and he
hasn’t returned it to me so far. 10. The moon rose red. 11. I tried
to learn the lesson, but I simply couldn’t. 12. Every member of the

102
team demanded to be paid. 13. Whatever she cooks it always
tastes delicious. 14. There will certainly be a day when all your
dreams will become true. 15. Our time is up.

III. Point out the simple and the compound predicate (nominal
or verbal). Define the form of the finite verb:
1. I have been weeding the garden since this morning. 2. He reads
English very well. 3. He became a teacher after graduation. 4. He
hammered the metal flat. 5. The road stretched out across the plain.
6. He went on eating in silence for a while. 7. I couldn’t hear
anything. The noise was too loud. 8. She couldn’t help being
angry with her friend. 9. And then he would lift up a picture, and
drop it, and he would come out of the frame and he would try to
save the glass and cut himself (J. K. Jerome). 10. He tried to be
nice with her, but, deep in his heart, he couldn’t stand her. 11.
Nobody was at the airport to meet the actress. She felt
disappointed and sad. 12. There was a lot of dirt in the river. The
tourists didn’t clean the place after eating. 13. There were many
visitors at the history museum because everybody considered it to
be very interesting. 14. Charlie kept quiet. He looked happy. 15.
Let me help you. 16. We planned to spend our holiday abroad. 17.
You may leave, but you should keep in mind that you haven’t
finished your job yet. 18. We decided that we wouldn’t wait for
her any longer. 19. Time is money. 20. You must be joking. I
can’t believe such a thing.

IV. Insert the appropriate copula-like verbs such as to feel, to

look, to be, to go, to continue, to stand, to get, to seem, to grow, to
become, to smell:

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1. In October days…..colder and shorter. 2. Rainy days
can….very depressing. 3. The temperature …. very low. 4. This
small river….dry every summer. 5. We…silent and bored. We
all…motionless. 6. It ...broad daylight when we arrived home. 7.
Dinner ….delicious when we arrived at the chalet. 8.
We….amazed looking at the beautiful landscape around us. 9.
Some children…afraid when the dog…loose. 10. The
ship…smaller and smaller in the distance. 11. On Monday the
little girl will….five. 12. At my cry she…as pale as death. 13.
She…very lonely sometimes. 14. The patient …better now but
he …still pale. 15. He….on reading despite the noise. 16. When
he saw me, he …. surprised. 17. The rain ….nearly over. 18. The
night faded. The mountains beyond …. visible against the sky. 19.
“I….ten years old”, replied the boy. 20. He….on talking although
nobody was listening to him.

V. State by what part of speech the predicatives are expressed

in the following sentences:
1. Who are you? Are you Richard’s daughter? 2. Now the only
thing I can admit is a good excuse. 3. The air is full of thunder. 4.
It’s not worth trying to explain to her what went wrong because
she is too stubborn to admit you were right. 5. His hobby is
collecting stamps. 6. To err is human. 7. I’m afraid that the story
will get repeated. Finally, it will become full of lies and
exaggerations. 8. For a moment he looked shocked, but the
expression of his face changed instantly. 9. The first thing you
should do is to pass all your exams in time. 10. Our interests are
yours as well as the interests of everybody. 11. Don’t talk to me
like this. Otherwise you will regret it! 12. I am at a loss. 13.

104
Suppose it is we that we should finish the work. 14. My intention
is to learn German because I want to study in Germany. 15. Their
first and strongest impulse is to make the best of a bad situation.
16. Richard looked up. “It’s me”, he said. 17. All morning he was
in a mood of high satisfaction. 18. How are you? I am so-so. 19.
But that was not what I wanted to see. 20. Our lesson is off over.
We are off now.

VI. Fill in the blanks with one of the following link verbs:
become, fall, get, go, keep, remain, run, turn.
1. The leaves…….red in autumn.
2. The weather gradually………colder and colder
3. Within a few years he………..quite famous.
4. My shoe lace has………undone.
5. The label has……….unstuck.
6. The bread………stale.
7. Hurry up! It is……….late.
8. This small river ……….. dry every summer.
9. They came back before it………dark.
10. When I entered the room they all………silent.
11. The ship …………smaller and smaller in the distance.
12. I can stand the strain no longer, I…….mad if it goes on like
this.
13. At my cry he…………as pale as death.
14. The milk…………….sour.
15. Her dreams have………..true.
16. How did you two ……………acquainted?
17. Many men…………bald as they grew old.

105
18. The child is …………thinner.
19. Fruit quickly………..rotten in hot weather.
20. She……………pale when she heard the bad news.
21. He always …………. angry when he doesn’t find his glasses.
22. The man can’t see; he ……….blind in a bomb explosion
during the war.

VII. Analyse the predicates expressed by verbal idioms.

Translate the sentences into Romanian:
1. Don’t argue with him any longer. 2. Sit here with us; we
can move over and make you room on the sofa. 3. He once played
a mean trick on him, and now he wants to get even with him. 4.
She has her heart set on studying abroad. 5. They are ready to
meet us half way in the matter of prices. 6. What you keep saying
doesn’t make any sense to me. 7. She talks so much that she gets
on my nerves. 8. He promised to keep in touch with us. 9. Keep an
eye on him; he may do a lot of harm to innocent people. 10. She
always wants to have her own way, but this time, for a change,
she is going to do what I say. 11. It is very easy to find fault with
the works for the others. 12. Excuse me for not introducing you to
my friend; I took it for granted that you too know each other. 13.
What are the two boys up to? 14. Not having any previous
experience, John doesn’t stand a chance of getting this job. 15. He
took advantage of their kindness and stayed a month without
paying them anything.
VIII. Build sentences with the verbs: to fell, to fall, to keep, to
turn, to give, to grow, to look, to remain used as notional verbs
and as link-verbs.

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IX. Translate into English:
1. Nu speram că vei termina scrierea corespondenţei înainte
de venirea noastră. 2. Cu cât citeşti mai mult, cu atât îţi va fi mai
uşor să înveţi engleza. 3. Mai bine îl aştepţi aici. 4. Dacă aş fi în
locul tău aş pleca. 5. Citesc un roman de dragoste foarte frumos.
Citesc de trei ore fără întrerupere. Am citit 30 de pagini până
acum. 6. Credeam că vor veni la timp, dar se pare că m-am înşelat.
Întârzie ca de obicei. 7. Dacă sună telefonul, te rog să răspunzi
deoarece vreau să îmi fac un duş. 8. Dacă nu mi-ar fi spus ce i s-a
întâmplat fratelui ei, nici acum nu aş fi aflat şi nu aş fi putut să îl
ajut. 9. Ea are aceeaşi înălţime ca el. 10. Doi dintre cei mai buni
înotători cubanezi au emigrat în Statele Unite. 11. El a îmbătrînit
mult în ultimii ani. 12. Poţi gândi ce vrei, dar nu trebuie să îţi faci
griji în ceea ce îl priveşte. 13. Acuzatul este în afara oricărui
bănuieli, nu cred sub nici o formă că el a comis crima. 14.
Adevărul este că s-au speriat şi au luat-o la fugă de cum au auzit
acele zgomote ciudate. 15. De îndată ce am ajuns la munte, a
început să ningă. 16. Este o fată remarcabil de inteligentă. Păcat
că nu îşi dă seama cât de valoroasă este. 17. Nici el, nici fraţii lui
nu doresc să se mute din casa în care s-au născut şi în care au trăit
toata viaţa lor. 18. A treia a fost cea mai bună aruncare. 19. Doi
câte doi copiii au intrat în clasă. 20. Ea va fi o soţie bună, nu am
nici o îndoială.

X. Translate into English:

1. Se prefăcea că nu vede şi nu aude nimic din ceea ce se petrecea
în jurul ei. 2. Încearcă să te duci zilnic la orele de gimnastică. Sunt
foarte bune pentru sănătate. 3. Te-ar tenta să plecăm într-o
excursie la munte împreună. 4. Crezi ca vecinii noştri ne vor mai

107
deranja? 5. Nu uita să înapoiezi cărţile pe care le-ai împrumutat de
la bibliotecă. 6. Nu am îndrăznit să îi telefonezi de teamă să nu o
trezesc din somn. 7. Înţeleg că nu îţi place să te ajute nimeni, dar
cred că este imposibil să termini tot ce ai de făcut. 8. Degeaba a
tot fost avertizat să nu întârzie. 9. Dacă nu ne-ar fi rugat cu atâta
insistenţă să venim, am fi putut amâna invitaţia pentru altă dată.
10. L-am rugat să nu plece fără mine, dar a fost imposibil să îl
conving. 11. Am implorat-o să se mai gândească la cele
întâmplate, dar nici nu a vrut să audă. 12. I-am îndemnat să se
împace, dar nu au vrut. 13. În nici un caz nu le putem permite să
facă o asemenea prostie. 14. Lui îi place ca pâinea să fie bine
prăjită pe ambele părţi. 15. Împrejurările l-au forţat să se mute din
casa mea.

3.5.2.3. The Subject - Predicate Agreement

I. Choose the correct form of the verb in brackets, paying
attention to the agreement between the Subject (expressed by
pronouns) and the Predicate:
1. Nobody in his family (has, have) ever thought of such a
thing. 2. Everyone in the office (like, likes) her. 3. (Do, Does)
either of you know anything about this matter? 4. None of the
elevators (was, were) working. 5. (Is, Are) anyone interested in
working in this company? 6. Each of us (was, were) upset because
of his rude behaviour. 7. Somebody (is, are) getting on my nerves.
8. None of them (was, were) paying attention to their teacher. 10.
Neither of the stores (is, are) open on Saturday.

II. Put the verb in brackets into the right form, paying
attention to the agreement between the Subject and the Predicate:

108
1. Phonetics (be) a branch of linguistics. 2. His phonetics (is)
good. 3. The police (have) caught the thieves two hours after they
had broken in. 4. Police (be) an important force in a democratic
society. 5. The American team (have) won the competition. 6. The
team (stand) by their coach. 7. Our committee (consist) of 5
members. 8. The committee (have) reach an agreement. 9. The
clergy (have) opposed the divorce in Italy. 10. The clergy (be) an
important part of world’s history. 11. Canada (is) bilingual. 12.
Canada (have) qualified in the first position. 13. The council (be)
to meet next Friday. 14. The council (be) unable to agree on such
a sensitive matter. 15. The class (be) warned not to talk during the
test. 16. Mathematics (be) her favourite subject. 17. Fish and chips
(be) popular meal in England. 18. Darts (be) often played in our
house. 19. The athletics we watched yesterday (be) exciting. 21.
The acoustics of the National Theatre (be) excellent. 22. Acoustics
(be) an interesting subject. 23. The jury (be) trying to decide if the
accused man is guilty or not. 24. The jury (be) formed of 12
members in the U.S.A. 25. Your trousers (be) not ironed.

III. Put the verb in brackets into the right form, paying
attention to the agreement between the Subject and the Predicate:
1. A knowledge of rules (help) you use English correctly. 2.
A bunch of fresh flowers (be) given to her on her birthday by Dan.
3. This kind of violent movies we see these days (bore) me. 4.
Bread and butter (be) usually served for breakfast. 5. The writer
and the editor-in-chief (have) just entered the room. 6. Mary and
her brother (tease) their friend about being too fat. 7. There (be)
three books on that shelf. 8. His warmest admirer and severest
critic (be) his wife. 9. Because of heavy rains there (be) more
flowers and grass than usual at this time of the year. 10. When I
109
met him at the airport, Mark and his friends (be) leaving for Brazil.
11. The first sight of the avenue with its bright colours (impress)
any visitor. 12. My friend, along with his two sisters, often (go)
for a walk on Sunday mornings. 13. My colleague, as well as
myself (be) ready to help you. 14. Man, no less than the lower
forms of animals (be) product of the evolutionary process. 15. (be)
Michael or his colleagues at the lecture last night? 16. Either my
mother or my father (accompany) my little brother. 17. Every
evening it’s either Mary or her sister that (do) the dishes. 18.
Either Mary or her parents (be) to entertain the guests. 19. Neither
the book nor the newspaper (belong) to me. 20. Neither expensive
lotions nor frequent massaging (prove) successful in the treatment
of baldness. 21. Neither Mr. Jones nor his secretary (answer) the
phone. 22. Neither the doctor nor the doctor (be) here yesterday.
23. Neither of them (be) guilty. 24. John and Mark (be) paying the
bill last evening when we celebrate our graduation. 25. (Be) you
or your father supposed to accompany him to the station? 26.
Correct spelling, in addition to usage of verbs (be) also essential
to good writing.

IV. Put the verbs in brackets in the right form, singular or

plural:
1. A number of people (was, were) standing in front of the
booking-office. 2. The newly-married (was, were) warmly
congratulated by all the guests. 3. The red and green plaid (is, are)
in the cupboard. 4. A lecture and a report on this subject-matter (is,
are) to be delivered on Friday. 5. One hundred lei (is, are) much
for that jumper. 6. Everything we need (is, are) packed up for the
trip. 7. If one (works, work) hard, one (makes, make) progress. 8.
The wounded (was, were) transported to the hospital. 9. Another
110
three meters (was, were) bought for the upholstery of the settee.
10. Phonetics (improves, improve) our pronunciation. 11. The
grey and black puppy (was, were) lying on the rug. 12. The
number of books in my library (has, have) increased. 13. Where
(is, are) your old teacher and friend living?

V. Put the verbs in brackets in the right form according to the

rules:
1. The latest statistics of trade (show) remarkable progress. 2.
Electronics (treat) of electrons. Mathematics (do) the rest. 3.
Physics (be) taught in an up-to-date laboratory. 4. Oh, it is not I
who (matter) – it is you. 5. What is wanted (be) more films that
identify themselves with the emotions and experiences of the
audience. 6. There (be) twenty people in the hall. 7. (Be) three
fifths more than half or less? 8. Geologically the Balkans (be)
composed of many sedimentary strata. 9. Volume after volume
(describe) the struggle of generations in the Forsyte family. 10.
The long and the short of it (be) were quite mistaken. 11. Never to
be late (be) a rule necessary for successful work. 12. One or two
(object) to the length of some of your documentary films. 13. A
man with his dog (come) to our house very day. 14. They watched
the crowd which (be) rapidly growing. 15. I suppose that every
family (have) its own black sheep.

VI. Translate into English paying attention to the agreement

between the Subject and the Predicate:
1. Veştile pe care ni le-a adus ieri sunt incredibile; pur şi
simplu îmi vine greu să cred că acel om este un criminal. 2.
Pantalonii pe care vrei să îi porţi în seara asta nu sunt călcaţi. 3.
Informaţiile din ziarul de ieri sunt demne de crezare. 4. Salopeta
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din aceasta fabrică are culoarea albastră. 5. Familia mea este
numeroasă. 6. Cââââââââând am ajuns acasă toată familia dormea.
7. Cleştele este în sertarul de sus al dulapului. 8. Guvernul se
întruneşte mâine pentru a lua măsurile necesare pentru stoparea
inflaţiei. 9. Echipa de fotbal a facultăţii va juca împotriva
colegilor lor din Bucureşti. 10. Sfaturile pe care ţi le dau părinţii
trebuie întotdeauna luate în seamă. 11. Bagajele pe care le-ai adus
cu tine sunt foarte grele. Ce ai pus in ele? 12. Grupul de străini
care ne vizitează este impresionat de progresele făcute. 13.
Mărfurile trebuie să sosească în curând cu vaporul. 14. Atletismul
este unul dintre cele mai populare sporturi din lume. 15. El crede
că banii îi aparţin numai lui. 16. Acest mijloc de cercetare s-a
perfecţionat mult în ultimii zece ani. 17. Salariul pe care îl
primeşte un stagiar este mic. 18. Ştirile care au sosit acum o oră şi
informaţiile pe care le conţin sunt îmbucurătoare. 19. Comitetul de
redactare a hotărât să publice lucrarea considerând-o suficient de
bună. 20. Jumătate din orchestră este formată din absolvenţi noi.
21. Numai două ore de studiu nu sunt suficiente. 22. Numărul de
cărţi pe care trebuie să le citim pentru examene este considerabil
de mare. 23. Explozia provocată a cauzat multe stricăciuni. 24.
Bărbatul pretindea despăgubiri. 25. Secretara a întocmit repede
procesul-verbal al şedinţei. 26. Patru sferturi fac un întreg. 27. Se
spune că acest castel era bântuit de fantome. 28. Nu ne-am fi
rătăcit dacă am fi avut o busolă. 29. Toată lumea privea cu
mândrie cum drapelul ţării se înaltă pe cea mai înaltă poziţie. 30.
Înainte de a intra în mare am luat nişte nisip în mână.

VII. Translate the following sentences into English, paying

attention to the agreement between the subject (expressed by
indefinite pronouns) and the predicative:
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1. Nici unul dintre autorii dramatici nu se poate compara cu
Shakespeare. 2. Nici unuia dintre prietenii mei nu îi place să
citească atât de mult cum îmi place mie. 3. Nici unul dintre noi nu
ar fi făcut o asemenea greşeală. 4. A reuşit vreunul dintre voi să
citească toata materia pentru examen? Eu nu am reuşit. 5. Oricare
dintre aceste trei metode dă aceleaşi rezultate, dar cea de-a doua
este cea mai rapidă. 6. Nici unul dintre noi nu are dreptate. 7.
Fiecare bărbat şi fiecare femeie urmează să ia parte la alegeri. 8.
Vrea vreunul dintre voi sa mă ajute? 9. Fiecare dintre aceste
lucrări trebuie refăcută, altfel nu veţi trece examenul. 10. Fiecare
dintre noi este gata să te ajute. 11. A uitat cineva să semneze?

3.5.2.4. The Attribute

I. Point out all the attributes in the following sentences and
state by what they are expressed:
1. His picture was printed on the front page. 2. Michael’s only
friend was his colleague Jack. 3. We expected him to come by the
evening train. 4. The post-office is at the end of the road. 5. A
friend in need is a friend indeed. 6. She spoke to the head of the
committee. 7. They gave me a good book to read. 8. I don’t
remember the story which you told us the last time we were here.
9. The man who is standing at the door looks like your cousin. 10.
We met a girl with dark blue eyes. 11. He clearly remembers the
day his youngest brother was born. 12. I don’t like to walk in
crowded streets. 13. I spoke to him for several hours, but it was in
vain. 14. You must repeat the second lesson. 15. Either man can
go. 16. I would like to see you every day. 17. Put another book on
the shelf. 18. There are two brothers and three sisters in our family.

113
19. We saw the last sunbeams glittering. 20. The tree in front of us
proved to be a chestnut as we were approaching it.

II. Point out all the attributes in the following sentences and
state by what they are expressed:
1. The lilacs in full flowers scented the air. (J. Galsworthy) 2. The
room was hot with a scent of new bread. Brown, crisp loaves
stood on the hearth. (D. H. Lawrence) 3. The streets were filled
with rush-hour floods of people. (O. Henry) 4. It was a very cold
day, with cutting blasts of wind. (Ch. Dickens) 5. The sun glinted
on his wind-blown hair and on the weather-tanned face. (Cusack)
6. The house was an old-fashioned widespread, oak-beamed brick
building, with a fine lime-lined avenue leading up to it. (C. Doyle)
7. The need to be loved, the strongest need in poor Maggie’s
nature, began to wrestle with her pride. (G. Elliot) 8. Her
predilection for French things came from her childish
recollections of schooldays in Paris (J. Galsworthy) 9. He was
always the first to enter the dining-room and the last to leave. (K.
Mansfield) 10. It was the first of August – a perfect day, with
burning sun and cloudless sky. (J. Galsworthy) 11. She had tasks
to learn and needlework to do. (Ch. Dickens) 12. What a night to
wander out. (J. Galsworthy) 13. A few early fallen oak leaves
strewed the terrace already (J. Galsworthy) 14. Yesterday I passed
by an elm avenue leading to a beautiful old house. (J. Gissing) 15.
The last soft light of the setting sun had fallen on the earth. (Ch.
Dickens) 16. The frozen ground was as hard as stone. (J. Dodge)

114
III. Ask questions on the underlined attributes. The
interrogative words for use are: what, which, whose, what kind of,
what sort of, how much, how many.
1. I have no intention of going there. 2. The library of our institute
is fairly good. 3. I’ve read only the first three chapters of the book.
4. It was a cold autumn day. 5. The dress I would like to buy must
be red, long and very elegant. 6. The question was discussed at the
meeting of the board. 7. It was room larger than mine. 8. The
threes covered with snow stood white and quite. 9. I paid 20,000
dollars for my new car. It is very expensive, isn’t it? 10. The
expert’s conclusion was enclosed in the file. 9. Ships built for the
transportation of oil are called tankers. 10. They wanted an office
boy with a good school record. 11. I have bought three kilos of
apples. 12. The big beautiful bridge across the Danube has been
finished this year. 13. The student speaking to my teacher is my
brother. 14. The first race was unexpectedly fast. 15. He had a
great desire to travel. 16. I bought a bunch of roses for my mother.
17. I have never expected him to behave like this. 18. John’s
father is a famous doctor in our town. 19. I had a very bad car
accident. 20. I need two hours to get to the capital from my home
town.

IV. Fill in the blanks with the right preposition before the
gerund used as attributive:
1. I’m afraid…….not being able to help him. 2. She was
reluctant……..babysitting her friend’s child. 3. He didn’t explain
his reasons…..leaving early. 3. I’m not sure…. understanding the
correct meaning of the world. 4. He had no intention…. writing to
her. 5. Don’t be so anxious……his exam. He will get through it. 6.
There is really no excuse….not phoning her. 7. He won’t tell me
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his reason ……leaving her. 8. Mrs. Barton has a lot of
experience……teaching young children. 9. There is little
possibility…..finding a new substitute now. 10. She has shown
little interest ………learning more about this subject.

V. Insert the appropriate relative pronouns in the following

non-defining relative clauses:
1. My uncle, …went to Bucharest two days ago, arrives back
tonight. 2. My father,… you met yesterday, has left for France. 3.
The plane for London,… is due at five is late again. 4. Your
friend,… name I can never remember has just called. 5. Mozart,
one of … symphonies you have just been listening to is my
favourite composer. 6. My uncle John, to … I wrote a letter
yesterday, is coming next week. 7. Our T.V. set, … has been
broken for weeks, is now mended. 8. Your cousin,… I happened
to meet yesterday, has become a handsome boy. 9. Chess, … is a
very old game, is difficult to play. 10. Flies, … come mostly in the
summer, carry diseases.
VI. Combine the following sentences by means of attributive
clauses. Use contact clauses where possible.
1. Here is a girl. You met her yesterday. 2. Bring me the book. I
left it on the table in the other room. The table stands by the
window. 3. I have only a few books. They are all second hand. 4.
Is that the new restaurant? You pointed out to me the other day. 5.
Last week I visited the city. Shakespeare used to live there. 6. The
old gentleman has died. You were talking to me about him a few
days ago. 7. I met your friend yesterday. You introduced me to
him last week. 8. The matter has been settled. You were talking

116
about it last night. 9. He spoke with dignity. His dignity impressed
everybody in the room. 10. Don’t forget to visit the museum. So
much has been written about it.
VII. Combine the following pairs of sentences by using relative
pronouns:
1. This summer has been rather cool. That is quite unusual in our
country.
2. That mountain is difficult to climb. It belongs to the Alps. 3.
The lecture tonight was very interesting. It was about pragmatics.
4. Our dog is one year old. The children spoil him. 5. That house I
would like to live in. It is large and has all the labour saving
devices.
VIII. Build up sentences from the following words:
1. full of flowers, live, a room, they, in. 2. You, heard, interesting,
there, anything, have? 3. Good, me, tell, something. 4. Rattled, the,
rain, drops, the, on, leaves. 5. Writer, was, it, a, day, winter. 6.
Have, we, the, booked, above, room. 7. Mentioned, bought, I,
book, have, you, the, which, was. 8. Possible, the, it, solution, was,
only. 9. Able, I, to, now, give, to, am, attention, more, proper,
syntax, to. 10. Most, is, the, he, happy, alive, man. 11. Beautiful, it,
was, a, worth, deed, remembering. 12. Darkness, sat, we, they, in.

IX. Point out the apposition and say whether it is close or

loose:
1. There are plenty of historical sites in Rome. 2. “You look all
right”, Aunt Mary. 3. He felt alone there in the big city with all
these strange faces around. 4. They, the professors, were right in
117
their judgement. 5. In consequence neither John nor his sister had
any knowledge about the final decision. 6. It was not a matter to
be discussed even with an advisor, philosopher and friend as the
President. 7. In Chaucer’s time London, the capital, had only
40,000 inhabitants. 8. Shakespeare, the most important
playwrighter, was born in Stratford-upon-Avon. 9. “Chavy Chase”,
the oldest historical ballad, is not very known nowadays. 10. But
the doctor – a family physician- used to the frequent calls was not
impressed.
X. Underline the attributes in the following text and state
what they are expressed by:
They had crossed the road outside Bushey Park and entered the
palace gates. Between the wall which backs the Long Border, the
Tudor side of the palace, and another long high wall, is the
Wilderness, or old English garden, composed on the grandiose
scale advocated by Bacon. It is both a garden and a ‘wilderness’,
in the sense that it is planted with innumerable bulbs (which are
thinned and renewed from time to time), but otherwise allowed to
run wild. George and Elisabeth stopped with that sudden ecstasy
of delight felt by the sensitive young – a few of them – at the sight
of loveliness. Great secular trees, better protected than those in the
outer Park, help us vast fans of glittering green-and-gold foliage
which trembled in the light wind and formed moving patterns on
the tender blue sky. The lilacs had just unfolded their pale hearts,
showing the slim stalk of closed buds which would break open
later in a foam of white and blue blossoms.
(R. Arlington, Death of a Hero)

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XI. Translate into English paying attention to the relative
pronouns:
1. I-am cumpărat o cămaşă de bumbac albastră care se spală foarte
uşor. 2. Femeia pe care ai văzut-o la teatru era sora prietenului
meu. 3. Cum poţi să lucrezi cu un om pe care nu poţi să îl suferi?
4. Fata a cărei mamă a murit în accidentului de maşină de ieri este
o prietenă de-a mea din copilărie. 5. Tânărul care a vorbit la
Adunarea generală nu a spus nimic nou. 6. I-am vorbit despre
subiectul care mă interesa. 7. Filmul despre care Jane a spus ca
este excelent este ultimul film al lui Scorsese. 8. Cei care nu şi-au
terminat toată treaba trebuie să mai stea peste program fără să fie
plătiţi. 9. Îl cunoşti pe omul acela care şi-a lăsat maşina în faţa
casei tale? 10. Maşina pe care o conduce nu este a lui, este a
firmei unde este angajat. 11. Asta este tot ce ştiu. 12. Acestea sunt
fotografiile pe care le-am făcut anul trecut când am mers în Franţa.
13. Nu ştiu a cui este vina. 14. Duşmanii de care el se păzeşte cu
atâta frică nu sunt cu adevărat periculoşi. 15. Eşti singura
persoană pe care am întâlnit-o vreodată capabilă să joace bridge.
16. Cea mai ciudată carte care a fost publicată în iarna asta este
cea care se referă la omizi. 17. Omul pentru care îl părăsise pe
soţul ei nu o iubea cu adevărat. 18. Nu au spus nimic despre
condiţiile meteorologice; de asta nu am ştiut cum să ne îmbrăcăm.
19. Copiii cu care se joacă fiul nostru sunt foarte educaţi. 20.
Singurul om care poate să îl apere este fiul său. 21. Aceasta este
cea mai buna povestire pe care a scris-o vreodată. 22. Aceasta este
cutia pe care ai scos-o din dulap? 23. Merele pe care le-ai
cumpărat de la piaţă azi dimineaţă nu sunt prea coapte. 24.
Primăvara este anotimpul care îmi place cel mai mult. 25. Maşina
pe care zice el ca a reparat-o aseară tot nu porneşte.

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XIV. Translate into English the following text:
Oricine s-ar fi uitat la dânşii ar fi rămas cuprins de-o cumplită
uimire. Nici nu puteai afla pe lume oameni mai deosebiţi la
făptură şi nepotriviţi la fire. Scurt şi rotofel, cu barba bălană şi
rotundă, legănat la mers, Ion Creangă găsea întotdeauna o pricină
de râs şi de înveselire chiar în cele mai amare ceasuri ale vieţii.
Îndată îşi amintea o zicătoare isteaţă ori o întâmplare năzdrăvană
de la el, din Humuleşti, satul copilăriei. Mihai Eminescu, cu părul
negru şi cu ochii neguroşi, era însă mereu cu gândurile departe.
Mereu găsea în jurul său o pricină de întristare. Iar la glumele lui
abia dacă mai zâmbea în colţul buzelor. Şi cu toată nepotrivirea
asta dintre dânşii îi lega cea mai frăţească prietenie. Aproape toată
vremea erau nedespărţiţi. Mai ales în acea iarnă, pe lângă
dragostea lor de popor, pe lângă amintirile din copilărie şi
pasiunea lor pentru scris, pe lângă toate acestea, îi legaseră şi
necazurile.
(Cezar Petrescu, Doi buni prieteni)

3.5.2.5. Direct, Indirect and Prepositional Objects

I. Point out the object in the following sentences:
1. “What are you reading?” I handed him the book to see by
himself. 2. I wished him good night and walked out of the shop. 3.
The professor delivered a speech about his latest discoveries to his
students. 4. He told me that the train was due to arrive in a few
minutes. 5. He asked me a few questions about my summer
holiday. 6. I bought a bottle of wine for your brother’s birthday. 7.
They considered him to be the best student they had ever had to

120
their college. 8. I’m glad I’ve explained to you the reason for
changing. 9. We are going to have a special meeting of the
shareholders. 10. At breakfast I announced her that I was going on
trip. 11. Meeting you has been a great pleasure. 12. While I came
back home last evening my mother was listening to a radio
concert. 13. She is so in love with him. 14. Can you buy some
bread for me when you come back home? 15. I have always
wanted to visit Mozart’s house with my family in Salzburg. 16.
What do you thing about practising sports? 17. They found the car
abandoned in a village. 18. He slammed the door shut.

II. Make up sentences with the following words, paying

attention to the place of the direct object of a complex verb:
1. French / I / ought / to take up. 2. Don’t / brush / the
question/ aside. 3. the baby / John / wanted / to take / out. 4. The
landlady / turned out / him. 5. He / gave up / his job / in the
hospital. 6. The boy / picked up / himself. 7. The manager/ didn’t
turn down / his request for a day off. 8. Workers in steel industry /
put up / claim for higher wages. 9. His accent / gave away / him.
10. He / the theory / this sonnet / put forward / that / might have
been written by Shakespeare. 11. your / you / I / to / want / thank /
kindness / for. 12. his / bought / for / teddy bear / girl / little /
wonderful. 13. can / you / as / often / as / me / to / write. 14. had /
an / occurred/ him / idea / to / once / at.

III. Identify the direct objects in the following sentences and

identify the parts of speech they are expressed by:
1. I have forgotten my glasses. 2. I hurt my knees badly. 3. Ann
refused to see him again. 4. I hope to finish everything soon. 5.
They considered him to be the right person. 6. Nobody suspects
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him to be a widower. 7. I have always thought it dangerous your
trusting that man. 8. I saw the boy come in. 9. I didn’t notice her
go out. 10. She made him finish it at once. 11. He enjoys having
his friends help each other. 12. I smelt something burning. 13.
Look at the train entering the tunnel! 14. I find she put on her best
dress. 15. I watch they leave for a walk in town. 16. Open your
mouth wide! 17. The cold turned all the trees yellow. 18. I want
the text translated on the spot. 19. The lawyer wished the case
kept secret for a while. 20. He often locks himself out.

IV. A large class of verbs can be used with a direct object

which is followed by a prepositional object. Fill in the blank with
the required prepositions:
1. My teacher spends a lot of money … books. 2. The young boy
has to provide … his family. 3. You must help you younger
sister … his homework. 4. The government supplied food ... the
homeless. 5. I can not agree ... you … this matter, nor can I
agree … your proposal. 6. Only think … it. 7. Excuse me … being
late. 8. It is strange that at his age he still depends … his parents. 9.
Look … the baby while I’m cooking the dinner. 10. Would you
care … a cup of coffee? 11. These photos remind me … my
grandparents’ house in the country. 12. Sorry, I have mistaken
you … somebody else. 13. Add these sheets of paper … the file.
14. The snow prevented us … driving there. 15. My boss always
put the blame … the innocent persons in the office.

V. Define all the objects in the following text:

I found some matches, climbed on the table, lit the gas lamp, then
settled down to read. Since I had arrived at the house, found all
serene, seen my mother, I was completely reassured. I was
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wrapped in the serenity of childhood….. For those moments,
which I remember all my life, had already passed out of mind
what had happened. Aunt Milly was violently opposed to my
“white-collar job”. “That’s all it is” said in her loudest voice to my
mother. “He is just going off to be a wretched little man in a white
collar job. Don’t complain to me when he finds himself in the
same office when he is forty. No wonder they say that the present
generation hasn’t a scrap on enterprise”.
(C. P. Snow, Time of Hope)

VI. Make up sentences with the following verbs which can

have two direct objects:
to ask, to answer, to envy, to forgive, to strike, to excuse, to teach.
VII. Supply that or what in the following sentences:
1. This thing is … I can’t do without your advice. 2. I’ll do my
best to get everything … you’ll want for your work. 3. He’ll do
anything … will be necessary to help us. 4. ... annoys me was the
way he handles the most difficult things. 5. … did you do that
thing for? 6. … ‘s the weather like this morning? 7. I know …, I
have an idea, a suggestion to make. 8. Tell me, … books have you
read recently? 9. Ask him … time it is. 10. You are the only
person … can really advise me about … I have to do. 11. Ask Mr.
Greene, or any other person … is likely to know. 12. The letter …
you see in my hand is from my niece. 13. Newton was one of the
greatest scientists … ever lived. 14. … he says is not … he means.
15. He did not even know … had happened. 16. The people …
you met there were amused by your stories. 17. Is this the best …
you can do? 18. I could realize nothing save … he was no enemy
of mine.

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VIII. Use the following verbs both with direct and indirect
objects:
to buy, to give, to hand, to lend, to mail, to offer, to owe, to pay,
to read, to sell, to send, to show, to teach, to throw, to write, to tell.

IX. Change the position of the direct object:

1. We offered a birthday present to our uncle. 2. He gave the box
to me. 3. Did she return the book to the librarian? 4. Charles threw
the ball to his sister. 5. He sold the house to that couple. 6. We
sent the letter to John. 7. He handed the newspaper to the person
sitting near him. 8. I gave the tickets to my companions. 9. He told
me the whole truth yesterday. 10. The student gave the right
answer to the professor.

X. Use only the prepositional object with the following verbs:

to describe, to explain, to introduce, to mention, to prove, to report,
to return, to say, to suggest.

XI. Insert the preposition to where necessary:

1. Dictate … him this paragraph. 2. A little boy showed … the
stranger the way to the railway station. 3. We must show … the
old great consideration. 4. Can you land … me your bike? 5. The
author dedicated … the memory of his wife all the poems
collected in this volume. 6. The secretary handed the necessary
documents … the manager. 7. I shall read … you with pleasure. 8.
Give these instructions … the students. 9. The postman
brought … us the morning mail. 10. Describe … us all the
qualities of this car. 11. She introduced … us to his parents. 12.
He did not suggest … them that they should leave earlier. 13.
They sent … their teacher a beautiful bunch of red roses. 14. Send
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the envelope to the post office. 15. … which of these men did you
give the money?

XII. Fill in the blanks with the required prepositions thus

forming prepositional objects:
1. We spoke … our work. 2. He lives … his parents. 3. I’m
fond … reading. 4. He is not aware … his shortcomings. 5. He
insist … doing it himself. 6. The commission consisted … four
members. 7. Please, listen … me. 8. All I’m asking is to think …
it. 9. I waited for him … half an hour in front of the theatre. 10.
The professor lectured … current economic situation in Asia. 11.
Do you work enough … your English? 12. He never speaks …
this subject. 13. Are you good … French? 14. Our discussion
resulted … my remaining at home. 15. Why don’t you
participate … your work? 16. Tremendous sums were spent …
culture and education. 17. I am anxious … your success. 18. He
was looking … me attentively. 19. This book is very different …
the other you brought at home. 20. What objections can you
find … it? 21. We are looking forward with so much
impatience … the arrival of our friends. 22. Our country is rich …
mineral resources. 23. I readily complied … her request. 24. I
differ … you … this matter. 25. The cost amounts … about
twenty pounds. 26. I was indignant … his conduct. He stuck …
his opinion. 27. He judged his feelings … his own. 28. What are
you hinting …? 29. They inquired … this problem. 30. He is
particularly clever … drawing portraits.

XIII. Ask a question about the prepositional object and its

attribute, if any, as in the example:
MODEL: We were waiting for the 9 o’clock train.
125
 What are we waiting for?
What train were we waiting for?
1. My parents objected to my buying a motorbike. 2. Everybody
spoke of the last night football match. 3. The collection of stamps
belongs to my father. 4. A symphony usually consists of four parts.
5. I am very interested in learning English. 6. We agree upon a
new plan for the summer holiday. 7. The students listened with
great interest to the lecture on literature. 8. Her decision depends
on the state of her mother’s health. 9. He doesn’t care for such
people at all. 10. The crew of the liner are well provided with food.
11. We will call them tomorrow after the rehearsal. 12. This
mountain region abounds in waterways. 13. Our farmers have
succeeded in obtaining high productions of wheat. 14. The
newspapers commented upon the proceedings of the conferences
of the mathematicians. 15. We immediately sent the boy for the
doctor. 16. The doctor gave directions to the nurse.

XIV. Complete the following sentences by adding a cognate

object, using it with the attribute given in brackets:
1. After the trip we all slept … (sound). 2. He laughed … (hearty).
3. They lived … (long and interesting). 4. The young man died …
(of a hero). 5. Looking at the baby mother smiled … (happy).

XV. Point out the complex object. State what components the
complex object consists of:
1. Let the matter drop. 2. Do you feel the breeze blow? 3. I am
waiting for the flood to come in. 4. I consider this picture a
masterpiece of art. 5. I found everybody gone. 6. I am waiting for
them to come. 7. Do you mind my staying here over the weekend?
8. Excuse my interrupting you. 9. I rely on his coming here. 10.
126
She found my busy writing my composition. 11. I saw him
coming. 12. He didn’t want anybody to know he already arrived.
13. I disapprove of your preferring such company as that person.
14. I will not sit here and hear such accusations made. 15. He
heard someone call his name. 16. I have my books bound in
different colours. 17. I’ll keep you informed. I must have the
question clear up. 18. We got the matter arranged in no time. 19.
If you behave properly, I’ll make things easy for you. 20. He
proved himself to be a master of Latin studies. 21. I observed
Mary turned pale at the news. 22. Where did you have your car
repaired? 23. We should like to have the poetry readings tape-
recorded.

XVI. Complete the sentences giving the second element of the

complex object:
1. We were surprised at your … . 2. He waited for us … . 3. You
can’t rely on his … . 4. She watched the pilot … . 5. We shall get
your luggage … . 6. How many times did you hear the symphony?
7. Where can I get my shoes …? 8. When do you want to have
dinner …? 9. I don’t mind him … . 10. I don’t agree to Mary … .
11. We found Michael … . 12. They heard us … . 13. What would
you like your children …? 14. She believes him … . 15. I expect
her … .

XVII. Translate the following sentences into English:

1. Du-i te rog florile acestea surorii tale din partea mea şi
mulţumeşte-i pentru ajutorul pe care mi l-a dat. 2. Îţi aduci aminte
numele fetei? 3. Ai nevoie de ajutorul cuiva ca să termini? 4.
Mama a terminat de gătit friptura de porc, aşa că hai să mâncăm. 5.
Când s-a tăiat la picior cu ciobul acela de sticlă şi-a făcut o rană
127
adâncă. 6. Răspundeţi la toate întrebările din test, vă rog. 7. Nu l-a
întrebat nimeni cum îl cheamă. 8. Ce te face să crezi un asemenea
lucru? 9. L-am sfătuit să nu mai repete greşeala. 10. Ar fi păcat să
rataţi o asemenea ocazie. 11. Am observat graba cu care a plecat
şi mi s-a părut ciudat. 12. Îl ştim ca fiind un tip liniştit şi puţin
vorbăreţ. 13. Nu l-am văzut niciodată făcând un lucru în grabă. 14.
Oare ce l-a putut determina să facă o prostie aşa de mare? 15. Nu
ştiam că este fiul dumneavoastră cel mare. 16. Cred ca e păcat să
nu profiţi de ocazia asta la care nici nu te aşteptai. 17. Consider că
este de datoria mea să fiu alături de ei în momentele acestea
extrem de dificile. 18. Sunt convins că este o greşeală, nu se poate
să fi făcut aşa ceva. 19. Nu mi se pare înţelept să abandoneze
şcoala. 20. Plecarea noastră depinde de vremea de mâine. 21. Nu
trebuie să te superi pe el, nu are rost. 22. Nu pot să fiu de acord cu
un comportament atât de necivilizat. 23. Îşi caută un serviciu
pentru că nu mai vrea să depindă de părinţi. 24. Pot să mă bazez
pe tine în această situaţie? 25. Profesorul de engleză m-a felicitat
pentru că nu am greşit nici o întrebare la test.

XVIII. Translate the following sentences into English paying

attention to the Direct and Indirect objects:
1. Nu vrei să ne cânţi ceva la pian? 2. Să-ţi citesc un pasaj din
cartea asta? 3. Şi-a comandat o rochie de mireasă din dantelă albă.
4. Ţi-am păstrat şi ţie câteva prăjituri pentru că ştiu cât de mult îţi
plac. 5. Unchiul Ion ţi-a adus o bicicletă ca dar de ziua ta de
naştere. 6. Lui nu-i place să dea maşina nimănui. 7. A trimis
felicitări tuturor colegilor de serviciu şi prietenilor lui. 8. Am vrut
sa le sugerăm o altă soluţie decât cea pe care o aleseseră ei iniţial.
9. Băiatul mi-a repetat scrisoarea cuvânt cu cuvânt. 10. Te rog să
îmi traduci textul acesta cu mare atenţie. 11. I-am găsit soţului
128
meu o cravată foarte drăguţă. 12. Să-mi laşi şi mie puţin tort de
ciocolată, te rog. 13. Mie mi-a promis ca îmi va împrumuta
bicicleta, tu ţie. 14. Studenţii i-au explicat decanului necesitatea
suplimentării orelor de practică. 15. Explicaţi-mi ce căutaţi aici!
16. Dă-mi puţin ziarul ca să citesc ultimele ştiri. 17. Vreau să îţi
spun ceva înainte de a pleca. 18. Mi-a povestit o întâmplare care
s-a petrecut cu mulţi ani în urmă. 19. Cine i-a adus colegei mele
un pachet de acasă? 20. I-am trimis mai multe cărţi englezeşti pe
care le poate citi şi înţelege uşor.

XIX. Translate into English:

1. Nu trebuie să te superi pe el cu toate că te-a indignat remarca
lui. 2. Cer insistent o explicaţie. Nu pot fi de acord cu purtarea lui.
3. El se laudă întotdeauna cu succesele sale sportive. 4. Munca a
contribuit mult la avansarea lui în cadrul companiei. 5. Henry nu
simte nici un interes faţă de studiile economice deşi toţi prietenii
lui au ales această carieră. 6. Pot conta pe ajutorul tău? Problema
este foarte gravă şi greu de rezolvat. 7. totul depinde de răspunsul
lui. În general, ne putem baza pe el într-o asemenea situaţie. 8. În
cele din urmă băiatul a fost lăudat pentru progresele făcute în
ultimul an şcolar. 9. Ce vă surprinde? Noi eram siguri că va reuşi
să câştige cu uşurinţă. 10. Rezultatele experienţelor noastre sunt
uşor diferite de cele ale voastre.

3.5.2.6. Passive Constructions

I. Rewrite the sentences in the passive, omitting the words in
brackets:
1. (Everyone) knows the answer very well.
2. (They) opened the theatre last week.
3. (People) were disappointed in the President.
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4. (One) should tell the truth irrespective of the circumstances.
5. I don’t think (anyone) can do this.
6. Did (they) say anything interesting?
7. (You) must finish the work by 7 o’clock.
8. (The police) kept the man in custody.
9. (They) are now manufacturing this type of computer in many
European countries.
10. Has (someone) made the necessary arrangements?

II. Complete the sentences with a passive construction:

1. Much of London (destroy) by fire in the seventeen century. 2.
The man (bite) by a snake (give) a serum. 3. A leader should be a
man who can (respect). 4. Many old houses (demolish) to make
the way for new buildings. 5. A great deal of research (do) into the
possible causes of cancer. 6. It (think) that the Government would
do something to help. 7. The witness strongly objected to (cross-
examine). 8. (Threaten) by a blackmailer, he immediately
informed the police. 9. The passengers ought (inform) that the
train (withdraw) from service. 10. The man was sent to prison for
six months, (find) guilty of fraud.

III. Complete the sentences with a passive construction, using

the verb given in brackets:
1. The new washing machine (turn out) at the rate of fifty a day. 2.
When her husband died, she naturally assumed that she (provide
for). 3. We have had to move into a hotel while the house we’ve
just bought (do up). 4. The employee was assured of his (take on)
again as soon as work was available. 5. Richard always (tell off)
for careless mistakes nowadays. 6. The agreement had to (draw up)
in the presence of two witnesses. 7. We (hold up) at the customs
130
for half an hour by an official. 8. He felt he (let down) by his best
friend. 9. He hates (make fun of). 10. The meeting will have (put
off) till later in the week.

IV. Rewrite each sentence so that it begins with It … :

1. They have decided to cancel the match.
It ……………………………
2. We thought it was necessary to send a telegram.
It ……………………………
3. We have agreed to meet again in a fortnight.
It ……………………………
4. There is a rumour that the couple are to seek a divorce.
It ……………………………
5. There is a confirmation of Mr. Richards’s resignation.
It ……………………………
6. We believe that the ship has sunk.
It ……………………………
7. There was a proposal that a new offer should be made.
It ……………………………
8. We didn’t think it was a good idea.
It ……………………………..
9. We decided to try to call them later.
It ……………………………..
10. There has been a suggestion that I should take a holiday.

V. Change the following sentences into the Passive Voice:

1. They are building a bridge here. 2. They didn’t inform us. 3.
She looks after the children very well. 4. People must wear ties in
this club. 5. They are making a new film in this studio. 6. He
didn’t introduce me to his mother. 7. They will meet you at the
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terminal. 8. You may not use dictionaries during the examination.
9. A big truck knocked him down yesterday. 10. They are
renovating the castle at the moment. 11. Partisans blew up the
railroad tracks. 12. Has the mechanic fixed the car yet? 13. They
locked the door and no one can open it now.

VI. Change the following sentences into the Passive Voice.

Make the underlined words the subjects of your passive sentences:
1. Somebody will tell you how to get there. 2. Burglars broke into
our summer house. 3. They gave him a toy train for his fifth
birthday. 4. Smoked filled the auditorium. 5. Someone is
following us. 6. They will send you an application form. 7. They
asked her very personal questions at the interview. 8. They ought
to pay you twenty pounds. 9. They have offered us excellent
conditions. 10. They sent for a doctor immediately.

VII. Give two passive alternatives to the following active

sentences according to the model:
MODEL: I gave her a bunch of flowers.
A bunch of flowers was given to her by me.
She was given a bunch a flowers by me.
1. I told the child a long story. 2. They sent me an interesting book.
3. Tom will lend her the dictionaries. 4. The doctor prescribed the
patient some medicine. 5. The waiter has brought me a pint of
beer. 6. The jury will award him the highest prize. 7. The postman
handed me two letters. 8. They will pay her some money. 9. I
offered him some details. 10. We shall give them some good news.

VIII. Translate into English using passive constructions:

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1. Toate aceste case au fost distruse de inundaţiile de anul trecut. 2.
Mi s-a spus că şedinţa a fost foarte interesantă. 3. Se ştie că
normanzii au cucerit Anglia în secolul al XI-lea. 4. Ţi se va
permite să vizitezi toate camerele acestui palat. 5. Această fetiţă a
fost crescută de nişte părinţi adoptivi. 6. Aceste cărţi se citesc cu
uşurinţă şi de aceea sunt preferate de turişti. 7. Bătrâna era
îngrijită acum cu devotament de una dintre nepoatele sale. 8. I s-a
poruncit să păzească intrarea din faţă. 9. S-a trimis deja după
doctor, aşa că el este aşteptat din clipă în clipă. 10. Se insistă mult
asupra studiului limbilor străine în şcoală. 11. Am fost învinuiţi că
nu am respectat toate prevederile contractului. 12. Nu înţeleg de
ce i se interzice să îşi vadă copilul. 13. Când ţi se va da un telefon,
sora ta tocmai va fi operată de unul dintre cei mai mari chirurgi ai
ţării. 14. Sunt sigur că acest cântec a fost ascultat de foarte multă
lume. 15. Când s-a deschis uşa copilul tocmai era hrănit de mama
lui. 16. Această casă nu a mai fost locuită de mult deoarece se
spune că este bântuită de stafii.

IX. Translate into English using passive constructions:

1. Am fost dezamăgit de cel mai bun prieten al meu. 2. Ni s-a
servit tort de ciocolată. 3. Până acum nu am fost prezentat
ambasadorului. 4. Laptele este livrat între 5 şi 6. 5. Ea a fost
convinsă să ia parte la concursul de frumuseţe deoarece era
favorita principală. 6. Se presupune că oraşul a fost distrus de un
cutremur. 7. Am fost luaţi prin surprindere. 8. El a fost convins să
demisioneze. 9. Când se discuta acea problemă, cineva a telefonat
şi a spus că fusese plasată o bombă în clădire. 10. Ieri s-a
descoperit de asemenea că în biroul directorului fuseseră puse
microfoane. 11. Când s-a descoperit că presiunea sângelui scăzuse
la 80- 40, pacientul a fost operat imediat. 12. Florile acestea nu au
133
fost udate de o săptămână. 13. De când s-a stricat aerul
condiţionat, camera trebuie aerisită de două ori pe zi. 14. Se
estimează că creşterea populaţiei va fi stopată până la sfârşitul
secolului viitor. 15. Ar fi făcut mai multe fotografii în timpul
ceremoniei de ieri dacă mi s-ar fi cerut.

3.5.2.7. The Adverbial Modifiers

a. The Adverbial Modifier of Place
I. Identify the Adverbial Modifiers of Place in the following
sentences and state by what they are expressed:
1. He went to the theatre last night, but he was very disappointed
in what he saw. 2. They have spent all their summer holidays to
the mountains since they were children. 3. Jane put the book on
the top shelf. 4. He remembered everything that had happened in
that hotel long after everything was over. 5. The boy injured his
leg on the football pitch at school. 6. Nobody knew what was
behind that door. 7. While being in the train, the children were
amazed by the landscape. 8. Everybody was searching for the
paper, but nobody realised that it was under the table. 9. The old
woman was looking down on the street from the window of her
flat. 10. The man tried to park his car in the parking lot, but he
couldn’t find any free place. 11. He was looking in the wrong
direction. 12. The car wasn’t there anymore. 13. When he decided
to go and live in England he didn’t realise how difficult was to
accommodate in a new place. 14. Nobody before him managed to
climb this mountain up to the top. 15. We can find here the most
expensive brands of watches.

II. Point out the Adverbial Modifiers of Place in the following

sentences and state by what they are expressed:
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1. Everywhere grew clumps of palms and magnolia trees. 2.
About a quarter of a mile off, in a quiet, substantial looking street
stood an old redbrick house with three steps before the door. (Ch.
Dickens) 3. Down jumped the driver and out go Mr. Peggotty. (Ch.
Dickens) 4. Amid the green pastures lie the fields yellow with
golden grain (K. Mansfield) 5. From behind the sand hills came
the whisper of the sea. (D. H. Lawrence) 6. Near at hand, on a
shelf, were his books. (Norris) 7. In front of the window was a
plot of grass with old lilacs round it. (D. H. Lawrence) 8. He drew
from his pocket a scrap of what I took to be a very dirty letter. (E.
A. Poe) 9. I have walked a long way. (Ch. Dickens) 10. She had
wandered about the woods by the river’s brink all day. (J. K.
Jerome) 11. She had been walking a very great distance. (G. Elliot)
12. High above the city, on a tall column, stood the statue of the
Happy prince. (O. Wilde)

III. Insert where necessary the required prepositions (making

prepositional adverbial modifier of place):
1. The Danube rises … the Black Forest and flows … the
Black Sea. 2. Step … this ladder, but be careful you don’t fall …
it. 3. Look out! There is a car racing … you! 4. She has lived …
the street since I moved here. 5. When I go … the office, I go …
Victory road. I pass the museum … my way. I stop … the traffic
lights. When the lights turn green, I go … the road, … a gate and
into the garden. 6. I can’t believe he was heading … the fire. 7.
We were having tea … the fireplace. 8. The top of the mountains
is 2,000 feet … the sea level. 9. I can’t see what is happening …
the wall, but I can hear a loud noise. 10. Can you reach the vase
which is ... the top shelf? 11. The wreck is lying on the bottom,
100 feet … the surface of the sea. 12. She took her
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handkerchief … her pocket. 13. When she came … the room she
seemed very upset. Do you know what happened? 14. He threw
the cigarette … the window. 15. She tiptoed … the corridor and
listened … the door what they were talking about. 16. Before
getting … the station the train passed … the tunnel. 17. The little
girl was sitting … me and my mother. 18. At the concert I sat …
to one of the colleagues I dislike a lot. 19. Their house is
placed … the town. 20. She has been walking nervously … in the
room for the past twenty minutes.

IV. Translate into English:

1. Şi-a scos cheia din buzunar şi a băgat-o în broască. 2. Se plimba
de colo-colo pe malul râului încercând să ia o hotărâre. 3. Aceasta
clădire se situează la 100 de metri deasupra nivelului mării. 4.
Cutremurul a îngropat sute de oameni sub dărâmături. 5. Vreau să
mergem în spatele casei să vedem ce se aude. 6. Rănitul se târî
până la marginea drumului unde se întinsese sub nişte tufe. 7.
Treci pe lângă poştă în drum spre şcoală? 8. Nu cred că este bine
să te duci la ei, nu sunt nişte gazde politicoase. 9. Unde duce
poteca de acolo? Dacă mergem pe poteca aceea, peste dealuri
ajungem mult mai repede. 10. Este mai bine să urmăm cursul
râului, el curge prin satul spre care ne îndreptăm. 11. Nu vă mai
jucaţi lângă lac, s-ar putea să cădeţi în apă. 12. A avut loc la
concert lângă mine. 12. Încotro te îndrepţi aşa de grăbit? Te
întâlneşti cu cineva într-un loc anume? 13. La munte am mers cu
telefericul şi astfel am putut admira panorama care se întindea sub
noi. 14. Îşi dorea foarte mult să ajungă în vârful muntelui, dar a
obosit înainte de a-şi îndeplini visul. 15. Primul lucru pe care
vreau să îl fac este să dau o raită prin oraş. 16. Nu vrei să mergem
să înotăm la piscină? Este una în apropierea casei bunicii mele. 17.
136
Mama uită întotdeauna unde îşi pune ochelarii şi de fiecare dată
când are nevoie de ei îi caută prin toată casa. 18. Nu îmi vine să
cred ca nu a vrut să vină la mare cu noi. 19. Stătea vis-à-vis de
mine şi se uita de parcă aş fi fost o fiinţă de pe altă planetă. 20. În
faţa castelului se întindea un parc frumos care avea în mijloc un
lac.
b. The Adverbial Modifier of Time
I. Identify the adverbial modifiers of time in the following
sentences; state by what they are expressed:
1. When he arrived home, late in night, he discovered that his
house was broken into. 2. Day after day I tried to convince him
not to take such a major risk. 3. While she was walking on the
busy street she suddenly saw her brother several metres ahead on
her. 4. Here there used to be a beautiful forest. 5. They found
some money on the bus while coming back from work. 6. Who
was the runner who arrived first at the finish line? 7. The children
entered the classroom two by two every morning. 8. My son
wanted to play on the playground because there were many
children there. 9. The sun could be seen up in the sky shining
brightly every morning. 10. In order to arrive early in the morning
they got the early train to London.

II. Point out the adverbial modifiers of time in the following

sentences; state by what they are expressed:
1. Towards the evening of the following day a letter arrived
addressed to herself. (Coppard) 2. At parting, my aunt gave me
some good advice. (Ch. Dickens) 3. My dear girl was to arrive at
five o’clock in the afternoon. (Ch. Dickens) 4. “They say”, said
Mary Jane, “we haven’t had snow like it for thirty years….” (J. K.
Jerome) 5. Thus they had often finished their breakfast and were
137
out in the summer air by seven o’clock. (Ch. Dickens) 6. I woke
and looked at my watched. I had been asleep four hours (J.
Galsworthy) 7. “You’ll have forgotten me by then”. (J.
Galsworthy) 8. “What have you been doing during my absence?”
(Ch. Bronte) 9. In the afternoon he would go out alone and walked
for hours. (J. Galsworthy) 10. I paused outside the parlour door,
on hearing my mother’s voice. (Ch. Dickens) 11. My mother, after
vainly trying to restrain herself, began to cry. (Ch. Dickens) 12.
Having taken the key from the lock, she led the way upstairs. (Ch.
Bronte) 13. Coming near, I found the door slightly ajar. (Ch.
Bronte) 14. The dinner being at length quite ready, Captain Cuttle
dished and served it up. (Ch. Dickens) 15. The conference over,
he returned to the office. (Gordon) 16. The attic was Maggie’s
retreat on a wet way. (G. Elliot) 17. Not one minte all the night
did Ann sleep. (J. Galsworthy)

III. Put the adverbs in brackets into the right place:

1. They have arrived in time. (always)
1. Our English teacher speaks to us in Romanian. (never)
2. I have read such an interesting book. (seldom)
3. I will not forget this day. (ever)
4. 4. I don’t know what is good and what is wrong. (sometimes)
5. Have you been to a skating rink? (ever)
6. I met him in the library. (sometimes)
7. We don’t go to the seaside for our holiday. (often)
8. They speak English when they want their little boy not to
understand them. (usually)
9. Is she at home in the morning? (always)
10. Have you heard of that poet? (ever)

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IV. Insert where necessary the required prepositions (making
prepositional adverbial modifier of time):
1. Most of the children need to sleep……..the afternoon. 2.
My brother is coming ……Sunday. 3. The teacher said that we
should make our first trip ……..May. 4. I would be happy if I
could go swimming……summer and skiing…….winter. 5. The
academic year starts …….October 1st. 6. I have been
reading……four hours. 6. The baby cried several time……the
night. 7. Why can not sleep…….night? 8. ……the conference The
President didn’t feel very well. 9. …….morning she wakes up at 6
o’clock. 10. Many families lost their houses…..the storm. 11. I
can go back house and come back ……10 minutes. 12. I’ll have
been finished the book……tomorrow. 13. She will come
back……three months’ time. 14. Where are you going…..summer?
15. The park is open…..8 a.m. …….6 p.m. 16. He started learning
English in 1980. It is now 1988. He has been learning
English……1980,…….eight years. 17. Our parents stayed with
us….a week. 18. Can we meet……lunch? We have to discuss
what we are going to do. 19. Let’s go for a swim tomorrow. Can
you be ready…….8.00? I’m afraid I can’t. I have
lessons …….lunch time. In fact I shan’t finish……half past
twelve. 20. My friend has been in England ……a year.

V. Choose as, when or while, whichever is correct or more

likely, to complete the sentences. If there is more than one
possible answer, write them all.
1 he was twelve, he moved with his parents to Perth.
2 Tom started to cry Jenny left the room.
3 they were waiting for the taxi, Rod offered to give them a lift.
4 I cut myself I was shaving.
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5 Leave the keys at the front desk you leave.
6 the bathroom window broke I was having a shower.
7 Do you remember we went sailing in Sweden with Carol?
8 Trish was on a skiing holiday in France she broke her leg.
9 It's hard to imagine life in the days there were no antibiotics or
anaesthetic.
10 I tried to wake him, it became obvious that he was seriously ill.
11 Sarah was still angry she hung up the phone.
12 Richard hurt his back he was running for a bus.
13 She was walking along the street she tripped over.
14 I was quite good at maths I was at school.
15 I can't remember we last saw Alison.
16 1 get a pain in my left knee I walk up the stairs.
17 I start the car in the morning, the engine makes a terrible
grating noise.
18 you gradually get better at the job, you'll find that it becomes
easier.

VI. Match the sentence halves 1-6 to sentence halves a-f, and,
if possible, reduce the when/while clause.
1 The jury had no choice but to return a verdict of guilty...
2 Parents become good at holding a conversation...
3 It is essential to take anti-malarial tablets...
4 My parents were watching television downstairs...
5 The manufacturers claim that the insecticide is perfectly safe...
6 She was found guilty of driving...

a ...when it is used as directed.

b ...while they are also keeping a watchful eye on their children.
c ...while she was under the influence of alcohol,
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d ...when they were presented with all the evidence.
e ...while I was reading in my bedroom.
f...when you are visiting certain countries in Africa.

VI. Translate the following sentences into English paying

attention to the prepositional adverbials of time:
1. În acel moment a apărut pe neaşteptate un bărbat cu părul
cărunt. 2. În vacanţa de iarnă toţi copii s-au dus să vadă
spectacolele de la teatrul de păpuşi din oraş. 3. Expediţia pleacă în
zorii zilei. 4. Serbarea va fi organizată la sfârşitul şcolii. 5. Nu mai
vizitasem oraşul meu natal de foarte multă vreme şi eram hotărâtă
să îmi petrec vacanţa de vară acolo. 6. În fiecare seară iese în oraş
şi bea câte o bere cu toţi prietenii pe care îi mai are în oraş. 7. În
fiecare dimineaţă se plimbă pe malul mării timp de o oră. 8. Vine
şi mă vizitează cel puţin o dată pe săptămână, uneori chiar şi de
două ori. 9. Dacă ai să vii la ora 5 în mod sigur ai să o găseşti
acasă. 10. El ştia să citească înainte de a merge la şcoală. 11. Nu
am mai fost acolo de foarte mult timp. S-a schimbat ceva? 12. Fiul
meu a început să înveţe engleza abia anul trecut. Deşi învaţă
engleza numai de un an se descurcă foarte bine. 13. Era încă un
copil când a început să concureze. 14. A terminat de învăţat cu trei
zile înainte de examen. 15. Până la sfârşitul anului se vor fi
împlinit trei ani de când lucrează în aceasta companie. 16. Nu vrei
să vii mâine după amiază la mine? 17. Unchiul meu s-a întors de
la Bucureşti acum două zile. 18. Trebuie să stea în pat până îi
scade temperatura. 19. Trebuie să termin de scris eseul până
mâine, altfel l-am făcut degeaba pentru că profesorul nu o să mi-l
mai primească. 20. Mi-am uitat umbrela acasă şi a început să
plouă cam tare. 21. În piaţă toata lumea protesta împotriva
deschiderii unui nou şantier într-o zonă istorică. 22. Nimeni nu
141
vorbea în timp ce se uita la televizor în sufragerie. 23. Credea că
nu avea niciodată ocazia să ajungă in Mexic, dar s-a înşelat. 24. În
fiecare toamnă se duce la ţară împreună cu părinţii săi să culeagă
via. 25. Nimeni nu a intrat în apă pentru că era mult prea rece.
c. The Adverbial Modifier of Manner
I. Point out the adverbial modifiers of time in the following
sentences; state by what they are expressed:
1. He looked up in surprise. (D. H. Lawrence) 2. The walls were
whitened as white as milk. (Ch. Dickens). 3. She walked on and
reached a station, hot and cross. (J. Galsworthy) 4. There was a
wind like ice. (K. Mansfield) 5. Bosinney and June entered the
theatre in silence. (J. Galsworthy) 6. How did you get out without
seeing you? (Voynich) 7. They were to go on Sunday morning by
the seven o’clock train. (D. H. Lawrence) 8. I did as requested (Ch.
Bronte) 9. I saw her looking at him anxiously (J. Galsworthy) 10.
Manson walked quickly down the platform, searching eagerly for
some sign of welcome. (A. Cronin) 11. Soames stood in the
dining-room window gazing gloomy into the square. ( J.
Galsworthy) 12. The man spoke with a quiet earnestness.
(Kingsley) 13. I looked in astonishment towards this man. (Ch.
Dickens) 14. Nothing can be more lovely than this late autumn
day. (J. Galsworthy) 15. Leonard was silent as though to fit in
with her mood. (Cusack) 16. By this time it was getting dark and
snowing pretty heavily. (Ch. Dickens) 17. Thus ended Peggoty’s
narration. (Ch. Dickens) 18. Like all other Forsytes of a certain
age they kept carriages of their own, and never took cabs by any
means if they could avoid it. (J. Galsworthy) 19. She hastily dried
her eyes to see what was coming. (L. Carroll) 20. Annixter bore
the case into the sitting room of the house and, hammer in hand,
attacked vigorously. (Norris) 21. Mr. Pullet, by an unaccountable
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lapse of memory, had forgotten it and hastened out, with a
stricken conscience, to remedy the omission. (G. Elliot) 22.
Screaming, cursing and praying, laughing, singing and meaning,
they rush past side by side. (J. K. Jerome)

II. Paraphrase the following sentences using an adverb in

manner of the words in italics:
1. He smiled a contemptuous smile. 2. I gathered my things in a
very careful manner. 3. He yielded at him in a hoarse voice. 4.
The baby was sleeping in peace. 5. The doctor spoke to us about
his researches with pride. 6. He wished us good luck in a cold
voice. 7. The parents left the house in a hurry. 8. They were
walking on the beach at a slow pace. 9. Although they didn’t have
too many chances to win the troops fought like heroes. 10. The
Chinese vase was broken by accident. 11. The prisoners were
beaten without mercy. 12. After winning this content, he can look
forward to the future with hope. 13. He spoke about the trip in an
exited voice. 14. She would like to live a simple life. 15. The
world has changed in a fundamental way since the attacks on
September 11th. 16. Men are now able to produce more and more
raw materials by artificial means. 17. She cried with bitter tears.
18. He looked without interest at the landscape around, thinking
only of his mission there. 19. The teacher explained to him the
mistakes of his pupil’s paper with a lot of tact. 20. They agreed to
solve this problem without delay. 21. The audience waited in
silence for the play to begin. 22. You should work with more care.
23. Mary passed the exam with ease. 24. The winning gymnasts
came back home with their gold medals in triumph. 25. The
carpenter didn’t work with great skill.

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III. Rewrite the following sentences using the adverbs in
brackets in the correct degree of comparison:
1. He usually gets here much (early) than the others. 2. Anyway, I
can swim (well) than your brother. 3. Mike plays football (badly)
of all the players. 4. In a large city you must cross the street
(carefully) than in a small one. 5. Please speak (slowly), so that I
can understand what you are saying. 6. She speaks English
(fluently) than all her colleagues. 7. We walked (far) than all the
others. 8. Alice always drives (carelessly) as her cousin. 9. He
comes to the gym class (often) than I can do. 10. His letter will
probably arrive (soon) than I expect. 11. I like (much) driving than
walking. 12. John doesn’t work (seriously) as the others do. 12.
He ran (quickly) than anybody else in the race. 13. Of the three
men, you behaved (disgracefully). 14. He can dance (well) than
his sister. 15. I can’t believe he behaved (rudely) of all the people
in the party.

IV. Translate into English:

1. Tu joci şah mai prost decât fratele tău. 2. Niciodată nu
traversezi strada cu atenţie. 3. Deşi era furtuna, pilotul a reuşit să
aterizeze cu bine. 4. Din nefericire nu am sosit la timp, toată
lumea plecase mai devreme. 5. Luna asta am lucrat mai puţin ca
luna trecută pentru că am fost plecat în concediu. 6. Ei vin
întotdeauna la timp. 7. Încă nu mi-ai spus cum te cheamă şi de
unde eşti. 8. A stat mult timp în Anglia aşa că nu este de mirare că
vorbeşte englezeşte atât de bine. 9. Nu mai ştiu ce să cred despre
el, se comportă atât de ciudat uneori! 10. Care dintre tablourile
expuse a fost descris cel mai convingător? 11. L-am văzut ieri la
teatru. 12. Cu ani în urmă nu se putea vorbi de cucerirea
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cosmosului. 13. Profesorul a fost adânc mişcat de cuvintele
elevilor săi. 14. Acum odihneşte-te puţin, ai tradus toată ziua. 15.
A cântat atât de prost încât mi-a fost foarte ruşine. 16. Nu mi-a
venit să cred că a terminat testul atât de repede. 17. În această
iarnă nu a ancorat aproape nici un vapor în portul acesta. 18. Sunt
numai parţial de acord cu tine. 19. M-a bătut atât de rău încât nu o
să i-o iert niciodată. 20. Nu-l cunosc prea bine, aşa că nu ştiu ce
intenţii are.

d. The Adverbial Modifier of Concession

I. Point out the Adverbial Modifier of Concession in the
following sentences; state by what they are expressed:
1. Despite the slippery roads, he drove his car today. 2. Although
it was raining, Mike didn’t take the umbrella with him. 3. Despite
having studied so hard, she didn’t do well in the final exams. 4.
Although he has lived in London for several years, he can’t speak
English fluently. 5. Although he has a lot of money, he hasn’t
bought a car yet. 6. She was a good child for all her tricks. 7. In
spite of your objection, I’m going to tell him the whole truth. 8.
With all his faults, he is a good company. 9. For all his learning
she didn’t like him. 10. Although the car was badly damaged, the
driver wasn’t hurt. 11. They wanted to climb the mountain even
though it was dangerous. 12. Even though it was cola I went
swimming. 13. No matter what I did my boss wasn’t pleased with
my work. 14. However much she tried she couldn’t manage to win
the first prize.

II. Translate into English:

1. Deşi vorbea foarte rar, eu nu îl puteam înţelege. 2. Nu puteam
să o iert deşi mă străduiam. 3. Orice ai vedea acolo nu-mi spune
145
că nu mă interesează. 4. Deşi s-ar putea ca vremea să se
îmbunătăţească, eu nu merg în excursie cu voi mâine. 5. Indiferent
cine este la uşă, nu deschide! 6. Cu toate că s-ar putea să îmi ia
mai multe de şase luni ca să termin, eu tot am să încerc. 7. Cu
toate că rochia ei e mult mai scumpă ca a mea, nu cred că arată
mai bine ca mine. 8. Cu toate că spune că a terminat o facultate,
nimeni nu îl crede. 9. Deşi mi-a promis că vine, eu nu îl cred
pentru că niciodată nu se ţine de cuvânt. 10. Indiferent ce crezi tu
despre mine, eu o să te ajut. 11. Oricât de des am încercat, nu am
putut afla adevărul. 12. Oricât de mult mi-am dorit să câştig,
trebuie să recunosc că ea a fost mai bună. 13. Deşi locuieşte
departe de serviciu, el ajunge întotdeauna la timp. 14. Cu toate că
l-a durut capul, el a studiat toată seara. 15. Deşi ţine regim, nu
reuşeşte să slăbească deloc.

e. The Adverbial Modifier of Reason

I. Point out the adverbial modifiers of reason in the
following sentences:
1. She is weak with exhaustion. 2. He was tired from the day in
the sun and the long hours in the sun. 3. The children were happy
with the toys they received from their parents. 4. Being tired she
refused to go to the party. 5. Having visited Paris, she chose to
visit London. 6. The professor was upset with himself for
mistreated his students. 7. I will always remember our last
summer holiday because of its serenity. 8. Being unable to buy a
car, she buy a bicycle. 9. They were angry with their friends’
attitude. 10. After crossing the finish line, he fell on the ground
out of breath with running.

146
II. Rewrite the sentences using for or with instead of because
(of).
MODEL: Because the meeting is at 2.00, I won't be able to see
you.
With the meeting (being) at 2.00, I won't have time to see
you.
1. She couldn't hear John talking because of all the noise.
2. Because prices were falling, they couldn't sell their house.
3. When we got to the top of the hill we couldn't see anything
because of the mist.
4. Because of the snow, I might not be able to get to the airport.
5. I've been left to do all the work, because Ron and Bill are on
holiday.

III. Translate the following sentences into English paying

attention to the Prepositional Adverbial of Reason:
1. Nu am putut pleca cu maşina de dimineaţă din cauza poleiului.
2. Din cauza întârzierii nu am mai prins începutul filmului.
3. Ar putea câştiga titlul olimpic datorită unei pregătiri mai
temeinice.
4. Mă gândesc că ar trebui să lucrez în străinătate din lipsa unui
loc de muncă stabil în ţară.
5. Sunt mort de oboseală şi încă mai am de lucru foarte mult.
6. A leşinat de frică la vederea atacatorului.
7. A început să de dezbrace deoarece era prea cald şi îl durea
capul de zapuşeală.
8. Cred că trebuie să îţi reconsideri atitudinea; toată lumea e
supărată din cauza comportamentului tău.
9. Nu putea să îşi termine lucrarea din lipsă de material.
10. Nu vroia să mai rămână de frica celor întâmplate.
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f. The Adverbial Modifier of Purpose
I. Point out the Adverbial Modifier of Purpose in the
following sentences:
1. He takes a glass and holds it to Essie to be filled. (G. B. Shaw)
2. She opened another door, standing aside for me to pass through.
(D.Maurier) 3. To satisfy himself he ran back over certain
accounts in the ledger, verifying his suspicious. (Th. Dreiser) 4.
Mr. Peggotty stopped for us to join him. (Ch. Dickens) 5. To
understand, to know reality, it is necessary to have a theory of
knowledge corresponding to truth. (R. Fox) 6. I look round for a
box of matches, I could not find one. (D. Maurier) 7. He put the
picture on the table for George to get a better view of it. 8. The
announcement was put up on the notice board for everyone to see
it. 9. Young Jolyon rose and held his hand to help his father up. (J.
Galsworthy) 10. Arthur took the key out of his pocket and placed
it in Adam’s hand for him to open the door. (G. Elliot) 11. She
strained her ears to catch the words. (M. Roche) 12. The boy stood
aside for him to go by. (J. Galsworthy) 13. Ann was now studying
to be a teacher. (D. H. Lawrence) 14. Mother had kept back the
dinner so as to have it just nicely ready and hot for us. (J. Leack)
15. She changed her dress so as to look as if she had been in some
time and ran to the gallery. (J. Galsworthy)

II. Combine the two sentences into one using so that or in

case/ lest:
MODEL: a) We left home early. We wanted to catch the train.
We left home early so that we could catch the train.
b) He hurried to the bus-stop. He didn’t want to miss
the bus.
148
 He hurried to the bus-stop in case/ lest he should miss
the bus.
1. She learned English. She wanted to move in America. 2. He
booked a ticket. He wanted to see the new play. 3. She keeps
dieting. She wants to lose weight. 4. He took an umbrella because
it was raining outside. He didn’t want to catch a cold. 5. He closed
the door quietly. He didn’t want to wake up the others. 6. She read
the poem several times. She wanted to know it by heart. 7. He
trains a lot every day. He wants to become world champion. 8.
She opened the door. She wanted the cat to get out. 9. He hurried
home. He wanted to see the football match. 10. The driver stopped
the bus. He wanted the travellers to enjoy the view.

III. Combine the sentences 1-7 to sentences a-g in the most

appropriate way, and then write two sentences as one using in
order + to-infinitive or so as + to-infinitive.
1. Trees were planted along the street.
2. We crept up the stairs.
3. I swept the broken glass off the path.
4. We wrote Katie's name on the calendar.
5. I didn't say anything about Colin's red nose.
6. He bought a truck.
7. She left the party quietly.
a. I didn't want to embarrass him.
b. She didn't want to have to say goodbye.
c. This was done to reduce traffic noise.
d. I wanted to prevent an accident.
e. We didn't want to wake Suzanne.
f. He did this to carry out his business.
g. We didn't want to forget her birthday.
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IV. Translate into English:
1. Am închis uşa cu grijă ca să nu îl trezesc pe tata. 2. S-au făcut
multe cercetări pentru descoperirea cauzelor cancerului. 3. Am
luat trenul de dimineaţă ca să prind avionul după amiază. 4. Claire
i-a scris o scrisoare tatălui ei ca să îi spună că a luat examenul. 5.
Citeşte articolul cu voce tare ca să îl poată citi toată lumea. 6.
Trebuie să te grăbeşti ca să nu întârzii. 7. A înţeles că trebuie să
facă exact ce îi spune mama sa dacă vrea să reuşească. 8. Şi-a
cumpărat bilet în primul rând ca să vadă şi să audă mai bine. 8. Nu
mai plec mâine ca să mai pot sta câteva zile cu tine. 9. S-a străduit
să înveţe limba engleză pentru ca să obţină o slujbă bună mai uşor.
10. A vrut să înveţe să conducă ca să se simtă mai independentă.
11. Şi-a dat copilul la înot ca să se dezvolte mai bine. 12. Mark şi-
a notat numărul tău de telefon ca să nu îl uite şi ca să te poată suna
mâine. 13. Profesorul a vorbit rar ca să îl poată înţelege toată
lumea ce spune. 14. Înştiinţează-mă când vii ca sa te aştept la gară.
15. Îmi mai trebuie cel puţin o după amiază liberă ca să termin
reparaţia maşinii. 16. Nu pot să cred că ai plecat pe frigul ăsta
numai ca să îţi cumperi ţigări. 17. Ar fi ceva nesăbuit să laşi casa
deschisă astfel ca cineva să poată intra. 18. A scos telefonul din
priză ca să nu fie deranjat. 19. Şi-a luat ceva de mâncare cu el ca
să nu moară de foame mai târziu. 20. S-a antrenat luni în şir ca să
poată escalada muntele, dar în final a renunţat pentru că vremea
era foarte rece.

g. The Adverbial Modifier of Result

I. Point out the Adverbial Modifier of Result in the following
sentences:

150
1. The man speaks too fast to be understood. 2. It was too foggy to
be able to see the road. 3. The tea is too hot to be drunk.. 4. The
news is good that it can’t be true. 5. The ring was too cheap to be
gold. 6. The problem was too difficult to be solved. 7. The coat
was too expensive for me to buy. 8. The shelf was too high for the
boy to reach. 9. The river was too deep for the children to wade
across. 10. The examination was too long for us to finish it in an
hour. 11. Mike is too careless in his work to be appreciated by
anyone. 12. The manager was too nervous to utter even a word. 13.
The woman was too upset about the news to say something. 14.
At that moment was too confused to realise what was happening.
15. Jane was clever enough to pass the exam.

II. Combine the following sentences using an adverbial modifier

of result expressed by TOO/ ENOUGH + infinitive:
MODEL: It is raining very hard. I can’t go out.
It’s raining too hard for me to go out.
The box is quite large. We can put six books.
The box is large enough for me to put six books in
it.
1. The question was very difficult. Mike couldn’t answer to it. 2.
The fence is low. The horse can jump over it. 3. The roads era too
icy. I can’t drive on them. 4. I don’t have much money. I can’t
give you some. 5. We have plenty of food. We can serve all the
extra- guests. 6. The oranges were too bitter. We couldn’t eat
them. 7. I have very much homework to do for tomorrow. I can’t
go with you to the cinema. 8. The bag is light. Bob can carry it. 9.

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The teacher spoke very slowly. All the pupils understood him. 10.
The rope was very strong. It could support two men.

III Translate into English:

1. Era atâta lume pe stadion încât a fost imposibil să găsim vreun
loc. 2. Este un student prea bun ca să rateze examenul ăsta. 3. El a
fugit atât de repede încât nu l-am putut prinde. 4. Era atât de cald
în cameră încât a adormit fără să vrea. 5. Zăpada era prea mare ca
noi să ne putem continua drumul. 6. Jane a fost prea emoţionată ca
să se poată concentra foarte bine. 7. Vântul era prea puternic ca să
mai putem merge la plimbare. 8. Era destul de soare afară ca noi
să putem merge la plajă. 9. Era atât de supărată încât am decis să
renunţăm să o mai întrebăm ce s-a întâmplat. 10. Cuţitul era destul
de ascuţit ca să putem tăia nodul cu el. 11. Cartea era prea sus
pusă ca fetiţa să ajungă să o ia. 12. Prăjitura a fost atât de bună
încât am mai comandat una. 13. Hainele îi erau prea mici ca să le
mai ţină, aşa că le-a dat copiilor săraci. 14. Era prea obosită ca să
se mai contrazică cu fratele ei. 15. A fost aşa de dezamăgită după
insuccesul pe care l-a avut la concurs încât a hotărât să renunţe la
sport pentru totdeauna. 15. Muzica era aşa de tare încât mi-a
provocat o durere de cap îngrozitoare.

h. The Adverbial Modifier of Condition

I. Point out the Adverbial Modifier of Condition in the
following sentences; state by what they are expressed:
1. But for the rain I would go for a walk. 2. By telling lies, you
will end up being mistrusted. 3. Woken up in time, she would
have caught the train. 4. She will be surprised to hear the news. 5.
Without my mother I wouldn’t have succeeded in becoming such

152
a famous actress. 6. Nobody spokes if spoken to. (Ch. Dickens) 7.
But for the storm, he could have arrived earlier. 8. Without his
help, I couldn’t have found the right road. 9. If interesting, we
might publish it. 10. Taken in small amounts, it can do no harm.
11. She will never play tennis well again without practising
regularly. 12. Cooling the water you can obtain ice. 13. The
productivity will increase by adopting these measures. 14.
Weather permitting, the expedition will set out at the beginning of
May. 15. But for the storm, we could have reached that chalet
earlier.
II. Translate into English:
1. Fără grădini şi parcuri, oraşul nostru nu ar arăta prea bine. 2. În
caz de nevoie va fi instaurată starea de urgenţă. 3. Lucrat cu grijă,
pământul ar putea avea o productivitate mai mare. 4. Udând în
fiecare zi plantele, acestea nu o să se mai usuce aşa cum s-a
întâmplat anul trecut. 5. În cazul arestării lui, fă orice ca să-l scoţi
pe cauţiune. 6. Fără această scrisoare nu aş fi avut nici acum noua
lui adresă. 7. Numai învăţând mult, poţi trece acest examen dificil.
8. Conducând mai încet nu vei avea accidente. 9. Fără voia lui, şi-
a trădat cel mai bun prieten. 10. Ascultându-mi sfatul, îţi va fi
mult mai uşor de acum încolo.
i. The Adverbial Modifier of Exception
I. Point out the Adverbial Modifier of Exception in the
following sentences; state by what they are expressed:
1. He got up early every day except Sunday. 2. I could answer all
the question but one. 3. Everybody was present except Peter. 4.
She made no comment on it, except by a scornful movement of
the lips. (M. Roche) 5. Nothing remained but set to work. 6. It was

153
everywhere perfectly still, save for the rustling of leaves and birds.
7. They listened to all the witnesses but one. 8. He thinks of
nothing but making money. 9. They looked in every place but the
right one. 10. Everyone except Smith answered the question
correctly. 11. But he could hear little save the noise of laughter
and dispute on the front steps. (J. Joyce) 12. I have told this to no
one but you. 13. That car has given me nothing but trouble ever
since I have had it. 14. The blinds were always drawn and her
barefooted tribe was never permitted to enter the sacred precinct
save on state occasion. (J. London) 15. Nothing remains for us to
do, except to enjoy the fruits of our labours. 16. The house is in
perfect condition, except for a few scratches on one of the doors.
17. Trix had been lamed in one leg during the blitzes on the docks,
but he wouldn’t allow anyone to attend her but himself. (J.
Linsday) 18. The children found there was nothing they could do
with their money except spend it on sweets. 19. He has lost
everything except his good name. 20. That boy is nothing but a
nuisance.
II. Translate the following sentences into English using
adverbial modifiers of exception:
1. A venit toata lumea pe care o aşteptam în afară de el. 2. Putem
să ne întâlnim în orice zi a săptămânii în afară de mâine. 3. Cred
că ar fi vrut să cumpere tot ce a găsit în raionul ăsta în afară de
vreo două lucruri. 4. Vreau să merg în excursie cu toţi cei pe care
mi i-ai spus cu excepţia lui Mike. Nu îl plac absolut deloc. 5. Nu
am găsit în casa aceea pustie nimic altceva decât mobilă veche. 6.
Citeşte orice în afară de aventuri. Cu excepţia bunicii mele care
era bolnavă toată lumea a fost prezentă la nunta surorii mele. 7.
De câte ori vine în oraş nu vrea să doarmă nicăieri altundeva decât

154
la noi. 8. În afara programului stabilit nu am putut asculta nimic
altceva. 9. Toată lumea dansa cu excepţia celor mai în vârstă. 10.
Altcineva decât mine te-ar fi iertat, dar eu pur şi simplu nu pot.

j. The Adverbial Modifier of Relation

I. Point out the Adverbial Modifier of Relation in the
following sentences; state by what they are expressed:
1. My friend has read everything about the history of the Olympic
Games. 2. She has warned them about driving too fast. 3. He
knows everything about computers. 4. I am pleased about their
smashing success. 5. I don’t want to comment on this matter. 6.
“What are you thinking about?” 7. I must congratulate them on
winning the first prize. 8. I’m going to insist on coming back
home soon. 9. I doubt on the success of such a risking action. 10.
In shape, the object was circular. 11. I will never agree with you
on buying that old car. 12. I feel uneasy about all this mess. 13.
I’m keen on going on holiday to France. 14. I have always dreamt
about visiting China. 15. I can add nothing to what I already said.
II. Translate the following sentences, paying attention to the
adverbial modifiers of relation:
1. A întrebat cineva de mine? 2. Despre cine discutaţi? 3.
Profesorul i-a pus mai multe întrebări despre istoria secolului al
18-lea, dar el nu a ştiut să răspundă la nici una dintre ele, aşa că l-
a picat la examen. 4. Acest tablou este valoros din punct de vedere
artistic. 5. În ceea ce priveşte schimbările ce vor avea loc în firma
noastră nu sunt absolut deloc de acord. 6. Se vorbeşte mult despre
succesele colegilor noştri la olimpiadele şcolare. 7. Tocmai am
fost informaţi despre schimbarea codului de punctaj. 8. În ceea ce

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priveste excursia de mâine, cred că ar trebui să o amânăm fiindcă
este prea frig. 9. Te-am sunat în legătură cu întâlnirea de mâine,
te-am sunat ca să îţi spun că nu pot veni. 10. O să te informez în
legătură cu evoluţia cazului. 11. Nu fi atât de neliniştit în privinţa
examenului; o să îl treacă. 12. L-am avertizat în legătură cu
particularităţile companiei în care o să lucreze; totul este foarte
diferit de compania noastră. 13. Cât despre fratele meu ce pot să
îţi spun? A terminat dreptul şi acum este avocat în Bucureşti. 14.
Se vorbeşte mult despre ce s-a întâmplat la şedinţă. 15. După
părerea mea, ar trebui să te tunzi; părul scurt te-ar face să pari mai
tânără.
k. Revision Exercises on the Adverbial Modifiers
I. Specify the kind of adverbial modifier that the Infinitive
express in the following sentences:
1. I am too tired to understand this problem. 2. He rarely goes out
except to take part in the social life of the city. 3. She starting
running so as to be ale to catch him. 4.
Margaret is rich enough to afford this trip. 5. She went to the post
office to post a letter. 6. I came here in order to warn you about
her. 6. To hear him talk, you might think he was crazy. 7. I’m
whispering so as not to wake the children up. 8. The novel is short
enough for you to read it in two days. 9. He ran his hand through
his hair as though to tidy it. 10. The water is warm enough to
swim in it.

II. Specify the kind of adverbial modifier that the -ing forms
express in the following sentences:
1. He was running without looking back. 2. The girl hesitated, as
though not quite knowing what to say. 3. He hardly looked at her

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while talking. 4. He was interested in finding out what has
happened to her parents. 5. I am thinking of buying a new house.
6. Having realised he was wrong, Mike decided to leave the
meeting. 7. John went for a walk without telling his mother. 8.
After reading the article, he gave up smoking. 9. I can’t
concentrate on my writing the final essays. 10. On seeing us, the
boy stopped whistling and started reading the book. 11. I took my
temperature and, upon finding it was very high, I went back to bed.
12. His brother was fined for having driven too fast. 13. He
managed to finish first by concentrating hard. 14. They were
walking without finding the place they were looking for. 15. Why
are you so furious at hearing the truth?

III. Point out the adverbial modifiers in the following

sentences and state by what they are expressed:
1. We will see again tomorrow. 2. He can speak English fluently.
3. I heart him knowing, so I ran downstairs to see who it was. 4.
William enjoys swimming in the sea. 5. Jack is used to working
hard. 6. Your mother has just arrived. 7. Can you see them there?
8. He went to bed late. 9. There was a scream from the room
above. 10. At first I didn’t want to hear his proposal, but I
changed my mind after his explanation. 11. After aiming the bird,
he missed the shot completely. 12. It is not polite to stare at people.
13. Can you be ready by 8.00 o’clock? 14. I was born in January.
15. Every time I see her I can’t help myself noticing how beautiful
she is! 16. We have been married for twenty years. 17. She has
been very upset since yesterday. 18. It is very cold here in winter.
19. The aeroplane is flying above the city. 20. I arrived at his
office late, but he had gone. 21. Be careful! A car is coming
towards you! 22. The boat sank over the waves. But for me,
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everybody went on that trip. 23. Except my brother, all the others
liked the wine. 24. We stopped in front of the museum, and sat
down on the steps. 25. He accepted his defeat with dignity.

IV. Point out the adverbial modifiers in the following

sentences and state by what they are expressed:
1. They walked for three miles without finding any habitation. 2.
The warm fine sand of the beach spread up and over everything. 3.
If necessary, she must see the head manager. 4. Turning away, she
caught sight of the extra special edition of the evening paper. 5.
When questioned, she explained everything very carefully. 6. He
looked at him carefully, with his whole face red. 7. He looked up
without speaking. He was too fond of his work to leave it just now.
8. So, on the following evening, we again assembled, to discuss
and arrange our plans. 9. They rose to go into the drawing-room.
10. He put the picture on the table for George to get a better view
of it.

V. Insert where necessary the required prepositions (making

prepositional adverbial modifiers):
1. He took up his work … enthusiasm. 2. Working … dinner gives
me an appetite. 3. I have known her … September. 4. It has been
raining … two hours. 5. The agency is open … 4.00 … 8.00. 6.
Give me something to eat, I’m too hungry to wait … lunch. 7. Is
your birthday … April? 8. He fell in love … her. 9. Try and look
at the problem … prejudice. 10. I received the parcel … post. 11.
There is not much … me that could possibly interest you. 12. Her
mother never complains … her daughter’s behaviour. 13. The
train was delayed … the snow storm. 14. Because he had lost his
key, he climbed … the house … an open window. 15. We will go
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on our holiday … plane. 16. The boy knows many poems …
Shelley … heart. 17. He went away … his hands … in his pockets.
18. … nights he stays in bed thinking … all his problems. 19. The
bill must be paid … Monday. 20. Cambridge is 100 km north …
London. 21. He gave me a pat … the back. 22. I bought it … $3 in
a second hand shop. 23. Part-time workers are paid … the hour.
24. Liverpool won … three goals … 0. 25. We both share a
love … music.

VI. Insert where necessary the required prepositions (making

prepositional adverbial modifiers):
1. His house was … the head of the village. 2. After working …
about ten minutes, she rose … her feet, starting out … the garden.
3. After his arrival … London, he remained at home … a whole
week. 4. He tried twice to reach you … the phone. 5. We were
having tea … the fireplace. 6. The train was going … full speed. 7.
It is not wise to bathe … the sea … this time of the year. 8. The
train arrived late … its destination … the afternoon. 9. Let me do
it … myself! 10. Line up … twos! 11. Those eggs are sold …
dozen. Do you have any money … you? 12. The boy was taller
than his father … five inches. 13. We called … his house, but I
was told he was out. 14. They arrived … low wooden house half
hidden … the green of its front door. 15. My room was … the
north side of the hotel.

VII. Put the adverbs given in brackets in their proper places:

1. I can understand what you say (now, hardly). 2. Don’t speak
(quickly, too). 3. We saw her (yesterday, there, distinctly). 4. He
thinks he is right (always). 5. I told him my opinion (frankly). 6.
He came (very early, here). 7. The boy came (in the room,
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unexpectedly, quite). 8. I lived (for three years, there, last year). 9.
We must start (at ten o’clock, from this place). 10. I learnt
something I had known (never, before, on winter day). 11. I have
met such people (often). 12. She misses her classes (rarely). 13.
You will find him at work (often, late, at night). 14. I heard of that
accident (late in night, by mistake, at the office). 15. Do you read
the daily paper (at the office, always, carefully)? 16. Would you
have recognized me (ever). 17. It was bitterly cold (yesterday, in
the morning). 18. You are walking for me (too fast). 19. We enjoy
playing tennis (during summer holiday, every day, together).

VIII. Put the adverbs given in brackets in their proper places.

Give more than one possible variant:
1. It rains in autumn (usually). 2. The climate has been damp
(always, in these parts of the country). 3. There is no deep
navigable river, except the Danube (on the southern part of
Romania). 4. The engine will be working at full speed (soon). 5.
One must have a good rest after work, take long walks, and sleep
long hours (in order to keep fit). 6. The tourist put all his
equipment which might be necessary during the tour (into his bag).
7. I haven’t been at any concert (lately). 8. He spoke about his
merits (never). 9. We reached the town (after driving most of the
afternoon, at five). 10. The clock ticked (on the table, steadily). 11.
The children stayed indoors (because of the cold weather, all the
morning). 12. It came to her that they had not received the
telegram (by an evil chance, suddenly, yet). 13. The steamer gave
a long hoot and steered away (south, slowly). 14. He felt tired and
lay down (to rest, at last, late in the afternoon, on a little green
hill). 15. He has translated some sentences from The Pickwick

160
Club (last night, correctly). 16. She lived (in a little cottage, for
three years, quietly).

IX. Ask questions on the adverbial modifiers in italics:

1. In a room within the house, Cowperwood, his coat and vest off,
was listening to Aileen’s account of the troubles. 2. They were
returning to the cottage, their hands full of flowers. 3. Mr. Weller
left the room, and departed slowly on his errand, with his hands in
his pockets, and his eyes fixed on the ground. 4. There was room
enough for me to sit between them, and no more. 5. During the
interval they talked in the hall. 6. He was exhausted from want to
sleep. 7. He left the hall before the last act of the performance. 8.
The man faced difficulties of their expedition with courage and
resolution. 9. It was such a difficult task as not to be finished in a
week. 10. He went to bed immediately after his arrival.

X. Point out the kinds of adverbial modifier, and state by

what it is expressed. Translate into Romanian:
These thoughts have occurred to me because I read in the
morning’s paper that Edward Hyde Burton had died in Kobe. He
was a merchant and he had been in Japan for many years. I knew
him very little, but he interested me once he gave me a great
surprise. If I had not heard the story from his own lips I should
never have believed that he was capable of such an action. It was
the more startling because both his appearance and his manner
gave the impression of a very different man. He was a tiny little
fellow, very slender, with white hair, a red face much wrinkled,
and blue eyes. I suppose he was about sixty when I knew him. He
was always neatly dressed in accordance with his age and station.
(Somerset Maugham, A Friend in Need)
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XI. Translate into English paying attention to adverbial
modifiers:
1. A plecat de aici în grabă şi mi s-a părut că era foarte supărată. 2.
În fiecare an îşi petrece vacanţa de anul nou la munte, într-o
cabană în mijlocul pădurii. 3. Unde a găsit John această carte?
Cred că la o librărie din străinătate. 4. Cu toate că s-a grăbit foarte
tare, tot nu a reuşit să ajungă la timp. 5. Ca să nu rămână singură,
ea a acceptat să facă compromisuri cu toate că era foarte nefericită.
6. Pentru a putea termina tot e era de făcut, directorul a apelat la
nişte subalterni ca să îl ajute. 7. Ei au venit împreună pentru că s-
au întâlnit întâmplător în acelaşi compartiment de tren. 8. Cu
excepţia lui Mike, nimeni nu a dorit să plece. 9. Te las să te duci
la joacă numai dacă termini temele. 10. Vorbea tot timpul numai
despre fostul ei iubit. 11. De obicei se grăbeşte, dar astăzi conduce
încet pentru că nu se simte bine. 12. Fetiţa alerga foarte repede
prin parc şi de aceea a căzut şi şi-a scrântit glezna. 13. În afară de
fratele ei, toată lumea credea că ar fi mai bine să mergem cu taxiul.
14. Cu cine te-ai dus la film? Am fost împreună cu cele două
prietene din Bucureşti care sunt la mine în vizită săptămâna asta.
15. De frică să nu cadă a preferat să stea pe loc şi să aştepte
ajutoare

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 Chapter 4

Classification of Sentences

4.1. Clause Types and Speech Acts

In pragmatics the term speech act is used for things we can
do with sentences of our own language, i.e. things like making
statements, asking questions, issuing commands or uttering
exclamations. The speech act we can perform depends to a large
extend on its syntactic form. The syntax of English distinguishes a
set of clause types that are characteristically used to perform
different kinds of speech acts. There are five major types of
sentences:
i. Declarative He is very intelligent.
ii. Closed interrogative Is he very intelligent?
iii. Open interrogative How intelligent is he?
iv. Exclamative How intelligent he is!
v. Imperative Be intelligent and don’t do this!
Although the correspondence between these clause types
and the speech acts they can be used is not one-to-one, speech acts
do have a characteristic correlation with clause type:
Clause Type Speech Act
i. Declarative making a statement
ii. Closed interrogative asking a closed question
iii. Open interrogative asking an open question
iv. Exclamative making an exclamatory statement
v. Imperative issuing a directive

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 These correlations could provide for general definitions of
the clause types. For example, the imperative clause type can be
defined as a clause construction characteristically used to issue
directives.
However, it is important that ‘imperative’ and ‘directive’
are terms for entirely different things, and they do not always
correspond. They can not be used as language-particular
definitions. This chapter is concerned with the syntactic properties
of the clause types and the way in which they line up with clause
meanings and speech acts.

4.2. Declarative sentences

The declarative type is regarding to be the basic type of
clauses especially because declaratives lack the syntactic
properties of the other clause types.
In this chapter we will shortly describe the non-declarative
clause types: open and closed interrogatives, exclamatives,
imperatives and other minor types.

4.3. Interrogative sentences

As we previously mentioned, there are two types of
interrogatives: closed and open. The syntactic structure of the two
is significantly different. Besides these types which we can call
information questions, Huddleston and Pullum (2007:167)
identify further types of questions we are going to discuss in this
chapter: direction questions and echo questions.

4.3.1. Closed and open interrogatives

These terms apply in the first instance to questions. A
closed question like Is John at home? Has just two answers, while
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an open question like Where have you been? has a set of answers.
As a result, the terms ‘closed’ and ‘open’ interrogatives are used
to ask closed and open questions.

(i). The Form of closed interrogatives

Closed interrogative form is marked by subject-auxiliary
inversion: the Subject occurs after the auxiliary verb:
e.g. Is it raining?
Can he swim?
Does he know this?
In the first two examples the closed interrogatives differ
from their declarative counterparts by having Subject and
auxiliary verb in the reverse order.
In the third example the declarative does not contain an
auxiliary, only in the interrogative counterpart we have the
dummy auxiliary do.
Inversion is not restricted to closed interrogatives, but in
other cases it normally occur only when certain kinds of elements
occupy initial position in the clause as in the following examples:
e.g. Never before had I heard such a thing!
He agreed and so did his wife.
How did you spend your holiday?

In the first two examples which are declaratives, the

inversion is triggered by the occurrence in initial position of a
negative element and a connective.
In the third example the inversion is triggered by the initial
interrogative element why, a marker of the open interrogative type.
There are two kinds of closed questions according to the
possible answers: yes/no (polar) questions and closed questions.
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e.g. i.a. Did he answer the phone?
b. Didn’t he answer the phone?
ii.a. Is the meeting today, tomorrow, or next week?
b. Is this Oxford Street or is it Baker Street?

A. Yes/no questions
In this type of question the answer is derivable directly
from the question itself, while the other is its polar opposite, i.e.
negative or positive counterpart.
In i.a. one answer is yes, while the other is its polar opposite, i.e.
negative or positive counterpart.
In i.b. one answer is Yes, he answers the phone, and the other is its
negation: No, he didn’t answer the phone that is derivable directly
from the question itself.

B. Alternative questions
This type of question contains a coordination of elements linked
by or, and the answer derive from the separate coordinated
elements.
In ii.a. there are three possible answers: It is today; It is tomorrow;
It is next week.
In ii.b. there are two possible answers: It is Oxford Street or It is
Baker Street.
Note that the or in ii.b. joins two whole clauses, so it is a
marker of a distinct clause type. What we have is a coordination
of two closed interrogative clauses expressing a single alternative
question.
While an or-coordination is an essential component of an
alternative question, it is possible to have an or-coordination in

166
other kinds of speech act, which means that an or-coordination
may also occur in polar questions:
e.g. Do you want me to give it to man or Dad?
(ii). The form of open interrogatives
Open interrogatives are marked by the presence of one (or
more) of the interrogative words: who, whom, whose, what, which,
when, where, why, how.

A. Position of interrogative Phrases in open interrogatives

The interrogative word, alone or in combination with other
words such as the Head noun in which car form an interrogative
phrase. This can have a variety of functions in the clause such as:
Subject, Object, Predicative Complement, and so on.
The important syntactic distinction is between Subjects
and non-Subjects. Non-Subject are usually in front position, being
placed before the Subject. We have to mention that in declarative
sentences the non-Subjects elements are placed later in the clause.
e.g. Subject: Who called the police?
Non-Subject: Which book do your students prefer?
What are they? [fronted]
After that they went there? [non-fronted]

In the first example who is the Subject. It is in the usual

position, before the Predicator.
In the second example, which book is the object of prefer,
and in the third example what is predicative complement. They
are non-Subjects. They occur in front position (fronted), and the
fronting is accompanied by obligatory subject-auxiliary inversion.

167
In the last example where is a locative complement, i.e. non-
Subject. It is non-fronted, occurring in the position of a
Prepositional Phrase in a declarative sentence.

B. Answers of open questions

We have said that open interrogatives are used in open
questions which are questions with a set of answers, derivable
from the questions by replacing the interrogative phrases by
appropriate non-interrogative ones which are called replacement
phrases. Thus possible answers for the examples above would be:
e.g. My father called the police.
Hamlet is the book my students prefer.
They are special devices.
After that they went home.
Very often the answer is reduced to a replacement phrase,
since the rest is recoverable from the question.

Appropriate replacements
What counts as an appropriate replacement phrase depends
on the interrogative phrase, especially on the particular
interrogative word it contains. Here are some very simple cases
where the interrogative word is the head of the interrogative
phrase:
 Who and whom need replacements denoting personal
entities: Who is that man? John.
 Whose needs a personal replacement, too, but needs a
genitive replacement: Whose is that house? Dr. White’s.
 What is non-personal: What is he wearing? A suit, but
when it is a predicative complement its replacement can be

168
 an indication of occupation, religion, etc: What is she? She
is a doctor.
 When, where, why call for replacements denoting time,
place, reason: When did he go? Yesterday; Where did he
go? Paris; When did he go? On a business trip.
 When how is an adverb functioning as an adjunct it
generally question manner or means: How did you change
it? By using a screwdriver.
 How can also be an adjective, functioning as predicative
complement: How are you? Very well.

4.3.2. Interrogative Tags

A special case of the closed interrogative is in the
interrogative tags that follow some clauses, usually declaratives:
e.g. He hasn’t been to Paris, has he?
He spoke at that conference, didn’t he?
The tags here are closed interrogatives reduced to just an
auxiliary verb and a pronoun Subject. Everything else is implicit,
because it can be recovered from the preceding clause. The most
usual construction has reverse polarity tag: the polarity of the tag
is the reverse of that of the first clause. For example, in the first
example the declarative is negative and the tag question is positive,
and in the second example is vice-versa. Such tags express a need
for confirmation of the statement expressed in the declarative.

4.3.3. Direction questions

In all the questions analysed so far, the answers have been
statements. We call these information questions. There is also a
less frequent type of question, called direction questions whose

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answers are directives. The questions in the examples (a) below
are closed (yes/no) questions, those in (b) are open.
e.g. Information questions:
a. Did you see the film?
b. What did you buy yesterday?
Direction questions:
a. May I close the door?
b. What shall I buy for her?

4.3.4. Echo questions

One distinct type of question is echo question, uttered in
response to a preceding utterance which Huddleston and Pullum
call “the stimulus” (2007: 167).
e.g. Stimulus: She complained to the boss.
Echo question:She complained to the boss? [close]
Stimulus: She invited the boss.
Echo question:She invited who? [open]
Echo questions serve to check or clarify a stimulus that
wasn’t understood clearly or that was surprising. They can be
closed or open. Closed echo questions are usually of yes/no type.
A yes/no question repeats the stimulus in full or in reduced
form and has sharply rising intonation; it is used to check whether
the hearer understood correctly what it was uttered.
An open echo question repeats the stimulus with a
question word substituted for part of it – the part that is
specifically in need of confirmation or clarification. The echo
question word is never placed in front position: it occupies the
same position as the part of the stimulus that it substitutes for.

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 4.4. Exclamative Sentences
I. The structure of exclamative clauses
Exclamative clauses are marked by an exclamatory phrase
containing what or how. We have to mention again that this type
of sentences can have several functions, the major distinction
being again between Subject and non-Subject. An exclamative
Subject occupies its basic position, while an exclamative non-
Subject is obligatory in front position.
e.g. Subject: What unpleasant people work here!
Non-Subject: What beautiful girl she is!
When a non-Subject is placed in the front position, the
Subject itself usually precedes the verb.

II. Exclamatives and exclamations

There are many ways of conveying exclamatory meaning
besides using an exclamative sentence. For example,
i.a. Get the hell out of here.
i.b. What the hell are you doing here?
ii.a. Look at that fantastic sunset!
ii.b. Who saw that fantastic sunset!
iii.a. Don’t be so pathetically stupid!
iii.b. Why are you so pathetically stupid?

The exclamatory meaning is expressed here by the hell in

the first example, fantastic in the second example, and so
pathetically in the third pair, but these are independent elements in
the clause. They combine with imperatives in (i) and with open
interrogatives in (ii). What and how in the examples from I. are,
by contrast, can be used only in exclamative sentences. Note for
171
example the impossibility of inserting them in imperatives or open
interrogatives:
e.g. *Don’t be what a tyrant.
*Why are you what a tyrant?
That’s why we previously said that the characteristic use
of exclamatives is in exclamatory statements, rather than in
exclamations.

III. Exclamative with’ what’ and ‘how’

What and how occur in either exclamative or open interrogative
clauses, but with some differences in grammar and meaning.

(a) What
Syntactically, what is an adjective, being used in a NP
with a following Head, and can never be a pronoun like the
interrogative pronoun what as in What was that?. The difference
between exclamative what and interrogative what can be easily
observed in count singular NPs, where exclamative what precedes
the indefinite article a:
e.g. Countable Sg. Exclamative: What a beautiful house!
Interrogative: What house what that?
Plural: Exclamative: What places we saw!
Interrogative: What places did we see?
Non-count: Exclamative: What money he had!
Interrogative: What money did he have?
In example one, where singular car has a count
interpretation, we can see the difference between exclamative
where a is determiner and what is external modifier and
interrogative where what is determiner. In the other two examples
the exclamative and interrogatives are alike.
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 (b) How
Exclamative how is always an adverb: it has no
comparable to the interrogative predicative adjective how in How
was the game?
Exclamative and interrogative uses of adverbial how are shown in
the following examples:
e.g. Exclamative: How old he is!
Interrogative: How old is he?
Exclamative: How rude they behaved with us!
Interrogative: How did they behave with us?

In the first pair of examples how is a degree modifier in

Adjectival Phrase. The exclamative use in first sentence indicates
a degree of amazement, while in its pair the interrogative how is
used only for asking without any other connotation.
In the second pair how is an adjunct in clause structure, but
of two different semantic types. The exclamative use suggest a
major disappointment, while the interrogative use of how ask only
the manner in which they behaved.

4.5. Imperatives and directives

I. The form of imperative clauses
The major syntactic features distinguishing imperative clauses
from declarative ones are the following:
i. the second person Subject is omissible
ii. the verb is in plain form
iii. auxiliary do is required in verbal negation, even with
the verb be
Examples:
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a. You told her the truth. Declarative
Tell her the truth. Imperative
b. You are well-behaved.Declarative
Be well-behaved. Imperative
c. You aren’t late. Declarative.
Don’t be late. Imperative

In the first example the Subject is obligatory, while in its

imperative counterpart the Subject you misses, but it is understood.
In the second pair of examples the verb is in plain form
(are). We have to notice that the verb in imperative is distinct
from that of a present tense declarative in only two cases: with the
verb to be and with the third personal singular Subject, like
everybody.
In the last pair of examples we notice the difference
regarding the auxiliary do. It is not permitted in the declarative
version , but it is required in the imperative.

II. First person imperatives

Most imperative clauses have a 2nd person Subject, either
overtly expressed as you or understood this way. In some case 3rd
person Subjects are found like everybody like in Everybody follow
me meaning everybody among you. But there is also a distinct
type of imperative construction understood as 1st person plural. It
is marked by the verb let used in a specialized way:
e.g. Declarative They let us go.
He didn’t let us go.
Imperative Let’s go!
Don’t let’s us go.

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 Used in imperative sentences, let can not be used with
Subject (*You let’s go!). The verb which follows the verb let is
understood as having a 1st person plural subject.

III. Uses of the imperative

(a) Imperatives as directives
Issuing directives is the characteristic use of imperatives.
Directives include a wide range of more specific types of speech
act:
i. Orders: Stand up.
ii. Requests: Please pass me the salt.
iii. Instructions: Press the red button.
iv. Advice: Mind the step.
v. Invitations: Contact me whenever you need.
vi. Permissions: Come in.
The kind of speech act which will be expressed depends
on context and tone of voice, though there are some linguistic
devices that serve to distinguish, for example orders from requests,
such as kindly or please.

(b) Imperatives as wishes

Imperatives can be used to express certain kinds of wish:
e.g. Have a nice day!
Get well soon.

These differ from directives in that the situations

concerned are generally not regarded as being under your control.
They don’t express instructions, but hope. This usage is quite
restricted to a quite narrow range of situations like being
comfortable, having fun, getting well.
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 (c) Imperatives as conditions
Let’s analyse the following examples:
e.g. Invite him without his wife and you’ll have scandal.
Help me this time and I’ll always be grateful to you.

The imperative clauses (the underlined ones) are the first

elements in a coordination construction, and they can be rephrase
using the conditional:
e.g. If you invite him without his wife, you will have scandal.
If you help me this time, I’ll always be grateful to you.
The second element indicates the consequence of fulfilling
the condition which is expressed in the imperative sentence.

iv. Non-imperative directions

The imperative construction can be used for different
kinds of directive, both telling and asking. But other clause types
are often used to make the speaker’s intention clearer.
(a) Interrogatives as directives
It is particularly common for closed interrogatives to be
used for requests:
e.g. Could you help me?
Would you mind answering the phone?
In many cases directives of this form are considered more
polite that imperatives.
(b) Declaratives as directives
e.g. I order you to leave.
You will drive her to the station.
I want you to finish the report until tomorrow.

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 In the first example order denotes a speech act and makes
explicit what kind of directive is about: an order
In the second example drive also denotes an order, but it is
not as explicit as in the first example.
In the last example I’m telling you what to do, but the
order is implicit.

4.6. Minor Clauses

Most main clauses fall into one or other of the five clause
types discussed above. But there are few other minor
constructions, mostly involving some fixed expressions.
e.g. Long live the King!
So be it!
Hands up!
The more, the merrier.

4.7. Exercises
4.7.1. Form of sentences
I. State whether the following sentences are true or false:
1. All written sentences start with a capital letter
and end with a full stop. T or F
2. All sentences are either simple, compound
or complex. T or F
3. The simplest sentence has one clause
consisting of a subject and a finite verb. T or F
4. Simple sentences may have objects and
complements, according to the verb. T or F
5. Simple sentences may not also have
adverbials. T or F
6. Compound sentences have two or more
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 equal main clauses. T or F
7. These clauses may or may not be joined
by a coordinating conjunctions. T or F
8. Complex sentences have a main clause
and one or more subordinate clauses. T or F
9. All subordinate clauses are introduced by
subordinating conjunctions. T or F
10. Compound-complex sentences have at least
two main clauses and one subordinate clause. T or F

II. State whether the following sentences are true or false:

1. Every sentence is a declarative, an interrogative,
and imperative or an exclamation. T or F
2. Each has a typical, recognisable form. T or F
3. Declaratives usually start with a
subject which is followed by a main verb. T or F
4. Interrogatives are recognisable from
wh- words, inversion and typical
intonation patterns. T or F
5. Imperatives are typically formed from a
non-finite form of the verb. T or F
6. Written exclamations start with How or
What and end with an exclamation mark. T or F
7. Interrogatives always ask questions. T or F
8. Declaratives can function as statements. T or F
9. Imperatives always give commands. T or F
10. Exclamations can be used for functions
other than showing strong emotions. T or F

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III. Classify the following according to clause type, and say
what kind of speech act they would mostly likely to be used to
perform:
1. Please turn on the lights.
2. I advise you to accept their offer.
3. I advise her to accept their offer.
4. Can you close that door, please?
5. You’re leaving already?
6. Where shall I put my coat?
7. What a senseless waste of human life it was!
8. Have a nice day!
9. Aren’t you lucky!
10. Allow me to congratulate you.

IV. Identify whether the following sentences are: a) declarative;

b) interrogative; c) imperative or d) exclamatory:
1. They met each other at a party. 2. What has happened to him? 3.
What a beautiful day! 4. Don’t you ever dare talk to me like that!
5. Who owns this car? 6. Let’s go to a movie! 7. I was given a
new pair of shoes for my birthday. 8. Have you got any money left?
9. Would you like to go for a walk? 10. How upset he was! 11.
It’s really a great opportunity! 12. Let’s go to the market to buy
some fruit! 13. The bad weather prevented us from going there by
plane. 14. What would you think of going to Spain next summer?
15. Who bought these flowers? 16. The President visited the new
hospital yesterday. 17. Hurry up! Train is leaving in a minute. 18.
Did mother tell you the big news? 19. I am wondering what
happened to her. 20. Why can’t you go there?

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V. The following clauses are given without any final
punctuation mark to avoid prejudicing things, so they do not
conform to normal written English. For each one, say whether it is
an open interrogative, an exclamative or ambiguous between open
interrogative and exclamative. Comment on your answer:
1. Who thinks it was awesome
2. How much remain to be done
3. How did you convince them
4. What a disappointment it was
5. How often have I told you to lock up
6. What idiot devised this plan
7. Who cares about this stupid project
8. What kind of fool do you take me for
9. Why don’t you give them a chance

VI. In the following quotations from Ask Me Tomorrow by

Stan Barstow, identify all clauses as either main or subordinate,
and identify the type of each sentence:
1. She turned into a gateway.
2. It had been raining earlier and the shrubbery was soaked.
3. There was a bell, but it didn’t seem to be working so she
knocked.
4. You couldn’t call it smart but though it had obviously seen
better days it looked reasonably clean.
5. The young man hovered about uncertainty, as though not
knowing what to do.
6. There was a divan bed with a blue-day cover over it in a corner.
7. I hope I’m not disturbing you.
8. I might catch a chill and then where would I be?
9. “That’s what Poppy says”.
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10. About eleven o’clock the next morning she was walking with
her suitcase along a quiet residential street in the Cross Park
district of the city.

VII. Translate into English the following imperative and

exclamatory sentences:
1. Vezi dacă poţi să repari maşina! Nu mai merge deloc şi am
nevoie de ea azi. 2. Nu îţi cheltui toţi banii pe haine; după aceea
nu o să mai ai bani de mâncare şi eu nu o să îţi mai dau. 3.
Ascultă-mă! Nu eşti niciodată atentă când îţi vorbesc. 4. Ce casă
frumoasă! A cui o fi? 5. Să nu mă mai contrazici niciodată! 6. În
nici un caz să nu accepţi ce îţi spune! 7. Hai să mergem! Dacă nu
plecăm acum o să întârziem la film. 8. Ce păcat! Sigur ar fi
câştigat cursa daca nu s-ar fi împiedecat. 9. Doar câteva cuvinte,
vă rog! 10. Cine şi-ar fi imaginat aşa ceva?

VIII. Turn the following Simple Unextended Sentences into

Simple Extended Sentences by adding some secondary parts of
the sentences:
1. John arrived. 2. She went. 3. He is tired. 4. His friends have
come. 5. It is cold. 6. Do they speak? 7. They are looking. 8. She
smokes. 9. The plane is landing. 10. The neighbours are talking.
11. He is unpacking. 12. He is upset. 13. The boys will meet. 14.
They do not stay. 15. He looks happy.

IX. Point out Simple Unextended sentences and Simple

Extended sentences in the following extract:
An hour passed. The pale light of the short, sunless day was
beginning to fade. A cry arose. The man in front turned his head.

181
He looked at the man behind. They nodded to each other over the
narrow boy. A second cry arose. It was a wolf.
Henry looked up. It was dark. He saw a pair of eyes, then a second
pair, and a third. The dogs were afraid. Bill could not sleep. He
saw the shining eyes quite near.
(Jack London, Stories about dogs)

X. Rewrite the following sets of sentences, first into a

compound, then into a complex sentence:
1. Go away. Think again.
2. She was poor. She was honest.
3. You are not improving. I am prescribing a different
medicine.
4. I can help you. I will help you.
5. The sun set. The night fell. The day was over.
6. Do not borrow. You may run short of money.
7. I hate everybody. They hate me.
8. Mozart is my favourite composer. He is my father’s
favourite.
9. The football team won the cup. They played really weel.
10. I like my teacher. She is direct and correct.

4.7.2. Negation
I. State whether the following statements are True or False:
1. The scope of negation is that part of a clause
influenced by one negative. T or F
2. Normally the scope extends from the
negative to the end of the clause. T or F
3. This always includes any end-position adverbial. T or F
4. When the operator is negated, earlier adverbials
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 are not negated. T or F
5. We can change the scope of negation by using
intonation. T or F
6. Sentence adverbials always lie outside the scope
of negation. T or F
7. Scope of negation in a main clause can extend
to a following subordinate clause. T or F
8. A negative prefix negates its word only. T or F
9. Two coordinated verbs do not need separate
negation. T or F
10. Scope of negation can be imposed only by not or n’t.
T or F

II. Identify the scope of negation in the following quotations

from The Angels Weep by Wilbur Smith:
1. For many minutes, neither of them spoke.
2. ‘I was born for no other reason.’
3. At least I’m not providing the champagne as well as the
whisky.
4. This book would have never been written.
5. There are no clouds so that we will have good light on the
roads.
6. Then not an hour later, she had waited and waylaid him.
7. There will be no harvest to celebrate at the dance of the
first fruits this reason.
8. It gives me an opportunity to order you not to set a foot
over my threshold.
9. She did not recognize either Mongo or Elisabeth.
10. He had never seen such loathing as there was in her eyes,
for herself as much as for him.
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III. Rewrite the following sentences by moving the negative to
the place marked by an asterisk. Comment on any change of
meaning.
1. She doesn’t spend the money she has * earned.
2. She doesn’t consciously * drive too fast.
3. I was not prepared * to answer.
4. They didn’t develop and * print our photographs.
5. When I looked back she was not still * there.
6. Even with no help, he will * succeed.
7. The police don’t suspect he * stole it.
8. They haven’t arranged for us * to win.
9. Seldom out of debt, he * took responsibility lightly.
10. Not without effort, she * arrived when * expected.

IV. Give the negative counterparts of the following sentences;

make all the necessary changes paying attention to indefinite
pronouns, to conjunctions and to adverbs:
1. He has already finished all he had to do. 2. The shop is still
open. 3. It is still cold outside. 4. After fighting with him, she
chose to go somewhere else. 5. He can sell some of his books. 6.
There are some friends waiting for you outside my house. 7. Some
of my colleagues can speak German. 8. Mark knows some people
there and so do I. 9. Both of them were broken. 10. I used to drink
a lot of coffee in the past. 11. We bought some flowers. 12. He is
busy, he has got a lot of work to do. 13. There is somebody at the
door. 14. I’m hungry, I want something to eat. 15. Someone has
forgotten his umbrella. 16. It is a long time since we haven’t met.
17. He has always wanted to become an actor. 18. It was very

184
difficult for him to cope with the news. 19. I can drive a car very
fast. 20. Josh will arrive after midnight.

V. Complete the sentences with some, any or any- + -body/ -

thing/ -where.
1. I was too shocked to say………
2. There is…….. in the house. Why don’t you ring the bell to see
who it is?
3. Does………. Mind if I open the window?
4. I wasn’t hungry, so I didn’t want to eat………..
5. I want ……. Grapes, please, if you have…………fresh.
6. Let’s go! There is………….. coming and I don’t
want ……….. to see us.
7. Sally was upset about……….. and refused to talk to………….
8. You must be thirsty. Don’t you want……… to drink?
9. I’m not feeling very well tonight. I’d better not have……….
heavy for supper. Could you make me…….. soup instead?
10. There was hardly ………… on the beach. It was almost
deserted.
11. This car is easy to drive. ………….. can learn to drive it in a
very short time.
12. Do you live………….near to Mary? No, I live far away from
her.
13. We slept on a bench because we couldn’t find ……room in a
hotel.
14. ‘Where shall we go on holiday?’ ‘Let’s go ………. warm and
sunny’.
15. I seldom understand ………….. of what he says, but I
suppose ………. people do.

185
16. I’m going to have a bath. If………… rings me up meanwhile,
can you tell them to call me in half an hour?
17. What are you looking for? Have you lost ………….?
18. I don’t know……….. about this problem.
19. Sue is very secretive. She never tells ………… to……………
20. I don’t know………… about this problem.

VI. Give the affirmative counterparts of the following negative

sentences:
1. No one of these people was here. 2. I have not got too much
spare time. What do you want from me? 3. Hardly had he entered
the door than the phone rang. 4. No one must smoke in a hospital.
5. She couldn’t have said such an awful thing about you. 6. She
isn’t too young any more. 7. I have never wanted to be a princess.
8. He didn’t understand what I wanted to explain to her. 9. You
can’t expect her to be here on time. She never is. 10. Why haven’t
you told me before? I could have helped you. 11. I know nothing
about this matter. 12. He can barely walk. 13. I don’t know
anything about chemistry. 13. She is no fool. 14. It isn’t too far
from here, isn’t it? 15. No one can smoke in the child’s bedroom.
16. He can’t have done it.

VII. Make these sentences negative:

1. The play seems very interesting to them. 2. He said he liked it.
3. They considered him guilty of stealing. 4. He said he was right.
5. We were sure he would be late as usual. 6. I had to study
English when I was a child. 7. There are some photos on the shelf.
Take them! 8. He has already finished his task, hasn’t he? 9. We
shall leave the country tomorrow morning. 10. John went to the
stadium with his son. 11. She gave me a few magazines to read
186
when I was in hospital. 12. No sooner had he entered the door
than the phone rang. 13. They often play tennis on weekends. 15.
Never before had he imagined such a terrible thing!

VIII. Translate into English:

1. Niciodată nu mi-a spus vreun lucru drăguţ. 2. Nu am vizitat
niciodat[ Anglia. 3. Niciodată în viaţa mea nu am mai văzut un
asemenea lucru. 4. Nu mai plouă. 5. Nu ştiu nimic despre această
problemă şi nici nu mă interesează. 6. Nu vreau să merg nicăieri
cu el pentru că pur şi simplu nu îmi place. 7. Nimeni nu a fost
niciodată atât de nepoliticos cu mine aşa cum ai fost tu. 8. După
tot ce s-a întâmplat nu te mai poţi aştepta să te ajute cineva. 9.
Situaţia nu îmi convine câtuşi de puţin. 10. Nu am putut termina
lucrarea săptămâna trecută şi nu cred că o să pot să o termin
săptămâna asta. 11. Nu m-am îndoit de el nici măcar un moment.
12. Nu numai că a întârziat, dar şi-a şi uitat paşaportul acasă cu
toate că pleca în străinătate şi ar fi trebuit să fie mai atent. 13. Nu
am nici o carte în limba franceză pentru că nu mi-a plăcut
niciodată această limbă şi nu am vrut să o învăţ cu toate că am
studiat-o la şcoală. 14. Mi-a scris că nu i-a plăcut nici în Franţa
nici în Germania. 15. Nici după trei zile de convorbiri comisia nu
a reuşit să ajungă la vreo concluzie. 16. Nu mai plouă. 17. Nu poţi
să mergi dacă te doare capul. 18. Foarte rar se culcă înainte de
miezul nopţii. 19. Nu obişnuiam să joc fotbal când eram copil aşa
cum făceau toţi colegii mei. 20. Nici unul dintre noi nu şi-a dat
seama că nu mai aveam timp să ajungem la gară.

IX. Translate the following sentences into English without

using negative words:

187
1. Nu ştiu nimic despre toată această harababură. 2. Nu vreau să
merg cu el nicăieri. Nu am timp, dar şi dacă aş avea tot nu aş
merge. 3. El nu poate câştigă cursa, nu este suficient de pregătit. 4.
Ştii cumva unde îmi este stiloul? Nu îl găsesc nicăieri. 5. Nu vreau
să mănânc nimic, nu mi-e foame. 6. Nu îmi place nici una dintre
fustele astea: nici cea verde, nici cea albastră. 7. Este aşa de
supărat ca nu scoate nici un cuvânt. Ceva l-a supărat foarte tare
dacă e în starea asta. 8. Aşa ceva nu este posibil. 9. El este
singurul care nu este de acord cu propunerea noastră. 10. Nu
trebuie să mergi decât un sfert de oră ca să ajungi la gară.

4.7.3. Interrogation
I. State whether the following statements are True or False:
1. Interrogatives are a major sentence form which
may or may not ask a question. T or F
2. Interrogatives are recognisable by their inversion,
wh-question word and/or rising intonation. T or F
3. All interrogatives are written with a final
question mark. T or F
4. Used as questions, most interrogatives do not require
an answer. T or F
5. We can use interrogatives to make commands,
invitations, offers and to show disbelief. T or F
6. The form of a question never indicates whether
we want a positive or a negative answer. T or F
7. wh-questions are open questions, with
unlimited answers. T or F
8. yes/no questions are closed questions with
limited answers. T or F

188
II. State whether the following statements are true or false:
1. wh-questions are the only open type of question. T or F
2. Inversion of subject and operator never occurs in
wh-questions. T or F
3. Isn’t that fun? (rising intonation) is a biased
yes/ no question. T or F
4. Isn’t that fun? (falling intonation) is an exclamatory
question. T or F
5. In tag questions, a positive statement usually has a
positive tag and vice versa. T or F
6. Echo questions repeat some or all of
an earlier statement. T or F
7. Alternative questions are usually spoken with
a final falling intonation. T or F
8. Response questions do not call for a reply. T or F
9. Declarative questions always have a positive bias. T or F
10. Rhetorical questions have the function of forceful
statements. T or F

III. Change the following questions into indirect speech

reflecting, wherever possible, the type of question.
1. ‘Was not the case?’
2. ‘Did you give him the book he wanted?’
3. ‘Aren’t you tired?’
4. ‘I hated it and who wouldn’t?’
5. ‘You’re always doing it, aren’t you?’
6. ‘Who did you see?’
7. ‘Have you ever been to London?’
8. ‘Everybody is happy, aren’t they?’
9. ‘There are some books on the table, aren’t they?’
189
10. ‘Is the money you have over?’

IV. Make questions to which the following statements might

be the answer. The point of the question is italicised:
1. I’m buying this book for my brother. 2. She is very
intelligent. 3. I have been reading for three hours. 4. I have read
50 pages so far. 5. I first met him in 1990. 6. I gave him my pen. 7.
I bought these flowers for my wife. 8. Who this car belong to? 9.
It is very cold today. 10. Why didn’t he want to talk to us? 11. All
of us were excited with this idea. 12. I like to play tennis, but
unfortunately I don’t have time. 13. You must drink out from the
small glass. 14. They have used blue tiles to cover their new-built
house. 15. John likes to eat fish, but Mary doesn't’. 16. I saw you
buying two books from the bookshop yesterday. 17. I don’t like
German at all. 18. She likes to drive very slowly. 19. The child
was being fed by his mother when I came back home. 20. I told
you to call me yesterday. Why didn’t you do it? 21. I was very
disappointed in his rude behaviour. 22. My father was very fond
of playing tennis when he was young. 23. Margaret isn’t too
interested in collecting stamps. 24. Her dream is to see America.
25. He repaired his car with his father’s help.

V. Form open interrogatives from the following declaratives,

replacing the underlined phrase with a corresponding interrogative
phrase such as who, what, when, etc.
1. She said something to them. 2. Someone has taken my umbrella.
3. He sold his car to someone. 4. He things they will appoint
someone. 5. They left early for some reason. 6. You told her I was
going somewhere. 7. You first suspected he was the murderer at

190
some time. 8. Things have changed for you in some way since last
year. 9. You think someone has the most influence with these
people. 10. We can get somebody to clear up this mess.

VI. Add suitable tag questions to the following statements:

1. You don’t like to swim, …? 2. She wants to go home, … ? 3. I
was very impolite, … ? 4. They have never visited London, …? 5.
John broke his father car, … ? 6. Your parents are going on
holiday, … ? 7. She doesn’t cook, … ? 8. My cousin will travel by
plane, …? 9. Everybody left too early, … ? There is a red book on
the table, … ? 10. She hardly ever stays home on week-ends, … ?
11. Nobody here likes pizza, … ? 12. Don’t worry about that, … ?
13. Every one liked the idea, … ? 14. Let’s go to a movie, … ? 15.
I’m supposed to be here at 6, … ? 16. You didn’t start learning
English last year, … ? 17. They haven’t finished their work
yet, … ? 18. They travelled to Italy last year, … ? 19. You won’t
be late, ... ? 20. She can be so stubborn, … ?

VII. Make a new sentence from the questions:

1. Where has Tom gone?
Do you know ……………..
1. Where is the post office?
Could you tell me where ……………
2. What’s the time? I
I wonder…………………
3. What does this word mean?
I want to know……………
4. What time did they leave?
Do you know………………..
5. Is Sue going out tonight?
191
I don’t know………………..
6. Where does she live?
Have you any idea…………………
7. Where did I park the car?
I can’t remember…………………
8. Is there a bank near here?
Can you tell me……………….
9. What do you want?
Tell me…………………
10. Why didn’t Kay come to the party?
I don’t know…………………
11. Do you have to pay to park here?
Do you know……………..
12. Who is that woman?
I’ve no idea……………….
13. Did Ann receive my letter?
Do you know……………..
14. How far is it to the airport?
Can you tell me…………….

VIII. Write special Questions to which the italicized words in

the sentences below are the direct answers:
1. John sent Mary a book of poems. 2. I was an hour late. 3. They
teach three lessons a week. 4. He wants to be left alone. 5. It was
impossible to make him understand. 6. He asked him what to do. 7.
Richard forgot to call him. 8. They were talking for two hours. 9.
John told Mary to accompany him. 10. I have been to London
several times so far.

192
IX. Translate the following sentences into English. Pay
attention to the place of some prepositions in interrogative
sentences:
1. Ce-ai făcut toată ziua? 2. Nu ţi-ar fi plăcut să vii şi tu cu noi la
film? 3. Aveţi un foc? 4. Cine ţi-a cumpărat bluza asta frumoasă?
5. Cui aparţine maşina aia galbenă? 6. Cine locuieşte peste drum
de tine? 7. Pentru cine ai cumpărat florile? 8. De la cine ai
împrumutat cartea de exerciţii? 9. Hai să facem o plimbare. Vrei?
10. Să merg cu voi sau să stau acasă? 11. De la cine ai primit
scrisoarea pe care o aşteptai cu atâta nerăbdare? 12. Cu ce tren
veţi pleca săptămâna viitoare? 13. La ce oră începe filmul? 14. De
cine depinde aprobarea acestei cereri? 15. La ce concluzie aţi
ajuns după ce aţi analizat toate dovezile? 16. Pe ce raft ai pus
cartea? 17. Pe cine ai invitat la masă? 18. Cui îi mai trebuie cartea?
19. Cine a terminat primul cursa? 20. Hai să mergem la o
plimbare. Vrei?

X. The following interrogatives end with a question mark, but

they are not questions. Identify their functions as advice,
command, disbelief, exclamation, social introduction, invitation,
offer, request, statement or suggestion.
1. I didn’t know you kept a diary, Susan?
2. Will you put the kettle on?
3. Won’t you have some coffee?
4. Shall we go?
5. Can I give you a lift?
6. Isn’t that smart?
7. Why don’t you see a doctor?
8. Would you let me help you?
9. I don’t know whether you have met John, Susan?
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XI. The following yes/no questions all have a bias, which
shows which answer the speaker would like. Indicate the bias,
positive or negative. Then, where possible, rewrite the sentences
with the opposite bias.
1. No one know the answer, do they?
2. Isn’t Helen well?
3. Did someone call?
4. You’ll have another chance, will you?
5. That’s the problem, isn’t it?
6. Don’t you think we can go?
7. You don’t agree with me?
8. You needn’t do it often, need you?
9. He rarely behaves nicely?

XII. The following questions are taken from The Heart of the
Matter by Graham Greene. Identify each question type and
underline the part which marks it as interrogative.
1. May I join you?
2. How did you know my name?
3. You’re the new accountant at the UAC?
4. Do you want to resign, retire, transfer, Scobie?
5. ‘I’ll be glad when the rains come.’ ‘Will you?’
6. You don’t live here, do you?
7. Oh, do I need a drink?
8. ‘You ought to have been a policeman.’ ‘Ah, who knows?’
9. He may have been in debt?
10. ‘Mightn’t there be a hope…?’ ‘Hope?’

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 4.7.4. Inversion
I. State whether the following statements on inversion are
true or false:
1. This means placing the verb before the subject. T or F
2. We rarely use inversion in questions. T or F
3. We use inversion in question tags. T or F
4. We use inversion in some exclamations. T or F
5. Inversion always takes place after there. T or F
6. Inversion is compulsory after fronted negatives and
semi-negatives. T or F
7. With neither…. nor, the inversion is in
the first clause. T or F
8. Inversion is optional after reporting verbs. T or F
9. so/ nor is followed by inversion of subject
and operator. T or F
10. The operator is the first or only auxiliary
in the sentence. T or F

II. Rewrite each sentence using fronting in a form that needs

inversion.
1. If you should meet Charles, give him my regards.
2. If he were to pass, I’d be most surprised.
3. This door must be locked at no time.
4. We hadn’t met since we were children.
5. He knows little of her intentions.
6. It was not only dry but it was warm.
7. His early pace was so quick that no one could catch him.
8. She had no sooner stopped than she started again.
9. Jane stood there in the middle of the crowd.

195
10. The noise of the crowd was such that you could not hear
nothing else.

III. Paraphrase these sentences using the following negative

restrictive adverbs: no sooner…than, hardly (scarcely)…when,
only after…, not only…but also, only when …, never, seldom, in
vain.
1. I read only a few pages of the thriller and the end of the book
was clear to me. 2. When I reached the station the train had left. 3.
He entered the house and immediately the telephone rang. 4. I
have never seen anything like the landing on the moon. 5. We got
home when it began to rain. 6. There has never been such a loud
noise in this block. 7. Jane has never seemed so beautiful, so
elegant and so in love with her husband. 8. He had stopped
speaking when a loud knock was heard at the door. 9. He made a
lot of mistakes before he understood that he should give more
consideration to his parents’ advice. 10. He promised to help me
and placed all his books at my disposal.

IV. Finish the sentences using the phrases given:

1. Hardly … when … . 2. All the sooner… . 3. Never again … . 4.
Not only those present but … . 5. No sooner … than … . 6. So
quickly … . 7. Not only … but also … . 8. Neither for my sake
nor for your sake … . 9. Little did … . 10. Only then … .

V. Put the negative or restrictive adverbs at the head of the

sentences:
1. I had scarcely time to have my lunch. 2. We knew little about
the flight conditions at the height of 300,000 km. 3. I had hardly
entered the door when the phone rang. 4. I had no sooner answer
196
her question than I realised that it was a wrong answer. 5. All her
efforts to persuade him were in vain. 6. He found out the news
only after his arrival. 7. We tried in vain to make him give up. He
would not listen to us. 8. I pointed out in vain that it was useless to
try again.

VI. Rephrase the following sentences so that the meaning

stays the same:
1. All her money and jewellery were stolen the night before.
Not only….
2. As soon as he won the prize he started to behave
unappropriately.
No sooner….
3. The judge had no idea that the policeman was the wrong-
doer.
Little….
4. She had danced so much that she could hardly stand the
next day.
So….
5. If I were him I wouldn’t do it.
Were….
6. “I will never lie to again” he promised.
“Never again…”
7. If you should meet my brother tell him to phone me.
Should ….
8. The little girl finished her homework and then went to play.
Only after….
9. You will be able to reach that island only if you hire a
motorboat.
Only by….
197
10. You must not reveal our plans to anybody.
Under….

VII. Put the adverb or the adverbial group at the head of the
sentence according to the model:
MODEL: They went in.
In they went.
The boy rushed out. He rushed out.
Out rushed the boy, but Out he rushed.
1. The watch fell down and broke to pieces. 2. The man stood up
and began his fiery speech. 3. The tree fell down with a crash. 4.
He went out without waiting for his answer. 5. He rushed out to
see what had happened. 6. The post office is there. 7. Your place
is here. 8. I’m here. 9. Mary rang up her sister. 10. She put the
cups up in the cupboard.

4.7.5. Independent Elements

I. Point out all the independent elements and say by what
they are expressed (direct address, parenthetical words,
interjections):
1. I haven’t seen you for ages, Mike. 2. Bravo! It is the right
choice. 3. To tell you the truth, I don’t want to go to that party. 4.
Possibly he will come. Perhaps he is right. 5. Helen, read this
letter, please. 6. What is the matter with you, son? 7. We can’t
possibly come at five. 8. His brother, I forget to mention, has left
the country. 9. You certainly must go and visit him. 10. To be
honest, I don’t understand his attitude. 11. When, by the way, do
you intend to return? 12. How fortunate to have such nice people
for friends. 13. Unfortunately, his car accident proved to be more
serious that it was thought at first. 14. They were surprised,
198
evidently, not to find you at the airport. 15. Naturally, he counted
on him to be there. 16. By the way, Robert, I’ve often meant to
ask you: Where did you spend your childhood? 17. The road is, I
admit, very dangerous. 18. He is a man of great talent, beyond any
question. 19. Frankly, I am concerned with your future. 20. Bobby,
come here, please!

II. Translate into Romanian, paying attention to the independent

elements:
1. Sincer vorbind, nu cred că va înţelege vreodată că a greşit. 2.
Ce să zic, recunosc, e mai bună decât mine. 3. Apropo, unde îţi
petreci vacanţa de iarnă? 4. Din nefericire, nu cred că va
supravieţui accidentului de maşină de săptămâna trecută. 5. Fără
nici o îndoială, nu merita să câştige bursa aceea în străinătate; sunt
studenţi mult mai buni ca el în facultate. 6. Evident, nu le-a
convenit că avionul a întârziat pentru că au pierdut o zi de vacanţă.
7. Ca să fiu sincer, nu cred că ai dreptate când spui că a trişat la
cărţi. 8. Fiica lui, am uitat să îţi spun, lucrează ca manechin la una
dintre cele mai importante case de modă din Paris. 9. De fapt,
nimic din ceea ce ne roagă ei să facem nu este necesar. 10.
Richard, cu siguranţă, nu ştie despre ce este vorba, dar insistă să
îşi spună şi el părerea.

4.7.5.1. Detached Parts of the Sentence

I. Point out what parts are detached and by what parts of
speech they are expressed:
1. They drove on, without speaking again, to his place. 2. In her
excitement, Maria dropped her bag. 3. One summer, during a brief
vacation at London, I made a wonderful visit to the British
Museum. 4. She did not change: except her hair. 5. Clumsily, with
199
undue haste, he went into the outer room. 6. But, for all that, they
had a very pleasant walk. 7. Middle-aged, full of energy, she
appeared on the doorstep. 8. Jerome lit a pipe, carefully, because
he was going through a little wood.

4.7.5.2. Sentences with Homogeneous Parts

I. Underline all the homogeneous parts, state what parts of
the sentence they are and how they are connected.
Example: Peter and John are our neighbors. (two subjects
connected by a copulative).
1. It was a low, pleasant laugh. 2. She was sitting on a bench,
neither reading nor watching TV. 3. I watched him read his letters,
saw him frown at one, smile at another. 4. He was both curious
and eager to have more precise information about his friends. 5.
He felt stimulated, strangely thrilled. 6. Thousands of sheets must
be printed, dried, cut. 7. Her mother was speaking in her low,
pleasing, musical voice. 8. They went side by side, hand in hand,
silently toward the hedge. 9. That man was mostly concerned
about himself, his own comfort, his own safety. 10. And suddenly
she burst into tears of disappointment, shame and pain. 11. To her
joy, her father and brothers appeared. 12. First he began to
understand and then to speak English. 13. Not only the students
but also the teachers were present. 14. The day was foggy and yet
warm. 15. He came but he didn’t stay long. It was a dark, cold
weather. 16. He was much impressed with the letter and
immediately returned an answer. 17. Would you mind if I ask you
one question or two? 18. There are any theatres, museums and
libraries in Bucharest. 19. The goods can be delivered in June or
July. 20. The man stared, retreated and started to shout: “Stop!”

200
II. Point out the paranthesis and state what it is expressed by:
1. Needless to say, we all want to study and get ready for our
future career. 2. As it was, I could not tell you any more about it. 3.
To tell you the truth, I don’t like to go to bed without reading
some pages of a very good novel. 4. Oh dear! You have hurt
yourself. 5. George, to be sure, was not very polite. 5. Apparently,
he is not very interested in what we are doing here. 6. I should
advise him to take things more seriously, but it is own affair, after
all. 7. Perhaps you are right. Possibly we will turn up. 8. This is
the house where, I believe, they lived last summer. 9. I suppose it
was the most picturesque place I have ever seen in my whole life.

III. Insert an appropriate word (or word combination) as a

paranthesis from among the following: by the way, in fact,
evidently, may be, judging by, luckily, besides, to tell the truth, in
my opinion.
1. You have … been working very hard, you look so tired. 2.
Don’t be so anxious, … she will return soon. 3. … Simon, how
old are you? 4. … he is the best solist I have ever listened to. 5. …
I realized that I had been wrong. 6. … he is quite upset. 7. I am in
a great hurry today … I am supposed to be at the office at 8
o’clock. 8. … we did our best to avoid any misunderstanding.
9. … I am very sorry for it. 10. … dear Mary had been spared all
this worry. 11. … uncle Roger wants to leave us in a couple of
days.

IV. Make up sentences using the following words and word

combinations as a paranthesis:
a) modal words: indeed, certainly, assuredly, decidedly, truly,
naturally, surely, actually, possibly, perhaps, obviously, maybe.
201
b) adverbs: firstly, secondly, finally, thus, consequently, then,
anyway, moreover, besides, still, yet, nevertheless, otherwise,
notwithstanding, therefore.
c) prepositional phrases: in fact, in truth, in a word, in my opinion,
in short, by the way, on the one hand, on the contrary, at least.

d) infinitive and participial phrases: to be sure, to tell plain, to be

frank, to begin with, generally speaking, strictly speaking, judging
by your words.

4.7.6. Elliptical Sentences

I. Underline the elliptical sentences and state what part of the
sentence is missing in each case:
1. Do you speak French? – Yes, I do a little. 2. Will you do it? –
I’ll try. 3. When will you write to him? – Tomorrow. 4. Nobody in
the room, nobody on the terrace. 5. See you tonight. Bye-bye! 6.
He is as old as Mary’s son. 7. I know for sure that he works more
than I. 8. Paying, children? 9. Thank you. 10. Have you ever been
to Italy? – Never. 11. The air is pure and fresh, the sun is bright
and the sky blue. 12. The night dark, the wind high, and the rain
pouring in torrents.

II. Underline all the elliptical sentences in the following text:

“There’s only our farm, near, sir.”
“And where is that?”
“Down here, sir.”
“Would you put us up?” (…)
“Will you show us the way?”
“yes, sir.” (…)
“Are you a Devonshire girl?”
202
“No, sir.”
“What then?”
“From Wales”.
“…………… so it’s not your farm?”
“My aunt’s, sir.”
“And your uncle’s?” (…)
“Who farms it then?”
“My aunt, and my three cousins.” (…)
“But your uncle was a Devonshire man?”
“Yes, sir.”
(John Galsworthy, The Apple Tree)

III. Point out which sentences are elliptical and which ones are
made up of one member in the following sentences:
1. “The work is done, the books put away”. “Really?” 2. First
come, first served. 3. Thanks. Of course. Stop! Nonsense. 4.
“Waiter, another bottle of wine”. “Red or white?” “White”. 5.
What a day! Rain, rain, November rain. 6. Darkness, wind and
cold. 7. A fine morning, dry and warm. 8. “What time is it?”
“Four o’clock”. “Thank you”. 9. “Less noise, there”. 10. Good
bye. See you tomorrow. 11. “Coffee, sir?” “Yes, please”. 12. “I’ll
send you the books.” “When?” 13. What if I refuse to answer? 14.
Your name and address, please? 15. “Who answered the
question?” “George.” 16. “Did you know it?” “Yes.” 17. “Sorry, I
didn’t notice it.” 18. What a beautiful day! 19. Oh, no! 20. Glad to
meet you.

IV. Supply the words necessary to express each idea fully:

1. Full up. 2. Seats on top. 3. Naturally. 4. Two cups of coffee,
please. 5. Wait. 6. Oh, yes. 7. Just a moment. 8. No talking. 9.
203
Ridiculous. 10. Keep left. 11. Anything else? 12. This way, please.
13. How much? 14. Welcome!

V. Provide questions to which the following might be replies:

1. Yes, please. 2. No, thank you. 3. A quarter to three. 4. Red,
please. 5. On Thursday next. 6. Two, please. 7. On October 18th. 8.
Not at all. 9. Thick, please. 10. A pound and a half. 11. Yesterday.

4.7.7. Translation exercises

Translate the following texts into English:
1. Ajungem la primărie. Nu e prea târziu, dar satul doarme de
un ceas. Claia de fân unde mă voi odihni îmi pare din ce în ce mai
sigură. Sunt in localitate oameni bogaţi şi case boiereşti, dar
stăpânii sunt plecaţi şi casele închise. La cea din urmă lampă care
mai veghează în sat, paznicii comunali care au în grijă onoarea
comunei, descoperă o cămăruţă în care nu doarme nimeni. E o
camera pentru musafiri…. Are o lampa suspendată, o canapea,
cărţi poştale foarte multe, perdele la ferestre şi un miros
pătrunzător de mucegai şi de flori uscate.
(Gala Galaction, La vulturi)

2. Învăţătorul vorbi timp de câteva minute şi spuse că nu se

poate ca un băiat aşa cum avea Moromete să nu urmeze mai
departe şcoala superioară. Nu lua în seamă nici un fel de argument.
Datorii a avut Moromete o viata întreagă şi va avea o viaţă
întreagă. Nedându-l pe băiat mai departe la şcoală, nu va scăpa de
datorii, dar de nenorocit îl va nenoroci; băiatului îi place cartea şi
va suferi cât va trăi din pricina asta, n-o să fie niciodată om întreg
dacă rămâne aci în sat. Asta s-o ştie de la el, de la învăţător, care îl
cunoaşte pe băiat de patru ani!
204
 (Marin Preda, Morometii)

3. Se aşezară pe canapea şi urmară pe şoptite convorbirea din

care Andrei află că doamna Antonescu a rămas acasă, nefiind
tocmai bine, că Antonescu din pricina aerului Giurgiului, care nu-i
pria, a obţinut să fie mutat aici, în orăşelul acesta de munte, că,
măcar că nu era venit decât de două luni, simţea o mare
îmbunătăţire în sănătate, că Elena îi era cumnată şi fiică şi tot într-
o vreme, deoarece ei o crescuseră, fiindcă îi muriseră părinţii de
când era abia de şase ani, iar Antonescu află că nici Andrei n-are
părinţi, că e şi el numai de şase luni în oraş.
(I. Al. Brătescu-Voineşti, Proză, p.165)

4. Ceea ce arată, până la uimire şi dezolare, cât de complicat

este sistemul acesta al relativităţilor în iubire, e că în acest timp eu
îl invidiam cu emoţie şi admiraţie pe Ladima, care în vremea
aceea se ducea foarte adesea după amiază să ia o cafea şi să
citească reviste la “Artă decorativă“.
(Camil Petrescu, Patul lui Procust, p.264)

5. Din cauza aceasta se simţi brusc bine, foarte bine dispusă

şi deloc stânjenită de bărbatul acesta străin, cu care n-ar fi avut ce
să vorbească şi încetă să-i mai vadă pe ceilalţi, privind indiferentă
tablourile cu un aer fals concentrat. Era ca şi cum în cele două
săliţe ar fi fost numai ei doi şi ar fi urmat să se aşeze undeva jos şi
să aştepte ca bărbatul acela între două vârste să-i facă o cafea.
(Alexandru Ivasiuc, Păsările, p.68)

205
6. Dar asta nu folosise la nimic, dimpotrivă, asemenea tuturor
celor care venind într-un mediu cu totul străin celui din care au
plecat şi neconvenindu-le un amănunt, un tic general sau o
formulă curentă care constituie, într-un fel, un indiciu asupra
nivelului spiritual al relaţiilor dintre indivizii noului mediu îşi
exprimă de fapt în felul acesta surpriza şi rezerva, şi în fond voinţa
de a nu-şi însuşi fără spirit critic modul de viaţă şi mentalitatea
acestui proaspăt mediu în care abia au intrat, doctorul Munteanu
fu întâmpinat cu ironie voit grosolană de către cei câţiva şefi ai săi
şi cu zâmbete subînţelese de politeţe neconvinsă şi uşor exagerată
de către subalterni.
(Marin Preda, Risipitorii, p.299)

7. Să aibă răbdare şi să stea liniştiţi, fiindcă el, cum soseşte la

Piteşti, va raporta guvernului şi guvernul, înţelept şi cu grijă
pentru necazurile sătenilor, va face legile care trebuie şi se va
împărţi pământ celor care au fost cuminţi şi paşnici. Promisiunea
mincinoasă era o inspiraţie a momentului.
(Liviu Rebreanu, Răscoala, p.327)

206
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 Glossary

Adjunct: an optional constituent of a sentence such as “because”

clause or an adverb like slowly.
Argument: a grammatical unit such as noun phrase or clause
required by a grammatical predicate; also a semantic unit
required by a semantic predicate.
Aspect: a grammatical marking usually used to indicate time
feature of a situation: momentary, in progress, completed,
iterative, and having a variety of discourse functions. English
has perfect and progressive aspects.
Aspectual predicates: predicates denoting beginning, continuing
and ending.
Assertion: both what is declared to be the case and the act of
declaring it. Assertions express information which is supposed
to be new.
Case: a property assigned to noun phrases. Case encodes the noun
phrase’s grammatical relations within its clause or container
noun phrase. The case assigned in English are nominative,
objective, and possessive.
Classifier: the general term across languages for a word or suffix
which specifies the class of a noun.
Clause: the basic sentence unit consisting of a predicate and one
or more argument noun phrases or clauses.
Complement: in English a required phrase (or clause) following a
head word such as a verb or preposition.
Complementizer: an element such as that, for, or sometimes a
category that introduces a clause.

211
Conjoined: used of two or more constituents of the same rank or
type that are linked together, usually with and.
Constituent: a word or group of words functioning as a unit in a
larger construction.
Container clause: clause containing a dependent clause.
Coordination: the linking of two constituents of equal rank.
Copula: a verb such as to be and to become that is followed by a
complement – an adjective phrase, a noun phrase or a
prepositional phrase – having a predicate function, e.g. a
predicate noun phrase.
Dependent clause: a clause other than the main clause of a
sentence.
Descriptive grammar: a description of the actual language forms
used by native speakers of language or a dialect.
Determiner: the broad category including the articles a and the,
demonstratives like that and these, and quantifiers such as
three and all.
Direct object: the noun phrase or clause functioning as the object
of a transitive verb or the second object of a ditransitive verb.
Ditransitive: a subclass of verbs having two objects; also a clause
containing such a verb.
Dynamic predicate: a predicate signaling an action or a process;
can occur as an imperative or with progressive aspect.
Embedded clause: a dependent clause functioning as an
argument of a predicate
Finite: a finite clause in English with either a tense (past or
present) or a modal. Verbs in the present or past tense are said
to be finite.

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Gerundial: the term used in grammar for a non-finite clause
functioning as an argument of a predicate and/or object of a
preposition. The verb always has the –ing suffix.
Grammatical relations: grammatically defined relation within a
construction: these include subject, object, head, modifier and
adjunct.
Head: the constituent of a phrase which gives the phrase its
identity as a noun phrase, adverbial phrase, etc. The non-
lexical constituent tense is sometimes defined as head of the
predicate phrase.
Hierarchy: the property that constituents have of belonging alone
or with other constituents to a higher level constituents, which
may in turn form yet higher level constituents.
Imperative clauses: a clause used to express orders, requests.
Indicative mood: the mood used to express what is real or true,
expressed as finite verbs in English.
Indirect object: the first object of a ditransitive verb.
Inflection: the sentence constituent that marks a sentence for
finiteness. It typically contains present or past tense, a modal
or the infinite marker to.
Intransitive: a term for verbs which do not take an object
Lexical category: a class of words, prefixes or suffixes
distinguished by shared grammatical characteristics.
Lexicon: the set of words, word stems, and affixes of a language.
Main clause: the highest level clause, one which can often stand
on its own as an independent clause.
Modal: a type of verb occurring with other verbs in finite clauses,
expressing probability, ability, possibility.
Modality: a class of meanings expressed by modals.

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Modifier: a phrase inside a larger phrase that provides further
information, but which is not required by the head word of the
phrase.
Non-finite: a verb or clause in English without tense or a modal,
typically with long infinitive.
Phrasal category: the highest order type of constituent to which a
lexical category belongs.
Polarity: a two-way parameter, e.g. affirmative or negative.
Predicate: the central semantic unit of a proposition, requiring
one or more arguments.
Proposition: one or more types of noun phrase, the other being
anaphor, that refer to an antecedent.
Quantifier: a word which occurs most often as a determiner.
Reference: the relation between a linguistic element and the entity
it designates.
Relative clause: a clause embedded in a noun phrase and usually
modifying the head noun.
Speech act: an act performed by uttering a specific language form
such as I promise I’ll tell you the truth which represents an act
of promising.
Stative predicate: a predicate expressing a state.
Subordinate clause: a dependent clause functioning as an adjunct.
Syntax: the grammatical principles, units, and relation in a
sentence structure.
Transitive: a term for verbs having an object.
Utterance: a speech form spoken or written.

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