COURSE SYLLABUS ADVANCED GRAMMAR

UNIT CONTENT WEEK

Morphology
Word structure
• The word
Unit 1 • The morpheme 1
• Representation of Internal Structure of Words (Tree &
Bracket diagram)

Word formation processes I

• Derivation
• Back formation
Unit 2 2
• Zero derivation (aka. Conversion)
• Inflection (nominal, verbal)
• Derivation vs. Inflection

Word formation processes II

• Compounding
• Stress shift
• Clipping
Unit 3 • Acronymy 3
• Blending
• Adoption of brand names
• Sound imitation
• Borrowing
Unit 4 Practice / Review quizzes 4
Phrases
Phrases I
• Noun Phrase (NP)
Unit 5 5
• Adjective Phrase (Adj.P)
• Adverb Phrase (Adv. P)
Phrases II
Unit 6 • Prepositional Phrase (PP) 6
• Verb Phrase (VP)
Clauses and Sentences
Sentence elements I
• Subject
Unit 7 7
• Object
• Verb
Sentence elements II
Unit 8 • Complement 8
• Adverbial
Clause patterns
Types of clauses based on structure type
• Patterns for active sentences
Unit 9 9
•Patterns for passive sentences
•Finite clause
•Non-finite clause
Classification of sentences
• Simple sentence
Unit 10 10
• Compound sentence
• Complex sentence
Subordinate clauses
• Noun clause
Unit 11 11
• Adverbial clause
• Adjectival clause (aka. Relative clause)
Unit 12 Practice / Review quizzes 12
Unit 13 Syntax and its aspects 13
(Methods of sentence analysis)
 • Descriptive Linguistic Analysis (Traditional Grammar)
• Phrase Structure Rules (PSR)
• Tree Diagram
Structural Ambiguity
Unit 14 • Ambiguity in Noun clusters 14
• Ambiguity in Verb clusters
Sentence Synthesis
Unit 15 Course Revision 15
• Sentence synthesis

Evaluation:
30% online assignments (1 test)
70% Final Test at local test venue
UNIT 1: WORD STRUCTURE

I. Lesson points:
• The word
• The morpheme
• Representation of Internal Structure of Words (Tree & Bracket diagram)
II. Content:
1. Introduction
Speakers of a language use a finite set of rules to produce and understand an infinite set of
possible sentences. These rules comprise the grammar of a language, which is learned when you
acquire the language and includes the sound system (the phonology), how words may be
combined into phrases and sentences (the syntax), ways in which sounds and meanings are
related (the semantics), and the words or lexicon. The range of constructions that is studied by
grammar is very large, and grammarians have often divided it into sub-fields. The oldest and
most widely-used division is that between morphology and syntax (Figure 1.1).
2. Morphology

As Figure 1 shows, morphology is a branch of grammar. The term comes from the Greek
word morpheme, which means “form.” Morphology is concerned with the structure of words; in
other words, it is the field within linguistics that studies word structure and word formation.

There are two basic types of words in human language - simple and complex. Simple words are
those that cannot be broken down into smaller meaningful units while complex words can be
analyzed into smaller parts (constituents). The words “houses”, for example, is made up of the
form “house” and the plural marker -s, neither of which can be divided into smaller parts.
Morphology deals with the internal structure of complex words.

3.Morpheme
Words, like “houses”, are considered minimal free forms but are not the minimal
meaningful unit of language because they can often be broken down further. As we can see,
“houses” consists of two meaningful parts: “house” and “-s”. These minimal meaningful units
are called morpheme in linguistics. While many English words consist of only one morpheme,
others can contain two, three, or more (see Table 1).

4. Types of morphemes

Lexical and Grammatical morphemes

The words of any language can be divided into broad types of categories, closed and open, of
which the latter are most relevant to morphology. The closed categories are the function
words: pronouns like you, and she; conjunctions like and, if and because; determiners like a and
the; and a few others. Newly coined and borrowed words cannot be added to these categories.
However, new words can be created by adding morphemes to content words that belong to the
open categories, which are also known as major lexical categories, including: noun (N), verb (B),
adjective (A), and adverb (Adv). Because the major problem of morphology is how people make
up and understand words that they have never encountered before, morphology is concerned
largely with lexical categories.
The simple function words and content words are also called function morpheme (i.e.
grammatical morpheme) and content morpheme (also lexical morpheme). In other words, a
lexical morpheme names a concept/idea in our record of experience of the world (e.g. house, car,
tree, etc.). Grammatical morphemes do not really have a sense in and of themselves; instead,
they express some sort of relationship between lexical morphemes (e.g. a/the, and, but, etc.).

Free and Bound morphemes

A morpheme is considered free if it can constitute a word by itself, and a bound morpheme must
be attached to another element. The morpheme “house”, for example, is free since it can be used
as a word on its own; the plural marker “-s”, on the other hand, is bound.
Root and Affixes

Root morphemes are (usually free) morphemes around which words can be built up through the
addition of more bound morphemes. These bound morphemes, attached to a root, are called
affixes.
Affixes have three types: prefixes are morphemes attached to the front of a root; suffixes to the
end; infixes (not popular in English) are inserted inside a root.

Inflectional and Derivation morphemes

Derivational morphemes are those that can be added to a word to create another word with new
meaning and/ or new syntactic category (new part of speech).
Inflectional morphemes do not change the meaning or syntactic category of a word. They can
mark a word’s grammar category such as tense, number, aspect and so on. Some examples are
analyzed in Figure 1.2.

5. Internal Structure of Words

Like sentences, complex words such as houses and teachers have an internal structure. In this
section, we will consider the categories and representation that are relevant to the analysis of
word structure.
Let’s look in some detail at the word denationalization. This word contains five
morphemes: de-, nation, -al, -ize, -ation. Nation is a free morpheme, since it can stand alone as a
word, while the rest are bound morphemes. But simply listing the parts of the word and whether
they are free or bound does not tell us the structure of this word (how the parts are organized to
form the word). The parts have to be put together in a particular way, with a particular
arrangement and order. For example, none of these possible orders of the same five morphemes
constitutes an English word:

* ationizalnationde
* alizdeationnation
* nationdeizational
In fact, of the 120 possible arrangements of these five morphemes, only
one, denationalization, could be an English word. The order is so strict because each of the
bound morphemes is an affix, a morpheme which not only must be bound, but must be bound in
a particular position. Furthermore, each affix attaches only to certain particular lexical category
(either N or V or A), and results in a word of another particular lexical category. The negative
affix -de, for example, attaches to verbs and forms other verbs:
ionize - deionzie
segregate - desegregate
Similarly, the affix -al forms adjectives from nouns, -ize forms verbs from adjectives or noun,
and -ation forms nouns from verbs.
Given these restrictions, the structure of the word denationalization can best be seen as the result
of beginning with the simple form nation, which we call the root of the word, and adding affixes
successively, one at a time, as follows:
nation
national
nationalize
denationalize
denationalization
The structure of the entire word may be represented by means of either a set of labeled brackets
or a tree diagram. Both are shown in Figure 1.3 the diagram reveals how the word begins at its
root and is built up one affix at a time. The abbreviation Af stands for affix.
[[de[[[nation]N al]A ize]V]V ation]N

Exercise:
Task 1. Consider the following words and answer the questions below.

inputs - Persian- within- another - realized

unreliable - sweeteners- easiest - unhappiness - independently
Group the morphemes of these words into free morphemes and bound morphemes and state
whether the bound morphemes are derivational or inflectional affixes. Some examples have been
done for you.
Bound morpheme
Free
Word Derivation Inflectional
morpheme
al affix affix
Example:
Lone ly; ness
loneliness
Example:
White ,
White
house
House

Task 2. Draw Bracket diagram and Tree diagram and for the following words:
shipper - disobey - simply - anticlimaxes

digitizes - activity- resettled - disengagement

UNIT 2: WORD FORMATION I
I. Lesson points:
• Derivation
• Inflection
• Zero derivation (aka. Conversion)
• Stress shift
II. Content:
A characteristic of all human languages is the potential to create new words. The categories of noun, verb,
adjective, and adverb are open in the sense that new members are constantly being added. The two most
productive processes of word formation are derivation and compounding, both of which create new words
from already existing morphemes. Other common morphological processes include inflection, conversion
(zero derivation), back formation, clipping, acronymy, borrowing, and adoption of brand names or inventions.
1.Derivation
Derivation creates a new word by changing the category and/or the meaning of the base to which it applies.
The derivation affix -er, for instance, combines with a verb to create a noun with the meaning ‘one who does
X’, as shown in Figure 2.1.
English derivational morphemes
Affixes in English make very widespread use of derivation. Table 2.1 lists some examples of English
derivational affixes, along with information about the type of base with which they can combine and the type
of category that results from. The first entry states that the affix -able applies to a verb base and converts it into
an adjective with the meaning ‘able to be X-ed’. Thus, if we add the affix -able to the verb fix, we get an
adjective with the meaning ‘able to be fixed’.

Derivational Rules
Each line in Table 2.1 can be thought of as a word formation rule that predicts how words may be formed in
English. Thus, if there is a rule whereby the prefix un- may be added to an adjective X, resulting in another
adjective, unX, with the meaning ‘not X’, then we predict that an adjective like harmonious may be combines
with this prefix to form the adjective unharmonious, which will mean ‘not harmonious’. Also, the derivational
rule with the affix -ous informs us that the word harmonious might be formed by adding -ous to the noun
harmony to make it an adjective having the meaning “having X.” In that way, derivational rules allow use to
represent the structure of the word with diagrams, given in Figure 2.2.

Also based on derivational rules

These rules have another function: they may be used to analyze word, as well as to form them. Suppose, for
example, that we come across the word unharmonious in a book on architecture. Even though we may never
have encountered this word before, we will probably not notice its novelty, but simply use our unconscious
knowledge of English word formation to process its meaning. In fact, many of the words that we encounter in
reading, especially in technical literature, are novel, but we seldom have to look them up, relying instead on
our morphological competence.
Sometimes beginning students have trouble determining the category of the base to which an affix is added. In
the case of worker, for instance, the base (work) is sometimes used as a verb (as in they work hard) and
sometimes as a noun (as in the work is time-consuming). This may then make it difficult to know which
category occurs with the suffix -er in the word worker. The solution to this problem is to consider the use of -
er (in the sense of ‘one who X’s’) with bases whose category can be unequivocally determined. In the
words teacher and writer, for instance, we see this affix used with bases (teach and write) that are clearly
verbs. Moreover, we know that -er can combine with the verb sell (seller) but not the noun sale (*saler). These
facts allow us to conclude that the base with which -er combines in the word worker must be a verb rather than
a noun.
Exercise 1: Draw tree diagrams and bracket diagrams for the following words based on appropriate
derivational rules.

rehospitalizes- independently - unlockable - unsystematic

2. Inflection
Inflection is a process by which affixes combine with roots to indicate basic grammatical categories such
as tense or plurality (e.g. “cat” + -s = “cats”). Inflection is viewed as the process of adding very general
meanings to existing swords, not as the creation of new words.
English has three categories of meaning which are expressed inflectionally. They are number in
nouns, tense/aspect in verbs, and comparison in adjectives (see Table 2.2 for examples of inflections in
English).

1. Regular inflectional categories of English

2. Irregular inflectional categories of English
English does not always use affixes to express these categories (see irregular inflectional morphology in
Tables 2.3 – 2.5).
Exercise 2: Decide if the following words are formed by derivation or inflectional.
Taller Exploration Fallen
Worst Soften Impossible
Failure Container More expensive
Sunny Disgusting Knew

3. Conversion (also called zero derivation)

Conversion is a process that creates a new word without the use of affixation by simply assigning an already
existing word to a new syntactic category. The verbs derived from the nouns in Table 2.6 show no
modification from the original form. The derived forms remain simple (i.e. without added affixes) even though
they are new lexical items belonging to a syntactic category different from that of the original form. In the case
of “father” and “butter”, for instance, the derived form is a verb capable of taking the normal past tense ending.

He fathered three children.

He buttered the bread.

4. Stress shift
In this morphological process, also no affix is added to the base, but the stress is shifted from one syllable to
the other. With the stress shift comes a change in category.

UNIT 3: WORD FORMATION II

I. Lesson points:

• Compounding
• Clipping
• Back formation
• Acronymy
• Blending
• Adoption of brand names
• Sound imitation
• Borrowing

II. Content:
1. Compounding
In derivational word formation, we take a single word and change it somehow, usually by adding an affix, to
form a new word. The other way to form is by combining two already existing words in a
compound. Blackbird, doghouse, seaworthy, and blue-green are examples of compounds.
Compounding is highly productive in English and in related languages such as German. In English,
compounds can be found in all the major lexical categories - nouns (doorstop), adjectives (winedark), and
verbs (stagemanage) - but nouns are by far the most common type of compounds. Verbs compounds are quite
infrequent.

Among noun compounds, most are of the form noun + noun (N N), but adjective + noun (A N) compounds are
also found quite frequently; verb + noun (V N) compounds are rare. An example of each type is given
in Figure 3.1.

Compound adjectives are of the type adjective + adjective (A A) or noun + adjective (N A), as shown
in Figure 3.2.

Although there are very few true compound verbs in English, this does not seem to be due to any general
principles. In other languages, compound verbs are quite common.
Structurally, two features of compounds stand out. One is the fact that the constituent members of a
compound are not equal. In all the examples given thus far, the lexical category of the last member of the
compound is the same as that of the entire compound. Furthermore, the first member is always a modifier of
the second: steamboat is a type of boat; red-hot is a degree of hotness. In other words, the second member acts
as the head of the compound, from which most of the syntactic properties of the compound are derived, while
the first member is its dependent. This is generally true in English and in many other languages, although there
are also languages in which the first member of a compound is the head.
The second feature of compounds, which is true of all languages of the world, is that a compound never has
more than two constituents. This is not to say that a compound may never contain more than two words. Three-
word (dog food box), four-word (stone age cave dweller), and longer compounds (trade union delegate
assembly leader) are easy to find. But in each case, the entire compound always consists of two components,
each of which may itself be a compound, as shown in Figure 3.3 the basic compounding operation is therefore
always binary, although repetition of the basic operation may result in more complex individual forms.

English orthography is not consistent in representing compounds since they are sometimes written as single
words, sometimes with an intervening hyphen, and sometimes as separate words. However, it is usually
possible to recognize noun compounds by their stress pattern since the first component is pronounced more
strongly than the second. In noncompounds, conversely, the second element is stressed (see Table 3.1).

Compound words (usually nouns) have orthographic issues, i.e., they are sometimes written with a space,
without space, or with a hyphen between the constituent words. However, there have been no strict rules that
explain or discuss which compound words have space in between or which ones are hyphenated. Therefore, we
should follow conventional spelling rules by English users or by the dictionary. For more references, you can
refer to http://www.sightwordsgame.com/spelling/compound-words/ and/or
https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/889/when-should-compound-words-be-written-as-one-word-with-
hyphens-or-with-spaces .

2. Clipping:
A new word is created by shortening a polysyllabic word.
3. Blending

In this word formation process, parts (which are not morphemes) of two already-existing words are put
together to form a new word.

4. Acronymy
New words are formed from the initials of a group of words that label a concept, usually (but not always)
capitalized. An acronym is pronounced as a word or as a string of letter names.

5. Back formation

This morphological process allows a suffix to be cut off of a base which has previously not been a word; that
base then is used as a root, and becomes a word through widespread use.

This differs from clipping in that, in clipping, some phonological part of the word (not an affix or word) is cut
off. In backformation, however, the part chopped off is a recognizable affix of word.
6. Adoption of brand names
By this process, a brand name becomes the name for the item or process associated with the brand. The name
is not longer capitalized and acts as a normal verb/noun (which can take inflections such as plural or past
tense). Words that are adopted by this process are common in casual communication, but should not be used in
formal writing due to copyright issues.
Examples: xerox, kleenex, band-aid
7. Sound imitation
This is a process based on the phonetic motivation by which new words are invented which sound like the
sound they (usually native speakers) hear or the entity which produces the sound.
Examples: meow, moo, roar, cuckoo, buzz, ding-dong
8. Borrowing
A word is taken from another language.
Examples: sushi, tsunami (Japanese)
mosquito, taco (Spanish)
pho, bun, banh xeo (Vietnamese)
pizza, opera, graffiti (from Italian)

III. Practice:
Completing the blanks by either stating the morphological process that explains the creation of the new word
OR creating new words as suggested in the morphological process. Some examples have been done for you.
 Original word New word Morphological process
Example: western westernize derivation
Example: gasoline gas clipping
(1)
editor edit

human immunodeficiency virus (2) acronymy

binary, digit bit (3)

memorandum memo (4)
calm (v) calm (adj) (5)
karaoke (from Japanese) (6)
lose (7) derivation

day, dream daydream (8)

UNIT 4: PRACTICE (MORPHOLOGY)

Task 1. Consider the following words and answer the questions below.

loneliness White House undress unthinkable immobility

decentralization fastest prefeasibility optionality justice

publicity unexceptionally disobeys nationwide unbearable

Group the morphemes of these words into free morphemes and bound morphemes and state whether the bound
morphemes are derivational or inflectional affixes. Some examples have been done for you.
Bound morpheme
Free
Word Derivational
morpheme Inflectional affix
affix

Example: loneliness Lone

ly; ness

White , house
Example: White House

undress

unthinkable

immobility

decentralization

fastest

prefeasibility

optionality
 justice

publicity

unexceptionally

disobeys

nationwide

unbearable

Task 2. Draw Bracket diagram and Tree diagram and for the following words:
a. humidifier c. enlightened e. malnutrition

b. mistreated d. illogically f. premature

Task 3. Completing the blanks by either stating the morphological process that explains the creation of
the new word OR creating new words as suggested in the morphological process.
Some examples have been done for you.
Original word New word Morphological process

Example: western westernize derivation

Example: gasoline gas clipping

adolescence adolesce (1)

Radio Detection and

(2) acronymy
Ranging

dance, exercise dancercise (3)

demonstration demo (4)

graduate (v) graduate (n) (5)

mosquito (from Spanish) (6)

like (7) derivation

Genetically modified
(8) Acronymy
organism

burglar burgle (9)

condominium condo (10)

UNIT 5: PHRASES
I. Lesson points:
• Noun Phrase (NP)
• Prepositional Phrase (VP)
II. Content:
Word and sentences are two basic units to grammar; however, words do not pattern directly into sentences.
This implies that there are some intervening levels of organization between word and sentence.

Consider the following sentence: The old man of letters stumbled along the dimly lit road, but the pen which
he had lost had been picked up by a small boy. This sentence cannot be viewed as a concatenation of words:
the + old + man + etc. Some groups of words belong more closely together than any of them do with any
others, and these longer stretches of grouping words form larger units. In this sentence, we can recognize the
following word groupings: the old man of letters; stumbled; along the dimly lit road; the pen which he had
lost; had been picked up, by a small boy. These are called phrases. They combine in turn into larger units: the
old man of letters, along the dimly lit road; the pen which he had lost had been picked up by a small boy.
These are called clauses. These are linked together by but to form a complete sentence.
Thus, words pattern into phrases, phrases into clauses, and clauses into sentences. Grammar is concerned
with the kinds of words, phrases, clauses, and sentences that occur in contemporary English, and with the
rules for their structure and combination.
PHRASES
Throughout the Phrases lessons, we shall recognize five classes of phrases: NOUN Phrase (NP),
ADJECTIVE Phrase (Adj.P), ADVERB Phrase (Adv.P), PREPOSITIONAL Phrase (PP), and VERB Phrase
(VP). Of these, we will first study Noun phrase, Adjective phrase, and Adverb phrase since they all have the
same basic structure.

1. Noun Phrase (NP)

Premodifiers + HEAD + Post modifiers

1.1. Premodifiers of a Noun phrase can be:

Determiners:

• All, both, half, such (a/an), etc.

• Articles: a, an, the
• Demonstratives: this, that, these, those
• Possessive: my, your, John’s, …
• Indefinites: some, any, another, each, every, etc.
• Cardinal numbers
• Ordinal numbers
• General ordinals: next, last
E.g. that student ; the other teacher; their computers

Adj Phrase

E.g. a handsome tall young American soldier ; big blue eyes

Noun modifier: the noun(s) that precedes the main/head noun of a Noun phrase
E.g. evening class ; soccer field ; the ring finger
1.2. HEAD (the main noun) of a NP can be:
A noun
A pronoun: them, itself, everyone, etc.
An adjective: the rich, the poor, etc.
A possessive phrase: the teacher’ , Chris’
A number: her twenties, the 60s, etc.

E.g. The rich often spend a lot of money on conveniences.

I don’t have my own computer. I’m using the teacher’s.

1.3. Postmodifiers of a NP can be:

Prepositional phrase (PP)

E.g. the best day of my life, the way to school, the woman next to him.

Adjective phrase
E.g. something weird, the person responsible, etc.

Adverb phrase

E.g. the room opposite ; something downstairs ; those indoors

Finite clause: the clause whose verbs show tenses/aspects (e.g. the baby is crying) and numbers (e.g.
he tries … ; they work …).

E.g. a quality that I admire

the story title which sounds interesting
the woman who witnessed the whole incident

Non-finite clause: the clause whose verbs do NOT show tenses/aspects and numbers. In other words, the verb
of a non-finite clause has infinitive / gerund/ past participle form.

E.g. [infinitive] I don’t have the energy to work today.

[gerund] The man wearing the pink tie is my boss.
[past participle] The books put on the top shelf are covered in dust.

1.4. Functions of a NP:

In a clause, NPs can serve as subject (S), object (O), complement (C), or adverbial (A).
We will discuss what a complement is later, but let’s understand it (for now) as a part that provides further
information for the subject or object.
E.g.
The house was huge. NP = S

We have rented the house for the last three

NP = O
years.

These days entry jobs often ask for experience

NP = A
too.
Those must be smartest students of this school. NP = Cs (complement for subject “those”)

People made him the hero of the country. NP = Co (complement for object “him”)

2. Prepositional phrase (PP)

PP = Preposition + NP / non-finite clause / Finite clause

• Examples:
- in this accommodation
- about withdrawing her membership
- of what to do now
- about what he would do

• Functions:
In a clause, PPs act as Adverbials (A). The adverbial PPs have various meanings. They can mean time, means
(of doing something), and place, answering the questions when?, how?, and where?

E.g. We have been living here for 10 years.

I travel by bus to my hometown.
She works in a factory in the capital.

In a phrase, PPs act as Postmodifiers of the Head of the phrase:

E.g. the man in suit

- sure about what is going to happen
- to quickly for a clear observation
III. Practice:
Task 1. Analyze the following Noun phrases. An example has been done for you.
For example: only / concerned / about profits
adv H P.P
1. that attractive young woman in the blue dress

2. Jim’s fatal mistakes

3. all our first-year students

4. an ugly large yellow submarine

5. an eight-year-old boy who attempted to rob a sweet shop

Task 2. State the function (A – an adverbial, or PM - a postmodifiers to nouns) of the bolded PPs in each
sentence. An example has been done for you.
For example: The people in / the gallery could nor hear us. Func: PM

1. We are going to meet the new comers in the gallery.

2. He punched the man in the face.

3. He punched the man in black.

4. The men fled from the police.

5. Everybody stared at the man from the police station.|

6. The ripe apples from the biggest tree might hit the people on the head.

UNIT 6: PHRASES (II)

I. Lesson points:
• Adjective Phrase (Adj.P)

• Adverb Phrase (Adv. P)

• Verb Phrase (VP)

II. Content:
1. Adjective phrase (Adj. P)

[Premodifier(s)] HEAD [Postmodifier(s)]

• The Head of an Adj. P must be an Adjective which may be simple, comparative or superlative.
E.g. quite cheap, her older brother, the most difficult task, etc.

• Premodifiers are always adverbs: typically, adverbs of degree (e.g. very, quite, too…) or other adverbs (e.g.
surprisingly, convincingly).
• Postmodifiers can be: adverbs (e.g. very tall indeed, good enough); PPs (e.g. too hot for comfort); non-
finite clauses (e.g. too easy to bother); or finite clauses (e.g. less difficult than I expected).
• Function:
o In a clause, Adj. P can function as a complement (C):
E.g. I didn’t find this book interesting.
o In a phrase, Adj. P can function as a premodifier of a NP:
E.g. the least interesting story plot

2. Adverb Phrase (Adv. P)

[Premodifier(s)] HEAD [Postmodifier(s)]
• The Head of an Adv. P must be an Adverb.
E.g. so slowly; he can run quite fast
• Premodifiers, if any, can be adverbs. For example, pulled the door too hard.

• Postmodifiers can be: adverbs (e.g. too quickly indeed, surpringly enough); PPs (e.g. too quickly for
comfort); non-finite clauses (e.g. clearly enough to understand); or finite clauses (e.g. he studied much
harder than I thought).

• Function:
o In a clause, Adv. P can function as an adverbial (A):

E.g. I was trying to complete the task satisfactorily.

o In a phrase, Adv. P can function as a premodifier or postmodifier of an Adj. P (see examples in Adj. P
section above).

3. Verb Phrase (VP)

[Aux + Aux …] Main Verb

The structure of the VP includes: the main verb (Mv) or the Head, and auxiliaries (Aux). The auxiliaries are
optional, and precede the main verb. Table 6.1. shows examples of kinds of auxiliaries used in VPs. These
types can be: modality (modal verbs), perfect aspect, progressive aspect, and passive voice.

Function: The VP always acts as predicator in the clause.

Summary
Clauses are composed of phrases. Phrases may function in five possible ways in clause structure as subject (S),
verb (V), object (O), complement (C), adverbial (A). The functions of phrases in the clause can be summarized
as shown in Figure 6.1. The arrow X→ Y is to be interpreted: X may be a Y.

III. Practice:
Task 1. Find out Adj. P and Adv. P in the following sentences, and analyze their constituents. An
example has been done for you.

For example: That is a bit / premature, isn’t it?

adv H
1. I found it rather tight.

2. I’d be quite keen to try anything like that.

3. They excitedly welcomes the music band.

4. I expect you are glad you’re not a vegetarian.

5. He runs very fast.

6. He intentionally took the calculator.

7. She was uncertain what to do.

Task 2. Analyze the structure of the underlined phrases in the following sentences. Then, indicate the
type and function An example has been done for you.

For example: Fire can cause great damage to any city. Type: NP ; Func: S
H
1. The Great Fire of London started in a bakery.

2. It burnt furiously for four days.

3. Tom has given us a vivid account of it.

4. Who has given a vivid account of it?

5. We could help getting scared of what happened.

6. The next day we were sitting in the car.

7. Hand the man at the gate your ticket.

8. Meeting her again has left me very happy.

UNIT 7: SENTENCE ELEMENTS/CONSTITUENTS I

I. Lesson points:
• Subject

• Object

• Verb
II. Content:
There are five possible functions that phrases may fulfill in English clause/sentence structure; they
are: subject, verb , object , complement , and adverbial (abbreviated S, V, O, C, A). We shall now examine
what kinds of function occur and which categories of phrase operate in each function.

1. Subject

The subject function is normally filled by a noun phrase. The noun or pronoun that is head of the subject noun
phrase is said to agree with the verb in number. The subject normally precedes the verb in statement clauses in
English. English is basically a subject-verb-object language.

Besides nouns phrases, the subject can be also expressed by non-finite clauses or finite clauses.

E.g. [NP] The young girl with long hair walked confidently across the room.

[non-finite cl.] Learning English enables many people to make some social advancement.

[finite cl.] What brought her to success is still unknown.

[finite cl.] That he became a millionaire starting from nothing amazes many people.

The subject of a sentence may be “It” as empty or preparatory subject, or There as an introductory subject.

Empty subject

In English, we often use it in sentences referring to time, the weather, temperature or distance. When used in
this way, it can be considered an empty subject because it carries no real information. It is present because
every English sentence has to contain a subject.

E.g. It is 7 o’clock.
It is October 10.
It is freezing here.
It must be about 10 km from here to school.
It’s noisy here.

Preparatory subject

Sometimes sentences beginning with it and then continues with an infinitive, a gerund, or a noun clause. Such
sentences can also begin with an infinitive or gerund, but it is preferred for emphatic purpose. The true subject
is the infinitive, gerund or a finite clause, and it is preparatory to the subject.

E.g. It’s pleasant to lie in the sun. (To lie in the sun is pleasant.)

It is interesting reading books on rainy days.

It is believed that she has built up such an amazing career herself.

It doesn’t matter when we arrive.

Introductory subject

Sentences with There may serve to assert or deny the existence of something or someone. In these sentences,
the main verb is usually to be or other verbs such as to live, to occur, to appear, to come, etc. which
indicate existence.

E.g. There is some ice-cream in the freezer.

Once upon a time, there lived an old couple on a hill.

There came a loud knock at the door.

2. Object

The object typically indicates the person or thing affected by the action. An object is normally a noun phrase
which usually goes after the verb in the active voice. An object can also be a non-finite or finite clause.

Eg . [NP] Bill is expecting a big surprise.

[finite cl.] I really don’t know what I should do properly.

[non-finite cl.] They always enjoy singing karaoke.

[non-finite cl.] My aunt promised to buy me some gifts from Egypt.

Some clauses have two objects, and a distinction is sometimes drawn between direct object (Od) and indirect
object (Oi). A direct object refers to the person or thing affected by the action of the verb. It comes
immediately after a transitive verb:
E.g. Let’s pick up those apples.
I just got a new computer.

The indirect object normally refers to the person who is the recipient of or who benefits from the action. For
example, in “Jim gave his wife a yellow flower”, a flower is given, but his wife is the recipient of the action
“gave” and is therefore the indirect object. The clause may be paraphrased, with a preposition inserted before
the indirect object, as “Jim gave a yellow flower to his wife”.

3. Verb

The verb function is always filled by a verb phrase. It is virtually a defining characteristic of a clause that it
contains a verb, either of a finite or a non-finite kind. Clauses without verbs do occasionally occur, but they
may be regarded as a derivation in some way from fuller clauses with verbs. The common exceptions to this
are imperative clauses, eg. Come in. Sit down, please.

There are 3 main types of verbs: transitive (Vt), intransitive (Vi), and linking.
Transitive: is a verb that is followed by a direct object and/or an indirect object to complete the meaning of the
verb.

E.g. I have upgraded all the room equipment. [Od]

She would soon need to go grocery shopping. [Od]
He bought her (Oi) some roses (Od).
Every month, they send food and clothes (Od) to the refugees [Oi].

Some transitive verbs require a complement besides an object to complete their meaning. For example, “They
made him the chairman of the student union.”
Intransitive: is a verb that does not require an object. An intransitive verb usually expresses an action and can
be followed by an adverbial.

E.g. The boy is playing in the garden.

Do you often study in the library?

Linking verb: is not an action verb, and it describes the subject by linking it to the following adjective phrase
or noun phrase. Verbs of this kind, therefore, must be followed by a complement (which is usually an adjective
or a noun) or an adverbial to complete its meaning. Some common linking verbs are become, look, taste,
sound, remain, seem, smell, etc.

E.g. He became famous for coming up with how to fight against cancers.
The autumn comes when leaves turn yellow and red.

Notes: Some verbs can be used as more than one kind of verb depending on the sentences in which they are
used.

E.g. He opened the door quickly. (Vt)

The door suddenly opened. (Vi)
She is tasting the soup. (Vt)
The food tastes delicious. (linking V)
III. Practice:
Task 1. Identify the constituent which functions as the Subject in each of the following clauses.

1. The use of caves for smuggling is as old as the hills.

2. The light of a torch flickered.

3. What the critics failed to understand is that his art was not sacrificed to popularity.

4. The list of people who she says helped her is long.

5. The wind coming down from the snowfields above woke us every night as we lay in our tent.
6. It’s 5 km away from here.

Task 2. Identify the constituent which functions as Direct Object in each of the following clauses.

1. Shoppers are flouting the no-sales-on-Sunday trading laws.

2. He banged the door as he went out.

3. He pointed out that foreign doctors were not permitted to practise in that country.

4. The negotiations have achieved very little.

5. A team of divers have discovered what they believe to be sunken treasure.

Task 3. Indicate whether the bolded verb phrase is a transitive verb (Vt), or an intransitive verb (Vi), or
a linking verb (L).
1. She was crying all day long.

2. We showed her the photo album.

3. That would be a serious question with no easy answer.

4. The doctor advised me to exercise regularly.

5. It was raining at that time.

6. The lion cages at the zoo look unstable.

7. She laughed at the joke.

8. She gave a cookie to the child.

9. These people slept in the street.

10. In this poem, words become symbols for ghostly realms.
UNIT 8: SENTENCE ELEMENTS/CONSTITUENTS (II)

I. Lesson points:
• Complement

• Adverbial
II. Content:
In the previous lesson, we examined three most important functions in English clause structure: subject,
verb, and object. We shall now examine complement (C) and adverbial (A).

1. Complement

The complement in a clause can be defined as an element that gives further information about the subject or
the object. In other words, the complement completes the meaning of the subject or the object. Therefore, a
complement may be either a subject complement (i.e. same reference as the subject) or an object
complement (i.e. same reference as the object).

The subject complement can be expressed by a noun phrase, adjective phrase, prepositional phrase, non-finite
clause or a finite clause. Examples of the subject complement (Cs):

He is the president. [NP]

These people seem dishonest. [Adj. P]

The truth is that these employees haven’t tried their best. [finite cl.]

What I’m concerned about now is how to properly deal with the scandal. [non-finite cl.]

These days, most people are always in a hurry. [PP]

* Cs often comes after a linking verb or “to be”.

The object complement can also be expressed by a noun phrase, adjective phrase, prepositional phrase, non-
finite clause or a finite clause. Examples of the object complement (Co):

They always bring coffee hot. [Adj. P]

We found her crying. [non-finite cl.]

We found her in tears. [PP]

I name my son what my father named me. [finite cl.]

We consider him the future leader of this company. [NP]

* Co might exist only if there is an (direct) object.

What distinguishes a complement from an object? A subject complement has the ‘same reference’ as the
subject, as in these examples, Jim has become a qualified engineer or Jim seemed quite pleasant, where a
qualified engineer and quite pleasant are complements. An object complement has the “same reference” as
the object as in I find Jim quite pleasant. That is to say, the subject and complement, or object and
complement, refer to the same person or thing.
2. Adverbial

Adverbials (A), which are normally optional elements in clause structure and may be freely added to any
clause, give circumstantial information, e.g. information about time, place, manner, cause and so on that the
clause refers to.

This function is filled by an adverb phrase, a prepositional phrase, or a noun phrase. For example, in “Tony
walked there very quickly”, there and quickly are adverb phrases functioning as A; in “Sue walked to the farm
after lunch”, to the farm and after lunch are prepositional phrases functioning as A; and in “Liz walked ten
miles that afternoon”, ten miles and that afternoon are noun phrases functioning as A.

*** Obligatory and optional elements: When a subject, verb, object or complement occur in a clause, their
presence is usually necessary to consider the clause grammatical or sensible, which means they
are obligatory. Adverbials, on the other hand, are usually optional elements, which indicates they may be
omitted without making the sentence ungrammatical or senseless. However, adverbials may be sometimes
obligatory. For example, in the clause “The waiter put the soup on the table”, the adverbial on the table cannot
be omitted.
III. Practice:
Task 1: Identify Subject Complements (Cs) and Object Complements (Co) in the following sentences.

1. Spying on firms has become a multi-million pound industry.

2. What will they call the baby?

3. Archie’s bar is where it’s at.

4. Life is a series of accidents. That’s what he thinks.

5. He makes his films accessible to a wide public.

6. He kept us laughing all evening with his jokes.

7. The weather has turned unexpectedly cold lately.

Task 2: Divide each of the sentences below into its constituent parts and then label each part S, O, C, or
A.
1. We must change all the programs tomorrow.
2. Tomorrow will be a holiday here.

3. The young man grew restless in his mother-in-law’s house.

4. We recently added an extra unit to them.

5. Will you give it a try?

6. In July, DDT was sprayed on the marsh from a helicopter.

7. He found his mother-in-law greedy.

8. The speaker is seriously comparing dreams with what happens in a computer.

UNIT 9: SENTENCE PATTERNS (CLAUSE TYPES)

I. Lesson points:
• Patterns for active sentences

• Patterns for passive sentences

II. Content:
On the basis of the function of phrases occurring in clause structure, a number of basic clause types may be
recognised. In English, there are seven such basic clause types, which are specified only by obligatory
elements. They are:
1. Subject + Verb (SV) The dog laughed.
2. Subject + Verb + Adverbial (SVA) A policeman lives in that house.
3. Subject + Verb + Complement (SVC) That sounds a great idea.
4. Subject + Verb + Object (SVO) Most children like sweets.
5. Subject + Verb + Object + Adverbial
(SVOA) The government sent the envoy to America.
6. Subject + Verb + Object + Object (SVOO) He sent his son some money.
7. Subject + Verb + Object + Complement
(SVOC) We find Jim quite pleasant.

Type 1 is an intransitive clause type. The verbs refers to an action carried out by the subject that does not
affect anybody or anything else.

Type 2 clauses may also be regarded as intransitive. The verbs here take an obligatory adverbial. These are
mainly adverbials of place, either of position or of direction, but a few verbs take obligatory adverbials of time
or manner.

Type 3 is the intensive clause type. The complement and subject are said to be in an intensive relation, that is
they are not distinct entities but refer to the same thing or person.
Type 4 is a transitive – mono-transitive clause type. The verb involved here has only one object. This is
probably the most common clause type.

Type 5 is also a transitive clause type but the verbs require an obligatory adverbials in addition to an object. In
most cases, the adverbials are of place.

Type 6 is the ditransitive clause type. The verbs have two objects and are usually called direct and indirect
object.

Type 7 is the complex-transitive clause type. The verbs take an object and a complement and there is
an intensive relation between the object and the complement.

The constant elements in all the clauses types are the subject and the verb. It is what comes after the verb that
varies. Not every verb may enter every clause type. Many verbs are restricted to just one clause type. Other
verbs may enter more than one clause type, according to sense and context. Each verb may therefore be
specified for the clause types it may enter and for the categories of phrase or clause that may be associated
with it in each clause type.
SUMMARY

Clauses may be divided into seven basic types, according to the obligatory elements that may occur with
specified verbs (1) intransitive SV, (2) intransitive SVA, (3) intensive SVC, (4) mono-transitive SVO, (5)
mono-transitive SVOA, (6) di-transitive SVOO, (7) complex transitive SVOC.
III. Practice:
Task 1: Identify each clause type (sentence structure) in the following sentences:

Eg. He seems nice. SVCs

1. It rained hard.

2. Your friend is extremely intelligent.

3. She was sleeping in the chair.

4. The little boy got his shoes wet.

5. The rock singer became angry.

6. Did he put all his money under the mattress?

7. He has become what he always wanted to be.

8. I warn you that a villa in that area is not cheap.

9. I was given a surprising birthday party.

10. The authorities claim that everything possible has been done.

11. The party will have to draw on whatever resources it can.

12. How he was able to break into the house was not known.

UNIT 10: CLASSIFICATIONS OF SENTENCES

I. Lesson points:
• Simple sentence

• Compound sentence

• Complex sentence

II. Content:
According to the traditional definition, a simple sentence is considered “a group of words that contains a finite
verb and makes a complete sense.”

Sentences can be classified as simple, compound and/or complex.

1. Simple sentence

A simple sentence is the one that contains one finite verb/finite clause. It is composed of two parts, the subject
and the predicate (which at least contains a finite verb). Therefore, the basic patterns of simple sentences are
the following clause type:
SV
SVO
SVC
SVA
SVOO
SVOC
SVOA

E.g. She needs a computer.

They want to sell the house.
These people will be taken to the head office.

2. Compound sentence

A compound sentence consists of at least two independent clauses which are usually connected by
coordinators. The dependent clauses are of equal rank.

E.g. John bought the tickets, and Mary parked the car.
She didn’t not want to go; however, she finally did for her sake.
Two simple sentences may be combined into one compound sentence without any conjunction to link them
together. In this case, they must be separated by a colon, a comma, or a semi-colon (e.g. He is rich; he’s
unhappy).

The clauses/simple sentences are linked with each other by the following coordinative conjunctions that
represent:

Addition relationships: and, not only…but also…, neither…nor…, etc.

E.g. Not only was he dissatisfied but also he was extremely indignant.
Neither the moon was visible in this dark night nor were the stars.

Disjunctive relationships: or, otherwise, either…or..,etc. which indicate choices.

E.g. We must hurry or we will miss the train.
Either you speak clearly or I do not understand what’s being said.

Adversative relationships: but, yet, still, however, nevertheless, etc. which shows two ideas contrast each
other.
E.g. I told her not to join that party, yet she made it anyway.

Causal relationship: for (only used in the middle of the sentence, usually after comma)
E.g. I didn’t want to see that movies, for the cast were not talented.

Resultative relationship: so, therefore, accordingly, hence, then, etc.

E.g. It’s getting late, so we had better go home.

3. Complex sentence

A complex sentence is understood as the one containing one main clause and at least one subordinate clauses.
The subordinate clause must be a finite clause, which can be the Noun Clause, the Adjective Clause, or the
Adverb Clause (we’ll learn these types in the next lesson).
E.g. He realizes that he hasn’t understood his father. [Noun cl.]
The man who knows no foreign language knows nothing about his mother tongue. [Adj. cl]
Whenever I visit my grandma, I buy her a new kind of tea. [Adv. cl]

*** Compound-complex sentence: is the one that consists of at least two independent clauses and at least
one dependent clause.

E.g. You should leave early or you have to stay overnight because the gate will be locked in 10 minutes.
III. Practice:
Classify the following sentences according to structure. If the sentence is complex or a compound-
complex, pick out the subordinate clause(s).

1. Joe jumped into the river to rescue the little girl who was drowning even though he wasn't a good swimmer.

2. I knew that I should get some sleep, but I just couldn't put my book down because I was really enjoying it.

3. Please tell me soon whether you will go or not so that I can decide what I'm going to do.

4. The couple famously met each other just 12 times before becoming engaged.
5. The cheapest way to get from an airport to a hotel is to take an airport bus, but I'm not sure if River City has
one.

6. You'd better give me your answer quickly, or else I 'll withdraw the invitation.

7. You may worry about catching a cold on an airplane or in an elevator full of snifflers.

8. As long as you 're going to the fruit market, would you please pick up a few apples for me?

9. Rhinoviruses can live on hands for at least an hour, and other respiratory viruses can survive on clothes for
up to 45 minutes.

10. I'm sorry you've decided not to go with us on the river trip, but if you change your mind there will still be
enough room on the boat for you.

UNIT 11: SUBORDINATE CLAUSES

I. Lesson points:

• Noun clause

• Adverbial clause

• Adjectival clause (aka. Relative clause)

II. Content:
We shall now look at dependent or subordinate clauses that form part of complex sentences. We can
distinguish three broad categories of dependent clause: nominal clauses, relative clauses, and adverbial
clauses.

1. Nominal clauses (noun clauses)

Nominal clauses, as the name suggests, function in the same places as noun phrases. That is they can function
as subject, object or complement of a clause.
There are two types of nominal clause: that-clauses and wh-clauses.

That-clauses are so called because they are introduced by the conjunction that. They may function as either
Subject, Object or Complement, as in the following examples.

That Jim should take a bath amazed Fenny. (that-clause as subject)

Jim believes that he can succeed in winning Fenny’s confidence. (that-clause as object)

The possibility is that Fenny is not fond of Jim. (that-clause as complement)

When a that-clause function as subject, it may be put after the rest of the clause (extraposed) and its position
in the clause is filled by the fake subject it.
It amazed Fenny that Jim should take a bath.

Wh-clauses are those introduced by who, what, when, where, how, why, whether, if.

I wonder if Bill has posted the letter.

He asked me what had happened.

Like That-clauses, Wh-clauses may function as Subject, Object or Complement as in the following examples:

Where Jade had gone did not interest Jeff. (Wh-clause as subject) or more commonly with extraposition:

It did not interest Jeff where fenny had gone.

They don’t know when the bus will start. (Wh-clause as object )

The question is why we can’t have enough money to buy a new house. (Wh-clause as complement).
SUMMARY

The subordinate noun clause can have the form of that-clauses and wh-clauses. A noun
clause may function as either Subject, Object or Complement.

2. Adjective clauses (aka. Relative clauses)

Relative clauses are ones introduced by relative pronouns i.e. who(m), which, whose, that or by relative
adverbs i.e. where, when, why.

The form of the relative pronoun is determined by two factors. Firstly, it is determined by whether the
modified noun (the antecedent) is personal or non-personal. This factor basically determines the choice
between who and which. Secondly, the form of the relative pronoun is determined by its syntactic function
within the relative clause, that is whether it is Subject or Object. In this case, who or whom is chosen.

Relative clauses may be introduced by when, why, where, but obviously only after the appropriate head
nouns, e.g. the time when food was cheap, the house where I was born, the reason why he kept quiet. Such
noun phrases are often reduced by omitting the head noun, in which case they become noun (relative) clauses,
e.g. when food was cheap, where I was born, why he kept quiet.

SUMMARY

Relative clauses are ones introduced by relative pronouns ie. who(m), which, whose, that or by relative
adverbs ie. where, when, why. A relative clause usually stands after a noun to make its meaning clearer
(to modify the noun); therefore it is also called adjective phrase whose function is post modifier of
nouns.
3. Adverbial clauses

Adverbial clauses, like adverb phrases and prepositional phrases functioning as Adverbial, give circumstantial
information about an action or event (the information about time, place, manner etc.)

He always sings when he is in the bath.

He always goes where he is not allowed to.

Adverbial clauses are introduced by subordinating conjunctions (subordinators) which join the adverbial clause
to the main clause. Adverbial clauses may be:
• Time clauses introduced by when, as soon as, while etc.

• Place clauses introduced by where, wherever

• Manner clauses introduced by as, as if, as though

• Condition clauses introduced by if, unless, provided that, on condition that etc.

• Comparison clauses introduced by as, than

• Reason clauses introduced by because, as, since etc.

• Contrast/concession clauses introduced by though, although, no matter how, no matter what, whereas, etc.

• Purpose clauses introduced by so that, in order that, lest etc.

• Result clauses introduced by so.............that, such.............that

SUMMARY

Adverbial clauses are introduced by subordinating conjunctions which join the adverbial clause to the main
clause and function as Adverbial. An adverbial clause may denote time, place, manner, condition,
comparison, reason, contrast, purpose, or result.

III. Practice:
Underline the subordinate clauses. Identify the type and function of those clauses in the higher clauses.
Some sentences might have more than one subordinate clauses.

E.g. I remember that I’ve met her many times: noun clause, object

1. What he saw frightened him.

2. Whenever I visit my in-laws, I feel like an outsider.

3. Why she suddenly disappeared is a complete mystery.

4. I noticed that she had spilled a little tea.

5. We walk everywhere as we don’t have a car.

6. I doubt if he is telling the truth.

7. It surprised me that she couldn’t speak Hebrew at all.

8. My concern is why you drink.

9. Even if Mr Bean is innocent, the President will not help.

10. The question remains how these children became computer addict.

11. I told him that I would telephone him the next day.

12. It seems fair that these “tourists” should be expelled from the country.

13. That she didn’t use her real name showed that she was afraid.

14. Home is where your friends and family are.

15. Where the fire had been, we saw nothing but blackened ruins.

UNIT 12: PRACTICE (PHRASES & CLAUSES)

Task 1. Identify types of the underlined phrases, analyse them, and indicate their functions in the
following sentences.
Example: They are only / concerned / about profits. [type] Adjective Ph.; [function] Cs
[analyze] adv H P.P

1. Lots of local businesses selling fast food have been closed.

2. Her parents were downstairs, and she could hear a little of what they were saying.

3. Advertising aimed at children should be controlled.

4. Try talking to your parents and friends – they may be more sympathetic than you think.

5. Heartbroken teenagers often feel that they are the only person who has experienced this situation.

6. For the holiday, they chose a small resort on the north coast.
7. You’ll be shown how to handle your huskies by an experienced guide.

8. His parents’ decision made him extremely excited.

9. If your parents or friends disapproved of your relationship, you might also feel embarrassed about
discussing how you feel.

10. Writing and spelling were always terribly difficult for me.
Task 2. Identify each clause type (sentence structure) in the following sentences.

Example: They / enjoy / the same television programs that I watch. SVO

1. For decades, social scientists and technologists have predicted the appearance of “computer kids” or a “net
generation.”.

2. It is easy to forget that there are others who are technology-illiterate.

3. Lots of local businesses selling fast food have been closed.

4. The boy simply needed somebody to listen to him.

5. The effectiveness of advertising increases when the ads are shown in between or around programs aimed at
children.

6. The hotel includes an ice-art exhibition, an ice sauna, and a cinema with a huge screen carved out of ice.

7. The good idea that he came up with was the snowskate.

8. That way of thinking will make you feel a lot better!

9. I established this business so that I could help companies take their clients to sporting events.

10. Advertising aimed at children should be controlled.

Task 3. Identify the sentence patterns of the superordinate clauses (i.e., main clause) of the following
sentences and state the name and function of each finite subordinating clause.
E.g. The fishermen / think/ that the company polluted the bay.
S V O (noun clause – object of “think”)

1. It is easy to forget that there are others who are technology-illiterate.

2. The effectiveness of advertising increases when the ads are shown in between or around programs aimed at
children.

3. The good idea that he came up with was the snowskate.

4. Although French, German, America and British pioneers have all been credited with the invention of
cinema, the British and the Germans played a small role in its world-wide exploitation.

5. The rest of the world survived partly because audiences continued to exist for a product which corresponded
to needs which Hollywood could not supply.

6. There is scientific evidence that eating fewer calories may extend human life.

7. In experiments, rats who ate what they wanted led shorter lives than rats on a low-calorie diet.

8. Advertisement research found that the media can shape children’s preferences for different toys, TV
characters, lifestyle, etc. at different ages.

9. Sarah was shocked to hear that she had to come into a large amount of money.

10. Parent should let young children watch anything they want on TV.
UNIT 13: SENTENCE ANALYSIS

I. Lesson points:
• Descriptive Linguistic Analysis (Traditional Grammar)

• Phrase Structure Rules (PSR)

• Tree Diagram
II. Content:
Analysis of sentences is breaking the sentence into constituents, identifying the categories of those
constituents, and determining their functions to show their mutual relation.
There are many ways to analyse a sentence. Among them, the most popular are Traditional Descriptive
Analysis, and Tree diagram analysis.

1. Descriptive Analysis:
In Descriptive Analysis, a sentence is divided into parts with category and function of each part described in
detail. If the sentence is simple, it can be divided into parts as phrases; if the sentence is compound or complex,
it is divided into parts as clauses. This section of Descriptive Analysis mainly deals with the structure of
complex and compound-complex sentences. Below are some examples of this analysis method, in which the
main clause is shortened as M, the subordinate as S. The letters are numbered depending on how many clauses
of the same type exist in the sentence.

1. My sister told me that she had bought a new computer so that she could learn better.
M1: “My sister told me”
S1: “that she had bought a new computer so that she could learn better”: noun clause, direct object of “told”
S1.1: “so that she could learn better”: adverbial clause of purpose, modifying “ had bought”.

2. At the moment husbands in industrialised countries contribute very little to domestic work and recent
research shows that this contribution doesn’t increase when the wife goes to work.
M1: “At the moment husbands in industrialised countries contribute very little to domestic work”
M2: “and recent research shows that this contribution doesn’t increase when the wife goes to work”
S.1: “that this contribution doesn’t increase when the wife goes to work”: noun clause”, object of “show “
S 1.1: “when the wife goes to work”: adverb clause of time, modifying “ doesn’t increase”

2. Tree diagram analysis:

Phrase structure rules

Before we explore Tree Diagram Analysis, let’s look at the Phrase Structure Rules (PSRs) first. The PSRs
enables us to look at the sentence structure from the basic unit, i.e. phrase. Phrases function as constituents that
form sentences; therefore, the rules would guide our tree diagramming of sentences. The rules are as follows
(note the abbreviations used in this analysis):

S = NP + VP (vị ngữ)

NP = [premodifier(s)] N [ postmodifier(s) ]

VP (vị ngữ) = VP (cụm động từ) [ NP PP ]

Adj P = Adj. P + PP + To-inf.

Adv. P = Adv.P + finite clause

PP = Prep + NP/Finite clause / Non-finite clause

CP = C + S’

* C = complementizer (a word/phrase that marks a subordinate clause)

Tree diagram analysis

The sentence can be analysed in a tree diagram. To build “a tree”, it is easier to work from the bottom-up and
from right to left.
In the tree-diagram method, the sentence is called a constituent structure with two immediate constituents: the
subject and the predicate (vị ngữ) represented by NP and VP. The ‘tree’ is upside down with the ‘root’ at the
top and the ‘leaves’ at the bottom. At each point where the tree ‘branches’, there is a group of words that form
a constituent/element of the sentence. At the bottom of the ‘tree’ are individual words.
Below are some examples of the tree-diagram method:

a) A noun phrase with a prepositional phrase:

b) A noun phrase with a relative clause:

c) An adjective phrase:
d) A sentence

SUMMARY

To analyse a sentence, we break it into parts (constituents), identify the linguistic units (NP,
VP etc.) as well as the functions (subject, verb, object etc.) of each part to show their mutual
relation in the sentence. The two common methods of sentence analysis are: Descriptive
Analysis, and Tree Diagram Analysis.
Descriptive Analysis involves the detailed description in words of the linguistic units.
Tree Diagram Analysis involves the analysis of a linguistic unit in the form of a tree diagram
with the ‘root’ at the top and the ‘leaves’ at the bottom.

III. Practice:
Task 1. Analyse the following sentences using Descriptive Analysis

1. We investigated the story and discovered that Dr. Stanley had encountered an angry group of Kiluyn men
who would not tolerate his patronizing manner.
2.Jack found his coat in the garden but he did not at first recognised it as his.

3. We know nothing about the play that Marlowe wrote about Shakespeare’s treatment of him.

4. Although the hounds had gone , his fear remained , since the men knew they were somewhere in the forest.

5. Although Dorfman deplored the violence . he asserted that his party supported the reforms.

6. I will return to the house when Ludmila has cleaned the oven and when Varsava has polished the samovar.

Task 2. Analyse the following sentences using Tree Diagram Analysis

1. The farmer was earting his lunch in the cornfield.
2. A declining birthrate may result in a shortage of skilled and knowledgeable employees.
3. The police caught the thief red-handed.
4. He punched the main in the black suit.
5. Those people moved the desk into the hall because they needed more space.
6. That his car broke down astonished the mechanic.
7. She gave him a look which betokened trouble.
8. I have forgotten who gave us the gift.

UNIT 14: SENTENCE AMBIGUITY

I. Lesson points:
• Ambiguity in Noun clusters

• Ambiguity in Verb clusters

II. Content:

A sentence or a phrase is ambiguous when it carries more than one meaning. Occasionally, writers use
ambiguity intentionally. For the most part, however, ambiguit is unintentional resulting from a careless use of
the sentence structure, a failure to include the signals that would make the meaning clear. This kind of
ambiguity is a feature of bad writing and is of course to be avoided if possible. Often a sentence is only, as one
might say, mildly ambiguous. That is, the writer’s intent can be discerned but only at some effort on the part of
the reader, who must go back and consider the larger context in order to know what is meant. Such a weakness
distracts the reader’s attention from what is being said.

Ambiguity in noun clusters

Noun clusters offer various possibilities of ambiguity. Consider this:

the girl in the car that I loved dearly

Was it the girl that I loved or the car? We can’t tell, because the relative pronoun that may stand for the car or
the girl. They could be either of these:
In (a), that stands for the car; I loved the car. The headword “girl” has a prepositional phrase “in the car that I
loved dearly” as modifier.

In (b), that stands for the girl; I loved the girl. The headword “girl” has a prepositional phrase “in the car” and
a relative clause “that I loved dearly” as modifiers.

Ambiguity in verb clusters

Ambiguity can easily occur in verb clusters:

defended the man she loved with all her heart

Did she defend him or love him with all her heart?

Sometimes a very slight change is the difference between an ambiguous construction and an unambiguous one.
The first member of the following pairs is ambiguous; the second is not.
(1) the chair in the room in which she usually sat
(2) the chair on the porch in which she usually sat

How to represent sentence ambiguity

Using sentence pattern/clause type\

The policeman killed the criminal with a gun.
Two possible meanings:
(1) The policeman / killed / the criminal / with a gun. SVOA (the policeman shot the woman)
(2) The policeman / killed / the criminal with a gun. SVO (the policeman killed the woman who held a gun in
her hand)
Using Tree Diagramming

The ambiguity of the above sentence can also be shown through its two possible tree diagrams.

(1) The policeman / killed / the criminal / with a gun

(2) The policeman / killed / the criminal with a gun

Some ambiguous sentences have their multiple meanings represented by both sentence patterns and tree
diagramming; some can only be seen via sentence patterns; and some others only via tree structures.
III. Practice:
Task 1. The following sentence is structurally ambiguous. Explain the two meanings of those that are
ambiguous by two different sentence structures (SVOCA).
1. You can call her Mary.

2. He buried the knife he found in the cellar.

3. I looked at the letter John was reading with unfeigned astonishment.

4. Cows that eat cornflakes frequently have stomach trouble.

5. We must ask the farmer who owns the fields where we can camp.

6. Children who stay out all night sometimes should be punished.

Task 2. Draw tree diagrams to illustrate the different meanings of the following ambiguous sentences.
1. Annie whacked a man with an umbrella.

2. Fast cars and motorcycles are dangerous.

3. Harry likes amusing girls.

4. We watched them march away proudly.

5. He lived on a street near the post office which was always full of people.

UNIT 15: SENTENCE SYNTHESIS

I. Lesson points:
• Sentence synthesis

II. Content:
Synthesis is the combination of a number of separate simple sentences into a new single sentence. The new
sentence can be simple, compound or complex., and must cover the whole meanings of separate sentences.

Combination of two or more simple sentences into a single simple sentence.

This can be done by turning one or more than one sentence into a phrase. It depends on the relationship of
ideas within the sentences that a noun phrase, an adjective phrase, an adverb phrase or a prepositional phrase is
chosen for use.

a) By using a noun phrase:

Hoi An was once a quiet town. It has now become a bustling tourist town.
→ Hoi An, once a quiet town, has now become a bustling tourist one.

My father is an electrical engineer. He has worked at a processing factory for 20 years.

→ My father, an electrical engineer, has worked at a processing factory for 20 years.

b) By using an adverb phrase:

He deserved to succeed. He failed.
→ He failed undeservedly.

c) By using a prepositional phrase:

He has failed many times. He still hopes to succeed.

→ In spite of having failed many times, he still hopes to succeed.

She cannot go to work today. She has a bad cold.

→ She cannot go to work today because of a bad cold.
Combination of two or more simple sentences into a single compound sentence.

This can be done by using the appropriate coordinating conjunction(s) to join the sentences together. The
choice of a coordinating conjunction is based on the relationship in ideas among separate sentences.
I was annoyed. I kept quiet.
→ I was annoyed but I kept quiet.

We can travel by train. We can travel by car.

→ We can travel either by train or by car.

He knows very little English. He can’t apply for the job.

→ He knows very little English; therefore, he can’t apply for the job.
or He knows very little English, so he can’t apply for the job.

Combination of two or more simple sentences into a single complex sentence.

This can be done by choosing a sentence as the main clause and changing the rest of sentences into dependent
(subordinate) clauses which can be noun clause, relative clause, or adverb clause. The subordinate clauses are
joined to the main clause by means of subordinating conjunctions. The choice of a subordinating conjunction is
based on the relationship in ideas among separate sentences.

a) Dependent clause is a noun clause:

He may come. He may not come. I ‘m not sure.

→ I’m not sure whether he will come or not.

He has just bought a new car . He has told me so.

→ He has told me that he has bought a new car.

The man is saying something. I cannot hear the words.

→ I cannot hear what the man is saying.

b) Dependent clause is an adjective clause:

The man had a hen. The hen laid an egg everyday. The egg was golden.
→ The man had a hen which laid a golden egg everyday.

This is a house. I spent my childhood in that house.

→ This is the house where / in which I spent my childhood.

Yesterday he talked with a foreigner. The foreigner came from England.

→ The foreigner (whom) he talked with yesterday came from England.
The foreigner with whom he talked yesterday came from England.

c) Dependent clause is an adverb clause:

It was very stuffy last night. I could not sleep.

→ I could not sleep last night because it was very stuffy.

The old man is very poor. He lives happily.

→ Although the old man is very poor, he lives happily.
 She entered the room. The phone rang at that moment.
→ As soon as she entered the room, the phone rang.

SUMMARY
Synthesis is the combination of separate simple sentences into a single sentence. The new
sentence can be simple, compound or complex, and must cover the whole meanings of
separate sentences.
To create a simple sentence, only one clause is retained; the other clauses are changed into
phrases.
To create a compound, the clauses are joined together by means of coordinating
conjunctions.
To create a complex sentence, one clause is chosen to be the main clause; the other clauses
become subordinate ones joined to the main clause by means of subordinating conjunctions.
III. Practice:
Task 1. Combine each set of sentences into a single simple sentence.

1. He devoted himself to public affairs. He never took a holiday. His continued for 20 years.

2. The boy was drowning. He shouted for help.

3. The old woman was poor. She had to live in a small cottage.

4. George shouted a friendly greeting to me. He came over and shook me warmly by the hand.

Task 2. Combine each set of sentences into a single compound sentence.

1. He was nervous at the start. He did well.

2. Bruce was lying on his bed. He looked up to the roof. He saw a spider.

3. I lost my way. I asked a policeman to direct me.

4. Make haste. You will be late. There is no other train till midnight.

Task 3. Combine each set of sentences into a single complex sentence by using a subordinate clause.

1. Who has taken my cases away? I want to know that.

2. We have only enough water for two more days. I told you so.

3. What caused the explosion? No one ever discovered.

4. The man committed the robbery last night. The man has been arrested.

5. Do you know the woman? The woman is wearing a blue overcoat.

6. Jack lives in the house. He built it ten years ago.

7. My brother practices playing the violin every day. He wishes to win the violin contest next month.

8. He spoke in a very low voice. Nobody could hear him.

9. My parents came to live here in 1990. From that point of time, they have been much better in health.