(Downloadsachmienphi.com) English Syntax - Tài Liệu Luyện Thi Tuyển Sinh Sau Đại Học Chuyên Ngành Giảng Dạy Tiếng Anh - Tô Minh Thanh

ÑAÏI HOÏC QUOÁC GIA THAØNH PHOÁ HOÀ CHÍ MINH
TRÖÔØNG ÑAÏI HOÏC KHOA HOÏC XAÕ HOÄI & NHAÂN VAÊN
Toâ Minh Thanh
TAØI LIEÄU OÂN THI
TUYEÅN SINH SAU ÑAÏI HOÏC CHUYEÂN NGAØNH Giaûng daïy tieáng Anh
(Taùi baûn laàn thöù nhaát, coù chænh söûa)
NHAØ XUAÁT BAÛN ÑAÏI HOÏC QUOÁC GIA

TP HOÀ CHÍ MINH – 2008
Tron Bo SGK: https://bookgiaokhoa.com
CONTENTS
Content ................................................................................................................................ i
Preface.............................................................................................................................. vii
Outline for revision............................................................................................................ ix
Table of notational symbols ........................................................................................... xii
Section one: WORD CLASSES

1 Parts of speech, word classes and grammatical categories ............................... 1
2 Classification of word classes ......................................................................... 2
2.1 Major classes vs. minor classes ................................................................... 2
2.2 English major classes ................................................................................... 3
2.2.1 English form classes ...................................................................... 4
2.2.2 English positional classes .............................................................. 6
2.3 English minor classes ................................................................................. 10
2.4 Word-class exercises ............................................................................... 10
2.4.1 Exercises for form classes........................................................... 10
2.4.2 Exercises for positional classes ................................................... 12
Section two: TYPES of PHRASES, CLAUSES and SENTENCES

3 Phrases vs. clauses ............................................................................................... 15
4 Adjective phrases vs. adverb phrases ............................................................... 15
5 Attributive vs. predicative adjectives/adjective phrases .................................. 17
6 Noun phrases vs. verb phrases ........................................................................... 18
7 The N-bar (N’) as a level of NP-structure that is intermediate
between the phrasal (NP) level and the lexical (N) level ................................ 20
8 Types of pre-nominal modifiers........................................................................... 21
8.1 Determiners .............................................................................................. 21
8.2 Quanyifying adjectives ............................................................................. 23
8.3 Adjective phrases ..................................................................................... 26
8.4 Pre-modifying nouns .................................................................................. 27
8.5 Possessive common nouns ......................................................................... 28
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8.6 Verb participles ........................................................................................ 29

8.7 Gerunds ..................................................................................................... 30
8.8 Restricters ................................................................................................ 31
9 Types of post-nominal modifiers ......................................................................... 32
9.1 Prepositional phrases ................................................................................. 32
9.2 Adjective phrases ...................................................................................... 33
9.3 Participial phrases ..................................................................................... 35
9.4 Infinitive phrases ...................................................................................... 35
9.5 Subordinate adjective clauses .................................................................. 36
10 Noun complements vs. optional post-nominal modifiers .................................. 36
11 Classification of English verbs/verb phrases ................................................... 38
11.1 Intensive verbs/verb phrases ................................................................. 39
11.2 Complex transitive verbs/verb phrases .................................................. 40
11.3 Ditransitive verbs/verb phrases ............................................................. 43
11.4 Monotransitive verbs/verb phrases ........................................................ 47
11.5 Prepositional verbs/verb phrases ........................................................... 51
11.5.1 Monotransitive Prepositional verbs/verb phrases ................... 51
11.5.2 Ditransitive Prepositional verbs/verb phrases ........................ 53
11.6 Intransitive verbs/verb phrases ............................................................. 55
11.7 Summary of the classification of English verbs/verb phrases ............. 57
11.8 Troublesome verbs ................................................................................... 59
12 Types of clause links .......................................................................................... 61
13 Types of clauses ................................................................................................. 62
13.1 Finite clauses vs. non-finite clauses ........................................................ 62
13.2 Independent clauses vs. dependent clauses ........................................... 63
13.3 Subordinate clauses vs. embedded clauses ............................................ 64
14 Covert subjects vs. overt subjects .................................................................. 66
15 Types of finite dependent clauses .................................................................... 67
15.1 Nonimal clauses ........................................................................................ 67
15.2 Relative clauses ........................................................................................ 67
ii

15.3 Adverbial clauses ..................................................................................... 68

15.4 Reporting clauses ..................................................................................... 68
15.5 Comment clauses ...................................................................................... 68
16 Types of non-finite clauses .............................................................................. 69
16.1 Infinitive non-finite clauses .................................................................... 69
16.2 Gerund non-finite clauses ........................................................................ 69
16.3 Participial non-finite clauses ................................................................... 70
16.4 Verbless clauses ....................................................................................... 71
17 Classification of sentences according to their structures ............................. 71
17.1 Simple sentences ...................................................................................... 71
17.2 Compound sentences ................................................................................ 72
17.3 Complex sentences ................................................................................... 72
17.3.1 Embedded nominal clauses .............................................................. 73
17.3.1.1 As the subject ...................................................................... 73
17.3.1.2 As the direct object/the predicator complement ............ 78
17.3.1.3 As the indirect object ........................................................ 89
17.3.1.4 As the subject(ive) complement .......................................... 90
17.3.1.5 As the object(ive) complement ........................................... 91
17.3.1.6 As the complement of a preposition .................................... 94
17.3.2 Subordinate/embedded adjectival clauses .................................... 95
17.3.3 Subordinate/embedded adverbial clauses ..................................... 96
17.4 Compound-Complex sentences ................................................................. 97
Section three: GRAMMATICAL RELATIONS

18 Structure .......................................................................................................... 99
19 Endocentric structures vs. exocentric structures ...................................... 99
20 Types of syntactic structures ........................................................................ 100
20.1 Structures of modification ................................................................... 100
20.2 Structures of complementation ............................................................ 101
20.3 Structures of coordination .................................................................... 101
20.4 Structures of predication ..................................................................... 103
iii

21 Constructions vs. constituents ........................................................................ 104

22 Immediate constituents vs. ultimate constituents ........................................ 104
23 Immediate constituents of a sentence ........................................................... 105
24 Intervening level of organization between word and sentence ..................... 106
25 Modifiers vs. complements ............................................................................... 106
26 Types of adjective complements ...................................................................... 108
27 Pre-adjectival modifiers vs. post-adjectival modifiers ................................. 108
28 Adjective complements vs. optional post-adjectival modifiers .................... 109
29 Classification of English adjectives according to their post-modifiers ............ 111
30 Types of adverbial adjuncts ............................................................................. 112
31 Noun phrase analyses ....................................................................................... 123
32 Mis-diagraming .................................................................................................. 125
33 Structural ambiguity in English noun phrases ................................................. 126
33.1 Define a structurally ambiguous noun phrase .......................................... 126
33.2 Explain structurally ambiguous noun phrases ........................................... 128
33.3 Disambiguate structurally ambiguous noun phrases................................. 134
33.4 Account for structurally non-ambiguous noun phrases ........................... 138
34 Verb phrase analyses .................................................................................. 140
34.1 Noun phrases as the sP/sC of an intensive verb or as the dO of
a monotransitive verb ............................................................................. 140
34.2 NP direct objects of a monotransitive verb or NP adverbial
adjuncts of an intransitive verb .............................................................. 141
34.3 Prepositional phrases as the sP/sC of an intensive verb or as
the optional adverbial adjunct of any verb ............................................ 142
34.4 IntransVAC vs. intransV—Adv .............................................................. 143
34.5 MonotransVAC—NP vs. intransV—PP .................................................... 144
34.6 MonotransVAC—NP vs. monotrans-prepV—prepO ............................... 146
35 Sentence analyses ....................................................................................... 147
35.1 Identify the syntactic function of a PP ................................................... 147
35.2 Decide whether a PP is part of the complementation of a
ditransitive verb ..................................................................................... 148
iv

35.3 Explain the difference between two sentences ...................................... 151

35.4 Re-analyse sentence pairs, using tree-diagrams .................................. 154
36 Structural ambiguity in English verb phrases ................................................ 157
37 Phrase structure ............................................................................................... 162
37.1 Definition ................................................................................................. 162
37.2 How to determine phrase structure? ..................................................... 162
37.2.1 Substitution .............................................................................. 162
37.2.2 Conjoinability ............................................................................. 165
37.2.3 Movement .................................................................................. 166
37.2.4 Checking the antecedent for a pro-form ................................ 167
37.3 Phrase structure exercises .................................................................... 167
38 Phrase structure rules ..................................................................................... 170
39 Surface structures vs. deep structures ......................................................... 172
40 Signals of syntactic structures ....................................................................... 174
40.1 Word order .............................................................................................. 174
40.2 Function words ......................................................................................... 174
40.3 Inflection ................................................................................................. 175
40.4 Derivational contrast .............................................................................. 176
40.5 Prosody .................................................................................................... 176
41 What is syntax? ............................................................................................... 177
Section four: SAMPLE TESTS IN ENGLISH LINGUISTICS ................................ 178
Bibliography ................................................................................................... 197

LÔØI NOÙI ÑAÀU
Thöïc teá laø khoâng phaûi saùch ngoân ngöõ cuûa taùc giaû ngöôøi nöôùc ngoaøi naøo
cuõng ñaùp öùng ñuùng vaø ñuû noäi dung oân taäp thi tuyeån sinh sau ñaïi hoïc chuyeân
ngaønh Giaûng daïy tieáng Anh (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)
theo quy ñònh cuûa Tröôøng Ñaïi hoïc Khoa hoïc Xaõ hoäi vaø Nhaân vaên, thuoäc Ñaïi
hoïc Quoác gia Thaønh phoá Hoà Chí Minh. Taøi lieäu naøy ra ñôøi nhaèm ñaùp öùng nhu
caàu oân taäp thi tuyeån sinh sau ñaïi hoïc cho moân Ngöõ hoïc trong chuyeân ngaønh
neâu treân.
Ñeå giuùp caùc ñoái töôïng döï thi laøm quen vaø chuaån bò toát cho kyø thi cuûa
mình, taøi lieäu naøy (1) bao goàm nhöõng troïng ñieåm theo ñuùng qui ñònh veà noäi
dung oân taäp cuûa Ñeà cöông oân taäp Cuù phaùp cho kyø thi tuyeån sinh sau ñaïi hoïc
chuyeân ngaønh Giaûng daïy tieáng Anh vaø (2) ñöôïc trình baøy thaønh boán phaàn:
Phaàn 1: Caùc töø loaïi (Word Classes)
Phaàn 2: Caùc loaïi ngöõ, cuù vaø caâu (Types of phrases, clauses and
sentences)
Phaàn 3: Caùc moái quan heä ngöõ phaùp (Grammatical relations)
Phaàn 4: Moät soá ñeà thi vaø ñaùp aùn ñaõ thöïc teá ñöôïc duøng trong caùc kyø thi gaàn
ñaây.
Taøi lieäu naøy cuõng coù theå naèm trong thö muïc saùch tham khaûo giuùp sinh
vieân heä taïi chöùc vaø heä chính quy baèng 1 vaø baèng 2 cuûa chuyeân ngaønh Ngöõ
vaên Anh hoïc thaønh coâng moân Syntax trong chöông trình chính khoùa cuûa caùc
heä ñaøo taïo ñaïi hoïc naøy. Ngoaøi ra, caùc hoïc vieân cao hoïc chuyeân ngaønh Giaûng
daïy tieáng Anh vaø caùc thaày coâ cuûa khoùa Boài döôõng giaùo vieân taïi Tröôøng Ñaïi
hoïc Khoa hoïc Xaõ hoäi vaø Nhaân vaên, thuoäc Ñaïi hoïc Quoác gia Thaønh phoá Hoà Chí
Minh cuõng coù theå tham khaûo taøi lieäu naøy khi theo hoïc moân Linguistics PG
trong chöông trình chính khoùa cuûa caû hai heä ñaøo taïo sau ñaïi hoïc naøy.
Raát mong taøi lieäu naøy seõ giuùp caùc ñoái töôïng döï thi töï oân luyeän toát hôn duø
coù ñieàu kieän hay khoâng theå tröïc tieáp theo hoïc caùc lôùp luyeän thi taïi tröôøng.
Thaønh phoá Hoà Chí Minh, ngaøy 20 thaùng 1 naêm 2005.

Toâ Minh Thanh
vi

vii

Ñaïi Hoïc Quoác Gia Tp. Hoà Chí Minh

TRÖÔØNG ÑAÏI HOÏC KHOA HOÏC XAÕ HOÄI & NHAÂN VAÊN
YUUUZ
ÑEÀ CÖÔNG OÂN TAÄP THI TUYEÅN SINH CAO HOÏC
Moân Cô sôû: LINGUISTICS
(cho chuyeân ngaønh Giaûng daïy tieáng Anh)
1. Linguistics
(a) Semantics
- The expression of meaning in English at the word and sentence level;
- The relations of different kinds of meaning;
- Meaning shifts or words;
- Use of language in social interaction.
(b) Syntax
- Word classes;
- Grammatical relations;
- Types of phrases, clauses & sentences.
2. Academic Writing
Write an essay of 250 - 300 words on an issue of second language
teaching and learning.
REFERENCES
Fromkin V. et al (1988) An Introduction to Language.
Sydney: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Hurdford, J. R. & Heasley, B. (1984) Semantics. A Course Book.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Jordan, R.R. (1990) Academic Writing Course. Collins ELT. A Division of

Harper Collins Publishers.
Kaplan, J.P. (1989) English Grammar. Principles and Facts.

New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc.
viii

ix

SEMANTICS
GUIDELINES FOR REVIEW

I. Semantic Properties and Semantic Fields
II. Reference and Sense
III. Denotation and Connotation
IV. Taxonomy—Hypernyms and Hyponyms
V. Multiple Senses of Lexical Items

* Primary Sense
* Secondary Senses (polysemy)
* Figurative Senses (metaphors, similes, metonymy, synecdoche,
euphemism, hyperbole, litotes, alliteration, assonance, consonance)
VI. Synonymy vs. Antonymy
VII. Homonyms (homophones and homograph), acronyms, anomaly
VIII. Speech Acts
Propositions-Utterances-Sentences
Performative sentences
Presuppositions and Implicatures
Felicity conditions
Speech events
Deixis (time, place, person)
Pragmatic meaning
Maxims of conversation
Maxims of politeness

ENGLISH SYNTAX
Introduction • Chapters 1 & 2 in Jackson
• Syntax: “the study of how words combine to (1980)
form sentences and the rules which govern the • Chapter 5 in Francis (1958)
information of sentences” (Richards, Platt & • “The Grammar of English” by
Weber) Heatherington, in Clar et al
• Traditional grammar — Structural grammar — (1981: 329-42)
Transformational grammar • What do native speakers know
Five signals of syntactic structures: Word order, about their language?
Prosody, Function words, Inflections, and by Jacbs and Rosenbaum,
Derivational contrast (Francis, 1958: 234) in Clark et al (1981: 343-49)
Word classes: open ad closed classes
• Open classes: Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives,
Adverbs (Jackson, 1980)
• Closed classes: Pronouns, Numerals,
Determiners, Prepositions, Conjunctions
(Jackson, 1980)
IC’s in Syntax • Chapter 6 in Francis (1958)
Four basic types of syntactic structures: • Chapter 6 in Fromkin et al
modification, predication, complementation, (1990)
and coordination (Francis, 1958) • Chapter 1in Nida (1996)
Endocentric and exocentric constructions • John Lyons (translated
(Bloomfield, 1933; Nida, 1966) version) pp. 368-70
Noun phrases Chapter 3 in Jackson (1980)
Types of modifiers in noun phrases
• Premodification: identifier, numeral/quantifier,
adjective, noun modifier
• Postmodification: relative clauses, non-finite
clauses, prepositional phrases
Verb phrases: tense, aspect, mood, voice Chapter 4 in Jackson (1980)
Adjective phrases, adverb phrases, and Chapter 5 in Jackson (1980)
prepositional phrases
Clauses Chapter 6 & 7 in Jackson (1980)
• Structures and types
• Dependent clauses
Phrase structure rules & Transformational rules Chapter 5 in Fromkin et al (1990)
xi

NOTATIONAL SYMBOLS
Most of the symbols used in this text follow conventions, but since conventions
vary, the following list indicates the meanings assigned to them here.
A = adjective iO = indirect object
Adv = (general) adverb M = modifier
ART = article ModN = pre-modifying noun
AP = adjective phrase monotrans = monotransitive verb
AdvP = adverb phrase monotrans-prep = monotransitive
C = complement prepositional verb
ComN = compound noun monotransVAC = monotransitive verb-
Comp = complementizer adverbial composite
complex = complex transitive verb N = noun
Conj = conjunction N’ = N-bar
Co-P = a coordination of Prepositions nC = noun complement
Co-PP = a coordinate Prepositional NP = noun phrase
phrase NUM = numeral/number
Co-NP = a coordinate noun phrase opA = optional adverbial adjunct
Co-AP = a coordinate adjective phrase obA = obligatory adverbial adjunct
DEG = degree adverb oC = object(ive) complement
DEM = demonstrative oP = object-predicative
DET = determiner POST-MOD = post-modifier
dO = direct object POST-DET = post-determiner
ditrans = ditransitive verb PRE-MOD = pre-modifier
ditrans-prep = ditransitive PRE-DET = pre-determiner
prepositional verb PRO = pronoun
EmACl = embedded adjective clause PropN = proper noun
EmAdvCl = embedded adverbial clause Poss = possessive
EXCLAMATORY DET = exclamatory PossA = possessive adjective
determiner PossPropN = possessive proper noun
[E] = empty/covert/zero/implicit subject PossCommN = possessive common noun
H = the head PossMarker = possessive marker
headN = the head noun PossNP = possessive noun phrase
headPRO = the head pronoun predC = predicator complement
headPropN = the head proper noun P = preposition
headA = the head adjective prep = prepositional verb
headGer = the head gerund prepO = prepositional object
IC = immediate constituent prepC = complement of a preposition
InfP = infinitive phrase PP = prepositional phrase
intens = intensive verb PartP = participial phrase
intrans = intransitive verb Q = quantifier
intransVAC = intransitive verb- QA = quantifying adjective
adverbial composite RESTRIC = restricter
S = sentence
xii

S’= S-bar Prt = adverbial particle

sC = subject(ive) complement VAC = verb-adverbial composite
sP = subject-predicative * = unaccepted form
SubACl = subordinate adjective clause ? = doubtfully acceptable form
SubAdvCl = subordinate adverbial clause [ ] = embedded unit
VP = verb phrase / = or
Vgrp = verb group φ= unfilled
V-Part = verb participle ⇒ = one-way dependence
V-Ger = gerund ⇔ = two-way dependence
xiii

SECTION 1: WORD CLASSES
1 Parts of speech, word classes and grammatical categories1
“The traditional term ‘parts of speech’ is puzzling; it’s not clear why
kinds of words — really, classes of words — would be ‘parts’ of speech
any more than, say, phonemes, allophones, morphemes, allomorphs, or
even phrases or sentences. In fact, instead of ‘parts of speech,’ linguists
usually employ the terms ‘word class’ or ‘grammatical category.’ The
term ‘grammatical category’ is a useful one, since it captures an important
aspect of a ‘part of speech,’ namely, that all tokens of a particular part of
speech share important grammatical characteristics that other parts of speech
lack. The term ‘word class,’ however, is valuable in its simplicity and is
certainly an improvement over ‘part of speech’.” [Kaplan, 1989: 105]
1
“The syntactic categories of words and groups of words are revealed by
the way they pattern in sentences. If you didn’t have knowledge of these
syntactic categories, you would be unable to form grammatical sentences or
distinguish between grammatical and ungrammatical sentences.” [Fromkin
et al, 1988: 214] For example, the child belong to a family that includes the
police officer, your neighbour, this yellow cat, he, and countless others.
Each member of this family can be substituted for the child without
affecting the grammaticality of the sentence, although the meanings of
course would change.
“A family of expressions that can substitute for one another
without loss of grammaticality is called a syntactic category.” [Fromkin
and Rodman, 1993: 79]

2 Classification of word classes

2.1 Major classes vs. minor classes: Kaplan, [1989: 106] divides word
classes into two main groups—major and minor.
major classes minor classes
1. The major classes — nouns, 1. The minor classes — pronouns,
verbs, adjectives, and adverbs — numerals, determiners, prepositions,
have a great many members, e.g. a conjunctions, and so on — have few
hundred thousand nouns. members. It’s easy to list all the
articles of English: a, an, and the.
There are maybe 70 prepositions and
approximately a dozen subordinate
conjunctions: when, since, because,
after, before, while, although, as, etc.
2. Major class words tend to have 2. Minor class words tend not to have
referential meanings, since they referential meanings. That is their
involve, or allow, reference to actual meanings are not easily specified by
things, actions, events, or properties, means of a neat definition, e.g. how
e.g. “Horse means that kind of would you define the or of? In other
animals.” uttered while pointing to a words, “the open classes bear the
horse. greatest load in terms of meaning, in
the sense of refrence to things in the
world while the function of closed
classes is oriented more towards
internal linguistic relationships.”
[Jackson, 1980: 7]
3. Major classes are receptive to new 3. Minor classes are not receptive to
members. As a result, major classes new members; they are closed. It’s
are also called open classes [Jackson, unlikely you can think of any last new
1980: 7]. Originating in slang or slangy article, conjunction, pronoun,
casual contexts are the following new or preposition you’ve learned.
nouns, verbs, and adjectives (new
adverbs are harder to come up with):
teflon, yuppie, nerd (nouns); scam,
boot up, book (verbs); rad, gnardly,
killer, tubular, (adjectives).

2.2 English major classes: In defining major/open classes, Stageberg

[1965: 191-219] presents a double-track classification, one by form and the
other by position2.
2
1. House and Harman [1965] also classifies major/open classes according to their
meaning.
“According to the meaning they represent, nouns may be divided into several
classes: common or proper, concrete or abstract, collective, individual, mass,
material, etc.” [House and Harman, 1965: 22]
“When classified as to meaning, adjectives are descriptive or definitive,
some of each class having definite and some indefinite application.” [House and
Harman, 1965: 73]
2. Fromkin et al [1988, 214-215] present three types of criteria to define
major/open classes:
- Form: The class of a word may be apparent from its form. Certain
inflectional and derivational morphemes are associated with certain word classes.
- Function: The class of words may be indicated by the way it functions in a
phrase or sentence. For example, in the sentence
He will not score any more runs unless he runs faster.
The first runs is recognized as a noun and the second as a verb because of
their function.
- Meaning: Some words are commonly classified according to their semantic
type, such as abstract nouns (truth, kindness, beauty) and stative verbs (be,
appear, resemble).
Unfortunately meaning is not a reliable guide because there are many words
which belong to more than one word class (kick, love, drink), but those whose
meaning remains essentially the same. Meaning is therefore best regarded as a
secondary criterion, to be used to check the purely grammatical criteria of form
and function.
3. Kaplan [1989:108] points out that one problem with the traditional definition
of noun and verb since it is meaning-based (a noun is a word that names a person,
place, or thing; a verb is a word that names an action or state), it ought to be
universal — valid in all languages, that is. But concepts that are encoded
linguistically as nouns in one language may be encoded as verbs or adjectives in
others. In English, for example, we normally say I’m hungry, using an adjective to
describe how we feel; but in Spanish one says tengo hambre — literally, “I have
hunger”, using a noun, hambre, to describe the same feeling.

Stageberg’s four form classes are nouns, verbs, adjectives, and

adverbs. Each form-class has its correlative position class, which will be
later labelled as nominals, verbals, adjectivals, or adverbials.
2.2.1 English form classes
2.2.1.1 Nouns
Noun are identified as nouns by two aspects of form, their
inflectional morphemes, and their derivational morphemes.
2.2.1.1.1 The two noun inflectional suffixes in English are:
c The noun plural morpheme {–S1}: book–s, apple–s, box–es, etc.
d The noun possessive morpheme {–S2}: man–’s, girl–’s, students–’,
Alice–’s, etc.
2.2.1.1.2 Nouns are identified not only by inflectional
morphemes but also by noun-forming derivational suffixes added to
verbs, adjectives, nouns, and bound forms: accept → acceptance, big →
bigness, book → booklet, dent- → dentist, etc.
2.2.1.2 Verbs
Verbs are identified as verbs by two aspects of form, their
2.2.1.2.1 The four verb inflectional suffixes in English are:
c The verb third person singular present tense morpheme {–S3}:
walk–s, find–s, mix–es, etc.
d The verb present participle morpheme {–ing1}:
play–ing, typ(e)–ing, dig(g)–ing, etc.
e The verb past simple morpheme {–D1}:
flow–ed, work–ed, creat(e)–ed, drank, broke, thought, show–ed, etc.
f The verb past participle morpheme {–D2}:
flow–ed, work–ed, creat(e)–ed, drunk, broken, thought, show–n, etc.
2.2.1.2.2 Verbs are identified not only by inflectional
morphemes but also by verb-forming derivational affixes added to
nouns or adjectives: knowledge → acknowledge, bath → bathe, ripe → ripen,
large → enlarge, etc.

2.2.1.3 Adjectives
Adjectives are identified as adjectives by two aspects of form, their
2.2.1.3.1 The two adjective inflectional suffixes in English are:

c The adjective comparative morpheme {–er1}:
small–er, saf(e)–er, thinn–er, etc.
d The adjective superlative morpheme {–est1}:
small–est, saf(e)–est, thinn–est, etc.
2.2.1.3.2 Adjectives are identified not only by inflectional
morphemes but also by adjective-forming derivational suffixes3 added
to nouns or verbs: athlete → athletic, child → childish, collect → collective,
read → readable, etc.
In short, “a word which is inflected with –er and –est and which is
capable of forming adverbs with –ly and/or nouns with –ness is called an
adjective.” [Stageberg, 1965: 202]
Or, “an adjective will be any word which has one or more of the
following positive attributes:
i. it can occur between Article and Noun.
ii. it can occur in the slot (Art) N is _____.
iii. it can occur before (or contains) –er and –est, or after more and most.
and in addition has all of the following negative attributes.

i. it cannot occur with a plural.
ii. it cannot occur with a possessive.
iii. it cannot occur in the slot (Art) N _____Verb.” [Kaplan, 1989: 116]
3
There is a group of about seventy-five, mostly of two syllables, which begin with
the prefix a-: afoot, aground, awake, agape, aloud, afresh, alert, adroit, etc.
“These are uninflected words (UW’s) because they take no inflectional endings.
Although they do have the prefix a- in common, it seems unwise to label them
formally as either adjectives or adverbs since positionally they appear in both
adjectival and adverbial slots.” [Stageberg, 1965: 206]

2.2.1.3.4 Adverbs
2.2.1.3.4.1 The two adverb inflectional suffixes in English are:
c The adverb comparative morpheme {–er1}: fast–er, hard–er, etc.
d The adverb superlative morpheme {–est 1}: fast–est, hard–est, etc.
2.2.1.3.4.2 Adverbs are identified not only by inflectional
morphemes but also by the adverb-forming derivational suffix {–ly1}4
added to adjectives: just → justly, beautiful→ beautifully, etc.
2.2.2 English positional classes

According to Stageberg [1965: 196-219], the four positional classes
in English are the nominal, the verbal, the adjectival and the adverbial.
2.2.2.1 “Any word, whatever its form-class (noun, verb,

comparable, pronoun, uninflected word) will be tabbed a nominal if it
occupies one of the seven noun positions” [Stageberg,1965:196] listed below:
1. The position of the subject:
- Upstairs IS the safest hiding place.
4
“In the word-stock of English there are many uninflected words often employed
in the adverbial positions:
1. Uninflected words used both as adverbials and prepositions: above, about,
after, around, before, behind, below, down, in, inside, on, out, outside, since, to,
under, up.
2. “-ward” series, with optional –s: afterward, backward, downward, forward,
homeward, inward, northward, outward, upward, windward.
3. “Here” series: here, herein, hereby, heretofore, hereafter.
4. “There” series: there, therein, thereby, theretofore, thereafter.
5. “-where” series: anywhere, everywhere, somewhere, nowhere.
6. “-ways” series: crossways, sideways; also, anyway.
7. “-time” series: meantime, sometime, anytime, sometimes.
8. Miscellaneous: today, tonight, tomorrow, yesterday, now, then, seldom, still,
yet, already, meanwhile, also, too, never, not, forth, thus, sidelong, headlong, maybe,
perhaps, instead, indeed, henceforth, piecemeal, nevertheless, downstairs, indoors,
outdoors, offhand, overseas, unawares, besides, furthermore, always.” [Stageberg,
1965:215]

- For Glenda to steal the diamond WOULD BE a shame.

2. The position of the direct object:
I HATE telling lies.
I WANT to think critically.
3. The position of the indirect object:

She GAVE whomever she met different offers.
She GAVE nobody a hand shake.
4. The position of the retained object:

We WERE GIVEN the thinnest.
5. The position of the subject(ive) complement:

This book IS hers.
My favorite pastime IS swimming.
6. The position of the object(ive) complement:

You’VE MADE me what I am.
They NAMED the little dog Neky.
7. The position of the complement of a preposition:

He IS interested in nothing.
The elevator has been used for many years without being repaired.
2.2.2.2 “Verbals are those forms that occupy the verb

positions … They come after the opening noun or noun phrase … There are
four verbals in
She must have been loafing last week
and two in
I should leave the house in ten minutes.
Also, any verb form taking a subject or a complement (OV, SC,
or Adj) or modified by an adverbial is a verbal, regardless of its position.
1. Becoming angry, she broke the dish.
2. Being a minister, Prentice spoke softly.
3. After having eaten the turnips, Prentice tried to look satisfied.
4. The light having gone out, we lighted candles.

5. Giving to the poor is a Christian virtue.” [Stageberg, 1965: 201]

2.2.2.3 “Adjectivals, like nominals, occupy certain
characteristic sentence positions.” [Stageberg, 1965: 206]
1. The position between the determiner and the noun:
That joyful/college/laughing/recommended freshman is bright.
2. The position right after the noun:
The fellow waving drives a convertible.
3. The position right after an intensive verb: He always remains quiet.
4. The position right after the direct object of a complex transitive
verb: The management considered him competent.
“In other positions let us say that any adjective or adjective

substitute is an adjectival, unless it is in a nominal or adverbial slot”.
[Stageberg, 1965: 210]
Angry and upset, the applicant slammed the door.
2.2.2.4 Adverbials are the word groups as well as the single

words that occupy the adverb positions and perform the adverb
functions. Common adverbial positions are:
2.2.2.4.1 Initial position: The adverbial is in the first position in

the clause with or without juncture, occurring before the subject or other
obligatory elements of the clause:
(1)a. Really, you SHOULD KNOW better.
b. Now it IS time to go.
c. With a sharp ax you CAN DO wonder.
d. By using a little red here, you CAN BALANCE your colors.
e. Unless you FOLLOW the printed directions,
the set WILL NOT FIT properly together.
2.2.2.4.2 Medial position: This includes all positions between

obligatory initial and final clausal elements. Several more specific
positions can be distinguished:
c Between the subject and the beginning of the verb phrase:

(2)a. She actually EXPECTS to marry him.

b. Mary in her own way WAS a darling.
c. The environment secretary yesterday MOVED
to mitigate the effects of the inland revenue revaluation.
d After THE MODAL/FIRST AUXILIARY VERB and before THE LEXICAL VERB:
(2)d. He WOULD seldom MAKE effort.
e. You MAY in this way BE of great assistance.
f. Carrie HAD often DREAMED about coming back.
g. The utilization of computers IS not of course LIMITED to business.
e After THE LEXICAL VERB but preceding other obligatory elements of

the clause.
(2)h. It IS still three weeks away.
i. It IS no longer a casino.
j. He IS always/at any event happy.
k. He IS certainly/without doubt an expert.
l. She IS cleverly with her clients.
2.2.2.4.3 Final position: Sentence-finally, the adverbial can be

placed:
c After THE LEXICAL VERB, especially after AN INTRANSITIVE ONE.
(2)m. He LIVES independently/in the fast lane.
n. He DIED last night.
o. He DROVE recklessly/with abandon.
d After all obligatory elements, i.e. the indirect object, the direct object,
the subjective complement, or the objective complement, of THE LEXICAL
VERB (though it may not be the last element if there are other final
adverbials in the same clause):
(3)a. Tom WAS a doctor for many years.
b. Tom WILL PLAY football tomorrow.
c. Tom SENT a telegraph to his wife yesterday morning.
d. Tom PUT his watch where he can find it in the dark.
e. Tom BELIEVED the man crazy after questioning him.

2.3 English minor classes:

Jackson’s [1980: 9-11] minor/closed classes consist of pronouns that
“have to main function of substituting for nouns, once a noun has been
mentioned in a particular text”; numerals that “are of two kinds: ordinal and
cardinal”; determiners that “are used with nouns and have the function of
defining the reference of the noun in some way”; prepositions the chief
function of which is “relating a noun phrase to another unit”; and
conjunctions that “are of two kinds: co-ordinating conjunctions, such as
and, or, but, which join two items on an equal footing; and subordinating
conjunctions, such as when, if, why, whether, because, since, which
subordinate one item to another in some way.”
Fromkin et al [1980: 9-11] add to minor/closed classes the form class

called “auxiliaries”, which includes English helping verbs (be, have, do)
and the modals (can, could, may, might, will, would, shall, should, must).
However, these authors only identify one subtype of Jackson’s
determinrers namely “articles” as a minor/closed class, completely
ignoring the other subtypes such as possessives, demonstratives, and
quantifiers.
And Stageberg [1965] says nothing concerning minor/closed classes.
2.4 Word-class exercises:

2.4.1 Exercises for form classes
EXERCISE 1: Review the derivational adverb-forming suffix {-ly1} and
the derivational adjective-forming suffix {-ly2}. Then place
a check after each word that qualifies as an adverb.
1. swiftly 6. richly
2. homely 7. neatly {-ly1}
3. softly 8. yearly
4. costly {-ly2} 9. beastly
5. deftly 10. sourly
10

EXERCISE 2: Identify the italicized -ly as either the derivational adverb-

forming suffix {-ly1} or the derivational adverb-forming
suffix {-ly2}. Complete the table.
1. The witness testified falsely. {-ly1}

2. Gilbert has a deadly wit.
3. Prudence always behaves with a maidenly demeanor. {-ly2}
4. He tiptoed softly into the room.
5. Jimmy received a weekly allowance.
6. The dear old lady has a heavenly disposition.
7. He spoke quietly to her grandson.
8. What a timely suggestion!
9. What an unmannerly helot!
10. It was a cowardly act.
EXERCISE 3: In the blank place a V to identifythe italicized inflectional

verb present participle morpheme {-ing1} and an A to
identify the italicized derivational class-changing
adjective-forming morpheme {-ing3}5. Complete the table.
1. It was a charming spot. {-ing3}

2. It was located by a sweetly babbling brook. {-ing1}
3. It was exciting to watch the fight.
4. From the bridge we can watch the running water.
5. That barking dog keeps everyone awake.
6. He told a convincing tale.
7. The shining sun gilded the forest floor.
8. A refreshing shower poured down.
9. The attorney made a moving appeal.
10. What an obliging fellow he is !
5
Notice the derivational class-changing noun-forming morpheme {-ing2} in
teaching, a meeting, droppings, etc.
11

EXERCISE 4: In the blank place a V to identifythe italicized inflectional

verb past participle morpheme {-D2} and an A to identify the
italicized derivational class-changing adjective-forming
morpheme {-D3}6. Complete the table.
1. You should read the printed statement. {-D2}
2. Mary became a devoted mother. {-D3}
3. This is a complicated question.
4. His chosen bride had lived in India.
5. He bought a stolen picture.
6. The invited guests all came.
7. He had a reserved seat.
8. The skipper was a reserved (= quiet) man.
9. A celebrated painter visited the campus.
10. A worried look crossed his face.
2.4.2 Exercises for positional classes

EXERCISE 5: The nominal word groups are italicized. In the blank, give their
syntactic function in the sentence. Complete the table.
1. They heard what we said. direct object
2. What you do is your own business. subject
3. That was what I thought too.
4. You must do the best with what you have.
5. Jack made whoever came there the same offer.
6. We will name the baby whatever his grandmother wishes.
7. We thought of paying cash.
8. I’ll take whichever is the most durable.
9. Betty forgot to bring the coffee.
10. George postponed mailing the letter.
11. I enjoyed the company of my favourite aunt from Leeds.
12. Where we are going has not been decided.
13. We found what we wanted.
14. That she is beautiful is evident to all.
6
Notice that {-D1} is the inflectional verb past tense morpheme.
12

EXERCISE 6: The adverbial word groups are italicized. In the blank, give their
syntactic function in the sentence. Complete the table.
1. I’ll dress while you shave. adjunct of time
2. Our guide split the log with care.
3. He might under the circumstances agree the job.
4. When the coffee is ready, blow the whistle.
5. Chewing his tobacco meditatively, Ed studied
the blackening sky.
6. A hungry trout rose to the surface.
7. By that time the fish were no longer biting.
8. To find the camp, just follow the creek downstream. adjunct of purpose
9. From the hilltop you can see the sawmill.
10. Jake hunts to make a living.
11. You must hold the knife this way.
EXERCISE 7: The adjectivals, either individual words or word groups, are

italicized. Underline the words they modify.
1. One person alone heard the message.

2. Those coeds cheering are only sophomores.
3. The surface, shining and smooth, reflected the sunshine.
4. We started our trip homeward.
5. Her demeanor, excessively prim, annoyed the guests.
6. The two swans floating were black.
7. The conversation afterward was light.
8. This will be a day to remember.
9. The chap sitting in the cubicle is Mary’s friend.
10. This is not the size I ordered.
11. The drugstore on the corner sells Times.
12. Our guests came on the week when I was housecleaning.
13. A girl spoiled by her mother is not a good roommate.
14. Just choose a time convenient to yourself.
15. She was a sight to behold.
16. Have you finished the book I lent you?
17. Who is the head of the club?
13

EXERCISE 8: In the blank identify the italicized word(s) by nominal, verbal,

adjectival or adverbial. Complete the table.
1. Last Monday was a holiday. nominal
2. The Monday washing is on the line. adjectival
3. Mrs. Reed always washes Mondays. adverbial
4. Won’t you come in?
5. The outs were angry with the ins.

6. They stomped upstairs.
7. They slept in the upstairs room.
8. One can see the airport from upstairs.

9. Jack was wrestling with his math.
10. The wrestling roommates were exhausted.

11. Jennifer found wrestling exciting.
12. They came in wrestling.
13. The student movie is presented weekly.
14. The student movie is a weekly occurrence

15. His way is the best.
16. He had it his way.
17. The mechanic ran the engine full speed.
18. By this means he burned down the carbon.
19. He raised the hood because the engine was hot.
20. They found the cabin just what they wanted.
14

SECTION 2: TYPES of PHRASES, CLAUSES and SENTENCES
3 Phrases vs. clauses

3.1 “Sequences of words that can function as constituents in the
structure of sentences are called PHRASES.” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 14]
For example, ‘the woman in that 1978 Lincoln Continental’ is a phrase
because it can be the subject in (1) and the direct object in (2):
(1) The woman in that 1978 Lincoln Continental
IS possibly WANTED by the police.
(2) DO you SEE the woman in that 1978 Lincoln Continental?
“Phrases form not only SYNTACTIC UNITS (constituents in the

structural form of sentences) but also SEMANTIC UNITS. By this I mean that
they form identifiable parts of the MEANING of sentences; they form
coherent units of sense.” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 18]
3.2 CLAUSES are “constructions with one phrase constituent, typically a

noun phrase that bears the subject relation, and another constituent,
the verb phrase, bearing the predicate relation [Jacobs, 1995: 49].”
For example, ‘the woman in that 1978 Lincoln Continental’ cannot be a
clause because it lacks a verb phrase while ‘You must follow the woman in
that 1978 Lincoln Continental’ is.
Note also that the phrasal constituent bearing the subject
relation is not always obligatory, e.g. in the case of imperative sentences,
and that the phrasal constituent bearing the predicate relation may be
finite or non-finite.
_________________
4 Adjective phrases vs. adverb phrases
4.1 As far as its internal structure is concerned, a typical ADJECTIVE
PHRASE (AP, for short) has as its head an adjective. The HEAD ADJECTIVE
(headA, for short) may optionally be pre-modified: rather dubious,
somewhat noisy, quite acceptable, too modest, very colorful, really
demanding, extremely subtle, terribly sorry, awfully slow, fairly good,
highly recommended, moderately easy, amazingly warm, beautifully cool,
annoyingly simple, disgustingly rich, incredibly polite, extraordinarily
15

rude, theoretically untenable, oddly inconclusive, diabolically tinted,

immediately recognizable, horribly burnt, etc.
An ADJECTIVE (A, for short) is the minimal form of an AP; indeed
many adjective phrases occur in the minimal form:
very enthusiastic → enthusiastic.
The head adjective may be pre-modified by:
c degree adverbs, which are also called intensifying adverbs,
(DEG, for short; –ly or without –ly adverbs which specify the degree of the
attribute expressed by the adjective): very, highly, extremely, terribly,
awfully, completely, much, quite, so, too, rather, somewhat, hardly,
fairly, moderately, partially, slightly, increasingly, incredibly, etc.
d general adverbs, which are also called non-intensifying adverbs,
(Adv, for short; –ly adverbs which typically have other adverbial functions
as well): frankly, potentially, enthusiastically, immediately, annoyingly,
oddly, disgustingly, amazingly, suspiciously, awkwardly, beautifully, etc.
AP AP
DEG headA Adv headA
very enthusiastic beautifully cool
4.2 As far as its internal structure is concerned, a typical ADVERB PHRASE

(AdvP, for short) has as its head an adverb. An ADVERB (Adv, for short) is the
minimal form of an AdvP; indeed many adverb phrases occur in the minimal
form: very enthusiastically → enthusiastically.
An adverb may, however, be pre-modified; though post-modification is
not found in all adverb phrases. The only kind of pre-modifier occurring
in adverb phrases is another adverb, usually of the same restricted set of
adverbs of degree, which are also called intensifying adverbs, as found
in the pre-modification of adjective phrases, e.g. very quickly, quite
wonderfully, somewhat fleetingly, and extremely faithfully.
However, as with adjectives, other adverbs may function as pre-

modifiers in adverb phrases, e.g. amazingly well, understandably badly,
horribly fast, incredibly gracefully. This kind of modifying adverbs
16

appears to be either directly (amazingly) or indirectly (horribly) an

expression of personal evaluation.
AdvP AdvP
DEG headAdv Adv headAdv
very enthusiastically understandably badly

_________________
5 Attributive vs. predicative adjectives/adjective phrases
5.1 Adjectives or adjective phrases have two uses or functions: the

attributive function and the predicative function.
“The attributive function is when adjectives or adjective phrases are
found in the pre-modification of a noun phrase, as for example in an
interesting story, a somewhat anxious mother…
The predicative function of an adjective phrase is its occurrence after a
‘copula’ such as be, seem, sound, feel; for example, Naomi IS anxious
about Jim’s health, Jim SEEMS concerned that Naomi WILL WORRY too
much.” [Jackson, 1980: 24-25]
5.2 When an adjective or adjective phrase is functioning attributively, it
may not, in any case, be followed by a post-modifier. That is to say,
adjective phrases containing post-modifiers may function only
predicatively:
(1)a. *She IS a somewhat anxious about his son’s health mother.
b. She IS somewhat anxious about his son’s health.
5.3 There is a small set of adjectives restricted to predicative position and

called ‘predicative adjectives’ and likewise a small set restricted to
attributive position and called ‘attributive adjectives’.
ATTRIBUTIVE ADJECTIVES PREDICATIVE ADJECTIVES
(2)a. The main reason IS his laziness. (3)a. *The reason IS main.
b. He’S a mere youth. b. *This youth IS mere.
c. *He IS a faint patient. c. He FEELS faint.
d. *This IS an asleep boy. d. The boy IS asleep.
17

But the vast majority of adjectives may function either attributively or

predicatively:
ATTRIBUTIVE ADJECTIVES PREDICATIVE ADJECTIVES
(4)a. The charming girl ATTRACTS his attention. (4)b. The girl IS charming.
(5)a. She’S a lonely wife. (5)b. I sometimes FEEL lonely.
_________________
6 Noun phrases vs. verb phrases
6.1 A NOUN PHRASE (NP, for short) in English consists of a nominal head
(normally a noun or a pronoun) with or without the modifiers that accompany
it, before or after.
NP1
NP2 AP
DET N’1 Relative Clause
AP1 N’2
ART A AP2 N’3
ModN headN
(1) the blue cotton shirt that I BORROWED from my brother
In the noun phrase marked (1), shirt constitutes the head; the, blue
and cotton belong to the pre-modification; and that I borrowed from my
brother is the post-modification.
The word blue is called a modifier because it describes ‘the shirt’: it

limits by excluding other colours and it adds to the plain meaning of ‘shirt’.
A modifier may sometimes be separated from the head by intervening

words, like the relative clause in the following NP:
(2) a butterfly in the garden which WAS FLUTTERING among the flowers.
When there is nothing else in the noun phrase, nouns or pronouns are
also complete noun phrases, like ‘cabbages’ and ‘Aiken’ in the two following
sentences which are marked (3)a-b:
(3)a. The truck WAS LOADED with cabbages.
b. They FLEW down to Aiken, South Carolina.
18

6.2 The one constituent that a VERB PHRASE (VP, for short) must contain is
the VERB GROUP (Vgrp, for short) [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 78]. The Vgrp, in
its turn, contains one lexical verb and “may have up to four auxiliary
verbs, besides the negative word not:
may not have been being interrogated.” [Jackson, 1980: 18]
The verb phrase in English consists of a Vgrp and all the words and
word groups which belong with the Vgrp and cluster around it. The Vgrp
itself is called the head, and the other words and word groups are the
modifiers and/or the complements of the head.
The modifier is the generic term for all the adverbial adjuncts that
optionally provide circumstantial information about the action, the process,
the event, etc. talked about in the clause in which they occur. Soundly
optionally describes the manner in which the baby sleeps and beside a
stream optionally describes the place at which Phil had lost his leather
wallet; the two adverbial adjuncts can be omitted without disturbing the
proposition of the two following sentences, which are marked (4)a-b:
(4)a. The baby WAS SLEEPING (soundly).
b. Phil HAD LOST his leather wallet (beside a stream).
The relation between the Vgrp (was sleeping or had lost his
leather wallet) and the adverbial adjunct (soundly or beside a stream)
is one of modification: there is a one-way dependency between the Vgrp
(as head) and the adverbial adjunct (as modifier). Thus, the use of the
Vgrp without any adverbial adjunct is grammatically acceptable.
The complement is the generic term for all the completers of the
verb [Stageberg, 1965: 165], which are usually known as the direct
object, the indirect object, the subjective complement, the objective
complement, and also the predicator complement [Downing and Locke,
1992: 55-56].
There exist functional relations between the Vgrp and other

constituents that appear in the basic VP. In Phil had lost his leather wallet,
19

had lost is the Vgrp. The relation between the Vgrp (had lost) and the NP
(his leather wallet) is one of complementation: there is a two-way
dependency between the Vgrp (as head) and the NP (as complement).
The use of had lost without a following NP is ungrammatical, and so is the
use of the NP without had lost.
“Some verbs require an adverbial without which the proposition is in

complete”. [Biber et al, 1999: 143] The adverbial adjunct of place in (5)a
is not optional but obligatory. In other words, the relation between the Vgrp
(was lying) and the adverbial adjunct (on his back) is one of
complementation: there is a two-way dependency between the Vgrp (as
head) and the adverbial adjunct (as complement). The use of was lying
without any adverbial adjunct of place is ungrammatical.
(5)a. The baby WAS LYING on his back.
b. *The baby WAS LYING.
In the VP had lost his leather wallet beside a stream, had lost
is the Vgrp, his leather wallet is the complement and beside a stream
is the modifier of the Vgrp.
S
NP VP1
PropN VP2 adverb phrase

[optional Adjunct of Location]
Vgrp NP
[transitive] [direct object] PP
(6) Phil HAD LOST his leather wallet beside a stream.

_________________
7 The N-bar (N’) as level of NP-structure that is intermediate between the
phrasal (NP) level and the lexical (N) level
Since the one may substitute for the lonely man, we have shown that
lonely man is indeed a constituent, one that is a sister of the determiner on
the tree-diagram. Clearly, lonely man is not a full noun phrase, since it needs
a determiner; but neither is it a single noun — an intermediate category
20

is needed, one higher than noun and lower than noun phrase. We will
show it here as N’, and call it ‘the N-bar.’
NP
DET N’
AP N
the lonely man

_________________
8 Types of pre-nominal modifiers
The noun head in a noun phrase can be pre-modified by:
8.1 DETERMINERS (DET, for short):

Articles, demonstratives and possessives are mutually exclusive
in English: only one of them can occur in any noun phrase.
8.1.1 Below are the determiners that may be preceded by one of the
pre-determiners (PRE-DET, for short), which are all, both and half
[Stageberg, 1965: 235]:
c articles: the and a/an;
d possessives: her, his, its, their, your, John’s, the book’s, etc.;
e demonstratives: this, that, these, and those.
NP1 NP1 NP1
PRE-DET NP2 PRE-DET NP2 PRE-DET NP2
DET N’ DET N’1 DET N’1
ART headN PossA AP N’2 PossPropN AP N’2
all the men A headN A headN

(1)a. both my studious roommates half Harry’s new books
(1)b. (1)c.
8.1.2 There are determiners that are not preceded by pre-

determiners [Stageberg, 1965: 239]. Some of these determiners are
21

called QUANTIFIERS (Q, for short): some, any, no, each, enough, either,
neither and another, the others are often known as interrogative or
exclamatory determiners: what (a/an)1, which2 and whose3.
NP NP NP
DET N’ DET N’ DET N’
Q headN INTERROG. DET headN EXCLAM. DET headN
(2)a. some mistakes (2)b. which platform (2)c. what a view
8.1.3 A POSSESSIVE (Poss, for short) can consist of either a possessive

adjective (my, your, his, her, etc.), or a possessive proper noun
(John’s, Alice’s, Doris’s, etc.), or a full NP + −’s, which is called THE
POSSESSIVE MARKER (PossMarker, for short).
1
what /w4t/ (det.) = the thing(s) which, the person or people who:
What money I have will be yours when I die.
I spent what little time with my family.
What family and friends I still have live a broad.
what /w4t/ (exclamatory det., used in making exclamations):
What awful weather we’re having!
What beautiful flowers! What a (lovely) view!
what /w4t/ (interrogative det., used to ask sb to specify one or more things, places, people,
etc. from an indefinite number):
Guess what famous writer said this.
I asked her what experience she has had.
What books have you got to read on the subjects?
What woman are you thinking of?
2
which /w1t∫/ (interrogative determiner, used to ask sb to specify one or more things,
places, people, etc. from a limited number):
Which way is quicker — by bus or by train?
Ask him which platform the London train leaves from.
which /w1t∫/ (interrogative pronoun) = which person or thing:
Which is your favourite subject?
Here are the recently published books. Tell me which are worth reading.
The twins are so much alike that I can’t tell which is which.
3
whose /hu:z/ (interrogative determiner/interrogative pronoun) = of whom:
Whose (house) is that? I wonder whose (book) this is.
22

NP1
NP DET N’1
DET N’ PossNP headN1
PossA/PossPropN headN NP2 PossMarker
(3)a. his/John’s cover DET N’2
ART headN2
(3)b. the book ‘s cover
8.1.4 The determiner position may be UNFILLED (φ, for short). Although
the noun phrases marked (4)a-b contain just one word, they should still be
analyzed as having a DET + N’ structure:
NP NP
DET N’ DET N’
HeadN headN
(4)a. φ essays (4)b. φ smoke

(a plural countable noun) (an uncountable noun)
The two reasons for this ‘unfilled determiner’ analysis are:

c These NPs could take a determiner: the smoke, my essays.
d The unfilled determiner in these NPs has an effect on their
interpretation. An unfilled determiner gives these NPs an indefinite and more
general interpretation. The NP marked (4)b is indefinite and more general
than the definite NP the smoke. It is also more general than the indefinite
NP some smoke.
8.2 QUANTIFYING ADJECTIVES (QA, for short) are expressions of

indefinite quantity. Burton-Roberts [1997: 161] includes among the pre-
modifiers in the N-bar the quantifying adjectives much, many, few and
little.
8.2.1 Quantifying adjectives share some important features with
adjectives:
23

c Like adjectives, they co-occur with and follow determiners: those

many books, the little butter that I have, some few successes, etc.,
including an unfilled determiner: φ many books, φ much garlic, etc.
d Like adjectives, they are gradable: VERY many books, TOO much
garlic, SO few ideas, VERY little tact, where they are modified by A DEGREE
ADVERB.
NP NP
DET N’1 DET N’1
Q/DEM/ART AP N’2 AP N’2
QA headN DEG QA headN
(5)a. some few successes (5)b. φ SO few ideas

a’. those many books b’. φ TOO much garlic
a’’. the little butter b’’. φ VERY many books
a’’’.φ much garlic b’’’.φ VERY little tact
8.2.2 A WORD-GROUP QUANTIFYING ADJECTIVE like plenty of, a lot
of, lots of, a great/good deal of, a (small, large, great, considerable,
etc.) amount of, considerable numbers of, etc., which may include
FRACTIONAL NUMERALS: one-third of, two-thirds of, three-fifths of,
etc., may be the only pre-modifier in an NP:
NP
DET N’1
AP N’2
QA headN
(6)a. φ a small amount of people

b. φ considerable numbers of war victims
c. φ a great/good deal of money/trouble
d. φ one-third of time
e. φ three-fifths of students
8.3 NUMBERS or NUMERALS (NUM, for short) are expressions of
definite quantity. They are of two kinds:
24

c CARDINAL NUMERALS: one, two, three, ... , and ninety-nine.

d ORDINAL NUMERALS: first, second, third, fourth, ..., and last.
8.3.1 Numerals “should be treated as quantifying adjectives”

within the N-bar, “since they follow DET, including unfilled DET” [Burton-
Roberts, 1997: 161].
NP NP
DET N’1 DET N’1
AP N’2 ART AP N’2
DEG QA headN NUM headN
(7)a. φ VERY many mistakes (7)b. the one mistake
8.3.2 More than one expressions of quantity may occur in a noun

phrase, though there are a restricted number of possible combinations.
“Favorite sequences are ordinal number (especially ‘first’ and ‘last’) +
indefinite quantifier, e.g. the first few hours; ordinal + cardinal, e.g.
the second five days; indefinite quantifier + cardinal number
(especially round number), e.g. several thousand people, many score4 of
ants.” [Jackson, 1980: 13]
8.3.3 Stageberg [1965: 240-241] includes numerals to his list of

POST-DETs: “This is an untidy class. Not all post-determiners follow all
determiners, but each one follows at least one determiner. And within the
group, there are complicated orders of precedence. For example, ordinals
usually precede cardinals, as in the first three students, this order
may be reversed, as in the two first prizes … The whole jungle of
determiners and post-determiners is a terra incognita that has not been
mapped out with complete success. For our purpose it will suffice to
recognize the class as a whole without exploring its internal complications.”
4
score [C., pl. unchanged] set or group of twenty: a score of people, three score and ten
25

NP NP
DET N’1 DET N’1
ART AP1 N’2 ART AP1 N’2
NUM1 AP2 N’3 NUM1 AP2 N’3

[ordinal] [cardinal]
NUM2 headN NUM2 headN
[cardinal] [ordinal]
(8)a. the first three students (8)b. the two first prizes
8.3.4 Adjective phrases with numerals as heads always precede

other Adjective phrases in the N-bar:
NP NP
DET N’1 DET N’1
ART AP1 N’2 DEM AP1 N’2
NUM1 AP2 N’3 NUM AP2 N’3

[ordinal] [cardinal]
NUM2 AP3 headN1 A headComN
[cardinal] ModComN
A headN2 (9)b. these two aimless playfellows
(9)a. the last three red cabbage pickles
8.4 ADJECTIVE PHRASES (AP, for short):

A typical attributive adjective phrase has as its head an adjective.
The HEAD ADJECTIVE (headA, for short) may optionally be pre-modified
either by a degree adverb (DEG, for short), which are also called
intensifying adverbs [Jackson, 1980: 25], as in (10)c, or by a general
adverb (Adv, for short), which are also called a non-intensifying adverb,
as in (10)d. One adjective phrase as in (10)b and two or more adjective
phrases as in (10)a in the minimal form may all function attributively.
26

NP NP
DET N’1 DET N’1
Q AP1 N’2 DEM AP1 N’2
A1 AP2 N’3 NUM AP2 N’3
A2 AP3 N’4 DEG headA AP3 N’4
V-part headN A headN

Some large greasy uneaten fritters those two very charming atomic scientists
(10)a. (10)c.
NP1 NP1
PRE-DET NP2 PRE-DET NP2
DET N’1 DET N’1
EXCLAMATORY DET AP N’2 AP N’2
A headN Adv headA headN
φ WHAT A lovely view φ φ beautifully cool weather

(10)b. (10)d.
8.5 PRE-MODIFYING NOUNS (ModN, for short):

8.5.1 “Nouns themselves may act as pre-modifiers of head nouns. The
relationship between a head noun and a pre-modifying noun is much closer than
that between a head and any other pre-modifier. The combination of modifier
noun and head noun is referred to as A COMPOUND NOUN (ComN, for short) and
is not treated as a phrasal constituent at all, but as a compound word. Notice, for
example, that in a sequence of modifiers that includes a noun modifier, it is the
noun modifier that must appear last — it cannot be separated from the head
noun.” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 163]
27

NP NP
DET N’1 DET N’1
Q AP N’2 PossPropN AP N’2
A ComN NUM ComN
ModN headN ModN headN
(11)a. some expensive roof maintenance (11)b. George’s two wool neckties
8.5.2 It is not unusual for more than one modifying noun to occur in a
noun phrase. “A complication arises from the fact that noun modifiers can
themselves be modified.” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 163]
NP NP
DET N’ DET N’1
ART headComN1 ART AP N’2
ModNP
ModN1 headComN2 DET N’3 headComN2
headComN1
ModN2 headN ModN1 headN1 ModN2 headN2
(12)a. the child safety harness (12)b. the φ child poverty action group
8.5.3 “The modifying noun does not accept post-modification” [Burton-

Roberts, 1997: 164]. Thus the NP marked (13) is grammatically incorrect:
(13) *some [Japanese print after Kunisada] collectors
8.6 POSSESSIVE COMMON NOUNS (PossCommN, for short):

According to Stageberg [1965: 238], “the possessive of common
nouns can occur anywhere between the determiner and the head noun.”
Thus (14)a-b and (15)a-b are all accepted:
28

NP NP
DET N’1 DET N’1
ART AP1 N’2 ART AP1 N’2
AP N’3 A AP2 N’3

PossCommN
A headN PossCommN headN
(14)a. the summer’s red roses (14)b. the red summer’s roses
Note that (14)a-b both mean ‘the roses which are red and which bloom
in summer’. Similarly, (15)a means ‘the garden roses which bloom in summer’
while (15)b means ‘the garden roses which are red and which bloom in
summer’.
NP NP
DET N’1 DET N’1
ART AP N’2 ART AP1 N’2
AP2 N’3
PossCommN headComN PossCommN A headComN
ModN headN ModN headN
(15)a. the summer’s garden roses (15)b. the summer’s red garden roses
8.7 VERB PARTICIPLES (V-Part, for short): The active present participle
and the passive past participle may appear as pre-modifiers within the
N-bar.
NP NP
DET N’1 DET N’1
DEM AP N’2 ART AP N’2
V-Part headN DEG headA headN
(16)a. those departed guests (16)b. a quite unexpected ending
29

5
ACTIVE PRESENT PARTICIPLES PASSIVE PAST PARTICIPLES
the preceding statement a broken heart
melting snow sliced cake
falling leaves photocopied materials
those leaping/dropping clicks these departed guests
8.8 GERUNDS (V-Ger, for short) may also appear as pre-modifiers within
the N bar, but they should be carefully distinguished from active present
participles:
ACTIVE PRESENT PARTICIPLES GERUNDS
living organisms living rooms
the sleeping guard the sleeping car
a drinking horse drinking water
The combination of gerund and head noun is also referred to as A
COMPOUND NOUN. The compound noun sleeping car should be dominated in
ComN as in (17)b:
NP NP
DET N’1 DET N’
ART AP N’2 ART ComN
V-Part headN V-Ger headN
(17)a. the sleeping guard (17)b. the sleeping car
5
Note that:
c Certain true adjectives look very much like verb participles: tiring, tired,
(un)interesting, (un)interested, bored, boring, devoted, relieved, unexpected,
surprising, charming, demanding, pleasing, etc. However, since they are gradable (i.e.
they can be modified by degree adverbs) they are easily distinguished from verb
participles: rather pleasing, very interesting, quite unexpected, extremely devoted, etc.
d Since the present and past participles are verbal rather than adjectival,
they are not gradable: *the very leering manager, *a slightly forgotten valley,
*rather sliced cake, etc. They may, however, be modified by general adverbs: in
the rapidly congealing gravy, rapidly modifies congealing resulting in ‘rapidly
congealing’, which is an AP.
30

8.9 RESTRICTERS (RESTRIC, for short): are really a small number of

adverbs with or without −ly like just, only, even, quite, especially,
merely, and particularly [Stageberg, 1956: 242] which can:
c modify the head noun alone — just girls, even water, especially
candy, etc.;
d precede the pre-determiner and/or the determiner, modifying
the whole noun phrase and simultaneously restricting its meaning to some
extent—only ten short minutes, just college girls, just romantic
college girls, just another romantic college girl, especially all our
guests, even the empty box, just some white athletic socks,
particularly her spotted kitten, quite a few6 people, quite a lot of
wine, quite some7 car, quite a party, etc.
NP1 NP1 NP1
RESTRIC NP2 RESTRIC NP2 RESTRIC NP2
DET N’ DET N’ DET N’
headN headN headN
(18)a. just φ girls (18)b. even φ water (18)c. especially φ candy

NP1 NP1
RESTRIC NP2 RESTRIC NP2
PRE-DET NP3 DET N’1
DET N’ PossA AP N’2
PossA headN V-Part headN
(19)a. especially all our guests (19)b. particularly her spotted kitten
_________________
6
‘Quite a few’ or ‘quite a lot (of)’ both means ‘a considerable number or amount (of)’.
7
‘Quite some’ or ‘quite a’ is used to indicate that a person or thing is unusual.
31

9 Types of post-nominal modifiers
POST-MODIFIERS (POST-MOD, for short) in an NP are the categories

that follow the head noun and modify it in some way.
9.1 PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES (PP, for short) are common post-nominal

modifiers:
(1)a. an expedition to the pub (1)b. the man in the iron mask
9.1.1 Using tree-diagrams to re-draw the two above-mentioned

upsidedown-T diagrams, we have (1)a’-b’:
NP1
NP1
NP2 AP
NP2 AP
DET1 N’1 PP
DET1 N’1 PP
ART1 headN1 P NP3
ART1 headN1 P NP3
DET2 N’2
DET2 N’2
ART2 ComN
ART2 headN2
ModN headN2
(1)a’. an expedition to the pub (1)b’. the man in the iron mask
Accepting this way of analysis, I strongly believe that the PP post-

modifier in the two NPs marked (1)a’-b’ can easily be omitted without
interfering with the rest of the NPs, which is in fact a well-formed NP by
itself: ‘an expedition’ or ‘the man’.
9.1.2 When a given NP includes both a pre-modifying AP and a post-

modifying PP, the pre-modifying AP belongs to the N-bar of the given NP
but the post-modifying PP does not:
32

NP1 NP1
NP2 AP1 NP2 AP1
DET N’1 PP DET N’1 PP
ART AP2 N’2 P NP3 PossPropN AP2 N’2 P NP3
A headN PropN A headN
the nuclear scientist from Germany Larry’s neat summary of the argument
(2) (3)
9.1.3 As a post-modifier, a PP may sometimes be reduced to an

adverb:
NP1 NP1
NP2 AP NP2 AP
DET N’1 PP DET N’1 Adv
ART headN P NP3 ART headN
(4)a. the time before this one (4)a’. the time before
b. the morning after the wedding b’. the morning after
c. the bus behind our car c’. the bus behind
d. the room above us d’. the room above
9.2 ADJECTIVE PHRASES

9.2.1 “A few adjectives (including present, absent, responsible and
visible) may pre-modify or post-modify the head noun... To a greater or
lesser extent, a difference in meaning is associated with the
difference of position.” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 171] Post-modifying APs
does not belong to the N-bar though pre-modifying APs does.
33

NP NP1
DET N’1 NP2 AP
ART AP N’2 DET N’ A
A headN ART headN

(5)a. the present members (5)a’. the members present
b. the responsible men b’. the men responsible
c. the visible stars c’. the stars visible
9.2.2 There is a circumstance when the post-modifying AP itself

contains material following the headA, as in (6)a-b:
NP1 NP1
NP2 AP NP2 AP
DET N’ headA AdvP DET N’ headA AdvP
ART headN ART headN
(6)a. the chef responsible for the sauces (6)b. a tree safe to climb up
9.2.3 There is another circumstance when the post-modifying AP itself

contains material preceding the headA, as in (7)a-b:
NP1
NP2 AP
DET N’1 Adv headA
ART headN
(7)a. the mailman, exuberantly happy, [whistled merrily]

NP1
NP2 AP
DET N’ DEG headA
ART headN
(7)b. [he had never seen] a woman more lovely
34

9.2.4 There is still another circumstance when the post-modifying AP

itself contains two or more adjective heads linked by a coordinate
conjunction, as in (8)a-b:
NP1
NP2 AP
DET N’ headA1 Conj headA2
ART headN
(8)a. the mailman, tired and wet, [trudged along in the rain]
b. a woman, old and gaunt, [stood at the door]
9.3 PARTICIPIAL PHRASES (PartP, for short):
Participial phrases can be subdivided into two sub-categories:
participial phrases with −ing as in (9)a-b and participial phrases with
−ed as in (9)c-d:
NP1 NP1
NP2 AP NP2 AP
DET N’ PartP DET N’ PartP
ART headN V-part AdvP ART headN V-part AdvP
PP InfP
the car coming down the road the man expected to arrive at any moment
(9)a. (9)b.
9.4 INFINITIVE PHRASES (InfP, for short):
An Infinitive phrase can play the role of an adjective, post-modifying
an NP.
NP1 NP1
NP2 AP NP2 AP
DET N’ InfP DET N’ InfP
ART headN ART headN
(10)a. the man to answer this question (10)b. a scheme to win Kathy’s heart
35

9.5 SUBORDINATE ADJECTIVE CLAUSES (SubACl, for short)

The adjective phrases in (6)a-b, (7)a-b and (8)a-b, the participial
phrases in (9)a-b, and the infinitive phrases in (10)a-b are often regarded
as the reductions of the following subordinate adjective clauses,
either restrictive or non-restrictive:
NP1
NP2 SubACl [POST-M]
DET N’
ART headN
(6)a’. the chef that is responsible for the sauces

(6)b’. a tree which is safe to climb up
(7)a’. the mailman, who was exuberantly happy,
(8)a’. the mailman, who was tired and wet,
(9)a’. the car that is coming down the road
(9)b’. the man who is expected to arrive at any moment
(10)a’. the man whom you should ask about this question
(10)a’’. the man who should answer this question
“One striking fact about these different kinds of phrasal/clausal post-
modification emerging from our discussions is the degree of explicitness
associated with each of them. As one passes from relative clauses to
prepositional phrases, so one finds a gradation from most to least explicit;
cf the cow which is standing in the meadow, the cow standing in the
meadow, the cow in the meadow.” [Jackson, 1980: 16]
_________________
10 Noun complements vs. optional post-nominal modifiers
10.1 A noun-complement (nC, for short) is A PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE
(PP, for short), as in (1)a-c, or AN EMBEDDED ADJECTIVE CLAUSE (EmACl, for
short), as in (2)a-c, that follows a noun phrase the head of which is an
abstract noun such as fact, belief, rumour, story, news, etc: “A noun-
complement is also known as a contentive, so called because the complement
36

clause (or phrase) normally specifies the content of its head noun.” [Jacobs,
1995: 100]
NP1
NP2 AP [nC]
DET N’ PP
ART headN
(1)a. her belief in God
b. the rumour of an impending merger
c. the news of where she is staying
NP1
NP2 EmACl [nC]
DET N’
ART headN
(2)a. this belief that the company WAS NOT making a profit
b. the rumour that Ed’s wife FALLS in love with his brother
c. the news that the enemy WERE near
10.2 Compare (3)a with (3)b:

(3)a. the story that Eleanor HAD MET with the senator
b. the story that Eleanor had given to the senator
As a noun complement, that Eleanor had met with the senator in

(3)a completes the meaning of ‘the story’: it tells us what ‘the story’ is
about. ‘That Eleanor had given to the senator’ in (3)b does not supply the
content of the story. Instead, it functions as a modifier identifying the story.
The same phenomenon can be found in (4)a-b and (5)a-b:
(4)a. the fact that rain MAY FALL in deserts [IS NOT unknown]
b. [I DISAGREE with] the fact on which your argument IS BASED.
(5)a. the news of her marriage [HAS just BEEN ANNOUNCED]
b. the news on the notice-board [IS completely IGNORED]
37

Note that SUBORDINATE ADJECTIVE CLAUSES (SubACl, for short),

either restrictive or non-restrictive, are not noun complements; they are
optional post-nominal modifiers (POST-M, for short) in the noun phrases
marked (6)a-h: NP1
NP2 SubACl [POST-M]
DET N’
ART headN
(6)a. the chef that is responsible for the sauces
b. a tree which is safe to climbed up
c. the mailman, who was exuberantly happy,
d. the mailman, who was tired and wet,
e. the car that is coming down the road
f. the man who is expected to arrive at any moment
g. the man whom you should ask about this question
h. the man who should answer this question
Note also that there is a two-way dependency of complement and head

noun (3-5)a and a one-way dependency of modifier and head noun in (3-5)b
and in (6)a-h. Thus, it is crucial to distinguish post-nominal modifiers from
complements:
“When a head DEMANDS a further expression…, that other

(OBLIGATORY) expression is said to COMPLEMENT the head… Complements
typically follow their heads in English. Modifiers, by contrast, can precede
or follow their head …” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 43]
_________________
11 Classification of English verbs/verb phrases

“Verbs are sub-categorised according to what other elements
must appear with them in the VP. In other words, they are sub-categorised
in terms of their COMPLEMENTATION types (in terms of what complement
they must take.” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 80]
38

There are six main categories of English verbs: monotransitive,

intransitive, ditransitive, intensive, complex transitive, and
prepositional. The six categories of English verbs result in six types
of English verb phrases.
11.1 INTENSIVE (intens, for short) verbs/verb phrases

11.1.1 Intensive verbs “require a single complement, which can take the
form of an Adjective Phrase, or a Noun Phrase, or a Prepositional Phrase … As
the most central example of the intensive sub-category of verb, be is called
‘the copula’.” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 85] Other intensive verbs are: become,
seem, appear, prove, turn, get, remain, look, taste, feel, smell, sound,
etc. In these following diagrams,c THE VERB GROUP (Vgrp, for short) IS
CAPITALISED for better identification and d a triangle notation shall be used to
represent the structure of the Vgrp since it is not analyzed here.
S
NP VP
PropN Vgrp AP/NP/PP [sP/sC]

[intens]
(1)a. Ed IS rather extravagant. (AP)

b. Tom WAS an auctioneer. (NP)
c. Oscar SHOULD BE in the engine room. (PP)
11.1.2 The complement of an intensive verb group functions (more

specifically) as a SUBJECT-PREDICATIVE (sP, for short), which is also called a
SUBJECT(IVE) COMPLEMENT (sC, for short). “When a verb is complemented
just by an AP (Vgrp+AP), it is certain that this is the case of an
intensive verb + an sP, because [intensive] is the only sub-category of verb
that can take just an AP complement.” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 85]
11.1.3 Realisations of the subject(ive) complement:

Downing and Locke [1992: 51-52] subcategorize the subject(ive)
complements according to ctheir syntactic realizations and dthe semantic
meanings they provide to complement the subject.
39

(i) Attributive Subject(ive) Complements

AP Mountaineering CAN PROVE very dangerous indeed.
She IS twenty-two years old.
NP John IS a very lucky man.
Two brothers ARE pilots.
(ii) Identifying Subject(ive) Complements

NP The Robinsons ARE our next-door neighbors.
Finite clause Ken’s belief IS that things CAN’T GET any worse.
He HAS BECOME what he always WANTED to be.
Non-finite clause The only thing I did WAS [E] TELL him to go away.
My advice IS [E] TO WITHDRAW.
The best plan IS for you TO GO by train.
What I don’t enjoy IS [E] STANDING in queues.
What most people prefer IS others DOING the work.
(iii) Circumstantial Subject(ive) Complements

NP The exam IS next Tuesday.
AdvP The amusement park IS over there.
PP The manager IS in a good mood.
Finite clause This IS how you SHOULD DO it.
11.1.4 No passive counterpart of (1)a-c has ever been found in English.
11.2 COMPLEX TRANSITIVE (complex, for short) verbs/verb phrases

The complex transitive verb “take two elements: a direct object
(NP) and an object-predicative.” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 88]
11.2.1 Obviously, “the predicative in a complex transitive VP
characterises (attributives a property to) the direct object, not the subject,
hence the name ‘object-predicative’.” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 89] The
object predicative (oP, for short), which is also called the object(ive)
40

complement (oC, for short) are in italic while the dOs are underlined in the
following examples:
S
NP VP
Vgrp NP[dO] AP/NP/PP/non-finite Cl [oP/oC]

[complex]
(2) a. The teacher MADE the lesson extremely interesting. (AP)

b. Beth IS MAKING Stella her spokesperson. (NP)
c. Party members REGARDED him as the only possible candidate. (PP)
d. The policeman GOT the traffic [E] moving. (non-finite Cl)
e. An official HAS DECLAIRED the place [E] to be free from infection.
(non-finite cl)
11.2.2 Realisations of the object(ive) complement:

Downing and Locke [1992: 54-55] subcategorise the object(ive)
complement according to ctheir syntactic realisations and dthe semantic
meanings they provide to complement the object.
(i) Attributive Object(tive) Complements

AP She DYED her hair blond.
The government’s imports policy HAS MADE the farmers furious.
I IMAGINED him a bit older/much taller than that.
Indefinite NP DOES he CONSIDER himself a genius?

Fellow sportsmen REGARD him a world class player.
PP They DON’T ACCEPT him as honest.

They previously CONSIDERED this painting as worthless.
Non-finite clause We BELIEVED him [E] to be honest.

We CONSIDER this [E] to be very important.
Finite clause DYE your hair whatever color you LIKE.
41

(ii) Identifying Object(tive) Complements

Definite NP CAN you IMAGINE yourself the owner of a luxury yacht?
They ELECTED her Miss Universe.
Finite clause Our supporters’ enthusiasm

HAS MADE the club what it IS today.
Note that some verbs require their adjectival and nominal
object(ive) complements to be introduced by as; the complements are then
analysed as Prepositional Object(tive) Complements. With other verbs, this
is optional:
as + AP The police DIDN’T ACCEPT the story as genuine.
I REGARD your suggestion as worthy of consideration.
as + NP Doctors RECOGNISE Johnson as a leading authority.

I CONSIDER you as my best friend.
(iii) Circumstantial Object(tive) Complements

PP The burglar LEFT the house in a mess.
We FOUND the Dean in a good mood.
CONSIDER yourself under arrest.
Non-finite clause
−ing He KEPT us [E] waiting.
as + −ing I REGARD that as [E] asking for the impossible.
−ed She LEFT me [E] stunned.
The authorities ORDERED hundreds of demonstrators
[E] placed under house arrest.
11.2.3 Relationship between the direct object and its object(ive)

complement:
There is a special semantic relationship between the two NPs following
the verb. “The second noun phrase after the verb is semantically a
predicate that is about the noun phrase before it. This semantic relationship is
often close to, but not identical with, that between the subject of a clause with
be, the copular verb, and the predicate noun phrase following the
42

copular verb.” [Jacobs, 1995: 59] That is the reason why the second NP in
(3)a-b is called an Object-Predicative or an Object(ive) Complement:
(3)a. We DECLARE Frank Wilson the winner.
(cf. Frank Wilson IS the winner.)
b. The club ELECTED Mr. Jones membership secretary.
(cf. Mr. Jones WAS the membership secretary of the club.)
This explains why it is often possible to insert to be or as in front of the NP

or AP constituent being the attributive or identifying object(tive) complement:
(4)a. The court CONSIDERED Smith to be a trustworthy witness.
b. The club WON’T APPOINT a teenager as the committee treasurer.
c. The extra money HELPED John to be independent.
d. We REGARD your action as criminal.
11.2.4 Many complex transitive verbs can be made passive. The direct
object of an active verb became the subject of the same verb in the passive:
S
NP VP1
VP2 PP
[opA of Agent]
Vgrp [oP/oC]
[complex]
(2)a’. The lesson WAS MADE extremely interesting (by the teacher).
b’. Stella IS BEING MADE Beth’s spokesperson.
c’. He WAS REGARDED as the only possible candidate (by party members).
d’. The traffic WAS GOT moving (by the policeman).
e’. The place HAS BEEN DECLARED to be free from infection
(by an official).
11.3 DITRANSITIVE (ditrans, for short) verbs/verb phrases
11.3.1 A ditransitive verb is “one which requires two NPs as its
complementation [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 83].” A few examples of
ditransitive verbs are give, send, and buy.
43

11.3.2 In (5)a-c, the first complement NP, which is in italic,

functions as the INDIRCT OBJECT (iO, for short) of the ditransitive verb. The
second complement NP, which is underlined, functions as the DIRECT OBJECT
(dO, for short) of the ditransitive verb. The indirect object NP in (5)a-c
corresponds to a PP in a position following the direct object in (5)a’-c’. The
PPs that correspond in this way with indirect objects are always introduced
by to or for:
S S
NP VP NP VP
Pro Vgrp NP[iO] NP [dO] Pro Vgrp NP[dO] PP[iO]

[ditrans] [ditrans]
(5)a.They GAVE Steven a prize. (5)a’.They GAVE a prize to Steven.

b. I ’LL BUY you some toys. b’. I ’LL BUY some toys for you.
c. Ed HAS SAVED me a place. c’. Ed HAS SAVED a place for me.
Note that with ditransitives, a PP follows the direct object NP as in

(5)a’-c’ is part of the complementation of the verb. With monotransitives,
however, when a PP follows the direct object NP as in (8)a, it is only an
optional modifier.
11.3.3 “The Prepositional Object (prepO, for short) contains to

when the participant is Recipient and for when it is Beneficiary and this
difference is determined by the verb.
Verbs which take Recipient Indirect Objects and alternative to
prepOs are typically verbs of transferring goods, services or information
from one person to another. They include:
give grant hand leave offer owe pass
promise read send show teach throw write
We are offering our clients a unique opportunity. (… to our clients)
He owes several people money. (…to several people)
I handed Jennifer the pile of letters. (…to Jennifer)
He teaches medical students English. (…to medical students)
Do you send your neighbours Christmas cards? (…to your neighbours)
44

Verbs which take Beneficiary Indirect Objects, with alternative

for constructions, are verbs which carry out an action on someone’s behalf.
They include:
book bring build buy cash cut fetch find
get keep leave make pour reserve save spare write
Book me a seat on the night train. (… for me)
Would you cash me these traveler checks? (…for me)
She cut the boy some slices of ham. (…for the boy)
I’ve kept you a place in the front row. (…for you)
He got us a very good discount. (…for us)
She made all the family a good paella. (…for all the family)
Certain verbs such as bring, read and write admit either to or for as
alternatives, depending on the interpretation. With to as in bring it to me, read
it to me, write it to me, I receive the thing, either physically or mentally. With
for as in bring it for me, read it for me, write it for me, the thing is brought,
read or written on my behalf.” [Downing and Locke, 1992: 87]
11.3.4 Structures with a ditransitive verb + its iO Recipient + its dO like
(5)a admit two passives while those with a ditransitive verb + its iO
Beneficiary + its dO like (5)b admit only one passive because “Beneficiary
Objects do not easily become Subject in a passive clause, although this
restrictive is not absolute” [Downing and Locke, 1992: 47]:
(5)a’’. A prize WAS GIVEN to Steven.
b’’. Some toys WILL BE BOUGHT for you.
c’’. A place HAS BEEN SAVED for me.
(5)a’’’. Steven WAS GIVEN a prize.
b’’’. *You WILL BE BOUGHT some toys.
c’’’. ?I HAVE BEEN SAVED a place.
11.3.5 A number of ditransitive verbs take a Direct Object + a

Predicator Complement. “Usually only the Object constituent can
become Subject in a passive clause… Both Direct and Indirect Objects share
this potential.” [Downing and Locke, 1992: 88] The following underlined
items in (6)a-b meet this requirement to be called an Object; however, they
45

do not fulfil the second criterion for Indirect Objects, that of substitution
by a phrase with to or for as in (6)a’-b’. We will therefore call them Direct
Objects:
(6)a. We’LL ALLOW everybody a ten minute break.

b. The shop assistant CHARGED me too much for the toothpaste.
(6)c. Everybody WILL BE ALLOWED a ten minute break.

d. I WAS CHARGED too much for the toothpaste.
(6)e.*We WILL ALLOW a ten minute break to everybody.

f.*The shop assistant CHARGED too much to me for the toothpaste.
Neither the word group in bold in (6)a-b are Indirect Objects

because they “cannot become Subject in a passive clause and there is no
prepositional alternative to the Object.” [Downing and Lock, 1992: 89]
(6)g. *A ten minute break WILL BE ALLOWED to everybody.

h. *Too much WAS CHARGED to me for the toothpaste.
(6)i. *We WILL ALLOW everybody to a ten minute break.

j. *The shop assistant CHARGED me to too much for the toothpaste.
Downing and Locke [1992: 55-56, 88-92] call these obligatory

constituents that are not classed as Objects ‘Predicator Complements’
(predC, for short). Below are the verbs which take a Direct Object followed
by a Predicator Complement: allow, ask, bet, charge, cost, deny,
forgive, grudge, wish, refuse and ‘empty’ uses of give. It is clear that
these verbs are not passivised. A few more examples are given below for
further consolidation:
S
NP VP
Vgrp NP[dO] NP[predC]

[ditrans]
(7)a. He WISHED me a happy day.

b. He GAVE the door a push.
46

c. [Let]’s ASK someone the way.

d. The bank HAS REFUSED me a loan.
e. They GRUDGED him his pocket money.
(7)a’. *He WISHED a happy day to me.
b’. *He GAVE a push to the door.
c’. *Let’s ASK the way to someone.
d’. *The bank HAS REFUSED a loan to me.
e’. *They GRUDGED his pocket money to him.
(7)a’’. *A happy day WAS WISHED to me.
b’’. *A push WAS GIVEN to the door.
c’’. * The way IS ASKED to someone.
d’’. *A loan HAS BEEN REFUSED to me.
e’’. *His pocket money WAS GRUDGED to him.
11.4 MONOTRANSITIVE (monotrans, for short) verbs/verb phrases

11.4.1 A monotransitive verb “requires a single Noun Phrase to
complement it … The NP that complements a transitive verb is said to
function as its DIRECT OBJECT (dO, for short) … Since the Vgrp and the NP are
in functional relationship, the NP needs to be represented as a sister of the
Vgrp (and therefore as a daughter of the VP).” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 82]
S
NP VP
Vgrp NP[dO]
[monotrans]
(8)a. The police HAVE IDENTIFIED the victim.

b. I USED TO SPEND all my money.
c. The frost HAS KILLED off the bud.
11.4.2 “The semantic role realised by the Direct Object can be realised
by the Subject in a passive clause … After passivisation, the meaning remains
unchanged.” [Downing and Locke, 1992: 41-42] A noun phrase is a typical
realization of the subject of a passive monotransitive verb which may be post-
modified by AN OPTIONAL ADVERBIAL ADJUNCT (opA, for short) of Agent:
47

NP VP
VP AdvP
[opA of Agent]
Vgrp
[monotrans] PP
(8)a’. The victim HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED by the police.

b’. All my money USED TO BE SPENT (by me).
c’. The bud HAS BEEN KILLED off (by the frost).
11.4.3 In some cases, a monotransitive verb must be complemented by

an obligatory adjunct (obA, for short). In (9)a-h, for example, the NP subject
refers to “a doer of something” must be [+animate] and [+human] and the
action done with intention must be expressed by a monotransitive verb which
is [+dynamic], [+active] and [+affecting]:
(9)a. He JUMPED the horse over the fence (obA of Path).
b. The sergeant MARCHED the soldiers along the road (obA of Path).
c. I’LL WALK you home (obA of Terminus).
d. You COULD BRING it to the kitchen (obA of Terminus).
e. I always GET off /LEAVE the bus at 42nd street (obA of Location).
f. Liza HAS BEEN PUTTING the liquor under the bed (obA of Location).
g. She PLACED the baby on the blanket (obA of Location).
h. He PUT his arms around me (obA of Location)
and WALKED me away (obA of Direction).
Note that in his argument, which is an optional adverbial adjunct
of Location, can be easily removed from (10):
(10) He HAS JUMPED several steps (in his argument).
However, the removal of over the fence and along the road from
(9)a-b is impossible because these PPs are two obligatory adverbial
adjuncts of Path:
(9)a’. *He JUMPED the horse.
b’. *The sergeant MARCHED the soldiers.
48

The same result will be found out with (9)c-d, (9)e-g and (9)h when
they respectively lose their obligatory adverbial adjunct of Terminus,
Location or Direction:
(9)c’. *I’LL WALK you.
d’. *You COULD BRING it.
e’. *I always GET off /LEAVE the bus.
f’. *Liza HAS BEEN PUTTING the liquor.
g’. *She PLACED the baby.
h’. *He [PUT his arms around me and] WALKED me.
As an obligatory adverbial adjunct of Terminus in (11)a, home
can neither be moved out of its fixed position at the end of this English
sentence, i.e. after the direct object ‘you’ of the monotransitive verb
WALK. That’s why (11)b-c are not grammatically correct:
(11)a. I’LL WALK you home.
b. *I home WILL WALK you.
c. *I’LL home WALK you.
As an optional adverbial adjunct of Time in (12)a-c, soon is free to
move to other typically adverbial positions within a sentence:
c at the end of the sentence, i.e. after the complement (the direct
object, the indirect object, the subjective complement, or the objective
complement) of the lexical verb;
d after the NP subject; and
e after the auxiliary verb or the first auxiliary verb:
(12)a. I’LL SEE you soon.
b. I soon WILL SEE you.
c. I’LL soon SEE you.
The above illustrations prove that although it is not always easy to
distinguish obligatory adverbial adjuncts from optional adverbial adjuncts,
this can successfully be done with some care.
11.4.4 “Certain verbs take an obligatory complement but do not

passivise or, if they do, the same relationship is not maintained.” [Downing
and Locke, 1992: 55-56] This obligatory complement is called PREDICATOR
COMPLEMENT (predC, for short), which does not fulfill the criteria used to
define the two types of objects (i.e. the direct object and the
49

indirect object) and the two types of complements (i.e. the

subject(ive) complement and the object(ive) complement. The predC
follows one of the following subcategories of monotransitive verb:
(i) RELATIONAL VERBS: have, possess, lack, suit, contain and fit
(13)a. We HAVE plenty of time.
b. I DON’T POSSESS any valuables.
c. His argument LACKS force.
d. WILL 5 o’clock SUIT you?
e. This jar CONTAINS nails.
f. These gloves DON’T FIT me.
(13)a’.*Plenty of time IS HAD.
b’. *No valuables ARE POSSESSED.
c’. *Force IS LACKED by his argument.
d’. *WILL you BE SUITED by 5 o’clock?
e’. *Nails ARE CONTAINED in this jar.
f’. *I AM NOT FITTED by these gloves.
(ii) VERBS OF MEASUREMENT: measure, cost, take and weigh

(13)g. The window MEASURED 1m by 2m.
h. Each ticket COSTS two dollars.
i. This suitcase WEIGHS 20 kilos.
j. The flight to Tokyo TOOK 21 hours.
(13)g’. *1m by 2m WAS MEASURED by the window.
h’. *Two dollars ARE COST by each ticket.
i’. *20 kilos ARE WEIGHED by this suitcase.
j’. *21 hours WERE TAKEN by the flight to Tokyo.
(iii) VERBS OF EQUAL RECIPROCITY: marry and resemble

(13)k. Sam MARRIED Susan last May.
l. Joe RESEMBLES his father.
(13)k’.*Susan WAS MARRIED by Sam last May.
l’.*His father IS RESEMBLED by Joe.
50

(iv) VERBS completed by means of a finite or non-finite clause

which cannot be replaced by a noun phrase or by the pronoun ‘it’: complain,
wonder, fancy, bother, wish, etc.
(13)m. He COMPLAINS that he is never consulted about anything.
n. I WONDER if you would like to join us for tea.
o. Don’t BOTHER [E] to clear away the dishes.
p. FANCY [E] getting into a panic over a silly thing like that.
(13)m’. *That he is never consulted about anything IS COMPLAINED.

n’. *If you would like to join us for tea IS WONDERED.
o’. *[E] to clear away the dishes IS NOT BOTHERED.
p’. *[E] Getting into a panic over a silly thing like that
IS FANCIED.
Note that:
c The sentences beginning with a star (*) are all grammatically incorrect.
d “The reason for non-passivisation in examples such as these is that the
relationships expressed by these verbs are by nature not extensive. Verbs of
possession and non-possession (lack), of suitability, resemblance and
measure are essentially processes of being. And the semantic structure
shows that the nominals which follow them cannot be considered as
Direct Objects.” [Downing and Locke, 1992: 56]
11.5 PREPOSITIONAL (prep, for short) verbs/verb phrases

“Glance, reply, refer, and look are examples of PREPOSITIONAL
VERBS—they must be complemented by a Prepositional Phrase [Burton-
Roberts, 1997: 90].” The PP that complements a prepositional Vgrp is called
A PREPOSITIONAL OBJECT (prepO, for short). Take glance, for example:
(14)a. *Max GLANCED.
b. *Max GLANCED the falling acrobat.
11.5.1 MONOTRANSITIVE PREPOSITIONAL (monotrans-prep, for
short) verbs/verb phrases
11.5.1.1 “Prepositional verbs are counted as monotransitive (i.e.

what follows the verb is a Prepositional Object) if (a) their cohesion is such
that without the preposition the verb is either meaningless (e.g. account
51

for) or has a different meaning (e.g. allow, allow for); and (b) if the verb
can passivise with the completive of the preposition at Subject (The
loss can’t be accounted for). In addition, such verbs can typically answer a
question beginning with what or wh(om) (What/Who must I see to?). A
short list of some common verbs of this kind is given below. Many verbs,
such as think or hear, admit more than one preposition with a slight
difference of meaning:
account bank admit talk
aim call consent about
allow for on to think
hope count keep
long rely resort
think believe get deal

hear of in at reckon with”
dispose break hint reason
[Downing and Locke, 1992: 75-76]
S
NP VP
Vgrp PP[prepO]
[monotrans-prep]
(15)a. Max GLANCED at the falling acrobat.

b. He WOULD never RESORT to cheating.
c. You ARE HINTING at me?
d. I DON’T BELIEVE in him.
e. Linda IS THINKING of/about changing her job.
f. She HAS DISPOSED of her art treasures.
g. You CAN’T RELY on Kevin.
h. The minister REFERED to the importance of exports.
i. The organizers HADN’T RECKONED with a strike.
j. The manager IS DEALING with a critical client.
k. The Prime Minister CAN’T ACCOUNT for the loss of votes.
52

11.5.1.2 Some of the verbs in this case can be made passive. The
noun or noun phrase following the preposition in the active pattern becomes
the subject of the passive one:
S
NP VP
Vgrp P
[monotrans-prep]
(15)f’. Her art treasures HAVE BEEN DISPOSED of.

g’. Kevin CAN’T BE RELIED on.
h’. The importance of exports WAS REFERED to
i’. A strike HADN’T BEEN RECKONED with
j’. A critical client IS BEING DEALT with
k’. The loss of votes CAN’T BE ACCOUNTED for
11.5.2 DITRANSITIVE PREPOSITIONAL (ditrans-prep, for short)

verbs/verb phrases
11.5.2.1 Some prepositional verbs are ditransitive, i.e. what follow
the verb are a dO noun phrase and a prepO prepositional phrase. The
direct object “is affected in some way by the action” and the prepositional
object “may be an entity, an abstraction or a situation” [Downing and
Locke, 1992: 89].
S
NP VP
Vgrp NP[dO] PP [prepO]

[ditrans-prep]
(16)a. They BLAMED the fire on the gardener.

b. They BLAMED the gardener for fire.
c. That firm SUPPLIES the university with paper.
d. He CONVINCED the jury of his innocence.
e. The government SHOULD INFORM the public of the consequences.
f. I WILL INTRODUCE you to my friends.
g. I CONGRATULATED Janet on her success.
53

h. It REMINDS me of Italy.
i. They ROBBED her of her watch and jewels.
11.5.2.2 The subject and the direct object of the verb may refer to
the same person, in which case a reflexive pronoun is used.
(16)k. Why DON’T you HELP yourself to wine?
l. He CONVINCED himself of the rightness of his actions.
11.5.2.3 Note that c both the NP direct object and the PP
prepositional object are obligatory in this case and that d the ditransitive
prepositional verb is frequently used in the passive, with the dO constituent
becoming the subject in the passive clause:
S
NP VP
Vgrp PP [prepO]
[ditrans-prep]
(16)a’. The fire WAS BLAMED on the gardener.

b’. The gardener WAS BLAMED for fire.
c’. The university IS SUPPLIED with paper.
d’. The jury WAS CONVINCED of his innocence.
e’. She WAS ROBBED of her watch and jewels.
f’. The public SHOULD BE INFORMED of the consequences.
g’. You WILL BE INTRODUCED to my friends.
h’. Janet WAS CONGRATULATED on her success.
i’. I AM REMINDED of Italy.
11.5.2.4 Some of the verbs taking this construction are listed here
according to preposition [Downing and Locke, 1992: 89]:
for from of to with on in

blame pervert accuse confine charge blame interest
thank protect convict help compare compliment
convince introduce supply congratulate
deprive refer
remind sentence
rob treat
54

11.6 INTRANSITIVE (intrans, for short) verbs/verb phrases

11.6.1 An intransitive verb “does not require any further constituent as
sister in the VP” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 83]. In other words, “verbs used
intransitively don’t take objects.” [Jacobs, 1995: 247]
S S
NP VP NP VP
Vgrp Vgrp
[intrans] [intrans]
(17)a. Phil SUNBATHED. (17)i. We ’RE GOING TO EAT out.

b. The ball ROLLED. j. Phil HAS SHOWN off.
c. The door WON’T OPEN. k. My children HAVE GROWN up.
d. Lightning FLASHED. l. That old man DOES CARRY on.
e. The Bengal tiger DIED. m. Her father PASSED away.
f. Nobody APPEARED. n. Nobody TURNED up.
g. A tourist COLLAPSED. o. A tourist FELL down.
h. One of the tires EXPLODED. p. One of the tires BLEW out.
11.6.2 An intransitive verb is frequently modified by one or more

optional adverbial adjuncts (opA, for short). Adjuncts “provide circumstantial
information about the action, process or event talked about in the clause in
which they occur. Circumstantial information includes information about the
place, time, manner, etc. of the action, process or event.” [Jackson, 1980: 25]
They commonly are in form of adverbs or adverb phrases, prepositional
phrases, infinitive phrases, participial phrases and subordinate
clauses.
S S
NP VP1 NP VP1
PropN VP2 AdvP AdvP VP2

[opA of Location] [opA of Manner]
Vgrp Vgrp
[intrans] PP Adv [intrans]
(18)a. Phil SUNBATHED beside a stream. (18)b. A tourist suddenly COLLAPSED.
55

11.6.3 Adverbial adjuncts are usually CIRCUMSTANTS or NON-

INHERENT ROLES [Halliday, 1970: 150], i.e. they optionally occur in a large
number of VPs; they can be omitted without disturbing the grammaticality of
the whole VPs that include them. However, they are ACTANTS or INHERENT
ROLES, i.e. their occurrence is obligatory in other VPs, when they accompany
a number of verbs:
(i) INTRANSITIVE VERBS of movement , in many cases together the
manner of moving, such as race, creep, slip, slide, flow, steal, walk,
stroll, trudge, run, plunge, swim, fly, sail, ride, etc. typically require an
obligatory adverbial adjunct of Location, Source, Direction, Terminus
or Path [Biber et al, 1999: 143]; [Downing and Locke, 1992: 56]:
(19)a. A veiled moon RODE in the high heavens (Location).

b. A large policeman WAS WALKING round the corner (Path).
c. An old man STROLLED towards the bar (Direction).
d. We STOLE out of the lecture-room (Source).
e. The students RACED across the campus (Path).
f. The boys TRUDGED up the steep path (Direction).
g. The ship SAILED out of the harbor (Source).
h. I’LL SLIP into something more comfortable (Terminus).
(ii) INTRANSITIVE VERBS of position or existence such as stand,

live, hang, stretch, etc. typically require an adverbial adjunct of
Location [Downing and Locke, 1992: 74].
(20)a. The National Theater STANDS near the river (Location).
b. Your rain coat IS HANGING in the hall (Location).
c. Her paintings HANG in the National Gallery (Location).
d. A vast plain STRETCHES below the castle (Location).
e. The book IS still SITTING on my shelf (Location).
f. There EXISTS a king in Sweden (Location).
g. One of the biggest men I’d ever seen WAS LYING
on the beach (Location).
h. The baby WAS LYING on his front (Location ⇒ Manner).
56

(iii) INTRANSITIVE VERBSof occurrence such as break out, pick

up, take place, emerge, arise, ascend, follow, etc. typically require an
adverbial adjunct of Location, Source, Extent in Time, Point of Time,
Manner or Role:
(21)a. The market PICKS up in the spring (Point of Time).
b. A desperate hope AROSE somewhere deep inside her (Location).
c. No new evidence EMERGED during the enquiry (Extent in Time).
d. The funeral TOOK PLACE on 24 April at 3pm (Point of Time).
e. The mist ASCENDED from the valley below (Source).
f. Rioting BROKE up between rival groups of fans (Location).
g. He EMERGED as leader at the age of thirty (Manner or Desguise).
h. [I don’t see] how that FOLLOWS (Manner).
11.6.4 Two obligatory adverbial adjuncts may co-occur in a VP of this

type, usually an obligatory adjunct of Terminus following one of
Direction:
(22)a. The diver PLUNGED down (Direction)
to the bottom of the sea (Terminus).
b. The frightened villagers RAN out (Direction) into the field (Terminus).
c. The fully recovered whale SWAM out (Direction)
to the open sea (Terminus).
An obligatory adjunct of Path sometimes precedes one of Terminus:

(22)d. The Thames FLOWS through London (Path)
to the North Sea (Terminus).
11.7 Summary of the classification of English verbs/verb phrases:

c INTENSIVE [intens]:
SVsP/sC:
The reason WAS simple. (attributive)
Mary IS the most beautiful girl. (identifying)
The truck drivers ARE on strike. (circumstantial)
subject — Vgrp — subject predicative/subject(ive) complement
S [intens] sP/sC
57

d COMPLEX TRANSITIVE [complex]:

SVdOoP/oC:
HOLD your hand tight.
He CALLED her an angel.
I PREFER it with water.
He MADE the team what it is today.
subject—Vgrp—direct object—object predicative/object(ive) complement
S [complex] dO oP/oC
e DITRANSITIVE [ditrans]:
ea. SVdOiO: I ‘LL ORDER a taxi for you.
subject — Vgrp — direct object — to/for indirect object
S [ditrans] dO iO
eb. SViOdO: I GAVE Esther a present.

subject — Vgrp — indirect object — direct object
S [ditrans] iO dO
ec. SVdOpredC: It COST John an effort.

subject — Vgrp — direct object — predicator complement
S [ditrans] dO predC
f MONOTRANSITIVE [monotrans]:
fa. SVdO: I ’VE SEEN that film.
I RAN across a former school friend.
subject — Vgrp — direct object
S [trans] dO
fb. SVdOobA: You COULD BRING it to the kitchen.

subject—Vgrp—direct object—obligatory adjunct
S [monotrans] dO obA of Terminus
fc. SVpredC: The window MEASURED 1m by 2m.

Sam MARRIED Susan (last May).
subject—Vgrp—predicator complement—(opA of Time)
S [trans] predC
58

g PREPOSITIONAL [prep]:
ga. MONOTRANSITIVE PREPOSITIONAL [monotrans-prep]:
SVprepO: Max GLANCED at the falling acrobat.
subject — Vgrp — prepositional object
S [montrans-prep] prepO
gb. DITRANSITIVE PREPOSITIONAL [ditrans-prep]:
SVdOprepO:They BLAMED the fire on the gardener.
He REMINDED her of the time.
subject—Vgrp—direct object—prepositional object
S [ditrans-prep] dO prepO
h INTRANSITIVE [intrans]:
ha. SV: He TURNED UP (= appeared).
He IS LYING (= is telling lies).
subject—Vgrp
S [intrans]
hb. SVobA: He IS LYING in a hammock.

subject — Vgrp — obligatory adjunct
S [intrans] obA of Location
11.8 Troublesome verbs
A verb can belong to various sub-categories, making it rather difficult
to identify its major functions in English sentences. Feel, stretch, erupt, stay,
sound, appear and make are among these troublesome verbs:
(23)a. The trumpet SOUNDED. (sounded = gave out a sound or sounds)
S Vgrp
[intrans]
b. The doctor SOUNDED the patient’s chest. (sounded sth = tested sth)
S Vgrp dO
[monotrans]
c. She SOUNDED just the person we need for the job.
opA of Degree of Certainty
S Vgrp sP/sC
[intens]
(sounded = gave a specific impression when heard that she is just …)
59

(24)a. The water FEELS warm.

S Vgrp sP/sC
[intens]
(feels warm = is warm, is in a specified physical state referred to as warm)
b. I COULD FEEL the tension in the room.

S Vgrp dO
[monotrans] (feel sth = be aware of sth, experience sth)
(25)a. The long summer holiday STRETCHED ahead of them.

S Vgrp obA of Location
[intrans]
(stretched = spread out over an area or a period of time)
b. The pullover STRETCHED after I had worn it a few times.

S Vgrp opt Adjunct of Time
[intrans]
(stretched = was elastic, became longer, wider, etc. without breaking)
(26)a. Violence HAS ERUPTED on the street.

S Vgrp obA of Location
[intrans] (has erupted = has broken out suddenly and violently)
b. The demonstration ERUPTED into violence.

S Vgrp prepO
[monotrans-prep] (erupted = suddenly changed)
(27)a. I HAVE TO APPEAR in court on a charge of drunken driving.

S Vgrp obA of Location opA of Reason
[intrans]
(appear = arrive/ present myself publicly and formally at the court)
b. The street APPEARED deserted.

S Vgrp sP/sC
[intens]
(appeared deserted = seemed (to be) or gave the impression of being deserted)
60

(28)a. The doctor CAN only STAY the progress of this disease.
opA of Manner
S Vgrp dO
[monotrans] (stay = delay, make (sth) slower)
b. They STAYED friends for years. (stayed = remained)

S Vgrp sP/sC opA of Extent in Time
[intens]
(29)a. I ’LL MAKE some tea. b. I ’LL MAKE a pizza for you.
S Vgrp dO S Vgrp dO iO
[monotrans] [ditrans]
(make sth [for sb] = prepare sth [for sb])
c. I ’LL MAKE the question easy.

S Vgrp dO oP/oC
[complex]
(make the question easy = cause the question to become easy)
d. They MAKE a good couple.

S Vgrp sP/sC
[intens]
(make = are or become)
_________________
12 Types of clause links
Clauses can be linked to each other in a variety of ways. Among the

principal types of structural links are coordinators as in (1)a-b,
subordinators as in (2)a-b, wh- words as in (3)a-b, and complementizers
as in (4)a-c. There may be no clause link at all as in (5):
(1)a. The doctor WAS tired, and he just SAID nothing.

b. I LIKE you very much, but I DON’T LOVE you.
(2)a. He WAS SCREAMING because he HAD TO GO home.

b. Since nobody WAS there, I LEFT for home too.
61

(3)a. They HAD no idea what it WAS.

b. The two people who FOUND it
ARE EXPECTED to receive the value of the brooch.
(4)a. For Sharon’s car TO BREAK down WOULD BE unfortunate.

b. The police REPORTED that Sharon’s car HAD BROKEN down.
c. That the problem IS immense IS obvious.
(5) I KNOW. I SAW it this morning. It’S really smart, ISn’t it?
_________________
13 Types of clauses
clause phares
13.1 Finite clauses vs. non-finite clauses
The distinction between finite and non-finite clauses depends on
the form of the verb chosen: “If the speaker wishes to express tense,
person or number, a ‘finite’ form of the verb is chosen, such as eats, locked,
went and the clause is then called a finite clause.” [Downing and Locke,
1992: 11]
All of THE FOLLOWING VERB FORMS, which are capitalized, and
therefore the following clauses, are finite:
(1) She BROKE the dish.
(2) He HAS GONE.
(3) It IS unnecessary.
Accordingly, if the verb form does not express this type of information
about the verbal ‘process’, the verbs and the clauses are classed as ‘non-
finite’. In the following non-finite clauses, THE NON-FINITE VERB FORMS
are capitalized and italicized:
(4)a. For Sandra TO DELAY her graduation IS unnecessary. (to-infinitive)
b. I LET him DO it by himself. (bare infinitive)
c. Mary DOESN’T TOLERATE
Anna CHATTING with the construction workers.(active present participle)
d. He LEFT me STUNNED. (passive past participle)
e. The light HAVING GONE out, we LIGHTED candles.
(active perfect participle)
62

Briefly, “a non-finite clause is a clause with a non-finite

(tenseless) Verb group. MAIN clauses are always finite. So non-finite
clauses can only be SUBORDINATE.” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 250]
13.2 Independent clauses vs. dependent clauses
A necessary distinction is that between INDEPENDENT CLAUSES, which
are also called MAIN CLAUSES, and DEPENDENT CLAUSES (which can be
subdivided into EMBEDDED CLAUSES and SUBORDINATE CLAUSES).
13.2.1 INDEPENDENT CLAUSES
“A clause that can stand alone as a sentence is called a main clause or
sometimes an independent clause. The latter designation is often used
when the clause is the only one in its sentence.” [Jacobs, 1995: 65]
An independent clause “does not depend on another clause, although
it may be linked to another independent clause, or to a dependent clause”
[Richards, Platt and Weber, 1987: 77]:
(1) Sharon’s car HAD BROKEN down, and this ASTONISHED the mechanic.
(2) Sharon’s car HAD BROKEN down before she ARRIVED at the airport.
An independent clause can be used on its own:
(3) Sharon’s car HAD BROKEN down.
(4) This ASTONISHED the mechanic.
(5) Sharon ARRIVED at the airport.
13.2.2 DEPENDENT CLAUSES

“Dependent clauses, on the other hand, do not stand on their own as
sentences.” [Jacobs, 1995: 65]
A dependent clause is “a clause which must be used with
another clause to form a complete grammatical construction. It
depends on the other clause and is subordinate to it” [Richards, Platt
and Weber, 1987: 77]:
(6) For Sharon’s car TO BREAK down WOULD BE unfortunate.
(7) The police REPORTED that Sharon’s car HAD BROKEN down.
(8) They MISSED the flight because Sharon’s car HAD BROKEN down.
Note that for and that in (6-7) “have little or no special meaning of
their own, and they are referred to as complementizers” while because in
63

(8) “has a specific meaning, one something like ‘the reasons is’. Introducers
such as because, although, and since, all of which have quite specific
meanings, are subordinators.
Complementizers and subordinators are associated with two distinct

kinds of dependent clauses: EMBEDDED CLAUSES and SUBORDINATE CLAUSES.
Both kinds of clauses have a special slot before the subject, one in which the
complementizers and subordinators occur. This slot, known as the COMP slot
(after ‘complementizer’), turns out to be a very important one.” [Jacobs,
1995: 65-66]
Note also that dependent clauses can be either finite as in (7-8) or

non-finite as in (6). Independent clauses can only be finite like (3-5).
13.3 Subordinate clauses vs. embedded clauses
According to Jacobs [1995: 66-69], the following difference between

embedded and subordinate clauses is an important one.
13.3.1 “If embedded clauses are omitted from a sentence containing

them, the sentence is usually ungrammatical. This is because embedded
clauses are arguments of a higher predicate, very often the subjects or
objects of their container clauses. Any finite sentence that loses its subject
or object argument becomes ungrammatical. So the embedded clauses
are indispensable for grammaticality.” [Jacobs, 1995: 68]
S
NP VP
S’[embedded finite clause] Vgrp NP [dO]

[monotrans]
COMP S DET N’
ART headN
(1) That Sharon’s car HAD BROKEN down ASTONISHED the mechanic.
64

NP VP
DET N’ Vgrp NP [dO]

[monotrans]
ART headN S’[embedded finite clause]
COMP S
(2) The police REPORTED that Sharon’s car HAD BROKEN down.
13.3.2 “Subordinate clauses, clauses with subordinators in the

COMP slot, differ from embedded clauses in that they are not required
arguments of a predicate. They are thus not used as subjects or objects”
[Jacobs, 1995: 65]. Subordinate clauses are adjuncts which can be omitted
without making their sentence ungrammatical. “Just as adverbs and prepositional
phrases can be omitted, so can subordinate clauses.” [Jacobs, 1995: 68]
(3)a. The family returned to the villa after Sharon’s car HAD BROKEN down.
(4)a. Pavlova found the children where Sharon’s car HAD BROKEN down.
(5)a. Lord Aston only used his Rolls Royce if Sharon’ car BROKE down.
Note that “non-finite subordinate clauses often lack an overt

subordinator” [Jacobs, 1995: 67].
S
NP VP1
PropN VP2 AdvP

[optional Adjunct of Purpose]
S’ [non-finite subordinate clause]

Vgrp NP[dO]
[monotrans] Comp S
NP VP
(6) She LOCKED the door so as [E] TO PREVENT any more intrusions.
(7) She LOCKED the door φ [E] TO PREVENT any more intrusions.
65

Also note that the sentences marked (3-5)a are well-formed even without
their subordinate clauses, resulting in (3-5)b:
(3)b. The family RETURNED to the villa.
(4)b. Pavlova FOUND the children.
(5)b. Lord Aston only USED his Rolls Royce.
_________________
14 Covert subjects vs. overt subjects
14.1 All of the non-finite clauses in (1)a-e have an overt subject.
(1)a. For Sandra TO DELAY her graduation IS unnecessary. (to-infinitive)
b. I LET him DO it by himself. (bare infinitive)
c. Mary DOESN’T TOLERATE
Anna CHATTING with the construction workers.
(active present participle)
d. He LEFT me STUNNED. (passive past participle)
e. The light HAVING GONE out, we LIGHTED candles.
(active perfect participle)
14.2 However, “non-finite clauses frequently lack an overt subject”
[Burton-Roberts, 1997: 250]. Consider the italicized non-finite clauses in
(2)a-d. They lack an overt subject and their non-finite verbs (to avoid,
chatting, pushing, and battered) are tenseless:
(2)a. Beth LEFT early so as [E] TO AVOID the police.
b. Anna ENJOYS [E] CHATTING with the construction workers.
c. [E] PUSHING him aside, Carol JUMPED onto the platform.
d. [E] BATTERED by the heavy storm,
the ship LIMPED into Southampton harbour.
A subject is always understood in the non-finite clauses. The

symbol [E] (for empty, covert, zero, or implicit) is used to mark where a
subject might occur if the grammar allows it. In (2)a-d, English
speakers understand Beth, Anna, Carol and the ship respectively to be the
subject of the four non-finite clauses ‘[E]TO AVOID the police’, ‘[E]
CHATTING with the construction workers’, ‘[E] PUSHING him aside’ and
‘[E] BATTERED by the heavy storm’. Such understood though not
physically present subjects are referred to as covert subjects.
66

“Covert subjects are cognitively real, that is, real in the English
speaker’s consciousness, despite the lack of words standing for them.”
[Jacobs, 1995: 72]
Although the non-finite clauses in (2)c-d “seem like modifiers of the
noun phrase following them, both their position and their function show that
they are not. They are non-finite subordinate clauses marking a perspective.
Sometimes, a more explicit marking of perspective appears:
After [E] BEING BATTERED by the heavy storm,
the ship LIMPED into Southampton harbour.” [Jacobs, 1995: 72]
_________________
15 Types of finite dependent clauses
“A finite dependent clause contains a verb phrase which is marked

for tense or modality. There is regularly a subject except under conditions of
ellipsis. Finite dependent clauses are regularly marked by a clause link…”
[Biber et al, 1999: 193]
Finite dependent clauses may be either subordinate or
embedded. Below are some common finite dependent clauses.
15.1 Nominal clauses

A nominal clause can be the subject, the direct object, the indirect
object, the retained object, the subjective complement, the objective
complement or the complement of a preposition in an English sentence:
(1)a. That rain MAY FALL in deserts IS true.
b. They BELIEVE that the minimum wage COULD THREATEN their jobs.
c. She GIVES whomever she MEETS a warm greeting.
d. I AM always GIVEN whatever IS the cheapest.
e. My question IS whether (or not) you WILL PAY for such a loss.
f. We HAVE MADE them what they ARE.
g. We’D LIKE to work with whom we CONSIDER the best.
15.2 Relative clauses

A relative clause, also called an adjectival clause, is
characteristically a post-modifier in a noun phrase. “It is introduced by a
67

wh-word, which has a grammatical role in the relative clause in addition to

its linking function” [Biber et al, 1999: 195]. Relative clauses may be either
restrictive as in (2)a or non-restrictive as in (2)b.
(2)a. We HAVE 30 men who ARE WORKING from 6am to 11pm.
b. He WANTED the public not to approach the men,
who ARE armed and dangerous.
15.3 Adverbial clauses
“Adverbial clauses are used as adverbials in the main clause,
generally as circumstance adverbials… they are optional and have some
freedom of positioning; both initial and final placement are common.
Adverbial clauses are regularly marked by a subordinator indicating the
relationship to the main clause”. [Biber et al, 1999: 194]
(3)a. Most ions ARE colorless, although some HAVE distinct colors.
b. If you ARE in a hurry, you CAN LEAVE.
15.4 Reporting clauses

A reporting clause, which “accompanies direct reports of somebody’s
speech or thought”, “may be placed in initial, medial, or final position”
[Biber et al, 1999: 196]:
(4)a. They SAID, “Yes, sir,” and saluted.
b. “Please come too,” she BEGGED.
c. “Everything,” he SAID, “is snafu.”
15.5 Comment clauses

“Comment clauses are similar in structure to reporting clauses: they
are loosely connected to the main clause, they normally lack explicit link, and
they are usually short and can appear in a variety of position… They are
usually in the present rather than the past tense, first or second rather than
third person, and comment on a thought rather than the delivery of a
wording” [Biber et al, 1999: 197]:
(5)a. MIND you, he was probably still as sound as a bell.
b. The conclusion, it SEEMS, is intolerable.
c. It’s a nice approach, I THINK.
_________________
68

16 Types of non-finite clauses

“Non-finite clauses are regularly dependent. They are more
compact and less explicit than finite clauses; they are not marked for tense
and modality, and they frequently lack an explicit subject and
subordinator.” [Biber et al, 1999: 198]
Below are some main types of non-finite clauses, each containing a

different type of verb phrase:
16.1 Infinitive non-finite clauses

16.1.1 An infinitive non-finite clause can play the role of a nominal
to be:
• the subject: [E]TO DENY that gift IS to deny God’s will.
• the extra-posed subject: It IS NOT easy [E]TO MAINTAIN a friendship.
• the direct object: I HATE [E]TO SEE that.
• the subjective complement: My goal now IS [E]TO LOOK to the future.
16.1.2 An infinitive non-finite clause can play the role of an

adverbial to be:
• the adjunct of purpose:
[E]TO SUCCEED again they WILL HAVE to improve their fitness.
• the adjective complement:
That old man IS a bit afraid [E]TO GO into hospital.
16.1.3 An infinitive non-finite clause can play the role of an

adjectival to be:
• the post-nominal modifier:
He IS the third man [E]TO BE MURDERED right on this corner.
• the objective complement:
Some of these issues dropped out of Marx’s later works because
he CONSIDERED them [E]TO HAVE BEEN satisfactorily dealt with.
16.2 Gerund non-finite clauses can only play the role of a nominal to be:
• the subject: [E] HAVING a fever IS unpleasant.
69

• The extra-posed subject:

There are only around five tons of newsprints left and
it’S very difficult [E] GETTING supplies into Sarajevo.
• the direct object: I STARTED [E]THINKING about Christmas.
• the subjective complement: The real problem IS
[E] GETTING something done about the cheap imports.
• the complement of a preposition: I EARN my living by [E]TEACHING.
16.3 Participial non-finite clauses

16.3.1 A Participial non-finite clause, which is an –ING clause, can
play the role of an adjectival to be the post-nominal modifier:
There WERE two cars [E] COMING down the road.
16.3.2 A Participial non-finite clause, which is an –ING clause, can

play the role of an adverbial to be:
• the circumstance adjunct: He STOOD on the veranda,
[E] LISTENING to the wind.
• the adjective complement: It MIGHT BE worth
[E] GIVING him a bell to let him know what’s happening.
16.3.3 A participial non-finite clause, which is an –ED clause, can

play the role of a nominal to be the direct object: God, you’ve gone mad
with the sugar in yours. DO you WANT itTOPPED up?

play the role of an adverbial to be:
• the circumstantial adjunct:
When [E]TOLD by the police how badly injured his victims were
he SAID: “Good, I hope they die.”
• the adjective complement: That old man IS a bit afraid
[E]TO GO into hospital.
play the role of an adjectival to be the post-nominal modifier:
There WASN’T a scrap of evidence
to link him with the body [E] FOUND on the Thames at low tide.
70

16.4 Verbless clauses

Among non-finite clauses may also be verbless clauses such as:
- She HAD also BEEN TAUGHT, when in difficulty, to think of a good
life to imitate.
- Although not a classic, this 90-minute video IS worth watching.
_________________
17 Classification of sentences according to their structure
“In many traditional grammars three major sentence types are
distinguished. A simple sentence consists of a single clause that stands alone
as it own sentence. In a coordinate sentence (called “compound” in
traditional grammars), two or more clauses are joined by a conjunction in a
coordinate relationship. A complex sentence combines two (or more) clauses
in such a way that one clause functions as a grammatical part of the other
one.” [Finegan, 1994: 122]
17.1 The following are a number of typical examples of simple sentences.

S
NP VP
(1)a. Tom DISAPPEARED.

b. He CREPT into a cave.
c. My father IS GOING TO BUY a car.
d. The flight to Tokyo TOOK 21 hours.
e. You CAN RELY on Gina.
f. Ed HAD GIVEN her a ring.
g. We WILL ALLOW everyone a ten-minute break.
h. Albert HAS MADE Susan angry.
i. Susan IS unhappy.
Each of the above sentences contains a VP. The VP contains a Vgrp.

The Vgrp can consist of a single word (as in disappear, crept, took, and is)
or of more than one word (as in is going to buy, can rely, had given, will
allow, and has made). “In English and in many other languages, the central
element in a clause is the verb; each clause — and therefore each simple
sentence — contains just one verb.” [Finegan, 1994: 119]
71

17.2 The following are a number of typical examples of compound sentences.

S3
S1 Conj S2
NP1 VP1 NP2 VP2
(2)a. Karen ASSEMBLED the new grill and Joe COOKED the hot dogs.
b. She IS rich and famous but I DON’T FIND her talented.
c. You SHOULD TRY to work hard or you ’LL GET fired.
d. Roses ARE red but violets ARE blue.
Each of the above sentences consists of “two clauses joined by a word

such as and, but, or or, which are called coordinating conjunctions, or
simply conjunctions … The clauses in a coordinate sentence hold equal status.
Neither clause is part of the other clause, and each could stand by itself as an
independent sentence.” [Finegan, 1994: 119]
It is necessary to confirm that in the above examples and, but, or or

does not form a constituent with either of the clauses it conjoins.
Last but not least, co-ordinate constructions are not limited to two items
of equal value:
S5
S1 Conj S2 Conj S3 Conj S4
(2)e. Roses ARE red but violets ARE blue and sugar IS sweet and so ARE you.
17.3. The following are a number of typical examples of complex sentences.

(3)a. If you WASH the sweater, it WILL STRETCH.
b. An aquarium IS a place in which fish IS KEPT.
c. While he WAS SITTING in his chair, he HEARD a noise
which SEEMED TO COME from a distance.
72

d. Although I DID NOT WANT to leave my bed, the wind BLEW so strong
that I WAS at last COMPELLED to get up to shut the window.
“Unlike coordinate sentences, which contain clauses of equal status,
complex sentences contain clauses of unequal status. In the complex
sentence we have been examining, one clause is subordinate to another
clause and function as a grammatical part of that clause. We call the
subordinate clause an embedded clause and the clause into which it is
embedded a matrix clause. Every subordinate clause is by definition
embedded in a matrix clause, in which it serves in a grammatical function
such as subject, direct object, or adverbial.” [Finegan, 1994: 122]
“Complex sentences contain sentences inside them … Embedded
clauses typically … function as subjects and direct objects and as sentence-
adverbial phrases.” [Kaplan, 1989: 267]
17.3.1 EMBEDDED NOMINAL CLAUSES (EmNCl, for short):
17.3.1.1 The subject can be realised by either a finite clause or a
non-finite clause. “Constituents functioning as subjects are always analysed
as NPs” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 197], so we shall analyse any clausal subject
as dominated by NP.
17.3.1.1.1 Subject finite clauses can be that-clauses or Wh-
clauses, i.e. finite clauses preceded by either the introductory word that or
the subordinate conjunction what, where, when, why, who, how, etc. This
construction “is generally used in formal written English” [Stanley, 1989: 2]:
S1
NP1 VP1
S’[finite clause]
Comp S2
NP2 VP2
(4)a. That the problems ARE immense IS obvious.

b. That rain MAY FALL in deserts IS true.
c. That Einstein IS a great scientist IS understandable.
d. That he FAILED to turn up SURPRISED nobody.
73

e. That Columbus WAS an Italian IS sometimes DISPUTED.

f. That the computer revolution IS in its infancy frequently ESCAPES comment.
(5)a. Whether it IS CAUSED by rain or wind IS unknown.
b. How they MANAGED to survive IS a mystery.
c. When it WAS DONE SEEMS quite obvious to me.
d. Where he GOES IS no business of yours.
e. Why the library WAS CLOSED for months WAS NOT EXPLAINED.
f. What he SAID SHOCKED me.
g. When I GO DEPENDS on when the train leaves.
17.3.1.1.2 When the introductory expression ‘the fact that’

replaces the introductory word ‘that’ as in (4)a-f, the EmNCl is syntactically
changed to a finite adjectival that-clause being the obligatory complement
of the NP ‘the fact’:
S1
NP1 VP1
NP S’[finite that-clause]
DET N’ Comp S2
ART headN NP2 VP2
(4)a’. The fact that the problems ARE immense IS obvious.

b’. The fact that rain MAY FALL in deserts IS true.
c’. The fact that Einstein IS a great scientist IS understandable.
d’. The fact that he FAILED to turn up SURPRISED nobody.
e’. The fact that Columbus WAS an Italian IS sometimes DISPUTED.
f’. The fact that the computer revolution IS in its infancy
frequently ESCAPES comment.
17.3.1.1.3 Subject non-finite clauses “are of two types,
depending on the VG (verbal group) they contain: to-infinitive, which can
be introduced by a Wh-word, and −ing clauses. ‘Bare’ infinitive clauses
(without to) occur as Subject only in equative (Wh-cleft) sentences:
74

[E]8TO TAKE such a risk WAS rather foolish. (to-inf. clause)
Where [E] TO LEAVE the dog IS the problem. (Wh− + to-inf. clause)
[E] RUN for President IS what he may do. (bare inf. clause)
[E] HAVING TO GO back for the tickets WAS a nuisance.

(−ing clause)
To-infinitive and −ing clauses at Subject can have their own

Subject; bare infinitive clauses cannot. A to-infinitive clause with its
own Subject must be introduced by for:
S1
NP1 VP1
S’ [non-finite clause] Vgrp AP/NP[sP/sC]

[intens]
Comp S2
NP2 VP2
For everyone TO ESCAPE WAS practically impossible.

φ Sam HAVING TO GO back for the tickets WAS a nuisance.
The Pronominal Subject of an −ing clause can be in the

possessive or the objective case. The objective form is the less formal:
Him/His HAVING TO GO back for the tickets WAS a nuisance.
Of all embedded clauses, only that-clauses introduced by the fact, finite

nominal relative clauses and non-finite −ing clauses are sufficiently
nominal to be able to invert with the operator in interrogative clauses:
DID what he SAID SHOCK you?
WAS Sam HAVING TO GO back for the tickets a nuisance?
8
Note that [E] is the symbol to stand for the empty/covert/zero/implicit subject in
non-finites clauses.
75

*WAS TO TAKE such a risk rather foolish?

*DID that he FAILED to turn up SURPRISE everybody?
DID the fact that he FAILED to turn up SURPRISE everybody?”
[Downing and Locke, 1992: 34-35]
17.3.1.1.4 “Examples such as that he failed to turn up

surprised nobody and for everyone to escape was practically
impossible have as an alternative structure the following:
It surprised nobody that he failed to turn up.
It was practically impossible for everyone to escape.
in which the finite or non-finite clause realizing the Subject is said to
be extraposed, that is, placed after the Complement or Object. The initial
Subject position is filled, obligatorily, by the pronoun it (usually called
‘anticipatory it’), acting as a kind of a substitute for the ‘postponed’ Subject.
It is commonly used in both speech and writing, especially when the Subject
is longer than the Complement and is better placed at the end of the sentence,
in accordance with the information and stylistic principle of ‘end-weight’9.”
[Downing and Locke, 1992: 35]
In other words, “the extraposed subject has a clausal subject

displaced to the end of the sentence and explicit it in the normal subject
position, dominated directly by NP.” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 198]
9
“In any clause, elements are frequently of different size and complexity, or weight …
There is a preferred distribution of elements in the clause in accordance with the weight
called the principle of end-weight: the tendency for long and complex elements to be
placed towards the end of a clause [Biber et al, 1999: 898].” Compare:
(1) I FOUND the man guilty.
(2) I FOUND guilty the man who has scars on his cheeks.
76

S1
NP1 VP1 NP1bis [real subject]

[anticipatory
subject] S’[finite clause]
Vgrp AP/NP[sP/sC] Comp S2
PRO [intens]
NP2 VP2
(4)a’’. It IS obvious that the problems ARE immense.

b’’. It IS true that rain MAY FALL in deserts.
(5)a’. It IS unknown whether it IS CAUSED by rain or wind.

b’. It IS a mystery how they MANAGED to survive.
(6)a. It IS a pity (that) you ARE LEAVING the company.

b. It IS a bore when people CAN’T MAKE UP their minds.
c. It IS no concern of mine when she DOES outside working hours.
d. It IS time φ he STOPPED fooling around.
Note that the subjective complement of the copular verb be is, quite
often, realised by an NP, as in (6)a-d. Also note that embedded clausal
subjects can be extraposed from various sentence structures, with (S + be +
sP/sC) the most common:
(7)a. [E] TO SEE such poverty MAKES one sad.
a’. It MAKES one sad [E] TO SEE such poverty.
(S + complex transV + dO + oP/oC)
b. Where you SIT DOESN’T MATTER.
b’. It DOESN’T MATTER where you SIT . (S+ intranV)
c. (The fact) that the number-plate HAD BEEN CHANGED STRUCK me.
c’. It STRUCK me that the number-plate HAD BEEN CHANGED.
(S + monotransV + dO)
d. (The fact) that you ARE LEAVING the company SHOULDN’T COME as a surprise.
d’. It SHOULDN’T COME as a surprise (that) you ARE LEAVING the company.
(S + intensV + sP/sC)
77

17.3.1.2 The direct object (dO, for short) or the predicator

complement (predC, for short)10 can also be realised by either a finite
clause or a non-finite clause:
17.3.1.2.1 The dO/predC finite clause of a monotransitive
verb can be a that-clause or a Wh-clause. “Since clausal functioning
objects in active sentences can become subject NPs in the passive, I shall
analyse them as being dominated by a NP node, just like the clausal
subjects.” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 200]
S’
Comp S1
NP1 VP1
Vgrp NP[dO/predC]
[monotrans]
S’[finite clause]
Comp S2
NP2 VP2
(8)a. DO you UNDERSTAND why I DO that?

b. HAVE you DONE what I HAVE TOLD you?
c. φ He DID NOT SEE where I HAD GONE.
d. φ They DID NOT REALISE how we DO it.
e. φ I DON’T KNOW if/whether he HAS DONE it yet.
f. φ The class DOESN’T KNOW what time it HAS TO BE in school.
g. φ Bill DISCOVERD who he HAD TO GIVE the money to.
h. φ The students HAVEN’T LEARNT which tutor they CAN RELY on.
i. φ The authorities CLAIM that everything possible HAS BEEN DONE.
j. φ They FEAR that there MAY BE no survivor.
k. φ Peter DENIED that he HAD LEFT the light on all night.
l. φ We REALISED that he WAS just under great strain.
m. φ Officials ARGUE that their public image IS unfair.
10
Also see 6.2, 11.3.5, 11.4 and Downing and Locke [1992: 55-56] for further consideration.
78

Again, passivisation can be used to test whether or not an embedded

finite clause is a dO:
(9)a. Most people RECOGNISE that some form of taxation IS necessary.
b. That some form of taxation IS necessary IS RECOGNISED
by most people.
c. It IS RECOGNISED by most people that some form of taxation IS necessary.
(10)a. Nobody KNOWS whether it IS CAUSED by rain or wind.

b. Whether it IS CAUSED by rain or wind IS NOT KNOWN/IS unknown.
c. It IS NOT KNOWN/IS unknown whether it IS CAUSED by rain or wind.
For the passive construction with that-clauses, the semantically empty

pronoun it may be required with “a verb of low communicative dynamism
like say” [Downing and Locke, 1992: 43]:
(11)a. They SAY that he IS MOVING to New York.
b. It IS SAID that he IS MOVING to New York.
17.3.1.2.2 The dO/predC non-finite clause of a monotransitive

verb can be a Wh-clause:
S1
NP1 VP1
Vgrp NP[dO/predC]
[monotrans]
S’[non-finite clause]
Comp S2
NP2 VP2
(8)k’. The class DOESN’T KNOW what time [E]TO BE in school.

g’. Bill DISCOVERD who [E]TO GIVE the money to.
h’. The students HAVEN’T LEARNT which tutor [E]TO RELY on.
The passive construction with the semantically empty pronoun it is also
preferred with that-clauses, either finite or non-finite:
79

(12)a. We HADN’T DECIDED what we OUGHT TO DO next.

what [E] TO DO next.
b. It HADN’T BEEN DECIDED what we OUGHT TO DO next.
what [E] TO DO next.

verb in this case is a to-infinitive or an –ing form with a covert subject
which is the same as the subject of the main clause:
S1
NP1 VP1
Vgrp NP[dO/predC]
[monotrans]
Comp S2
NP2 VP2
(13)a. Bill LIKES φ [E] TO ARRIVE early for meetings.

b. The laboratories FAILED φ [E] TO PRODUCE useful results.
c. Jane WANTS φ [E] TO FINISH the job by tomorrow.
d. Peter EXPECTS φ [E] TO BE PROMOTED soon.
e. The janitor REFUSED φ [E] TO LOCK the door.
(14)a. Peter ENJOYS φ [E] PLAYING football.
b. Fred STARTED φ [E] ARGUING.
c. This airline WILL FINISH φ [E] OPERATING next year.
d. I CAN’T HELP φ [E] THINKING he must be crazy.
e. The laboratories CEASED φ [E] PRODUCING useful results.
Note that:
c Many dO/predC embedded clauses occur with either the to-
infinitive or the –ing form without changing their lexical meaning:
(15)a. Many Londoners PREFER φ [E] TO TRAVEL/TRAVELLING by train.
b. Mary HATES φ [E] TO DRIVE/DRIVING in the rush hour
c. Tom LOVES φ [E] TO DO/DOING the housework.
d. He DOESN’T BOTHER φ [E] TO CHANGE/CHANGING the sheets.
80

d After remember and forget, the contrast between the to-infinitive

or the –ing form corresponds to a difference of meaning:
(13)f. I REMEMBERED [E] TO POST your letters.
(= I didn’t forget to post them.)
(14)f. I REMEMBERED [E] POSTING your letters.
(= I recalled having posted them.)
e After need, require and want; the –ing form of the verb can be
replaced by the passive to-infinitive:
(13)g. The children still NEED [E] TO BE LOOKED after.
(14)g. The children still NEED [E] LOOKING after.
f The verbs in this case cannot be made passive:
(13)f’. *[E]TO POST your letters WAS REMEMBERED (by me).
(14)f’. *[E] POSTING your letters WAS REMEMBERED (by me).
(13)g’. *[E]TO BE LOOKED after IS still NEEDED (by the children).
(14)g’. *[E] LOOKING after IS still NEEDED (by the children).

verb in this case is a to-infinitive or an –ing clause with an overt/explicit
subject of its own:
S1
NP1 VP1
Vgrp NP[dO/predC]
[monotrans]
Comp S2
NP2 VP2
(16)a. Tony PREFERS φ his wife/her TO DO the house work.

b. The boss LIKED φ the staff/them TO ARRIVE early for work.
c. Julia HATES φ her husband/him TO LOSE his temper.
d.The teacher WANTS φ her class/them TO FINISH the job by Friday.
81

(17)a. I DON’T LIKE φ him/John INTERUPTING all the time.

b. Jill HATES φ him/her COMING home late.
c. We ANTICIPATED φ her/Mary(‘s) TAKING over the business.
d. The employers RESENTED φ the staff(‘s)/their BEING CONSULTED.
Note that c the overt subject of the non-finite clause must be an object
personal pronoun (e.g. him, her, and them), a noun phrase (e.g. the staff) or a
possessive (e.g. Mary’s, their, and her) and that d the verbs in (17)e cannot
normally be made passive while some of the verbs in (16)e can:
(16)e. I EXPECT the parcel TO ARRIVE tomorrow.

e’. The parcel IS EXPECTED TO ARRIVE tomorrow.
(17)e. I DISLIKE us/our WORKING late at night.
e’. *Our WORKING late at night IS DISLIKED (by us).
Also note that e many dO/predC embedded clauses occur with an

overt subject of their own; otherwise their cover subject is the same as
that of the main clause:
(18) a. The villagers WANT φ the soldiers TO LEAVE immediately.

a’. The villagers WANT φ [E] TO LEAVE immediately.
b. I DON’T MIND φ [E] WAITING a few minutes.
b’. I DON’T MIND φ me WAITING a few minutes.
c. He HATES φ [E] TO TELL/TELLING lies.
c’. He HATES φ people TO TELL/TELLING lies.

verb in this case is an –ing clause with an overt subject of its own. Most of
the verbs in this case are verbs of ‘perception’. Of these, see, hear, feel,
watch, notice, overhear and observe also allow their dO/predC non-
finite clause to take a bare infinitive after its overt subject:
82

S1
NP1 VP1
Vgrp NP[dO/predC]
[monotrans]
S’ [non-finite clause]
Comp S2
NP2 VP2
(19)a. We WATCHED φ the men DESTROY(ING) the furniture.

b. The porter HEARD φ someone SLAM(MING) the door.
c. The children SAW φ the cat STEAL(ING) the meat.
d. He NOTICED φ a child ENTER(ING) the court.
e. The rescuersFELT φ John LOS(ING) his grip of the rope.
Note that:
c The verbs in (19)a-e can be made passive:
(19)b’. Someone WAS HEARD SLAMMING/TO SLAM the door (by the porter).
c’. The cat WAS SEEN STEALING/TO STEAL the meat (by the children).
d The overt subject of the non-finite clause must be a noun

(e.g. John), a noun phrase (e.g. the cat) or an indefinite pronoun
(e.g. someone).
e The bare infinitive in ‘the rescuers felt John lose his grip of rope’
implies that John fully lost his hold of the rope while the rescuers were in
contact with him. The –ing form in the rescuers felt John losing his grip of
rope does not imply that.
f Unfortunately, not all the dO finite or non-finite clause of the

active monotransitive verbs in the cases that have been presented so far can
become passive. “With many verbs which do not passivise, the predication is
completed by means of a finite or non-finite clause. When this cannot be
replaced by a Nominal Group or by it, we classify it as Predicator
Complement” [Downing and Locke [1992: 56], abbreviated as predC.
83

17.3.1.2.6 Many ditransitive verbs of communicating (assure,

inform, tell, notify, etc.) and of causing someone to think or believe or know
something (convince, persuade, remind, teach, etc.), and the performative
verbs such as bet, promise, and warn can take a dO finite that-clause
after an iO pronoun or noun phrase.
S1
NP1 VP1
Vgrp NP[iO] NP[dO]

[ditrans]
S’[finite that-clause]
Comp S2
NP2 VP2
(20)a. The teacher ASSURED us that she IS in no danger.

b. I BET you that no one WILL ACCEPT the offer.
c. He finally CONVINCED the jury that he WAS TELLING the truth.
d. The police NOTIFIED my friend that his car HAD BEEN FOUND.
e. They PERSUADED me that the plan WAS feasible.

f. [E ] REMIND your father that we HAVE visitors tonight.
g. Experience HAS TAUGHT them that a back-up copy IS essential.
h. No one HAS ever TOLD me that I AM beautiful.
17.3.1.2.7 Advise, ask, remind, show, teach, and tell are some
common ditransitive verbs which introduce indirect interrogatives. Most of
these can take a dO Wh-finite or non-finite clause after an iO pronoun or
noun phrase. Remind is commonly used with a non-finite.
84

S1
NP1 VP1
Vgrp NP[iO] NP[dO]

[ditrans]
S’[(non-)finite clause]
Comp S2
NP2 VP2
(21)a. I ‘LL ASK someone who(m) we CAN GIVE it to.

who(m) [E] TO GIVE it to.
b. φ TELL me how I CAN SWITCH it on.
how [E] TO SWITCH it on.
c. No one CAN ADVISE you what you SHOULD DO.
what [E] TO DO.
d. φ REMIND me when [E] TO SWITCH it off.

e. Tom WILL SHOW you where you CAN SEND it.
51.3.1.2.8 Indirect commands, requests and other directives are

introduced by the following ditransitive verbs: advise, allow, ask, beg,
challenge, enable, encourage, forbid, force, get, help, lead, order,
persuade, tell, trust, and urge. The direct object of a ditransitive verb
in this case is a to-infinitive non-finite clause with a covert subject
which has the same reference with the indirect object:
85

S1
NP1 VP1
Vgrp NP[iO] NP[dO]

[ditrans]
Comp S2
NP2 VP2
(22)a. TELL the children φ [E] TO KEEP quiet!

b. He URGED his friend φ [E] TO GIVE UP drug.
c. An unexpected clue LED the police φ [E] TO SUSPECT a kidnap.
d. He TOLD us φ [E] TO STAY.
e. She ‘LL probably ASK you φ [E] TO LEND her some money.
f. I CHALLENGE you φ [E] TO DISPROVE my argument.
g. This law WILL ENABLE elderly people φ [E] TO CLAIM higher position.
Note that c “the indirect object refers to the person or people

addressed by the subject” [Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 1992:
xxviii] and that d some ditransitive verbs in three following cases can be
made passive, with the indirect object of an active verb becoming the subject
of the passive one. Again, the dO (non-)finite clause can never become
the subject of the passive clause:
(20)i. Colleagues TOLD Paul that the job WOULDN’T BE easy.

i’. Paul WAS TOLD (by colleagues) that the job WOULDN’T BE easy.
i’’. *That the job WOULDN’T BE easy WAS TOLD (Paul by colleagues).
(21)f. The instructor TAUGHT the dancers how they SHOULD BREATHE.
how [E] TO BREATHE.
f’. The dancers WERE TAUGHT how they SHOULD BREATHE.

how [E] TO BREATHE.
f’’. * How they SHOULD BREATHE WAS TAUGHT to the dancers.

*How [E] TO BREATHE
86

(22)h. He ADVISED her [E] TO SEE a doctor.

h’. She WAS ADVISED to see a doctor (by him).
h’’. *[E] TO SEE a doctor WAS ADVISED (by him).
17.3.1.2.9 Below are a number of ditransitive verbs that take
an iO to-prepositional phrase first and later a dO which is a that-clause, a
finite or non-finite Wh-clause, or a non-finite clause containing or
consisting of a to-infinitive: confess, explain, point out, prove, indicate,
signal, acknowledge, admit, announce, declare, mention, propose,
recommend, remark, report, state, and suggest.
S1
NP1 VP1
Vgrp PP[iO] NP[dO]

[ditrans]
S’[finite that-clause]
Comp S2
NP2 VP2
(23)a. He CONFESSED to me that he WAS extremely alarmed.

b. I POINTED out to John that few people WOULD AGREE.
c. He SIGNALED to us that he WOULD KEEP quiet.
d. The employers ANNOUNCED to journalists
that the dispute HAD BEEN SETTLED.
e. The consultant RECOMMENDED to the employers
that new salary scales SHOULD BE INTRODUCED.
f. We CAN’T PROVE to the commission
that the effects ARE NOT harmful.
g. The garage EXPLAINED to customers
that the spare parts HAD NOT BEEN DELIVERD.
(24)a. He EXPLAINED to the staff how they SHOULD HANDLE complaints.
how [E] TO HANDLE complaints.
b. You SHOULD INDICATE to the staff where they ARE TO ASSEMBLE.

where [E] TO ASSEMBLE.
87

(25)a. He GESTURED to the students φ [E] TO STAND UP.

b. Fred SIGNALLED to the waiter φ [E] TO BRING another chair.
c. Stephen SHOUTED to the chairman φ [E] TO LET someone else speak.
d. A policeman MOTIONED to us φ [E] TO MOVE to the side of the road.
Note that:
c The iO prepositional phrases in (23)a-f and (24)a-b refer to the
person or people addressed by the subject while the iO prepositional
phrases in (25)a-d refer to the person or people to whom the subject is
calling or signalling.
d The Recipient indirect objects of these verbs can never become the
subject in a corresponding passive clause. Neither can their that-clause
direct objects:
(23)h. Sir Humphrey EXPLAINED to the Minister that delays MIGHT BE fatal.
h’. *The Minister WAS EXPLAINED that delays MIGHT BE fatal.
h’’. *That delays MIGHT BE fatal WAS EXPLAINED to the Minister.
If a passive is required, some verbs allow an alternative structure with

the semantically empty pronoun it and an extraposed that-clause subject:
(23)h’’’. It WAS EXPLAINED to the Minister that delays MIGHT BE fatal.
Below are two more examples to re-support the passive construction

with it.
(23)g’. It WAS EXPLAINED to customers (by the garage)
that the spare parts HAD NOT BEEN DELIVERD.
(23)a’. It WAS EXPLAINED to the staff how they SHOULD HANDLE complaints.
how [E] TO HANDLE complaints.
e The sentences marked (25)a-d have no passive counterparts at all.
17.3.1.2.10 When the direct object of a complex transitive

verb is realised by a finite or non-finite clause, the semantically empty
pronoun it is also necessary as an anticipatory Direct Object before the
oP/oC adjective (phrase) in the Vgrp.
88

S1
NP1 VP1
Vgrp PRO AP[oP/oC] NP[dO]

[complex]
[anticipatory dO] S’[(non-)finite clause]
PRO A
Comp S2
NP2 VP2
(26)a. I FIND it strange that he REFUSES to come.

b. I CONSIDERS it unlikely that the money WILL BE REFUNDED.
c. She MIGHT REGARD it insulting for you TO LEAVE now.
d. You MUST FIND it flattering φ [E] HAVING so many fans.
17.3.1.3 The indirect object can also be realised by either a finite

clause or non-finite clause:
17.3.1.3.1 Both Recipient and Beneficiary indirect objects

can be realised by finite Wh-clauses:
(27)a. LEND whoever CALLS the bicycle pump in the shed.
b. SAVE whoever COMES the trouble of ringing.
c. GIVE whatever you THINK best priority.
d. She GAVE whomever she MET a warm greeting.
e. Jack MADE whoever CAME there the same offer.
17.3.1.3.2 Recipient indirect objects can also be realised by

non-finite −ing clauses:
89

S1
NP1 VP1
PRO Vgrp NP[iO] NP[dO]

[ditrans]
S’[non-finite −ing clause]
Comp S2
NP2 VP2
(28)a. I ’M GIVING φ [E] READING magazines much less time.

b. He DID NOT GIVE φ [E] FINDING the cat a second thought.
17.3.1.4 The subject(ive) complement can also be realised by a

finite clause, as in (29)a-e, or a non-finite clause, as in (30)a-e.
Stageberg [1965: 198] believes that “word groups as well as individual
words can be nominals, and they occupy the usual noun positions.” The sP/sC
(non)finite clauses in italic and bold in the sentences marked (29)a-e are
nominals as far as Stageberg’s belief is concerned, and that’s why it is
possible to analyse them as being dominated by a NP node, just like the
clausal subjects and direct objects considered earlier.
However, Burton-Roberts [1997: 202] argues that “with clausal

subject-predicatives, there is no motivation for having the clausal dominated
by NP. We have already allowed that a range of categories can function as
subject-predicatives (NP, AP, and PP), so there is no reason not to allow that
S can as well”. Burton-Roberts’ argument is accepted to make the following
tree-diagrams a bit simpler:
90

S1
NP1 VP1
Vgrp S’[(non-)finite clause]

[intens] [sP/sC]
Comp S2
NP2 VP2
(29)a. That WAS what I THOUGHT too.

b. She BECAME what she HAD HOPED.
c. She HAS BECOME what she always WANTED TO BE.

d. This IS how you SHOULD DO it.
e. Ken’s belief IS that things CAN’T GET any worse.
(30) a. The best plan IS for you TO GO by train.

b. What most people prefer IS φ others DOING the work.
c. The only thing I did WAS φ [E] TELL him to go away.
d. My advice IS φ [E] WITHDRAW.
e. What I don’t enjoy IS φ [E] STANDING in queues.
17.3.1.5. The object(ive) complement can also be realised by a

finite Wh-clause, a non-finite bare or to-infinitive clause, or a non-
finite −ing or −ed clause:
17.3.1.5.1 The object(ive) complement in (31)a-e is a finite

Wh-clause which “describes a feature or quality of the direct object”
[Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 1992: xxv].
91

S1
NP1 VP1
Vgrp NP[dO] S’[finite WH-clause]

[complex] [oP/oC]
Comp S2
NP2 VP2
(31)a. You MADE me what I AM.
b. They MADE him what he HAD always WANTED [E] to be.

c. We WILL NAME the baby whatever his grandfather WISHES.
d. DYE your hair whatever colour you LIKE!
e. Our enthusiasm HAS MADE the club what it IS today.
17.3.1.5.2 The objective complement in (32)a-g is the −ing

form of the verb, either alone (e.g. thinking) or as part of a larger clause
(e.g. playing in the garden). It tells us “what the object is made to do or is
kept doing [Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 1992: xxvi].”
S1
NP1 VP1
Vgrp NP[dO] S’[non-finite −ing or −ed clause]

[complex] [oP/oC]
Comp S2
NP2 VP2
(32)a. The driver KEPT the engine φ [E] RUNNING.

b. This remark SET everyone φ [E] THINKING.
c. The look on Bill’s face HAD me φ [E] TREMBLING with fear.
d. The policeman GOT the traffic φ [E ] MOVING.
e. The smoke STARTED her φ [E ] COUGHING.
f. The authorities ORDERED
hundreds of demonstrators φ [E] PLACED under the house arrest.
g. We LEFT the children φ [E] WATCHING TV in the living room.
92

17.3.1.5.3 The objective complement in (33)a-g is the bare

infinitive, either alone (e.g. work) or as part of a larger clause (e.g. play in
the road). It tells us what the direct object “is made or allowed to do [Oxford
Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 1992: xxvi].” The causative verbs have, let
and make take a bare infinitive. With help either a to-infinitive or a bare
infinitive is possible:
S1
NP1 VP1
Vgrp NP[dO] S’[non-finite bare infinitive clause]

[complex] [oP/oC]
Comp S2
NP2 VP2
(33)a. His tutor MADE him φ [E] WORK.

b. They MADE the prisoners φ [E] against the wall.
STAND
c. Stephen HELPED us φ (TO) ORGANISE the party.
[E]
d. Mother WON’T LET children φ PLAY in the road.
[E]
e. They WON’T LET you φ VISIT the patient yet.
[E]
f. We HAD Jane φ [E] RUN through the procedure again.
g. I ’LL HAVE my secretary φ [E] MAKE you a reservation.
17.3.1.5.4 The objective complement in (42)a-d is a to-infinitive,

either alone (e.g. to give up) or as part of a larger clause (e.g. to answer his
questions). It tells us what the direct object “is made or helped to do or be.”
[Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 1992: xxvi]
93

S1
NP1 VP1
Vgrp NP[dO] S’[non-finite to-infinitive clause]

[complex] [oP/oC]
Comp S2
NP2 VP2
(34)a. The situation FORCED me φ [E] TO GIVE UP.
b. The reporter PRESSED her φ [E] TO ANSWER his questions.
c. The extra money HELPED John φ [E] TO BE independent.
d. An official DECLARED the place φ [E] TO BE free from infection.
Note that:
c Only a small number of complex transitive verbs; usually those
mentioned in (31)a-e, (32)a-h, (33)a-g and (34)a-d; are used in this case.
d Only a few verbs in this case can be made passive. The direct object of
an active verb becomes the subject of the same verb in the passive:
(31)c’. The baby WILL BE NAMED whatever his grandfather WISHES.
(32)d’. The traffic WAS GOT MOVING (by the policeman).
(33)a’. He WAS MADE TO WORK (by his tutor).
(34)d’. The place WAS DECLARED TO BE free from infection (by an

official).
17.3.1.6 The complement of a preposition (cPrep, for short) can

also be realised by a finite Wh-clause, a non-finite to-infinitive clause
or an −ing clause:
94

PP
P S’[(non-)finite clause]
[cPrep]
Comp S
NP VP
(35)a. CAN you SEE from where you SIT?

b. You MUST DO the best with what you HAVE.
d. I strongly OBJECT to what you ’VE just SAID.
e. It all DEPENDS on where you GO.
g. He HAS no idea of how it SHOULD BE DONE.
f. We HAVE RECEIVED no news as yet of when the boat LEAVES.
c. The party WILL HAVE TO DRAW from whatever sources it CAN.
h. They ARE all ARGUING about how much [E] TO CHARGE admittance.
(36)a. I THOUGHT of φ [E] PAYING cash.
b. You CAN COUNT on φ Jane TO HELP make the sandwiches.
c. I BELIEVE in φ [E] GETTING things done as quickly as possible.
17.3.2 SUBORDINATE/EMBEDDED ADJECTIVAL CLAUSES
(SubACl/ EmACl, for short):
An adjective clause which appear inside an NP can be either optional,
and thus subordinate, as in (37)b-c and (38)d-e, or obligatory, and thus
embedded, as in (37)a and (38)a-c:
S1
NP1 VP1
NP2 S’[finite clause]
DET N’ Comp S2
ART headN NP2 VP2
(37)a. The news that the enemy WERE near ALARMED everybody.
b. The boy φ who WAS SLEEPING WAS DREAMING.
c. The place where I first MET my husband IS NOT far from here.
95

NP1
NP2 S’[finite clause]
DET N’ Comp S
ART headN NP VP
(38)a. No one CAN DENY the fact that fire BURNS.
b. He CAME to me in the belief that I COULD HELP him.
c. I HEARD a rumour that he IS LEAVING.
d. I’LL never FORGET the day when I first ENTERED the university.
e. That’s the reason why she HAS REFISED his invitation.
17.3.3 SUBORDINATE/EMBEDDED ADVERBIAL CLAUSES

(SubAdvCl/EmAdvCl, for short):
17.3.3.1 In the form of a finite Wh-clause, a non-finite to-
infinitive clause, or an adverbial clause can be used to complement or
modify a head adjective, i.e. to be an adjective complement/post-modifier:
S1
NP1 VP1
Vgrp AP[sP/sC]
[intens]
headA S’[(non-)finite clause]
Comp S2
NP2 VP2
(39)a. They WERE hopeful (that the weather WOULD CHANGE).

b. Andrew SEEMED angry (that the dog HAD NOT BEEN FED).
c. John IS doubtful (if he CAN PASS the test).

d. She IS indifferent (whether you COME or not).
e. Leon WAS happy (that Sara WON the race).
f. Leon WAS aware that Sara WON the race.
(40)a. φ FEEL free (φ [E] TO ASK QUESTIONS)!
b. Jack APPEARED eager (φ [E] TO SEE her).
96

c. The tree IS safe (φ [E] TO CLIMB up).

d. Elephants ARE NOT easy φ [E] TO LASSO.
17.3.3.2 Adverbial clauses can be used to complement or modify

A HEAD VERB:
S1
NP1 VP1
PRO VP2 AdvP1
VP3 AdvP2 S’[finite clause]
Vgrp Adv Comp S2

[intrans] NP2 VP4
(41) I HAVE BEEN WORKING here since I GRADUATED from my university.
17.4 Compound-complex sentences contain “two or more main clauses and

one or more subordinate clauses”. [Warriner, Whitten and Griffith, 1958: 82]
(42)a. Sally SAID she SAW a ghost and Dan BELIEVED her.
b. I DID NOT WANT to leave my bed but the wind BLEW so strong
c. Since I HAD SEEN him the day before, I KNEW that he WAS happy,
but I DID NOT GUESS that he WOULD GIVE up his plans.
S4
S3 Conj S2
NP3 VP3 NP2 VP2
PropN Vgrp NP[dO] PropN Vgrp NP[dO]

[trans] [trans]
S’[finite clause] PRO
Comp S1
NP1 VP1
(42)a. Sally SAID φ she SAW a ghost and Dan BELIEVED her.
97

S4
S3 Conj S2
NP3 VP3 NP2 VP2
I DID NOT WANT to leave my bed but the wind BLEW so strong
(42)b. S’
[finite that-clause]
Comp S1
NP1 VP1
In conclusion, “in the complete IC analysis of a sentence we cut the

sentence into two parts or IC’c, then cut each of these two again into two, and
so on until we have only individual words remaining as parts” [Stageberg,
1965: 263].
_________________
98

SECTION 3: GRAMMATICAL RELATIONS

18 Structure
“The concept of STRUCTURE is essential in distinguishing between the
strings of words that are well-formed expressions in the language
and those that are not.” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 8] To show how things can
be analyzed into their constituent parts in this text, we use TREE-DIAGRAMS —
the trees that are upside-down:
S
NP VP
DET N’ Vgrp AP[sP/sC]

[intens]
DEM headN A
These concepts are basic.

This does not prevent us from having a quick look at some other
common types of diagrams:
c Fries’ diagrams (also called UPSIDEDOWN-T DIAGRAMS) in
Stageberg [1965] and Barsova et al [1969]:
These concepts are basic
d Candelabra’s diagrams in Barsova et al [1969]:

these concepts are basic
e Reed and Kellogg’s diagrams in House and Harman [1965]:

concepts are
these basic
_________________
19 Endocentric structures vs. exocentric structures
19.1 ENDOCENTRIC STRUCTURE
Phrases like the NOUN PHRASE (NP, for short) their rather dubious
jokes are said to be ENDOCENTRIC. “An endocentric construction may be
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substituted for as a whole by one of its constituent units; e.g. a noun may
stand for the whole noun phrase, c.f. big African lions roaming in the
jungle — lions.” [Jackson, 1980: 26]
19.2 EXOCENTRIC STRUCTURE

Phrases like the PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE (PP, for short) beside a
stream are said to be EXOCENTRIC. There is a TWO-WAY DEPENDENCE (⇔,
for short) between beside and a stream as a whole: both of the two
constituents must occur to form the PP beside a stream; “one of them
cannot stand for the whole phrase” [Jackson, 1980: 26].
However, the PP beside a stream can also be considered
ENDOCENTRIC: “Although beside and a stream are both needed to express
the spatial orientation in this case, it is the word beside that is giving the
phrase as a whole its locational character. So beside is the head of the
phrase.” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 43] If the PREPOSITION (P, for short)
beside is the HEAD (H, for short) of the prepositional phrase beside a
stream then a stream is functioning as COMPLEMENT (C, for short) to that
head: (H) beside ⇔ a stream (C).
“Each phrase must have a head. A noun phrase has a noun as head, a
verb phrase has a verb as head, a prepositional phrase a preposition as
head, and an adjective phrase an adjective as head.” [Jacobs, 1995: 51]
Briefly, the STRUCTURES of MODIFICATION, COMPLEMENTATION, and
CO-ORDINATION are all endocentric whereas THE STRUCTURE OF
PREDICATION is exocentric. As to a prepositional phrase, it may be regarded
either as an exocentric structure or as an endocentric structure.
_________________
20 Types of syntactic structures
20.1 STRUCTURE OF MODIFICATION

There is a one-way dependence (⇒, for short) in the STRUCTURE of
MODIFICATION. In the phrase their rather dubious jokes, rather is
dependent on dubious, in the sense that it is only present because dubious
is. If we are to omit dubious, rather will be left without a function, and the
100

omission would result in an ill-formed string (*their rather jokes). Notice,

however, that dubious is in no way dependent on rather. We can omit
rather and still be left with a perfectly good phrase (their dubious jokes).
And rather dubious as a whole is dependent on jokes but not vice-

versa. Rather dubious (the modifier of the phrase) could be omitted
(giving their jokes), but jokes (the head of the phrase) could not (*their
rather dubious).
(modifier) rather ⇒ dubious (head)
(modifier) rather dubious ⇒ jokes (head)
(modifier) their ⇒ rather dubious jokes (head)
Thus, ‘their rather dubious jokes’ is a typical example of the

STRUCTURE OF MODIFICATION.
20.2 STRUCTURE OF COMPLEMENTATION

There is a two-way dependence (⇔, for short) in the STRUCTURE of
COMPLEMENTATION. Both the monotransitive verb saw and the noun phrase
many things must occur to form the verb phrase saw many things: saw is
its head and many things is the complement of that head:
(head) saw ⇔ many things (complement)
Since one of the two constituents cannot stand for the whole verb
phrase as a unit, ‘saw many things’ is a typical example of the STRUCTURE
of COMPLEMENTATION.
20.3 STRUCTURE OF COORDINATION

“Max and Adrian is a COORDINATE NOUN PHRASE (Co-NP, for short),
with Max and Adrian coordinated by and. Co-ordinate NPs have as many
heads as there are nouns coordinated in them. Other COORDINATORS are
but and or.” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 67]
In Stageberg’s opinion [1965: 273], the coordinator “is set off as a

separate element and does not belong to either IC”:
101

Co-NP Co-NP
NP1 Conj NP2 NP1 NP2 Conj NP3
N1 N2 N1 N2 N3
(1)a. Max and Adrian (1)b. sandwiches, relish, and coffee
Stuffy and hot is a COORDINATE ADJECTIVE PHRASE (Co-AP, for

short), with stuffy and hot coordinated by and. This Co-AP can be pre-
modified by too, which is a DEGREE ADVERB (DEG, for short) as in (2)a.
Stuffy and too hot is another Co-AP, with stuffy and too hot
coordinated by and. In this case, too only pre-modifies the ADJECTIVE (A,
for short) hot as in (2)c. Describe the internal structure of the phrase marked
(2)b. In what way(s) is it different from that of (2)a?
AP Co-AP Co-AP
DEG Co-AP AP1 Conj AP2 AP1 Conj AP2
A1 Conj A2 DEG A A A DEG A
(2)a. too stuffy and hot (2)b.too stuffy and hot (2)c. stuffy and too hot
The prepositional phrase up and down the stairs contain a CO-

ORDINATION OF PREPOSITIONS (Co-P, for short), with up and down
coordinated by and as in (3)a. In the foundation and under the rafters
is a COORDINATE PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE (Co-PP, for short), with in the
foundation and under the rafters coordinated by and as in (3)b.
PP Co-PP
Co-P NP PP1 Conj PP2
P1 Conj P2 the stairs P1 NP1 P2 NP2
(3)a. up and down (3)b. in the foundation and under the rafters
Two important points to notice about the co-ordinations marked (1)a-b,

(2)a-c and (3)a-b are c that “the mother and the sisters of the
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coordinator (and in this case) all have the same category label”
[Burton-Roberts, 1997: 71] and d that “the parts joined by Coordinate
Conjunctions ought usually to be of exactly equal value” [Campbell,
1962: 5]. All these co-ordinations are typical examples of the STRUCTURE of
COORDINATION.
20.4 STRUCTURE OF PREDICATION

Wherever possible, a SENTENCE (S, for short) should be divided into
the fewest possible parts, i.e. into two: a NOUN PHRASE (NP, for short) and a
VERB PHRASE (VP, for short).
S
NP (subject) VP (predicate)
(4)a. Ducks paddled.

b. The ducks are paddling away.
c. Those gigantic ducks were paddling away furiously.
d. The mouth-watering duck on the table won’t be paddling away again.
e. The ones over there must have paddled for a while.
f. Those on the left have been paddling noisily.
g. Mine kept on paddling quickly.
h. These did paddle.
i. They did.
The sentences (4)a-i have all been divided into two constituents; the
first is traditionally said to function as SUBJECT, and the second as PREDICATE.
“One way of thinking of these functions is to think of the subject as being
used to mention something and the predicate as used to say something
true or false about the subject.” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 31]
While the noun phrase and the verb phrase of the sentences
marked (4)a-i display the STRUCTURE of MODIFICATION, the very
sentences are typical examples of the STRUCTURE of PREDICATION.
_________________
103

21 Constructions vs. constituents

21.1 A construction is any significant group of words (or morphemes):
old man, lives there, the man who lives there, has gone, to his son’s
house, has gone to his son’s house, the old man who lives there has
gone to his son’s house, etc.
But there has is not, since the two words have no direct connection.
Neither is man since this word contains only one word (and also one
morpheme). On a syntactic level lives is not a construction; but on a
morphological level it is a construction consisting of two morphemes, live
and −s.
21.2 A constituent is any word or construction (or morpheme) which

enters into some larger construction. Thus, each of the words in the
sentence ‘The old man who lives there has gone to his son’s house.’ is
a constituent. So are the two constructions old man and the old man who
lives there.
However, there has or man who is not a constituent. Neither is the

sentence as a whole since there is no larger construction of which it is a
part.
Briefly, all but the smallest constituents are constructions and all
but the largest constructions are constituents. In syntax, the smallest
constituents are words, and the largest constructions are sentences.
_________________
22 Immediate constituents vs. ultimate constituents

22.1 An IMMEDIATE CONSTITUENT (an IC, for short) is one of the two
constituents of which any given construction is directly formed. In
other words, “each of the two parts into which any structure is
divided” [Stageberg, 1965: 263] is called an IMMEDIATE CONSTITUENT.
The IC’s of a given construction are its constituents on the next

lower level:
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the old man who lives there | has gone to his son’s house
the old man | who lives there has gone | to his son’s house
the | old man who | lives there has | gone to | his son’s house
old | man lives | there his son’s | house
his son | ’s
his | son
22.2 ULTIMATE CONSTITUENTS are the smallest constituents of
which a given construction is composed.
If the ultimate constituents of a word are “the unit morphemes
of which it is composed” [Stageberg, 1965: 98] then the ultimate
constituents of a sentence are the individual words (or the possessive
morpheme in some cases) of which it is composed.
There are thirteen ultimate constituents in the old man who lives
there has gone to his son’s house: the, old, man, who, lives, there,
has, gone, to, his, son,’s and house.
_________________
23 Immediate constituents of a sentence
Using the diagram marked (1) as an illustration, one may say “yes” to
the question “Are words the immediate constituents of the sentence that
contains them?”
S
(1) Old Sam sunbathed beside a stream.
Compare the diagram marked (1) with the diagrams marked (2) and (3):
S
*(2) Stream old Sam sunbathed beside a.

S
*(3) Sunbathed old beside stream a Sam.
The diagram marked (1) fails to give any explanation of why the
words that occur in (1) form a well-formed English sentence, and why
those that occur in (2) and (3) do not.
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“The arrangement of words in a sentence is largely determined by the

fact that the words are not immediate constituents of the sentences, but
belong with other words to form groups which have their own specifiable
position in the structure of the sentence. In short, while sentences CONTAIN
words, they don’t CONSIST (just of) words.” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 11-12]
_________________
24 Intervening level of organization between word and sentence
The fact that words do not pattern directly into sentences
implies that there are some intervening levels of organization between
word and sentence. They are usually called phrase, and clause [Jackson,
1980: 4].
The sentence marked (1) consists of two phrases: a noun phrase as the
subject and a verb phrase as the predicate.
(1) My bother was an outstanding student.
The sentence marked (2) consists of two independent clauses that

are coordinately linked by the conjunction ‘but’:
(2) My bother was an outstanding student, but I was not.
_________________
25 Modifiers vs. complements

25.1“A modifier is a subordinate element in an endocentric
structure. It is a word or a word group that affects the meaning of a
headword in that it describes, limits, intensifies and/or adds to the
meaning of the head. In the noun cluster the blue shirt, for example, the
word blue describes the shirt; it limits by excluding other colours; and it
adds to the plain meaning of shirt.
Modifiers may appear before or after the heads they modify, and
sometimes they are separated from the head by intervening words”
[Stageberg, 1965: 230-231]:
a butterfly in the garden which was fluttering among the flowers
25.2 The term complement may be used to refer to various linguistic notions.
Richards, Platt and Weber [1985] and Jacobs [1995] share something in
common in reference to the term complement when the former [1985: 52]
106

states that a complement is “that part of the sentence which follows the verb
and which thus completes the sentence” and the latter [1995: 59] believes
that “a complement is the phrase following the predicate and linked very
closely to it; it is the constituent that ‘completes’ the predicate. However,
these authors differ in what they consider as complements.
The complements according to Richards, Platt and Weber [1985:52] are:

c subject complement: the complement linked to a subject by be or
an intensive verb: She IS a doctor.
d object complement, i.e. the complement linked to an object:
We MADE her the chairperson.
e adjective complement, i.e. the complement linked to an adjective:
I’M glad that you can come.
f complement of a preposition, i.e. the complement linked to a preposition:
They ARGUED about what to do.”
In addition to subject and object complements [1995: 58-60] and
adjective and prepositional complements [1995: 99], Jacobs also presents
noun complements [1995: 99-101]: “Many nouns … takes complement
clauses or complement prepositional phrases:
that Eleanor had met with the senator
the story
the news of her marriage.”
Unlike Jacobs [1995] and Richards, Platt and Weber [1985],

Stageberg’s [1965: 165] complements also cover direct and indirect
objects: “The complements is the generic term for the completers of the
verb, which we shall later learn to know as direct object, indirect object,
object complement, and subject complement (with its subclasses of
predicative noun, predicative pronoun, and predicative adjective.”
Later in his textbook, Stageberg [1965: 275] presents “the

complement of the adjectival” but says nothing concerning either noun
complements or complements of a preposition.
_________________
107

26 Types of adjective complements

An adjectival complement completes the meaning of the adjective
head in a predicative adjective phrase. There are various kinds of
complements in a predicative adjective phrase:
c A prepositional phrase: averse, free and tantamount must take as its
complement a prepositional phrase:
(1)a. I’M NOT averse to a cup of tea.
b. ARE you free from all responsibilities?
c. Her remarks WERE tantamount to slander.
d A non-finite to-infinitive clause: Loath must take as its complement a
non-finite to-infinitive clause:
(2) They WERE loath [E]TO LEAVE this district.
e A finite dependent clause: Aware must take as its complement a finite
dependent clause1:
(3)a. He IS aware that very few jobs ARE available.
b. I don’t think you ’RE aware how much this MEANS to me.
_________________
27 Pre-adjectival modifiers vs. post-adjectival modifiers
An attributive adjective can only take an optional pre-modifier
while a predicative adjective may optionally be pre-modified and
optionally or obligatorily post-modified.
27.1 The pre-modifier in an adjective phrase, either attributive or
predicative, may only be an adverb:
(1)a. It IS a very exciting film.
b. This film IS very exciting.
27.2 Predicative adjectives, not attributive adjectives, may take

post-modifiers:
(2)a. *She IS a somewhat anxious about his son’s health mother.
b. She IS somewhat anxious about his son’s health.
1
Aware can also take as its complement a prepositional phrase:
He WAS aware of a creaking noise.
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27.3 There are various kinds of post-modifiers in a predicative

adjective phrase:
c A prepositional phrase:
(3)a. My roommate BECAME tired of studying.
b. The dean WAS NOT angry with me.
c. I’M worried about your study.
d A non-finite to-infinitive clause:
(4)a. Jack APPEARED eager [E] TO SEE her.
b. We WERE reluctant [E] TO LEAVE.
c. Jane WAS delighted [E] TO RECEIVE the gift.
e A finite dependent clause:
(5)a. I’M glad that it IS over.
b. She IS indifferent whether you COME or not.
_________________
28 Adjective complements vs. optional post-adjectival modifiers
28.1 For most predicative adjectives, post-modification is optional.
In other words, an adjective phrase functioning predicatively does not always
obligatorily contain a certain kind of post-modifier. Anxious and devoted,
for example, can occur with or without post-modification:
(1)a. Mrs Green IS devoted.
b. Mrs Green IS really devoted.
c. Mrs Green IS really devoted to her daughter.
(2)a. He IS anxious.
b. He IS (very) anxious.
c. He IS (very) anxious about his wife’s health.
d. He IS (very) anxious [E] TO PLEASE everybody.
e. He IS (very) anxious that no one SHOULD ACCUSE him of laziness.
28.2 For other predicative adjectives, however, post-modification is

obligatory.
c Averse, free and tantamount are always followed by a prepositional
phrase:
109

(3)a. I’M NOT averse to a cup of tea.

b. ARE you free from all responsibilities?
c. Her remarks WERE tantamount to slander.
d Loath is always followed by a non-finite to-infinitive clause:

(4) They WERE loath [E] TO LEAVE this district.
e Aware must take as its complement either a prepositional phrase or

a finite dependent clause:
(5)a. He WAS aware of a creaking noise.
b. He IS aware that very few jobs ARE available.
c. I don’t think you’RE aware how much this MEANS to me.
f Afraid must take as its complement either a prepositional phrase or a

finite dependent clause beginning with the subordinator “that”:
(6)a. She WAS afraid of what MIGHT HAPPEN
if Edward turned round and saw her.
b. She WAS afraid of losing customers.
c. She WAS afraid that he MIGHT LOSE customers.
The obligatory post-adjectival modifier should be called THE

COMPLEMENT of the head adjective in a predicative adjective phrase to be
distinguished from any possible optional post-adjectival modifier of the

head adjective.
An adjective may be both pre-modified and post-modified. Pre-

adjectival modifiers are always optional whereas post-adjectival
modifiers may be either optional or obligatory. The combination of an
adjective and its optional post-modifier is an example of THE STRUCTURE
OF MODIFICATION whereas the combination of an adjective and its
obligatory complement displays THE STRUCTURE OF COMPLEMENTATION.
Thus, it is crucial to observe what follows the head adjective in a
predicative adjective phrase and to determine whether it is A
COMPLEMENT or A MODIFIER.
110

29 Classification of English adjectives according to their post-modifiers

We may give a affirmative answer to the above question because
English adjectives vary in the kinds of post-modifiers that are possible
after them:
29.1 Many adjectives do not allow any post-modifier (though they may
take a pre-modifier): big, blue, astute, sudden, tall, criminal, etc.:
(1)a. This IS another really big problem.
b. This problem IS really big.
(2)a. She HAS blue eyes.
b. Her eyes ARE blue.
(3)a. It’S a criminal waste of public money.
b. Their actions ARE criminal.
29.2 Some adjectives allow one or more kinds of optional post-modifiers:

cInteresting may take only an infinitive (phrase):
(4) His book IS interesting to read.
dAttentive allows only a prepositional phrase:

(5) The audience WAS attentive tothe speaker.
eSafe allows either a prepositional phrase or an infinitive phrase:

(6)a. This toy IS safe for children.
b. This tree IS safe to climb up.
f Anxious, however, take all three kinds of post-modifiers:

(7)a. He IS very anxious about his wife’s health,
b. He IS very anxious to please everybody,
c. He IS very anxious that no one should accuse him of laziness.
29.3 Some adjectives require one or more kinds of oblibatory post-

modifiers, which are also known as adjectives complements:
g Fond and tantamount must take as its complement a prepositional
phrase:
111

(8)a. I’M fond of swimming.

b. Her remarks WERE tantamount to slander.
h Loath must take as its complement a non-finite to-infinitive clause:

(9) They WERE loath [E] TO LEAVE this district.
i Aware must take as its complement either a prepositional phrase or a

finite dependent clause:
(10)a. He WAS aware of a creaking noise.
b. He IS aware that very few jobs ARE available.
c. [I don’t think] you’RE aware how much this MEANS to me.
j Afraid must take as its complement either a prepositional phrase or a

finite dependent clause beginning with the subordinator “that”:
(11)a. She WAS afraid of losing customers.
b. She WAS afraid that he MIGHT LOSE customers.
c. She WAS afraid of what MIGHT HAPPEN
if Edward turned round and saw her.
_________________
30 Types of adverbial adjuncts
30.1 All VPs are optionally modified by one or more adverbial adjuncts
which “provide circumstantial information about the action, process or event
talked about in the clause in which they occur. Circumstantial information
includes information about the place, time, manner, etc. of the action, process
or event” [Jackson, 1980: 25]. Being adverbials, adjuncts are frequently in
form of adverbs or adverb phrases, prepositional phrases, infinitive phrases,
participial phrases and subordinate finite clauses.
30.2 Adverbial adjuncts can be sub-categorised according to the meanings

they express. Note that cthe adverbial adjunct in question is underlined
and the Vgrp IS CAPITALISED for better identification and that donly
INTRANSITIVE VERBS are employed to simplify the following analysis a bit:
112

30.2.1 Adverbial adjuncts of Time have four subcategories within them:

c Adverbial adjuncts of Point of Time tell when an event takes place,
answering the question ‘When?’ or ‘At what time?’:
(1)a. My father WORKS at night.
b. We’LL BE FLYING over France at eight thirty tonight.
c. I’LL COME some time/next week.
d. They ARRIVED the next day/at a quarter past nine.
d Adverbial adjuncts of Duration or Extent in Time describe how

long an event lasts, answering the question ‘How long?’:
(2)a. I’D LIKE TO GO for a week in silence.
b. The two drivers MUST STAY until the police get there.
c. He WORKS hard from morning till night.
d. The bell RANG all day long.
e. It LASTED years.
f. I’VE BEEN WORKING here since 1981/since I graduated from my
university.
e Adverbial adjuncts of Frequency describe how often an event

occurs, answering the question ‘How often?’ or ‘How many times?’:
(3)a. He COMES home late from time to time.
b. We MEET twice a week and EAT OUT every Friday evening.
c. The roof LEAKS whenever it rains.
d. The electrician always/usually/often/sometimes/rarely/never
WORKS overtime.
f Adverbial adjuncts of Temporal relationship convey the temporal

relationship between two events or states, answering the question ‘When?
(4)a. After this the conversation SANK for a while into mere sociability.
b. They HAD ARRIVED before the meeting started.
30.2.2 Adverbial adjuncts of Place (also called Space) have six

subcategories within them:
c Adverbial adjuncts of Location or Position describe the very place
in, on or at which an action occurs, answering the question ‘Where?’:
(5)a. They STOMPED upstairs.
113

b. My sister and her boyfriend MET at a dance.

c. I CAN hardly STUDY at home.
d. A Panamanian passenger bus LAY in a ditch.
e. He always HIDES where I can never reach.
d Adverbial adjuncts of Distance or Extent in Space include both

general description of distance and specific measurements of an action,
answering the question ‘How far?’:
(6)a. I CAN’T WALK much farther.
b. We RAN no more than two blocks.
c. I’LL JOG as far as I can.
d. You SHOULD NOT GO too near/too close.
e. They’VE WALKED for seven miles.
e Adverbial adjuncts of Direction give a general orientation or the

direction of an action, answering the question ‘In what direction?’:
(7)a. A visitor CAME in.
b. A tiger HAS GOT out.
c. We ARE FLYING due north.
d. Opinion IS SHIFTING in favour of the new scheme.
f Adverbial adjuncts of Terminus describe the direction of an action

towards a destination, answering the question ‘Where?’:
(8)a. The director HAS COME home.
b. She GOES to the church to take a few pictures.
c. He JUMPED onto the ground/into the air.
d. They GO where(ever) they are told.
g Adverbial adjuncts of Source describe the direction of an action

from a point of origin, answering the question ‘From which?’ ‘From where?’
or ‘From whom?’:
(9)a. She GRADUATED from Cambridge with a degree in law.
b. He BORROWED freely from other writers.
c. He JUMPED off the roof.
d. He’S COME straight back from the construction site.
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h Adverbial adjuncts of Path describe the pathway of an action,

answering the question ‘By/Through/Along/Via/By way of which?’:
(10)a. They ARE TRAVELING to France by way of London.
b. You CAN GO from London to Washington via New York.
c. He JUMPED out of the window/over the wall.
d. A lot of vehicles TRAVEL along the street.
e. The train WHISTLED past (the village).
f. We CAME by country roads, not by the motor road.
g. The burglar GOT in through the window and ESCAPED through the
back door.
30.2.3 Adverbial adjuncts of Manner describe the way in which

something is done, answering the question ‘How?’ or ‘By what way?’:
(11)a. The gears WORK very smoothly.
b. She CAME in gently/in a gentle way.
c. He JUMPED this way.
d. I LINGERED on purpose.
e. He BEHAVES quite strangely/in a very strange way/as if he is
going to be attacked.
30.2.4 Adverbial adjuncts of Behalf or Guise answer the question

‘Who for?’, ‘Instead of whom?’, ‘On behalf of whom?’, ‘What as?’ or ‘What
into?’:
(12)a. I COME here as a friend.
b. Tom CAME instead of Paul.
c. He SET out poor/as a pauper.
d. He CAME back rich/a rich man/as a millionaire.
e. Mavis LEFT the house a smiling, confident woman.
30.2.5 Adverbial adjuncts of Comparison compare the manner of a

state or action relative to another, answering the question ‘How?’
(13)a. Our coach LEFT earlier than it should have done.
b. This M.C. SPEAKS more fluently than accurately.
c. He DID as much as he could.
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d. The students CAN’T TRANSLATE as well as their professor does.

e. You MUST TRANSLATE as accurately as possible.
f. The lip CURLED like a snail’s foot.
30.2.6 Adverbial adjuncts of Accompaniment lie along the

continuum from clearly conveying manner to encompassing more ambiguous
meanings. They usually answer the question ‘With/Without whom?’,
‘With/Without what?’ or ‘And who/what else?’:
(14)a. I WENT to the ball with the handsome Prince Igor.
b. I LEFT with someone else.
c. He’S COMING downstairs with two sleeping bags over the top of
his head.
The adverbial adjuncts in (14)a-b show physical accompaniment.

Though they are not always obviously answers to a ‘How?’ question, they can
be replaced by the opposite adverbial adjuncts of Manner such as
independently or by myself and thus fit the manner category most clearly. In
some sense, the adverbial adjunct in (14)c conveys information about the
Manner of ‘coming downstairs’, but the precise semantic relationship between
this adverbial adjunct and the rest of the clause is difficult to define. Below
some more adverbial adjuncts of Accompaniment:
(14)d. I CAN’T LIVE without you.
e. I’VE COME out without any money.
f. Tom CAME as well as Paul.
30.2.7 Adverbial adjuncts of Means tell the means by which an

activity or state was accomplished, answering the question ‘How?’ or ‘By what
means?’:
(15)a. Mrs. Brown never TRAVELS by air.
b. They GOT over to that deserted village on foot/on horseback.
c. I GO to work by bus.
d. He GOT here by running all the way from home.
30.2.8 Adverbial adjuncts of Instrument describe the item used to

undertake a task, answering the question ‘With/Without what?’:
116

(16)a. The prisoner ESCAPED with only a razor blade.

b. I CAN hardly STUDY without an up-to-date dictionary.
c. She frequently WRITES in pencil.
d. You SHOULD NOT READ by artificial light.
e. They usually PAY in cash, not by check.
f. She often SEWS with cotton thread.
30.2.9 Adverbial adjuncts of Cause and of Reason both answer the

question ‘Why?’ Traditionally, cause has been associate with a relatively
objective statement, as in (17)a-c, while reason has implied a more
subjective assessment, as in (17)d-e:
(17)a. He [was buried under bricks, and] DIED of head injures.
b. We MISSED the plane through being held up on the motorway.
c. The old man WALKED slowly because of his bad legs/
because his legs are bad.
d. I WENT there because I was told.
e. I’VE BEEN WAITING here as I know you’ll certainly come and pick
me up.
In the majority of cases, however, it is difficult to judge the level of

objectivity and thus to discern between cause and reason, as with the
following examples:
(17)f. The plan FELL down because it proved to be expensive.
g. He THRIVES on positive criticism.
30.2.10 Adverbial adjuncts of Contingency, like adverbial adjuncts

of Cause, also answer the question ‘Why’. However, it is necessary to note
that adverbial adjuncts of Cause “give as a reason of something which is
happening, has happened, or will happen” while adverbial adjuncts of
Contingency “give as a reason of something which might have happened, or
which may happen” [Campbell, 1962: 59]. The first is certain, the second is
only possible or probable, as shown in (18)a-d:
(18)a. They DECIDED to retreat at once
for fear (that)/lest they should be cut from the main force.
b. You SHOULD LEAVE immediately in case of fire.
117

c. You HAD BETTER NOT SKI in case the weather is really bad.
d. We STARTED early for fear of a possible traffic jam.
30.2.11 Adverbial adjuncts of Purpose answer the question ‘What

for?’ or ‘For what purpose?’:
(19)a. I’VE GOT TO WRITE to report what I’ve been doing so far.
b. She just WORKS for her own account.
c. He’S GONE on business, not for pleasure.
d. I JOG for the sake of my health.
e. The ground crew even CRAWLED into the un-pressurised luggage
compartments so as not to be left behind.
f. They always WALK
so that/in order that they may/might get plenty of exercise.
Purpose is also closely related to reason, it is possible, for example, to

paraphrase (19)a as ‘The reason I’ve got to write IS to report what I’ve been
doing so far.’
30.2.12 Adverbial adjuncts of Result:

“In Purpose Sentences something is done deliberately in order to bring
about a certain result. The Subordinate Clause often has MAY or MIGHT. In
Result Sentences something happens by chance and brings about a certain
result. The Subordinate Clause never has MAY or MIGHT.” [Campbell,1962: 58]
(20)a. He DRANK so much that he’s got stomachache.
b. My father SMOKED so heavily that he got lung cancer.
c. He JUMPED so high that he easily crossed the barrier.
d. The third couple DANCED so beautifully that all the examiners
awarded them the maximal point.
30.2.13 Adverbial adjuncts of Concession express material that

runs counter to the proposition of the rest of the clause or, in the case of
adverbial adjuncts realized as clauses, counter to the proposition in the
main clause:
(21)a. He DOESN’T SUCCEED however hard he tries.
b. She FAILS however much she does.
118

c. They KEPT on swimming

(even) though/in spite of the fact that the weather was bad.
despite/in spite of the bad weather.
d. [1700 miners have been out for seven months and,]
despite intimidation, no one HAS GONE back to work.
30.2.14 Adverbial adjuncts of Condition express the conditions

which hold on the proposition of the main clause, including both positive and
negative conditions. They usually answer the question ‘Under what
condition(s)?’:
(22)a. These people CANNOT OPERATE unless they receive support.
b. You MAY LEAVE right now
provided that you work overtime tomorrow.
c. We CAN PLAY as long as it doesn’t rain.
d. You CAN LEAVE, if necessary.
e. And if you were in the mood we COULD at least GO.
30.2.15 Adverbial adjuncts of Degree or Extent tell the extent to

which a proposition holds, answering the question ‘How much?’, ‘How many?’
‘To what degree?’ or ‘To which extent?’:
(23)a. [The government had predicted that] rateable values WOULD RISE
by about seven times.
b. The land tenure system VARIES slightly from place to place.
c. He POINTED very obviously at the woman in the fur coat.
d. He CAN hardly HAVE ARRIVED yet.
e. The girl SLIPPED and almost FELL.
f. She’S GETTING on a bit now.
g. I HAD TO AGREE partially/completely/to a certain extent.
h. I quite AGREE/UNDERSTAND.
i. I CAN’T AGREE more.
30.2.16 Adverbial adjuncts of Addition or Restriction

c Adverbial adjuncts of Addition (also called additive adjuncts) show
that a current proposition is being added to a previous one:
119

(24)a. She also PLAYS well.

b. I DID, too.
c. I DIDN’T, either.
It is important to note that unlike conjuncts, adverbial adjuncts of
Addition “do not serve primarily to link units of discourse. Rather, their
primary purpose is to show that one bit of propositional content is being added
to a previously mentioned idea or entity”. [Biber et all, 1999: 779]
d Adverbial adjuncts of Restriction (also called restrictive adjuncts)

emphasize that the proposition is true in a way which expressly excludes some
other possibilities:
(24)d. I’M only JOKING.
e. Well, they just FELL behind, you know.
A feature shared by adjuncts of Additive and those of Restrictive
is that, unlike many other adverbials, they often cannot be moved without
affecting their meaning in the clause. The position of the adverbial is
important in determining what element of the clause is the focus of the
addition or restriction. Thus, the following pairs of sentences are not
equivalent. Only the adverbs in (25)a-b are adjuncts; the adverb in (25)a’ is
a disjunct while that in (25)b’ is a conjunct:
(25)a. A heart born especially for me, Jackie USED TO TEASE.
a’. Especially a heart born for me, Jackie USED TO TEASE.
b. Mr. Arce Gomez also HAS a human rights reputation.
b’. Also Mr. Arce Gomez HAS a human rights reputation.
30.3 Note that adverbial adjuncts may precede and/or follow the Vgrp
of the VP:
S S
NP VP1 NP VP1
PropN VP2 AdvP AdvP VP2

[opA of Location] [opA of Manner]
Vgrp Vgrp
[intrans] PP Adv [intrans]
(26)a. Phil SUNBATHED beside a stream. (26)b. A tourist suddenly COLLAPSED.
120

30.4 Also note that two or more adverbial adjuncts of different types
may occur together, following a variety of orders:
(27)a. He TRAVELS a lot (Degree)
from and to Hanoi (Source and Terminus).
b. She WROTE quickly (Manner) in order to finish in time (Purpose).
c. The cat CREPT silently (Manner) towards the bird (Direction).
d. I WANT TO GO somewhere slightly more exotic (Terminus)
for a change (Purpose).
e. He WILL certainly (Degree) DIE
if you don’t call a doctor (Condition).
S
NP VP1
PRO AdvP1 VP2

[opA of Frequency]
VP3 AdvP2
[opA of Point of Time]
VP4 AdvP3
DEG headAdv [opA of Terminus ⇒ Purpose] PP
Vgrp
[intrans] PP
(27)f. She hardly ever GOES to bed before midnight.
30.5 An obligatory adverbial adjunct can sometimes be left out provided

that there is enough contextual support. The missing adverbial adjunct is
supplied in < > in the examples below:
(28)a. [The two patients WERE also RELEASED from Guy’s yesterday
afternoon.] One REMAINED <in hospital> for an exploratory operation
on a shoulder injury.
b. “Why HAVE I BEEN here?” he wanted to say. “How long DO I HAVE TO
STAY <here>?”
30.6 An optional adverbial adjunct may follow an obligatory

adverbial adjunct. In (29)a-f there exists an adverbial obligatory adjunct
of Place (i.e. either of Location, Terminus, Path, Direction or of Source):
121

(29) a. We HAVE LIVED here (Location) for ten years (Extent in Time).
b. We WENT to Rome (Terminus) by Milan and Florence (Path).
c. A van carrying farm workers RAN off a foggy rural road (Source)
and PLUNGED into a murky canal (Terminus) today (Point of Time).
d. He’S COMING downstairs (Direction)
with two sleeping bags over the top of his head (Accompaniment).
e. She SLID over the questions (Path)
without answering them (Manner).
f. Daddy CAME home (Terminus) from work (Source)
earlier than usual (Manner).
30.7 Quite often, only one obligatory adverbial adjunct is enough to make
the meaning conveyed by the VP of a given sentence complete. In some
cases, however, both adverbial adjuncts in the VP are obligatory:
(30)a. The project WOULD GO forwards (Direction) as planned (Manner).
b. The project WOULD GO forwards (Direction).
c. The project WOULD GO as planned (Manner).
(31)a. The jumbo jet FLEW up (Direction) into the open air (Terminus).
b. The jumbo jet FLEW up (Direction).
c’. The jumbo jet FLEW into the open air (Terminus).
It is not always easy to tell whether an adverbial adjunct is obligatory

or optional. However, this distinction is crucial as far as the meaning
expressed by the whole VP in which the adjunct occur is concerned.
30.8 The above illustrations indicate that a number of nouns or noun

phrases can, and sometimes must, appear without prepositions when they are
the adverbial adjuncts of Time, of Place or even of Manner in VPs.
Among these nouns/noun phrases are Tuesday; the next day; last night; next
week; the day before yesterday; yesterday afternoon; all the time; every Friday
evening; some time; home; there; here; then; this way; a bit; a lot; a pauper; a
rich man; a smiling, confident woman; etc. Jacobs [1995: 26] believes that
“this characteristic is a relic marked by special case suffixes rather than
prepositions”. In addition, adjectives like rich or poor can also be the
adverbial adjunct of Manner or of Guise.
122

S S
NP1 VP1 NP VP1
PRO VP2 AdvP PRO VP2 AdvP
Vgrp NP2 Vgrp AP

[intrans] [intrans]
A
(32)a. I ’LL COME some time.
b. I ’LL COME next week. (33)a. He SET out poor.
c. He JUMPED this way. b. He CAME back rich.
_________________
31 Noun phrase analyses
Using a tree-diagram to give a complete analysis for each of the
following NPs means not using any triangle notation.
(1) much evening enjoyment (3) a much more expensive trip
(2) a much harder job (4) much more white sand
(5) [That was] much the best meal I’ve ever tasted
ANSWER:
1. In much evening enjoyment, much2 is a quantifying adjective
meaning ‘a large amount or quantity (of sth)’, pre-modifying the N’2 evening
enjoyment, which is in fact a compound noun. In this case, the determiner
position is unfilled.
NP NP
DET N’1 DET N’1
AP N’2 ART AP N’2
QA ComN DEG headComparA headN
ModN headN
(2) a much harder job
(1) φ much evening enjoyment
2
much /m∧t∫/ (quantifying adj., used with uncountable nouns; esp. with negative an
interrogative verbs or after very, as, how, so, too) = a large amount or quantity (of sth): I
haven’t got much money. There’s never very much news on Sundays. Take as much time
as you like. How much petrol do you need?
123

2. In a much harder job, much3 is a degree adverb meaning ‘to a

great extent or degree’, pre-modifying THE COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVE
(ComparA, for short) harder. Much harder, in its turn, is an adjective
phrase, pre-modifying the N’2 job, which is in fact the head of the whole noun
phrase.
3. In a much more expensive trip, more is a comparative degree
adverb, pre-modifying the positive adjective expensive. Since “degree
adverbs cannot themselves be modified” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 65], much
cannot be another degree adverb, pre-modifying the very comparative degree
adverb more. That is why much should be considered a degree adverb pre-
modifying the comparative adjective phrase more expensive. Much more
expensive, in its turn, is another adjective phrase, pre-modifying the N’2
trip, which is in fact the head of the whole noun phrase.
NP NP
DET N’1 DET N’1
ART AP N’2 AP1 N’2
DEG1 headAP headN DEG headComparA AP2 headN
DEG2 headA A
(4)φ much more white sand
(3) a much more expensive trip
4. In much more white sand, much is a degree adverb, pre-

modifying more, which is the comparative form of the quantifying adjective
much in this case. The adjective phrase much more then pre-modifies the
N’2 white sand, the head noun of which is uncountable.
5. In much the best meal I’ve ever tasted, much is an adverb

of degree, pre-modifying the superlative the best. The subordinate
3
much /m∧t∫/ (adv., used with comparatives and superlatives) = to a great extent or degree:
much louder; much more confidently; She’s much better today; My favourite is usually
much the most expensive; I would never willingly go anywhere by boat, much less go on
a cruise.
124

adjective clause I’ve ever tasted post-modifies the NP2 much the
best meal.
NP1
NP2 SubACl
RESTRIC NP3
DET N’1
ART AP N’2
SuperA headN
much the best meal I ’ve ever tasted
32 Mis-diagraming
What’s wrong with the two following diagrams?
NP NP
DET N’1 DET N’1
ART AP N’2 ART AP N’2
QA headN QA headN
(1)a. a few men (1)b. a little butter

ANSWER:
“The indefinite article a can only determine constituents that have a
singular count noun as head; it cannot determine plural count nouns (*a men)
or mass nouns (*a butter). This is why a few and a little must be treated as
constituents, as phrasal determiners.” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 180]
NP NP
DET N’ DET N’
Q headN Q headN
(2)a. a few (= some) men (2)b. a little (= some) butter

_________________
125

33. Structural ambiguity in English noun phrases
33.1 Define a STRUCTURALLY AMBIGUOUS noun phrase.
A noun phrase is considered as STRUCTURALLY AMBIGUOUS when its

structure permits more than one interpretation.
33.1.1 Some Japanese print collectors is structurally ambiguous. It

means either some Japanese collectors of prints in (1)a or some
collectors of Japanese prints in (1)b:
NP NP
DET N’1 DET N’1
Q AP N’2 Q AP1 N’2
ModNP
A headComN headN1
DET N’3
ModN headN
AP2 N’4
(1)a. some Japanese print collectors A headN2
(Japanese modifies (1)b. some φ Japanese print collectors

the compound noun print collectors.) (Japanese modifies the noun print.)
33.1.2 The old Rumanian history teacher can be interpreted in

three different ways:
(2)a. ‘the old teacher of history who comes from Rumania’
NP
DET N’1
ART AP1 N’2
A1 AP2 N’3
A2 headComN
ModN headN
the old Rumanian history teacher
126

(2)b. ‘the teacher of old Rumanian history’

NP
DET N’1
ART AP1 N’2
ModNP
DET N’3 headN1

AP2 N’4
A1 AP3 N’5
A2 headN2
the φ old Rumanian history teacher
(2)c. ‘the teacher of Rumanian history who is old’

NP
DET N’1
ART AP1 N’2
A1 AP2 N’3
ModNP
DET N’4
AP3 N’5 headN1
A2 headN2
the old φ Rumanian history teacher
127

33.1.3 More exciting ideas can be interpreted in two different ways:

(3)a. ‘more ideas that are exciting’(3)b. ‘ideas that are more exciting’
NP NP
DET N’1 DET N’1
AP1 N’2 AP N’2
AP2 N’3
QA DEG headA headN
[ComparA] A headN [ComparAdv]
φ more exciting ideas φ MORE exciting ideas

More is the comparative form of More is a comparative degree
the quantifying adjective many which adverb which modifies
modifies the N’2 exciting ideas the adjective exciting
_________________
33.2 Explain STRUCTURALLY AMBIGUOUS noun phrases.
33.2.1 A small arms factory is STRUCTURALLY AMBIGUOUS because
this noun phrase can be interpreted in two different ways:
(1)a. ‘an arms factory that is small’: The adjective small pre-
modifies the compound noun (ComN, for short) arms factory meaning
‘factory in which weapons like guns, rifles, explosives, etc. are manufactured’.
This compound noun is composed of the modifying noun (ModN, for short)
arms and the head noun (headN, for short) factory.
(1)b. ‘a factory for small arms’: Small arms, which is a

compound noun meaning ‘weapons light enough to be carried in the hands’,
pre-modifies the head noun factory. This compound noun is composed of
the adjective (A, for short) small and the head noun (headN, for short) arms:
128

NP NP
DET N’1 DET N’1

ModNP
A headComN
DET N’3
headComN headN
ModN headN A headN
(1)a. a small arms factory (1)b. a φ small arms factory
33.2.2 An old girl’s bicycle is STRUCTURALLY AMBIGUOUS because

this noun phrase can be interpreted in two different ways:
(2)a. ‘a girl’s bicycle that is old’
The adjective old pre-modifies the head noun bicycle. So does the
possessive common noun (PossCommN, for short) girl’s.
(2)b. ‘a bicycle for an old girl’
Thus, old is an adjective pre-modifying girl, which is the head noun of
the possessive noun phrase (PossNP, for short) an old girl’s.
NP NP1
DET N’1 DET1 N’1
ART AP1 N’2 PossNP headN1
A AP2 N’3 NP2 PossMarker
PossCommN headN DET2 N’2
(2)a. an old girl’s bicycle ART AP N’3
A headN
(2)b. an old girl ’s bicycle
129

33.2.3 ‘The world women’s congress’ can be interpreted as ‘the

women’s congress of the world’ as in (3)a or ‘the congress of world
women’ as in (3)b.
NP1
NP DET1 N’1
DET N’1 PossNP headN1
ART AP1 N’2 NP2 PossMarker
ModN AP2 N’3 DET2 N’2
PossCommN headN ART headComN
(3)a. the world women’s congress ModN headN2
(3)b. the world women ’s congress
33.2.4 A nice man’s fur coat can be interpreted as ‘a man’s fur coat
that is nice’ as in (4)a or ‘a fur coat of a nice man’ as in (4)b.
NP NP1
ART AP1 N’2 PossNP headComN
A AP2 N’3 NP2 PossMarker ModN headN1
PossCommN headComN DET2 N’2
ModN headN ART AP N’3
A headN2
(4)a. a nice man’s fur coat
(4)b. a nice man ’s fur coat
130

33.2.5 ‘A large woman’s garment’ can be interpreted as ‘a woman’s

garment that is large’ as in (5)a or ‘a garment for a large woman’ as in
(5)b.
NP1
NP DET1 N’1
A AP2 N’3 DET N’2
PossCommN headN ART AP N’3
(5)a. a large woman’s garment A headN2
(5)b. a large woman ’s garment
33.2.6 An advanced learner’s dictionary can be interpreted as ‘an

advanced dictionary for learners’ as in (6)a or ‘a dictionary for an
advanced learner’ as in (6)b:
NP1
NP DET1 N’1
A AP2 N’3 DET N’2
PossCommN headN AP N’3
(6)a. an advanced learner’s dictionary A headN2
(6)b. an advanced learner ’s dictionary
131

33.2.7 ‘A camel’s hair brush4’ can be interpreted as ‘an implement

with bristles used to brush, scrub, clean or tidy a camel’s hair’ as in
(7)a or ‘an act of brushing, scrubbing, cleaning or tidying the hair of a
camel’ as in (7)b.
NP NP
ModNP
PossCommN headComN DET2 N’3 headN1
ModN headN PossCommN headN2
(7)a. a camel’s hair brush (7)b. a φ camel’s hair brush
33.2.8 ‘That greasy kid stuff’ can be interpreted as ‘that kid

stuff which is greasy’ as in (8)a or ‘that stuff for greasy kids’ as in
(8)b.
NP NP
DEM AP N’2 DEM AP N’2
A headComN ModNP headN
ModN headN DET2 N’3
AP N’4
(8)a. that greasy kid stuff
A headN
(8)b. that φ greasy kid stuff
4
brush 1. [C] implement with bristles of hair, wire, nylon, etc. in a block of wood, etc.
and used for scrubbing, sweeping, cleaning, painting, tidying the hair, etc.:
a clothes- brush, a tooth-brush, a paint-brush, a hair-brush.
2. [singular] act of brushing: give one’s clothes, hair, shoes, teeth, wool coat,
etc. a good brush.
132

33.2.9 ‘The basic book service’ can be interpreted as ‘the book

service that is basic’ as in (9)a or ‘the service for basic books’ as in (9)b.
NP NP
A ComN ModNP headN
ModN headN DET2 N’3
AP N’4
(9)a. the basic book service
A headN
(9)b. the φ basic book service
32.2.10 ‘A foreign language teacher’ can be interpreted as ‘a language

teacher who is foreign’ as in (10)a or ‘a teacher of a foreign language’
as in (10)b.
NP NP
DET N’1 DET N’1
A ComN ModNP headN
ModN headN DET N’3
AP N’4
(10)a. a foreign language teacher A headN

(10)b. a φ foreign language teacher
133

33.2.11 ‘An old car enthusiast’ can be interpreted as ‘a car

enthusiast who is old’ as in (11)a or ‘an enthusiast about old cars’ as in
(11)b.
NP NP
A ComN ModNP headN
ModN headN
DET2 N’3
AP N’4
(11)a. an old car enthusiast A headN
(11)b. an φ old car enthusiast
33.2.12 ‘More ferocious curries’ can be interpreted as ‘more

curries that are ferocious’ as in (12)a or ‘curries that are more
ferocious’ as in (12)b.
NP NP
DET N’1 DET N’1
AP1 N’2 AP N’2
AP2 N’3
QA DEG headA headN
[ComparA] A headN [ComparAdv]
(12)a. φ more ferocious curries (12)b. φ MORE ferocious curries
More is the comparative form of More is a comparative degree

the quantifying adjective many which adverb which modifies
modifies the N’2 ferocious curries the adjective ferocious
33.3 Disambiguate STRUCTURALLY AMBIGUOUS noun phrases.

When two or more modifying word groups occur after a head noun,
there is danger of structural ambiguity.
134

“Our English grammatical system provides us with at least five

common means of avoiding such ambiguities:
1. Gender signals: The dog on the porch with (its, his) battered look.
2. Person-thing signals: The young calf of the boy
(who, which) was standing near the gate.
3. Number signals: The rooms of the house which (were, was) dirty.
4. Position: A dispute at the courthouse on drinking.
5. Co-ordination: A second-hand car that he later traded for a motorcycle
and that he loved to tinker with.”
[Stageberg, 1965: 167-168]
NP1
NP2 AP1
DET1 N’1 PP1
headN1 P1 NP3
ART1 NP4 AP2
DET2 N’2 PP2
ART2 headN2 P2 NP5
(1)a. the dog on the porch with its battered look

NP1
NP2 AP1
NP3 AP2 PP1
DET N’ PP2
ART headN
(1)b. the dog on the porch with his battered look
135

NP1
NP2 AP1
DET N’1 PP
ART AP2 N’2 P NP3
A headN1 NP4 SubACl
DET N’1
ART headN2
(2)a. the young calf of the boy who was standing near the gate
NP1
NP2 AP1
NP3 AP2 SubACl
DET1 N’1 PP
ART1 AP N’2
A headN1
(2)b. the young calf of the boy which was standing near the gate
NP1
NP2 SubACl
NP3 AP
DET N’ PP
ART headN
(3)a. the rooms of the house which were dirty
136

NP
NP2 AP
DET1 N’ PP
ART1 headN1 P NP3
NP4 SubACl
DET2 N’
ART2 headN2
(3)b. the rooms of the house which was dirty

NP1
NP2 AP1
NP3 AP2 PP1
DET N’ PP2
ART headN
(4)a. a dispute at the courthouse on drinking

(4)b. a dispute on drinking at the courthouse
NP1
NP2 AP
DET N’ PP1
ART headN P NP2
headGer AdvP
PP2
(4)b’. a dispute on drinking at the courthouse
137

NP1
NP2 SubACl1
DET N’1
AP N’2
ComA headN
SubACl2 Conj SubACl3
(5)a. a second-hand car
that he later traded for a motorcycle and that he loved to tinker with
which he later traded for a motorcycle and which he loved to tinker with
NP1
NP2 SubACl
DET N’1
ART AP N’2
ComA headN
(5)b. a second-hand car that he later traded

for a motorcycle which he loved to tinker with
PP
P NP1
NP2 SubACl
DET N’1
ART headN
(6) [that he later traded] for a motorcycle which he loved to tinker with
33.4. Account for STRUCTURALLY NON-AMBIGUOUS noun phrases.

Are the following noun phrases STRUCTURALLY NON-AMBIGUOUS?
If not, how do you account for this?
138

(1) young car salesmen

(2) second-hand car salesmen
(3) some beautiful print collectors
ANSWER:
The three noun phrases young car salesmen, second-hand car
salesmen and some beautiful print collectors are not STRUCTURALLY
AMBIGUOUS. In other words, there is only one way to explain them:
1. young car salesmen: Since people, but not things, can be described
as ‘young’, young must modify a constituent of which salesmen is the head. It
cannot modify car and hence cannot form a constituent with car. The natural
structural analysis of this noun phrase, then, is:
NP
DET N’1
AP N’2
headComN1
A ModN headComN2
φ young car salesmen
2. second-hand car salesmen: Things, but not people, can be

‘second-hand’, so second-hand must modify (and hence form a constituent
with) car, rather than any constituent having salesmen as its head. The
natural structural analysis of this noun phrase, then, is:
NP
DET N’1
AP N’2
ModNP
headComN
DET N’3
AP N’4
A headN
φ φ second-hand car salesmen
139

3. ‘Some beautiful print collectors’ is better interpreted as ‘some

beautiful collectors of prints’ and not as ‘some collectors of beautiful
prints’; that is, “for me at least, print, when acting as a pre-modifier itself,
does not accept beautiful as a modifier” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 164].
NP
DET N’1
Q AP N’2
A headComN
ModN headN
some beautiful print collectors
_________________
34 Verb phrase analyses
34.1 Noun phrases as the sP/sC of an intensive verb
or as the dO of a monotransitive verb
When a verb is complemented by an NP, you will have to decide
whether [Vgrp + NP] is an example of a monotransitive Vgrp + its dO or
an example of an intensive Vgrp + its sP/sC. Compare (1) with the
following (2):
S S
NP VP NP VP
PropN Vgrp NP[dO] PropN Vgrp NP[sP/sC]

[monotrans] [intens]
(1) Tom SPOTTED an auctioneer. (2) Tom WAS an auctioneer.

The nature of spotting in (1) leads to a relation between two individuals
(or, participants), a spotter (the subject) and a spottee (the direct object). That
is what makes spotted in (1) a monotransitive verb.
In (2) only one individual is mentioned (by means of the subject Tom).
The rest of the sentence (the VP) is used to characterize the subject. If (2)
expresses a relation, it is the relation between an individual and a property:
the sentence expresses the ideas that Tom has the property of being an
auctioneer.
140

APs only ever identify properties. “NPs, by contrast, can be used both
to identify properties and to refer to individuals. This is why an NP can
function both as predicative (complementing an intensive verb) and as
direct object (complementing a monotransitive verb).” [Burton-
Roberts, 1997: 87]
34.2 NP direct objects of a monotransitive verb

or NP adverbial adjuncts of an intransitive verb
Since not all verbs followed by an NP are monotransitive, it is crucial to
distinguish an NP direct object of a monotransitive verb from an NP
adverbial adjunct of an intransitive verb. Consider the two following
sentences:
S S
NP1 VP NP1 VP1
headN Vgrp NP2[dO] PRO VP2 AdvP

[monotrans] [opA of Point ofTime]
Vgrp
[intrans] NP2
(1)a. Lightning STRUCK the oak tree. (2)a. They ARRIVED the next day.
One useful way to test whether or not a sentence really contains a

monotransitive verb plus its NP direct object is to see if it has a passive
counterpart. Compare:
(1)b. The oak tree WAS STRUCK by lightning.
(2)b. *The next day WAS ARRIVED by them.
‘The oak tree’ can be the subject of the passive sentence (1)b;
therefore, ‘struck’ is monotransitive. ‘The next day’ cannot be the subject
of the passive sentence (2)b; it must be an optional adverbial adjunct of
Point of Time modifying ‘arrive’, which is an intransitive verb.
In addition, “adjuncts are more freely moved than required
constituents” [Jacobs, 1995: 55]. Thus, as an optional adverbial adjunct of
‘arrive’, ‘the next day’ can easily be shifted to the front of (2)c:
(2)c. The next day they ARRIVED.
However, (1)c does not sound English:
141

(1)c *The oak tree lightning STRUCK.

Also as an optional adverbial adjunct of ‘arrive’, ‘the next day’
can easily be removed from (2)d:
(2)d. They ARRIVED.
Such an omission will result in the ungrammaticality of (1)d:
(1)d. *Lightning STRUCK.
This proves that the oak tree is a complement of ‘struck’. It is the
direct object of ‘struck’, to be precise.
34.3 Prepositional phrases as the sP/sC of an intensive verb

or as the optional adverbial adjunct of any verb
“PPs should only be treated as part of the necessary complementation
of an intensive verb (i.e. as subject-predicatives) if they cannot be omitted”.
[Burton-Roberts, 1997: 88]
So, in the engine room in (1) is a sP/sC since (2) is not a complete
sentence (even though the missing element might be understood in context):
S S
NP VP NP VP
PropN Vgrp PP [sP/sC] PropN Vgrp

[intens] [intens]
(1) Oscar SHOULD BE in the engine room. (2) *Oscar SHOULD BE.
However, beside a stream in (3) is only an optional adverbial

adjunct of Location of the intransitive verb ‘sunbathed’ since (4) is still a
complete English sentence:
S S
NP VP1 NP VP1
PropN VP2 AdvP PropN Vgrp

[opA of Location] [intrans]
Vgrp
[intrans] PP (4) Phil SUNBATHED.
(3) Phil SUNBATHED beside a stream.
142

34.4 IntransVAC vs. intransV—Adv

Distinguish an intransitive verb-adverbial composite (intransVAC,
for short), which is also called an intransitive phrasal verb, from a
combination of an intransitive head verb and its adverbial adjunct
(intransV—Adv):
1 He TURNED up. intransVAC meaning ‘appeared’
2 He CLIMED up. intransV—Adv
3 The two friends WALKED out. intransV—Adv
4 The two friends FELL out. intransVAC meaning ‘quarreled’
5 He DOES CARRY on, intransVAC meaning ‘behave strangely’
doesn’t he? or ‘argue, quarrel or complain noisily’
6 After drinking rapidly and intransVAC meaning ‘fainted’ or
heavily, ‘lost consciousness’
he suddenly PASSED on.
7 They TURNED back. intransV—Adv
8 She SAT down. intransV—Adv
9 SLOW up a bit, intransVAC meaning
or you make yourself ill. ‘work more energetically’
10 After a month intransVAC meaning ‘come to an end’
their food supplies GIVE out.
11 That foreign student intransVAC meaning ‘will survive’
WILL MAKE out.
12 Why DON’T you MAKE up? intransVAC meaning ‘put powder,
lipstick, greasepaint, etc. on your face
to make it more attractive’
13 If you are so sleepy, intransVAC meaning ‘go to bed’
why DON’T you TURN in?
14 Williard WENT in. intransV—Adv
15 She STOOD up. intransV—Adv
16 She SHUT up. intransVAC meaning ‘stopped talking’
17 She WAS LOOKING up a new intransVAC meaning ‘was searching
word as I entered the room. for (a new word) in a dictionary’
18 She LOOKED up from her book intransV—Adv
as I entered the room.
143

34.5 MonotransVAC —NP vs. IntransV—PP

34.5.1 How to distinguish a monotransVAC—NP from an intransV—PP?
ANSWER:
Only the adverbial particle (Prt, for short) of a monotransVAC can
move over its NP direct object:
(1)a. She CALLED up her husband.
b. She CALLED her husband up.
Indeed, when the direct object is a pronoun, the adverbial particle must
appear after it:
(2)a. She CALLED him up.
b.*She CALLED up him.
The preposition in a PP can never move to a position following its
complement. So, particle movement provides a very reliable test for
distinguishing between a monotransVAC—NP and an intransV—PP:
c ‘[He] SHOUTED out the answer’ or ‘[He] SHOUTED the answer/it

out’ is a monotransVAC—NP meaning ‘[He] gave the answer in a loud voice’.
d ‘[He] LOOKED out the window’ is an intransV—PP meaning ‘[He]

TURNED his eyes in a certain direction to see (sb/sth) through the window’;
thus ‘*[He] LOOKED the window out’ is ungrammatical.
e ‘[He] SAW through her little game’ or ‘[He] SAW her little game/it
through’ is a monotransVAC—NP meaning ‘[He] WAS NOT DECEIVED by the
trick she had tried to play on him’.
f ‘[He] SAW through her disguise’ is an intransV—PP meaning ‘[He]

SAW through the thing she was wearing for disguise’; thus ‘*[He] SAW her
disguise through’ is ungrammatical.
Note also that while g is ambiguous, h is not:

g ‘He LOOKED up the street’ can be either an intransV—PP meaning
‘[He] TURNED his eyes in a certain direction to see (sb/sth) up the street’ or a
monotransVAC—NP meaning ‘[He] SEARCHED for the street in a map, a guide
book, etc.’
h ‘He LOOKED the street up’ is only a monotransVAC—NP meaning
‘[He] SEARCHED for the street in a map, a guide book, etc.
144

34.5.2 Distinguish a combination of a transitive verb-adverbial

composite (also called a transitive phrasal verb) and its NP direct
object (monotransVAC —NP, for short) from that of an intransitive verb
and its PP adverbial adjunct (intransV—PP, for short):
1 He TURNED down the offer. monotransVAC meaning ‘rejected’
2 He TURNED down the driveway. intransV—PP
3 You MUST TURN in your kit monotransVAC meaning ‘must return’

before you leave the army.
4 He TURNED in the street. intransV—PP
5 We CALLED up the plumber. monotransVAC meaning ‘telephoned’
6 Mother CALLED up the stairs. intransV—PP
7 Frank CALLED down his son. monotransVAC meaning ‘reprimanded’
8 He CALLED down the mountain. intransV—PP
9 They RAN in a circle. intransV—PP

10 They RAN in the criminal. monotransVAC meaning ‘arrested (the
criminal)
and took (him) to the police station’
11 He BROKE in his new car. monotransVAC meaning ‘trained’
12 She dropped the plate, intransV—PP

and it BROKE in two.
13 The wind BLEW (softly) intransV—PP
down the valley.
14 The wind BLEW down the tree. monotransVAC meaning
‘caused (the tree) to fall down’
15 Jean RAN (quickly) up the hill. intransV—PP
16 Jane RAN up a bill. monotransVAC meaning
‘allowed (a bill) to accumulate’
145

17 Dr. Holmes ARRIVED at monotransVAC meaning ‘reached’

the following conclusion.
18 When did you ARRIVED intransV—PP
at the airport?
19 His normally placid dog monotransVAC meaning ‘attacked
TURNED on him (him) suddenly and unexpectedly’
and bit him on the leg.
20 WILL you TURN on the light monotransVAC meaning ‘cause (the
in this room? light) to start functioning’
21 I RAN into an old school friend monotransVAC meaning
at the supermarket this morning. ‘met (him/her) by chance’
22 The bus went out of control and intransV—PP
RAN (straight) into a shop front.
23 She monotransVAC meaning ‘deliberately
LOOKED (straight) through me. ignored (me) whom she could see
clearly’
24 I LOOKED through a key hole intransV—PP
but saw nobody in the house.
25 The police ARE LOOKING into monotransVAC meaning
his disappearance. ‘are investigating’
26 I LOOKED into the box intransV—PP
but saw nothing there.
34.6 MonotransVAC—NP vs. monotrans-prepV—prepO
Distinguish a monotransitive verb-adverbial composite (monotransVAC,

for short) from a combination of a monotransitive prepositional head
verb and its prepositional object (monotrans-prepV—prepO, for short):
1 A nice young woman WAITED upon me a monotransVAC

in Macy’s yesterday. meaning ‘served’
2 We’VE BEEN WAITING for you here monotrans-prepV—prepO
for half an hour.
3 The doctor LOOKED at a monotransVAC
my badly swollen ankle. meaning ‘examined’
146

4 LOOK at the blackboard, please. monotrans-prepV—prepO

5 She SMILED/GRINNED/STARED/ monotrans-prepV—prepO
GLANCED/SQUINTED/SHOUTED at me.
6 We LAUGHED at Jane when she said a monotransVAC meaning

that she believed in ghosts. ‘mocked or ridiculed (sb)’
7 The secretary APOLOGIZED to her boss monotrans-prepV—prepO
for her being late for work.
8 What DOES that article REFER to? monotrans-prepV—prepO
9 DO you OBJECT to what I’ve just said? monotrans-prepV—prepO
10 WOULD you please LISTEN to me? monotrans-prepV—prepO
_________________
35 Sentence analyses
35.1 Identify the syntactic function of a prepositional phrase.
S
NP VP
PropN Vgrp PP [prepO]

[monotrans-prep]
(1)a. Max GLANCED at the falling acrobat.

Subject + a monotrans-prepositional verb + a PP prepositional object
NP VP
PropN Vgrp PP[sP/sC]

[intens]
(1)b. Oscar SHOULD BE in the engine room.

Subject + an intensive verb + a PP subjective complement
147

NP VP1
PropN VP2 AdvP

[opA of Location]
Vgrp
[intrans] PP
(2)a. Phil SUNBATHED beside a stream.

Subject + an intransitive verb + an optional PP adverbial adjunct
S
NP VP1
Vgrp AdvP
[intrans] [obA of Location]
PP
(2)b. The National Theatre STANDS near the river.

Subject + an intransitive verb + an obligatory PP adverbial adjunct
35.2 Decide whether a prepositional phrase is

part of the complementation of a ditransitive verb:
(1) Holden IS WRITING letters to Africa.
(2) Holden IS WRITING letters to the White House.
(3) Max TOOK the hyena to the station.
(4) Max LENT his hyena to the Dramatic Society.
(5) William BAKED a cake for Mary.
(6) William BAKED a cake for Christmas.
(7) She IS SAVING a place for Sophie.
(8) She IS SAVING the money for a new car.
ANSWER:
35.2.1 A prepositional phrase (PP, for short) is counted as part of the
complementation of a ditransitive verb only if it corresponds to a NP
functioning as an indirect object. Consider (1’) and (2’):
(1’) Holden IS WRITING Africa letters.
(2’) Holden IS WRITING the White House letters.
148

(1’) is not a reasonable paraphrase of (1), but (2’) is a reasonable

paraphrase of (2). Therefore, the PP in (2) is part of the complementation of
the verb write, which must be subcategorised as [ditrans] in this sentence:
S
NP1 VP
PropN Vgrp NP2[dO] PP[iO]

[ditrans]
(2) Holden IS WRITING letters to the White House.
In (1), on the other hand, write is a monotransitive verb, complemented

the dO noun phrase letters to Africa:
S
NP1 VP
PropN Vgrp NP2[dO]

[monotrans]
NP3 AP
DET N’1 PP
headN
(1) Holden IS WRITING φ letters to Africa.
35.2.2 Considering (3’) *Max bring the station the hyena, we see that
(3’) is not a reasonable paraphrase of (3). Therefore, the PP to the station
is the obligatory adverbial adjunct of Terminus of ‘bring’, which is a
monotransitive verb:
S
NP1 VP
PropN Vgrp NP2[dO] PP

[monotrans] [obA of Terminus]
(3) Max BRING the hyena to the station.
149

Consider (4’) Max lent the Dramatic Society his hyena. (4’) is a
reasonable paraphrase of (4). So the PP to the Dramatic Society is the
iO of bring, which is a ditransitive verb.
S
NP1 VP
PropN Vgrp NP2[dO] PP[iO]

[ditrans]
(4) Max LENT his hyena to the Dramatic Society.
35.2.3 Notice that it is only NPs denoting animate things (or things
that could be interpreted as being animate) that can be indirect objects.
Mary is a person; therefore, for Mary in (5) is the iO of the
ditransitive verb bake:
S Vgrp dO iO
[ditrans]
Christmas is not a person. It is a festival; therefore, for Christmas in (6)
is not the iO the ditransitive verb bake; it is in fact the optional adverbial
adjunct of Purpose of the monotransitive verb bake:
S Vgrp dO opA of Purpose
[monotrans]
However, the moment you interpret Christmas as a person rather than
a festival, William baked Christmas a cake sounds as perfectly grammatical as
William baked Mary a cake. In other words, for Christmas can also be
considered the iO of the ditransitive verb bake as the result of the
personification of Christmas:
S
NP VP
PropN Vgrp NP[dO] PP[iO]

[ditrans]

150

35.2.4 Sophie is a person; therefore, for Sophie in (7) is the iO of the

ditransitive verb is saving:
(7) She IS SAVING a place for Sophie.
S Vgrp dO iO
[ditrans]
A new car is not a person. It is a non-living thing; therefore, for a new
car in (8) is not the iO of the ditransitive verb is saving; it is in fact the
optional adverbial adjunct of Purpose of the monotransitive verb is
saving:
(8) She IS SAVING the money for a new car.
S Vgrp dO opA of Purpose
[monotrans]
35.3 Explain the difference between two sentences.

(1)a. The meeting LASTED three hours.
b. The meeting LASTED for three hours.
(2)a. The seafront EXTENDS four miles.
b. The seafront EXTENDS for four miles.
(3)a. He CALLED her an angel.
b. He CALLED her a taxi.
(4)a. I ’LL MAKE you First Secretary.
b. I ’LL MAKE you an omelette.
(5)a. The two friends FELL out.
b. The two friends WALKED out.
(6)a. The samovar BROKE.
b. Anna BROKE the samovar.
(7)a. Ed WILL MAKE Liz a good wife.
b. Ed WILL MAKE Liz lots of money.
(8)a. The burglar LEFT the house in a mess.
b. The burglar LEFT the house in a few minutes.
ANSWER:
The following pairs of sentences differ from each another in the internal
structure of their verb phrases:
151

35.3.1 Verbs of measurement like last or extend link to a noun phrase or

a prepositional phrase which indicates ‘extent’ (e.g. how much the subject
costs, what it measures, how long it lasts, etc.).
The verb in (1)a and (2)a is monotransitive:
(1)a. The meeting LASTED three hours.
(2)a. The seafront EXTENDS four miles.
Subject Vgrp NP
[monotrans] [predicator complement]
The verb in (1)b and (2)b is intransitive:

(1)b. The meeting LASTED for three hours.
(2)b. The seafront EXTENDS for four miles.
Subject Vgrp PP
[intrans] [obA of Extent in Time or Space]
35.3.2 Call and make in (3)a and (4)a are complex transitive verbs:
(3)a. He CALLED her an angel.
(4)a. I ’LL MAE you First Secretary
S Vgrp dO oP/oC
[complex]
Call and make in (3)b and (4)b are ditransitive verbs:

(3)b. He CALLED her a taxi.
(4)b. I ’LL MA you an omelette.
S Vgrp iO dO
[ditrans]
35.3.3 Fell out in (5)a is an intransitive VERB-ADVERBIAL COMPOSITE

(intransVAC, for short) [Stageberg, 1965: 220] /an intransitive phrasal
verb meaning ‘quarreled’. This intransVAC consists of the lexical verb fell
and the adverbial particle out.
Walked out in (5)b is a combination of walked, which is an

intransitive head verb, and out, which is the adverbial adjunct of
Direction of the verb.
152

S S
NP VP NP VP1
DET N’1 Vgrp DET N’1 VP2 AdvP

[intransVAC] [opA of Direction]
ART QA N’2 AR QA N’2 Vgrp
[intrans] Adv
NUM headN NUM headN
(5)a. The two friends FELL out. (5)b. The two friends WALKED out.
35.3.4 Broke in (6)a is an intransitive verb meaning ‘separated into two

or more parts as a result of force or strain (but not by cutting)’.
Broke in (6)b is a monotransitive verb meaning ‘caused (the samovar)
to break’.
S S
NP VP NP1 VP
DET N’ Vgrp PropN Vgrp NP2[dO]

[intrans] [monotrans]
ART headN
(6)a. The samovar BROKE. (6)b. Anna BROKE the samovar.
35.3.5 Will make in (7)a is a complex transitive verb meaning ‘will

cause (Liz) to be/become’. A good wife is the object(ive) complement of
the direct object Liz.
Will make in (7)b is a ditransitive verb meaning ‘will provide (Liz)

with’. Lots of money is the direct object while Liz is the indirect object,
both complementing the verb.
S S
NP1 VP NP1 VP
PropN Vgrp NP2[dO] NP3[oC] PropN Vgrp NP2[iO] NP3[dO]

[complex] [ditrans]
(7)a. Ed WILL MAKE Liz a good wife. (7)b. Ed WILL MAKE Liz lots of money.
153

35.3.6 Left in (8)a is a complex transitive verb meaning ‘caused or

allowed (the house) to remain in a certain condition’, and in a mess is the
object(ive) complement (oC) of the direct object (dO) the house.
Left in (8)b is a monotransitive verb meaning ‘went away from (the

house)’, and in a few minutes is an adverbial adjunct of Point of Time of
the head verb.
S
NP1 VP
Vgrp NP2[dO] PP[oP/oC]

[complex]
(8)a. The burglar LEFT the house in a mess.

S
NP1 VP1
VP2 AdvP
[opA of Time]
Vgrp NP2[dO]
[monotrans] PP
(8)b. The burglar LEFT the house in a few minutes.

Note that there exists an intensive relationship linking the dO and its
oC. This can be tested by a paraphrase with be: ‘The house WAS in a mess’.
No such relationship can be found between the house and in a few minutes:
‘*The house WAS in a few minutes’.
35.4 Re-analyse sentence pairs, using tree-diagrams.

The following pairs of sentences differ from each other in the internal
structure of their verb phrases:
(1)a. He TASTED the strange meat with great care.
S + monotrans headV + NP/dO + PP/adjunct of Manner
(1)b. The meat TASTED salty and spicy.

S + intensive headV + AP/subject(ive) complement (sC)
154

(2)a. His favorite pastime IS swimming.

S + intensive headV + NP/(sC)
(2)b. He LIKES swimming in his leisure time.

S + monotrans headV + NP/dO + PP/adjunct of Time
(3)a. We WERE reluctant to leave.

S + intensive headV + AP/(sC)
(3)b. We WERE reluctant, to tell the truth.

S + intensive headV + AP/sC + disjunct 5/sentence modifier
(4)a. My brother STAYED an outstanding student

S + intensive headV + NP/sC
(4)b. The government STAYED the execution.

S + monotrans headV + NP/Do
Note that as an intensive verb, stayed means ‘remained’; as a

monotransitive verb, stayed means ‘delayed (something)’.
(5)a. She TURNED red at the thought.

S + intensive headV + A/sC + PP/adjunct of Cause
(5)b. She TURNED right (≠ “left”) at the corner.
S + intrans headV + Adv/obA of Direction + PP/ adjunct of Location
(5)b’. She TURNED right (= “exactly”) at the corner.

S + intrans headV + Adv + PP/adjunct of Location
Note that as an intensive verb, turned means ‘became’ or ‘got’; as a

intransitive verb, turned means ‘went round something’.
(6)a. He RETURNED a slightly different umbrella.

S + monotrans headV + NP/dO
5
A disjunct refers to “the expression of the speaker’s stance or attitude to what he is
saying” [Jackson, 1980: 26]: Frankly, I can’t see George doing the job either.
155

(6)b. He RETURNED home several hours later.

S + intrans headV + Adv/adjunct of Terminus + AdvP/adjunct of Time
Note that as a monotransitive verb, returned means ‘give, bring, send

(sb, sth) back’; as an intransitive verb, returned means ‘came or went back to
a place’.
(7)a. Mark GOT a scheme to win Kathy’s heart.

(7)b. Mark GOT a job to earn money for his holiday.

S + monotrans headV + NP/dO + InfP/adjunct of Purpose
(8)a. I RAN across my old friend.

S + monotransVAC/monotrans inseparable phrasal headV NP/dO
(8)b. I RAN across a field.

S + intrans headV + PP/adjunct of Path
(9)a. LEAVE the door open.

complex trans headV + NP/dO +A/oC
(9)b. LEAVE the cooking to me.

ditrans headV + NP/dO + PP/iO
(10)a. Several women MOVED to help her.

S + intrans headV + InfP/adjunct of Purpose
(10)b. Several women OFFERED to help her.

S + monotrans headV + InfP/dO
(11)a. We ASKED some questions.

S + monotrans headV NP/dO
(11)b. We ASKED three times.

S + intrans headV + NP/adjunct of Frequency
156

(12)a. I LOVED her the instant I saw her.

S + monotrans headV + pronoun/dO + NP/adjunct of Time
(12)b. I GAVE her the ticket she asked.

S + ditrans headV + pronoun/iO + NP/dO
(13)a. I never HOLD that man my friend.

S + Adv + complex headV + NP/dO + NP/object(ive) complement (oC)
adjunct of Frequency
(13)b. My brain CAN’T HOLD so much information.

Note that as a complex transitive verb, hold means ‘regard’ or

‘consider’; as a monotransitive verb, hold means ‘contain’.
_________________
36 Structural ambiguity in English verb phrases

Re-explain the structural ambiguity of each of the given verb
phrases, using tree-diagrams.
1. [He] considered the applicant hard.

This verb phrase is structurally ambiguous because:
(1)a. hard is an adverb meaning ‘carefully’ or ‘with care’, being an
optional adverbial adjunct of manner of the monotransitive verb considered,
which means ‘thought about’ or ‘took into account’:
He CONSIDERED the applicant hard.
S + monotrans headV + NP/dO + adjunct of Manner
(1)b. hard is an adjective meaning ‘difficult to be accepted’, being

the object predicative (oP)/the objective complement (oC) of the dO
noun phrase ‘the applicant’. Both the dO and its oP/oC follow the complex
transitive verb considered meaning ‘regarded’:
He CONSIDERED the applicant hard.
S + complex trans headV + NP/dO + adjective/oP or oC
157

2. [He] watched the hunters with binoculars.

(2)a. With binoculars is a PP, an adjectival post-modifier of the
NP the hunters:
He WATCHED the hunters with binoculars.
(2)b. With binoculars is a PP, an optional adverbial adjunct of

means of watched, which is a monotransitive verb:
He WATCHED the hunters with binoculars.
S + monotrans headV + NP/dO + adjunct of Means
3. [The car] coasted into the garage with lights on.

(3)a. With lights on is a PP, an adjectival post-modifier of the NP
the garage. The NP the garage with lights on, in its turn, is the
complement of the preposition into, resulting in the PP into the garage
with lights on. This PP is an optional adverbial adjunct of terminus of
the intransitive verb coasted, which means ‘move, esp. downhill (in a car, on
a bicycle, etc.) without using power’:
The car COASTED into the garage with lights on.
S + intrans headV + PP/adjunct of Terminus
(3)b. With lights on is a PP, an optional adverbial adjunct of

manner of the intransitive verb coasted. And into the garage is another PP,
an optional adverbial adjunct of terminus of coasted:
The car COASTED into the garage with lights on.
S + intrans headV + PP/adjunct of Terminus + PP/adjunct of Manner
4. [They] are moving sidewalks.

158

(4)a. Moving is the present participle of the verb move, a verbal,

part of the finite verb are moving:
They ARE MOVING sidewalks.
S + monotrans headV + Compound Noun/dO
(4)b. Moving is the present participle (V-part, for short) of the verb
move, an adjectival pre-modifier of the compound noun sidewalks:
They ARE moving sidewalks.
S + intensive headV + V-part/adjectival pre-modifier + Compound Noun/dO
5. [The witch] turned on the stove.

(5)a. On the stove is a PP, an optional adverbial adjunct of

location of the intransitive verb turned, which means ‘move so that a
different side faces outwards or upwards’:
The witch TURNED on the stove.
S + intrans headV + PP/adjunct of Location
(5)b. Turned on is a monotransitive VAC meaning ‘caused (the

stove) to start functioning’:
The witch TURNED on the stove.
S + monotransVAC + NP/dO
6. [She] decided on the train.

(6)a. On the train is a PP, a (obligatory) prepositional object
(prepO, for short) of the monotransitive prepositional verb decided meaning
‘chose, selected’ or ‘took, accepted’. Thus, the whole sentence may mean:
‘She selected to travel by train.’
She DECIDED on the train.
S + monotrans-prep headV + PP/prepO
(6)b. On the train is a PP, an (optional) adverbial adjunct of

location of the intransitive verb decided, which means ‘made up her mind’.
159

Thus, the whole sentence may mean: ‘She made up her mind (while she was
travelling) on the train.’
She DECIDED on the train.
S + intrans headV + PP/adjunct of Location
7. He runs the office and deals with critical clients well.

(7)a. Well is an adverb, an (optional) adverbial adjunct of manner
of the verb phrase deals with critical clients.
With critical clients is a (obligatory) prepositional object
(prepO, for short) of the monotransitive prepositional verb deals:
He runs the office and DEALS with critical clients well.
S+ monotrans prepositional headV PP/prepO adjunct of Manner
(7)b. Well is an adverb, an (optional) adverbial adjunct of manner

of the structure of co-ordination which consists of two VPs: runs the office
and deals with critical clients. These two VPs are linked by the co-
ordinate conjunction and:
He RUNS the office and DEALS with critical clients well.
S + VP1 + co-ordinate conjunction + VP2 Adv/adjunct of Manner
8. [The teacher] stood drinking in the moonlight.

(8)a. Drink in (the moonlight) is a monotransitive VAC meaning
‘observe (the moonlight) with pleasure’.
The participial phrase (PartP, for short) drinking in the moonlight is

an obligatory adverbial adjunct of manner of the intransitive verb
stood:
The teacher STOOD drinking in the moonlight.
S + intrans headV + PartP/adjunct of Manner
160

(8)b. The PP in the moonlight is an optional adverbial adjunct of

location of drinking, which is the present/progressive participle of the
intransitive verb drink.
The participial phrase drinking in the moonlight is an obligatory
adverbial adjunct of manner of the intransitive verb stood:
The teacher STOOD drinking in the moonlight.
S+ intrans headV + PartP/adjunct of Manner
9. [Max] found Ed an amusing companion.

(9)a. Found is a ditransitive verb:
S + ditransV + iO + dO = S + ditransV + dO +
iO
Max FOUND Ed an amusing companion. = Max FOUND an amusing companion for Ed.
(9)b. Found is a complex transitive verb:

Max FOUND Ed an amusing companion.
S + complex transV + dO + oP/oC
10. [The members] only were allowed to buy beer.

This verb phrase is structurally ambiguous because it may or may not
contain the adverb only:
(10)a. Only is an adverb; and it plays the role of a restricter to emphasize
the NP the members:
The members only WERE ALLOWED to buy beer.
NP/Subject + VP/Predicate
b. Only is an adverb; and it plays the role of an optional adverbial adjunct

of degree or extent which is used to emphasize the VP were allowed to buy
beer:
The members only WERE ALLOWED to buy beer.
NP/Subject + VP/Predicate
The above illustrations prove that the adjectival post-nominal
position coincides with the adverbial pre-verbal position.
________________
161

37 Phrase structure
37.1 Definition:
“Phrase structure is the division of a sentence into parts, and
the division of those parts into subparts.” [Kaplan, 1989: 191] For
instance, the sentence Our French teachers have just left for France
can be first divided into two parts as follows:
S
Our French teachers have just left for France.
It’s usually easy to split a sentence into two parts. The left part
normally functions as subject, the right part as predicate. Within the subject
and the predicate, though, the division isn’t always so straightforward. In the
above sentence, for example, there are two possibilities for dividing up the
NP subject our French teachers:
(1) Our French teachers may mean ‘our teachers, who come
from France’. French in this case is an adjective of nationality meaning
‘of or concerning France’. It pre-modifies the head noun teachers,
resulting in the noun phrase French teachers.
(2) Our French teachers may mean ‘our teachers whose subject
is French’. French in this case is a noun meaning ‘the language spoken in
France’. It is one of the two free bases which are combined together to form
the compound noun French teachers.
NP NP
DET N’1 DET N’
PossA AP N’2 PossA headComN
A headN ModN headN
(1) our French teachers (2) our French teachers
37.2 How to determine phrase structure?

37.2.1 Apply the SUBSTITUTION criterion: “One approach to
determining phrase structure is a substitution test: whatever you can
162

substitute a single word for, preserving grammaticality, is a ‘chunk’, a phrase

[Kaplan, 1989: 191].”
37.2.1.1 Substitution usually supports the intuitive division of a

whole sentence into subject and predicate.
Sentence
Subject Predicate
A white horse cantered eagerly around the coral
Substituting Max burped gives: A white horse burped,

You snored Max cantered eagerly around the coral,
I laughed I cantered eagerly around the coral,
They dozed They snored, etc.
Substitution produces sentences like Max cantered eagerly around

the coral, I cantered eagerly around the coral, a white horse burped,
they snored, etc. Since these are grammatical, the division of the sentence
into two parts a white horse and cantered eagerly around the coral is
supported.
37.2.1.2 Suppose we believed the sequence horse cantered

eagerly was a phrase, a ‘chunk’ of the sentence. We should search in vain
for a substitution for it that would preserve grammaticality:
A white horse cantered eagerly around the coral
letter *A white letter around the coral,

existed *A white existed around the coral,
Substituting of gives:*A white of around the coral,
clearly *A white clearly around the coral,
green *A white green around the coral, etc.
Because the results of substituting are not grammatical sentences,
horse cantered eagerly is not a phrase.
37.2.1.3 It is also useful to extend the substitution criterion a bit

further, first, by substituting not just a single word, but a word sequence for
163

another word sequence, and second, by examining mutual substitution

possibilities in a range of environments. “The idea is that word
sequences which are mutually substitutable in a given environment are
likely to be phrases; and if they are mutually substitutable in different
environments they are even more likely to be phrases [Kaplan, 1989: 193].”
Suppose we suspect the underlined word sequences in the

following sentences are phrases:
(1)a. The puppy scratched at the screen door.
(2)a. I want that little striped kitten.
(3)a. Little Susie yawned.
(4)a. I really like swimming in the reservoir.
In the context of (4)a, these four underlined word sequences are

mutually substitutable.
(4)b. I really like the puppy.
c. I really like that little striped kitten.
d. I really like Little Susie.
In the context of (1)a, (2)a, and (3)a; the puppy, that little striped
kitten, and Little Susie are mutually substitutable:
(1)b. That little striped kitten scratched at the screen door.
c. Little Susie scratched at the screen door.
(2)b. I want the puppy.
c. I want Little Susie.
(3)b. The puppy yawned.
c. That little striped kitten yawned.
In these contexts we cannot place swimming in the reservoir:

(1)d. *Swimming in the reservoir scratched at the screen door.
(2)d. *I want swimming in the reservoir.
(3)d. *Swimming in the reservoir yawned.
In other contexts, however, swimming in the reservoir is mutually

substitutable with other candidate phrases:
164

(5)a. The puppy can really be fun.

b. That little striped kitten can really be fun.
c. Little Susie can really be fun.
d. Swimming in the reservoir can really be fun.
(6)a. I just love that little striped kitten.

b. I just love Little Susie.
c. I just love swimming in the reservoir.
(7)a. What the puppy means to me is a good time.

b. What that little striped kitten means to me is a good time.
c. What Little Susie means to me is a good time.
d. What swimming in the reservoir means to me is a good time.
Therefore, we can tentatively conclude that all four of these

candidate phrases are in fact phrases.
37.2.2 Apply the CONJOINABILITY criterion: “Phrases are conjoined

with and [Kaplan, 1989: 194].” All the conjoined word sequences are
phrases:
(8)a. Max left and Stella stayed. (2 conjoined clauses)
b. King Arthur and Queen Guinevere both lustre after gold.

(2 conjoined NPs)
c. Mark runs the office and deals with clients. (2 conjoined VPs)
d. A very large and kind of scary dog is barking next door.

(2 conjoined APs)
But non-phrases cannot be conjoined:
(9) *The boy ran into the and girl dashed out of the schoolyard.
The reason why this example is ungrammatical is that boy ran into
the and girl dashed out of the are not phrases.
“The way to apply the conjoinability test is to try to conjoin a

suspected phrase with one containing different words, but what seems to
165

be the same internal structure. For instance, if you suspect (as you should)
that in the sentence Max devoured the sweet jam the word sequence the
sweet jam is a phrase, you should try to conjoin it with something similar,
like the stale toast: On the table is the sweet jam and the stale toast.
This is a grammatical sentence, so you conclude, tentatively, that the sweet
jam is a phrase.” [Kaplan, 1989: 195]
37.2.3 Apply the MOVEMENT criterion: “Any sequence of words that

moves as a unit, linguists have reasoned, is a unit [Kaplan, 1989: 196].” For
instance, in Max bought some great toys for Alison’s four-year-old
daughter, the word sequence some great toys and Alison’s four-year-
old daughter can both be switched:
(10)a. Max BOUGHT some great toys for Alison’s four-year-old daughter.
b. Max BOUGHT Alison’s four-year-old daughter some great toys.
Both movements indicate “phrase-hood” [Kaplan, 1989: 196]. The

movements in (10a-b) result in the deletion of for while those in (11)a-b
result in the addition of was and by:
(11)a. A moron BURNED that old house.
b. That old house WAS BURNED by a moron.
Although the movements in the following examples show neither

deletion nor addition, they identify certain word sequences as phrases:
(12)a. Jane BOUGHT a new leather handbag.
b. A new leather handbag IS what Jane BOUGHT.
(13)a. That Max loves blue cheese dressing IS surprising to no one.
b. It IS surprising to no one that Max loves blue cheese dressing.
166

(14)a. Ed CRIED when Sally left.
b. When Sally left, Ed CRIED.
(15)a. She said he would wash the dishes, and he DID WASH the dishes.
b. She said he would wash the dishes, and WASH the dishes he DID.
37.2.4 Check whether or not a sequence of words is THE ANTECEDENT

for A PRO-FORM:
“Pronouns, pro-verb phrases, pro-sentences, pro-prepositional phrases,
and pro-adjective phrases all take phrases as antecedents, not non-phrase
strings of words. In the following examples, the underlined sequences of
words (all phrases) are the antecedents for the understood pro-forms”
[Kaplan, 1989: 198]:
(16)a. Pronoun: The old men stopped because they were tired.
b. Pro-verb phrase: Jeff asked Sandy to dance before Peter could do so.
c. Pro-sentence: Smith now plays the horses,
and it doesn’t surprise me one bit.
d. Pro-prepositional phrase: We put the bugs in the jar
and left them there overnight.
e. Pro-adjective phrase: Lavern is really obese but she didn’t become so
until after she inherited all the money.
“When we can find evidence from more than one criterion, the case for
a particular sequence being a phrase is obviously strengthened.” [Kaplan,
1989: 196]
37.3 Phrase structure exercises

Which criterion (substitution, conjoinability, movement or
checking the antecedent for a Pro-form) can satisfactorily discover the
phrase structure of a white horse? Support your choice.
ANSWER:
37.3.1 In a white horse, if we can find a single word to substitute for a
white, then we are justified in calling a white a phrase. For a white we can
167

substitute the, my, this, one, in each case preserving grammatically: the
horse, my horse, this horse and one horse.
(1) a white horse
the the horse

Substituting: my gives: my horse
this this horse
one one horse
On the basis of this, we can divide the phrase like this: a white — horse.
However, for white horse, we can also find grammatical substitutes:

piano, horse, tree, man, soul: a piano, a horse, a tree, a man, a soul.
(2) a white horse
piano a piano
horse a horse
Substituting: tree gives: a tree
man a man
soul a soul
On the basis of this, we can divide the phrase like this: a — white horse.
Unfortunately, substitution fails to tell us which of the two groupings, either
(1) or (2), is correct.
37.3.2 How helpful is conjoinability in helping us decide on the phrase

structure of a white horse? Unfortunately, not very. Both a white and white
horse are conjoinable with similar sequence:
(3)a. A6 white horse and gray pony7 WERE DELIVERED yesterday.
b. A white and a gray horse8 WERE DELIVERED yesterday.
6
Since ‘a white horse’ and ‘a gray pony’ have exactly the same internal structure, the
repeated indefinite article ‘a/an’ is acceptably omitted in the second noun phrase, i.e.
after the co-ordinate conjunction ‘and’.
7
pony /‘p6ån1/ (noun) a small type of horse
8
Since ‘a white horse’ and ‘a gray horse’ have exactly the same internal structure, the
shared head noun of these two noun phrases , which is ‘horse’, is acceptably omitted in
the first.
168

Therefore, as with the substitutability criterion, according to the

conjoinability criterion both a white and white horse are constituents.
But they can’t both be, since they overlap.
37.3.3 Can the movement criterion determine the phrase structure of a

white horse?
Look at the movement pattern shown below:
(4)a. Though he IS a careful typist, he still makes mistakes.
b. Careful typist though he IS, he still makes mistakes.
(5)a. Though she WAS a fast finisher, she didn’t win all her races.
b. Fast finisher though she WAS, she didn’t win all her races.
Significantly, this pattern applies to white horse, but not to a white:

(6)a. Though he IS a white horse, he will fit in with the rest of the herd.
b. White horse though he IS, he will fit in with the rest of the herd.
(7)a. Though he IS a white horse, he will fit in with the rest of the herd.
b. *A white though he IS horse, he will fit in with the rest of the herd.
Since the result of the movement in (6)a-b is grammatical, but that in

(7)a-b is ungrammatical, it seems reasonable to conclude that the phrase
structure of a white horse is a — white horse; it is not a white — horse.
NP
*NP
DET N’1
ART AP N’2 ART A headN
A headN a white horse
a white horse
169

37.3.4 There is a so-called ‘pronoun’ one that can refer to white horse
as an antecedent, if not in a white horse, at least in the identity structured
the white horse:
(8) I want the white horse by the gate, not the one in the stall.
On the basis of movement and being an antecedent for a pro-form,

then, we can be fairly confident about assigning the phrase structure a —
white horse to the phrase a white horse.
________________
38 Phrase structure rules
38.1 Phrase-structure Rules “specify the constituency of syntactic
categories in the language.
For example, in English a Noun Phrase (NP) can be an Article (Art)
followed by a Noun (N) … The Phrase Structure Rule which makes this
explicit can be stated as:
NP → Art N
This rule conveys two facts:
(a) A Noun Phrase can be an Article followed by a Noun.
(b) An Article followed by a Noun is a Noun Phrase.
…
Phrase-structure Rules make explicit speakers’ knowledge of the order
of words and the grouping of words into syntactic categories.” [Fromkin and
Rodman, 1993: 87-88]
38.2 The following Phrase Structure Rules are part of the grammar of
English:
38.2.1 Phrase-structure Rules for rewriting Noun Phrases:
1. NP → N (NP consists of N)
2. NP → DET N (NP consists of DET + N)
3. NP → DET A N (NP consists of DET + A + N)
4. NP → DET A N PP (NP consists of DET + A + N + PP)
These four rules can be collapsed into a single rule if we place

parentheses around optional elements (that is, around elements that need not
be present). Notice that the only constituent required in each NP rewrite rule
170

is N: the other constituents — DET, A, and PP — are optional and must be

placed in parentheses. The abbreviated rule looks like this:
5. NP → (DET) (A) N (PP)
Because DET, A, and PP are optional, we can rewrite NP not only as in

1, 2, 3, and 4 above, but also in other ways, including 6 and 7.
6. NP → A N
7. NP → DET N PP
38.2.2 Phrase-structure Rules for rewriting Sentences and Verb Phrases:

To capture the fact that sentences and clauses have two basic
constituent parts, we formulate the following phrase structure:
8. S → NP VP
Having seen various expansion of NP, we turn now to the internal

structure of VP to explore its expansion and the rewrite rules necessary to
accommodate them:
9. VP → V: Lou won.
10. VP → V NP: Lou won a bicycle.
11. VP → V NP (S): Lou warned [the cook] [that he must wash the celery].
12. VP → V (NP) (PP) (S): Lou warned [the cook] [on Monday]
[that he must wash the celery].
13. VP → V (S): The indictment charged [that Lou embezzled funds].
14. VP → V PP: Lou flew to Miami.
15. VP → V NP PP: Lou won the bike in a contest.
16. VP → V PP S: Lou denied in court that he flew to Miami.
38.2.3 Phrase-structure Rules for rewriting Prepositional Phrases:

Other well-form English sentences indicate that a PP consists of a
preposition and that all prepositions take complements and their complements
are always nominals [Stageberg, 1965: 196-199]. In other words, a
preposition is always dominated by a PP and always has a nominal
complement as a following sister:
17. PP → PREP NP
171

38.2.4 We have now arrived at the following phrase-structure rules for

English:
S → NP VP
NP → (DET) (A) N (PP)
VP → V (NP) (PP) (S)
PP → PREP NP
________________
39 Surface structures vs. deep structures
“Each sentence is considered to have two levels of structure: the deep
structure and the surface structure. The surface structure is generally the
syntactic structure of the sentence which a person speaks, hears, reads or
writes, e.g. the passive sentence
The newspaper was not delivered today.
The deep structure is much more abstract and is considered to be in the

speaker’s, writer’s or reader’s mind. The deep structure for the above
sentence would be something like:
(NEGATIVE) someone (PAST TENSE) deliver the newspaper today (PASSIVE)
The items in brackets are not lexical items but grammatical concepts
which shape the final form of the sentence. Rules which describe deep
structure (phrase-structure rules) are in the first part of the
grammar (BASE COMPONENT). Rules which transform these structures
(transformational rules) are the second part of the grammar
(TRANSFOMATIONAL COMPONENT).” [Richards, Platt and Weber, 1987: 74]
Thus, we postulate two levels of sentence structure in the sentence

John loves Richard more than Martha. “The level that is represented by
the linear string of morphemes and words as uttered or written is called a
surface structure … The other level of structure is an abstract level underlying
the surface structure. Structure at this level is called deep structure or
underlying structure.
“From an underlying structure, a surface structure is generated by

application of a series of syntactic processes called transformational rules, or
transformations.” [Finegan, 1994: 141-142]
172

The phrase-structure rules we proposed earlier would actually

generate a deep structure. Then the syntactic processes — the
transformations — would operate on the deep structure generated by the
phrase-structure rules to produce a surface structure. We can represent
the situation schematically as follows:
PHRASE-STRUCTURE RULES
↓
Deep structure
↓
TRANSFORMATIONAL RULES
↓
Surface structure
Let’s consider the two following examples:

Ex1. PHRASE-STRUCTURE RULES: S → NP VP
NP → PropN
↓ VP → V NP AdvP
Deep structure: John LOVES Richard more than he LOVES Martha.
↓
THE OMISSION TRANSFORMATIONAL RULE:
Omit the repeated subject he and the repeated verb loves.
↓
Surface structure: John LOVES Richard more than Martha.
Ex2. PHRASE-STRUCTURE RULES: S → NP VP

NP → PropN
↓ VP → V NP AdvP
Deep structure: John LOVES Richard more than Martha LOVES Richard.
↓
THE OMISSION TRANSFORMATIONAL RULE:
Omit the repeated verb loves and the repeated direct object Richard.
↓
Surface structure: John LOVES Richard more than Martha.
173

The two above examples prove that two different deep structures may
share the same surface structure as a result of the application of a certain
transformational rule. Note also that a sentence is structurally ambiguous
when its only surface structure is derived from two or more different deep
structures.
________________
40 Signals of syntactic structures
There exist five signals of syntactic structures: word order,
function words, inflections, derivational contrast, and prosody.
40.1. Word order /‘w3:d ,0:d6/ is “the arrangement of words in a

sentence. Languages often differ in their word order ... In English, the
position of a word in a sentence often signals its function. Thus, in the
sentence: Dogs eat meat. The position of dogs shows that it is the SUBJECT,
and the position of meat shows that it is the OBJECT.
In some languages, including English, a change from the usual word
order may often be used to emphasize or contrast, eg:
That cheese I really don’t like.
where the object is shifted to the beginning.”
[Richards, Platt and Webber, 1987: 313]
40.2. Function words /‘f∧7k∫6n ,w3:dz/ are “words which have little
meaning on their own, but which show grammatical relationships in and
between sentences (grammatical meaning). Conjunctions, prepositions,
articles, e.g. and, to, the, are function words.” [Richards, Platt and Webber,
1987: 61]
A preposition is a word that shows the relation between a noun or a

pronoun and other words in a sentence.
I walked to the house the book by him
around the house him
for
through the house about him
In the above examples, prepositions make great differences in meaning
when they link the house with walked, and him with the book.
174

Co-AP Co-NP
AP1 Conj AP2 NP1 NP2 Conj NP3
A1 A2 N1 N2 N3
(1)a. stupid but persevering (1)b. sandwiches, relish, and coffee
‘Stupid but persevering’ is a CO-ORDINATE ADJECTIVE PHRASE with

stupid and persevering coordinated by but.
‘Sandwiches, relish, and coffee’ is a CO-ORDINATE NOUN PHRASE
with sandwiches, relish, and coffee coordinated by and.
40.3. Inflection
“Inflection is the change, or modification, in the form of a word to
indicate a change in its meaning.” [House and Harman, 1965: 15]
“Inflection refers to the way English makes related forms of words of

the same ‘part of speech,’ such as plurals and possessives of nouns and past
tenses of verbs.” [Kaplan, 1989: 28]
“Almost all English nouns have two forms: the plain form used in the
constructions like ‘a book’ or ‘the book’ and the inflected form which is
formed by adding inflectional suffixes to the plain form. The plain form and
its three inflected forms together make up a four-form inflectional noun
paradigm, which is a set of relative forms of a noun. Not all nouns have three
inflected forms:
one plain form three inflected forms

(= the stem) (= the stem + inflectional suffixes)
mother (singular noun) mothers (plural noun)
mother’s (singular-possessive noun)
mothers’ (plural-possessive noun)
The inflections of a verb are more complicated than those of a noun.
The inflectional paradigm of an irregular verb has four inflected forms:
breaks, breaking, broke, and broken.” [Toâ Minh Thanh, 2003: 45]
175

40.4. Derivational contrast /,der1‘ve1∫nl ‘k4ntrast/ is

Derivation is “the formation of new words by adding affixes to
other words or morphemes. For example, the noun insanity is derived
from the adjective sane by addition of the negative prefix in− and the noun-
forming suffix −ity.” [Richards, Platt and Weber, 1987: 77]
The verb flirt, the noun flirtation, the adjective flirtatious, and the
adverb flirtatiously can be identified thanks to such derivational contrast.
40.5. Prosody /‘pr4s6d1/ is “a collective term for variation in loudness,

pitch and speech rhythm” [Richards, Platt and Webber, 1987: 233]
Different degrees of stress are used for emphasis. A stressed syllable

can be given greater stress by increasing its length, its loudness and/or by
raising its pitch more. In the following examples, the responses are stated
at different levels of stress:
stress for emphasis greater stress for emphasis
How was the ship? It was huge. It was HUGE!
Was it a bad storm? It was terrible. It was TERrible!
How was the sunset? It was awesome. It was AWEsome!
“Rhythm is a pattern in timing. We can see rhythm patterns in

many things, such as in dancing, in music, and in speech. The rhythm of
speech is based on the timing of sound segments. In English, these segments
are the word syllables.” [Lujan, 2004: 4.1]
The uneven timing in STRESSED SYLLABLES and in unstressed syllables

gives English speech its characteristic rhythm:
- I’d LIKE to TAKE my DOG for a WALK.
- It isn’t MEREly eNOUGH.
- They DID it ALL by themSELVES.
Function words are normally unstressed and therefore are often

spoken with the same timing as unstressed syllables. In the following
dialogue, and is spoken reduced or stressed, resulting in variations of the
English rhythm:
176

Would you like soup or salad? _ I’d like soup and salad.
What kind of dressing? _ Oil and vinegar.
What to drink? _ Coffee with cream and sugar.
And for dessert, we have cake or ice cream.
_ I’ll take cake and ice cream.
________________
41 What is syntax?
• Syntax is “a term used for the study of the rules governing the way words
are combined to form SENTENCES." [Finch, 2000: 77]
• Syntax is “the study of how words combine to form sentences and the rules
which govern the information of sentences” [Richards, Platt and Weber,
1987: 285]
• Cuù phaùp laø caáp ñoä duy nhaát cuûa ngoân ngöõ tröïc tieáp lieân heä vôùi vieäc bieåu ñaït
tö töôûng vaø caâu laø phöông tieän hình thaønh vaø dieãn ñaït tröïc tieáp moät tö duy
troïn veïn. [Cao Xuaân Haïo, 1991: 24]
177

SECTION 4: SAMPLE TESTS IN ENGLISH LINGUISTICS
TRÖÔØNG ÑH KHXH&NV COÄNG HOØA XAÕ HOÄI CHUÛ NGHÓA VIEÄT NAM
HOÄI ÑOÀNG TUYEÅN SINH SÑH 2000 Ñoäc laäp - Töï do - Haïnh phuùc
TRÖÔØNG ÑH KHXH&NV **********
**********
ÑEÀ THI TUYEÅN SINH SAU ÑAÏI HOÏC
CHUYEÂN NGAØNH PHÖÔNG PHAÙP GIAÛNG DAÏY TIEÁNG ANH
Moân thi: LINGUISTICS
Thôøi gian: 180 phuùt
PART I. SYNTAX
1. a. What is a “descriptive grammar”? How is it different from a
“prescriptive grammar”?
b. Explain “deep structure” and surface structure”. Give an example from
English in which two deep structures are realized by only one surface
structure.
2. Determine the form (N, V, Adj, Adv, or Uninflected Words – UW),
position (Nominal, Verbal, Adjectival, adverbial), and syntactic function
(Subj, DirObj, IndirObj, PrepObj, V, SubjComp, Mod) of the underlined word
in each of the following sentences.
Ex: Max was struck by lightning.
Form: V – Position: Nominal – Function: PrepObj
(i) She gave him an encouraging smile.
(ii) I am too frightened to move.
(iii) They visited him in the summer.
(iv) Self-confidence is the key factor in getting yourself a good job.
(v) She works in a language center.
3. Determine whether the underlined parts in the following sentences are
constituents by using any of the following tests: substitution, coordination, and
movement. If you decide that something is NOT a constituent, you need to
identity what the constituent is by underlying it.
Ex: She sharpened the pencil with a knife.
Not a constituent (you also need to say what test you have used to
make your decision). There are in fact two constituents here:
She sharpened the pencil with a knife.
178

(i) The boy turned down the radio.

(ii) They ran quickly down the road.
(iii) Everyone charged with a crime deserves a fair trial.
(iv) The roaring crowd drowned out the candidate.
(v) I climbed out of bed and jumped into the shower.
PART II. SEMANTICS
1. a. What are primitive elements? Identify semantic properties of the
following words: democracy, maid, ruler, plod, water-lily, gull, ewe, soul
b. Give presuppositions to the following sentences:

1. I lost my grammar book on the way home yesterday.
2. It took us two day to come back from Hanoi by train.
2. a. Identify the difference between SYNONYMY and POLYSEMY. Give

examples to illustrate.
b. Interpret the meaning of the following sentences and then identify the
kinds of figurative language used:
1. The conversation back-fired suddenly.
2. He tries to sing his praises to the skies.
3. Give situations, interpret the meaning and then classify the following
sentences into different kinds of speech acts:
1. The meeting is over!
2. Hurry up, we are going to have a final exam.
3. I call her “My Little Cat” and she seems happy.
4. How are you?
PART III. WRITING
Write a short essay of about 300 - 350 words on either topic.

1. Should all errors made by foreign language learners be corrected at
any cost?
2. Games can help to learn a foreign language.
*********************************************************
Thí sinh khoâng söû duïng taøi lieäu.
Giaùm thò khoâng giaûi thích gì theâm.
179

ANSWER KEY
1. a/ A descriptive grammar describes how a language is actually spoken or
written. A prescriptive grammar to lay down rules about how people
ought to speak and write rather than how they actually do. (1/2 point)
b/ The deep structure is the propositional core of a sentence, and the

surface structure is the way it appears in an actual sentence.
An example of two deep structures realized by only one surface structure:

They feed her dog biscuits.
(or any other structurally ambiguous sentence). (1 point)
2. (i) She gave him an encouraging smile. → Verb, Adjectival, Mod

(ii) I am too frightened to move. → Verb, Adjectival, SubjCom
(iii) They visited him in the summer. → Verb, Verbal, Predicator
(iv) Self-confidence is the key factor in getting yourself a good job.
→ Noun, Adjectival, Mod
(v) She works in a language center. → Noun, Adjectival, Mod (1 point)
3. (i) The boy turned down the radio. → not a constituent, as the underlined
part of the sentence cannot be moved as a whole (The radio was turned
down). The constituent here is the radio.
(ii) They ran quickly down the road. → a constituent because it can be
moved as a whole (Down the road they ran quickly.)
(iii) Everyone charged with a crime deserves a fair trial. → not a constituent
because the underlined part of the sentence cannot be substituted by one
word (eg charged with it). The constituent is a crime.
(iv) The roaring crowd drowned out the candidate. → not a constituent (The
candidate was drowned out…)
(vi) I climbed out of bed and jumped into the shower. → not a constituent
(Out of bed I climbed and into the shower I jumped).
Writing (3 points)
- Form (spelling, punctuation, grammar) - Usage of English
- Ideas, organization of ideas - Persuasiveness and effectiveness
180

ÑH QUOÁC GIA TP HOÀ CHÍ MINH COÄNG HOØA XAÕ HOÄI CHUÛ NGHÓA VIEÄT NAM
TRÖÔØNG ÑH KH XAÕ HOÄI & NHAÂN VAÊN Ñoäc laäp - Töï do - Haïnh phuùc
__________ _________
TUYEÅN SINH CAO HOÏC

NGAØNH PHÖÔNG PHAÙP GIAÛNG DAÏY TIEÁNG ANH (TESOL)
MOÂN THI: NGÖÕ HOÏC
THÔØI GIAN: 180 PHUÙT
PART ONE: SYNTAX

1. Do you or don’t you agree with the following statement by Kaplan (1989:
267): “Embedded sentences typically function as subjects and direct objects
and as sentence-adverbial phrases.” Give examples to support your answer.
2. What do you know about the post-modification in English adjective

phrases? Give three appropriate examples to illustrate your presentation.
3. How do sentences in each of the following pairs differ from each other?
(3a) I will see you the day before you go.
(3b) I will give you the information before you go.
(3c) Several women moved to help her.

(3d) Several women offered to help her.
4. Explain the structural ambiguity of the phrase and the sentence given
below, using tree diagrams:
(4a) the motor boat of the man that would not start
(4b) Fred said that he would pay me on Thursday.
PART TWO: SEMANTICS
1. What are semantic features? Consider the following table and give the
semantic features to each of the given words.
English Vietnamese Chinese

anh huynh
brother
ñeä
sibling em
muoäi
sister
chò tyû
181

2. Distinguish true synonymy from partial synonymy? Give two examples

to illustrate each.
3. Identify the presupposition(s) in the following sentences:

(3a) I’ve been dreaming of having a house of my own.
(3b) If they hadn’t waited until the last minute, they would have passed
the exam.
4. Interpret the following sentences and identify the figure(s) of speech

employed.
(4a) Her beloved father was laid to rest in this cemetery.
(4b) Don’t live in such a sea of doubt.
5. For each of the following utterances, provide two situations so that one
utterance performs two different speech acts. Interpret the utterances and
identify the speech acts performed in the light of the situations you
provide.
(5a) Why don’t you live with your parents?
(5b) You’re home early.
PART THREE: WRITING
Write a short essay of about 300-350 words on either topic.
1. How can you help your students to enlarge their vocabulary?
2. Is it true that one who is good at English grammar can write well in
English?
Ghi chuù: Caùn boä coi thi khoâng giaûi thích gì theâm.
182

ANSWER KEYS
Part one: Syntax (30 ñieåm = 3/10)
(6 ñieåm) 1. Students are supposed to answer positively with a few examples like:
Embedded sentences functioning as subjects: (2 ñieåm)
That Mary swallowed a gold fish grossed everyone out.
It grossed everyone out that Mary swallowed a gold fish.
Where we are going has not been decided.
Embedded sentences functioning as objects: (2 ñieåm)
Jack made whoever came here the same offer. (IO)
They found what they wanted. (DO)
We will name the baby whatever his grandmother wishes. (OC)
Embedded sentences functioning as sentence-adverbial phrases: (2 ñieåm)
Julia laughed when Max snored.
when Max snored, Julia laughed.
(10 ñieåm) 2.
2.1. Many adjectives do not allow any kind of post-modification: big, blue,
sudden, tall, astute, etc. (2 ñieåm)
2.2. For most English adjectives, post-modification is optional; for a few,

however, it is obligatory. Aware, for example, cannot occur without its
adjective complement:
* He was aware.
He was aware of a creaking noise. (2 ñieåm)
2.3. There are three kinds of post-modifier or complement: (3 ñieåm)

- a prepositional phrase: He is very anxious about Jim’s health.
- an infinitive phrase: He is very anxious to please everybody.
- a that-clause: He is very anxious that no one should excuse him of laziness.
2.4. Not all adjectives allow all the three above-mentioned kinds of
complement. Some allow only one or two of them. Interesting, for example,
may take only an infinitive phrase: this book is very interesting to read; safe
allows either a prepositional phrase or an infinitive clause (but not a that-
clause): this toy is safe for children, this tree is not safe to climb up. (3 ñieåm)
183

(8 ñieåm) 3.
verb Head pronoun noun phrase/adverbial
simple transitive verb direct object adjunct of time of “will see”
(3a) I will see you the day before you go.
(2 ñieåm)
verb Head pronoun noun phrase subordinate clause/adverbial

double transitive verb IO DO adjunct of time of “will give”
(3b) I will give you the information before you go.
(2 ñieåm)
verb Head infinitive phrase/adverbial

intransitive verb adjunct of purpose
(3c) Several women moved to help her.
(2 ñieåm)
verb Head infinitive phrase

simple transitive verb nominal/DO
(3d) Several women offered to help her.
(2 ñieåm)
(Note that tree diagrams are equally acceptable here.)
(6 ñieåm) 4.
(4a) “the man’s motor boat which would not start” vs. “the man who
would not start” (3 ñieåm)
(4b) “Fred said on Thursday that he would pay me.” vs. “Fred said
that it is on Thursday that he would pay me.” (3 ñieåm)
(Note that tree diagrams must be used in this question. Any explaination
without its acommpanying illustrating diagram(s) is not acceptable.
184

Part two: Semantics (30 ñieåm = 3/10)
(6 ñieåm) 1. Semantics features are the smallest units of meaning in a word.

The meaning of a word may be described as a combination of its smallest
units of meaning _ its semantic features.
a. Sibling has only one semantic feature: [+born by the same parents].
b. Brother and sister both have two semantic features: [+born by the same
parents] and [±male]
c. Anh and chò both have three semantic features: [+born by the same
parents], [±male] and [+older].
d. Em has only two semantic features: [+born by the same parents] and
[+younger].
e. Huynh, ñeä, muoäi and tyû all have three semantic features: [+born by the
same parents], [±male] and [±older].
(6 ñieåm) 2. True synonymy vs. Partial synonymy

2.1. TRUE SYNONYMY is a sense relation in which TWO OR MORE WORDS/
VARIOUS WORDS are written and pronounced differently but have the
same meaning.
E.g.:
- The two English verbs hide and conceal are synonyms; they both
mean “keep sb/sth from being seen or known about”.
- The four English nouns kind, type, sort and variety are synonyms;
they all refer to “a group having similar characteristics”.
2.2. PARTIAL SYNONYMY is a sense relation in which a polysemous word

shares one of its meanings with another word.
For example, one meaning of deep is synonymous with profound:
You have my deep/profound sympathy.
Similarly, one meaning of broad is synonymous with wide:
The river is very broad/wide at this point.
(6 ñieåm) 3. Presuppositions
(3a) I haven’t had/onwed/possessed any house (yet).
(3b) They waited until the last minute (and thus they failed the exam).
185

(6 ñieåm) 4. Figures of speech

(4a) Her beloved father was laid to rest in this cemetery.
“Was laid to rest” is an expression of euphemism meaning “was buried”.
(4b) Don’t live in such a sea of doubt.
- “Live in a sea of doubt” is an overstatement/an expression of hyperbole
meaning “be too suspicious”.
- “Doubt” is implicitly compared to “a sea”, both being characteristic of their
immeasurability. This is a metaphor.
(6 ñieåm) 5. Speech Acts
Answers to the questions in this part vary depending on the situations
provided by the student. If there is no situation provided, there will certainly
no mark counted.)
Part three: Writing (40 ñieåm = 4/10)

Noäi dung yù töôûng: 10 ñieåm
Boácuïc/daøn yù: 10 ñieåm
Lieân keát trong vaø giöõa caùc ñoaïn vaên: 10 ñieåm
Ngöõ phaùp/voán töø: 10 ñieåm
186

ÑAÏI HOÏC QUOÁC GIA TP. HOÀ CHÍ MINH

Tröôøng Ñaïi Hoïc Khoa hoïc Xaõ hoäi vaø Nhaân vaên
HOÄI ÑOÀNG TUYEÅN SINH SAU ÑAÏI HOÏC NAÊM 2003
YUUUZ
ÑEÀ THI TUYEÅN SINH SAU ÑAÏI HOÏC

Moân cô sôû: LINGUISTICS
Thôøi gian laøm baøi: 180 phuùt
I. Semantics:
Part 1: Why is it said that sense and reference are two aspects of the
meaning of a word? Which of the two is the aspect of meaning that
first come to the mind of a child who is exposed to his/her native
language at an early stage (say, from the age of 8 months to the age of
15 months)?
Part 2: What is the connotation of a word? Identify three possible (positive or
negative) connotations of the word titanic.
Part 3: Read the following sentence carefully and answer the questions.
English is spoken in more parts of the world than in any other
language by more people than any other tongue except Chinese.
1. Is there any instance of synonymy in the above sentence?
2. What is the sense relation between the terms English, language, and
Chinese in the above sentence?
3. Like many other words in English, tongue is a polysemous word,
which can lead to lexical ambiguity when it is used in a certain
utterance. Is the word tongue in the above sentence an instance of
ambiguity?
4. What is the figure of speech expressed through the use of tongue in
the above sentence?
Part 4: Identify the speech acts performed in the following underlined
utterances.
1. A. Hey, buddy! There’s a big hole in front of our classroom!
B. Thanks.
2. A. You know what I found on he first day of my new school year?
There’s a big hole in front of our classroom.
B. Really?
187

3. A. Oh, my God! There’s a big hole in front of our classroom!

B. It’s not unusual around here.
II. Syntax:
Part 1: Make a complete IC analysis of the following sentence by using an
upside-down-T diagram (e.g. she smile happily)
Research into the health effects of air pollution is going.
Part 2: What are the syntactic functions typical of a noun phrase? Illustrate
your answer with examples.
Part 3: Compare and contrast the following underlined phrases.

1. She is very beautiful.
2. She is of great beauty.
Part 4: What are the types of verbs that do not allow passive transformation?
Part 5: How many types of noun clauses are there? Give an example for each
type.
III. Academic writing:

“The goal of teachers who uses the Communicative Approach is to
have students become communicatively competent. While this has
been the stated goal of many of the other methods, in the
Communicative approach the notion of what it takes to be
communicatively competent is much expanded.”
State the reason why you are for/against the above idea.
188

ÑAÙP AÙN MOÂN CÔ SÔÛ: LINGUISTICS
I. Semantics (10 points):

Part 1 (3 points):
1.1 It is said that sense and reference are two aspects of the meaning of a
word because the meaning of a word comes to our mind sometimes as
sense (0.3 points) and sometimes as reference (0.3 points).
The meaning of a word that comes to our mind can be established

as the intra-linguistic relationship between the word (in question) and
another word or other words that are semantically equivalent to the
word in question (0.3 point). This is called sense. (0.3 point)
sense (meaning)
word semantically equivalent word(s)
The meaning of a word that comes to our mind can also be

established as the extra-linguistic relationship between the word (in
question) and its referent(s) (i.e. the thing(s) in the real world the word
in question refers to) (0.3 point). This is called reference. (0.3 point)
1.2 The aspect of meaning that first comes to mind of a child who is
exposed to his/her native language at such an early stage (from the age
of 8 months to the age of 15 months) is reference (0.3 points). The
reason is that there is only one way for an adult/caretaker/babysitter to
communicative with a child of this age, which is to point to specific
referents of word whenever using that word talking to the child (e.g.
point at a teddy bear when saying “bear” to the child) (0.3 points)
Part 2 (1.5 points):

The connotation of a word is the association(s) that a word has over and
above its denotation (0.3 points). A word like titanic (whose denotation is
[+huge] (0.3 points) may have such connotations as [+romance/romantic]
(0.3 points), [+ship] (0.3 points). [+sacrifice/sacrificial] (0.3 points), etc.
189

Part 3 (3.5 points):

1. There is an instance of synonymy in the above sentence (0.25 points).
The synonymy found here are language and tongue (0.25 points).
2. The sense relation between these word is hyponymy (0.25 points)
because the superordinate term (or hypernym) language (0.25 points)
can be English (a hyponym) (0.25 points), Chinese (anther hyponym)
(0.25 points), etc.
language
English Chinese … … … …
(0.25 points)
The classification of language into English, Chinese, etc. is often referred
to as taxonomy (0.25 points).
3. The word tongue in the above sentence is not an instance of ambiguity

(0.25 points) because the context “English is spoken … by more people
than any other tongue …” is clear that tongue here can only be
interpreted as a synonym of language (0.25 points).
4. The figure of speech found in the use of tongue in the above sentence
is metonymy (0.25 points) because tongue, which is associated with
language (0.25 points), especially spoken language, is substituted for
language (0.25 points). However, native speakers of English use the
word tongue with this sense so naturally that many of them are
unaware that that this is an instance of metonymy (0.25 points).
Part 4 (2 points):
1. In this utterance, the speaker performs an illocutionary act of
warning (0.4 points). This speech act is a directive (0.4 points).
2. In this utterance, the speaker performs an illustration act of
stating/reporting a fact (0.2 points). This speech act is a
representative (0.4 points).
3. In this utterance, the speaker performs an illocutionary act of
exclaiming (0.2 points). This speech act is an expressive (0.4 points).
190

II. Syntax (10 points):

Part 1 (2 points):
Research into the health effects of air pollution is going.
Notes: According to functional grammar, such a preposition phrase as of air

pollution is regarding as an endocentric structure (of which the head is
the preposition) and can be diagrammed as follows.
of air pollution
Part 2 (3 points): The syntactic function typical of a noun phrase are subjects
of a verb (0.3 points), object of a verb (direct object, in direct object)
(0.3 points), object of a preposition (0.3 points), and complement
(subject complement, object complement) (0.3 points).
E.g. My dog is sleeping.
(subject of is) (0.3 points)
I gave the little boy a toy.
(IO) (DO) (0.6 points)
He’s fond of Chinese tea.
(object of the prep. of) (0.3 points)
She is a counsellor.
(subject complement) (0.3 points)
I consider him my archenemy.
(object complement) (0.3 points)
Part 3 (1 point):
The two phrases are both adjectivals (0.2 points), “very beautiful” being
an adjective phrase (0.2 points) and “of great beauty” a prepositional phrase
(0.2 points). Although they are almost the same in meaning (0.2 points), “of
great beauty” is a much more formal structure than is “very beautiful”.
191

Part 4 (2 points):
Verbs that do not allow passive transformation are of two main types
(0.2 points): all intransitive verbs (0.3 points) including linking verbs (0.3 points)
and some transitive verbs, especially verbs of state (0.3 points).
E.g. Active Passive
He worked very hard. (0.3 points)
(intransitive verb)
He was a marketeer. (0.3 points)
(linking verb/copula)
He has two sister. (0.3 points)
(transitive verb of state)
Part 5 (2 points):
There are three types of noun clause (0.2 points): that-clause (i.e. a
noun clause beginning with that (0.2 points), whether/if-clause (i.e. a noun
clause beginning with whether/if) (0.3 points), and (W)H-clause (i.e. a noun
clause beginning with W)H-word) (0.3 points).
E.g. He said that he would come. (0.3 points)
She wanted to know whether he could come. (0.3 points)
She asked me who would come. (0.3 points)
III. Academic writing (10 points):

Trong baøi caàn neâu baät moät soá yù sau:
1. Communicative competence involved being able to use the language
appropriate to given context.
2. Students need knowledge of linguistic forms, meanings, and functions.
3. Students need to know that many different form can be used to perform
a function and also that a single form can often serve a variety of
functions.
4. Students must be able to choose from among these different forms the
most appropriate form, given the social context and the roles of the
interlocutors.
5. Students must also be able to manage the process of negotiating
meaning with their interlocutors.
Chuù yù caùch tính ñieåm:
Ñieåm toaøn baøi = ñieåm Semantics + ñieåm Syntax + ñieåm Writing
192

ÑAÏI HOÏC QUOÁC GIA TP HOÀ CHÍ MINH COÄNG HOØA XAÕ HOÄI CHUÛ NGHÓA VIEÄT NAM
TRÖÔØNG ÑH KHXH&NV Ñoäc laäp - Töï do - Haïnh phuùc
********** **********
MOÂN THI CÔ SÔÛ: LINGUISTICS
CHUYEÂN NGAØNH PHÖÔNG PHAÙP GIAÛNG DAÏY TIEÁNG ANH
THÔØI GIAN LAØM BAØI: 180 PHUÙT
PART I. SYNTAX
1. What is the difference between descriptivism and prescriptivism.
2. The following sentence is structurally ambiguous. Paraphrase the

sentence in two different ways and draw tree diagrams to show the
ambiguity involved.
He killed the robber with a knife.
3. Explain the difference between the following underlined structures,

which are apparently similar.
a. I never accept the idea that public housing can’t be beautiful.

I can’t understand the idea that he has been toying with.
b. He turned off the motorway at Lancaster.

He turned off the light in the living room.
PART II. SEMANTICS

1. a. What are proforms? Give two examples to illustrate.
b. Identify the presuppositions in the following sentences:
1. Where did you buy the motorbike?
2. You are late for the meeting again.
2. Interpret the meaning of the following sentences and then identify the
kinds of figurative language used.
a. Don’t substitute the good for the best.
b. The man is a demon of energy.
3. Provide situations, interpret the meaning and then classify the following
utterances into different kinds of speech acts.
a. We are going to be in the rainy season!
b. What time is it according to your watch?
c. We always call him “Jack of all the trades.”
193

PART III. WRITING

Write an essay of about 250 - 300 words on either topics:
1. English has played an important part in providing employment
opportunity for many people in Vietnam.
2. Advantages and disadvantages in teaching English to adults learners
in the current situation in Vietnam.
ÑAÙP AÙN MOÂN THI CÔ SÔÛ: LINGUISTICS
PART I. SYNTAX (3m)

1. The differences between descriptism and prescriptivism: (1m)
Prescriptivism Descriptism
1 To prescribe rules for the To describe the language as it is

“correct” use of the language actually used by native speakers
(often irrespective of how the of that language
language is actually used by
native speakers of that language)
2 Subjective; speculative in nature Objective; empirical; data-based
3 Examples (or “evidence”) are Use of naturally-occurring

often contrived or made up language data as evidence
2. “He killed the robber with a knife.” is structurally ambiguous: (1m)

a. He used a knife to kill the robber.
S
NP VP
V NP PP
Pro. Art. N Prep. NP
Art. N
194

b. He killed the robber who was carrying a knife.

S
NP VP
V NP
Art NP
N PP
Prep. NP
Pro.
Art. N

3. The differences between the following underlined structures: (1m)
a. I never accept the idea that public housing can’t be beautiful.
“That public housing can’t be beautiful” is a noun clause

functioning as an appositive (of the noun phrase “the idea”).
→ “That public housing can’t be beautiful” = “the idea”
I can’t understand the idea that he has been toying with.
“That he has been toying with” is a adjective/relative clause

functioning as a post-modifier of the noun phrase “the idea”.
→ “the idea” “that he has been toying with”
b. He turned off the motorway at Lancaster.
“Off the motorway” is a prepositional phrase modifying the

intransitive verb “turned” and indicating direction/location.
He turned off the motorway at Lancaster.
195


“The light in the living room” is a noun phrase functioning as
the direct object of the phrasal verb “turned off”.

PART II. SEMANTICS (3m)
1a. What are PROFORMS? Give two examples to illustrate. (0.5m)
Definition: Proforms are forms which can serve as replacements for
different elements in sentence. (1/4m)
1). A: I hope you can come.
B: I hope so. (So replaces that I can come.) (1/8m)
2). A: I like green tea.
B: We do too. (Do replaces like green tea.) (1/8m)
1b. Identify PRESUPPOSITIONS in the following sentences: (0.5m)

1. Where did you buy the motorbike? (You bought the motorbike.) (1/4m)
2. You are late for the meeting again. (You were late before.) (1/4m)
2. Interpret the meaning of the following sentences and then identify

the kinds of FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE used. (0.5m)
a. Don’t substitute the good for the bad.
… the good and the bad in this context means good work and bad work.
This is metonymy. (1/4m)
b. The man is a demon of energy.
…a demon of energy in this context means the man is very energetic/
full of energy/ very active. This is metaphor. (1/4m)
3. SPEECH ACTS (1.5m)
Marking the answers according to the situations provided by the candidates.
(no situation: no marking)
PART III. WRITING (4m)
Content: 1m Grammar: 1m
Organisation: 1m Language use: 1m
196

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ÑAÏI HOÏC QUOÁC GIA THAØNH PHOÁ HOÀ CHÍ MINH

Toâ Minh Thanh

TAØI LIEÄU OÂN THI

(Taùi baûn laàn thöù nhaát, coù chænh söûa)

NHAØ XUAÁT BAÛN ÑAÏI HOÏC QUOÁC GIA

Section one: WORD CLASSES

Section two: TYPES of PHRASES, CLAUSES and SENTENCES

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8.6 Verb participles ........................................................................................ 29

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15.3 Adverbial clauses ..................................................................................... 68

Section three: GRAMMATICAL RELATIONS

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21 Constructions vs. constituents ........................................................................ 104

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35.3 Explain the difference between two sentences ...................................... 151

Section four: SAMPLE TESTS IN ENGLISH LINGUISTICS ................................ 178

Bibliography ................................................................................................... 197

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LÔØI NOÙI ÑAÀU

Thaønh phoá Hoà Chí Minh, ngaøy 20 thaùng 1 naêm 2005.

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Ñaïi Hoïc Quoác Gia Tp. Hoà Chí Minh

ÑEÀ CÖÔNG OÂN TAÄP THI TUYEÅN SINH CAO HOÏC

Moân Cô sôû: LINGUISTICS

(cho chuyeân ngaønh Giaûng daïy tieáng Anh)

Hurdford, J. R. & Heasley, B. (1984) Semantics. A Course Book.

Jordan, R.R. (1990) Academic Writing Course. Collins ELT. A Division of

Kaplan, J.P. (1989) English Grammar. Principles and Facts.

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GUIDELINES FOR REVIEW

II. Reference and Sense

III. Denotation and Connotation

IV. Taxonomy—Hypernyms and Hyponyms

V. Multiple Senses of Lexical Items

VI. Synonymy vs. Antonymy

VII. Homonyms (homophones and homograph), acronyms, anomaly

VIII. Speech Acts

Presuppositions and Implicatures

Deixis (time, place, person)

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S’= S-bar Prt = adverbial particle

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SECTION 1: WORD CLASSES

1 Parts of speech, word classes and grammatical categories1

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2 Classification of word classes

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2.2 English major classes: In defining major/open classes, Stageberg

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Stageberg’s four form classes are nouns, verbs, adjectives, and

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2.2.1.3.1 The two adjective inflectional suffixes in English are:

and in addition has all of the following negative attributes.

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2.2.2 English positional classes

2.2.2.1 “Any word, whatever its form-class (noun, verb,

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