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ENGLISH SYNTAX
WORKBOOK
Fourth Edition
Revised and Updated
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DOMNICA ERBAN
RALUCA HAT GAN
DENISA DR GUIN
ENGLISH SYNTAX
WORKBOOK
Fourth Edition
Revised and Updated
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CONTENTS
Foreword
Acknowledgements .
9
10
SECTION I
Contemporary English Course in a Nutshell: The Syntax
of the Simple Sentence..
11
Introduction.
Objectives of the English Syntax Course
11
11
I. Theoretical Preliminaries..
12
14
A. Survey of G approaches.
B. Generative Transformational Grammar (GTG).
C. The Constituent Structure of the Sentence. Phrase Structure
Rules and Phrase Markers. The Lexicon
D. Subcategorization Rules and the Lexicon.
E. The Transformational Subcomponent...
14
16
17
18
20
21
27
33
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VI. Intransitives..
35
35
40
43
44
47
47
54
SECTION II
Basic Linguistic Concepts.
58
Grammar..
Constituent Structure...
Transformations..
Representations of Syntactic Structures..
Syntactic and Lexical Categories....
Alternative Theories and Representations (X-Bar Convention).
Thematic Relations..
62
64
66
67
72
74
77
SECTION III
Inventory of Theoretical Concepts..
81
SECTION IV
Applications
87
Sentence Structure.
87
Copulative Predication..
93
Be-predications..
Copula-Like Verbs
Predicatives
93
96
99
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101
Transitive Predication...
106
Monotransitive Configurations..
Lexically Complex Transitives..
Reflexive and Reciprocal Transitives
DO and MAKE-Multiple Regime Transitives...
Ergative Verbs...
Causative Verbs.
Recategorization.
106
108
109
111
113
114
116
118
Passive Configurations..
123
Syntactic Functions
134
134
138
140
142
144
Syntactic Analysis.................................................................
149
152
Bibliography.
163
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Foreword
This workbook is meant to provide theory and practice in the
domain of English syntax, where our students are confronted with
abstract grammatical concepts and principles. Therefore, this material
should be taken as a means to consolidate the theoretical aspects
taught in the respective course of lectures, to deepen and refine the
students knowledge of the frame the course is based on. The
workbook supplies numerous applications of the syntactic issues that
have a concrete realization in everyday language. Some of the
exercises reinforce the basic structures and syntactic mechanisms the
student has to handle at intermediate and advanced levels.
This twofold conception of the material is properly reflected in
its complex internal organization. Thus, the first section consists of
Contemporary English Course in a Nutshell: The Syntax of the Simple
Sentence. Section II includes a package of exercises focused on the
theoretical aspects discussed in section I. The course and the
accompanying workbook address the second year students, as well as
all the undergraduates who intend to prepare for the graduation exam.
An even wider readership results if we integrate the postgraduates
who study for entering the MA programmes organised in the
Romanian academic context, or for obtaining further degrees in
teaching English.
In Section III we have included an inventory of definitions and
brief statements clarifying theoretical notions and offering clues to the
student who wants to solve the set of exercises in Section IV. The
latter concentrates on the syntax of the Simple Sentence, supplying
applications in particular areas like the typology of predications
realized by verb subcategories, the domains of dative and passive
constructions in English, the range of syntactic functions a.s.o. The
exercises are varied enough and the corpus selected by the authors
best illustrates the English used by our contemporaries. Thus part of
this corpus is made up of language samples selected from recent
British newspapers and magazines. The final sections supply exam
materials consisting of syntactic analyses and tests.
We hope that this workbook will equip the student with all the
necessary tools for a successful assimilation of syntactic notions with
direct applications in present-day English grammar.
DOMNICA ERBAN
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Acknowledgements
We are indebted to the following assistant lecturers who have
contributed with small sets of exercises to some of the chapters in our
workbook:
M d lina Crivoi
Oana Ionescu
Ana Maria Iv nescu
Irina Vasilescu
We hereby express our gratefulness to our colleagues above,
hoping that they will continue to cooperate fruitfully for the
production of further language materials addressing our students.
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SECTION I
Introduction
The course supplies the description of categories and functions
at the syntactic level. After introducing essentials of the theoretical
frame in the preliminary lectures, we focus on the syntactic categories
sentence and phrase, whose properties and possible representations
are discussed in terms of the Standard Generative-Transformational
Grammar, as well as the Government and Binding Model. The second
part of the course is a detailed account of verb subcategorization that
provides a thorough picture of the syntactic behaviour and logicosemantic features of intransitives and transitives in the Lexicon of
English.
The course addresses the 2nd year students whom we
recommend to refresh their knowledge of basic linguistic concepts
having as a main source the Lingvistic General course covered in
the 1st year. Besides they are required to study particular sections from
Concepts of Modern Grammar by Alexandra Cornilescu (see
Bibliography). For the central and final parts the students have to go
through English Syntax, volume I, by Domnica erban.
Objectives of the English Syntax Course
The course aims at making the students familiar with the
conceptual apparatus relevant for the description and explanation of
categories, relations and functions at the syntactic level. The
theoretical frame will enable our students to better grasp the
constituent structure of English Sentences and Phrases, helping them
to correctly identify constituents and functions in English syntax. The
central lectures will make them aware of the typology of predications
in English, which represents the basis for the adequate sentence
construction and use in daily contexts.
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I. Theoretical Preliminaries
Basic linguistic concepts relevant to the study of Syntax
We supply below a selection of basic linguistic concepts that
belong to linguistic theory (LT), being indispensable for the students
comprehension of English syntax issues. Part of these notions have
already been acquired by our students, therefore they only need
refreshment:
1.Linguistic levels (including the basic units at each level, their
formal and semantic properties, their dependency relations, their
functional status). The components of linguistics which are concerned
with the description of each level and corresponding unit will be
specified for each level. Out of these the student has covered so far
Phonetics and Phonology (1st year, 1st term) and Derivational and
Inflectional Morphology (1st year, 1st and 2nd terms, respectively).
i. The phonological level: The student is required to revise the
definition of the phoneme and the allophone, distinctive features etc.,
as well as the brief outline of the Object of Phonology;
ii. The morphological level: The student should revise the
definition of the morpheme, its classification into free and bound, into
inflectional and derivational, the relationship between the morpheme
and the word, the object of Morphology and its subdivision into
Inflectional Morphology (dealing with the grammatical categories
pertaining to the parts of speech) and Derivational Morphology
(classical Lexicology Word Formation);
iii. The syntactic level is concerned with the description of the
units Phrase and Sentence as constructions or groups of constituents
round a head/nucleus and with the internal phrase structure of Noun
Phrases (NPs), Verb Phrases (VPs), Prepositional Phrases (PPs),
Adjectival Phrases (APs), Adverbial Phrases (AvPs);
iv. The logico-semantic level deals with logical propositions,
logical predicate and arguments, argument structures, thematic roles;
semantic features and semantic fields.
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Between the four levels there are strong correlations. The ones
that interest us most in syntax occur between the syntactic level and
the logico-semantic one.
2. Categories
i. syntactic categories are terms referring to groups/clusters
such as the phrase and the sentence (S), hence Grammars that take as
primes phrasal constituents are considered to be categorial (e.g. GT
and GB Grammars);
ii. lexical categories coincide with the classes of lexical items
(words), such as Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, and Adverbs which are
meaningful;
iii. functional categories refer to the items whose role is
mainly grammatical, like Inflection, Determiners and Degree
Adverbs;
iv. grammatical categories pertain to the word classes/partsof-speech, e.g. the verbal categories of Mood, Tense, Aspect, the
nominal categories of Person, Number, Gender, the category of
Comparison with Adjectives and Adverbs.
Notice that the categories above form a hierarchy, with syntactic
categories on top.
3. Syntactic relations regard the inter-relations between the
constituents of phrases and sentences, including the relations of
predication, government, modification, determination, quantification.
4. Syntactic functions are discharged by constituents, being
determined by their position/distribution in phrases/sentences; they are
marked by inflections or prepositions, or both, depending on the
language type. The main functions are universal: Subject, Predicate,
Direct Object, Indirect Object, Prepositional Object, Noun Modifier
(the classical Attribute), Adverbial Modifier.
Notice that functions, like categories, also form a hierarchy.
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turned down.;
3. to analyse discontinuous constituents, e.g. Whom did you talk
to? (discontinuity of questioned Indirect Object);
4. to analyse missing constituents, e.g. Stop complaining!
(missing you Subject in Imperative Ss);
5. to analyse non-binary structures, e.g. Tristram, Brian and
Andrew were quarrelling about trifles.(Compound Subject).
b) Late structuralism or Synthetic Structuralism was best
represented by the Standard GT Model (based on Aspects of the
Theory of Syntax, launched by Noam Chomsky in 1965). It is a model
of Competence, postulating two levels of syntactic structure: Deep
Structure and Surface Structure. The student should try to reconsider
the Ss above, which illustrate the 4 failures, and see how the problems
of S constituency and meaning appear from the perspective of Deep
and Surface Structure.
The concept of Grammar has been revisited in the last three
decades. Here is a tentative definition suggested by Noam Chomsky in
his Lectures on Government and Binding (1982): Grammar is an
account of the way representations of form associate with
representations of meaning. While classical Gs were biased for
meaning-based definitions and, on the other hand, early structuralists
manifested a strong neglect of semantic aspects, in the abovementioned definition form and meaning appear to be closely
correlated, so that logical and semantic elements come to be integrated
into Syntax.
The Standard model postulates two levels of syntactic structure:
Deep Structure and Surface Structure.
Deep Structure (DS) is a phrase structure representation of the
basic, underlying syntactic configuration which is interpreted
semantically by rules of the semantic component.
Surface Structure (SS) is the linear concatenation of lexical
items and grammatical formatives which, after processing by
phonological rules, is ready to be performed (SS is produced by
transformations).
Transformations are meaning-preserving structural operations
(deletion, movement, insertion, substitution). They are relations
holding between phrase markers, therefore, they are relations between
intermediate descriptions of sentences.
For instance, the sentence The pavilion has been redecorated by
Brian. represents the surface structure of a passive S, which is
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Rule
Base
The Syntactic
Component
DS
Lexicon
The Transformational
Subcomponent
SS
The
Phonological
Component
VP
N
AUX
Art
T
[+def] [+N]
[+common]
[+human]
[-sg]
The
students
MV
M
V
NP
[+V]
[+__ NP] Det
N
[-state]
[+N]
Poss [+common]
[+abstract]
[-sg]
-ed
shall revise
my
lectures
VPAUXMV;
like blame smb. for smth., remind smb. of smth. etc.. The predicate
selects the syntactic categories it allows as sisters, so we can also
label this as c-selection. The Subject NP is selected by the whole VP
(the Predicate Phrase). The frames only specify the obligatory
neighbours, they never include optional ones (e.g. Adjuncts like
Adverbial Phrases).
b. Selectional subcategorization further introduces selectional
restrictions of a semantic nature. They are imposed by each item on its
sister constituents. Transitive predicates, for instance, differ in point of
the semantic features of the NPs they take as Direct Objects. Consider:
Bob is eating a pizza/ his nails/ *his chair/ *his freedom; Sheila
married George / a great pianist/ *the pavement.
Violation of selectional restriction results in ungrammatical
strings. However, in idiomatic or metaphorical phrases selectional
restrictions can be violated (e.g. eat ones words).
The Lexicon
In the general frame of GTG the Lexicon appears as part of the
Base. It is an overall list of the words (lexical items) that form the
vocabulary of the respective language. It includes lexical entries that
supply complete information (phonological, morphological, semantic
and syntactic) about each item. This information is provided under the
form of a Complex Symbol (CS) including the inherent and contextual
features characterising each item, e.g. inherent semantic features
pertaining to Nouns: [+ common] in opposition with [-common], the
latter being specific to Proper Names, [+ animate] versus [-animate],
[+human] versus [-human] etc. For contextual features see section
above.
E. The Transformational Subcomponent
This subcomponent is made up of transformational (T) rules,
which rearrange the constituents in basic strings and derive a
synonymous surface string, e.g. T Passivisation, by means of which
active sentences are converted into passive ones. This T, like all other
Ts, is a complex of operations: movement of the active Subject and
Object, insertion of be-en and of the Preposition by, possible deletion
of the by-Object of Agent. Here is the list of operations that possibly
make up T rules:
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Compare:
MV
NP
NP (Complement
position)
create
a model
create
Standard representation
a model
X-bar representation
P0
creation
PP (Complement position)
P
NP
of
a model
N
N
Poss
N0
his
creation
PP
of a model
2)
IP
VP
AUX
NP
I0
MV
I
VP( V)
T
N
V NP N0 T Agr V0 NP
He -ed create a model
He
-ed
V
V0
meet
b) P
NP
people/them
P0
NP
by
people/them
In both cases the two lower nodes are part of the same
constituent, which singly dominates the two constituents. This is a
relation called constituent-command/c-command, which can be
defined as follows:
c-commands if,
every branching node dominating dominates
This is the configurational key to structures based on
government like a) and b). The head governor X0 and the governed
term are within the same maximal projection. To sum up we shall
supply below the complete definition of Government that contains 3
clauses:
Government
governs if,
a. is X, i.e. lexical head, for some X
b. c-commands
c. for all maximal projections , if dominates , then it
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also dominates
Let us reconsider the representation of the S as the maximal
projection IP of the head I. The NP Subject is placed to the left of the
head, in Specifier position. Both this NP and the I are dominated by
the node that labels the maximal projection the IP node. I governs
the Spec NP (Subject) which is within its c-command domain. As
governor of Spec NP, I assigns Nominative case to the latter.
3. Levels of Structure in GB
The two levels of syntactic structure are D-Structure (roughly
the same as in GTG) and S-Structure, which results from movement
rules (move-&). These often produce semantic changes if the linear
string is rearranged e.g. the effect of semantic operators (manner
adverbials, quantifiers, negators, modal adverbs etc.) with a variable
scope.
Compare:
The gangsters shot the nigger cheerfully.
The nigger got shot cheerfully.
The manner adverbial (cheerfully) has the Agentive Subject
gangsters in its scope in the active S (it shows how their action was
performed). In the second S (with a get passive predicate) the same
adverb refers to the way the Passive Subject, a Patient, underwent the
shooting.
I wont paint the President.
The President wont be painted.
Hence semantic interpretation should apply after the T rules.
The transformational apparatus of GT is reduced to the move-
rule (where is the constituent that moves). Other rules like deletion,
for instance, operate at the level of the Phonological Component.
The Semantic Component is labelled as Logical Form.
Here is the picture indicating the organization of GB Grammar:
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D-Structure
Move-
S-Structure
Phonological
Component
Logical Form
(Semantic Component)
S-Structure
IP
IP
NP
I
NP
I
VP
I
AvP
VP
AvP
V
V(o) NP
[e]
V
-s
NP
The shirt
-s wash t well
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How strange!
What a delightful night!
NP
[+3rd p.]
[ + sg.]
AGR
VP
Perf
Progr
rd
[+3 p.]
[+sg.]
-s
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and its Complement select the Subject NP, which expresses the main
participant in the event, the Protagonist. In most cases this is an Agent
or an Experiencer, both these thematic roles being realized by
[+human] NPs. The most relevant elements for predication are,
therefore: 1. the subcategorization frame of the verb; 2. the theta-grid
associated with the verb.
In what follows we shall supply the typology of predications in
English, using as a main guideline the subcategories that realize the
predication tasks as heads of the VP.
b) unaccusative intransitive
The accident happened (last night).
Theme
c) transitive
The woman was describing the scene.
Agent
Theme
Transitivity has a floating nature, it can determine shifts of Vs
from the basic intransitive regime to a derived intransitive one. These
shifts are explained as cases of recategorization. Thus the intransitive
verb LIVE may be recategorized as transitive in the following
contexts: a) if it occurs with a Cognate Object as in They lived a
miserable life; b) if the locative Preposition in is deleted, as in They
lived Oxford Street. The reverse direction can be illustrated by cases
of Direct Object Deletion, e.g. Sean was smoking, or of Passivals,
e. g. That dictionary sold well.
VI. Intransitives
VI. 1. The Copulative Predication Type
A. Copulative Predication is characterized by the following
features:
1) it is a discontinuous, binary structure made up of two
constituents:
The Copula - a meaningless or quasi-meaningless intransitive
V, like BE and other Copula-like Vs which carries out the formal tasks
of predication;
The Predicative realized by an adjectival or nominal phrase
which conveys the meaning of the predicate, thus performing the
lexical tasks of predication.
Consider: The show was quite successful. (BeAP)
The show was a great success. (BeNP)
The Predicative may be realized by one of the following Phrases:
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Typology of Predicatives
1) According to the the logico-semantic criterion predicatives
can be either attributive or equative:
a) Attributive predicatives are property assigners, the predicative
assigns a property to the subject, hence the subject is called the
attributed term and the predicative - the attribuant, e.g.: The fresher
was impudent. The predicative adjective impudent assigns the
property of being impudent to the subject. The two terms cannot be
reverted: *Impudent was the fresher. (the S is ungrammatical)
The subject may be expressed by a [+/-definite NP]: The task
was too hard for him.; A policeman was rude.
The predicative may be: [AP] Jenny is cute.; [-definite NP]
Jenny is a student of German.; [PP] His country is in a state-ofchange.; [CP] Seeing is believing.
This attributive relation may be of two kinds:
i. Class membership: A B This novel is interesting.
(The referent of the subject is a member of the class of
interesting entities)
ii. Class inclusion: A c B The/A tiger is a feline.
(The referents of the Subject form a small set included in the
bigger set denoted by the Predicative)
b) Equative (identifying) predicatives establish the identity of
the subject and both the subject and the predicative must be marked by
[+definiteness]. The subject and the predicative can be reverted: Tony
Blair is Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is Tony Blair.
The predicative may be: [+ definite NP] Jane was her teacher.;
[AP, +superlative] This student is the smartest of all.; [CP] Her
change of mood was what puzzled everybody.
2) According to the syntactic criterion, APs may be: a. both
modifying and predicative (a kind man; He was kind.) b. exclusively
modifying, occurring in prenominal contexts as Noun Modifiers (an
utter fool), c. exclusively predicative, occurring in verbal contexts as
Predicatives (The child wasnt asleep.)
Exclusively modifying As include: a) classifying As (financial
help, economic problems); these As serve to specify a set of reference,
most of them are [-gradable] and [+denominal]; b) emphasizing As
(utter, sheer, absolute); c) As indicating position (lower, upper);
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simple
IO
Intransitivization
Some transitive verbs may be recategorized as intransitives in
the following cases:
1. A number of transitives allow the deletion of their Direct
Object NP if the DO is more or less specialized semantically (i.e. if it
satisfies the V's selectional features), but is not definite referentially.
E.g.:
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E.g.:
The tutor explained the rule to his pupils.
*The tutor explained his pupils/ them the rule.
Similarly:
I dictated the telegram to the operator.
Sheila will return the book to the librarian.
The only word order change that may apply on such dative
configurations is the heavy NP Shift. Consider the sentence:
The tutor explained to his pupils the rule of Agreement which
applies if the Subject is expressed by a collective NP.
The Direct Object is a lengthy NP, loaded with Modifiers
(including a Relative Clause), so it has to move to the end of the
sentence, as required by the rule of End Rhythm.
2. English syntax also includes a group of dative verbs that take
two non-prepositional objects. In traditional grammar they are
labelled as Double Object verbs. Among them there are: cost
smb. smth., deal smb. a blow, forgive smb. smth., grudge smb.
smth., envy smb. smth., spare smb. smth., save smb. smth., tell
smb. smth. , teach smb. smth., ask smb. smth., answer smb. smth.
E.g.:
The new car cost him 2000$.
The last attempt cost him his life.
I envied Sarah her spontaneity.
We shall never forgive Tom his rudeness.
You should spare Mary the trouble.
The first object is usually animate, most frequently [+ human], a
feature characterizing the NP selected as Indirect Object. The dative
verb GIVE, actually the prototype of the whole class has a twofold
behaviour. Besides being a meaningful verb of transfer, GIVE may
also be used as a prop V, i.e. a quasi-dummy item which co-occurs
with non-contrastive objects in fixed phrasal expressions like: give
smb. the measles, give smb. a broken arm/ a black eye/ a pain in the
neck/ a kiss/ a hug/ a punch in the nose/ a strong kick/ a handshake/ a
call/ a nod/ a dirty look/ the finger etc. Such phrasal combinations
have got frozen as patterns with two non-prepositional objects.
Resuming the description of the domain of dative constructions
we shall refer to the subcategorization of dative verbs into:
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iv)
v)
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i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
FOCUS
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SECTION II
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hammer
governor
writer
is here.
them.
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Base
Syntactic
Component
Lexicon
Transformational
Subcomponent
Phonological
Component
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D - STRUCTURE
move-
S - STRUCTURE
PHONOLOGICAL
COMPONENT
SEMANTIC
COMPONENT
(LOGICAL FORM)
GRAMMAR
1. Define the following terms; comment on their importance:
a) grammar of a particular language vs. universal grammar
b) descriptive vs. prescriptive grammar
2. What aspects of language do the following branches of
grammar deal with?
Phonology
Morphology
Syntax
Semantics
For each of these name the basic unit and exemplify.
3. Which are the main differences between traditional
grammar and structuralism?
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g) G is part of a linguistic theory made up of a set of subtheories (systems of universal principles) and of a set of
parameters that account for particular L phenomena.
CONSTITUENT STRUCTURE
1. a) Show that GG is an outgrowth of Structuralism.
b) Prove the necessity of a PS (phrase structure) level in
explanatorily adequate grammar.
c) define string and constituent.
2. The underlined words are constituents:
The young girl behaved like a little lady.
Nobody in that house could imagine what disaster was in store
for them.
The question came too quickly.
The underlined words are strings:
The young girl behaved like a little lady.
Nobody in that house could imagine what disaster was in store
for them.
The question came too quickly.
What is the difference between the two?
Now read the following two definitions so as to make it
clearer:
A. A string is defined as any sequence of two or more than
two adjacent elements.
B. A constituent is a string which has formal properties,
i.e., which has internal cohesion.
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TRANSFORMATIONS
1. Correct and/or complete:
a) The Deep Structure (DS) of a sentence is a phrase
structure representation, which properly shows the constituency
and also the functions in the sentence. It is produced by
transformations.
b) The Surface Structure (SS) is the linear concatenation of
lexical and grammatical formatives which, after processing by
morpho-phonological rules, is ready to be performed. It is
produced by PSRs.
c) Transformations express relations between certain
classes of sentences in a language.
2. What elementary operations have applied to derive the
strings below:
a) He is reading.
b) It happens that I like this music.
c) A proposal was made, which bothered me.
d) We showed the rooms to the guests. \ We showed the
guests the rooms.
3. Specify transformations which should account for the
following relations between sentences:
a) Many books are on the desk.
There are many books on the desk.
b) A girl was waiting.
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HIERARCHY:
text
We have made some minor corrections.
sentence
some minor corrections
phrase
corrections
word
correct-ion-s
morpheme
sounds
Examples:
a) I know Fred is in the army.
b) I am very pleased you could come
c) at the corner of the street.
d) treetop; goldsmith; blackbird.
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b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
10. Below are typical utterances produced by two to threeyear-old children. Try and work out what rule the children
appear to have devised in each case and how it differs from the
corresponding adult rule. (treat each numbered set of examples
separately)
1. (a) No the sun shining.
(b) No Fred drink all tea.
(c) No mum sharpen it.
2. (a) He no bite you.
(b) I no want milk.
(c) I no taste them.
3. (a) Where me sleep?
(b) What me think?
(c) What the dolly have?
4. (a) What he can ride in?
(b) Why Kitty cant stand up?
(c) Where I should put it?
5. (a) Where does the wheel goes?
(b) What did you bought?
11. Assuming that the following sentences are ill-formed, say
why they are ill-formed:
a) Could turn off the fire and on the light?
b) I know the truth, and that you are innocent.
c) A nuclear explosion would wipe out plant life and out
animal life.
d) He ran down the road and down the President.
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a)
NP
b)
NP
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c)
PP
NP
d)
NP
NP
Johns
N
N
story
PP
about
e)
Paris
V
V
prefer
S
Comp
for
S
NP
her
VP
Aux
to
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V
do it
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The bird flew from above the house to above the tree.
John ran below the deck.
He fell and rolled down the hill.
Alan released the bird from the cage.
The bird flew out of the cage.
His money seemed to melt away in London.
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most prominent
(the most dependent on the verb)
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SECTION III
Independent Units
A particular sequence is said to be independent only if it occurs
in a variety of environments and if it patterns like other units.
Linguistic Theory (LT)
It is an abstract theory which presents the basic principles and
concepts of grammar, by means of which particular grammars can be
written and evaluated.
Linguistic Level
A linguistic level L is a system in which one constructs a
unidimensional representation of an utterance. Representations may be
phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic.
Chomskys dichotomy:
Competence = internalized grammar, the speakers tacit
knowledge of his language.
Performance = the actual use of language.
Universal Grammar (UG)
The concept of UG can be understood in two ways:
a) an epistemological interpretation - UG - is a structural core
for the generation of linguistic theories and grammar;
b) an ontological interpretation - UG is the language faculty the
child is born with.
Grammatical Categories
Grammatical categories correspond to phrases or units larger
than phrases.
Examples of grammatical categories:
-S (sentence grammar)
-NP (noun phrase - a phrase whose only obligatory element is a
noun: a boy, birds
-VP (verb phrase - a phrase whose main obligatory constituent is
a verb: running away, to give it to Mary
-AP (adjectival phrase - a phrase whose only obligatory element
is an adjective: very smart)
-PP (prepositional phrase - on the desk, for me)
-AvP (adverb phrase - a phrase whose only obligatory element is
an adverb: fairly well, rapidly)
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Lexical Categories
Lexical categories correspond to parts of speech, or
distributional classes. Their members are listed in the lexicon: Ns
(nouns), Vs (verbs), As (adjectives), Avs (adverbs), Ps (prepositions),
Dets (determiners).
A. Phrase Structure Rules
The phrase structure level operates with categories, a lexicon
and phrase structure rules. Using PSRs, a PS grammar may generate
sentences to which it assigns a certain constituent structure.
S - (S Av) S
S - NPVP
VP - Aux MV (AvP/PP)
Aux - T (Mod) (Aspect)
T - 0/-s/-ed
Aspect - (haveen) (being)
MOD - will, shall...
MV - Cop AP/NP
V NP/AvP/NPAvP
V-V
V Refl/Prt/Nom
NP - DP (AP) NPNP/S
DP - (pre-det) D (Post-det)
AvP - AvP/(P) NP)
B. X- Theory
Phrases are built round lexical heads, they are projections of
structure round lexical categories:
1) The Principle of Endocentricity
a. Every phrase XP has a X lexical head (lexical category).
b. Every lexical head X projects to a maximal projection XP.
2) The First Projection Principle
The first projection of some X, X contains all and only
subcategorized constituents, called complements of that head, i.e.:
X - X Complements
Examples:
V - V NP
We are nearing the meadow.
P - P NP
Near the meadow they built a house.
A - A PP
The house was nearer to the meadow now.
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N - N PP
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C-command
c-commands if every branching node dominating
dominates .
M-command
m-commands if every maximal projection dominating
dominates .
Government
governs if
a. is X, for some X (i.e. X is a (lexical) head).
b. c-commands .
c. For all maximal projections , if dominates , then
dominates .
Thematic roles are concepts which express relations between
the participants in an event:
Agent (A) - the typically animate participant who is the initiator
or doer of the action. An agent requires the capacity for volition,
intention, responsibility.
Experiencer (E) - the individual who feels or perceives the
event.
Benefactive - the one for whose advantage the event took place.
Goal - the entity toward which motion takes place.
Source - the entity from which motion takes place.
Location - the place where something is or takes place.
Theme - occurs only with a verb of motion (what moves) or
location (the entity whose location is being described).
Patient - an entity which suffers an action, undergoes a change.
Precept - the entity which is experienced or perceived.
Instrument - the object with which an action is performed.
Path - the trajectory that an object covers.
The Argument Position
Any syntactic position capable to receive a thematic-role is an
argument position (=A-position), and any NP filling the argument
position is an argument (therefore, subjects and objects are arguments
of the verb).
The subject is referred to as external argument, while the
objects, which are inside the subcategorization frame and dominated
by the first projection of the head are called internal arguments (direct
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- Criterion
Each thematic-role of an a-structure must be assigned to one and
only one syntactic position, and conversely, each position should bear
one and only one thematic-role. (Chomsky, 1981)
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SECTION IV
APPLICATIONS
SENTENCE STRUCTURE
1. Define the following concepts:
sentence; phrase marker; syntactic function; case; trace;
argument; - role; empty category.
2. Consider the Sentence definitions below: a) state criterion
mainly used; b) identify type of Grammar approach; c) explain
key words:
a) The Sentence is the expression of a complete
thought.
b) The Sentence is a structured string of words.
c) The Sentence is an exocentric binary concatenation
of a Noun Phrase and Verb Phrase which are mutually interdependent.
d) The Sentence is an independent syntactic unit.
e) The Sentence is the unit based on one predication
(one predicative nucleus).
f) The Sentence is the unit made up of a Subject Group
and a Predicate Group.
g) The Sentence is a minimal communication that
conveys new information.
h) The Sentence is an endocentric phrase whose head
is INFL.
i) The Sentence is a communication act which has an
illocutionary force and a perlocutionary effect.
j) The Sentence is an information structure round a
topic/ theme.
k) The Sentence is a linear string with a specific
intonational contour.
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b) Quiet.
c) You leaving?
d) Nice trip!
10. Point out the constituent types that share the same
distributional properties in the Sentence configuration; specify the
CP type:
a) Error/ Erring/ To err is human.
b) It is no wonder that he erred so frequently.
c) What he did to his kin aggravated the neighbour. /
d) What to do next was the next question.
e) The building of garages was his main task. / His main task
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was the building of garages. / For him to build garages was his
main task.
f) The idea that he might fail in his attempt suddenly crossed
his mind. / The idea that he emphasized mostly was extremely
relevant.
g) Seeing is believing.
h) We consider Chomsky a genius.
i) I am afraid of being bitten by dogs.
j) They caught the burglar red-handed.
k) 'To be or not to be'; that is the question.
11. Spot the errors (if any) and try to account for the illformedness of the sentence in terms of the rule(s) that should have
been applied:
a) I asked him who was the car owner and he told to me it
was possessed by his brother-in-law.
b) Yesterday it took place at the Elizabeta Palace a panel on
higher education.
c) He suggested me that there was the thief in the back yard.
d) Green peas he never eats, but he likes very much soya
beans.
e) Michael sent Frankfurt a large box.
12. Supply a syntactic analysis (in terms of Sentence type) as
well as syntactic functions and comment on the underlined
passages from a grammatical point of view:
a) Haggarty marched the man to the door and literally threw
him out.
b) I wonder who is the oldest among the long-distance runners
and whether teenagers should run such races.
c) When he found his cat poisoned, Mr. Sutton gave a shout of
horror.
d) I insisted on Roger introducing himself and his fiance to
my friends, but it turned out to lord it under the
circumstances.
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COPULATIVE PREDICATION
BE-PREDICATIONS
1. Correct and/ or complete the statements below:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
r) To exist is to fight.
s) The woman was young.
t) Her gestures are wooden.
4. Supply the representation (PM) of the strings below;
subcategorise the adjectives in terms of the distinction exclusively modifying/ predicative or both:
a) All work is noble.
b) The village was abuzz with excitement.
c) All those students were enthusiastic about the results.
d) Half these bills are chargeable to Judith.
e) The task is within your capability.
f) The steak-pie is off today.
g) Mike might have been up to the task.
h) She is a frequent visitor.
i) The film is about a criminal lawyer.
5. Subcategorise the adjectives below in terms of the
distinction - exclusively modifying/ predicative or both:
LEADEN
AJAR
CHIEF
RURAL
OLD UTTER
HEAVY
CRIMINAL ASLEEP
6. Analyse the following fragments in terms of syntactic
functions (at S, Clause and S constituent levels); identify BEpredications and specify the regime of the verb and the
Complements taken in each case:
She took advantage of the means of study the place offered to
her, and as she was already a musician and a good pianist, she
speedily went through the course which was considered necessary for
ladies in those days. One day, when the girls were out and she had
remained at home, she was overheard to play a piece so well, that
Minerva thought it wise that she could spare herself the expense of a
master for the children and suggested to Miss Sharp that she was to
teach them music in the future. Rebecca refused. I am here to talk
French with the children, not to teach music and save money for you.
give me money and I'll teach them.
W.M.Thackeray- Vanity Fair
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GET
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LIE
COME
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d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
COME
LOOM
GO
LIE
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[+Predicative]
WALK
COME
GO ARRIVE
DASH
LAST
BLOOM
BARK
CHIRP
HAPPEN LIVE
CURDLE
WITHER EMERGE
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TRANSITIVE PREDICATION
MONOTRANSITIVE CONFIGURATIONS
1. Correct and/ or complete the statements below:
a) Monotransitives with affected direct objects never take effected
direct objects.
b) Monotransitives with effected direct objects always take a second
object expressing a beneficiary.
c) Verbs of manufacturing always take an affected direct object.
d) Monotransitives with affected Direct Object never undergo Object
Deletion.
e) All monotransitives take a direct object expressing a patient.
f) All monotransitives may undergo Passivization.
g) Causative verbs are always basic.
h) The subject of causative verbs is only [+ animate].
i) Only basic transitive verbs may be causatives.
j) Ergative verbs are expressed by activity verbs.
k) A monotransitive can never be ditransitive.
l) Sentences with passivals are synonymous with their genuine
passive counterparts.
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[_ NP] [_ P, PP]
[_ NP, AP]
MAKE
CUT
OPEN
RUN
[_ NP, Prt.]
[_ NP, Adv.]
[_ NP, S]
LIE
HAVE
MEET KILL
BREAK
TAKE
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DESCRIBE ENJOY
INTRODUCE KILL
EXCEL
REPEAT
a) The children realized that they were all alone in the house.
The children ...all alone in the house.
b) Have another cake.
... to another cake.
c) Spoiled kids dont know how to behave properly.
Spoiled kids dont know how to....
d) The teacher kept on saying the same thing again and again.
The teacher kept....
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MARRY
l)
m)
n)
o)
p)
q)
r)
s)
t)
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ERGATIVE VERBS
1. Discuss the ergative pairs below, specifying their
[+/- causation], [+/- inchoative], [+/- motion], [+/- change of
state], [+/- activity] features:
a) An explosion shook the rooms. / The rooms shook suddenly.
b) We have shrunk the texture. / The texture has shrunk.
c) I shattered the glass. / The glass shattered (all over the
pavement).
d) She boiled the porridge. / The porridge has boiled.
e) She rested her head on his shoulder. / Her head rested on the
edge of the table.
f) Im cooking spaghetti. / Spaghetti cook rapidly. / The
spaghetti are just cooking.
g) She had crashed the car twice. / Her car crashed into a
clump of trees.
h) He handles a new Rover. / It handles beautifully.
i) They sell fashion periodicals. / Fashion periodicals sell well.
2. What selectional restrictions operate in the ergative
structures below?
a) He fired a gun/ a bullet. / The gun fired. / *The bullet fired.
b) He has cut his sleeve on a splinter/ his hat on a bolt. / His
sleeve/ hat caught on a bolt. / They caught a thief. / *A thief
caught.
c) Her gestures showed a great emotion/fear/anger. / A great
emotion/fear showed (in her face). / I showed her the
postcards. / *The postcards showed.
3. State whether the sentences below take an AvP. optionally
or not:
a) Some fruits dont freeze well at all.
b) The ship sailed on Saturday.
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c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
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RECATEGORIZATION
1. Consider the following phrasal verbs in point of their
syntactic and semantic features:
1.a. If the door is locked, I will try to break in.
b. Max likes to break in his assistants slowly.
c. Our plane took off at 7 a.m.
d. She has taken off her coat.
e. The engine cut out.
f. She cut out some photographs from a magazine.
2.a. It wont take me a minute to clear away. (the dirty plates).
b. Will you kindly take over (my tasks)?
c. I ve asked him to drink up (the beer).
3.a. The guerillas blew up the restaurant.
b. The restaurant blew up/ was blown up.
c. I wont wake him up yet.
d. He woke up in the middle of the night.
e. They will close down their shop tomorrow.
f. The shop will close down.
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below
and
identify
all
g)
h)
i)
j)
k)
l)
m)
n)
LEAVE WRITE
SING
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PASSIVE CONFIGURATIONS
1. Complete the grid:
Present simple
Present
continuous
Past simple
Active
John makes coffee
Passive
Coffee is made by
John
Past perfect
Future simple
Going to
Have to
Must
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j)
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g)
h)
i)
j)
appeared to be mistaken.
was declared
issued a new copy of the book.
seemed
must be the postman.
was in the distance.
is snowing with big flakes.
are arguing about their fortune.
washed herself in a hurry.
resemble each other.
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Confession may be good for my soul, but it sure plays hell with
my reputation.
(Mark Twain)
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SYNTACTIC ANALYSIS
Analyse syntactically:
1. I advised him to think things over very carefully and to try
not to make any more confessions for the time being. Meanwhile I
would go and have a chat with the investigating officers and try to find
out what course of action they had in mind. I wouldnt leave the
station until he had been formally charged, and he was to be in no
doubt that everything possible that could be done for him would be
done for him.
(Andrew Davies, Getting Hurt)
2. Orlando was shocked by these doctrines; yet could not help
observing that the critic himself seemed by no means downcast. On
the contrary, the more he denounced his own time, the more
complacent he became.
(Virginia Woolf, Orlando)
3. By this time Orlando had abandoned all hope of discussing
his own work with the poet; but this mattered the less as the talk now
got upon the lives and characters of Shakespeare, Ben Johnson, and
the rest, all of whom Greene had known intimately and about whom
he had a thousand anecdotes of the most amusing kind to tell. Orlando
has never laughed so much in his life.
(Virginia Wolf, Orlando)
4. In his lowering magazine of dust, the universal article into
which his papers and himself, and all his clients, and all things of
earth, animate and inanimate, are resolving, Mr. Tulkinghorn sits at
one of the open windows, enjoying a bottle of old port. Though a
hard-grained man, close, dry, and silent, he can enjoy old wine with
the best.
(Charles Dickens, Bleak House)
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Test 2
1. Define and/ or illustrate:
a) Surface structure;b) Syntactic category
2. Correct and/ or complete:
a) Generative transformation grammar includes a syntactic and a
semantic component;
b) The Sentence is a construction without a head (exocentric);
c) Sentences are classified according to their communicative
function.
3. Enlarge upon:
a) The meaning and structural peculiarities of copula-like verbs;
b) Copulative predication- the equative type.
4. Analyse the BE- predications, supplying complete
comments on the type of BE and type of Predicative:
a) She is Helens age.
b) My children are at university.
c) There are two mistakes in your translation.
d) These paintings are early Grigorescu.
e) Sarah is the most eccentric in her class.
f) I asked him who he was.
5. Analyse syntactically in terms of: a) clauses and their
functions; b) constituents and their functions:
a) We insisted on his participating in our game.
b) Susan proved not to be afraid of policemen.
c) It surprised everybody that he was appointed chairman.
d) They considered her a great poetess.
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Test 3
1. Correct and/ or complete:
a) GT grammars are models of Competence and Performance:
b) The Phrase, which is the basic syntactic unit, always has a
head/ nucleus;
c) Adjectives can be used as Predicators, being similar to verbs.
2. Assign the Copula-like verbs below their appropriate
subcategorization frames; illustrate each feature by a sentence of
your own:
[_ AP] [_ Pred. NP][_ Pred. PP][_ Prt, PP][_ to Inf.]
SOUNDLOOMGET
3. Enlarge upon exclusively modifying adjectives;
Specify the type of BE- predication (constituents, logicosemantic value):
a) The question is whether he is artist enough to paint the
landscape.
b) My aunt is of a noble descent.
c) Marian is the same age as my daughter.
d) I wonder who the guy was.
e) You should be proud of having been to London three times so far.
4. Analyse syntactically in terms of: a) clauses and their
functions; b) constituents and their functions:
a) It is believed that the board will grant the prize to the
youngest poet.
b) What puzzled everybody was that they married so young.
c) They thought necessary to take steps against corruption.
d) Max proved to be the best manager they had ever had.
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Test 4
1. Correct and/ or complete:
a) The Deep structure of the Sentence is correlated to its
corresponding Surface Structure:
b) Questions are exclusively specialized to convey a request for
missing information;
c) The verb BE behaves uniformly.
2. Assign the Copula-like verbs below their appropriate
subcategorization frames; illustrate each feature by a sentence of
your own:
[_ AP] [_ Pred. NP][_ Pred. PP][_ Prt, PP][_ to Inf.]
LIE
COME
TASTE
3. Enlarge upon exclusively modifying adjectives;
Specify the type of BE- predication (constituents, logicosemantic value):
a) This pair of shoes is the right size.
b) He is scoundrel enough to take you in.
c) He asked us who the Head of the Department was.
d) The trouble is that he has never been to England.
e) My family is in great need of financial support.
4. Analyse syntactically in terms of: a) clauses and their
functions; b) constituents and their functions:
a) I wondered whether Mary had introduced herself to the new
manager.
b) It was announced that the police caught the thief red-handed.
c) Brian happened to witness the accident.
d) What nobody can deny is that he was born a genius.
e) I consider it proper that there should be no corruption in the
medical domain.
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Test 5
1. Define the concept Deep Structure and specify the DS of
the sentences below:
a) We were offered a bunch of flowers by Tom.
b) It was announced by the press that the French delegation
would arrive on Friday.
2. Correct and/ or complete:
a) Traditional, early structural and GT grammars equally deal
with grammatical Form and its corresponding Meaning;
b) All Adjectives in English are both predicative and modifying.
3. Describe the constituent structure of the S- use
bracketing/ PM:
a) All the pupils were writing the rules in their copybooks.
b) The new dictionary consists of 18.000 entries.
4. Comment on the BE- predications below:
a) To be or not to be: that is the question.
b) She was afraid that the butter might be stale.
c) This idea is of a great help.
d) She is my age.
e) Lions are felines.
5. Analyse syntactically in terms of: a) clauses and their
functions; b) constituents and their functions:
a) In the field that stretched four miles there were patches of
snow here and there.
b) He happened to find the victim flat on the floor.
c) I was surprised that nobody could prevent him from lying to
his mother.
6. Enlarge upon copula-like verbs in English.
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Test 6
1. Define the concept Surface Structure and starting from
the DS below supply one or several alternatives in SS:
a) I handed my license to the policeman.
b) That nobody turned up until 5 surprised everybody.
2. Correct and/ or complete:
a) The only unit of Syntax is the Sentence; it is an exocentric
structure with no meaning correlated;
b) Noun Phrases can only occur in equative predications.
3. Describe the constituent structure of the S- use
bracketing/ PM:
a) These old people were asking for help.
b) The jurors will put down their names on the slates.
4. Comment on the BE- predications below:
a) The question is who will be President from now on.
b) Mice are small animals.
c) These shoes are the right size.
d) I am sorry that I cant be of any help.
e) Marian is the prettiest in her group.
5. Analyse syntactically in terms of: a) clauses and their
functions; b) constituents and their functions:
a) I was amazed that Henry insisted on our joining their party.
b) After we boiled the eggs hard, we started having breakfast.
c) It is not likely that Mary might be relied upon.
6. Enlarge upon Predicatives expressed by Prepositional
Phrases.
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Test 7
1. Correct and/ or complete:
a) intransitives never take Indirect Objects;
b) all transitives allow passivization;
c) dative verbs always lose their preposition;
d) intransitives may occur as transitive in certain contexts;
e) complex (phrasal) transitives allow movement of the Particle
and Preposition.
2. Comment on the predications below:
a) The worker hardened the metal. / The metal hardened.
b) Spaghetti cook easily.
c) His leg got broken.
d) Will you pack these books for my friend for me?
3. Give sentencial contexts with the verbs BREAK,
HAPPEN, MAKE so as to illustrate all the configurations they can
predicate.
4. Analyse syntactically:
a) They insisted on Toms introducing himself to the stranger so
that they might make friends in the future.
b) Although they were living a quiet life, they found it proper to
go out daily and buy newspapers for their next-door neighbours.
c) It was announced that there was no doubt about Johns having
been appointed chairman by the members of the committee.
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Test 8
1. Correct and/ or complete:
a) transitives with affected Object never take effected Objects;
b) causatives are always basic;
c) reciprocal predications are intransitive and can be passivized;
d) transitives may occur as intransitive in certain contexts;
e) all complex (phrasal) intransitives allow passivization.
2. Comment on the predications below:
a) Tom was reading, while Maggie was sewing.
b) My uncle lives a miserable life.
c) Henry took a bath in the evening.
d) I dropped the pencil. / The pencil dropped.
3. Give sentencial contexts with the verbs RUN, HAVE, LAY
so as to illustrate all the configurations they can predicate.
4. Analyse syntactically:
a) On hearing about the event next week, she mentioned to her
sister that people who marry each other often find out that
their sentimental life falls short of their expectations.
b) It is quite likely that her relatives have put about some
rumours about her of late so that her prestige might be
completely ruined eventually.
c) Fred happened to find the chairs uncomfortable, which
surprised the fanciful designer.
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Test 9
1. Correct and/ or complete:
a) monotransitives obligatorily affected Object which cannot be
deleted;
b) all transitives allow passivization;
c) dative verbs are all transitive;
d) causatives are always derived.
2. Comment on the predications below:
a) He got shot in the battle.
b) She lived a miserable life.
c) The child broke the bowl. / The bowl broke.
d) He has packed some books for his daughter.
3. Give sentencial contexts with the verbs MAKE, REMIND,
HAPPEN so as to illustrate all the configurations they can
predicate.
4. Analyse syntactically:
a) It surprised me that there were no mistakes in the article
printed by the students.
b) He suggested to us that we should take a walk.
c) Quite surprisingly, he turned out to be a hero.
d) Playing games was what he was mainly interested in.
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Test 10
1. Correct and/ or complete:
a) intransitives never take Objects or Adverbials;
b) dative verbs have one passive counterpart
c) some intransitives may be used transitively;
d) both transitives and intransitives allow movement of the
Particle or Preposition.
2. Comment on the predications below:
a) These shirts iron smoothly.
b) I shall sew a dress for my sister.
c) She smiled an ironical smile.
d) The wind moved the branch. / The branch moved.
3. Give sentencial contexts with the verbs COMPLAIN,
TURN, SEEM so as to illustrate all the configurations they can
predicate.
4. Analyse syntactically:
a) George happened to pass by when the kid was knocked down
by the motor-bike.
b) Collecting stamps was what he was mostly concerned with.
c) It was suggested by the doctor that the patients should have a
walk through the park.
d) We were amazed that no one had done away with that unjust
law.
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Test 11
1. Point out the main similarities and dissimilarities between:
a) adjectival and nominal copulative predicates;
b) ergatives and passives.
2. Give sentencial contexts with the verbs RUN and BUY so
as to illustrate all the configurations they can predicate.
3. Analyse syntactically:
a) We were amazed to find out that Mike had been appointed
President of our society.
b) Galloping horses in the afternoon was their greatest pleasure
during holidays.
Test 12
1. Point out the main similarities and dissimilarities between:
a) attributive and identifying copulative predicates;
b) transitives with affected objects and transitives with effected
objects.
2. Give sentencial contexts with the verbs LIE and LAY so as
to illustrate all the configurations they can predicate.
3. Analyse syntactically:
a) I wondered where he was coming from and what his hidden
purpose might be.
b) It turned out that the teacher worked his pupils cruelly.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY