Morfosyntax of Contemporary English 4
Morfosyntax of Contemporary English 5
(Seminar workbook for Bc study programmes)
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Ex.1 Read the passage and then choose the odd form out in each set listed below.
I sat down on a stone. I was exhausted. My ankle was aching and leg muscles that I never knew existed were beginning to complain. The sun was casting long shadows and the silence worried me. There was no sign of the path, and no other trail looked at all convincing. I could not see a single house, there were no familiar landmarks, and the Indus was only a glinting trickle far below. I felt tired, miserable and slightly frightened. I sat for ten minutes without moving, unsure of what to do. All options seemed equally unappealing. Then, immediately above me, I heard gunshots. On other occasions the noise might have been sinister. Now they seemed welcoming, almost homely. I clambered upwards, and soon found a track. Following it around a bluff of rock I saw the source of the shots: a village of half-timbered huts clinging to the sheer hillside.
(William Dalrymple: In Xanadu A Quest)
Example: a stone my ankle complain no sing gunshots
Answer: The odd form out is complain because the rest are noun phrases.
1 verb phrases was exhausted was aching
were beginning to complain could not see might have been
2 noun phrases leg muscles that I never knew existed
casting long shadows me no sing of the path
the source of the shots
3 adjective phrases tired, miserable and slightly frightened
unsure of what to do equally unappealing
almost homely following it
4 adverb phrases never far below immediately above now upwards
5 prepositional phrases on a stone for ten minutes without moving
on other occasions almost homely
Ex.2 Look at the passage again and decide what function each of the following phrases has (Subject, Object, Complement, Adverbial).
NPs 1 my ankle SUBJECT
2 leg muscles that I never knew existed ...................
3 long shadows . ...................
4 a glinting trickle ...................
AdjPs 5 at all convincing .....................
6 tired, miserable and slightly frightened .....................
7 welcoming, almost homely .....................
PPs 8 for ten minutes .....................
9 without moving .....................
10 on other occasions .....................
Sentences and clauses
Ex.1 How much do you know about sentence structure? Complete the sentences by matching the predicates (a) - (j) to the subjects (1-10). The first answer is 1c.
1 A sentence (a) are usually optional.
2 The subject (b) is the most important copular verb.
3 The verb (c) contains a subject and a predicate.
4 The predicate (d) only occur with transitive verbs.
5 The main elements of
sentence structure (e) have to occur in every sentence.
6 Not all of these (f) usually comes before the verb.
7 Objects (g) follow copular verbs like be or become.
8 Complements (h) are subject, verb, object, complement, adverbial.
9 The verb be (i) consists of a verb and possibly other elements.
10 Adverbials (j) has to agree with the subject.
Clause structure
There are basically seven types of clause – combining the elements of S(ubject), V(erb), O(bject), C(omplement) and A(dverbial) in various ways.
Ex.1 Identify the sentence types that the following sentences belong to as SV, SVO, SVC, SVA, SVOO, SVOC or SVOA.
1 I felt very tired. SVC / I=S, felt=V, very tired=C/
2 My feet hurt. ............................
3 The receptionist handed me my key. ............................
4 I wanted food. ............................
5 I placed my coat over a chair. ............................
6 I ordered myself something to eat. ............................
7 It seemed sensible. ............................
8 I lay on the bed. ...........................
9 A waiter brought coffee and sandwiches. ............................
10 He set the tray on a table. ............................
11 I was yawning. ............................
12 I found the bed rather hard. ............................
13 The thick curtains extended to the floor. .............................
14 But the hotel was situated on a busy street. .............................
15 The traffic noise kept me awake. .............................
Verb phrases
Ex.1 Identify the finite verb phrases in the following article. Take each phrase as whole – do not classify each word separately. Then find at least 5 nonfinite verb phrases.
It might seem odd in the 20th century to plan and carry out expeditions as means of making a living, yet I had been doing just that for the past two years. I hadn’t consciously chosen such a life; it had just worked out that way.
In 1943, four months before I was born, my father died of wounds received not far north of Monte Cassino whilst commanding a tank regiment, the Royal Scots Greys. When I was 16,
I decided to make the army my career, too. I had inherited my father’s title but not his brains, so the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst was out. However I managed to scrape through…Cadet School and into the Greys on a three-year short service commission, which I spent ploughing about Germany in tanks, canoeing along European rivers....and skiing in Bavaria. All this gave me a taste for travel. (Ranulph Fiennes: To the Ends of the Earth)
Finite verb phrases Nonfinite verb phrases
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Gerunds
A gerund is a nonfinite verb form that ends in -ing and functions as a noun.
· Travelling might satisfy your desire for new experiences.(S)
· They do not appreciate my singing. (Od)
· My cat's favourite activity is sleeping. (Cs)
· The police arrested him for speeding. (object of preposition)
Participles
A participle is a nonfinite verb form that is used as an adjective and most often ends in -ing or -ed. Since they function as adjectives, participles modify nouns or pronouns.
· The crying baby had a wet diaper.
· Shaken, he walked away from the wrecked car.
· Smiling, she hugged the panting dog.
Infinitives
An infinitive is a nonfinite verb form consisting of the word to plus a verb (in its simplest "stem" form) and functioning as a noun, adjective, or adverb. To wait seemed foolish when decisive action was required. (subject)
· Everyone wanted to go. (direct object)
· His ambition is to fly. (subject complement)
Comparing Gerunds and Participles
I was irritated by Bill's constant interrupting. (gerund functioning as a noun)
I was irritated by Bill, constantly interrupting. (participle modifying Bill, adjective function)
The guitarist's finger-picking was extraordinary. (gerund – noun function)
The guitarist, finger-picking, was extraordinary. (participle – adjective function)
Exercise 1: Decide if the non-finite verb forms written in bold are gerunds or participles.
He was not impressed with them competing. ............................................................
He was not impressed with their competing...................................................................
Grandpa enjoyed his grandchildren, running and laughing.....................................................
Grandpa enjoyed his grandchildren's running and laughing. .................................................
Exercise 2: Identify by underlining infinitives, participles and gerunds in each sentence and label them.
1. Being a celebrity is like living in a fish bowl. _____________
2. My broken arm keeps me from playing tennis. _____________
3. I´m going to punish you for disobeying orders. _____________
4. Paying bills on time is necessary unless you want to be left without electricity. _____________
5. Drinking heavily, he nevertheless finished his novel. _____________
6. Matching the wall paper is not a sound basis for choosing painting. _____________
7. I just don´t feel like getting out of bed. _____________
8. The striking workers refused to let anyone cross their picket line. _____________
9. A rolling stone gathers no moss. _____________
10. It´s difficult to move after having been settled in a community for many years. _____________
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Deverbal nouns
Sometimes to give more ′weight′ to the end of a sentence, we use a rather general verb with not much meaning + a noun derived from a verb (e.g. have an argument instead of just using the verb argue)
Ex.1 Rewrite the sentences, replacing the underlined verbs with one of the following verbs + an appropriate noun.
do give have make take
Make any other necessary changes.
Example: I sighed with relief.
Answer: I gave a sigh of relief.
1. He rushes around madly photographing everywhere.
...............................................................................................................................
2. Some of them are very good. Look!
...............................................................................................................................
3. But one of these days he′ll injure himself.
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4. I′d like to arrange for him to see a psychiatrist.
...............................................................................................................................
5. He doesn′t need you advising him.
...............................................................................................................................
6. Perhaps a holiday would be good for him.
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7. He lectures me about interfering.
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8. I′ve never harmed anyone.
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9. I tried a lot but I still felt miserable. (use good)
...............................................................................................................................
10. He is not interested in anything else these days.
...............................................................................................................................
11. He looks at me in such a funny way.
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12. I wish we could talk about it.
...............................................................................................................................
13. But he just gets offended.
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14. How can one excuse that sort of behaviour?
...............................................................................................................................
15. Oh well, it′s time we got moving.
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Phrases and sentence elements
Exercise 1: Identify the phrase type (noun, adjective, adverbial or prepositional).
1. Ice fishing is a popular winter pass-time.
2. Small children often insist that they can do it by themselves.
3. My sister bought a blue and green sweater.
4. He scored the goal very quickly.
5. Dad was happy about the goal.
6. The man in the house rented it.
7. The crazy old lady in the park feeds the pigeons every day.
8. The arctic explorers were caught unaware by the spring breakup.
Exercise 2: Identify subject, verb (copular, intransitive, monotransitive, ditransitive, complex transitive), object (direct or indirect), complement (subject or object) and adverbial (of place) in the following sentences:
1. You must keep calm.
2. We are in a bit of mess.
3. The headmaster put George into the second class.
4. I remember the reasonableness of my father’s argument.
5. I can’t keep my hands warm.
6. That made Stanley angry.
7. His annoyance did not last.
8. He was a lawyer.
9. He proved himself a great soldier.
10. Michael gave him back his saddle-bags.
11. Keep your hands off me!
12. Do you call yourself a porter?
13. Could you call me a porter, please?
14. Keep me a seat, will you?
15. He threw himself from his horse.
16. Every increase in knowledge augments our capacity for evil.
Exercise 3: Indicate whether the underlined parts in the sentence are Oi, Od, Cs, Co. Identify also the types of verbs (transitive, copular, intransitive, etc.) in the sentences.
1. I didn’t tell anybody anything.
2. The young men grew very depressed.
3. His mother-in-law was driving him mad.
4. It‘s so cold. I can’t get warm.
5. He grew his hair long.
6. Can’t you give them your address?
7. Keep quiet. Keep those children quiet.
8. His in-laws had simply made him their servant.
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The Parts of the Simple Sentence
Exercise 1: In each sentence below, underline the verb and decide if it is transitive (monotransitive, ditransitive, complex transitive), linking or intransitive.
1. The company is a genetic engineering firm. ____________
2. The cats lie in the shade under our cars. ____________
3. It has become a leader of a brand-new industry. ____________
4. She introduced the school head to her parents. ____________
5. She made me her assistant. ____________
6. Norman speaks Russian fluently. ____________
7. They do not feel afraid of competition. ____________
8. All students passed the exam. ____________
9. James went to the campus cafe. ____________
10. The company sign seems modest. ____________
Exercise 2: In each of the following sentences, state whether the underlined phrase is an object complement, subject complement or adverbial.
1. My friend wants her coffee black.
2. Jack has put his coat in my bedroom.
3. The noise is driving me mad.
4. The leaders of the company are research scientists.
5. Show me to my seat.
6. The focus of the project is DNA recombination.
Exercise 3: Identify each sentence element by writing the appropriate abbreviation in the brackets after it.
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S – subject
V- verb
Od – direct object
Oi – indirect object
Cs – subject complement
Co – object complement
Ca – adverbial complement
A - adverbial
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1. Ancient peoples ( ) used ( ) salt ( ) in all their major sacrifices ( ).
2. Today ( ) these caves ( ) are ( ) tourist attractions ( ).
3. The Romans ( ) gave ( ) their soldiers ( ) special allowances for salt. ( )
4. Many people ( ) consider ( ) the accidental spilling of salt ( ) bad luck ( ).
5. Salt ( ) was ( ) the first food seasoning ( ).
6. The first salt mines ( ) were located ( ) in Austria ( ).
Exercise 4: In each sentence below, identify the subject, underline the predicate and circle the verb (phrase).
1. Analysts predict several years of diminished business.
2. In Europe, the tourism industry has been affected.
3. People prefer to travel by train.
4. The general public is still nervous about flying.
5. The loss of consumer confidence will damage the euro.
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Exercise 5: Identify the underlined elements in the following sentences by stating their form (phrases) and function (sentence elements). Sometimes it is not possible to identify a sentence element.
1. Our English teacher is going to retire soon. …………………………………
2. Our English teacher is going to retire soon. …………………………………
3. Nicole Kidman is a talented actress. …………………………………
4. Nicole Kidman is a talented actress. …………………………………
5. The reporter asked the senator a leading question. …………………………
6. The reporter asked the senator a leading question. …………………………
7. The pie looked delicious. …………………………………
8. The pie looked delicious. …………………………………
9. Maria would like to travel to Spain. …………………………………
10. Maria would like to travel to Spain. …………………………………
11. Hiking in the mountains was an enjoyable experience. ………………….…..
12. Hiking in the mountains was an enjoyable experience. ………………………
13. Hiking in the mountains was an enjoyable experience. ………………….…..
14. Hiking in the mountains was an enjoyable experience. ………………………
15. His stupid questions made Peter very upset. …………………………………
16. His stupid questions made Peter very upset. …………………………………
17. They walked right across the street. …………………………………
18. They walked right across the street. …………………………………
19. They don´t believe in ghosts. …………………………………
20. They don´t believe in ghosts. …………………………………
21. You should eat breakfast in the morning. …………………………………