Chapter Two

Elements of Grammar

Prof. Harir Aamir Ahmed

Third Stage/ Department of English/ College of
Education
Al-Farahidi University

 Parts of a Sentence
sentence

Subject (S.) Predicate

Operator predication

The sentence is a set of words that gives a comprehensive sense. It

starts with the subject. Subject is the doer of the action and it comes
mostly at the beginning of a sentence. In question the subject changes
its position to be after the auxiliary verb.
Operator is the irst auxiliary. It facilitates question and negation.

Examples:

-He had given the girl an apple.

(S) (Operator ) (Predication)

-Had he given the girl an apple?

(Operator) (S) (Predication )
His brother grew happier gradually.
(S) (Predication)

-John carefully searched the room.

(S) (Predication)

-The girl is now a student at a large university.

(S) (Predication)

 -Is she now a student at a large university?
(V) (S) (A time) (Cs) (A place)

-He should have been questioned by the police.

(S) (Operator) (Predication)

-Should. he have been questioned by the police?
(Operator) (S) (Predication)
-It rained steadily all day.
(S) (Predication)
-Did it rain steadily all day?
(Operator) (S) (V) (A process)
-She is now a student at a large university.
(S ) (V) (A time) (Cs ) (A place)
Objects and Complements
There are two types of objects :
-Direct object can come alone in a sentence
(Od).
-John was carefully searching the room.
(S) (Operator) (A process) (verb) (Od)
-Indirect object can’t come alone in a sentence. There must be a direct
object (Oi).
-He had given the girl an apple.
(S) (Operator ) (verb) (Oi) (Od)
We can determine the the type of object by omitting it.
Ex. In the sentence above we have two objects (the girl) & (an apple).
If we omit (an apple) the sentence will be (He had given the girl) which
appears to be missing something, thus (the girl) is an indirect object.
But if we omit (the girl) the sentence will be (He had given an apple)
which is meaningful, thus (an apple) is direct object.

 -She is now a student

(S) (V) (A) (Cs)
Subject
complement
Cs
Complements
-They make him

Object (S ) (V) (Od)

complement the chairman
Co (Co)
every year.

Categories of a verb

Intensive(Intens)
-Intransitive
- V+ Cs
- V + A place Extensive (ext)

Intransitive Transitive
Trans
mono (Od), di
(Oi+Od),
complex(Od+Co)

 Stative {stat} [-ing]

Dynamic {dyn} [-ing]

All of the above categories of verbs can be either a stative or dynamic

verbs.
Stative verbs include:
Verb to be (is, are ,was, were, be)
Verbs of sense (hear, see, smell, taste)
Verbs of feeling (like, feel, love)
Verbs of thinking (think,
Verbs of possession (have, has)
These sometimes can be dynamic verbs and accept the addition of [-
ing]

Examples
-John is searching the room.
(S.) (Operator) (Dyn, ext mono trans verb) (Od)
-He had given the girl an apple.
(S.) (Operator) (dyn ext di transitive verb) (Oi) (Od)
-She is a student.
(S.) (Stat intens verb) (Cs )
-*She is being a student.

 Adverbial

Time Place Process

Now at a large university Carefully, steadily,
Without delay,
politely, hungrily

It is important to note that adverbial of process comes with dynamic

verbs only.
-The girl is a student at a large university.
-The girl is a student.
-The girl is now a student.
-The girl is at a large university.
-* The girl is now.
Sentence structure

-She is
(Stat in London
(S)
intens) (A place)

-She is A student in London now

(S) (Stat intens) (Cs) (A place ) (A time)

-John heard the from his

explosion when he was
(S) (Stat ext and o ice
(Od) locking the door
trans) (A place)
(A time)

gradually became famous

-Universities
(A process) (Dyn intens) (Cs ) in Europe during the
(S )
(A place) Middle Ages
(A time)

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 -They ate the meat hungrily in their hut That night

(S) (Dyn ext (Od) (A process) (A place) (A time )
mono trans)

o ered some outside the

-He (Dyn her politely before the
chocolate hall
(S) ext di (Oi) (A process) concert
(Od ) (A place)
trans) (A time)

elected
-They the
(Dyn ext him without in
(S) chairman
complex (Od ) argument Washington this morning
trans) (Co) (A (A place) (A time)
process)

had arrived At the before we

-The train quietly
(Dyn ext station noticed it
(S ) (A process)
intransitive) (A place ) (A time)

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 Elements realization

Elements of the sentence

S. V. Od Oi Cs + Co A.

noun phrase verb phrase noun phrase Noun phrase noun phrase adverb
phrase

pronoun inite pronoun Pronoun pronoun noun phrase

proper noun non inite proper noun proper noun prepositional

phrase

clause clause clause clause

adjective
phrase

Examples
-Mary wanted to be a student at that university
(S) (V Non- inite) (Cs) (A place)

-Carefully searching the room, John found a ring.

(A process) (V non- inite) (Od) (S) (V ) (Od)

-Made the chairman every year, he was very busy.

(V non- inite) (Co) (A time ) (S) (V) (A)

Its important to note that in verb phrases with more than one verb
there is a head verb
Examples
-He had given the girl an apple.
(S) (Operator) (Finite verb) (head) (Oi) (Od)
-He may be growing happier.
(S) (Finite verb) (head) (Cs)

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 Subject realization
Examples
-[That he answered the questions correctly] pleased him.
(Clause) (S) (V) (Od)
[that she answered the question correctly is clause that comes as
subject]
-The (de inite article) new (Adj) gas (N) stove (head noun) in the kitchen
(prep Phrase) which I bought last month (clause) has
a very e icient oven.
The above example is a complex noun phrase with [stove] as a head
noun.
She makes him happy.
S. V. Od. Adj. (Co)
-She makes him very much happier (head adj.).
(S) (V) (Od) (Adj phrase) (Co)
Adverbial realization
Examples
Adverb phrase
-John very carefully searched the room.
(S) (Adverb phrase) (A process) (V) (Od)
Noun phrase
-They make him the chairman every year.
(S) (V) (Od) (Co) (Noun phrase) (A time)
Prepositional phrase
-She studied at a large university.
(S) (V) (Prepositional phrase) (A place)
Clause
-He grew happier [when his friend arrived Seeing the large crowd],
(S) (V) (Cs) (Clause) (A time)
John stopped his car.
(S) (V) (Od)

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 Parts of speech
(a) Open class system
Noun John, room, answer, play
Adjective happy, steady, new, large, round
Verb search, grow, play, be, have, do
Adverb steadily, completely, really, very, then
(b) Closed system items
article the, a, an
Demonstrative that, this
Pronoun he, they, anybody, one, which
Preposition of, at, in, without, in spite
Conjunction and, that, when, although
Interjection oh, ah, ugh, phew
The open class system is the system that accepts the addition of new
words
While the closed system items do not accept the addition of new items.
-Complex preposition such as in spite of, out of
-*a the book / the book or a book
Stative & dynamic
Nouns + adjectives stative
Verbs + adverb dynamic
Exceptions are nouns like [nuisance] adjective like [naughty]
Examples
-He is being a nuisance again.
(S) (V) (dyn) (N) (dyn)
-He is being naughty.
(S) (V) (dyn) (adj) (dyn)
-He wrote the book. -The writing of the book,
(V) (dyn) (N) (stat)
-The girl is sitting. -The sitting girl.
(V) (dyn) (adj) (stat)

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 Pro forms
Examples
-John searched the big room and the small one too.
-The man invited the little Swedish girl because he liked her.
-Mary is in London and John is there too.
-Mary arrived on Tuesday and John arrived then too.
-John searched the big room very carefully and the small one less so.
-She hoped that he would search the room carefully before her arrival
-but he didn’t do so.
-A: He didn’t give her an apple. B: Yes, he did.
-They suspected that he had given her an apple and he had
Question and negation
There are two types of questions
Wh- questions
What , who, whom, which , whose, why, when, where, how
Examples
-They make him the chairman every year.
-Who makes him the chairman every year?
-Whom do they make the chairman every year?
-What do they make him every year?
-When do they make him the chairman?
Yes- No questions
We can make yes-no questions using the auxiliary
-Is the girl now a student?
-Did John search the room?
-Had he given the girl an apple?

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 Negation
-She is not a student.
-He had not given the girl an apple.

Assertion vs. Non assertion

Assertion positive and declarative

Non-assertion Interrogative (positive and negative)

Negative
Examples
-Did he o er her any chocolates?
-He didn’t o er her any chocolates.

List of abbreviations
(N), (n) noun
(S) subject
(V) verb
(Od) direct object
(Oi) indirect object
(Cs) subject complement
(Co) object complement
(A) adverbial
(A time) adverbial of time
(A place) adverbial of place
(A process) adverbial of process
(stat) stative
(dyn) dynamic
(intens) intensive
(ext) extensive
(trans) transitive
(adj) adjective
(adv) adverb
(prep) preposition

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 Key answers ‫حلول التمارين‬

Exercise 4
1- Computers (S) / Are computers fairly commonplace today?
Yes, they are./ No, they aren’t.
2- We (S)/ Have we a computer here? Or Do we have a computer here?
Yes, we have. /No, we haven’t. Or Yes, we do. / No, we don’t.
3-Full-scale computers (S)/ Do full-scale computers use a large number
of programs?
Yes, they do./ No, they don’t.
4- These programs (S)/ Have these programs to be changed from time
to time? Yes, they have. / No, they haven’t.
5- A special period (S) / Will a special period need to be set aside for
this operation?
Yes, it will. / No, it won’t.
6- Thinking about this (S)/ Did thinking about this lead us to an
interesting conclusion?
Yes, it did. /No, it didn’t.
7- Someone (S)/ Could someone having a dream be performing a
similar operation?
Yes, he could./ No, he couldn’t.
8- Most people(S) / Have most people had the experience of dreaming
in a feverish state?
Yes, they have./ No, they haven’t.

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 9- the sleeper (S) / Does the sleeper see dreams as a jumbled sequence
of unimportant detail?
Yes, he does. / No, he doesn’t.
11- The speaker (S) / Is the speaker seriously comparing dreams with
what happens in a computer?
Yes, he is./ No, he isn’t.

12- The process of changing a computer programme (S)/ Can the

process of changing a computer programme be compared with human
dreams?
Yes, it can. /No, it can’t.

Exercise 5
1- Full- scale computers have a large number of programs.
S V Od

2-We must change all the programs tomorrow.

S V Od A time
3- Tomorrow will be a holiday here.
S V Cs A place

4- These bookshelves are becoming very popular in Sweden.

S V Cs A place

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 6- Will you give it a try?

V S V Oi Od
7- On July 7, DDT was sprayed on the marsh from a helicopter.
A time S V A place A place

8- We all read too many books too quickly.

S V Od A process

9- The young man grew restless in his mother-in-law’s

house.
S V Cs A place

12- They had found him a charming young wife.

S V Oi Od
Exercise 6

1- I don’t believe [that those bookshelves are popular anywhere yet].

S V S V Cs A pla
Od

2- What [that advertisement says is not

true].
S V Cs
S
3- [What that advertisement says], I simply don’t believe.
S V S A process V
Od

5- Can you tell us [when we shall see the results]?

V S V Od S V Od

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 Atime

8- You didn’t leave the tap open [after you shut o the water supply].
S V Od Co S V Od
A time

9- [Where the plane crashed], the snow is still falling heavily.

S V S V V A process

A place

10- [Where the plane crashed ]is still not known.

S V V Cs

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 Exercise 7
1- Will someone get a doctor quickly! (Od)
2- George and Paul both became famous doctors. (Cs)
3- Do you call yourself a doctor? (a. Od , b. Co)
4- May I call you Jenny? (a. Od , b. Co)
5- May I call you a taxi or something? (a. Oi, b. Od )
7- It’s so cold. I can’t get warm. (a. Cs, b. Cs)
8- I can’t get my hands warm. (a. Od, b. Co)
9- Keep quiet. Keep those children quiet. (a. Cs, b. Od, c. Co)
10- Can’t you give them something to keep them quiet. (a. Oi, b. Od, c.
Od)

Exercise 8
1- Do you understand the question ? (extensive, stative, mono transitive)
2- English and German are separate languages. (intensive, stative,
intransitive) e
3- He appeared rather worried. (intensive, stative, intransitive)
4- The mist is disappearing slowly. (extensive, dynamic, intransitive)
5- I see what you mean. (a. extensive, stative, mono transitive, b.
extensive, stative, mono transitive)
6- You aren’t looking in the right direction. (extensive, dynamic,
intransitive)
7- He o ered her his hand hesitantly. (extensive, dynamic, ditransitive)
11- We elected him President unanimously. (extensive, dynamic,
complex transitive)
12- His election made him ver conceited. (extensive, dynamic, complex
transitive)

Exercise 11
1- Fire can cause great damage to any city. (Noun phrase)
2- The great Fire of London started in a bakery. (Prepositional phrase)
3- It burnt furiously for four days. (Adverb phrase)
5- Who has given a vivid account of it. (Complex inite verb phrase )

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 7- They suddenly decided to christen the bell big ben. (Non- inite
clause)
8- The idea occurred to them while Hall was speaking. (Finite clause)
17- Meeting her again has left me very happy. (Adjective phrase)
18- There were cakes, burnt to a cinder. (Simple non- inite verb phrase)
20- Graves doubts whether agreement can be reached. (Simple verb
phrase)
Exercise 12
1-Is it (pronoun) right (adjective) to say that (conjunction) right
(adjective) wrongs (verb) no man?
2-One cannot right (verb) all the wrongs (noun) in (preposition) the
(article) world.
3-Cure (verb) that (demonstrative) cold (noun) with (preposition) a
(article) drink (noun) of (preposition) hot lemon before (conjunction)
you (pronoun) go (verb) to (preposition) bed (noun).
4-Drink (verb) this (demonstrative) quick ( adverb)! Don’t let it get cold
(adjective).

Exercise 13
1-This tank holds precisely 10 litres. (stat)
2-Hold the handle very irmly. (dyn)
3-Answer the question more precisely. (dyn)
4-He’s a fool. Don’t listen to him. (A. stat), (b. dyn)
5-I was a fool. I was driving too fast. (a. stat), (b. dyn)
Exercise 14
1- The man who has just spoken is Benjamin Hall. (He)
2-I never imagined that such a thing could happen. (It )
3-An ides suddenly occurred to the Members present. (Them )
4-It occurred to them while Benjamin Hall was speaking. (Then)
5-Hand the man at the gate your tickets. (Him)
6-I said, ‘the man at the gate!’ (There)
7-Im afraid I haven’t a ticket. (One)
8-They’ll be issuing some new tickets tomorrow. (Ones)
9-They’ll be issuing some new tickets tomorrow. (Some)

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 10-Ferguson saw the ire and Parkinson saw it too. (Did so)
14-Do you enjoy walking in the rain? (it)
16-I would hate you to think that of me. (To)
17-I believe he wants to be left alone. (To be)

Exercise 15
1-DDT was sprayed over the area. (What was sprayed over the area?)
2-Samuel Pepys wrote an account of the ire. (Who wrote an account of
it?)
5-The ire started in a bakery. (Where did the ire start?)
6-It burnt for four days. ( How long did it burn?)
8-That happened in 1666. ( When did that happen?)
11-Twenty people were killed on the road yesterday. (How many people
were killed on the road yesterday?)

Exercise 16
1-Have you inished this chapter yet? (Non-assertion, interrogative,
positive)
2-None of us have inished it yet. (Non-assertion, negative)
3-Some of the others have inished it already. (Assertion, positive,
declarative )
4-Then why haven’t you inished it yet? (Non-assertion, interrogative,
negative )
5-Have you got much to do? (Non-assertion, interrogative, positive)

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f
f
f

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 List of abbreviations
(N), (n) noun
(S) subject
(V) verb
(Od) direct object
(Oi) indirect object
(Cs) subject complement
(Co) object complement
(A) adverbial
(A time) adverbial of time
(A place) adverbial of place
(A process) adverbial of process
(stat) stative
(dyn) dynamic
(intens) intensive
(ext) extensive
(trans) transitive
(adj) adjective
(adv) adverb
(prep) preposition

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