Download Key LSA 7 Grammar Seminar 2015 2

Uppsala University
Department of English
A1/T1/HS1 Grammar
Autumn/Fall Term 2015
Language Structure Assignment 7: Key to Seminar
Grammar Tasks
Task 1
a.
Adjectives are in bold face and adverbs underlined.
1)
i)
sudden (attributive; describes the noun noise).
ii) scuffling (attributive; describes the noun noise).
2)
i)
quite (describes the adjective right).
ii) right (predicative; describes the pronoun you).
3)
i)
very (describes the adjective small).
ii) small (attributive; describes the noun animal).
iii) Useful (predicative; describes the pronoun you).
4)
i)
-n’t (describes the whole clause You need (to) shout so loud; many
grammars classify not as an adverb, though sometimes it is instead
considered a word class of its own).
ii) so (describes the adverb loud).
iii) loud (describes the verb shout).
iv) quite (describes the adverb well).
v) well (describes the verb heard).
b.
5)
6)
7)
Adjectives are used after as in structures like as … as possible and as usual.
(The reason is that these structures can be expanded to structures where
the adjective functions as a predicative adjective after a form of be: … as
soon as it is possible for you to come; … as it is usual for us to do.)
When used in these senses, look and smell are linking verbs in English; they
thus take subject predicatives, which can be adjective phrases but not
adverb phrases. In these senses, the verbs smell and taste can be
problematic for Swedish learners, since the verbs lukta and smaka are not
linking verbs in the corresponding Swedish structures. (Note that these
verbs can also be used in other structures, e.g. I was smelling the soup,
where smell is a transitive verb that takes the direct object the soup.)
An adjective that occurs inside a noun phrase and modifies the head of the
noun phrase is typically a premodifier, i.e. it precedes the head. However,
heads that are compound pronouns in some-, any-, every-, and no- are an
exception: a modifying adjective instead follows such heads.
1
Uppsala University
Department of English
A1/T1/HS1 Grammar
Autumn/Fall Term 2015
Task 2
a.
The important criteria are related to what adjectives and adverbs describe.
Adjectives describe nouns or pronouns. In contrast, adverbs describe verbs,
adjectives, other adverbs, or whole clauses. The form of a word (with or
without -ly) is not a safe criterion to go by in all cases, since there are adjectives
that end in -ly and adverbs that do not.
1)
i)
Fast is an adverb because it describes a verb (ran).
ii) More is an adverb because it describes another adverb (quickly).
iii) Quickly is an adverb because it describes a verb (ran).1
2)
i)
Wrongly is an adverb because it describes a verb (concluded).
ii) Wrong is an adverb because it describes a verb (answered).
iii) Completely is an adverb because it describes another adverb
(correctly).
iv) Correctly is an adverb because it describes a verb (answered).
3)
i)
Very is an adverb because it describes an adjective (lively).
ii) Lively is an adjective because it describes a noun (impression).
iii) Generally is an adverb because it describes a clause (She … was very
friendly).
iv) Very is an adverb because it describes an adjective (friendly).
v) Friendly is an adjective because it describes a pronoun (she).
4)
i)
Alone is an adjective because it describes a pronoun (She).
ii) Lonely is an adjective because it describes a pronoun (She).
5)
i)
Real is an adverb because it describes an adjective (good).2
ii) Good is an adjective because it describes a pronoun (This).3
The adjectives and adverbs are listed in order of appearance in this key. When analysing a phrase
like more quickly, however, one would first need to determine that quickly is an adverb because it
describes a verb, and then use that information to deduce that more is also an adverb, because it
describes another adverb.
2 Note that using real as an adverb in this fashion is characteristic of informal speech. In Standard
English speech and writing, the form really is required for the adverb, while real is the adjective form.
3 Note that, in Swedish, the corresponding word gott would be an adverb describing the verb luktar in
Det här luktar riktigt gott. This is because smell and taste are linking verbs in English in clauses such as
This smells real good, while lukta and smaka are intransitive verbs in the equivalent Swedish clauses.
1
2
Uppsala University
Department of English
A1/T1/HS1 Grammar
Autumn/Fall Term 2015
b.
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
11)
12)
13)
14)
awful/awfully
i)
awfully (adverb – describes the adverb well)
ii) awful (predicative adjective – subject predicative, describes the noun
dress)
iii) awfully (adverb – describes the adjective small)
beautiful/beautifully
i)
beautiful (attributive adjective – describes the noun baby)
ii) beautifully (adverb – describes the verb played)
iii) beautiful (attributive adjective – describes the noun colour) OR
beautifully (adverb – describes the adjective red); cf. Swedish en
vacker röd färg vs. en vackert röd färg
iv) beautiful (predicative adverb – subject predicative, describes the
noun place)
usual/usually
i)
usual (attributive adjective – describes the noun way)
ii) usually (adverb – describes the clause She’s very slow)
high/highly
i)
The tree was very high (predicative adjective – describes the noun
tree), but he climbed as high (adverb without -ly – describes the verb
climbed) up as he could.
ii) highly (adverb – describes the participle surprised, which can be
analysed either as a participial adjective or as the main verb in a
passive verb phrase was surprised)
hard/hardly
i)
hard (adverb without -ly – describes the verb hit)
ii) hardly (adverb – describes the adjective responsible)
friendly/?
i)
friendly (attributive adjective – describes the noun manner)
ii) in a friendly /way/manner/ (friendly is an attributive adjective –
describes the noun way or manner; there is no readily available
adverb based on the adjective friendly, so a paraphrase is required)
loud/loudly
i)
loud (attributive adjective – describes the noun voice).
ii) loudly (adverb – describes the verb complained)
wrong/wrongly
i)
wrong (attributive adjective – describes the noun answer)
ii) wrong (adverb without -ly – describes the verb answered).
direct/directly
i)
direct (adverb without -ly – describes the verb fly)
ii) direct (attributive adjective – describes the noun flight)
iii) directly (adverb – describes the verb looked)
3
Uppsala University
Department of English
A1/T1/HS1 Grammar
Autumn/Fall Term 2015
Task 3
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
basically (adjectives in -ic usually form adverbs in -ically)
absolutely (regular)
wholly (the final -e of adjectives in -le is dropped before -ly is added)
publicly (an exception to the -ic > -ically rule)
heartily (a final -y after a consonant in a polysyllabic adjective becomes -i
when -ly is added to form an adverb)
truly (the final -e in true is dropped when -ly is added to form an adverb)
curiously (regular)
economically (see basically above; note that both the adjective economic and
the adjective economical thus correspond to the adverb economically)
Task 4
1)
2)
Not until the tournament was over would he realize that his racket was
broken. An initial adverbial that negates or restricts the content of the
clause, e.g. not until … was over, causes inversion in English: 1 auxiliary
(would) + subject (he) + rest of verb phrase (realize).
The beef tastes wonderful, but the potatoes are undercooked. When the
verbs smell and taste occur in descriptions of smells and tastes, they
function as linking verbs in English and are followed by adjectives, not by
adverbs.
Task 5
See section references to UGE for comments.
1)
Bergman’s films often have very interesting themes. UGE 7.2.3, 7.6.2
2)
/Yet/Nevertheless,/ they were much more boring than I had expected.
UGE 7.5, 7.2.3, 6.2.1
Task 6
See section references to UGE for explanations when there is no explanation
immediately after the translation.
1)
Tom never really liked French at school. UGE 6.6, 7.6.2
2)
He very seldom did his French homework. UGE 4.3.1, 7.2.3, 6.6, and 7.6.2
3)
/Later in life, when/When, later in life,/ he had to use French in his job,
he soon understood that it would never work. UGE 6.6, 7.6.2–7.6.3
4)
He /hoped/was hoping/ that he would never have to go to France again.
UGE 7.6.2
5)
When/, in August last summer,/ my boss turned fifty/ in August last
summer/, he threw a big party. UGE 7.6.3
6)
/The funny thing/What is funny/ is that politicians ignore the problem.
UGE 4.6.3.1, 6.4.3.2
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Uppsala University
Department of English
7)
8)
9)
10)
11)
12)
13)
A1/T1/HS1 Grammar
Autumn/Fall Term 2015
This is a school for /the blind/blind people/. Swedish blinda has generic
reference to a group of people. The adjective can thus remain the head of
the noun phrase in English, but the definite article is required before it
even though the blind has generic reference. An alternative would be to
insert a head noun (e.g. people), but then the definite article must not be
used, as people becomes a plural noun used in a generic sense.
The old man was interested in the subconscious. Swedish den gamle has
specific reference to one concrete individual, so the adjective cannot be the
head of its noun phrase in English. The easiest solution in (8) is to insert a
head noun (e.g. man, since gamle indicates that the noun phrase refers to a
male individual). Swedish det undermedvetna has generic reference to an
abstract notion in the singular. In such circumstances, the adjective can be
the head of the noun phrase in English as well.
/What is tragic/The tragic thing/ is that the conditions of the poor have
not improved. Swedish det tragiska has specific reference to an abstract
notion in the singular, so the adjective tragic cannot be the head of its noun
phrase in English. Either insert a head noun (e.g. thing) or turn the
construction into a what-clause. (A third option would be to turn the
adjective into a noun – The tragedy is that … – but that may change the
meaning of the sentence somewhat.) Swedish de fattiga has generic
reference to a group of people, so the adjective can remain the head of its
noun phrase in English. However, in English, adjectives that are heads of
noun phrases cannot take the genitive, so the Swedish genitive
construction (de fattigas villkor) must be turned into an English of
construction (the conditions of the poor).
The last two weeks have been tough. UGE 6.3.3
The first few years were the happiest /in/of/ my life. UGE 6.3.3
Remember not to laugh until she has stopped talking. UGE 7.6.4 and
5.7.4
Not until I had bought the shoes did I remember that I needed socks
/too/as well/. UGE 7.6.1.1
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