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SYNTAX 1: SENTENCE ANALYSIS 1ST YEAR
Cursuscodes
2071EN0016 (full-time programme)
2071EN0071 (part-time programme)
Samenstelling
Annebeth Rutten, 2002
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Inhoudsopgave
Pagina
1. Building blocks
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2. Four kinds of sentence
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3. The simple sentence and its elements
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Subject
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Predicator
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Subject Attribute
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Direct Object
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Indirect Object
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Benefactive Object
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Object Attribute
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Adverbial
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4. The attributive adjunct, or premodifier/postmodifier
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5. The complex sentence and the compound sentence
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6. Word classes
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7. Notes on some word classes
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8. Adjectives and adverbs
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Exercises
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Appendix 1. Syntax 1 additional handout
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Appendix 2. Syntax 1 abbreviations
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Appendix 3. Syntax 1 mock exam
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SENTENCE ANALYSIS FIRST YEAR
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SENTENCE AND ITS STRUCTURE
In this course we will only present the basic information about the analysis of a sentence into elements. The
aim is to provide you with a working knowledge of terms and structures, so that the study of the practical
grammar in the first years should present no problems (you will, for instance, come across such terms as
"adverbial clause of time" in the discussion of the tenses).
We will only look at clear, relatively simple examples. We will introduce you to the new terms and analysis
used generally in recent books on grammar, with illustrations of what the traditional analysis of some
sentences looks like.
We cannot be complete in this introductory course, far from it – but we will deal in much more detail with
sentence structure in the follow-up grammar and syntax courses in the second year.
1. BUILDING BLOCKS
a. Every sentence can be divided into parts which can consist of one or more words. You often
recognise intuitively which words belong together:
John I smiled.
The dog I was barking.
The beautiful fairy I had granted I three wishes.
Such parts are called sentence elements, or constituents (zinsdelen), and they play a major role in
the structure of the sentence. That is why they are said to have a syntactic function, e.g. Subject,
Direct Object, etc.
Dividing a sentence into these constituents and giving the labels Subject, etc., is called analysis (to
analyse a sentence = redekundig ontleden).
b. As is clear from the examples above, a constituent can be just one word, or a group of two or more
words. Some more examples:
Kate I coughed.
The landlady I noticed I the hole in her beautiful tablecloth which had been made by the new lodger.
.
The term constituent means that the word or group of words acts as a unit with a syntactic function.
We can also say about a constituent that it is formed by a certain kind of phrase. This has to do with
the kind of word(s) that make up the constituent. (Note that the term phrase is also used when there
is only one word).
Dogs I barked.
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"Dogs" is a constituent, which has the syntactic function of Subject, and which consists of a noun
phrase. In this case the noun phrase is only one word: the noun (zelfstandig naamwoord, see 1.c.)
"dogs". But very often such a noun phrase will be longer:
The dogs I barked.
The furious dogs I barked.
The furious dogs of the milkman I barked.
In all these examples the constituent with the function of Subject is realised by a noun phrase. The
phrase is called a noun phrase because its most important word, or its head, is the underlined noun
"dogs".
There are five kinds of phrases:
1 .noun phrase
dogs, the furious dogs, a house
2. adjective phrase
glad, very glad, very glad to hear that
3. adverb phrase
drastically, quite drastically
(These three are called by the word class of the most important word, the head, which may form the
phrase on its own).
4. verb phrase
smiled, was barking, had granted
(A verb phrase consists of one or more verbs. Careful: a verb may be a so-called multi-word verb
like look at).
5. prepositional phrase in the garden, of the milkman
(The phrase begins with a preposition, which is followed by a noun phrase or a clause.)
From the examples used so far you can see that some of the phrases are very long and
complicated. For example, phrases can occur within other phrases: "the dogs of the milkman" is a
noun phrase, which contains a prepositional phrase "of the milkman". Sometimes it may be difficult
to recognise the kind of phrase because the head is difficult to find.
In a more complete study of sentence structure we will look at the internal structures of phrases and
the rules for building these structures.
AII combinations of words into phrases are determined by rules. In English we say "the black table"
and not *"the table black", which is the correct word order in French. It is "We have seen a good
film" and not *"We have a good film seen", which is the correct word order in Dutch.
c. The words in a sentence belong to a certain category: a word class, or part of speech (woordsoort),
such as noun, verb, etc. Some words always belong to one particular word class:
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those, weak, to speak, with
Many others can belong to two, three, or even five different word classes:
She made a sign.
She signed the letter.
This is a hard seat.
They worked hard.
Snow White had an evil stepmother.
They discussed the evils of the western world.
Some word classes can be recognised by their form, e.g. "seriously" is an adverb, "worked' is a
verb. But more usually the word class of a word is determined by its position in a sentence or in a
phrase:
The map showed three beautiful walks along the lake.
Jane walks to her office.
In the first sentence "walks" is a plural noun, it is the head of the noun phrase "three beautiful walks
along the lake". In the second sentence "walks" is a verb form. Stating the word class of each word
in a sentence is called parsinq (taalkundig ontleden).
The positions of words in phrases and sentences are determined by the syntactic rules of English.
Therefore we will first deal with the functions or sentence elements of the sentence. For a complete
list of the word classes, with the Dutch translations, see section 6.
d. Words can also have internal structure; many can be further analysed into morphemes (morfemen):
smile/d, bark/ing, wish/es, beauti/ful, table/cloth, etc.
There are different kinds of morphemes: verb endings, plural -s. for nouns, suffixes
(achtervoegsels) like: -ful; prefixes (voorvoegsels) like: un in "unkind", etc. Or a word consists of just
one morpheme:
map, office, three, dog
We will not discuss morphemes any further in this course.
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Summary: the "building blocks" of a sentence
Sentence :
The beautiful fairy had granted three wishes.
Constituents:
The beautiful fairy I had granted I three wishes
Each constituent may be further specified as to function and phrase:
Function:
Subject
Predicator Direct Object
Phrase:
The beautiful fairy I had granted I three wishes
= noun phrase
= verb phrase = noun phrase
Words:
The I beautiful / fairy I had I granted I three I wishes
Word classes:
def. art. I adj. I noun I aux. / lex. verb I card. numeral / noun
Morphemes:
beauti-ful
grant-ed
analysis
parsing
wish-es
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2. FOUR KINDS OF SENTENCE
Sentences can be classified according to their grammatical form. Each type can be positive (or:
affirmative = bevestigend) and negative (ontkennend).
a. Declarative sentence (mededelende zin), or: statement
The Subject normally precedes the verb phrase.
positive:
negative:
Sally has written a book.
The book was not very good.
b. Interrogative sentence (vragende zin), or: question
1.
Yes/No-Question: The sentence begins with an auxiliary before the Subject.
positive:
negative:
2.
Have you ever eaten spaghetti ice-cream?
Didn't I see you at the bookclub ball?
WH-Question:
positive:
negative:
The sentence begins with an interrogative pronoun or adverb.
Who should we invite to the party?
What has caused the delay?
Why is she so angry?
Who has not read the book?
Which subjects will not be discussed?
c. Imperative sentence (gebiedende zin), or: command
The sentence contains a verb in the imperative form, and there is normally no subject. Sometimes
“you” is expressed.
positive:
negative:
Drop that gun.
Be a dear and make me a nice cup of tea.
You shut up.
Don't forget your glasses.
Don't be such a fool.
d. Exclamatory sentence (uitroepende zin), or: exclamation
positive:
negative:
What extraordinary luck they had!
How impressive you look!
Isn't he wonderful!
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3. THE SIMPLE SENTENCE (enkelvoudige zin) AND ITS ELEMENTS
A sentence can be divided first of all into two main parts: the Subject (Onderwerp) and Predicate
(gezegde):
The boy I shouted.
The rabbit I ate all the carrots.
The girl / quickly put the biscuits into the tin again.
The term Predicate is now used in a different sense: it refers to the rest of the sentence, to the action
which is carried out by the Subject, or the event that happens to the Subject, etc. This means that the
Predicate can include several constituents or sentence elements:
The girl / quickly I put I the biscuits I into the tin I again.
In traditional analysis the term Predicate is used to indicate only "shouted", "ate", "put" (more precisely:
these would be called verbal predicates). In this course we will skip the Predicate level, and
immediately analyse the sentence into elements.
The following diagram shows the difference between the new and the traditional analysis.
Sentence
Subject
the rabbit
Predicator
ate
[ Predicate
ate all the carrots]
Direct Object
all the carrots
verbal predicate, in traditional analysis
Subject (onderwerp)
In declarative sentences the Subject normally precedes the verb phrase. It is not necessarily the first
constituent.
Toby hurried out of the room.
The watchmaker has repaired her antique watch.
At dawn the travellers crept out of their tents.
The Subject may be “the person who performs the action”, but often there is no action at all, or no
person:
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Tom was in a bad mood.
AII members of this society have to have a ponytail.
The last performance starts at eight.
Or the Subject undergoes the action, for example in the Passive sentence (lijdende zin):
Julie was appointed headmistress (by the board).
Concord
An important syntactic characteristic of the Subject is that it agrees with the first verb form in person
(persoon: 1e, 2e, 3e), and number (getal). This means that a singular Subject gets a singular verb form,
and a plural Subject gets a plural verb form:
Every member has to have a ponytail.
AII members have to have ponytails.
and that a first-person Subject singular, I, gets a different verb form from that of a third-person Subject
singular:
I shiver.
He shivers.
This phenomenon is called Concord. In English there are of course not many differences of this kind
between verb forms.
The Subject is usually realised by a noun phrase (which may be only one pronoun), as in all of the
above examples. Sometimes the Subject is a meaningless unstressed there (only allowed with certain
verbs). In such sentences the noun phrase following the verb phrase may be seen as the "real" Subject,
which has Concord with the first verb form. There is called the Provisional Subject, and the following
noun phrase is called the Real Subject.
There was a weird girl in the bar.
There were some weird types in the bar.
There may arise some serious problems.
Or the Subject is a formal it, also meaningless (in sentences denoting time, weather, distance):
It is now rather late.
It is another five miles to the next village.
It is rather hot.
Note: another kind of it, provisional it, acts as Provisional Subject in sentences where the real Subject
has been moved to a final position. This real Subject is a clause (see section 4):
It is quite true that Bill sent this letter.
It was a mistake to arrive here so early.
It was marvellous getting so many visitors.
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We will not analyse this kind of sentence in this course.
Predicator (gezegde)
What is traditionally called predicate (or verbal predicate) is now called Predicator. The Predicator is
always realised by a verb phrase:
Ruth rested.
Randy has been running.
Ronald should have rung.
In traditional analysis there are sentences with a "nominal predicate" (naamwoordelijk gezegde). The
part that is called "verbal part of the nominal predicate" is now simply the Predicator. The so-called
"nominal part" will get a different name: Subject Attribute (see below):
That man is our dentist.
My neighbour has become very fat.
The Predicator may consist of only one verb, which is a lexical verb or a copula. Whether it is a lexical
verb or a copula depends on the analysis of the rest of the sentence. Or the Predicator may consist of
two or more verbs. In this case the last verb is the lexical verb or the copula, all the preceding verbs are
auxiliaries. So there can be only one lexical verb or one copula in a Predicator.
The possible auxiliaries in English are:
ƒ (forms of ) do, be, have
ƒ can/could, may/might, will/would, shall/should, must, ought to, used to (dare, need)
Exercise. Determine the Predicators in the following sentences:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
He has forgotten his keys.
He ought to forget her.
He has forgotten to call her.
He has denied the accusation.
He has denied having hidden the key.
The first verb form is called the finite (persoonsvorm). It agrees with the subject in person and number.
If the Predicator consists of only one verb, the finite is the lexical verb or the copula. If there are more
verbs in the Predicator, the finite is an auxiliary.
The finite is the form that shows tense (present or past, in English), person and number:
She jumps I jumped.
She is jumping I was jumping.
He has been jumping I had been jumping.
They have jumped I had jumped.
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If there is more than one verb form in the Predicator, the first verb is the finite, the following verbs are
non-finite forms. English has three non-finite forms:
1. infinitive (onbepaalde wijs; het hele werkwoord)
ƒ without to: He should go.
ƒ
with to: They are going to move.
2. present participle, or -ing participle (tegenwoordig deelwoord)
She was jumping.
3. past participle, or -ed participle (voltooid deelwoord)
He has been jumping.
They have jumped.
The proposal was rejected.
The auxiliary determines the form of the following (non-finite) verb:
do
have
have to
be (continuous)
be (passive)
be to
can/could, etc
is followed by
is followed by
is followed by
is followed by
is followed by
is followed by
is followed by
an infinitive
a past participle
an infinitive
a present participle
a past participle
an infinitive
an infinitive
To sum up, the following may be said about the verb phrase in the Predicator:
Ruth
may
have
been
resting.
Subject
Predicator
= function (analysis)
noun phrase
verb phrase
= category
aux.
aux.
aux.
lex. verb
= kind of verb (parsing)
finite
non.-fin
non-fin
non-fin
= form of verb
infinitive
past part.
pres. part.
The lexical verbs in the Predicators in the above examples are all verbs that do not require any other
sentence element to follow them. The sentences are "complete"; they are grammatically (syntactically)
correct. Such lexical verbs are called intransitive verbs (onovergankelijke werkwoorden).
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There are of course also Predicators that contain lexical verbs which do require a following sentence
element:
The bartender simply adores his customers.
Most other sentence elements in a sentence are determined by the presence of a copula or of a certain
kind of lexical verb in the Predicator.
Subject Attribute (naamwoordelijk deel van het gezegde / subject attribuut)
One type of verb that clearly has to be followed by some kind of element is the copula, or linking verb
(koppelwerkwoord):
The elephant seems ...
The mermaid was ...
The element that must follow says something about the Subject, and is therefore called the Subject
Attribute.
The elephant seems sad.
The mermaid was a real beauty.
The following diagram shows this analysis:
Sentence
Subject
[Predicate]
The elephant
seemed sad
Predicator
seemed
Subject Attribute
sad
In traditional analysis the Predicator and Subject Attribute together are called the "Nominal Predicate"; in
this analysis the Predicator is called the "Verbal part" and the Subject Attribute the "Nominal part" of the
nominal predicate.
The Subject Attribute is usually realised by a noun phrase or an adjective phrase:
The major's horse is a thoroughbred racehorse.
His criticism was quite unfair.
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Sometimes a Subject Attribute can be a prepositional phrase. This kind of prepositional phrase denotes
a quality of the Subject:
She was in high spirits. (cheerful)
My fiancé looked under the weather. (slightly ill)
Copulas, or linking verbs, "link" the Subject with the Subject Attribute. The only "real" copula is "to be". It
has no meaning. Other copulas are:
to appear
to become
to continue
to fall
to feel
to get
to go
to grow
to keep
to look
to make
to prove
to remain
to run
to seem
to smell
to sound
to stay
to taste
to turn
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
His apologies appear sincere.
The frequent strikes became a nuisance.
The weather continued calm.
The audience fell silent.
The sailor felt unsafe.
You will get wet.
My butcher has gone crazy.
My baker is growing fat.
The tramp could not keep warm.
You look an absolute fool.
This biography makes exciting reading.
The new roommate proved a boring fellow.
His disappearance remained an unsolved riddle.
The wells have run dry.
This seems an impossible task.
This soup smells disgusting.
Your plan sounds wonderful.
The psychiatrist stayed calm.
These pancakes taste good.
That bulldog may turn nasty.
Note that many of these verbs can also occur as lexical verbs!
My aunt grows her own vegetables.
The woman remained in the corridor.
The cook turned the omelette.
The dog smelt the lamppost.
The Subject Attribute is also found in some sentences where we do not have a copula, but an
intransitive lexical verb:
We arrived exhausted.
They parted good friends.
Her parents married young.
The underlined elements obviously say something about the Subject:
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We were exhausted (when we arrived).
They were good friends (when they parted).
Her parents were young (when they married).
The Subject Attribute in this kind of sentence is called Predicative Adjunct (bepaling van gesteldheid) in
traditional analysis.
Direct Object (lijdend voorwerp)
Many lexical verbs require some kind of constituent after them:
The general preferred ...
The bomb destroyed ...
These sentences are clearly not complete: another element is required. This is the Direct Object.
It is usually realised by a noun phrase:
The general preferred beer.
The bomb destroyed the town.
Lexical verbs that require a Direct Object are called transitive verbs (overgankelijke werkwoorden). If
they can be followed by only a Direct Object, they are called monotransitive verbs.
Note that in English there are many lexical verbs that have a special meaning in combination with an
adverb or a preposition, or even both. Such multi-word verbs can also be transitive, with a following
Direct Object:
Her niece looks after / her children.
Predicator Direct Object
We must wait for / the results.
Predicator Direct Object
The council tore down / the new shed.
Predicator Direct Object
The teacher put up with / a lot of bad behaviour.
Predicator
Direct Object
We should get out of / the deal.
Predicator Direct Object
Some more examples of multi-word verbs:
verb + preposition: to account for, to allow for, to laugh at, to look for, to deal with, to disapprove of,
etc.
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verb + adverb:
to break off, to call up, to make up, to turn down, to take off, to look up, to get
down, etc.
verb + adv. + prep: to catch up with, to break in on, to make up for, to face up to, to look up to, to get
on with, etc.
There are also certain idiomatic expressions, which consist of a verb + noun + preposition, which act as
a transitive multi-word verb:
The driver caught sight of / an overturned lorry.
Predicator
Direct Object
The burglar set fire to / the house.
Predicator Direct Object
Some more examples of such expressions:
to get hold of, to make fun of, to make use of, to take advantage of, to pay attention to, to take care of, to
lose count of, to keep track of, etc.
Indirect Object (meewerkend voorwerp)
Some transitive lexical verbs can take a Direct Object as well as an Indirect Object:
We will send our client some more information.
The knight offered the maiden his services.
The old lady fed her cats chopped liver.
The Indirect Object is usually a noun phrase, which almost always denotes a person or an animal. The
Indirect Object is found immediately before the Direct Object, but can be replaced by a to-phrase, which
has to follow the Direct Object:
We will send some more information to our client.
The knight offered his services to the maiden.
The old lady fed chopped liver to her cats.
We will call such a phrase Indirect Object too, though there are different opinions about this in different
grammar books.
Lexical verbs that can take two Objects are called ditransitive.
Benefactive Object (belanghebbend voorwerp)
This sentence element is very similar to the Indirect Object (and in some grammar books it is, in fact,
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called Indirect Object):
Mrs Templar bought her grandson a motorbike.
Mr Wang has cooked his friends a real Chinese meal.
The major difference is that the Benefactive Object takes the preposition "for" when it is put after the
Direct Object:
Mrs Templar bought a motorbike for her grandson.
Mr Wang has cooked a real Chinese meal for his friends.
Object Attribute (bepaling van gesteldheid)
Some transitive lexical verbs take a Direct Object plus a sentence element that says something about
this Direct Object:
I consider that remark quite unnecessary.
The long flight made Auntie Katie very tired.
His new house has made Mr Ponds a very happy man.
The boys appointed John their leader.
The Object Attribute, like the Subject Attribute, is usually a noun phrase or an adjective phrase, and
occasionally a prepositional phrase:
His misfortunes have turned him into a gloomy person.
You should regard her proposal as indecent.
Some experts took the drawing for a real Rembrandt.
In traditional analysis the Object Attribute is called Predicative Adjunct (bepaling van gesteldheid).
Lexical verbs that take a Direct Object plus an Object Attribute are called complex transitive.
Adverbial (bijwoordelijke bepaling)
A very frequent sentence element, but one which is normally not required by the lexical verb or the
copula, is the Adverbial (also called Adverbial Adjunct). Most Adverbials can be left out without making
the sentence incomplete, or ungrammatical (though of course the meaning will be different). These
Adverbials are said to be "optional" sentence elements. Unlike the other elements discussed so far,
there may be more than one Adverbial in a sentence (this means: on the same level):
After the show we had a drink in a pub.
Last night Arthur suddenly broke the silence.
Tracy very quickly signed the letter with her fountain pen.
Fortunately, we had just finished our meal.
Many Adverbials can occur in different positions in the sentence. They can be moved. The positions will
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be discussed in the practical grammar course:
We had a drink in a pub after the show.
Suddenly Arthur broke the silence last night.
Adverbials can be realised in all sorts of ways. An Adverbial can be an adverb phrase:
suddenly, very quickly, fortunately, just
It can be a prepositional phrase:
after the show, in a pub, with her fountain pen
Or a noun phrase:
last night
Adverbials can be characterised according to their meaning as adverbials of "time", "place", "manner",
"instrument", etc.
AII of the Adverbials illustrated so far were optional. There are, however, some sentences in which
Adverbials are obligatory; they cannot be left out. Such Adverbials are usually Adverbials of place:
The vicar was in bed.
Her grandfather lives just around the corner.
He put the dog in the kitchen.
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Summary: sentence structure
The simple sentence can have the following structures:
S + P
(lexical verb, intransitive)
+ one or more optional A's
S + P + SA
(copula)
+ one or more optional A's
S + P + DO
(lexical verb, monotransitive)
+ one or more optional A's
S + P + IO + DO
(lexical verb, ditransitive)
+ one or more optional A's
S + P + BO + DO
(lexical verb, ditransitive)
+ one or more optional A's
S + P + DO + OA
(lexical verb, complex transitive)
+ one or more optional A's
Exercise. For every structure indicated above, provide two examples (each with a different verb).
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4. THE ATTRIBUTIVE ADJUNCT (bijvoeglijke bepaling), or PREMODIFlER/POSTMODIFlER
AII the functions in section 3 are sentence elements; they occur on sentence level. There is another
important function which needs to be mentioned here, and that is the Attributive Adjunct, which is now
called Premodifier, or Postmodifier, depending on its position before or after the noun.
This function, however, always occurs within a sentence element:
That tall building is a very ugly structure.
Mr Powell has written an intensely enjoyable book.
Policemen with arms stood at the entrance.
Charlie looked at the man behind the counter.
In traditional analysis the term Attributive Adjunct is used for the phrase which says something about the
following or preceding noun (it "modifies" the noun), so the Attributive Adjunct always occurs within a
noun phrase. This noun phrase may have a function on sentence level, as Subject, Subject Attribute,
Direct Object, etc. As we said in section 1.b, the internal structure of phrases will be studied in detail in a
later year, so we will not analyse Attributive Adjuncts in this course. For the use of adjectives as a word
class, see section 6.
Note: Sometimes it is possible to analyse a sentence in two different ways, because of the fact that a
prepositional phrase can have a function as Adverbial, or as Postmodifier within a noun phrase.
A clear Adverbial is:
He did a funny little skipping dance in the snow.
A clear Postmodifier is:
The footprints in the snow were undoubtedly those of a Yeti.
But the following sentence is ambiguous:
We suddenly came across some giant footprints in the snow.
This may be either
We suddenly came across some giant footprints in the snow.
or
We suddenly came across some giant footprints in the snow.
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5. THE COMPLEX SENTENCE AND THE COMPOUND SENTENCE (samengestelde zin)
In section 3 the Simple Sentence was discussed with its elements realised as phrases. It is also possible
that a sentence element is realised by a clause, which is called a subclause (bijzin). AII the elements,
except the Predicator, can be realised by a clause. Such a clause is said to be subordinated
(ondergeschikt) to the "higher" level of the sentence in which it has a function. The whole sentence is
called a Complex sentence.
If such a subclause contains another subclause, this second subclause is said to have a function on the
"higher" clause level, e.g. He said that what Jane had told him was true.
There are various kinds of words that introduce subclauses:
He said that it was true.
What Jane told me came as a big shock.
They wondered whether the train would be on time.
The best-known of these words is the subordinating conjunction (onderschikkend voegwoord), which
introduces Adverbial clauses:
When he heard the bell, he ran to the door.
I will call you, if I find out more about this affair
They would not leave before they had drunk all the beer.
In traditional analysis subclauses are always finite: the Predicator contains a finite verb form. Illustrations
of finite subclauses are:
Subject clause:
That Pete has passed his exam does not come as a surprise.
What happened in the cell will always remain a mystery.
Subject Attribute clause:
The problem is that we do not have the right tools.
Direct Object clause:
He explained what had happened to the car.
She told me that she was going to America.
Indirect Object clause:
She gave whoever disturbed her an angry look.
Benefactive Object clause:
They made whoever showed up a freshly-cooked meal.
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Object Attribute clause:
His parents made him what he is today.
Adverbial clause:
As soon as we have the results, we will let you know.
If you had done vour best, you could have kept your job.
Because the weather is bad, we cannot have our garden party.
There is also a subclause that corresponds to the function discussed in section 4, the Attributive Adjunct.
This clause always follows the noun which it modifies. It is called Relative clause (betrekkelijke bijzin),
and is linked to the preceding noun by a relative pronoun (betrekkelijk voornaamwoord):
The book that won the prize was written by an unknown writer .
The Statue of Liberty, which is enormous, can be seen from a great distance.
Buster Keaton, who was a great comedian, made mainly silent movies.
Note that the Relative clause, like the Attributive Adjunct, does not have a function on sentence level, but
is always part of a noun phrase.
___________________________________________________________________________________
In some sentences we recognise two clauses, but we cannot say that one clause has a function in the
other clause:
The woodwork will be painted, and the roof will be renewed.
Bill did not stay for dinner, for his parents were coming.
Nellie painted her front door purple, but the result did not please her.
Such clauses are coordinated clauses (nevengeschikt), and they are linked by a coordinating
conjunction (nevenschikkend voegwoord). The whole sentence is called a Compound sentence.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Finally, we must briefly point out a new way of analysing sentences such as the following, with respect to
the underlined parts:
Studying grammar can be very pleasant.
Clive denied having seen the man before.
To tell you all this was a difficult task.
The idea was to go to Iceland this year.
We want to hear the whole story .
To get to the other side, we will have to wade through the water.
Working in the garden, she did not hear the intruder.
21
The weather being so bad, we have to cancel all performances.
Beaten by his opponent, the chess player started crying.
Certain sentence elements can be realised by structures that do not have a finite verb. Instead, they
contain a non-finite verb form, which may be accompanied by more phrases. Such structures may be
seen as a kind of "reduced clause", and they are now called non-finite clauses.
The non-finite clauses functioning as Adverbial are traditionally called Free Adjuncts (beknopte bijzin).
In this introductory course we will not discuss non-finite subclauses any further.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Of the finite subclauses, the Direct Obiect clause and the Adverbial clause of time and condition are
important for us this year, in connection with the correct use of the tenses:
We will sit down when she returns. =
Adverbial clause (clause can be replaced by adverb then).
We know when she will return. =
Direct Obiect clause (clause can be replaced by pronoun that).
The Adverbial clause of time is introduced by conjunctions such as:when,until, till, before, after, as soon
as, while, etc.
The Adverbial clause of condition is introduced mainly by: if, but also by conjunctions such as: unless, in
case, provided.
22
6. WORD CLASSES
1. nouns
2. adjectives
3. adverbs
zelfstandige naamw.
bijvoeglijke naamw.
bijwoorden
4. verbs
- lexical
- copula
- auxiliary
- primary
- modal
5. articles
- definite
- indefinite
6. pronouns
- personal pron.
werkwoorden
zelfstandige ww.
koppelww.
hulpww.
- indep. poss. pr.
- demonstrative pron.
- relative pron.
- indefinite pron.
or: quantifiers
- interrogative pron.
7. interrogative adverbs
8. numerals
- cardinal
- ordinal
9. prepositions
10. conjunctions
- coordinating
- subordinating
11. interjections
to walk, to talk, to decide, etc.
to be, to become, to look, etc.
have, do, be
can, could, may, might, must, will, etc.
lidwoorden
bepaald lidw.
onbepaald lidw.
voomaamwoorden
persoonlijke vnw.
- compound pers. pr. samengesteld vnw.
- poss. pron.
house, idea, James, London, etc.
tall, small, ugly, etc.
seriously, madly, quickly, often, here, there, soon,
etc.
bezittelijke vnw.
aanwijzende vnw.
betrekkelijke vnw.
onbepaalde vnw.
vragende vnw.
vragende bijwoorden
telwoorden
hoofdtelw.
rangtelw.
voorzetsels
voegwoorden
nevenschikkende voegw.
onderschikkende voegw.
tussenwerpsels
the
a, an
I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they,
me, him, her, us, them
myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself,
ourselves, yourselves, themselves
my, your, his, her, its, our, your, their
mine, yours, his, hers, ours, yours, theirs
this, that, these, those
who, whom, whose, which, that
some, any, each, all, every, both, no, none, either,
neither, somebody, something, etc.
who, whom, whose, what, which
why, where, when, how
one, two, three, etc.
first, second, third, etc.
in, on, under, with, without, etc.
and, but, or, for, (nor)
when, before, since, until, as soon as, etc.
whoopee, oh, gosh, hurray, bravo, etc.
23
7. NOTES ON SOME WORD CLASSES
Prepositions (voorzetsels)
The preposition is normally accompanied/followed by a noun or pronoun (really: prepositional phrase =
preposition + noun phrase )
He / sat / in a chair Adverbial = prepositional phrase (preposition + NP)
Such prepositional phrases are often found inside larger elements:
The clock of this church / is / five minutes slow.
Inside the Subject there is a prepositional phrase.
Some more prepositions: the quarrel between the men; the cupboard behind the door; during the night;
alongside the road.
Conjunctions (voegwoorden)
The conjunction normally links two or more clauses (zinnen of bijzinnen), to make a complex or a
compound sentence. We will only look at finite clauses here, which have a Predicator containing a finite
verb.
Five conjunctions are coordinating (nevenschikkend): the clauses are on the same level; they have the
same status: and, but, or, nor, for.
John opened the parcel / and / Mary left the room.
All other conjunctions are subordinating (onderschikkend). They are found at the beginning of the clause
(which is not the same as the beginning of the whole sentence).
John opened the parcel / when everybody had left.
Before we left / we switched off all the lights.
Compare:
After the show, we went to a pub. (after = preposition)
After the show had finished, we went to a pub. (after = subord. conj.)
Demonstrative pronouns (aanwijzende voomaamwoorden )
There are only four: that, this, those, these. The last three are only demonstrative pronouns; that can
also occur as a relative pronoun or as a subordinating conjunction. The demonstrative pronoun can
24
occur before the noun (= inside the noun phrase ), or it can occur on its own.
That chair / has disappeared (Subject = noun phrase)
That / was a clean chair. (Subject = noun phrase consisting of dem.pron.)
Note: the words there, here, then, now are not demonstrative pronouns but adverbs.
Interrogative pronouns (vragende voomaamwoorden)
These introduce questions:
Who has invited this man?
Whose car is that?
To whom did he write?
Which house did you buy?
Which of these cars is yours?
What have you been doing?
Relative pronouns (betrekkelijke voomaamwoorden)
These always occur inside another element and normally follow the noun that they refer to ("relate" to):
The chair that was broken / has disappeared.
Inside the Subject, that was broken is a so-called relative clause (betrekkelijke bijzin).
The man who has just come in / used to be / the owner.
Our house, which we bought in 1952, / badly / needs / repairs.
25
8. ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS
Adjectives
An adjective denotes a quality, a characteristic, etc. of a noun or a pronoun. It can do so in two ways:
1. in a position before the noun, within the noun phrase. This is called attributive use:
the tall man, the beautiful fairy, the crazy scientist
2.
in a position after the Predicator, to refer to a noun or a pronoun. This is called predicative use:
as Subj. Attr.: The man was tall.
The fairy looked beautiful.
He was crazy.
Her parents married young.
as Obj. Attr.: She considered her milkman wonderful.
He made her famous.
(Note that we should really say that the adjective is the head of the adjective phrase in all these
examples).
Adverbs
Adverbs can be used in various ways (as the head of the adverb phrase). It can be an Adverbial, a
sentence element:
1.
to modify the whole sentence:
Fortunately, there were some chocolates left.
Probably they have not heard the news yet.
2.
to modify the "verb":
He dances elegantly.
Everything went smoothly.
Adverbs also function frequently within phrases:
3.
to modify an adjective:
This is a pleasantly quiet start.
Her paintings are exceptionally beautiful.
4.
to modify another adverb:
He dances extremely elegantly.
Everything went unexpectedly smoothly.
26
EXERCISES
Exercise 1
Divide the following sentences into constituents by putting slant lines (/) between the constituents. Try to
replace constituents by a shorter phrase, or just one word.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7
8.
9.
10.
Her eldest son hates mock turtle soup.
The examples given here show that constituents can be very long.
That young hooligan should have offered the old lady in the grey coat his seat.
In England, French food is regarded as sophisticated and elegant.
In his speech of 1884 the then British Prime Minister, Lord Roseberry, discussed the British Empire.
Several people have been injured in a train crash.
Supporters of the use of modern English in church have many arguments.
A private museum of old motorcars was founded by Lord Montagu in 1952 in memory of his father,
an early motorcar enthusiast.
We are sitting in heavy silence in the editing suite lent to us by Granada Television.
Last year's teachers' boycott of national curriculum testing must have been the most successful
piece of industrial action in years.
Exercise 2
Familiarize yourself with the word-class labels in English and Dutch (see section 6), and try to determine to
which word-class the words in the examples in section 1 c. (pages 4-5) belong.
Exercise 3
Look up in the English dictionary the words dry, drink, rough, and round , and say to which word classes
they can belong. Give examples.
Exercise 4
Underline the Subject and the Predicator in the following sentences.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17.
Alex is a very responsible chap.
He stopped the car at a pedestrian crossing.
Last year's labour dispute caused a lot of unrest.
The young man in the raincoat opposite me offered me his binoculars.
Any new recording will automatically erase any previous recording on the tape.
That rude boy should have given the woman with the crying baby his seat.
One of the creepy-looking guys has ordered his girlfriend a bloody Mary.
Anyone going into Paddington's room would have found him in bed.
Sir Sealy Bloom was looking tired and cross.
The funny little man could make his mouth all kinds of shapes.
Above the shops there were often smoky billiard halls.
My assistant can show you the latest models.
Luke Bouverie missed the last bus out of Woodborough to Loxford.
The Badger and the Rat regarded Toad in his goggles as ridiculous.
At once the fat guard raised his revolver.
His grandfather was a retired civil war colonel.
Her father called his accordion Caroline.
27
Exercise 5
Underline the Predicators in the following sentences, point out the finite verb, and say what kind of non-finite
forms, if any, follow. Also give the category of each verb (auxiliary, copula, lexical verb).
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
William winked behind his wife's back.
Mr Wonka's voice was high and fluty.
The Tin Woodman was weeping in a way most dangerous to his joints.
Then all of a sudden he was interrupted bya noise.
The boat will have left by now.
The greengrocer must have been feeling queasy.
Exercise 6
Do the following sentences contain a Subject Attribute or a Direct Object, or neither? Underline them.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9,
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
The driver turned his car with difficulty.
The driver turned pale at the sight of the accident.
The explorers could not keep cool in the heart of Africa.
The explorers kept the dogs in an enclosure behind the hut.
The new arrival proved a welcome addition to our group.
The film star's fingerprints on the candlestick proved her guilt.
The police inspector got very angry.
The train drivers got new uniforms.
She felt rather exhilarated.
The government have been out of step with public opinion for years.
Very few Chinese remained loyal to the Allied cause
The bathroom was on the first-floor landing.
The Captain remained on the bridge.
A 13-year-old boy has become the youngest British graduate of modern times.
Exercise 7
Underline Subject Attribute, Direct Object, Indirect Object, Benefactive Object and Object Attribute in the
sentences in exercise 4.
Exercise 8
Underline the Adverbials in the sentences in exercise 4.
Exercise 9
Underline all the Adverbials in the following sentences:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
During the journey I often saw dead dogs alongside the roads.
Most likely they bought the last copy in that big department store.
For two years he visited the zoo twice a week.
To his surprise his parents arrived at his wedding on time.
He suddenly noticed an ink stain on the carpet in his study.
Down in the kitchen Mrs Brill was silently reading the paper with her spectacles perched on her nose.
Paddington had been saving hard for several weeks.
Then with a final bow to the ladies Doctor John Dolittle took a cigar from his pocket.
28
Exercise 10
Analyse the following sentences.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
At Burton's, taste had a new and special meaning.
Toads of different colours and sizes hopped about the lawn.
She longed for a bar of chocolate.
Last night taught me a lesson.
She had taught in a language school in Birmingham three mornings a week.
Then Mr Curry caught sight of the pile of brick rubble outside the kitchen door.
They walked for miles and miles each day.
Nowadays the British seem rather embarrassed about their position as colonial rulers.
Each day on the homeward journey the man in charge of the entertainments on board had run a
so-called sweep.
There were high, clipped yew hedges on either side of the old flagged paths.
Bridget had to bring up her sons on her own.
Those hours of practising have turned him into a regular Rambo.
Peter looked wholly unhappy.
Ominous little gusts of wind were digging playfully in the nearby litter bin.
Exercise 11
Are the following subclauses Direct Object clause or Adverbial clause? Indicate them.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
He was growing a bit scared when all those people came in.
Jane and Michael always knew when Miss Lark was in the garden.
Sally hoped that Holmes could solve the case for her.
Several people were talking when the judge came in.
The gardener did not know when the apple tree would blossom.
Exercise 12
Parse the following sentences.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Karen is painting a gorgeous picture, which she will price at 1000 pounds.
Without that book I felt completely in the dark.
Unless we hear from you soon, we must withdraw our offer.
What is therefore the correct answer to this question?
Where are all the fans who admired her then?
Exercise 13
Translate the underlined words into English. Account for your translation.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Zijn optreden lijkt me nogal drastisch.
De prijzen moeten drastisch verhoogd worden.
We moeten drastische maatregelen nemen.
Er werden die winter buitengewoon lage temperaturen gemeten.
Heb je dat prachtig geillustreerde boek al gezien?
Wat zag het paleis van de sjeik er schitterend uit!
Hij keek haar ongewoon ernstig aan.
29
Exercise 14
Are the underlined words adjective or adverb?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Some important guests arrived late at the wedding.
It was an impressivelv smooth performance.
There are still some problems to be solved.
Still waters run deep.
Alfred is always late.
Exercise 15
Analyse the following sentences.
1. Full-size mammoths probably swam to the Channel Islands in the Ice Ace.
2. In those days the sea level was lower.
3. The European empire-building expeditions of the 16th and 17th centuries heralded the beginning of the
end for thousands of languages in North and South America.
4. English is becoming more and more important as the language of business, science and popular
culture.
5. Among the Krenak in southeastern Brazil, only a handful of elders among the 70 or so tribesmen still
speak their mother tongue.
6. Up until the 1950s, Catholic missionaries forbade them to speak their own language.
7. Henrikh Henrikhovich Maniser, a Russian anthropologist, trekked across Brazil at the turn of the
century.
8. In his last speech he described his defeated opponent Eileen Pembridge as "the most dangerous
woman in Britain".
Exercise 16
Analyse the following sentences.
1. Taxi drivers in the petty mafia operating around Intourist hotels accumulate fortunes.
2. My friend Misha makes about $30 a day in hard currency from such customers as American journalists
and Japanese and German businessmen.
3. At the black market rate, 20 roubles to the dollar, his daily take is twice the monthly salary of a mid-Ievel
bureaucrat.
4. In the former Soviet Union, the country's program of "Russification" for indigenous populations scattered
along the southern, northern and Pacific borders intensified in the 1950s.
5. Telecommunications, tourism and trade are making the world a smaller place.
6. According to Mark Moffet, only National Geographic offers photographers the scope for such a
complete visual story about fighting flies.
7. Many of the nuns in the Mankato convent look much younger than their real ages.
8. That evening our friend Ludmila made the team members a satisfying potato soup.
Exercise 17
Parse the following sentences.
1. Yuri was helplessly swept along like a rag doll for hundreds of yards until he reached our raft.
2. This was the team's final outing of the year because some Siberian rivers would soon be frozen.
30
Exercise 18
Analyse the following sentences:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Rain fell on the coast of British Columbia for four days.
Many people call fresh water the coming crisis of the 1990s.
The mahout loudly ordered his elephant to pick up the bottle with its trunk.
Why had the tigress become so furious so fast?
All around us there were already the morning sounds of peacocks, jungle fowl and monkeys.
Ahead of us we could just make out a broad stretch of swampy grassland.
The 268 square miles of Bandhavgarh National Park in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh
were once the royal hunting grounds. of the maharajas of Rewa.
8. The bones and other body parts of the tigers were smuggled out of India to supply the manufacturers of
Chinese traditional medicines.
Exercise 19
State what kind of verbs are found in the Predicators of sentences 1-5 in the previous exercise. For lexical
verbs, state also whether they are intransitive, etc
Exercise 20
Analyse the following sentences.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
At the beginning of this century there were probably over 100,000 wild tigers throughout Africa.
The tiger could become extinct in the wild before the year 2000.
In 1840 Queen Victoria granted the SPCA the right to use its "Royal" prefix.
In 1911 the RSPCA claimed much of the credit for the Protection of Animals Act.
Some time ago the National Lottery Charities Board appointed Timothy Hearst as chief executive.
One of the wedding guests, a local businessman, led us to an outdoor pavilion on the edge of the town.
The Whitman family moved to Brooklyn just a few days before Walt's fourth birthday.
Exercise 21
State what kind of verbs are found in the Predicators in the previous exercise. For lexical verbs, state also
whether they are intransitive, etc.
Exercise 22
Give the word class of the underlined words.
1.
2.
This method to cure baldness works without the use of herbs, lotions, etc.
Some of those old buildings there are houses with an easily readable past.
Additional exercises:
Exercise 23
Analyse the following sentences into elements
1. This yoghurt has turned green!
2. The shopkeeper closed his shop a little earlier that day.
31
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Lester Lee considers his Labrador the most intelligent dog in the world.
All the witnesses of the accident told the police the same story.
Her son bought her a raincoat for her holiday in Scotland.
Templer's habitual carelessness gave Le Bas the long-awaited opportunity.
The governess had never seen her pupils so naughty.
Through his magnifying glass he looked very intently at the curious stain.
In her new overcoat Mrs Warp seemed a different person.
The football player turned down the French club's offer.
Jimmy's parents should get him a new, longer pair of trousers soon.
Recently these windsurfers have become areal danger on the lake.
With lamentations such as these Toad passed his days and nights for several weeks.
The teacher sent the parents the latest reports on their children only last week.
Unfortunately the new watchman was an unreliable chap.
Exercise 24
Do the following sentences contain a Subject Attribute or a Direct Object?
1. The boys were feeling quite nervous on their first day in school.
2. The customer felt the expensive cloth.
3. These tinned sardines taste horrible.
4. The victim had not tasted the poison in his porridge.
Exercise 25
Parse the following sentences
1. The comedian could do some very good imitations.
2. Which of the men secretly emptied the bottle while she ran to the cellar?
3. That curious story that Brian has told his friend is completely false.
Exercise 26
Translate the underlined words into English. Account for your translation.
1. Zij heeft haar vinger ernstig bezeerd met die plotselinge ruk aan het stuur.
2. Hij werd plotseling ernstig bij die plechtige bijeenkomst.
3. We moeten dit voorstel ernstig nemen.
4. Met een ernstige blik in haar ogen nam zij afscheid.
5. Ze zullen er ernstig over nadenken; dat hebben ze tenminste plechtig beloofd.
32
SYNTAX 1 ADDITIONAL HANDOUT
How do I find the…?
Question
Who/what + verb(s)?
S
subject
P
predicator
What does the S do? Which are the
verbs in this sentence?
SA
subject attribute
Which part is identical to or
describes a quality of the S?
DO
direct
object
Who/what + S + verb(s)?
IO
indirect object
To whom + S + verb(s) + DO?
BO
benefactive
object
For whom + S + verb(s) + DO?
OA
object attribute
Which part is identical to or
describes a quality of the DO?
A
adverbial
When/where/how/why etc. does the
action happen?
Example
We love Syntax lessons.
Q: Who/what loves?
A: We
Our teacher explains the rules.
Q: What does our teacher do?
A: Explains
Syntax is easy and fun!
Q: Which part is identical… etc.?
A: Easy and fun
I’m analysing lots of sentences.
Q: What am I analysing?
A: Lots of sentences
The teacher gives me an answer.
Q: To whom does the teacher give an
answer?
A: Me
The teacher brought a handout for us.
Q: For whom did the teacher bring a
handout?
A: For us
Doing the exercises makes Syntax a lot
easier.
Q: Which part is identical… etc.?
A: A lot easier
Every day I happily look forward to the
Syntax lessons at Fontys.
Q: When/where/how/why… etc.?
A: Every day, happily and at Fontys
33
SYNTAX 1 ABBREVIATIONS
Abbreviations used in analysis (redekundig ontleden)
subject
predicator
subject attribute
direct object
=
=
=
=
S
P
SA
DO
indirect object
benefactive object
object attribute
adverbial
=
=
=
=
IO
BO
OA
A
Abbreviations used in parsing (taalkundig ontleden)
noun
adjective
adverb
lexical verb
copula verb
auxiliary verb
definite article
indefinite article
cardinal numeral
ordinal numeral
preposition
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
N
adj.
adv.
lex.
cop.
aux.
def.art.
ind.art.
card.num.
ord.num.
prep.
personal pronoun
=
compound personal pronoun
=
possessive pronoun
=
independent possessive pronoun=
demonstrative pronoun
=
relative pronoun
=
indefinite pronoun (quantifier) =
interrogative pronoun
=
interrogative adverb
=
coordinating conjunction
=
subordinating conjunction
=
pers.pron.
comp.pers.pron.
poss.pron.
ind.poss.pron.
dem.pron.
rel.pron.
ind.pron.
inter.pron.
inter.adv.
coord.conj.
sub.conj.
34
Syntax 1 Mock Exam n Analyse the following sentences (Subject, etc.) – 30 points 1. In the first century AD Pompeii was a prosperous resort town. 2. The Chinese created a huge empire in the centuries before Christ. 3. Professor Wallace‐Hadrill was standing in the well‐preserved courtyard of an ancient town. 4. Rome set up a quasi‐representative form of government in 509 BC. 5. The Italian archaeologist Antonio Varone showed me his collection of some 5,000 pieces of plaster. 6. Japan has become a global economic superpower over the past half century. 7. American geologists consider the south of the island an unsafe zone. 8. Joe Devine, a scientist from Brown University, got his colleague some rock samples. 9. Unfortunately, those houses could not resist the force of Hurricane Hugo. 10. Because of the protests, the government has given the farmers new land. o Do the following sentences contain a Subject Attribute, a Direct Object, or neither? Underline them. – 5 points 1. The gambler’s luck turned sour one stormy night. 2. The volcano remained relatively silent until July 1995. 3. Many farmers will not remain on their land so close to the crater. 4. The lava turned a tree‐shaded valley into a moonscape. 5. A mile further south the road turned toward the old villages. 35
p Underline all the adverbials in the following sentences – 6 points 1. There were essentially three classes of people in republican Rome. 2. Inside the hot sports hall, sweat was running in rivers down the chest of the sumo wrestler. 3. Half a mile from the volcano, Gerard Dyer was rapidly loading the sweet potatoes into an old pickup truck. 4. Since July 1995 about 5,000 people have been evacuated to the northern hills from villages near the crater because of the eruptions. q Underline the Predicator in the following sentences, point out the finite verb, and say what kind of non‐finite forms follow. State also of each verb what kind of verb it is. – 9 points 1. Until 1995 the islanders led idyllic lives. 2. Judith and Cedric have been staying with friends in Plymouth. 3. The Roman state must have been a cultural melting pot. 4. The defeated general and his army were led away in chains by the Romans. r Parse the following sentences (Noun, etc.) – 18 points 1. Two marvellous pictures in that sale were small portraits by Renoir. 2. Their quarrel over a lottery ticket has now become absolutely ridiculous and they will perhaps go to a lawyer. 3. Which book is creating all this fuss? s Translate the underlined words into English and account for your translations – 10 points 1. Hij weigerde heel beleefd een vierde portie van die vreselijk droge rijstschotel. 2. Hun aankomst om 8 uur is nog niet zeker; we zullen het u zeker laten weten als we meer weten. 3. “Zoveel warme aandacht lijkt aangenaam, maar gaat buitengewoon onaangenaam op de zenuwen werken,” zei hij droog.
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t Are the following clauses Direct Object clause or Adverbial clause? – 4 points 1. At the ticket window Mr Evans asked when the next train left for Durham. 2. He opened the letter when he felt calmer. 3. The men were fighting when the police came. 4. Sally could not remember when she has last been to the cinema. 37
Syntax 1 Mock Exam: Key n Analyse the following sentences (Subject, etc.) – 30 points 1. In the first century AD / Pompeii / was / a prosperous resort town. A S P SA 2. The Chinese / created / a huge empire / in the centuries before Christ. S P DO A 3. Professor Wallace‐Hadrill / was standing / in the well‐preserved courtyard of an ancient… S P A 4. Rome / set up / a quasi‐representative form of government / in 509 BC. S P DO A 5. The Italian archaeologist Antonio Varone / showed / me / his collection of some 5,000…. S P IO DO 6. Japan / has become / a global economic superpower / over the past half century. S P SA A 7. American geologists / consider / the south of the island / an unsafe zone. S P DO OA 8. Joe Devine, a scientist from Brown University, / got / his colleague / some rock samples. S P BO DO 9. Unfortunately, / those houses / could / not / resist / the force of Hurricane Hugo. A S P A P DO 10. Because of the protests, / the government / has given / the farmers / new land. A S P IO DO o Do the following sentences contain a Subject Attribute, a Direct Object, or neither? Underline them. – 5 points 6. The gambler’s luck / turned / sour / one stormy night. S P SA A 7. The volcano / remained / relatively silent / until July 1995. S P SA A 8. Many farmers / will / not / remain / on their land so close to the crater. S P A P A → neither 9. The lava / turned / a tree‐shaded valley / into a moonscape. S P DO OA 10. A mile further south / the road / turned / toward the old villages. A S P A → neither p Underline all the adverbials in the following sentences – 6 points 1. There / were / essentially / three classes of people / in republican Rome. manner place/time 38
2. Inside the hot sports hall, / sweat / was running / in rivers / down the chest of the sumo… place manner place 3. Half a mile from the volcano, / Gerard Dyer / was / rapidly / loading / the sweet potatoes / place manner into an old pickup truck. place 4. Since July 1995 / about 5,000 people / have been evacuated / to the northern hills / time place from villages near the crater / because of the eruptions. place condition q Underline the Predicator in the following sentences, point out the finite verb, and say what kind of non‐finite forms follow. State also of each verb what kind of verb it is. – 9 points 1. P: led must = finite, aux. led = finite, lex. have = non‐finite, infinitive, aux. 2. P: have been staying been = non‐finite, past participle, have = finite, aux. copula been = non‐finite, past participle, aux. 4. P: were led staying = non‐finite, present were = finite, aux. participle, lex. led = non‐finite, past participle, lex. 3. P: must have been r Parse the following sentences (Noun, etc.) – 18 points become copula 1. Two card. num. absolutely adv. marvellous adj. ridiculous adj. pictures noun and coord. conj. in prep. they pers. pron. that dem. pron. will aux. sale noun perhaps adv. were copula go lex. small adj. to prep. portraits noun a indef. art. by prep. lawyer noun Renoir noun 3. Which interr. pron. 2. Their poss. pron. book noun quarrel noun is aux. over prep. creating lex. a indef. art. all indef.pron. / quantifier lottery noun this dem. pron. ticket noun fuss noun
has aux. now adv. 39
s Translate the underlined words into English and account for your translations – 10 points 1. very = adv. → politely = adv. politely = adv. → refused = verb terribly = adv. → dry = adj. dry = adj. → dish = noun 2. certain = adj. → arrival = noun certainly = adv. → let know = verb 3. pleasant = adj. → attention = noun extremely = adv. → unpleasantly = adv. unpleasantly = adv. → “werken” = verb drily = adv. → said = verb t Are the following clauses Direct Object clauses or Adverbial clauses? – 4 points 1. when the next train left for Durham = DO clause 2. when he felt calmer = Adv. clause of time 3. when the police came = Adv. clause of time 4. when she has last been to the cinema = DO clause 39