UNIVERSITY OF MONTENEGRO

INSTITUTE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Dr IGOR LAKIĆ

DANILO ALAGIĆ

ENGLISH SYNTAX – WORKBOOK

Podgorica, April 2013

 NOTE:

This material is a part of the tutorials in English Syntax held

at the Institute of Foreign Languages and the Faculty of Arts,
University of Montenegro.
The primary aim of the Workbook is to serve as the backup
teaching material which accompanies the relevant chapters of the
textbook English Syntax – forms and functions by Doc. dr Igor Lakić,
whose lectures have inspired the creation and modeling of this
material.
The Workbook resulted from years of teaching practice and
comprises various exercises, some of which have been taken from
the syntax books listed in the Literature section. The exercises
have been adapted to meet the undergraduate Syntax course
requirements and they are aimed at facilitating comprehension of
the structure of English and sentence parsing.
This material has not been written for publication and no
part of the Workbook may be reprinted, reproduced or used for
commercial purposes.

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 1. CONSTRUCTIONS ACCORDING TO TYPE
ENDOCENTRIC CONSTRUCTIONS

COORDINATE SUBORDINATE

ADDITIVE ( AND ) ATTRIBUTE FIRST

M silly girl, happy hour ( NP )

Jack and Jill ( NP ) + jolly nice, rather slow ( AdjP )
you and me ( NP ) H fairly cheaply, very well ( AdvP )
She stayed home and he went out.
( compound sentence )
in and out ( PrepP ) Det +H no sugar, the baby, my soul ( NP )
beautiful gal and older guy ( NP )
complex
quite quickly and pretty strictly( AdvP )
sent. If we buy tickets, we will come.
stayed home and watched TV ( VP )
(s+m)
Vaux
+ was preparing, have said ( VP )
ALTERNATIVE ( OR ) Vm

CENTRE FIRST
Steve or Nora ( NP )
you or me ( NP) V
Should I stay or should I go? + work hard, went there ( VP )
( compound sentence ) Adv
beautiful girl or handsome guy ( NP ) complex
utterly stupid or very sincere ( AdjP ) senten We will come if we buy tickets.
play games or watch TV ( VP ) (m+s)
up or down ( AdvP )
book on the shelf, house in
H+Q

APPOSITIVE suburbia ( NP )
( NP ) good enough, bad indeed ( AdjP )

ATTRIBUTE DISCONTINUOUS

Dr Inaritu
lake Michigan too honest to be a sailor ( AdjP )
PhD Rob Sullivan a better plan than this ( NP )
Cetinje, the royal capital of too good to be true ( AdjP )
Montenegro
King Arthur
CENTRE DISCONTINUOUS

could not leave ( VP )

is always trying ( VP )
3
 EXOCENTRIC CONSTRUCTIONS

a) VERB + OBJECT ( VP )

missed you, promised to come,

wanted to leave immediately,
will change the world, saw it

DIRECTIVE

b) PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES

in the corner, near the fire, on the cuff,

by the way, in front of our house

c) SUBORDINATE CLAUSE

as soon as I came
even though I cried
because you didn’t do it

is a huge profit
CONNECTIVE was interested in linguistics
(VP →Vc +Pred) seems that she is over you
appears confident

All these books are for sale.

PREDICATIONAL She is leaving today.
(simple sentences) That man I just don’t like!
He bought a book and gave it to me.
Off we go.

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A. IDENTIFY THE CONSTRUCTION TYPES AND THE SYNTACTIC LEVELS TO
WHICH THE FOLLOWING CONSTRUCTIONS BELONG. THE FIRST CONSTRUCTION
HAS BEEN ANALYSED FOR YOU.

- lives there
ENDOCENTRIC SUBORDINATE CENTRE FIRST VERB PHRASE

- in the evening
______________ ______________ ______________ _____________

- a social ladder
______________ ______________ ______________ _____________

- have exceeded
______________ ______________ ______________ _____________

- is radiant
______________ ______________ _____________ ______________

- Clive arrived safe and sound.

______________ ______________ _____________ ______________

- extremely boring
______________ ______________ _____________ ______________

- This cannot be negotiable.

______________ ______________ _____________ ______________

- to and fro
______________ ______________ _____________ ______________

- was listening
______________ ______________ _____________ ______________

- if you insist
______________ ______________ _____________ _______________

- I arrived safely although we passed through hell.

______________ ______________ ______________ ______________

- She bumped in and we all looked at her.

______________ ______________ ______________ ______________

- fairly quickly and strictly professionally

______________ ______________ ______________ ______________

- about us
______________ ______________ ______________ _____________
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 - gave a wink
______________ ______________ ______________ _____________

- speaks fluently
______________ ______________ ______________ _____________

- amber eyes
______________ ______________ ______________ _____________

- the Ministry of Justice

______________ ______________ ______________ _____________

- has just come

______________ ______________ ______________ _____________

- was more than enough

______________ ______________ ______________ _____________

- no place to go
______________ _____________ ______________ _____________

- Dorian` s wife
______________ _____________ ______________ _____________

- seems radical
______________ ______________ ______________ _____________

- did not recommend

______________ _____________ ______________ _____________

- If you really want to know, call her.

______________ ______________ ______________ _____________

- will meet all the participants

______________ ______________ ______________ _____________

- Dickens, the author of `Oliver Twist`

______________ ______________ ______________ _____________

-M&S
______________ ______________ ______________ _____________

- 150
______________ ______________ ______________ _____________

- old enough
______________ ______________ ______________ _____________
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- took a boat trip along the coast
______________ ______________ ______________ _____________

- was more than enough

______________ ______________ ______________ _____________

- because she disappeared

______________ ______________ ______________ _____________

- started crying incessantly

______________ ______________ ______________ _____________

- Off we go!
______________ ______________ ______________ _____________

- to and fro
______________ ______________ ______________ _____________

- Lake Como
______________ ______________ ______________ _____________

- too green to be red

______________ ______________ ______________ _____________

- you or me
______________ ______________ ______________ _____________

- If you see her, tell her I forgive her.

______________ ______________ ______________ _____________

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B. IDENTIFY THE CONSTRUCTION TYPES AND THE SYNTACTIC LEVELS TO WHICH
THE FOLLOWING CONSTRUCTIONS BELONG.
us and them
______________ _____________ ______________ ____________

Loch Ness
______________ _____________ ______________ _____________

a good book but a bad film

______________ _____________ ______________ _____________

That day I do not want to remember.

______________ _____________ ______________ _____________

were playing
______________ _____________ ______________ _____________

has never been

______________ _____________ ______________ _____________

If you leave now, you will catch 3:10 to Yuma.

______________ _____________ ______________ _____________

when Harry met Sally

______________ _____________ ______________ _____________

312
______________ _____________ ______________ _____________

before sunrise
______________ _____________ ______________ _____________

has been here

_____________ _____________ ______________ _____________

is smiling
______________ _____________ ______________ _____________

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is interesting
______________ _____________ ______________ _____________

insisted that he retire

______________ _____________ ______________ _____________

game of thrones
_____________ _____________ ______________ _____________

pretty fast and quite efficiently

______________ _____________ ______________ _____________

Off with their heads!

______________ _____________ ______________ _____________

the big bang theory

______________ _____________ ______________ _____________

We went there although we were not invited.

______________ _____________ ______________ _____________

cried incessantly
______________ _____________ ______________ _____________

could unexpectedly leave

______________ _____________ ______________ _____________

might meet all of them

______________ _____________ ______________ _____________

Phd Ross Geller

______________ _____________ ______________ _____________

too pretty to be a detective

______________ _____________ ______________ _____________

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 ENDOCENTRIC AND EXOCENTRIC CONSTRUCTIONS

A. IDENTIFY THE CONSTRUCTION TYPES AND THE SYNTACTIC LEVELS TO WHICH

THE FOLLOWING CONSTRUCTIONS BELONG. THE FIRST CONSTRUCTION IS
ANALYSED FOR YOU.

- lives there
ENDOCENTRIC SUBORDINATE CENTRE FIRST VERB PHRASE

- in the evening
exocentric directive - PrepP

- a social ladder
endocentric subordinate attribute first NP

- have exceeded
endocentric subordinate attribute first VP

- is radiant
exocentric connective Vc + Pred VP

- Clive arrived safe and sound.

exocentric predicational clause simple sentence

- extremely boring
endocentric subordinate attribute first AdjP

- This cannot be negotiable.

exocentric predicational clause simple sentence

- to and fro
endocentric coordinate additive PrepP

- was listening
endocentric subordinate attribute first VP

- if you insist
exocentric directive – (subordinate) clause

- I arrived safely although we passed through hell.

endocentric subordinate centre first complex sentence

- She bumped in and we all looked at her.

endocentric coordinate additive compound sentence

- fairly quickly and strictly professionally

endocentric coordinate additive AdvP
- about us
exocentric directive - PrepP

- gave a wink
exocentric directive V + DO VP

- speaks fluently
endocentric subordinate centre first VP

- amber eyes
endocentric subordinate attribute first NP

- the Ministry of Justice

endocentric subordinate centre first NP

- has just come

endocentric subordinate centre discontinuous VP

- was more than enough

exocentric connective Vc + Pred VP

- no place to go
endocentric subordinate centre first NP

- Dorian` s wife
endocentric subordinate attribute first NP

- seems radical
exocentric connective Vc + Pred VP

- did not recommend

endocentric subordinate centre discontinuous VP

- If you really want to know, call her.

endocentric subordinate attribute first complex sentence

- will meet all the participants

exocentric directive V + DO VP

- Dickens, the author of `Oliver Twist`

endocentric coordinate appositive NP

-M&S
endocentric coordinate additive NP

- 150
endocentric coordinate additive NP

- old enough
endocentric subordinate centre first AdjP
 - took a boat trip along the coast
exocentric directive V + DO VP

- was more than enough

exocentric connective Vc + Pred VP

- because she disappeared

exocentric directive – (subordinate) clause

- started crying incessantly

exocentric directive V + DO VP

- Off we go!
exocentric predicational clause simple sentence

- to and fro
endocentric coordinate additive PrepP

- Lake Como
endocentric coordinate appositive NP

- too green to be red

endocentric subordinate attribute discontinuous AdjP

- you or me
endocentric coordinate additive NP

- If you see her, tell her I forgive her.

endocentric subordinate attribute first complex sentence
B. IDENTIFY THE CONSTRUCTION TYPES AND THE SYNTACTIC LEVELS
TO WHICH THE FOLLOWING CONSTRUCTIONS BELONG.
us and them
ENDOCENTRIC COORDINATE ADDITIVE NP

Loch Ness
ENDOCENTIC COORDINATE APPOSITIVE NP
a good book but a bad film
ENDOCENTRIC COORDINATE ALTERNATIVE NP

That day I do not want to remember.

EXOCENTRIC PREDICATIONAL CLAUSE SIMPLE SENTENCE

were playing
ENDOCENTRIC SUBORDINATE ATTRIBUTE VP
FIRST
has never been
ENDOCENTRIC SUBORDINATE CENTRE VP
DISCONTINUOUS
If you leave now, you will catch 3:10 to Yuma.
ENDOCENTRIC SUBORDINATE ATTRIBUTE COMPLEX
FIRST SENTENCE
when Harry met Sally
EXOCENTRIC DIRECTIVE SUBORDINATE
CLAUSE
312
ENDOCENTRIC COORDINATE ADDITIVE NP (number)

before sunrise
EXOCENTRIC DIRECTIVE PrepP
has been here
EXOCENTRIC CONNECTIVE Vc + PRED VP

is smiling
ENDOCENTRIC SUBORDINATE ATTRIBUTE FIRST VP
is interesting
EXOCENTRIC CONNECTIVE Vc + PRED VP

8
insisted that he retire
EXOCENTRIC DIRECTIVE V + DO VP

game of thrones
ENDOCENTRIC SUBORDINATE CENTRE FIRST NP

pretty fast and quite efficiently

ENDOCENTRIC COORDINATE ADDITIVE NP

Off with their heads!

EXOCENTRIC PREDICATIONAL CLAUSE SIMPLE SENTENCE

the big bang theory

ENDOCENTRIC SUBORDINATE ATTRIBUTE FIRST VP

We went there although we were not invited.

ENDOCENTRIC SUBORDINATE CENTRE FIRST COMPLEX
SENTENCE
cried incessantly
ENDOCENTRIC SUBORDINATE CENTRE FIRST VP

could unexpectedly leave

ENDOCENTRIC SUBORDINATE CENTRE VP
DISCONTINUOUS
might meet all of them
EXOCENTRIC DIRECTIVE V + DO VP

Phd Ross Geller

ENDOCENTIC COORDINATE APPOSITIVE NP
too pretty to be a detective
ENDOCENTIC SUBORDINATE ATTRIBUTE AdjP
DISCONTINUOUS

9
 2.1. IMMEDIATE CONSTITUENTS
(IC ANALYSIS)

LEVEL FIRST CUT

SENTENCE

SIMPLE SENTENCE separates subject and predicate

All birds must eat.

COMPLEX SENTENCE between main and subordinate clause

(because, although, as,
when, even though ...) I feel exhilarated when I pass the exam

COMPOUND SENTENCE in front of and after the conjunction

(and, but, or)

I am sleeping and she is awake.

If a sentence contains a sentence modifier (exclamations, vocatives, PrepP,

VingP) first cut is in front of or after the sentence modifier. After doing that, you
can proceed and make the other cuts according to the given rules.

Of course, she IS pretty.

NOTE: Sentence modifiers are usually separated from the rest of the sentence by
commas so you should have no trouble whatsoever in detecting them.

SUBORDINATE CLAUSE after the conjunction

because she left

RELATIVE CLAUSE after relative pronoun

who plays in the band

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE after preposition

in the suite

10
INFINITIVE PHRASE after infinitive (if there are no adverbials)

to raise children

GERUNDIAL PHRASE after gerund(if there are no adverbials)

speaking to him

NOUN PHRASE

Beginning at the end cut off successively each QUALIFIER until you reach the
noun head.

the girl I met (Q)

So, first check whether NP has a qualifier and if it has - make the first cut in front
of it and then proceed. After doing this, begin at the front and cut off all
prenominal modifiers until you reach the noun head.

the old garden hat in the shed

the old garden hat in the shed (Q)

the old garden hat in the shed

VERB PHRASE

Modifiers of the verb are cut off from the front, back to the verb head.
There is seldom more than one AM preceding the main verb.

happily jumped on the table

After the preverbal modifiers have been cut off, one begins at the back and cuts
off successive modifiers up to the verb head.

happily (1) jumped on the table (2)

Auxiliaries are cut off successively up to the verb head.

11
 PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO:

- ADJECTIVE PHRASES FUNCTIONING AS MODIFIERS WITHIN NOUN PHRASES

a very amusing story

very amusing

- COORDINATE MODIFIERS WITHIN NPs JOINED WITH CONJUNCTIONS AND, BUT or

OR .THEY ARE SEPARATED AS FOLLOWS:

beautiful red and white stripes

red and white

-IF WITHIN VP THERE IS AN ADVERB (not, always, rarely...) INSERTED BETWEEN

AUXILIARY AND MAIN VERB YOU ANALYSE THE PHRASE AS FOLLOWS:

has never answered

- WITHIN VP FIRST CUT IS ALWAYS MADE IN FRONT OF OR AFTER ADVERBIAL

MODIFIER (depends on whether it precedes or follows the main verb).

-IF WITHIN VP YOU HAVE INDIRECT AND DIRECT OBJECT LEAVE THE INDIRECT
OBJECT WITH THE VERB (since it is closer) AND CUT OFF DIRECT AND THEN INDIRECT
OBJECT:

told her the truth

told her

- COORDINATE PHRASES WITHIN VP:

wanted to come and visit me

to come and visit me
visit me

SUMMARY:

1. IDENTIFY THE TYPE OF SENTENCE (is it simple, compound or complex)

2. CUT OFF ANY SENTENCE MODIFIERS.
3. CUT BETWEEN THE SUBJECT NOUN PHRASE AND THE PREDICATE VERB
PHRASE.
4. CUT THESE PHRASES INTO SUCCESSIVE ICs, DOWN TO THE INDIVIDUAL
WORDS
12
 A. MAKE AN IC ANALYSIS OF THE GIVEN SENTENCES ACCORDING TO THE GENERAL
RULES FOR IC ANALYSIS IN SYNTAX. FOCUS ON DIFFERENT SYNTACTIC UNITS, WITH
PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON NP AND VP CUTTING.

1. Notwithstanding their objections, we will build the raft tomorrow.

2. The little boy has read two novels by Joyce since Monday.

3. Our old friends from Yorkshire came to visit us last weekend.

4. Penny wants to write literary books which are accessible to a general audience.

5. They said that they had never been to Barcelona before that dreadful day.

13
6. Mia and Zoe have never been in that old fashionable café near their school.

7. They will probably buy all the black and white photos from the store.

8. Leonard did what he wanted and what was the best thing to do.

9. Sheldon went to the book store and bought that very compelling book she mentioned.

14
 10. Joe taught me how to light a fire and how to ride a horse.

11. The boys who broke the highly expensive Ming vase were not punished.

12. It is a task which involves exploring the borderline between painting and photography.

14. I do not want to waste my time and spend the best years of my life in this hermetically sealed box.

15
 2.2. IMMEDIATE CONSTITUENT ANALYSIS
(PART TWO)

A. DRAW AN IMMEDIATE CONSTITUENT ANALYSIS DIAGRAM OF THE

FOLLOWING SENTENCES:

1. He had to read the book because his teacher told him to read it.

2. Amy asked me where her office was as she wanted to warn her about the audit.

3. She felt mortified and embarrassed when he suddenly asked her about her fiancé.

4. When Rick saw his friends in public, he admitted that he could not handle it anymore.

16
5. While we were there we met a very nice couple who showed us the town and invited us to their wedding.

6. He accepted the proposal but he changed his mind after a few minutes.

7. I will give you the necessary directions if you insist but the rest is your responsibility.

9. The police interrogated the man with an old and shabby straw hat but did not detect anything suspicious.

17
10. She decided to go to the city and asked if I could give her a lift.

11. He asked if he might conduct us to the ball dedicated to our recently deceased princess.

B. DRAW AN IMMEDIATE CONSTITUENT ANALYSIS DIAGRAM OF THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES:

1. Their rather stubborn refusal to see that the protection of the environment should be our priority
is a great tragedy.

2. A recent survey suggests that the longest stayers are the British who travel to Spain in order to see
friends and visit relatives.

3. After many years of teaching undergraduates I have finally realized that development of their
understanding and knowledge reflects the development of linguistics and science.

4. A television company did an experiment last year and their idea was to find out how and why people
want to live in the conditions of solitude and tranquility.

18
UNIVERSITY OF MONTENEGRO
FACULTY OF PHILOLOGY 48
TRANSLATION STUDIES

ENGLISH SYNTAX EXAMINATION PAPER

(mock test)

Student Index no.

1. Identify the construction types and the syntactic levels to which the following
constructions belong:

1. you and me
_____________ _____________ _____________ _____________

2. Are you rich?

_____________ _____________ _____________ _____________

3. among school children

_____________ _____________ _____________ _____________

4. when Tess confessed

____________ _____________ _____________ _____________

5. impose severe restrictions

____________ _____________ _____________ _____________

6. twist in my sobriety
____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ 12

2. Explain the ambiguity of the following noun phrase, using immediate constituent analysis and
offering a proper interpretation:

an old neighbor’s story an old neighbor’s story

12

69
 3. Draw an immediate constituent analysis diagram of the following sentences:

Alternatively, you and your assistant might want to consider discussing your financial problems with your bank manager.

One does not enjoy having a churning stomach during a game but if you intend to win tournaments you must go through it.

70
32
 ARE YOU READY TO TAKE THE MIDTERM EXAM?
TEST YOURSELVES!

1. Suddenly, Jim paused to overcome an overwhelming and profound emotion that

made his voice hoarse and deep and took a rather deep, heavy breath.

2. When they discussed these somewhat trivial things and talked about her and her
faults, she felt she had to watch and keep her distance.

3. A faint ray of light flashed briefly in the roof above me and her and all of a sudden
there was a sound like the fairly quick opening of a door.

4. He began to pack their belongings when he remembered that he had once told her
that they would definitely visit her and that they would give her their key.

5. Although they constantly try to persuade the public that its product has unique
qualities, the truth is that recent events have dramatically and significantly changed
our perspective.

6. When he walked into the house to check if Phoebe had made any progress and if she
had finished the report he had already decided to offer her a job in Rio.

7. She laughed and felt exhilarated when she stepped into the hot sun but I pretended I
was alone and continued to cut the trees with care and pleasure.

8. I lay on the carpet near the sliding door of terrace and dreamt about our encounter
and sleep came for me as I watched the stars glitter and twinkle.

9. She sincerely believed that the realization of her utopian dreams and her secret
wishes was not possible even though she did not want to admit or accept that.

10. The boys behind the counter laughed at him and his girlfriend and a rather stout pub
owner came downstairs and told them to stop doing that and leave.

11. During a long interval of calm and peace, a relatively small number of patriots and
radicals have energetically striven to revive the controversy and the debate.

12. What appeared particularly significant and noteworthy was that the troops had
finally advanced beyond the natural strategic line and had eventually crossed the
river.

71
13. His eyes closed and he had the strange feeling of the swimmer who finds that after
all the tide will eventually sweep him to his goal and his rescue.

14. Caroline began her favorite piece, but as soon as she came to the end of the music,
she played more quietly and rather superbly and began to speak softly.

15. Although he had never had a stage fright, Joey felt his heart was beating now but told
himself that he would make it despite everything and that he would finish his act.

16. Whenever I was home on a visit my mother and my sister would invariably remind
me that despite everything they loved to talk to their nosy, elderly patients.

17. Sitting with people who were talking slowly and articulately he would sometimes
draw somewhat hasty conclusions about their remarks or their life stories.

18. The lane she is blindly following mounts a gentle slope at the end of the trail and
comes out on top with a fairly wide view of the land and tender grass.

19. In a few minutes that seemed like a century to him, he heard her heavy steps over
the powdery and melting snow and he shut all the blinds and curtains.

20. His refined features betrayed for a moment an impression of rather bitter disgust
and after a few long and agonizing minutes, he sank into reverie and oblivion.

72