TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC ĐỒNG NAI

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TÀI LIỆU GIẢNG DẠY

MÔN: SYNTAX

ĐỒNG NAI, 2021

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NỘI DUNG

Tên bài Trang

1 Word classes 3-5

6-11
2 Noun phrases
3 Adjective phrases, adverbial phrases, prepositional 12-16

phrases
4 Structures and type 17-21

5 Dependent clauses 22-31

6 Structural ambiguity 32-37

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 Chapter one WORD CLASSES

I. Read chapter one and complete the mind map

WORD
CLASSES

CONTENT WORDS FUNCTION WORDS

II. How are nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs defined? Put a tick in a the appropriate box.

Criteria for defining a NOUN VERB ADJECIVE ADVERB

Give one example …….. ………. …………… ………..
1. describes an action
2. can be the name of a person, place, thing
3. describes the time, place, manner of an action
4. describes a word
5. has a suffix such as – tion, -ness, -ment, ….
6. has a suffix such as – ize, ify
7. has a sufix such as – y, al
8. can modify a noun
9. can be preceded by a/ an / the
10. can put an – ing/ ed/es on it
11. can be preceded by very
12. can add plural ‘s’ , “es” or genitive
13. modifies a verb, an adjective or an adverb
14. can add – er/est to one syllable word
15. . has the -ly suffix

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 Chapter one WORD CLASSES
Content and function words

Some words in English, namely nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, contribute substantially to the meaning
of the sentence. We call these CONTENT WORDS. Other words, the smaller words like a, the, she, his, of,
for, and, but, etc help to establish the structure of the sentence but have less inherent meaning of their own.
We call these FUNCTION WORDS

Content words known as open classes are noun, verb, adjective, adverb. New members are constantly
added, as new words are coined in science, technology and by advertisers and sub-cultures.

Function words known as closed classes are pronoun, numeral, determiner, preposition, conjunction. The
membership is fixed and it is in general not possible to add new members.

I. Content words/ Open classes

1.Nouns

The traditional way of defining nouns is to say that they are words that refer to persons, places or things.
From a more strictly grammatical point of view, we can say that nouns are headwords of the noun phrases
that are used as the subjects, objects and complements of sentences. It is also possible to describe nouns as
words that can take plurals or words that must be preceded by articles such as a, the, but it must
remembered that there are many nouns which have no plural form and many which do not take articles.

2. Verbs

Verbs generally refers to actions, event, processes, e.g. happen, become. The main sub-classifications of
verbs are auxiliary verbs (which can never exist independently or be the main word in a verb phrase)
and lexical verbs (which can exist dependently). There is a further important division between two kinds
of auxiliary verbs, primary auxiliaries and modal auxiliaries.

3. Adjectives

Adjectives are words that modify nouns: they provide extra information about the person, thing or place the
noun refers to.

They appear either directly before nouns or as complements to the verb to be, they also have comparative and
superlative forms

Gradable adjectives may be modified by intensifying adverbs eg. very careful, more beautiful

4. Adverbs

Adverbs are single words that can be used as adverbials. Like adverbials, they can be divided into three
categories, adjuncts, disjuncts, and conjuncts. Most adverbs are formed from adjectives by adding the
suffix–ly, but there are many important ones that do not end in –ly, for example, now, here, well, often.

(Adverbs are also used to modify adjectives as in an extremely sick man)

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II. Closed classes/ function words

1. Pronouns

Pronouns are words that can be used to take place of nouns. The most important pronouns are the personal
pronouns (subject, object, possessive). Other sub-categories are reflexive pronouns (myself, yourself) and
interrogative pronouns (who, what), demonstrative pronouns (this, those) and indefinite pronouns (each,
some, any)

2. Determiners/ noun introducers

Determiners are a variety of words that can only appear before nouns. They include several sub-classes:
determiners (articles [a, the] and demonstratives [this, that]; possessive adjectives [his, their]); pre-
determiners (words that can occur before determiners such as [all, such, both, half, twice]; post-determiners
(ordinals [first, second, last]; cardinals [two, three]; indefinite numbers [fewer, a lot of, more]

3. Prepositions

Prepositions, in their most basic and literal use, are used to indicate relationship of place (in, at), directions,
(into, away) or time (before, after). They are tied to a particular verb or adjective eg. they are waiting for
the bus, they are anxious about his health

4. Conjunctions

Conjunctions, as their name implies, also have a joining function, usually that of joining one clause to
another, but sometimes also of one noun to another. They are two kinds: co-ordinating conjunctions such as
and, or, but and subordinating conjunctions, such as when, if, why, whether, because, since which
subordinate one item to another in some way.

Exercise 1 Underline the content words

1. The man sitting at the desk is writing carefully.

2. Tomorrow I will write a new poem and give it to my teacher.

3. She bought five pounds of chocolate truffles and ate them all immediately

4. The cat caught a mouse and brought it home as a present for his master

5. Sarah wrote ten postcards but then found that she did not have enough money for stamps

Exercise 2 Determine the class of the underlined word

1. The teacher is fascinating

2. My brother will simplify this problem
3. The cloudy weather is depressing
4. The od man departed slowly
6. That wonderful garden smells so fragrant after a rain
7. Please respond as soon as possible

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 Chapter two NOUN PHRASES (NP)
➢ STRUCTURE

The noun phrase is English is composed potentially of three parts. The central part of the noun phrase, the
head, is obligatory: it is the minimal requirement for the occurrence of a noun phrase. The other two parts are
optional. The head may be preceded by some pre-modifiers, and it may be followed by some post-modifiers.

For example, in the noun phrase the old car in the drive

pre-mod H post-mod

I. HEADS
✓
The most usual kind of a noun phrase is a noun E.g.
Many of my old school friends in their twenties
✓
The head can be a pronoun of some kind:
- A …………………. pronoun: He is nice
- A ………………… pronoun: Mine are not as good as yours
- A ……………………. pronoun: This is the best one
- An ………………….pronoun: Someone called you
✓
Proper names, i.e. those referring to unique persons or things; post-modification is possible,
while pre-modification rarely occurs, e.g. Lovely Morecambe, which we visited last year, …
II. PRE-MODIFIERS

Pre-modifiers precede the noun head. They consist of a number of word classes or sub-classes in
a specific order.

Determiners (det) Adjective Noun Head noun

pre-det central-det post-det modifier
All The last few charming country villages

1. Determiners
A. (Central ) determiners: are a class of words that are used with nouns and have the function of
defining the reference of the noun in some way. They are ………………………………..……
(the, an,a), ……………………………………………………. (this, that, these, those), and
……………………………………………………. (his, their…)
✓
These are mutually exclusive; only one of them may occur in any noun phrase (my book,
this book, not this my book)

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 ✓
These determiners can follow pre-determiners. E.g. all my friends, half the course, both
these students .
✓
They come before any numerals or quantifiers. E.g. those fifty postage stamps, her first attempt.
✓ Other determiners that cannot be preceded by any pre-determiners:
another either neither what (a)
any enough no which
each much some whose
B. Pre-determiners: ……………………………………………………………………………………..

Pre-determiner determiners Adjective noun mod. head noun

Half your new cement blocks.

C. Post-determiners: are words which follow determiners and precede adjectives.
Numerals are of two kinds:

- Cardinal numbers:one, two, three

- Ordinal numbers: first, second, third

Not all post-determiners follow all determiners, but each one follow at least one determiner.
More than one post-determiner may occur in a noun phrase. The first few hours, the second five
days, several thousand people
2. Adjectives, whose function is amplify the head noun in some way, come after the determiners. When
a number of adjectives do occur, there appears to be some principles of ordering at work

Det epithet size shape age colour origin material pre.part head
A charming small round old brown French oaken writing desk

3. Noun modifiers are nouns that modify a head noun. E.g. a country garden, the village policemen, the
news agency, our garden fence, that iron bar.
4. Genitive case
This delightful old gentleman’s scruffy bowler hat

NP genitive
Exercise 1 (pre-mod) Make each list into a noun phrase

1. blocks, your, cement, half, new ………………………………………………

2. long, copper, wires, all, the ………………………………………………

3. engagement, both, lovely, her, rings ………………………………………………

4. fresh, those, flowers, prairie, all ………………………………………………

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 5. photogenic, swimmer, that, girl ………………………………………………

6. desk, hardwood, large, his ………………………………………………

7. our, friendly, all, dogs, neighborhood ………………………………………………

8. two, silk, my, dresses, pretty ………………………………………………

9. amount, three, this, times ………………………………………………

10. salaries, double, your ………………………………………………

11. those, warm, five, days, all ………………………………………………

12. his, twice, strength ………………………………………………

III. POST-MODIFIERS
Post modification position in a noun phrase is most commonly filled by phrases or clauses
1. ………………………………………….
✓
A relative clause is a full clause which refers back to the head noun of the noun phrase in which it
occurs as a post-modifier.
The man who came here yesterday
The man who(m) I saw
yesterday The man whose car
was stolen
The most expensive clothes (that ) she can afford
2. ………………………………………….
✓
Infinitive phrase (……………..)
the man to answer this question
✓
Present participial phrases (……………..)
The car coming down the road
✓
Past participial phrase (……………..)
The woman expected to arrive at any moment
Note: These phrases can often be regarded as reductions of relative
clauses The man who should answer this question
The car which is coming down the road
The woman who is expected to arrive at any moment
3. …………………………………………………………
The man after me
The man in the queue on the boat
The way to school

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 4. ……………………………………………………..
✓
Nouns may be modified by some post-modifying adverbs which may function alternately as
prepositions. E.g. back, in front of, below, etc.
The time before, the room above, the bus behind, the morning after
✓
These adverbs are in the position of adjectival, modifying the head noun. These adverbs could
possibly be regarded as reductions of prepositional phrases
The time before this one, the room above us, the bus behind our car, the morning after that
5. ………………………………………………….
✓
Post-modifying adjectives are usually found with indefinite pronouns as head; e.g. something
strange, somebody brave.
✓
Adjectives normally occur after the head noun
❖
In a few set phrases: blood royal, heir apparent
❖
When the adjective is not alone but is modified : the mailman, exuberantly happy, he
has never seen a woman more lovely
❖
when more than one adjective is employed
The mailman, tired and wet, (trudged along in the rain)
A woman, old and gaunt, (stood at the door)

Exercise 1 (pre-mod)

Make an analysis of the following noun phrases in terms of the word classes that they comprise

Those delicious ice-creams My brother’s first two nephews

det adj H NP gen post-det H

1. Five green bottles

2. My third currant bun
3. Jim’s many fatal mistakes
4. All our many grievous sins
5. An ugly large yellow submarine
6. Plenty of delicious rice puddings
7. This mischievous tax collectors’ grabbing hands
8. His underrated musical talent
9. Her blue collapsible silk umbrella
10. All our relation’s dirty screaming offsprings

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Exercise 2: ( Post-mod) How are these noun phrases post-modified?

1. The fact that people didn’t vote for him lost him the election ……………………
2. The man living next door to me is very friendly ……………………

3. The report which the government released proved to be very controversial.……………………

4. The proportion of the unemployed mothers fell through the nineties. ……………………

5. The valley became green with trees and grass watered by clear streams. ……………………

6. As she got older, my grandma needed someone to help her around the house.…………………

7. I really like watching documentaries concerning the natural ……………………

8. A successful small restaurant which is in my hometown is an Ialian called Rolling Fork.

9. I work for an organization providing free legal aid. ……………………

10. People laughed at the decision that the local community should fund the project………………
Exercise 3

Analyze the following noun phrases in terms of the word classes or sub-classes or other kinds of phrases or
clause that comprise them

The sixth ballpoint pen that I have broken The bleak landscape covered in snow
Det post N.mod N Rel.cl det adj H/N Ed. P (non-finite)

1. The old cupboard with the blue handles

2. All the coal stacked outside the backdoor

3. The third unpleasant task to be assigned to me

4. The fourth place behind Jim

5. The major upset of the year

6. The clearest instructions that anybody could have been given

7. This sudden disaster approaching us

8. All the eighty elderly passengers in the front coach

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9. Several irritate gentlemen farmers waiting for the prime minister

10. A poor little boy who seems to be lost

Expanding NPs IELTS Writing: long noun phrases

One feature of many academic task 1 answers is this: the verbs that we use are often ..................... ,
but the noun phrases that we write are ………………and …………………………..

Look at the following examples from my most recent sample answer:

1. The percentage of people in full time work increased steadily.

2. People owning their own homes are angry with the new tax.

COMPLETE THE SENTENCES WITH A NOUN

PHRASE 1. I work for a bank. I work in the head office
➢
.................................................................. .I work in the bank
2.Some people continue to work after retirement. The number is increasing
➢ is increasing
The number of ...........................................

3.A percentage of people complaind about the service. The percentage fell in October
➢ The percentage of people… .........................................about the service fell in October.

4.An offer was made by a big business. The offer was rejected.
➢ An offer .................................................by a big business was rejected.

5.I opened a savings account at a bank. Speedbank is the name of the bank.
➢
I opened a savings account ………………………………..

6.An article is going to be published tomorrow. The article reveals a political scandal.
➢ An article is going to be published tomorrow ............................political scandal

7.My favourite movie is a science fiction film. It is based on a Japanese comic.

➢ My favourite film is a science fiction film ..........................................Japanese comic.

8.Lots of rubbish lies on the riverbed. It is dangerous to wildlife.

➢
Rubbish
………………………………..is danderous to wildlife

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Chapter three
ADJECTIVE PHRASES (AP), ADVERB PHRASES (ADV. P),
PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES (PP)
I. ADJECTIVE PHRASES ( AP)

1. Structure (PRE-MODIFICATION ) + HEAD + (POST-MODIFICATION)

optional obligatory optional

Example:
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2. Pre-modifiers

a. ………………………….

quite good, rather noisy, terribly sorry, awfully slow, highly recommended,

b. ………………………….

beautifully cool, incredibly slow, disgustingly rich,

3. Post-modifiers (also called complement)

a. …………………………………………………………………: very anxious about Jim’s health

b. …………………………………………………………………:very anxious to please everybody

c. ……………………………………………………………………:

very anxious that no one should excuse him of his laziness

➢
Many adjectives do not allow any kinds of complement, e.g. blue, sudden, tall, big
➢
Some adjectives allow only one or two kinds of complements, e.g.

This book is interesting to read

This toy is safe for children / This tree is safe to climb up.

The audience was attentive to the speaker

He was aware of a creaking noise.

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4. Functions:

Adjective phrases have ……………….functions: an …………………………..function and

…………………………………. function

• The ………………………….function is when adjectives or adjective phrases are found

in the …………………………………….. of a noun phrase.
E.g. a very interesting story, a somewhat anxious mother.
• The ……………………………….function is when adjectives or adjective phrases occur
after ………………………………………………………………………………………
(smell, taste, sound, seem, feel etc.)
Naomi is anxious about Jim’s health
Jim seems concerned that Naomi will worry too much

II. ADVERB PHRASES

1. ……………………………….

• Intensifying adverbs (-LY adverbs expressing some degree)

very quickly, quite wonderfully fairly soon, terribly slowly, exceptionally well, extremely faithfully

• Non-intensifying adverbs (manner)

amazingly well, incredibly gracefully, understandably badly, horribly fast

3. Functions

Adverb phrases have three uses or functions. Their main function is the adjunct position, providing
circumstantial information about the action, process, or event. The majority of adverb phrases have
this adjunct functions; e.g. very soon (time), right there (place), extremely carefully (manner).

The other two functions of adverb phrases are the conjunct function and the disjunct function. The sets of
adverb phrases that may perform these functions are limited in number. Adverb phrases with conjunct
function serve to link or “conjoin” one clause or sentences to another.

a. ……………………………………………………

very soon (…………, right there (……………..), extremely carefully (…………………).

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b. ……………………………………………………

E.g. Harry is inefficient. It is not, therefore, worth considering him for the post.

Besides, George is the ideal man.

c. ……………………………………………………

Frankly, I can’t see George doing the job either.

I am telling you frankly (adjunct of manner)

Exercise 1 (Adv.P) Identify all adverbs, stating whether each one is an adjunct, conjunct, or
disjunct

1. Undoubtedly, it will rain this afternoon

2. My aunt, however, took the bus
3. Durians are forbidden here
4. Strangely, I can sometimes remember some Latin
5. Apparently, therefore, he quietly closed the door and went outside
6. I will certainly speak to him politely here tomorrow.

III.PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES ( PP)

A prepositional phrase is composed of a preposition and a noun phrase. E.g. in the garden,
after the party. Both elements are obligatory. The nominal which ends the prepositional phrase
is the object of the preposition that begins the phrase.

He answered the question with great care …………………….

I am interested in swimming ………………….

Do it for me/ Listen to her …………………….

Note: Do not confuse prepositions with adverbs. Prepositions, which introduce prepositional
phrases, are always followed by a nominal.

Preposition : She looked up the stairs/ They went inside the house

Adverb: She looked up / They went inside

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 Exercise 2: Distinguish prepositions and adverbs
1. a. The swimmer waited below 1b. The swimmer waited below the dam

2. a. She liked to sit near 2b. She sat near the window.
3. a. The paint bucket fell off the porch 3b. The paint bucket fell off.
4. a. The refreshments came after4b. The refreshments came after the program.
5. a. I haven’t seen him since 5b. I haven’t seen him since yesterday

Exercise 3.

Identify the phrases in the following, and give an analysis in terms of the classes or sub-classes
of the words that comprise them. Provide tree diagrams for the following:

S Examples

Adv.P NP VP OP

Adv N aux lex.V det N

aUnderstandably Sam has declined the offer

Adv.P NP VP NP

NP VP AP Adv. P

Det N lex.V adv adj

b-His arrival looks extremely unlikely now

NP VP AP Adv.P
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c. He could have told us this very good news yesterday

1. A very earnest look

2. He sounds very interested in our proposal

3. Unfortunately, he is very busy now

4. A quite ridiculously worded statement

5. Is he certain of our support?

6. I am quite sure that he is certain to win

7. A rather baffling description

8. So, that makes it awkward to find

9. Astonishingly, he can walk very fast

10. He was rather concerned that no-one should know immediately

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Chapter four- CLAUSES 1- STRUCTURE and TYPES
The structure of clauses
Syntactic units are normally composed of units directly below them in the hierarchy, and they
function in units directly above them. So a phrase is composed of words and functions in a clause.
Clauses, then, are composed of phrases. The categories of phrases are noun phrases, verb phrases,
adjective phrases, adverb phrases, and prepositional phrases.
I. Functions of phrases
There are five possible functions that phrases may fulfill in English: they are subject, verb, object,
complement and adjunct (abbreviated S,V,O,C,A)
1. Subject (S)
The subject function is normally filled by a noun phrase. E.g. The mice ran up the clock.
2. Verb (V)
The verb function is always filled by a verb phrase. Dinner over, they went to bed
3. Object (O)
Object function may be filled either by a noun phrase or by a prepositional phrase.
E.g. Bill is expecting a big surprise
…………………………………………….
Bill is waiting for a big surprise
…………………………………………….
Mary blamed the poor resulton adverse weather conditions
…………………………………………………………………
4.Complement (C)
The complement function may be filled either by noun phrase or by an adjective phrase.
✓ Subject complement

E.g. Jim has become a qualified engineer

………………………………………………..
Jim seems quite pleasant Harry has become ill
……………………………… ……………………………………….

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 ✓ Object complement

I find Jim quite pleasant

……………………………………..

That made Fred quite unpleasant

…………………………………….

4. Adjunct

Adjuncts, which are normally optional elements in clause structure and may be freely added to any
clause. The adjunct function can be filled by adverb phrase, a prepositional phrase, or a noun phrase.

Tony walked therevery quickly

…………………………………..

Sue walked to the farmafter lunch

……………………………………….

Sue walked ten miles that afternoon

………………………………………….

She sang very well at the party last night

……………………………………………

Obligatory elements Optional elements

The waiter put the soup on the table Harry seemed ill (yesterday)

Exercise 1 (Adv.P)

Identify the adjuncts in the following sentences and name its categogy

1. They ate their meal too quickly

2. Susan went to school in New York

3. After work, I go to a local restaurant

4. She walked very gracefully down the steps

5. Next summer, we're going to Spain

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 6. I work late on Mondays

7. He stayed for two weeks.

8. She drinks in that bar every day.

Exercise 2 : Analyze the following clauses into phrases, indicating the function and category of each
phrase.

e.g. The thre the at the stumps

bowler w ball

S: NP V: VP O: NP A: PP

1. The famer was eating his lunch in the corn field

………………………………………………………….
2. The jury found the prisoner guilty.
………………………………………………………….
3. The performance lasted four hours unfortunately.
………………………………………………………….
4. The committee considers your proposals rather unworkable.
………………………………………………………….
5. The transport manager could not decide on the new bus.
………………………………………………………….
6. Jim passed the salt down the table.
………………………………………………………….
7. The delinquent received a reprimand from the magistrate.
………………………………………………………….
8. The milk has gone sour.
………………………………………………………….
9. Gordon sent his apologies to the meeting.
………………………………………………………….
10. They beat the man black and blue.
…………………………………………………………

II. Types of clause

On the basis of the functions of phrases occurring in clause structure, a number of basis clause types
may be recognized. In English there are seven basic clause types, which are specified only by
the obligatory elements. They are:
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 1. S-V The baby is sleeping
……………………………..
2. S-V-AA policeman lives in that house
……………………………..
3. S-V-CThat sounds a good idea
……………………………..
4. S-V-OEvery one kicked the bucket
……………………………..
5. S-V-O-AThe government sent the envoy to Africa
…………………………………………..
6. S-V-O-OThey passed Aunty Ann the salt
…………………………………………….
7. S-V-O-CWe imagined Uncle Bill much fatter
……………………………………………

TYPE 1: INTRANSITIVE CLAUSE TYPE (SV)

- The verb refers to an action carried out by the subject. The dog laughed .

- Impersonal verbs are also included. E.g. It is raining

TYPE 2: INTRANSITIVE CLAUSE TYPE (SVA)

-The verbs may be regarded as Intransitive .

-The verbs take an obligatory adjunct (mainly adjunct of place)

e.g. We went to the theatre

A policeman lives in that house

-A few verbs take obligatory adjuncts of time or manner

e.g. The performance lasted four hours

We live well

TYPE 3: INTENSIVE CLAUSE TYPE (SVC )

-The complement and subject are in an intensive relation: S and C are not distinct entities but refer
to the same “thing”

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 e.g. That sounds a good idea

-The V here is Corpula Verb (linking verb) or BE. It links S to C.

- An intensive relation also occurs when two noun phrases are in apposition.

e.g. That idiot, the fishmonger

TYPE 4: MONO-TRANSITIVE CLAUSE TYPE (SVO)

-The verb has only one object. That is the commonest clause type

e.g. She kicked the bucket

TYPE 5: MONO-TRANSITIVE CLAUSE TYPE (SVOA)

-This is also a transitive clause type, but here with an obligatory adjunct an addition to an object.

e.g. They treated the prisoner badly

This car cost me $600.

The government sent the envoy to Africa

TYPE 6: DI-TRANSITIVE CLAUSE TYPE (SVOO)

-The verb has two objects: I.O and D.O

-This type usually refers to “animate” (living) thing

-It refers either to the recipient involved in the action, when the clause may be paraphrased by a S-V
-D.O- to- I.O

e.g. They passed the salt to Aunt Ann

or to the beneficiary of the action, when the clause is paraphrasable by S- V- D.I for I.O

e.g. They saved me a seat= They saved a seat for me

TYPE 7: COMPLEX-TRANSITIVE CLAUSE TYPE(SVOC)

-There is one element following a verb. This element is a complex or combination of an Object and a
Complement. An intensive relation exists between the object and the complement

e..g We imagined Uncle Bill much fatter

We elected John Mayor.

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Exercise 3 : Analyze the following clauses in terms of their phrases, giving the function and
category of each phrase. Indicate which clause type each belongs to.

e.g. The bowler threw the ball at the stumps (type 5)

S: NP V: VP O: NP A: PP

1. All of them called Harry a fine fellow.

………………………………………………………….
2. They crammed the clothes into the case
………………………………………………………….
3. We played the snooker after dinner
………………………………………………………….
4. The old fellow forgot about Jim yesterday
………………………………………………………….
5. I wouldn’t make rice in that saucepan.
………………………………………………………….
6. Your madras curry smells appetizing.
………………………………………………………….
7. You may not deposit your boots on the top of mine.
………………………………………………………….
8. They rolled the barrel into the courtyard.
………………………………………………………….
9. They consider poor old Andrei insane.
………………………………………………………….
10. You must not walk on your grass.
………………………………………………………….
11. Barry sent Mary a bunch of flowers.
………………………………………………………….
12. Your luggage weighs 20 kilos.
………………………………………………………….
13. The children played in the garden all yesterday afternoon.
…………………………………………………………

Exercise 4 Analyze the sentences into phrases indicating the functions and category

Model: I wouldn’t make rice in that saucepan

S:NP V:VP O:NP A:PP Pattern: SVOA

1. ASIMO is a humanndroid robot developed by the Honda Motor Co.

……………………………………………………………………………

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2. The Sedan de Ville has all the advanced features of a Cadillac.
……………………………………………………………………………

3. Passengers who wish to have vegetarian meals will have to notify flight attendants.
……………………………………………………………………………

4. After years of study, Fred became an aerospace engineer.

……………………………………………………………………………
5. Mark Twain, who wrote ‘ The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’, is my favorite writer.
……………………………………………………………………………
6. Honestly, he is becoming a real bore.
……………………………………………………………………………
7. Braille, a French man, who became blind at the age of three was a very talented boy.
……………………………………………………………………………
8. President Wilson appointed Franklin Roosevelt the Assistant Secretary of the Navy.
……………………………………………………………………………
9. Monkeys and apes are very fond of a hug to show their relationship.
……………………………………………………………………………
10. We’ve got a new TV with a thirty one inch screen.
……………………………………………………………………………

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Chapter five CLAUSES 2- DEPENDENT CLAUSES

DEPENDENT
CLAUSES

I………………………………………….:
………………………………………………………………………………

1. ………………………………. clauses are introduced by ……………………………………..

a. That Jim should take a bath amazed Jenny

…………………………………………………………………………

b. Jim believe that baths are harmful to the personality

…………………………………………………………………………………

c. The possibility is that Jim is scared of water

…………………………………………………………………………….

*When a That clause functions as subject, it is normally the case that dummy IT functions in subject
position,

It amazed Penny that Jim should take a bath

…………………………………………………………

2. ………………………………………..are those introduced by WHO, WHAT, WHEN,

WHERE, HOW, WHY, WHETHER, IF. They may function as either subject, object or
complement, as in the following examples

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Where Penny had gone did not interest Jeff

…………………………………………………………

I don’t know whether the bus has already gone

…………………………………………………………

The question is what we do now

…………………………………………………………

3. ……………………………………..:.

To eat blackcurrant tart is to experience the ultimate culinary delight.

4. Participle clauses, mainly with present participle, may function as both subject and complement.

Seeing is believing

…………………………………………………………

Watching a wrestling match makes me doubt the idea of civilization

…………………………………………………………

Most frequently function as an object or part of an object.

Elephants like eating roasted peanuts

The keeper found the elephant munching the peanut

*never as a second object, unless they are introduced by a preposition as in:

They accused the keeper of giving the elephant peanuts

Nominal clauses
Exercise1: Underline the nominal clauses and indicate their function in the following sentence:
S ( subject), C (complement), O (object), or A ( appositive).
Example: I told my mother that I was moving out. ( O): That clauses

1. Whoever ate my lunch is in trouble ……………

2. The report that only ten people were killed in the riots is not true ……………

3. He wonders if his friends are willing to help him. ……………

4. What surprised me most was that they were so cheerful about their loss.……………

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 5. The most difficult thing about living away from my parents is that I have to do my own cooking……..

6. The committee has announced the winner whoever wrote the essay on eniroment. ……………

7. We cannot rely on what he says. ……………

8. Miriam had no belongings except what she carried in her suitcase. ……………

9. A good night's sleep is exactly what you need. ……………

10. I explained to my boss that my computer crashed …………

Exercise2:Analyze the following clauses in terms of the phrases and dependent clauses that
compose them, indicating for each constituent its function and its category

e.g. Taking that bend at 60mph explains how he left the road

S: Ing.P V: VP O: Wh.cls

It disturbs me to see so many people wasting their time

Dummy V: VP O: NP Real S: To-P

1. That people throw away money on gambling never ceases to amaze me

………………………………………………………………………………
2. I cannot imagine how the mistake could have happened.
………………………………………………………………………………
3. He doesn’t seem to suffer much.
………………………………………………………………………………
4. You cannot order me to jump into the river.
………………………………………………………………………………
5. I think that you will catch him stealing the apples.
………………………………………………………………………………
6. They reported to the police what the prisoner had said.
………………………………………………………………………………
7. It disappointed the candidate that few people came to hear him.
………………………………………………………………………………
8. We do not know who will be the successor.
………………………………………………………………………………

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II. Relative clauses

Relative clauses function as ……………………………………. in noun phrases

E.g. the old elephant which we saw yesterday

Relative clauses are linked to the head of the NP by means of a relative pronoun

*That clause: Appositive v.s Relative clauses

That clause as appositives Relative clause

Examples The news that appeared in Tuoi Tre The news that he is killed in the riot

Grammar
…………………………………………… ……………………………………………

…………………………………………… ……………………………………………
…………………………………………… …………………………………………

Meaning
…………………………………………… ……………………………………………

…………………………………………… ……………………………………………

III. Adverbial clauses: ……………………….

Adverbial clauses, like adverb phrases and prepositional phrases functioning as adjunct, give
circumstantial information about an action or event, that is information about time, place, manner etc.

He always sings when he is in the bath He always goes where he is not allowed to

……………………………………………… ………………………………………………

Adverbial clauses are introduced by conjunctions which “join” the adverbial clause to the main
clause.

1.Conditional clauses: introduced by IF, or UNLESS

If it rains today, we won’t play football

Unless you come early you won’t get a seat.

27
2. Comparison clauses, introduced by THAN or AS…AS

3. Reason clauses, introduced by BECAUSE, SINCE

4. Contrast clauses, introduced by THOUGH, ALTHOUGH

Although Albert doesn’t have any money, he is going on

holiday 5.Purpose clauses, introduced by SO THAT

They’ve dug an air-raid shelter, so that they will be safe in the next war.

6.Result clauses, introduced by SO… THAT

The picture were so dusty that no-one could see what they were.

REVISION

Syntactic analysis according to function, and category

1. Whether George can get a better job is uncertain

2. That Sheila left early proves that she loves you.

3. My concern is how you have enjoyed the lesson.

4. Uncle Ho asked whether his voice was clear enough.

5. Why a lot of teenagers get addicted to the Internet is easy to understand.

6. The only thing I did was to tell him to go away.

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 7. Fellow sportsmen regarded him a world player.

8. The fact that he failed to show up surprised everybody.

9. Ken’s belief is that things can get worse.

10. The club elected Mr Jones membership secretary.

11. A new study published in the journal Lancet looking at the toll of H1N1 deaths in
Mexico shows that the virus aflicts the young more often.

12. On the morning of August, when many people were still in bed, a man approached
those who were doing morning exercises in the September 23 Park.

13. The man is a Japanese tourist named Murayama Yasufumi.

14. The first victim I saw at that time was a 10-year old girl with a deformed face.

Exercise 4:Analyze the following in terms of clauses and sentences. Provide tree diagrams for the
following

1. The politician that I admired most is the one who sticks to his principle.

29
2. I am surprised that they haven’t learned to crack nuts.

3. I do sometimes wonder if this education does not drive people crazy.

4. You must return that overdue book to the library tomorrow morning.

5. The old car loves being swung through the air.

30
6. The tiger reappeared on the spot where he had been standing.

7. The small boy was quite sure that his father had told him that the earch was flat.

8. The grand old Duke of York had ten thousand men

31
 Chapter six STRUCTURAL AMBIGUITY

Definition

A word, phrase, or sentence is ambiguous if it has more than one meaning. A sentence can be lexically
or structurally ambiguous.

Examples

1a. We need a new coach 1b. We need a new coach

2a. He fed her dog biscuits 2b. He fed her dog biscuits

Disambiguate the following sentences by tree diagrams

1a. They are flying planes 1b. They are flying planes

2a. Old men and women can be served 2b Old men and women can be served

3a. We saw people with binoculars 3b. We saw people with binoculars

32
4a. Joe likes amusing girls 4b Joe likes amusing girls

5a. They hit the man with a stick 5a. They hit the man with a stick

6a. The mother of the boy and the girl will come 6a. The mother of the boy and the girl will come

7a. Bob and Alice or Julie will come 7a. Bob and Alice or Julie will come

33
8a. Fast cars and motorbikes can be dangerous 8a. Fast cars and motorbikes can be dangerous

9a. Visiting relatives can be boring 9a. Visiting relatives can be boring

10a. They said that they would pay me on Thursday 10a. They said that they would pay me on Thursday

34
 POSSIBLE TASK TYPES FOR SYNTAX TEST

PARTI. Choose the best answer

1. What is the function of the underlined phrase in “ Ben worked hard all day”?
A. Object B. Complement C. Adjunct D. Appositive

2. Name the category of the underlined in “The pen that I accidentally left on the bus belongs to my uncle’s”
A. Adverbial clause B. That clause C. Wh-clause D. Relative clause
3. Which of the following contains “That clause” as an appositive?
A. That Jim failed the end-of-term test surprised his teacher. B. It seems that he likes his school.
C. I can’t stand the remark that he made.
D. The truth that I really wanted to learn suddenly dawned on my poor farther.
4. The sentence “ The medicine tastes awful” has the structure of ………….
A. SVO B. SVC C. SVOA D. SVOC
5. Which of the following functions as an adjunct?
A. That clause B. Relative clause C.Wh-Clause D. Adverbial clause
6. Which of the following can not be found in post-modifiers in noun phrase?
A. Relative clause B. That clause C. Prepositional phrase D. Determiner
7. “That clause” can not be found in post-modification of ……………
A. Prepositional phrase B. Noun phrase C. Adjective phrase D. Both A & B
8. Which of the following contains a relative clause?

9. Which of the following has the structure of SVOA?

A. Henry considered Ann merciful. B. The engagement ring he offered her costs a fortune.
C. They beat the man black and blue D. Unless you come early, you won’t get a seat.
10.An adjective phrase can function as a/ an………….
A. subject B. object C. complement D. adjunct

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PART II. Syntactic analysis according to function, and category
Model: I wouldn’t make rice in that saucepan
S:NP V:VP O:NP A:PP

1. The child put his hand into that plastic bag.

......................................................................................................................

2. My watch loses two minutes each day

......................................................................................................................

3. It amazed Jenny that Jim should take a bath

......................................................................................................................

4. The rumor that he was debauched is false

....................................................................................................................

5. The fridge keeps the beer cool.

...................................................................................................................

6. We were out of breath

......................................................................................................................

7. Although Jim finds the work difficult, he continues to do his best

......................................................................................................................

8. You must return that overdue book to the library tomorrow morning
......................................................................................................................

9. I will make everyone some fresh coffee.

......................................................................................................................

10. How these mistakes could have happened was a mystery

.....................................................................................................................

PART III Make syntactic analysis of the following by tree diagrams

1.The girl has become very sullen recently 2. That Penny should take a bath amazed Julie

36
PART IV. Name the function and the category of the underlined word/ phrase

1. I’ll see you right here next week …………………….

2. It is colder and wetter in the north of Germany …………………….

3. Ginger’s hair dye turned the water pink …………………….

4. Where he has been is a mystery …………………….

5. John speak English more fluently than his brother does …………………….

PART V Disambiguate these sentences by tree diagrams

1a.Nicole saw the people with binoculars 1b. Nicole saw the people with binoculars

2a. Flying plane can be dangerous 2b. Flying plane can be dangerous

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