GRAMMAR II – IN-CLASS ASSIGNMENT I

The Absolute Construction

The Absolute construction is formed by a non-finite participial clause with adverbial value and a main clause. The
sentence with the absolute construction has two different subjects.

E.g. The dinner having been prepared, i had no time to take a nap before the guests arrived.

E.g. All things considered, it's not a bad idea.

E.g. The teacher being absent, we left.

Dangling Participle In that ungrammatical sentence, the phone is the

A dangling or loose participle is an ungrammatical
construction in which the participle modifies an
unintended subject which is not actually present in
the text.
doer of the action, i.e. the phone was walking down the
corridor when it fell.
To be grammatical, the subject in both clauses must
be the same:

E.g. * Walking down the corridor, my phone fell. E.g. Walking down the corridor, she rehearsed
mentally the words she would say to him later.

Cleft Sentences Pseudo Cleft Sentences

Cleft sentences are used to help us focus on a particular Pseudo cleft sentences are a way of emphasizing part
part of the sentence and to emphasize what we want to say of a sentence by using a ‘what’ clause as its subject or
by introducing it with a kind of relative clause. complement, with a form of “be” as the main verb.

The structure of a cleft sentence is: The structure of a pseudo cleft sentence is:

It + conj. Be + focused construction + who / that + REST What + …. + be + bare inf (or full inf) + rest

E.g. It was June when we got married. E.g. What we should do is tell the truth.
E.g. It is me who you’re talking to. E.g. What I need it some good advice

Defining Relative Clauses Defining Relative Clauses

Defining relative clauses restrict the reference of the
antecedent noun. They help to identify the person or
thing being talked about. They are not separated from
the main clause in commas, and they function as post
modifiers.
E.g. Did you enjoy the film which you saw?
A non-defining relative clause gives extra information
about an antecedent. It provides additional information,
and it's usually marked by commas. These commas
signal that this clause could easily be omitted.
E.g. Somebody said that I took the books,
which was not true.