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We distinguish nine primary word classes, or parts of speech, to use the traditional term. In this overview we
needn't worry about interjections (wow, ah, hello, and the like), which leaves us with eight classes. They are
named and exemplified below:
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TWO
GERUND PHRASES
Every gerund, without exception, ends in -ing. A gerund phrase will always function as a
noun. Gerunds function as nouns. Thus, gerunds will be subjects, subject complements, direct
objects, indirect objects, and objects of prepositions.
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THREE
PARTICIPIAL PHRASES
Gerunds are not, however, all that easy to pick out. The problem is that all present participles
also end in -ing. What is the difference?
Present participles, on the other hand, complete progressive verbs or act as modifiers.
Read these examples:
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FOUR
INFINITIVE PHRASES
• The editor in chief of the journal decided not to accept any submission from him.
• I want to have read the whole report before I answer questions about it.( perfect inf.)
• The headmaster was to have presented the prize.( unrealized past) (He couldn’t come
on that day and…)
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FIVE
PHRASES
For each of the first six of the word classes in chapter one there is a corresponding class of phrases whose Head
belongs to that class. In the following examples, the phrase is enclosed in brackets and the Head underlined:
SIX
CLAUSES
Every Complex sentence is made up of two parts, the dependent and the independent clauses.
I. Independent clauses
A .Adjective Clause
Examples:
The guitar, which was the one Elvis used to own, was found at a garage sale.
Whitey broke the law which lead to his incarceration.
Jeremy, who won the lottery, now lives in Malibu.
B. Adverbial clauses
Adverbial clauses are dependent clauses that modify verbs and verb phrases. Adverbial clauses
answer questions about the verb phrase that relate to time, location, purpose, and condition.
Examples:
Sean will accept your invitation if you promise to let his band
play.
C. Noun Clauses
Noun clauses are not modifiers, so they are not subordinators like adjectives and adverbs.
They must function within another sentence pattern, always as nouns. A noun clause
functions as a subject, subject complement, direct object, or object of a preposition.
Example:
SEVEN
REDUCED /ABRIDGED CLAUSES:
A. How to reduce Noun Clauses:
Adjective clauses in which the relative pronouns are the subject of the verb may be reduced to
participle phrases, as shown in the following:
Examples:
1.Full: Students who arrive late will not be permitted to enter the classroom.
Reduced: Students arriving late will not be permitted to enter the classroom.
2.Full: The books that were sent to me by the embassy were interesting.
Reduced: The books sent to me by the embassy were interesting.
Reduced participle in this way can have several forms:
Full: Jack, who is taking chemistry of the first time, needs a tutor.
Reduced: Jack, taking chemistry of the first time, needs a tutor.
Reduced: Taking chemistry of the first time, Jack needs a tutor.
1. Full: Bill, who had taken chemistry in high school, offered to help him.
Reduced: Bill, having taken chemistry in high school, offered to help him.
Reduced: Having taken chemistry in high school, Bill offered to help him.
2.Full: Tom, who had been unjustly fired from the dependent, sued the firm.
Reduced: Tom, having been unjustly fired from the department, sued the firm.
Reduced: Having been unjustly fired from the department, Tom sued the firm.
Adverb clauses of time and cause may also be reduce to participle phrases. This is especially
true when the subject of the adverb clauses is the same as the subject of the main clause.
Prepositional clause
The rats ,for which we provided standard conditions for two weeks, were proved to be
stronger.
The rat, which we provided standard conditions for, was proved stronger.
The rat , we provided standard conditions for, were proved stronger.
NINE
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IT (CLEFT)
It was said that all the damaged cases were discarded.
It was necessary that all the data were divided into three groups.
TEN
WHAT (Pseudo cleft)
What the author needs to do for this paper is to consider the reviewers viewpoints.
INVERSION
Inversion, also known as anastrophe, is a literary technique in which the normal order of words is
reversed in order to achieve a particular effect of emphasis or meter.
I believe that only rarely will I We need to learn the various types
need your help. of words and phrases that require
this type of inversion.
Not until I got home did I
realize that my shoes were Notice that sometimes the
untied. inversion occurs right after the
neg. intro form and sometimes it
occurs in the next subject and
verb.
Lost among the old tables and This one is very common on the
chairs was the priceless TOEFL, GMAT, and GRE.
Victorian desk.
This type of inversion usually
Located between San occurs with be-verbs, but
Francisco and Marin County is sometimes with linking verbs.
the Golden Gate Bridge.
Notice that the phrase is the
complement of the be-verb.
(conditionals) Note that the word if does NOT This is somewhat common on the
appear in the clause when TOEFL and more common on the
inversion is used: GMAT and GRE.