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Beginning Syntax

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Beginning Syntax

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Linda Thomas

To my very unique Dad, with love

Beginning Syntax

Linda Thomas

IB
BLACKWELL
Oxford UK & Cambridge USA
Copyright © Linda Thomas, 1993

The right of Linda Thomas to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

First published 1993

Reprinted 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996

Blackwell Publishers Ltd

108 Cowley Road
Oxford 0X4 1JF, UK

Blackwell Publishers Inc.

238 Main Street
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA

All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes
of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission
of the publisher.

Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition
that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or
otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding
or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition
including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Thomas, Linda.
Beginning syntax/Linda Thomas,
p. cm.
ISBN 0—631—18827—4 (alk. paper) — ISBN 0-631-18826—6 (pbk: alk. paper)
1. Grammar, Comparative and general - Syntax. I. Title.
P291.T49 1993 92-39658
415-dc20 CIP

Typeset in 10 on 12pt Sabon

by TecSet Ltd, Wallington, Surrey
Printed and bound in Great Britain by T. J. Press Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall

This book is printed on acid-free paper

Contents

Preface and Acknowledgements vii

List of Abbreviations ix

1 Tools for Analysis 1

Introduction 1
Word Categories 3
Tree Diagrams 9
Phrases and Phrase Structure 10
Form and Function 14
More on Trees 18

2 More on Categories 23
Adverbs and Adverb Phrases 23
Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases 29
Adjectives and Adjective Phrases 31
Summary of Rules 36

3 The Verb Phrase 37

Transitive Verb 37
Intransitive Verb 39
Ditransitive Verb 41
Intensive Verb 46
Complex-transitive Verb 49
Prepositional Verb 34
Imperative 36
Summary of Rules 38
vi Contents

4 The Verb Group 61

Tense 62
4 Modal Auxiliaries 64
Primary Auxiliaries 66
Summary of Rules 78

5 The Noun Phrase 80

Pronouns 80
Pre- and Post-modification 83
Pre-modification 83
Post-modification 91
Summary of Rules 99

6 Subordination and Coordination 101

Subordination 101
Coordination 120
Summary of Rules 123

Summary of All Rules 124

Phrases 124
Verb Classes 126
Auxiliary Verbs 127

Answers to Exercises 129

Languages are by nature extremely complex and describing a language, any

language, is not an easy task. To help with description and analysis it is
considered easier to divide a language into separate components or different
areas of analysis. Such areas include for example PHONOLOGY, which
looks at and describes the sound system of a language, MORPHOLOGY,
which looks at the way words are formed, SYNTAX, which seeks to
describe the way words fit together to form sentences or utterances, and
SEMANTICS and PRAGMATICS which study meaning. Although these
components overlap and interact with each other, they can to some extent
be looked at and described individually.
We are here primarily concerned with syntax, or sentence structure. This
means looking at the way words combine together in a language (in this case
English) to form sentences. One way to study syntax is to look at sentences
which we already know to be considered syntactically ‘well-formed’ sen¬
tences to the speakers of that language. For example:

(1) I shot the sheriff

would be considered by native speakers of English to be a syntactically

well-formed sentence, whereas:

(2) the shot sheriff I

would not. This idea of a sentence being syntactically well formed will
become clearer as we progress. By analysing or describing sentences such as
2 Tools for Analysis

(1) in terms of their constituent parts, we can see the patterns that words
follow when they fit together.
Perhaps the best way to make this clear is to practise it by looking at some
examples of English sentences. The examples used will be based on written
rather than spoken language. This is because written language tends to be
more explicit and complete. There is no other speaker present to interrupt
you, or finish your utterance for you, or throw you off your point. Neither
can you leave a statement unfinished because you assume that the other
person ‘knows what you mean’. Also the example sentences we use will
consist of sentences in isolation rather than as part of connected discourse.
Again this is because sentences in isolation have to be totally explicit to
convey meaning. For instance, ‘I have’ may be perfectly acceptable as part of
connected discourse, say in response to the accusation ‘you haven’t done the
dishes’, but it wouldn’t be very meaningful on its own. Using written
language and sentences in isolation, then, we can hope to grasp the main
concepts before using the analysis on spoken language.
So how do we set about describing a sentence in English? Well, it seems
clear that sentences are made up of units and that at one level these units are
words. So: a sentence consists of words or alternatively words are CONSTI¬
TUENTS of a sentence.
We can write this in a different way with a convenient shorthand. Using S
to stand for sentence, and an arrow, —to mean consists of, we can say
that:

(3) S —> word + word + word + word + word + . . .

(sentence) (consists of)

You can use this to describe any sentence. Try it with:

(4) Beanz meanz Heinz

(5) I don’t know what Jennifer will do when she finds out that she didn’t
turn the gas off before she went to work this morning

Using the formula at (3), you should end up with the following analyses:

(6) S —> word + word + word

(sentence (4)) (consists of) (Beanz + meanz -I- Heinz)

(7) S —> word + word + word + word + word +

(sentence (5)) word + word + word + word + word +
word + word + word + word + word +
Tools for Analysis 3

word + word + word + word + word +

word + word + word + word + word

This analysis is reasonable as far as it goes but it suggests that, apart from
the number of words, sentences (4) and (5) are the same. The situation ;sn’t
really that straightforward. First, the sentence at (5) appears to be much
more complicated than the one at (4) and not just because of the number of
words it contains. The analysis we have used doesn’t capture that complex¬
ity. Second, the formula we have used for analysis has two purposes. It not
only serves to describe an already existent sentence (like the ones at (4) and
(5)), but also to tell us that this is the way in which we can make countless
other sentences in English. In other words, it says that to make a
syntactically well-formed English sentence all you have to do is string
together a series of words. To see if this works, I suggest you make up two
or three sentences using words from the following list:

(8) girl, that, the, likes, apple, buys, this, eats, dog

and following the formula:

(9) S —> word 4- word + word + word + word

If we were to randomly select words as the formula suggests, we could

presumably have:

(10) "'Girl apple likes this that

This string of words, I think you’ll agree, does not make up a well-formed
English sentence; the words are all English words, but they do not appear in
an order you would normally expect. Certain sorts of words, it seems, can
only appear in certain positions or in certain combinations. Word order is
very important in English (although this doesn’t mean that it carries the
same importance in all languages). When a sentence is produced that is not
syntactically well formed it is said to be UNGRAMMATICAL and is
preceded like (10) above by an asterisk.

Word Categories

Clearly there are rules governing the way in which words can be put
together to form syntactically well-formed or GRAMMATICAL sentences:
4 Tools for Analysis

the study of syntax aims to discover them and to describe and analyse
language in terms of these rules. To begin to do so, let’s look at a
grammatical sentence, for example:

(11) The girl likes the dog

This appears to be reasonable (if a little unexciting). What about:

(12) The dog likes the girl

Here we have changed the word order but the sentence still works. This
suggests that the words dog and girl are interchangeable. In other words, in
a sentence like this, either word will do in either position. Of course
changing the words over changes the meaning but the sentence is still well
formed; it is still a grammatical sentence. There are, however, words on the
list which cannot be used in the same position as dog and girl. For example:

(13) ’"The girl likes the this

(14) *The buys likes the apple

In other words it seems that because girl and dog are interchangeable they
are the same type of word. They belong to the same WORD CATEGORY.
There is one other word on the list which can be used in the same position as
girl and dog; that is apple, as in:

(15a) The girl likes the apple

(15b) The apple likes the girl
(15c) The dog likes the apple
(15d) The apple likes the dog

Here we run into a bit of difficulty and you may wonder why the sentences
at (15b) and (15d) do not have an asterisk since they don’t seem to make
much sense. The reason is that the problem with these sentences lies with the
meaning, or the ideas being conveyed, and not with the grammatical
structure. The study of meaning in a language falls into the sphere of
semantics, which put simply looks at the relationship of words and their
meanings to each other, and pragmatics, which looks at the relationship of
words to the real world. Now, it is not normal in the real world for apples to
be capable of liking anything, so the sentences appear odd. However, if you
were to imagine a fantasy world, such as in a child’s story book, where
apples can happily become animate and engage in all sorts of activities
otherwise reserved for humans or animals, then it becomes perfectly
Tools for Analysis 5

possible for apples to like girls, dogs or anything else they choose. In writing
such a story you would need the facility to produce sentences such as those
at (15b) and (15d), which are grammatical sentences. It is important to keep
in mind the distinction between an ungrammatical sentence and one with an
‘odd’ meaning.

Nouns

To return to the example sentences, we can see that the words girl, dog and
apple can all be used in the same positions to produce a grammatical
sentence (although the meaning changes each time). That means they all
belong to the same word category. This category is called NOUN.
Nouns are often described as being the ‘name of something’ including
people and places and we’ll stick with this definition for the time being,
although there are some difficulties with it. For instance, it may be fairly
simple to sort out words like table or chair which refer to concrete things,
things we can see or touch, but abstract concepts like love or sincerity, or
names of days of the week, such as Monday, are not quite so easy to
determine as ‘things’. Nevertheless the words which represent these ideas
are nouns^ The ‘name of something’ definition is to some extent a semantic
one. That is, it suggests that we have to rely on knowing the meaning of the
word in order to be able to categorize it. This isn’t necessarily true; we can
and do use other clues as we shall see later.
However, on the above definition, we can now extract the nouns from the
list of words given at (8):

NOUNS: girl, dog, apple

Using the term noun and the shorthand outlined at (3) above we can
describe all the sentences at (11), (12), and (15) as follows:

(16) S -> the + NOUN + likes + the + NOUN

girl girl
dog dog
apple apple

In this way we can use one formula to describe several sentences. What the
formula at (16) does is to tell us that in a sentence with this order or
structure we can put any noun on the list in the appropriate place and the
sentence will be grammatical. There might be some strange meanings but
the sentences will still be grammatical.
6 Tools for Analysis

Determiners " Tf~o/lo\sJ<Lc2$

If we return to example (11) (the girl likes the dog) you can doubtless pick
out two other words which are not nouns but are of the same type as each
other; i.e., the. You can now pick out the other words on the original list
which could be put in place of the-, that is, this, that.

(17a) This girl likes the dog

(17b) This girl likes that dog
(17c) This girl likes this dog
(17d) The girl likes that dog
(17e) The girl likes this dog
(17f) That girl likes the dog
(17g) That girl likes that dog
(17h) That girl likes this dog

These sentences can of course be repeated with dog in the place of girl and
girl in the place of dog, and so on.
Again, this, that and the are interchangeable. They also therefore belong
to the same word category, DETERMINER. Determiners are a small group
of words and they act to limit or determine to some extent the possible
range of things which the noun can refer to. For example, the noun girl can
refer to any girl in the entire universe; if we add this as in this girl in sentence
(17a), we are limiting the meaning to one specific girl.
The basic determiners are the ARTICLES:

INDEFINITE ARTICLE: a, an
DEFINITE ARTICLE: the

Advertising slogans can usefully illustrate the distinction between the

indefinite and the definite article. For example:

(18) Twix: the longer lasting snack

not

(19) Twix: a longer lasting snack

Assuming that advertisers want to create as favourable an image of their

product as possible, and then want to convey that image as precisely as
possible, they must choose their words very carefully. ‘The longer lasting
snack’ is clearly a unique product, not one among many.
Tools for Analysis 7

A word is a determiner if it can be used in place of, but not with an article:

(20a) The longer lasting snack

(20b) This longer lasting snack
(20c) ::'The this longer lasting snack

There are other determiners which we will come back to in due course
(pp. 83-5). We can now extract the determiners from the original list of
words.

DETERMINERS: the, this, that

Perhaps you can begin to see why it’s useful when describing sentences to be
able to put words into categories. Instead of having to write out every
example of how individual words can be put together to form a sentence as
in the examples at (17), then write them all out again substituting different
nouns, we can say these sentences consist of:

(21) S -* DETERMINER + NOUN + likes + DETERMINER + NOUN

e.g. this girl that dog
that dog the apple
the apple this girl etc.

In other words we can describe the structure of this sentence without saying
what each word actually is but rather what type or category of word can be
used. Where a determiner is indicated any determiner can be used; where a
noun is indicated any noun which normally functions with a determiner can
be used.

Verbs

We are now left with likes from the example sentence. Given the sentence:

(22) This girl likes the apple

pick out the other words on the original list (8) we could replace likes with.

They are:

(23a) This girl eats the apple

(23b) This girl buys the apple
8 Tools for Analysis

Likes, eats, buys are all VERBS. As the examples below show, we can only
replace a word with another of the same type or category. In this case, with
another verb:

(24a) This girl eats the apple

(24b) *This girl dog the apple
(24c) *This girl that the apple etc.

So what exactly is a verb? One definition which is sometimes given is that

a verb is a word which describes an action, as in:

(25) The girl buys the apple

or a state, as in:

(26) The girl is happy

This isn’t an entirely satisfactory definition but will do for now.

If we go back to the list of words at (8) we can now extract the verbs.

VERBS: likes, eats, buys

So we can now say that a sentence in English can consist of:

(27) S -» DETERMINER + NOUN + VERB + DETERMINER + NOUN

e.g. the dog likes the apple
this girl buys that dog
that dog eats the apple etc.

and that in the determiner space we can put any one of a number of
determiners, in the noun space we can put any one of a number of nouns
and in the verb space we can put any one of a number of verbs. Look at your
original example sentences. Do they all fit the pattern at (27)?
This isn’t the only way of making a sentence in English but it is one way
and if you think of all the determiners, nouns and verbs there are in the
English language, there is a fair number of sentences you could make up just
using this format. Using general categories means we can describe all these
sentences in just five words.
Describing a sentence in this way (example (27)) is an abstraction. We are
dealing with the structure of the sentence at an abstract level. Normally no
one goes around saying (or writing) ‘Determiner noun verb determiner
noun.’ But individual speakers produce particular sentences which conform
Tools for Analysis 9

to this abstract pattern. So it’s conceivable that an English speaker might

produce one of the following in some context or another:

DETERMINER NOUN VERB DETERMINER NOUN

(28a) This dog chased that girl
(28b) The hen ate the corn
(28c) That woman drives a tank

and so on.

These examples all contain different words and have different meanings
but they share the same STRUCTURE or FORM. That is, all the example
sentences can be described in the same way.

Tree Diagrams

Another way of representing this abstract structure is in diagramatic form.

Because the diagram has branches it is called a TREE (although like a family
tree it is upside down). Using a tree diagram the formula at (27) becomes:

DETERMINER NOUN VERB DETERMINER NOUN

e.g. a dog chased that girl

As stated before, both types of formula serve two purposes. First, they
describe sentences that we already know are grammatical sentences of
English; and second, they serve as a pattern or template to make more
sentences with. In other words, if we follow the pattern these formulae
represent we should, by and large, come up with some reasonable English
sentences. This gives us a much more detailed and informative description
than the one we originally used at (3), which only states that a sentence
consists of words. This new description tells us something about both word
order and the kinds of words which can go together. It describes sentences
in terms of the categories the individual words belong to. So as well as
saying that individual and specific words (e.g. girl, boy, this, that, likes, sees
etc.) are constituents of a sentence^, we can also say that word categories are
constituents of a sentence.
10 Tools for Analysis

Phrases and Phrase Structure

However, to stop at the level of word categories misses out some important
facts. One is that in sentence (29), for instance, we have the same pattern of
constituents before and after the verb (that is DETERMINER + NOUN).
These two words also appear to belong together more closely than say the
-noun dog and the verb chased and if in fact we turn the sentence around to
get:

(30) That girl was chased by a dog

you can see that it is not only the nouns which change places but that they
take their determiners with them as well. Another way of illustrating that
these words belong together is to give the ‘girl’ and the ‘dog’ a name. Names
of specific items such as individual people, animals, places (for example
streets, towns, countries), days of the week, months of the year and so on
are called PROPER NOUNS. All other nouns are COMMON NOUNS.
Both types of noun can appear in the noun space. If we imagine that the girl
in example (29) is called Carol and the dog is called Henry we get:

(31) Henry chased Carol

By substituting a proper noun for a common noun we have had to replace

both the determiner and the noun, not just the noun.
You can get the same result by using a PRONOUN. The pronoun for
female beings is she/her, for male he/him and for neuter it. (There are others
which we will return to later (pp. 80—3).) The term ‘pronoun’ suggests that
this is an item which can be used in place of, or on behalf of (pro) a noun.
But it is not that simple. Taking the example at (29) and substituting
pronouns for the nouns we get:

(32) *A he/it chased that her

There is a choice of pronoun for dog since it is normal to refer to animals by

either he, she or it} It is not usual to refer to humans as it, unless to make a
specific point about the sub-human characteristics of an individual, as a
sister might in talking about her brother. The example at (32) however is
not a well-formed sentence.
Go through the following example sentences and substitute pronouns for
nouns.
Tools for Analysis 11

(33a) A dog chased that girl

(33b) The girl likes the dog
(33c) The girl eats the apple
(33d) The dog wants a bone
(33e) That hen ate the corn
(33f) The detective found a clue

Whichever pronoun you have considered appropriate, you will see that only
by substituting a pronoun for the determiner and the noun can you produce
a grammatical sentence. For example:

(34a) The dog wants a bone

(34b) *The he wants a it
(34c) He wants it

(35a) The detective found a clue

(35b) *The she found a it
(35c) She found it

This suggests that in these examples and the example at (29) the pair of
words DETERMINER + NOUN, functions as a single unit. The pronoun
replaces the entire unit. We can therefore re-write the formula at (27) as
follows:

(36) (DETERMINER + NOUN + VERB + (DETERMINER + NOUN))

What we’re now saying is that there is a unit or constituent which can
consist of two words, DETERMINER + NOUN (e.g. that girl), or one
word, NOUN (e.g. Carol), PRONOUN (e.g. she). Whether it consists of one
or more than one word this unit is called a PHRASE. A phrase, then, can be
a unit or constituent within a sentence (S) which itself contains other units
or constituents. So we can change the diagram at (29) to:

(37) S

PHRASE A VERB PHRASE B

DETERMINER NOUN DETERMINER NOUN

A dog chased that girl

12 Tools for Analysis

and the description at (36) to:

(38) S —> PHRASE A + VERB + PHRASE B

This description will also cover examples like (31). That is, the sentence
Henry chased Carol consists of a PHRASE A Henry, a VERB chased and a
PHRASE B Carol. The tree diagram will look like this:

m ^
PHRASE A VERB PHRASE B

NOUN NOUN

Henry chased Carol

A revised example (32), He/It chased her consists of a PHRASE A he/it, a

VERB chased and a PHRASE B her. Using PRO as the shortened form of
PRONOUN, the tree diagram will look like this:

(40) S

PHRASE A VERB PHRASE B

PRO PRO

He/it chased her

This method of substituting one form for another (e.g. PROPER NOUN/
PRONOUN for DETERMINER + NOUN) is a good way of finding out
whether or not two or more words constitute a phrase, and we will be using
it again later on.
A pronoun then replaces not just a noun, but an entire phrase, in this case
a NOUN PHRASE. Just as words can belong to different categories, so too
can phrases. We have already said that PHRASE A and PHRASE B in
example (37) are the same in that they both consist of a determiner followed
'by a noun. Probably the most important part of this combination is the
noun. Certainly it is the noun which gives us most information. If you can
imagine a typical newspaper headline based on the example at (37) it might
read:
(41) Dog chased girl
Tools for Analysis 13
It is most unlikely to read:

(42) A chased that

This kind of phrase is therefore called a NOUN PHRASE or NP for short.

(We will look at noun phrases in much more detail later.) Using the
shortened form DET for DETERMINER, the descriptions at (37) and (38)
can now be written:

NP VERB NP

DET NOUN DET NOUN

A dog chased that girl

and

(44) S -> NP + VERB + NP

Exercise 1

Draw tree diagrams for the following sentences. Check your answers on page
129.
'I, a//^
Example: The dog wants a bone

VE RB

DET NOUN DET NOUN

The dog wants bone

V V <v
1. Carol likes Henry
2. The hen ate the corn
3. She loved it
4. Joe kicked James
5. He hates him
6. The detective found a clue
14 Tools for Analysis

Form and Function

Subject

We now have a framework for description that tells us that certain kinds of
words can be grouped together in certain patterns to form sentences.
Presumably there is a reason for this patterning. Why in all our examples is
there a noun phrase at the beginning of the sentence, before the verb? If
there is no purpose or if it serves no function then why not put it somewhere
else? Take the example sentences at (33) and try moving constituents
around so that the NP doesn’t come first.
Moving the noun phrase in the example at (33a) for instance results in:

(45a) * Chased that girl a dog

(45 b) * Chased a dog that girl
(45c) That girl chased a dog

The first two examples are not grammatical in English. The third is, but the
meaning has changed. (You might have noted that we have also returned to
the NP + VERB + NP structure that we started with.) One way in which
the meaning has changed is that the dog is no longer doing the chasing; that
activity has transferred to the girl. Neither is the girl on the receiving end of
the chasing any more; that dubious honour has transferred to the dog. But
changing the noun phrases around has also changed the focus of our
attention. That is, we’re no longer talking about the dog, but about the girl,
first introducing her and then saying something about her (i.e. that she
chased a dog). The girl has become the SUBJECT (S for short) of the
sentence. In (33a) the dog is the subject, being introduced first, then having
something said about it (i.e. that it chased the girl). Changing these noun
phrases around has changed our understanding of the way the constituents
relate to one another. Go back through all the examples used so far (ignore
those at 18), (19) and (20)) and you should be able to pick out the subjects.
All the subjects occupy that first NP slot. In example (33a) then, the
constituent a dog can be described as both a noun phrase and the subject of
the sentence. This difference in definition is the difference between FORM
and FUNCTION; a noun phrase is what the constituent is, subject is what it
acts as or does. So although both the dog and the girl are noun phrases, their
functions differ according to their position in the sentence. (We will look at
the function of the noun phrase following the verb shortly (pp. 17—18).)
Tools for Analysis 15

Predicate

The rest of the sentence is called the PREDICATE. We’ve already noted that
what follows the subject is what is said about it and that is precisely what
the term predicate means. We can now divide all our sentences into this
two-way division, subject and predicate. For example:
'SVc-v'4'X
(46a) This girl likes that dog
SUBJECT = this girl; PREDICATE = likes that dog
(46b) The dog wants a bone
SUBJECT = the dog; PREDICATE = wants a bone

By considering sentences in terms of the functions of subject and predicate

we can divide them initially into just two constituent parts. We have already
determined that the subject of a sentence takes the form of noun phrase
(NP), but what form does the predicate take? In these examples the
predicate consists of a verb and a noun phrase but that may not always be
the case. The predicate can consist of a verb on its own, for example:

(47a) The dog barked

SUBJECT = the dog; PREDICATE = barked
(47b) Carol cried
SUBJECT = Carol; PREDICATE = cried

or it can be more complex (predicates are in bold type):

(48a) The boy laughed

(48b) The cow jumped over the moon
(48c) Tom sang for his supper
(48d) Carol gave the dog a bone
(48e) He died peacefully
(48f) The cat sat on the mat

In all cases, however, the predicate contains a verb and where it consists of
only one word, that word is a verb. The form of the predicate is that of
VERB PHRASE (VP). A verb phrase can contain one constituent (e.g.
VERB, as in Carol cried) or more than one constituent (e.g. VERB + NP, as
in The dog wants a bone). (There are other types of constituent shown in
the examples at (48) which we will be considering in more detail later on
(pp. 37—55).
To show that the verb phrase constitutes one complete unit of a sentence
we can use a similar test to the one we used to show that a noun phrase
16 Tools for Analysis

constitutes a complete unit. With a noun phrase we substituted a pronoun

for a noun phrase; with a verb phrase we can substitute does!did too. For
exam]pie:

(49a) This girl likes that dog

This boy does too

(49b) Carol cried

Sally did too

(49c) The dog wants a bone

The cat does too

(49d) The boy laughed

The girl did too

In each instance we understand does/did too to replace an entire verb

phrase. In other words, in their full forms these sentences would read:

(50a) This girl likes that dog

This boy likes that dog (too)

(50b) Carol cried

Sally cried (too)

(50c) The dog wants a bone

The cat wants a bone (too)

(50d) The boy laughed

The girl laughed (too)

You can try this test with the other examples at (48). In the same way that
we said the pronoun replaces an entire noun phrase (e.g. DET + NP) so the
form does!did (too) replaces an entire section of the sentence, the predicate
or verb phrase.
On a tree diagram the two-way split into noun phrase (subject) and verb
phrase (predicate) looks like this:
Tools for Analysis 17

(51a) S

NP VP

NOUN VERB

Carol cried
(SUBJECT = Carol; PREDICATE = cried)

(51b) S

NP VP

DET NOUN VERB NP

DET NOUN

This girl likes that dog

(SUBJECT = this girl; PREDICATE = likes that dog)

What we’re saying here is that in the first analysis a sentence (S) can consist
of (—») a noun phrase (NP) and a verb phrase (VP), or:

(52) S -* NP + VP

The verb phrase at (51b) looks more complicated than the one at (51a)
because of the noun phrase contained within it. The verb phrase at (51b)
can be represented as:

(53) VP -> VERB + NP

Apart from functioning together as the predicate these two constituents

(verb and noun phrase) each have a further function. Because it is
indispensible in the predicate, the term PREDICATOR (P for short) will be
used for the function of the verb.
This leaves the second noun phrase. In this case the noun phrase that dog
is functioning as the DIRECT OBJECT [dO) of the verb likes. In other
words, the subject of the sentence (what is being talked about) is the girl and
the information we are given about her is that she likes something. The
object of her liking in this case is the dog. It could equally as easily be
anything from a cabbage to an astronaut. Not all verbs require an object;
18 Tools for Analysis

those that do such as likes are called TRANSITIVE VERBS. We will be

considering objects in much greater detail later when we look at verb
phrases (pp. 37-55).
For (51a) we now have the functions:

(54) Carol cried

SUBJECT (S) PREDICATOR (P)

and for (51b):

(55) This girl likes that dog

SUBJECT (S) PREDICATOR (P) DIRECT OBJECT (dO)
sv

we would be able to construct a sentence like that at (51b) or many of the

other examples we have used so far. For example, given (57a) we get:

NP VP

given (57b) we can add:

and given (57c) we get:

(58c)

e.g. The cat ate

20 Tools for Analysis

One of the advantages of symbolizing structure in this way is the ability to

show that some constituents are optional. For instance, there are some cases
where a determiner is not required to complete a noun phrase, as in example
(39), Henry chased Carol. Plural nouns provide another example. Although
they can appear with determiners, there are constructions where they don’t.
For example:

(59a) Pigs fly

(59b) Dogs hate cats
(59c) The cats chased the mice
(59d) That cat likes mice

To show that a determiner can be but is not always required to make a

grammatical sentence, brackets are used, as:

(60) NP —> (DET) + N

We have, though, the option of using a pronoun (PRO) in the NP slot so we

can also have:

(61) NP —> PRO

To indicate that there is a choice between (DET) + N or PRO, curly

brackets are used:

(62) NP —> {(DET) + N )

(PRO J

The re-write rules are now:

(63) S -> NP + VP
VP -* V + NP
NP—> {(DET) + Nl
[PRO J

From these rules, then, we can make not only a sentence like (58c) using
both determiner and noun in each instance, but sentences like those at (39)
or (40). We can also create variations. For example we can get:

(64) A dog chased Carol

Tools for Analysis 21

by using the option to have a determiner in the first NP but not the second,
and so on.
So why do we need these abstractions? Well, one of the main advantages
as stated before is that it becomes possible to describe the structure of many
sentences of English all at once. Obviously so far we have only described
very simple sentences; many sentences are far more complex, so we are not
saying that all sentences have to follow the pattern outlined or abstracted
above, just that some can and do.
Symbolizing structure in this way also shows up the regularities in the
way the various categories behave. For example, all nouns behave in similar
ways in that they occupy certain sentence positions. They also often occur
with determiners (no other category does this). Observing regularities in
behaviour is one way of categorizing words or phrases. In other words we
can say that a word is a noun because it behaves in the same way as other
nouns. This is a better definition than the one we used earlier because it
covers for example ABSTRACT NOUNS like love, or sincerity which didn’t
obviously fit the previous definition. The same argument applies to catego¬
rizing words as verbs and we will be looking more closely at the behaviour
of verbs in due course.

Exercise 2

A useful exercise would be to try constructing three or four sentences using the
rules at (57) (see example at (58), page 19). Suggested examples are given on
pages 130 and 131.
Now draw tree diagrams for the following:

Example: Juliet loves Romeo

N V NP

Ju iet loves Romeo

22 Tools for Analysis

1. Alice followed the rabbit

2. He loves carrots
3. The lamb followed Mary
4. Beavers build dams
5. The cat killed the mouse
6. Jack killed the giant
7. She solved the mystery
8. The witnesses helped her
9. Students enjoy this exercise

(Tree diagrams are given on pages 130-4.)

2 More on Categories

So far we have looked at the structure of simple sentences, at the phrasal

categories NP and VP, and at the word categories NOUN, DETERMINER
and VERB. Needless to say, life isn’t quite this simple and there are other
categories which we need to describe. In this section we’ll be looking at
ADVERBS and ADVERB PHRASES, PREPOSITIONS and PREPOSI¬
TIONAL PHRASES, and ADJECTIVES and ADJECTIVE PHRASES.

Adverbs and Adverb Phrases

An ADVERB (or Adv for short) is another word category. As far as meaning
is concerned, adverbs often add information in relation to circumstances of
manner, time, or place; in other words, they answer the questions ‘How?’,
‘When?’, ‘Where?’ For example:

(la) Ken snores loudly

(lb) The baby cried continually
(lc) He advertises nationally

These types of adverbs are called CIRCUMSTANCE ADVERBS. Not all

circumstance adverbs end in -ly but very many, as in these examples, do.
This helps to make them fairly easy to spot. In these examples the adverb is
said to MODIFY the verb; in other words it works to more narrowly define
the sense of the verb by telling something of the way it is done. For example
we find out that when Ken snores, he doesn’t snore softly, and so on.
24 More on Categories

In terms of a phrase category, an ADVERB PHRASE or AdvP can be

formed by one or more constituents. (You remember we said earlier (p. 11)
that a noun phrase could consist of one word, or more than one word; the
same applies to adverb phrases.) For example, in:

(la) Ken snores loudly

loudly is the adverb phrase. In:

(2) Ken snores very loudly

very loudly is the adverb phrase. In this case, loudly is the circumstance
adverb (Adv) and very is a DEGREE ADVERB (deg). A degtee adverb, as its
name suggests, tells us to what degree something is done, as in very loudly.
Other degree adverbs include words like quite, too, highly, extremely, more,
less, rather and so on. Again, just as an adverb is said to modify a verb, so a
degree adverb is here said to modify or limit the sense of an adverb. For
instance, if Ken is snoring very loudly, then he can’t be snoring rather
loudly. A test to classify a degree adverb is that it cannot normally appear
on its own in the AdvP slot, unlike the adverbs in the examples at (1). We
would not judge the following to be grammatical:

(3) ::'Ken snores very

An adverb phrase, then, consists of an adverb preceded optionally by a

degree adverb. If you remember, the way to indicate whether a constituent is
optional is with brackets, so we can show the constitution of an adverb
phrase as:

(4) AdvP -h> (deg) + Adv

What is the constitution of the following adverb phrases? (See page 134.)
r »

extremely fast
seriously
too loudly

The tree diagram for (2), where the adverb phrase modifies the verb, would
show the AdvP as:
More on Categories IS

(5) S

NP VP

N V AdvP

deg Adv

Ken snores very loudly

You will notice that the verb phrase (predicate) in this example consists of
V + AdvP (i.e. V + AdvP are both dominated by VP). You can tell that
these two constituents form the predicate by using the substitution test we
used earlier (see pages 15 and 16). That is:

(6) Ken snores very loudly

Janet does too

where we understand does too to replace snores very loudly as an entire

unit.

(7) Ken snores very loudly

Janet snores very loudly (too)

The structure of the verb phrase in example (5) (VP —» V + AdvP) is

different from the VP —» V + NP structure of the earlier examples. The
constituents of a VP vary according to the type of verb being used. We will
look at these different verb types in due course (p. 37).
Adverb phrases are, however, very versatile. They not only modify verbs,
but adjectives and whole sentences too. We will be looking at adjectives and
their modifiers later on, so for now will restrict our attention to those that
modify sentences, SENTENCE ADVERBS. Sentence adverbs can appear in
a range of sentence positions and often express an attitude or evaluation.
They include words like frankly, certainly, actually, perhaps, unfortunately.
For example:

(8a) Unfortunately the cat killed the mouse

(8b) The cat unfortunately killed the mouse
(8c) The cat killed the mouse unfortunately

Tree diagrams would look like the following:

26 More on Categories

(9a)

Compare (9a), (9b) and (9c) with the example at (5). Which node
immediately dominates the AdvP in (9a), (9b) and (9c), and which in (5)?
How do you explain this difference?
As you will have noticed, because sentence adverbs modify the whole
sentence and can appear in more than one position, the AdvP node is
immediately dominated by the S node, not by the VP node as at example (5)
where the adverb phrase modifies the verb. As a very general test, if the
adverb phrase fits easily into other sentence positions then it is modifying
the whole sentence rather than just the verb. You can check this by using a
sentence adverb in the example at (5):
More on Categories 27
(10a) Unfortunately Ken snores
(10b) Ken unfortunately snores
(10c) Ken snores unfortunately

where it fits unproblematically into a wider range of positions than loudly:

(11a) ? Loudly Ken snores

(lib) ?Ken loudly snores
(11c) Ken snores loudly

(The use of ? is to question grammaticality.) A sentence adverb is often

differentiated in writing by a comma and in speech by a particular
intonation pattern. For example:

(12) He understands everything clearly

meaning that his understanding is clear is opposed to:

(13a) Clearly, he understands everything

(13b) He understands everything, clearly

meaning that it is clear to everyone else that he understands.

Adverbs and adverb phrases are a complex feature of English and their
versatility makes their behaviour hard to tie down. Tests are consequently
not foolproof but can be used as a guide at this stage.
Whether the AdvP is dominated by VP or by S, its function is that of
ADVERBIAL (shorthand version A). If you remember, we said in chapter 1
(pp. 14—18) that the individual constituents serve a function in terms of the
sentence they appear in. So in the examples at (9), the first noun phrase
functions as Subject (S) of the sentence, the verb as Predicator (P), the
second noun phrase as Direct Object (dO), and the adverb phrase as
Adverbial (A). These distinctions (NP as S, V as P, NP as dO, AdvP as A)
are, we said, the distinctions between form and function, or what a
constituent is and what it does. The examples at (5) and (9) can be analysed
in terms of function as:

(5) Ken snores very loudly

S P A
(9a) Unfortunately the cat killed the mouse
A 5 P dO
(9b) The cat unfortunately killed the mouse
S A P dO
28 More on Categories

(9c) The cat killed the mouse unfortunately

S P dO A

Rules to remember: Adverb Phrase (AdvP)

AdvP —» (deg) + Adv

function: A

e.g. Ken snores (very) loudly

Exercise 3

Draw tree diagrams for the following sentences and analyse them in terms of
function. (Check your analyses on pages 134-5.)

Example: He advertises nationally

NP VP

PRO V AdvP

He advertises nationally

He advertises nationally
S P A

1. Ken snores atrociously

2. Unfortunately, Ken snores
3. The baby cried extremely loudly
4. Frankly, she hates babies
More on Categories 29

Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases

PREPOSITIONS (P) belong to a small group or class of words which

express relations of place, direction, time or possession. Words belonging to
this class include, of, at, to, from, till, with, for, beside, against, up, down,
by and so on. Prepositions can appear alone as in:

(14) Sally looked up

or in conjunction with a noun phrase as in:

(15) Sally looked up the chimney

In either case the preposition is part of a PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE (PP).

(Remember a phrase consists of one or more than one constituent.) The
prepositional phrase (PP) at (14) consists solely of a preposition (P). The
prepositional phrase (PP) at (15) consists of a preposition (P) followed by a
noun phrase (NP). The noun phrase in turn consists of a determiner (DET)
and a noun (N). Tree diagrams are:

Sally

Sally looked up the chimney

Once again you can check that the PP forms part of the predicate and is
therefore dominated by the VP node by using the substitution test we used
before:

(18a) Sally looked up

George did too
(18b) Sally looked up the chimney
George did too
30 More on Categories

where we understand did too to replace looked up and looked up the

chimney respectively. That is, we understand (18a) and (18b) to mean:

(19a) Sally looked up

George looked up (too)
(19b) Sally looked up the chimney
George looked up the chimney (too)

The rule for a prepositional phrase then is:

(20) PP-*P(+NP)
u

That is, in some cases a prepositional phrase will have one constituent (e.g.
up), in some cases it will have two (e.g. up + the chimney). Some preposi¬
tions can only occur with a following noun phrase (e.g. during) in which
case the option (+ NP) must be taken up.
There is a similarity in the examples at (16) and (17) between a
prepositional phrase and an adverb phrase. If you remember, we said that
one of the features of adverbs and adverb phrases is that they can answer the
questions ‘How?’, ‘When?’, ‘Where?’ Here the prepositional phrase is doing
the same thing by telling us where Sally looked. In another example, the PP
might answer the question ‘When?’ as in:

(21) Sally reads in the mornings

For this reason, the prepositional phrase is also said to function as

adverbial. The analysis for examples (16), (17) and (21) in terms of function
then is:

(22) Sally looked up

S P A
(23) Sally looked up the chimney
S P A
(24) Sally reads in the mornings
S P A

Prepositional phrases do have other functions in other contexts. We will

be looking in more detail at both prepositional phrases and their functions
later.
More on Categories 31

Rules to remember: Prepositional Phrase (PP)

PP-^ P (+ NP)

function: A

e.g. Sally looked up

Sally looked up the chimney

Exercise 4

Draw tree diagrams for the following examples and analyse them in terms of
function. (Check your analyses on pages 135-7.)

Example: Sally reads in the mornings

NP VP

N V PP

DET N

Sa ly reads in the mornings

Sally reads in the mornings

S P 4

1. The cow jumped over the moon

2. The boy laughed uproariously
3. The cat sat on the mat
4. The baby sleeps in the afternoon
5. The baby sleeps quite soundly

Adjectives and Adjective Phrases

ADJECTIVES (A) are sometimes called ‘describing words’ in that, as far as

meaning is concerned, they define attributes or characteristics. They com-
32 More on Categories

monly occur with nouns. For instance, the dog and the girl in our earlier
examples could have the adjectives fat and thin added to them:

(25) The fat dog chased the thin girl

In this example the adjectives are said to modify the nouns. Just as an
adverb with a verb, an adjective works to more narrowly define the sense of
the noun by ascribing certain attributes or characteristics to it. For example,
if the dog is fat then it can’t be thin, and so on.
Again, an adjective is a constituent of a sentence both at word level and at
phrase level where it becomes an ADJECTIVE PHRASE (AP). An adjective
phrase, like all other phrases, can consist of one or more than one word. For
example: *

(26) The disgustingly fat dog chased the amazingly thin girl

In (26) the adjectives fat and thin are being modified by the adverb phrases
disgustingly and amazingly. These adverb phrases form part of the adjective
phrase:

(27a) AP

AdvP A

Adv

disgustingly fat amazingly thin

The adverb phrase itself can also have more than one constituent. For
example:

(28) The quite disgustingly fat dog chased the amazingly thin girl

where the adverb disgustingly is modified by a degree adverb (deg).

(29) AP

quite disgustingly fat

The inclusion of an adverb phrase is optional so the constitution of an

adjective phrase is:

(30) AP (AdvP) + A

When adjectives and adjective phrases work in this way to modify nouns,
they form part of the noun phrase. You can check that this is so by
substituting the pronoun it as we did before (see pages 10-12).

(31) The dog

The fat dog
chased the girl
The disgustingly fat dog
It

It is, of course, possible to modify a noun with more than one adjective as
in:

(32) The ferocious fat brown dog chased the girl

The analysis of noun phrases containing more than one adjective can be
quite complex, so we will look at these and at tree-diagram analysis when
we consider the noun phrase in more detail (see pages 85—9).
Adjectives and adjective phrases don’t have to appear with nouns
(although they often do). They can also appear in structures like:

(33) The dog is quite disgustingly fat.

The tree diagram for this adjective phrase is the same as that at (29), but as
you can see, the adjective phrase no longer appears as part of a noun phrase,
as it does at (31); there is no noun for it to modify.
Many but not all adjective phrases can appear in either structure. For
example we can have:

(34a) The apple looks juicy

(34b) The juicy apple . . .

or:

(35a) This girl seems unhappy

(35b) This unhappy girl...
34 More on Categories

but not:

(36a) The dog is afraid

(36b) *The afraid dog . . .

Try the following adjectives in either position:

polar, red, asleep, hard, ill, rotten, rustic

We will discuss the function of adjective phrases later when we look in more
detail at the verb phrase (pp. 46-8 and pp. 52-3) and the noun phrase
(pp. 85-9).

Rules to remember: Adjective Phrase (AP)

AP -» (AdvP) + A

e.g. the (quite disgustingly) fat dog

the dog is (quite disgustingly) fat

You will no doubt be delighted to learn that these are all the categories we
shall be concerned with for the time being. It is interesting that intuitively
native speakers of a language know (albeit subconsciously) how these
abstractions or categories work anyway. If you take a look at Lewis
Carroll’s famous poem ‘Jabberwocky’ (opposite) you’ll see what I mean.
Try to work out how you can follow this poem without knowing the
meaning of the nonsense words and what clues you use to categorize them.
More on Categories 35

Jabberwocky

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!

The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!”

He took his vorpal sword in hand:

Long time the manxome foe he sought —
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,

The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through

The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?

Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
He chortled in his joy.

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
36 More on Categories

Summary of Rules

Rules to remember: Adjective Phrase (AP)

AP -> (AdvP) + A

e.g. the (quite disgustingly) fat dog

the dog is (quite disgustingly) fat

Rules to remember: Adverb Phrase (AdvP)

AdvP —> (deg) + Adv

function: A

e.g. Ken snores (very) loudly

Rules to remember: Prepositional Phrase (PP)

PP-* P (+ NP)

function: A

e.g. Sally looked up

Sally looked up the chimney
3 The Verb Phrase

In chapter 1 we saw that a VP (verb phrase) can consist of a V (verb) + an

NP (noun phrase). However, the VP doesn’t have to be constituted in this
way. How it will look will depend on the type or CLASS of verb used. We
will be looking at six classes of verb; TRANSITIVE, INTRANSITIVE,
DITRANSITIVE, INTENSIVE, COMPLEX-TRANSITIVE, PREPOSI¬
TIONAL. Each of these classes of verb appears with its own obligatory
constituents without which it would be incomplete. We will also be looking
at a change of grammatical MOOD in the form of the IMPERATIVE.

Transitive Verb

If we look again at an example used earlier, This girl likes that dog (see
pages 17 and 18), you will remember that we said that the NP that dog was
functioning as the direct object of the verb likes and that the verb likes was a
TRANSITIVE VERB. A verb phrase using a transitive verb normally has to
have a direct object to be complete, as can be seen from the ungrammatic¬
ally of:

(1) " This girl likes

There are many transitive verbs, for example:

(2a) Kate hugged the baby

(2b) The dog found a bone
(2c) Jenny hit him
38 The Verb Phrase
none of which can be used in a verb phrase without an object NP, as the
following examples show:

(3a) " Kate hugged

(3b) *The dog found
(3c) *Jenny hit

The tree diagram for (2a), now including the verb class, is as shown in (4a)
below:

The functions of the various constituents are the same as outlined before
(pages 17—18), that is:

(4b) Kate hugged the baby

S P dO

where, you will remember, S is short for subject, P for predicator, and dO
for direct object.

Rules to remember: Transitive Verb

VP —> transitive verb + dO
dO -h> NP

e.g. Kate - hugged - the baby

The Verb Phrase 39

Exercise 5

Draw trees for the following examples, then analyse them in terms of function.
(Check your analyses on pages 137-8.)

1. The dog found a bone

2. Jenny hit him
3. She broke the rules
4. The milkman sells bread

Intransitive Verb

By contrast, the INTRANSITIVE VERB, as its name suggests, is a class of

verb which does not take an object. In fact an intransitive verb requires
nothing else to complete the verb phrase. For example:

(5a) Ken snores

(5b) The baby cried
(5c) She moved

The tree diagram for this class of verb is as follows:

(6a) S

NP VP

N V
[intrans]
Ken snores

and the function of the constituents:

(6b) Ken snores

S P

Rules to remember: Intransitive Verb

VP —> intransitive verb

e.g. Ken — snores

40 The Verb Phrase

Exercise 6

Again, draw trees for the following examples, then analyse them in terms of
function. (Check your analyses on pages 138-9.)

1. The baby cried

2. She smiled
3. The dog barked
4. Jack fell

However, what has been said so far doesn’t mean that nothing else can
appear in a sentence with an intransitive verb. There are other constituents
which can occur with this class of verb. However, such constituents are
optional rather than obligatory. In other words, they can appear, but unlike
the NP in a verb phrase using a transitive verb, they don’t have to.
Constituents which act as adverbials (e.g. AdvP and PP) behave in this way.
So the examples at (5) can become for instance:

(7a) Ken snores very loudly

SPA
(7b) The baby cried in the night
SPA

Compare the constituents labelled A in (7a) and (7b). There is a difference in

form here, but not function. In other words, the adverbial (A) in (7a) has the
form of an adverb phrase (AdvP), the adverbial (A) in (7b) has the form of a
prepositional phrase (PP). Again, this a difference in terms of what the
constituent is (its form) and what it does (its function).
The tree diagrams for these examples are:

(7a) S (7b) S

NP VP NP VP

N V AdvP DET N V PP
[intrans] [intrans]
deg Adv P NP

Ken snores very loudly DET N

The baby cried in the night

The Verb Phrase 41

Exercise 7

Using the following examples, draw trees which show the class of the verb, then
analyse the sentences in terms of function. (Check your analyses on pages
140-3.)

1. The baby slept

2. The baby slept soundly
3. The baby slept in the pram
4. Alan played the piano
5. The children played in the garden
6. The sun shone
7. She knows a secret
8. The dog snarled quite menacingly
9. Sally sang a solo
10. Sally sings in a club

Ditransitive Verb

Another class of verb which occurs with an object is DITRANSITIVE.

However, this type of verb, again as its name implies, requires two objects
(‘di’ meaning ‘two’). One of these is the familiar direct object, the other an
INDIRECT OBJECT or iO for short. For example, in the sentence:

(8) Ray told the children a story

the verb is followed by two noun phrases, the children and a story. In a
sentence with this structure it is the second noun phrase, a story, which is
the direct object of the verb told; in other words a story is what is being told.
The other noun phrase, the children, is the indirect object (iO); in other
words the children are the recipients of the direct object, a story.

The tree diagram for this type of structure is:

(9a) S

NP VP

N V NP NP
[ditrans]
DET N DET N

Ray told the children a story

42 The Verb Phrase

and the function of the constituents:

(9b) Ray told the children a story

5 P iO dO

The verb give is also a ditransitive verb. In the sentence:

(10) Sue gave Oxfam a jumper

you can again see that gave is followed by two noun phrases, Oxfam and a
jumper. Again, the second noun phrase, a jumper is the direct object of the
verb since that is what is being given, and the first noun phrase Oxfam is the
indirect object, the recipient of the direct object.
As with a transitive verb, a verb phrase using a ditransitive verb is not
really complete without both objects; they are obligatory, not optional. This
is not quite as easy to exemplify because within the context of a conversa¬
tion, the question What did Sue give to Oxfam? might receive the reply:

(11) She gave a jumper

Such a reply would not be regarded as incomplete within that context but
this is because the phrase to Oxfam is understood from the preceding
utterance. It is not therefore necessary to repeat it (as in She gave a jumper
to Oxfam). Without this information the reply at (11) could not stand
alone.
You may have noticed from the above that there is another way of
phrasing the indirect object. We have been saying that Sue gave a jumper to
Oxfam. Thus:

(12) Sue gave Oxfam a jumper

can also be phrased as:

(13) Sue gave a jumper to Oxfam

Similarly:

(14) Ray told the children a story

can also be phrased as:

(15) Ray told a story to the children

The Verb Phrase 43

To, you will remember, is a preposition and in these examples it has joined
with the noun phrases Oxfam and the children to form prepositional
phrases. So far we have only looked at prepositional phrases which function
as adverbials. Here we are showing another function; that of indirect object.
A constituent which functions as an indirect object then can have either the
form of an NP (examples (12) and (14)) or the form of a PP (examples (13)
and (15)).
The tree for a ditransitive verb incorporating a PP is:

(16a) S

Sue gave a jumper to Oxfam

and the function of the constituent phrases is:

(16b) Sue gave a jumper to Oxfam

S P dO iO

We can now change the ‘rules to remember’ for a prepositional phrase to

incorporate this second type of function.

Rules to remember: Prepositional Phrase (PP)

PP^ P (+ NP)

function: 1. A
2. iO

e.g. 1. Sally looked up

Sally looked up the chimney
2. Sue gave a jumper to Oxfam

You may also have noticed that the direct and indirect objects occupy
different positions in the sentence according to whether two noun phrases
44 The Verb Phrase

(NP + NP) or a noun phrase and a prepositional phrase (NP + PP) are
used. In the original example at (10) using NP + NP the sequence is:

(17) S P iO dO
Sue gave Oxfam a jumper

as opposed to:

(18) S P dO iO
Sue gave a jumper to Oxfam

In other words, if NP + NP is used, the indirect object precedes the direct

object; if NP + PP is used then the direct object precedes the indirect object.
However, it does not mean that all verb phrases using the structure
V + NP + PP are ditransitive. In a sentence such as:

(19) Ken made a cake for the party

V + NP + PP

the prepositional phrase for the party is not functioning as an indirect

object. You can test this by trying to substitute the alternative structure
NP + NP (with the resultant switch in positions of dO and iO) as in:

(20) !:'Ken made the party a cake

V + NP + NP

If the verb made was functioning as a ditransitive verb, this substitution

should work, as in the alternative structures for told and gave, but it clearly
does not. In the example at (19) the prepositional phrase is functioning as an
adverbial, and as such it is optional.
The Verb Phrase 45

(21b) Ken made a cake for the party

S P dO A

Made is in this instance therefore a transitive verb with an obligatory noun

phrase functioning as direct object and an optional prepositional phrase
functioning as adverbial. Again these are differences between form and
function; form is what a constituent is (e.g. NP, PP), function is what a
constituent does (e.g. dO, iO, A). In this context, the form NP functions as
direct object, the form PP functions as adverbial. In the context of a
ditransitive verb using a PP (as in example 18)), the form NP again functions
as direct object, but the form PP functions as indirect object.

Rules to remember: Ditransitive Verb

VP —» ditransitive verb + iO + dO
iO -> NP
dO NP

e.g. Sue - gave — Oxfam — a jumper

VP —> ditransitive verb + dO + iO

dO -* NP
iO -»• PP

e.g. Sue — gave — a jumper — to Oxfam

Exercise 8

Draw trees for the following sentences, classifying the verbs. (Check your
analyses on pages 145-6.)

1. Sally showed the children the pictures

2. The children screamed hysterically
3. The baby loves this teddy
4. Ken gave the cake to the children
5. The children bought Ken a present
6. She patted the dog on the head

Now analyse the same sentences and the following set of sentences in terms of
function.
46 The Verb Phrase

7. Ken made a cake for the party

8. Ken made a cake for Sally
9. She wrote a letter to the council
10. She wrote a message on the wall

Intensive Verb

INTENSIVE VERBS (sometimes referred to as relational, linking, or

copular) belong to a small group which include verbs like, be (most
commonly), seem, appear, become, look and so on. What these verbs have
in common is that what follows the verb in a sentence relates back to what
precedes the verb (i.e. the noun-phrase subject). For example:

(22a) Sally became a doctor

(22b) George is in the garden
(22c) Sue seems unhappy

In each of these examples what is given after the verb relates back to the
subjects, describing their states. The bit that comes after the verb functions
as the SUBJECT COMPLEMENT, shorthand version sC. Although the
functions of all these bits are the same, the forms, as you may have noticed
are different. In the first example, an NP functions as the sC (subject
complement), and in the second, a PP functions as the sC. (22c) corresponds
to a structure we looked at earlier when discussing the adjective phrase (AP)
(pages 31—4). This example illustrates one function of the adjective phrase;
that is, sC (subject complement). The intensive verbs are the only class of
verb that can appear in the kind of construction at (22c), where the VP is
completed by an AP alone.
We can now update the ‘rules to remember’ for adjective phrases and
prepositional phrases to incorporate this sC function.

Rules to remember: Adjective Phrase (AP)

AP (AdvP) + A

function: sC

e.g. Sue seems unhappy

The dog is (quite disgustingly) fat
The Verb Phrase 47

Rules to remember: Prepositional Phrase (PP)

PP-* P (+ NP)

function: 1. A
2. iO
3. sC

e.g. 1. Sally looked up

Sally looked up the chimney
2. Sue gave a jumper to Oxfam
3. George is in the garden

It is important to note that verbs in the intensive verb class, like transitive
and ditransitive verbs, are incomplete on their own. In other words, some
sort of sC is obligatory, as can be seen from:

(23a) *'Sally became

(23b) "'George is
(23c) *Sue seems

Whereas all (and only) intensive verbs can appear with just the category AP,
the verb be is the only intensive verb which can appear with any of the
categories at (22) (i.e. NP, PP, AP). For example, we can have:

(24a) Sally is a doctor (NP)

(24b) Sally is in the garden (PP)
(24c) Sally is unhappy (AP)

and we can have:

(25a) Sally became a doctor (NP)

(25b) Sally became unhappy (AP)

but not:

(26a) "'Sally became in the garden (PP)

or:

(26b) *Sally seems in the garden (PP)

48 The Verb Phrase

The tree diagrams for the examples at (22) are quite straightforward.

(27b) S

NP VP

N N
[intens]
DET N

Sally became a doctor DET N

George is ill the garden

Sue seems unhappy

In terms of function the sentence patterns are the same.

(28a) Sally became a doctor

S P sC
(28b) George is in the garden
S P sC
(28c) Sue seems unhappy
S P sC

Rules to remember: Intensive Verb

VP —» intensive verb + sC
sC —> NP or PP or AP

e.g. 1. Sally - is - a doctor

2. George - is - in the garden
3. Sue - seems — unhappy
The Verb Phrase 49

Exercise 9

Draw tree diagrams for the following examples and analyse them in terms of
function. (Check your analyses on pages 145-8.)

1. That man is a teacher

2. The queen waved to the crowd
3. The crowd cheered
4. The statue is by the pond
5. She gave him a kiss
6. She rewarded him with a kiss
7. Sue paid the money to the cashier
8. The answer seems clear
9. George broke the statue
10. He laughed nervously

Complex-transitive Verb

Another class of verb to appear with a complement is called COMPLEX-

TRANSITIVE. With this type of verb the complement relates to the object,
not the subject. The complement is therefore an OBJECT COMPLEMENT
and the shorthand version is oC. For example:

(29a) The voters elected Mary president

S P dO oC
(29b) Kate thought John a fool
S P dO oC

With this type of verb, two elements are obligatory to complete the verb
phrase, in these cases, two noun phrases.
The tree diagram for (29b) is:

(30)

NP VP

N V NP NP
[complex] j

N DET N

Kate thought John a fool

50 The Verb Phrase

Some verbs can belong to more than one verb class. Elected, for instance,
can also be classified as a transitive verb, as in:

(31) The voters elected Mary

S P dO

where it occurs simply with the direct object Mary. When it appears in a
complex-transitive verb slot, however, an object complement (oC) is
necessary (in example (29a), president, which relates back to Mary).
The structure of the sentence at (30) is also, you may have noticed, very
similar to that given at (9a) to illustrate a ditransitive verb. That is, in both
cases the verb phrase is completed by two consecutive NPs.

(9a) Ray told the children a story

NP + NP
(30) Kate thought John a fool
NP + NP

In (9a), though, the NPs are functioning respectively as iO (the children)

and dO {a story). In (30) the functions are dO (John) and oC (a fool). So
how can you tell the difference between the two types of verb? If you
remember, one test for a ditransitive verb is the ability of the indirect object
to take the form of either an NP or a PP. If a verb is ditransitive, then the
noun phrase immediately following the verb functions as the iO. We can
therefore try converting the noun phrases occupying that position in the
above examples, to prepositional phrases.

(32a) Ray told a story to the children

(32b) *Kate thought a fool to/for John

Exercise 10

Try the above test with the following examples. Draw trees to indicate the verb
classification and analyse in terms of function. (See analyses on page 149.)

1. The porter called George a taxi

2. The porter called George an idiot

An object complement can also take the form of a PP. For example:

(33a) Carol put the car in the garage

S P dO oC
The Verb Phrase 51
(33b) George stood the lamp on the table
S P dO oC

Both these verb phrases are incomplete without the second constituent, the
PP:

(34a) * Carol put the car

(34b) * George stood the lamp

The tree diagram for (33a) is:

Again there is a similarity between a sentence with a complex-transitive verb

and a following structure NP + PP, and a sentence with a ditransitive verb
and a following structure NP + PP. What is the difference between these
next examples?

(36a) Ken put the cake in the oven

(36b) She gave a bone to the dog

In the first example the prepositional phrase in the oven is an object

complement (oC) and in the second, the PP to the dog is an indirect object
(iO). How can you test for the difference? As before, a PP which functions
as an iO should also be able to take the form of an NP. If you try it with the
examples at (36) the results are:

(37a) "‘Ken put the oven the cake

(37b) She gave the dog a bone

Updating the ‘rules to remember’ for a prepositional phrase:

52 The Verb Phrase

Rules to remember: Prepositional Phrase (PP)

PP^ P (+ NP)

function: 1. A
2. iO
3. sC
4. oC

e.g. 1. Sally looked up

Sally looked up the chimney
2. Sue gave a jumper to Oxfam
3. George is in the garden
4. Carol put the car in the garage

Exercise 11

Draw trees for the examples at (36) showing the different verb classification and
analysing in terms of function. Now try it with the following examples. (Check your
analyses on pages 150-1.)

Ken offered the cake to Sally

Sue hung the washing on the line

The third category which can appear as an object complement (oC) is AP

(adjective phrase), as in:

(38a) John made Kate angry

S P dO oC
(38b) Kate called John stupid
S P do oC

Again the object complement (oC) refers to the direct object (dO) (in these
cases Kate and John) and again both constituents are compulsory with a
complex-transitive verb. The tree diagram for (38a) is as follows:
The Verb Phrase 53
(39)

NP VP

N V NP AP
[complex]
N A

John made Kate angry

Updating the ‘rules to remember’ for an adjective phrase:

Rules to remember: Adjective Phrase (AP)

AP (AdvP) + A

function: 1. sC
2. oC
e.g. 1. Sue seems unhappy
The dog is (quite disgustingly) fat
2. John made Kate angry

Rules to remember: Complex-transitive Verb

VP—»complex-transitive verb + dO + oC
dO^ NP
oCNP or PP or AP

e.g. Kate — thought — John — a fool

Carol — put - the car - in the garage
John - made — Kate — angry
54 The Verb Phrase

Prepositional Verb

The last class of verb we will look at is the PREPOSITIONAL VERB. A

prepositional verb is one which requires a prepositional phrase in order to
be complete. Verbs like glance, lean, refer, fall into this class. In fact they are
so closely linked with a preposition that it is easy to think of them as verbs
consisting of two parts, as in glance at, lean on, refer to. They are certainly
incomplete without a prepositional phrase as can be seen from:

(40a) Sally leant on the table

(40b) *Sally leant

(41a) The children glanced at the pictures

(41b) "'The children glanced

The function of the prepositional phrase in this structure is PREPOSI¬

TIONAL OBJECT {pO). This adds another function to remember:

Rules to remember: Prepositional Phrase (PP)

PP^ P (+ NP)

function: 1. A
2. iO
3. sC
4. oC
5. pO

e.g. 1. Sally looked up

Sally looked up the chimney
2. Sue gave a jumper to Oxfam
3. George is in the garden
4. Carol put the car in the garage
5. The children glanced at the pictures
The Verb Phrase 55
The tree diagram for (41a) is:

(42) S

DET N

The children glanced at the pictures

and the function of the constituents:

(43) The children glanced at the pictures

S P pO

Rules to remember: Prepositional Verb

VP -^prepositional verb + pO
pO^PP
e.g. The children — glanced - at the pictures

Exercise 12

Draw trees for the following examples and analyse them in terms of function.
(Check your analyses on pages 151-3.)

1. The baby played in the playpen

2. Kate dealt with the problems
3. Henry died in the night
4. The dog lay by the fire
5. Sally leant on the table
6. Sally danced on the table
56 The Verb Phrase

Imperative

Most of the example sentences we have considered so far have been

DECLARATIVES; that is, they make some kind of declaration or assertion.
Being in the declarative mood they have followed the structure NP + VP,
function S - P. The imperative mood differs from this in that it is used to
give commands or instructions. Sentences in the imperative may omit the
subject NP. For example:

(44) Close the door!

(45) Beat the eggs lightly

These examples use a different structure from those we have looked at so far
and can be analysed:

(46a) S

(46b)

(47a)

AdvP

DET N Adv

Beat the eggs lightly

(47b) Beat the eggs lightly

P dO A
The Verb Phrase 57

It is possible to give commands and instructions without using the

imperative, for example:

(48) Could you close the door?

can be, and probably usually is, interpreted as an instruction rather than a
question.
The term imperative therefore refers to the structure of the sentence
rather than its function in conversation.

Exercise 13

Analyse the following in terms of form and function. (Check your analyses on
pages 153-8.)

1. Children hate the dark

2. The wind whistled through the trees
3. The medicine made her ill
4. She rode a donkey at the seaside
5. The wind blew
6. He put the cake in the oven
7. This verb is intensive
8. Shut that door
9. The doctor gave her the medicine
10. Hilary is a hairdresser
11. Actually she rode a donkey
12. The wind howled eerily
13. She gave the medicine to the baby
14. The boys called the girls names
15. The villa is near the beach
16. Obviously he relies on her
58 The Verb Phrase

Summary of Rules

Verb Classes

Rules to remember: Complex-transitive Verb

VP —» complex-transitive verb + dO + oC
dO-^ NP
oC —» NP or PP or AP

e.g. Kate — thought — John - a fool

Carol - put - the car - in the garage
John - made - Kate — angry

Rules to remember: Ditransitive Verb

VP —> distransitive verb + iO + dO

iO —> NP
dO-* NP

e.g. Sue - gave - Oxfam - a jumper

VP —» ditransitive verb + dO + iO
dO -* NP
iO -»PP

e.g. Sue — gave — a jumper — to Oxfam

Rules to remember: Intensive Verb

VP —> intensive verb + sC

sC -> NP or PP or AP

e.g. 1. Sally - is - a doctor

2. George — is - in the garden
3. Sue — seems - unhappy
The Verb Phrase 59

Rules to remember: Intransitive Verb

VP —> intransitive verb

e.g. Ken — snores

Rules to remember: Prepositional Verb

VP —> prepositional verb + pO

pO^PP
e.g. The children - glanced - at the pictures

Rules to remember: Transitive Verb

VP —> transitive verb + dO

dO —» NP

e.g. Kate — hugged - the baby

Phrases

Rules to remember: Adjective Phrase (AP)

AP -> (AdvP) + A

function: 1. sC
2. oC

e.g. 1. Sue seems unhappy

The dog is (quite disgustingly) fat
2. John made Kate angry
60 The Verb Phrase

Rules to remember: Prepositional Phrase (PP)

PP^ P (+ NP)

function: 1. A
2. iO
3. sC
4. oC
5. pO
e.g. 1. Sally looked up
Sally looked up the chimney
2. Sue gave a jumper to Oxfam
3. George is in the garden
4. Carol put the car in the garage
5. The children glanced at the pictures
4 The Verb Group

Although we have looked in some detail at the sort of constituents which

appear with various classes of verb to complete the verb phrase, we have so
far largely ignored the verb itself. All our examples have used a single verb
as in The dog found a bone, Jenny hit him and so on. But verbs can consist
of one or more than one element as in, for example:

(la) Kate hugged the baby

(lb) Kate was hugging the baby
(lc) Kate has been hugging the baby.

These elements, one or more than one, form the VERB GROUP (Vgp).
The verb groups in the examples at (la—lc) have something in common in
that they all include the verb hug in one form or another (i.e. hugged,
hugging). This is the part of these verb groups which carries the meaning
and is called the LEXICAL VERB (V). All complete verb groups have to
include a lexical verb which appears last in the group and forms the HEAD
of the verb group. The lexical verb can appear alone as in (la) or with
additional elements as in (lb) {was) and (lc) (has been). These additional
elements are called AUXILIARIES (AUX) {auxiliary meaning additional or
giving help). Auxiliary verbs modify the lexical verb by indicating MOD¬
ALITY, or ASPECT or VOICE. In addition, the verb group may signify
TENSE and for reasons given below, TENSE will also be included under the
category auxiliary.
To describe the constituents of a sentence more accurately then, the tree
diagrams should detail the verb group. In other words, a diagram should
show that a verb phrase (VP) consists initially of a verb group (Vgp), and
62 The Verb Group

that the verb group consists of auxiliaries (AUX) and a lexical verb (V). For
example, for a verb phrase incorporating a transitive verb we would have:

(2) VP —> verb group + dO

Vgp -> AUX + V
dO -» NP

Since the VP consists initially of a Vgp rather than just a lexical verb, it is the
Vgp node which will indicate verb class. To see how this works we’ll look in
more detail at tense, modality, aspect and voice.

Tense

There are two tenses in English: PRESENT and PAST. (Future does not
exist as a tense in English but is indicated in other ways, for example by use
of auxiliaries.) These tenses affect the form of the lexical verb as in:

(3a) Present tense

Kate hugs the baby
(3b) Past tense
Kate hugged the baby

The verb hug is a regular verb in that it takes the ending -ed to form the past
tense, as do many other verbs in English. Irregular verbs appear in a variety
of forms. For example:

(4a) The dog eats the bone

(4b) The dog ate the bone

(5a) She is hungry

(5b) She was hungry

You can doubtless think of many others. In sentences such as those above,
tense is signified by the form of the lexical verb. In more complex
verb-group structures this is not the case. So that we can see how tense
works more clearly, it is helpful to analyse it as part of the auxiliary group.
By giving tense a node on the tree diagram, it is possible to separate it out
from other elements in the verb group. For example:
The Verb Group 63
(6a) S

Kate (pres) hugs the baby

(6b)

NP VP

N Vgp NP
[trans]
AUXV DET N

TENSE

Kate (past) hugged the baby

You can see from these diagrams how tense affects the form of the following
verb; that is, it dictates the type of ending the next part of the verb group (in
these cases the lexical verb) will have. Each constituent of AUX has the
effect of dictating the ending of the following part of the verb group in a
kind of knock-on effect. Tense is one part of this.

Exercise 14

Practise drawing tree diagrams incorporating Vgp for the examples at (4) and (5).
(Check your analyses on pages 158-9.)
64 The Verb Group

Modal Auxiliaries

Rather than expressing a statement of fact either present or past as in

examples (6a) and (6b), MODALITY allow us to express whether a state of
affairs is likely, possible, necessary and so on. A feature of the language
which allows us such expression is the MODAL auxiliary (MOD). The
modal auxiliaries are:

will, would, can, could, may, might, shall, should, must, ought to

and marginally:

need, dare, used to a

Will and would signify volition or prediction as in:

(7a) Kate will hug the baby

(7b) The baby would like a hug

Can, could, may and might indicate possibility or probability as in:

(8a) Kate can hug the baby

(8b) Kate could hug the baby
(8c) The baby might like a hug

Shall, should, must and ought signify obligation as in:

(9a) Kate should hug the baby.

(9b) The baby must want a hug

A modal auxiliary does not carry tense and is indicated on the tree diagram,
immediately dominated by the AUX node as follows:

NP VP

AUX V DET N

MOD

Kate will hug the baby

The Verb Group 65

The form of the lexical verb hug is again different from those we looked
at when considering tense ((6a) and (6b)). A verb group incorporating a
modal auxiliary however has no tense so it is the modal auxiliary that has
served to dictate the verb form hug in example (10). The form of the verb
which appears after a modal is called the INFINITIVE. The infinitive carries
no endings either for person (as in (she) hug-s) or for tense (as in hugg-ed). It
can appear with the particle to, to + infinitive, as in to hug, or as a bare
infinitive (without to) as in hug. It is the second form, the bare infinitive,
that follows a modal. Most infinitive forms are fairly straightforward and
can be arrived at either from the present- or past-tense forms. For example,
walk-s or walk-ed become (to) walk. Others are a little less simple. For
example, find-s becomes found in the past tense; the infinitive form is (to)
find. Most notoriously irregular is the verb to be: its infinitive form doesn’t
appear again as part of the other forms.
A modal auxiliary then always appears with the infinitive form of the
following verb (in (10) the lexical verb) and so we can find constructions
like:

(11a) The dog found a bone

(lib) The dog must find a bone

(11c) Jenny hits him

(lid) Jenny may hit him

(lie) The baby cried hourly

(Ilf) The baby might cry hourly

and so on.

The function of the entire Vgp is that of Predicator (?). That is:

(12a) Kate (pres) hugs the baby

S P dO
(12b) Kate will hug the baby
S P dO
(12c) The baby (past) cried hourly
S P A
(12d) The baby will cry hourly
5 P A
66 The Verb Group

Rules to remember: Auxiliaries — modals

1. Modal auxiliary + infinitive

e.g. will hug

Exercise 15

Draw the tree diagrams for the sentences at (11a) to (Ilf) incorporating
Vgp analysis. (Check your analyses on pages 160-1.)

Primary Auxiliaries

Auxiliary verbs which are not modals are called PRIMARY auxiliaries.
These are:

have, be, do

For now we’ll restrict our attention to have and be and the way these two
signify aspect and voice.
The meaning of the term aspect is not easy to define but has to do with
time and the relationship of actions or states to periods of time or duration.
It is much easier to define aspect in terms of its formal features (i.e. the form
the verb group takes to signify aspect). There are two kinds of aspect:
PERFECT and PROGRESSIVE.

Perfect Aspect

Perfect aspect (PERF) is indicated by the presence of the auxiliary verb have.
For example:

(13a) Sally has finished this book

(13b) Sue had given the dog a bone.

Unlike the modal auxiliaries, the primary auxiliaries do carry tense. In a

verb group without a modal, it is always the first element which is marked
The Verb Group 67

for tense; that is the element immediately following TENSE. If therefore

there is only one element in the verb group (i.e. the lexical verb (V)) this
must show tense, as in the example at (3b), Kate hugged the baby. If there is
a primary auxiliary verb as in (13a) and (13b), then as the first element in
the verb group it is the auxiliary which carries the tense. Example (13a) is
present tense {has), (13b) is past tense {had).
The tree diagram showing the verb group incorporating TENSE and the
perfect auxiliary (PERF) is:

(14)

NP VP

N Vgp NP NP
[ditrans]
AUX V DET N DET N

TENSE PERF

Sue (past) had given the dog a bone

You can see from this diagram that TENSE (past) has dictated the form of
the following verb, the auxiliary have, realizing had. The perfect auxiliary
have similarly dictates the form of the verb which follows it, in this case the
lexical verb give. The form of the verb which always follows the perfect
auxiliary is called the PAST PARTICIPLE. It is important to remember,
however, that the past in past participle does not refer to tense (which can
be present as in (13a)) but to the form of the verb. As far as the verb finish is
concerned ((13a)), the past-participle form is realized in the same way as the
past-tense form, by the addition of -ed, as it is for many other verbs. Give,
however, is an irregular verb with a past-tense form gave and a past-
participle form given. Because of these irregular verbs, the past-participle
form is also referred to as the -en form. This distinguishes it from the regular
-ed past-tense form.
Again, the function of the entire Vgp is Predicator (P).

(15) Sue (past) had given the dog a bone

S P iO dO
68 The Verb Group

Rules to remember: Auxiliaries — perfect aspect

2. Perfect aspect: have + -en form

(past participle)

e.g. had given

Exercise 16

Draw the tree diagrams for the following examples and analyse in terms of
function. (Check your analyses on pages 162-4.)

1. Sally has finished this book

2. George had been in the garden
3. The guests had gone by midnight
4. The dog has eaten the bone
5. That letter might arrive in the morning
6. The phone rings continually
7. Jack sat in the corner
8. Ken can cook the dinner

The modal auxiliary can also combine with the perfect, in which case tense
cannot feature. Although different types of auxiliary may appear together,
each type can only appear once in any verb-group structure. For example a
modal auxiliary (MOD) plus perfect aspect (PERF) plus the lexical verb (V)
could produce:

(16)

NP VP

N Vgp NP NP
[ditrans]
itrans]
AUX V DET N DET N

MOD PERF

Sue may have given the dog bone

The Verb Group 69

Notice that the modal auxiliary may is followed by the infinitive have. (If
you remember, modals are always followed by infinitives.) The perfect
auxiliary have is followed by the -en (or past-particle) form given. In this
way each element of the verb group dictates the shape or form of the
following one.
You may also notice that the auxiliaries appear in a fixed order. We have
already said that the lexical verb is always last (in this case given) but it is
also the case that when both modal and perfect auxiliaries are used, the
modal always precedes the perfect. You can test this by trying it out the
other way around as in:

(17) *Sue have may given the dog a bone

Exercise 17

Analyse the following in terms of form and function. (Check your analyses on
pages 164-6.)

1. This example should have been illuminating

2. She may have put the food in the cupboard
3. He could have taken the money
4. The penny dropped
5. Sally has written an article
6. She might write a book

Progressive Aspect

The other kind of aspect is called progressive aspect (PROG) and this is
indicated by the presence of the auxiliary verb be. For example:

(18a) Sally is walking along the beach.

(18b) Sue was giving the dog a bone.

The tree diagram incorporating the verb group and the progressive auxiliary
is:
70 The Verb Group

(19) S

NP VP

N Vgp NP NP
[ditrans]
AUX V DET N D :t n

TENSE PROG

Sue (past) was giving the dog a bone

Again the tense is shown on the first element in the verb group; present tense
is in (18a) and past tense was in (18b).
The form of the verb which follows the progressive auxiliary is called the
PRESENT PARTICIPLE. It is easy to spot as it is the -ing form of the verb.

Rules to remember: Auxiliaries — progressive aspect

3. Progressive aspect: be + -ing form

(present participle)

e.g. was giving

The progressive can also combine with modal and/or perfect auxiliaries.
Again, each type of auxiliary may appear only once in the verb group and if
modal appears, then tense cannot. For example:

(20) modal + progressive + V

Sue may be giving the dog a bone

(21) present tense + perfect + progressive + V

Sue has been giving the dog a bone

(22) modal + perfect + progressive + V

Sue may have been giving the dog a bone.

As ever, the modals are followed by infinitives; perfect aspect is followed by

the -en form of the verb; progressive aspect is followed by the -ing form of
the verb. Tense falls on the first element of the verb group (unless a modal
auxiliary is used).
The Verb Group 71

No matter what combination of auxiliary verbs you may have, they will
always appear in the same set order. That is, tense or modal (if used)
precedes both perfect (if used) and progressive (if used); perfect (if used)
precedes progressive (if used). They all precede the lexical verb. That is:

Vgp -» AUX + LEXICAL VERB

AUX —> tense/modal (+ perfect) (+ progressive)

Exercise 18

Draw the tree diagrams for the following and analyse in terms of function. (Check
your analyses on pages 166-8.)

1. Sally is walking along the beach

2. Sue may be giving the dog a bone
3. Sue has been giving the dog a bone
4. Sue may have been giving the dog a bone
5. The students are revolting

Then, using the modal must where modal is indicated, construct the verb groups
for the following.

Example: (She) modal + run = (She) must run

6. (She) modal + perfect + run

7. (She) past tense + perfect + progressive + run
8. (She) modal 4- progressive + run
9. (She) present tense + progressive + run
10. (She) modal + perfect + progressive + run
11. (She) past tense + run
12. (She) present tense + perfect + run

Passive Voice

A final feature to consider in verb groups is that of voice. Voice refers to

whether a sentence or utterance is in the ACTIVE or the PASSIVE. All our
examples so far have been active. The majority of sentences and utterances
are in the active and so this feature is not overtly marked on a tree diagram.
72 The Verb Group

Let’s look again at an earlier example of an active sentence:

(23) S

NP VP

DET N

AUX V DET N

TENSE

it
A dog (past) chased that girl

You will remember that we said that the subject of a sentence is that NP
which is immediately dominated by S; the object is that NP which is
immediately dominated by VP. In the above sentence then a dog is the
subject; that girl is the object. These terms subject and object refer to the
grammatical relations holding between constituents and have to do with
sentence position. In order to explain the passive, we will look at the
semantic relations of these constituents. (Remember semantics is the study
of meaning.) In (23), a dog is not only the grammatical subject of the
sentence but is also the agent of the action. That is, the dog is not only the
focus of our attention, or what is being talked about, but it is also the
character doing the chasing. Similarly, that girl is not only the grammatical
object of the verb chased, she is also the character being chased or acted
upon; she has the role of affected. To change this sentence from active to
passive we first switch the positions of agent and affected:

(24a) That girl chased a dog

Clearly though this has changed the meaning. In order to retain the original
meaning (i.e. that the dog was doing the chasing (agent), the girl was being
chased (affected)) the verb group has to be modified:

(24b) That girl was chased a dog

Finally, the noun phrase a dog becomes a prepositional phrase:

(24c) That girl was chased by a dog

The Verb Group 73

All this may seem fairly complicated and you should remember that passives
are in a minority. However, they do have their uses. For example, in passive
sentences, specifying agent is optional, which may be quite handy as in, for
instance:

(25 a) Active
I committed a heinous crime last night
(25b) Passive
A heinous crime was committed last night (by me)

As far as the verb group is concerned, you will be able to see that the passive
(PASS) is signified within the verb group by the presence of the verb be.
Since in the examples at (24c) and (25b) this is the first element of the verb
group, tense is shown on this element (i.e. past in both cases). When it is
acting as a passive auxiliary, the verb be is followed by the past participle or
-en form. This differentiates it from be acting as a progressive auxiliary
when it is followed by the present participle or -ing form. On the tree
diagram, the passive is shown as:

(26) S

NP VP

DET N Vgp PP

TENSE PASS DET N

That girl (past) was chased by a dog

You can see from the tree that the affected, that girl, now appears in the
subject position (i.e. the NP node immediately dominated by S); the agent is
still a dog but this noun phrase now follows the verb as part of a
prepositional phrase, by a dog (functioning as adverbial (A)).
As far as grammatical relations are concerned, it is the noun phrase which
filled the direct-object slot which now appears in the subject position. It is
therefore only those verbs which are otherwise incomplete without a
grammatical object that allow for the passive structure, that is, transitive,
ditransitive, complex-transitive and prepositional.
74 The Verb Group

Rules to remember: Auxiliaries — passive voice

4. Passive voice: be + -en form

(past participle)

e.g. was chased

Passives can also appear with other auxiliaries. So, for example we could
have

(27) modal + passive + V

The dog may be given a bone (by Sue)

(28) present tense + perfect + passive + V

The dog has been given a bone (by Sue)

(29) present tense + progressive 4- passive + V

The dog is being given a bone (by Sue)

and so on. All combinations are possible but it is important to remember

that the order is still fixed with passive now coming after tense/modal,
perfect and progressive, and that each auxiliary dictates the form of the
following verb, be it another auxiliary or the lexical verb.

Vgp -> AUX + LEXICAL VERB

AUX—» tense/modal (+ perfect) (+ progressive) (+ passive)

It is possible to use all the auxiliary verbs together:

(30) S

MOD PERF PROG PASS

The dog may have been being given a bone

The Verb Group 75

This unlikely and somewhat cumbersome sentence at least serves to

illustrate the order in which the auxiliary verbs appear. That is:

Rules to remember: Order of Auxiliaries

1. Tense or
modal + infinitive
2. Perfect: have + -en
3. Progressive: be + -ing
4. Passive: be + -en

+ LEXICAL VERB

Exercise 19

Analyse the following in terms of form and function. (Check your analyses on
pages 169-70.)

1. The dog had been given a bone

2. A bone has been given to the dog
3. The murder was committed by the butler
4. He must have been arrested
5. She is shocked by the news

Using the modal must where modal is indicated, construct the verb groups for the
following:

Example: (She) past tense + passive + see = (She) was seen

6. (She) modal + perfect + passive + see

7. (She) modal + perfect + see
8. (She) past tense + progressive + passive + see
9. (She) present tense + perfect + see
10. (She) past tense + see

The primary auxiliary we have not considered so far is do. Do turns up to

lend support to the lexical verb only in certain constructions and where
76 The Verb Group

there is no other auxiliary verb already present. For example you can make
a straightforward statement like:

(31) I like bananas

but in order to make the same statement negative the verb requires do
support, as in:

(32) I do not like bananas

(or I don’t like bananas). If one of the other auxiliaries is already present,
this process is not needed, as in:

(33a) You must eat bananas

(33b) You must not eat bananas

Again, if you want to question the statement at (31), do is necessary in the

absence of another auxiliary verb as in:

(34) Do you like bananas?

but not in:

(35a) You must eat bananas

(35b) Must you eat bananas?

You can also see that, for questions, the auxiliary verb (do in (34) and must
in (35)) and the subject you change places in the sentence.
Another function for do as an auxiliary is to provide emphasis. For
example:

(36) You do like bananas.

Do as an auxiliary is the first constituent of the verb group and therefore

carries tense:
The Verb Group 77

(37) S

NP VP

PRO Vgp NP
[trans] |
AUX " V N

She (pres) does like bananas

Do when it appears as an auxiliary is followed by a bare infinitive.

Rules to remember: Auxiliary do

do + infinitive

Exercise 20

Analyse the following sentences in terms of both form and function. (Check your
analyses on pages 171-4.)

1. He may have said something

2. She might be seen by the neighbours
3. George has been drinking
4. George does drink heavily
5. Ray had been telling the children a story
6. She must be innocent
7. Ken is being stopped by the police
8. Sally must have thought George an idiot
9. Sue has been visiting the theatre regularly
10. The attic is visited by a ghost
11. The summons might have been delivered already
78 The Verb Group

Summary of Rules

Rules to remember: Apxiliaries - modals

1. Modal auxiliary + infinitive

e.g. will hug

Rules to remember: Auxiliaries - perfect aspect

2. Perfect aspect: have + -en form

(past participle)

e.g. had given

Rules to remember: Auxiliaries — progressive aspect

3. Progressive aspect: be + -ing form

(present participle)

e.g. was giving

Rules to remember: Auxiliaries — passive voice

4. Passive voice: be + -en form

(past participle)

e.g. was chased

The Verb Group 79

Rules to remember: Order of auxiliaries

1. Tense or
modal + infinitive
2. Perfect: have + -en
3. Progressive: be + -ing
4. Passive: be + -en
+ LEXICAL VERB

Rules to remember: Auxiliary do

do + infinitive
5 The Noun Phrase

In the example sentences we have used so far the noun phrases have mainly
been simple, consisting of either DET + N,1 or just N. The quick introduc¬
tion to adjectives and adjective phrases in chapter 2 (pp. 31—4) though
indicates that a noun phrase can contain other elements within it. We can
now look at the possible constituents of the noun phrase in more detail.
We said earlier that the most meaningful part of a noun phrase is the
noun. It is the obligatory constituent and is the HEAD of the noun phrase.
There are different types of noun; we have already mentioned common,
proper and abstract nouns. We also said that a noun phrase could consist of
a PRONOUN and this is the category we will look at in most detail in the
next section.

Pronouns

Examples of pronouns we have used so far include you, he, her, as in:

(1) He chased her

(2) You must eat bananas

These are examples of PERSONAL PRONOUNS. The personal pronouns

are:

1st person singular I/me 1st personal plural we/us

li 2nd person singular you 2nd personal plural you
3rd person singular (she/her 3rd personal plural they/them
{ he/him
The Noun Phrase 81

Personal pronouns refer to specific entities. To say or write:

(3) She loves football

is to refer to a specific she, and one who we presume the hearer or reader
can identify.
Unlike the nouns in noun phrases, some of the personal pronouns have
different forms according to their sentence position. For example the nouns
in the following two examples are the same in either position:

(4) Girls hate boys

(5) Boys hate girls

Compare the above to the following personal pronouns:

(6) I hit her

(7) She hit me
(8) We smiled at him
(9) He smiled at us

In (6)—(9) the form of the pronoun changes according to whether it is in

subject position or not.
You may remember that one of the tests for categorizing a noun phrase is
the ability to replace it with a pronoun. So, for instance:

(10) A dog chased that girl

can become:

(11) It chased her

and:

(12) Girls hate boys

can become:

(13) They hate them

Other groups of pronouns are:

INDEFINITE (referring to unspecified entities): some, something, any¬

thing, anyone, someone
82 The Noun Phrase

(14) Some like it hot

(15) Anything goes

DEMONSTRATIVE: this, that, these, those

(16) This is really pretty

(17) That is very ugly

INTERROGATIVE: who, which, what, whose

(18) Who is coming to dinner?

(19) Which is the train to Ipswich?

POSSESSIVE: mine, yours, hers, ours, yours (plural), theirs

(20) The red book is mine

(21) Yours is on the table

REFLEXIVE: myself, yourself, herself, himself, itself, ourselves, your¬

selves, themselves

(22) Ken loves himself

(23) The children hurt themselves

As is customary we have been marking the presence of a pronoun in tree

diagrams. The shorthand version is PRO. For example:

(24a)

NP VP

DET N Vgp NP
[trans]
AUX V DET N

TENSE

The child (past) rang the doorbell

S P dO
The Noun Phrase 83

(24b)

NP VP

PRO Vgp NP
[trans]
AUX V DET N

TENSE
She
Someone (past) rang the doorbell
Who
She
Someone (past) rang the doorbell
Who
S P dO

Pre- and Post-modification

Noun phrases, then, can consist of one constituent, the head (e.g. PRO), or
more than one constituent (e.g. DET + N). Where other constituents do
exist, they form part of the noun phrase and are said to modify the head
noun. Constituents which modify the head noun can appear before it or
after it. Those which appear before the head noun are called PRE¬
MODIFIERS; those which appear after the head noun are called POST¬
MODIFIERS. We will look at pre-modifiers first.

Pre-modification

Constituents which pre-modify nouns are determiners (DET), adjective

phrases (AP), and nouns.

Determiners

We have already looked at the basic determiners (page 6), which are the
indefinite article, a/an and the definite article, the. Other determiners are:
84 The Noun Phrase

DEMONSTRATIVES: this, that, these, those

QUANTIFIERS: some, any, each, every, no, etc.
POSSESSIVES: my, your, her, his, its, our, your (plural), their
WH-DETERMINERS: whose, what, which

Some of these determiners appear to be the same or similar to some of the

pronouns listed above (for example, the demonstratives). Sort out the
difference between them in the following examples:

Some like it hot

Some people like it hot /•
My book is on the table
The red book is mine a
This jumper is very colourful
This is really pretty
Which is the train to Ipswich?
Which train goes to Ipswich?

You should have noticed that pronouns appear on their own to form the
noun phrase; determiners appear with a head noun.

Genitives
Apart from the list above, the possessive determiner can also be realized as a
phrase, for example:

(25a) This boy’s clothes are incredibly dirty

(25b) Kate’s baby is crying

where there is an NP {this boy, Kate) + ’s. These possessive phrases (POSS)
or genitives take the sentence position normally occupied by the determiner
as in:

This boy’s j c^ot^es are incredibly dirty

This being the case, we will analyse it as a determiner as follows:

The Noun Phrase 85

(27a)

NP VP

DET N Vgp AP
[intens]
POSS

AUX V AdvP A

DET N TENSE Adv

This boy ’s clothes (pres) are incredibly dirty

(27b) This boy’s clothes (pres) are incredibly dirty

(28a)

NP VP

DET N . Vgp
[intrans]
POSS

N TENSE PROG

Kate ’s baby (pres) is crying

(28b) Kate’s baby (pres) is crying

S P

Adjective Phrases (AP)

Adjective phrases (AP) are also used to pre-modify nouns. We looked briefly
at the constitution of adjective phrases earlier (pages 31-4). Using the
example we used then, we said that the dog in The dog chased a girl could
86 The Noun Phrase

also be the fat dog. The adjective fat slots in between the determiner (the)
and the noun (dog) so that the noun phrase is expanded. That is:

(29a) The dog chased a girl

(29b) The fat dog chased a girl

Remember that an adjective phrase, like any other phrase, can consist of one
or more than one element (e.g. fat, very fat). Within the NP, then, the AP
has the function of pre-modifying the head. However, when analysing
function we will continue to label only the higher level sentence function of
the entire NP, in this case either the dog or the fat dog. In the sentences at
(29) these noun phrases are the subjects and the entire noun phrase with or
without a pre-modifying adjective phrase is analysed as such.
To see how this works, substitute a pronoun for the noun phrase. Using
the pronoun it for the subject, see what it replaces in (29a) and (29b).
In (29a) it replaces the dog and in (29b) it replaces the fat dog. So the
function analysis for (29a) and (29b) is the same. That is:

(30) [The dog \

S The fat dog ? chased a girl
l It J
S P dO

Now the question arises of how this new-look noun phrase is analysed in
terms of its constituent parts and how it appears on a tree diagram. One
possibility is:

(31a) S

NP VP

DET AP N Vgp NP
[trans]
A AUX V D :t n

TENSE

The fat dog (past) chased a girl

(31b) The fat dog (past) chased a girl

S P dO
The Noun Phrase 87

You will remember though that one of the reasons we had for forming
individual constituents into phrases was that they seemed to belong closely
together (as with DET and N, for example). One way we have of testing this
is to substitute a pronoun, as we have just done, to see what is replaced. In
the above examples, ((29) and (30)) this showed us that the three consti¬
tuents determiner, adjective phrase and noun all belonged together to form
one phrase, the noun phrase.
However, it is also the case that fat and dog seem to belong together more
closely than the and fat or the and dog. Perhaps then the two constituents
AP and N form a separate phrasal constituent at a lower level within the
NP. We can test this suggestion by using a WH-determiner to question the
statement at (29b) as follows:

(32a) Which fat dog chased a girl?

(32b) That one (= that fat dog)

In the answer at (32b), the determiner that replaces the determiner which,
but the term one replaces not just dog, but fat dog. So the three elements
which + fat + dog have been replaced by two, that + one. The need for the
determiner remains constant but because the two elements fat and dog can
be replaced by one element (i.e. one), this means that they function together
at this level as a single unit or constituent. If two elements function as one
constituent, they should have their own exclusive node within the tree. In
the above diagram, the elements fat and dog do not have such a node. They
are both dominated by the NP node but this is not exclusive since it also
includes DET. We must therefore create a system which shows not only that
the three elements the + fat + dog form one constituent (that is, dominated
by the NP node), but that the elements fat + dog also form a complete
constituent within that larger one. What we can do then is to break the
subject noun phrase down as follows:

(33)

NP VP

DET ?? Vgp NP
[trans]

AP N AUX V DET N

A TENSE

The fat dog (past) chased a girl

88 The Noun Phrase
This shows us that the entire noun phrase the fat dog is one constituent
(replaceable by it) and that there is another constituent, fat + dog (replace¬
able by one), within it. The problem then arises as to what this constituent
fat + dog should be called. It is not a full NP since it doesn’t contain a
determiner, neither is it simply a noun (N). The constituent therefore has to
be given another label. One solution to the problem is to use a label from a
theory of syntax called X-bar theory and call this constituent N-bar (written
N'). It is not necessary to go into the details of X-bar theory here, but we
will borrow the label N’ which will signify that this is an intermediate
constituent, smaller than an NP but larger than an N. The tree at (33) then
becomes:

(34) S
a

DET

AP N
I
A TENSE

The fat dog (past) chased a girl

Noun phrases can contain more than one adjective as the earlier example
the fat brown dog indicates. That is:

(35) The fat brown dog chased a girl

In the same way that the dog in example (29a), and the fat dog in example
(29b) form one noun phrase, so too does the fat brown dog, even though it
has more constituent parts. Try again the substitution test by replacing the
subject noun phrase in (35) with the pronoun it.
We now have to work out how to show this noun phrase on the tree
diagram and will start by looking at the question:

(36) Do you like this fat brown dog or that thin one?

Do you understand one in this question to mean dog or brown dog? If you
understand it to mean the latter then one is replacing brown + dog, in
which case these two elements form one unit. Again, this unit is smaller than
The Noun Phrase 89

an NP, but larger than an N, so is labelled N'. This is represented on the tree
diagram for (35) below:

(37) S

NP VP

DET N’

AUX V DET N

A AP N TENSE

The fat brown dog (past) chased a girl

For present purposes we will follow this interpretation and use the structure
at (37).
We can now update the rules for adjective phrases:

Rules to remember: Adjective Phrases (AP)

AP (AdvP) + A

function: 1. sC
2. oC

e.g. 1. The dog is (quite disgustingly) fat

2. John made Kate angry

function: pre-modifier within NP

e.g. The fat brown dog chased a girl

Exercise 21

Draw trees for the following and analyse in terms of function. (Check your
analyses on pages 175-7.)
90 The Noun Phrase

1. The red hen ate her corn

2. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog
3. Sue’s dog seems remarkably happy
4. The time has come for a huge celebration
5. Those unhappy students might have failed their final exams
6. This hateful child has given my best coat to Oxfam

Nouns

Nouns also serve to pre-modify other nouns. For example:

(38) I bought a new computer game

(39) The electricity board sent her a nasty letter

In cases such as these, the noun pre-modifier is so closely connected to the

head noun that the two can almost be considered one word. This close link
is illustrated by the fact that when nouns do pre-modify other nouns they
always come next to the head noun; nothing else can come between them:

(40) *1 bought a computer new game

The analysis should reflect the fact that the noun pre-modifier and the head
noun are so closely linked. We can do this by including them both under the
name N node:

(41) S

NP VP

PRO Vgp NP
[trans]
AUX V DET N1

TENSE AP N

A N N

I (past) bought a new computer game

The Noun Phrase 91

Exercise 22

Draw tree diagrams for the following and analyse in terms of function. (Check your
analyses on page 178.)

1. The electricity board sent her a nasty letter

2. This is a tree diagram
3. My younger sister might become a taxi driver

Post-modification

As stated before, constituents which modify the head noun can also appear
after the noun. Such constituents are post-modifiers. Here we will look at
two ways to post-modify a noun:

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE: e.g. The dog chased the cat with three legs
RELATIVE CLAE1SE: e.g. The cat which is lying on the mat hates dogs

We will look at these in turn.

Prepositional Phrase (PP)

We have already looked at prepositional phrases (PP) with regard to other

functions; that is, as adverbials and as indirect objects. Now we come to a
further function; that of post-modifying the head noun in a noun phrase.
Take the example above:

(42) The dog chased the cat with three legs

S P dO

Just as an adjective before the noun, the prepositional phrase after the noun
is acting to modify the noun by more narrowly defining or describing it. The
prepositional phrase belongs closely to the cat and forms part of the noun
phrase. Its function within the noun phrase is to post-modify the head noun;
at a higher level, the function of the entire noun phrase (including the
prepositional phrase) is that of direct object of the sentence. We can check
that the prepositional phrase forms part of the noun phrase by again
substituting the pronoun it for the direct object of the sentence at (42):
92 The Noun Phrase

(43) The dog chased it

As you can see, it has replaced the entire expression the cat with three legs,
not just the cat.
Compare this to a sentence where a prepositional phrase is functioning as
an adverbial:

(44) The dog chased the cat up the tree

S P dO A

If we use the pronoun it to replace the direct object in this sentence we get:

(45) The dog chased it up the tree

Here it has only replaced the expression the cat. In this example, the cat and
up the tree are separate constituents.
Another way to check this is to move the direct-object NPs in each
example to the subject position (as in the passive):

(46) The cat with three legs was chased (by the dog)
(47) The cat was chased up the tree (by the dog)

In (46) it is the determiner and noun (the cat) plus the prepositional phrase
which moves to subject position thereby functioning as one unit. In (47) it is
only the noun phrase the cat which moves, leaving the separate PP
constituent behind.
Again we have to consider the tree analysis for this type of NP. If we look
solely at the noun phrase the cat with three legs we could suggest an analysis
of:

the cat with three legs

The Noun Phrase 93

This though runs into the same type of problem that we had with adjective
phrases in that if we ask the question:

(49) Do you prefer this cat with three legs or that one

the need for a determiner remains constant but the term one is understood
as replacing cat with three legs, not just cat. The phrase cat with three legs
must then function at this level as a constituent separate from DET and the
tree diagram should show this, as below:

(50a) S

NP VP

DET N Vgp NP
[trans]
AUX V DET N'

TENSE N PP

P NP

AP N

The dog (past) chased the cat with three legs

(50b) The dog (past) chased the cat with three legs
S P dO

The intermediate constituent cat with three legs is again labelled N' to
indicate that it is smaller than NP but larger than N.
Compare (50a) to the tree diagram for (44):
94 The Noun Phrase

(51a)

NP VP

D L7 N Vgp NP PP
[trans]

AUX V DET N NP

TENSE DET N

The dog (past) chased the cat up the tree

(51b) The dog (past) chased the cat up the tree

5 P dO A

Again we can update the rules for a prepositional phrase to include this
function:

Rules to remember: Prepositional Phrase (PP)

PP^ P (+ NP)

function: 1. A
2. iO
3. sC
4. oC
5. pO

e.g. 1. Sally looked up

Sally looked up the chimney
2. Sue gave a jumper to Oxfam
3. George is in the garden
4. Carol put the car in the garage
5. The children glanced at the pictures

function: post-modifier within NP

e.g. The dog chased the cat with three legs

The Noun Phrase 95

Exercise 23

Draw tree diagrams for the following showing the difference between a PP
post-modifying an NP and a PP functioning as adverbial. (Check your analyses on
pages 179-82.)

1. Life is a bowl of cherries

2. The man with the wooden leg walked slowly
3. The man walked along the road
4. The old woman hit the man with the wooden leg
5. The dog bit the old man on the nose
6. The woman on the bus was telling me the story of her life

Relative clause

A relative clause is a bit different from anything we’ve looked at so far

because it introduces a kind of subsidiary sentence into the main one. For
example:

(52) The cat which is lying on the mat loves dogs

If we take the relative clause out of the above example, you can see that it
almost forms another S in its own right:

(53a)

NP VP

PRO Vgp PP
[prep]

AUX V p NP

TENSE PROG DET N

which (pres) is lying on the mat

(53b) which (pres) is lying on the mat

5 P pO
96 The Noun Phrase

Which in the above example is a RELATIVE PRONOUN, so called because

it stands in place of and relates to the cat. Other relative pronouns are who
as in:

(54) The girl who was chased by the dog was crying

and that, as in:

(55) He kicked a can that was lying in the road.

Although we have extracted the example at (53) from the full sentence at
(52), it doesn’t quite form an S on its own because it doesn’t really make
sense on its own. You can’t, for instance, just say ‘Which was lying on the
mat’ in isolation. On the other hand, the part of the sentence which is left
when (53) has been extracted, does make sense on its own.
That is:

(56) The cat loves dogs

There seem to be then two Ss in the example at (52); one more complete
than the other. The one that is more complete (i.e. the cat loves dogs) is
called the MAIN CLAUSE (Si). The other chunk (i.e. which is lying on the
mat) is a SUBORDINATE CLAUSE (S2). In this case the type of subordinate
clause is a relative clause. (There are other types of subordinate clause which
we will come to later (pp. 101—20).) The point about a relative clause is that
it functions to post-modify a head noun, in this case the cat. As with our
other examples of post-modifiers, this means that the NP the cat and the
relative clause which is lying on the mat both function together at a higher
level as one constituent; the subject NP of the sentence. Again you can test
that this is one constituent by substituting a pronoun:

(57a) It loves dogs

(57b) *It which is lying on the mat loves dogs

The tree diagram is as follows:

The Noun Phrase 97
(58a) S,

The cat which (pres) is lying on the mat (pres) loves dogs

(58b) The cat which (pres) is lying on the mat (pres) loves dogs
5 P dO

Again, cat which is lying on the mat is also analysed as one constituent (N')
because it can be replaced by one, as in:

(59) Do you prefer this cat which is lying on the mat or that one?

Although the subordinate relative clause (S2) has been analysed here in
terms of its constituent parts, we will in future be considering these and
other types of subordinate clause in their entirety, that is, as whole units.
When a constituent is being considered as a whole unit and not in terms of
its individual components it is notated on the tree diagram by a triangle,
thus:
98 The Noun Phrase

(60) S,

N S2 AUX V N

TENSE

The cat which is lying on the mat (pres) loves dogs

Rules to remember: Noun Phrase (NP)

NP^> (pre-modifiers) + HEAD (+ post-modifiers)

pre-modifiers —> DET e.g. a game

AP e.g. a new game
N e.g. a new computer game

post-modifiers —> PP e.g. the cat with three legs

Rel clause (S) e.g. the cat which is lying on the mat

Exercise 24

Using triangle notation, draw tree diagrams for the following sentences and
analyse them in terms of function. (Check your analyses on pages 182-6.)

1. The face that launched a thousand ships was amazingly beautiful

2. The spy who loved me has gone
3. She collected the letters that were lying on the table
4. The typist copied the letter on her pad
5. The typist copied the letter in her own time
6. I found her a reliable typist
7.1 found him a reliable typewriter
8. The lame dog that is following me might be lost
The Noun Phrase 99

Summary of Rules

Rules to remember: Adjective Phrases (AP)

AP (AdvP) + A

function: 1. Sc
2. oC

e.g. 1. The dog is (quite disgustingly fat)

2. John made Kate angry

function: pre-modifier within NP

e.g. The fat brown dog chased a girl

Rules to remember: Noun Phrase (NP)

NP-^ (pre-modifiers) + HEAD ( + post-modifiers)

pre-modifiers —> DET e.g. a game

AP e.g. a new game
N e.g. a new computer game

post-modifiers —» PP e.g. the cat with three legs

Rel clause (S) e.g. the cat which is lying on the mat
100 The Noun Phrase

Rules to remember: Prepositional Phrase (PP)

PP^ P (+ NP)

functions: 1. A
2. iO
3. sC
4. oC
5. pO

e.g. 1. Sally looked up

Sally looked up the chimney
2. Sue gave a jumper to Oxfam
3. George is in the garden
4. Carol put the car in the garage
5. The children glanced at the pictures

function: post-modifier within NP

e.g. The dog chased the cat with three legs

6 Subordination and Coordination

We saw in chapter 5 (pp. 95-8) that it is possible to have more than one S
node in a sentence. The example we looked at earlier, the cat which is lying
on the mat loves dogs, was seen to consist of a MAIN CLAUSE (Sj) (the cat
loves dogs) and a SUBORDINATE CLAUSE (S2) (which is lying on the
mat). S, then, is more accurately described as shorthand for clause rather
than for sentence. A clause may exist alone or it may join up with other
clauses (as in example (60) page 98). One way of joining clauses together is
to SUBORDINATE one to another; another way is to COORDINATE
them. A style of speech or writing using lots of subordination is called
HYPOTACTIC; a style using little subordination is called PARATACTIC.
Following on from the last chapter, we will look at subordination first.

Subordination

Most of our example sentences so far have consisted of one clause. That is,
we have taken different subjects and said one thing about them in each
sentence. For example:

(1) Kate hugged the baby

(2) Jenny hit me
(3) The dog found a bone

We can, of course, take the same subject and say different things about it in
different sentences:
102 Subordination and Coordination

(4) The cat is mad

(5) The cat loves dogs

Alternatively we can join the clauses together to form one sentence. As we

said above, one way to do this is to subordinate one clause to another. For
example:

(6) The cat that is mad loves dogs

In example (6), the cat loves dogs becomes the main clause; that is mad is
the subordinate clause introduced by a SUBORDINATOR, the relative
pronoun that. These two clauses do not carry equal weight or importance:
the subordinate clause is often less important than the main clause.
Alternatively we could subordinate (5) to (4):

(7) The cat that loves dogs is mad

In this example, the assertion the cat loves dogs has become less important
than the assertion the cat is mad. In other words, (4) has become the main
clause and (5) has become the subordinate clause. Material in a subordinate
clause can often be deleted if necessary, for example when summarizing
information.
The tree diagram for (7) is similar to the one used for the earlier example
of a subordinate clause (page 98). That is:

You can see clearly from its position on the tree that S2 is further down the
hierarchy than Sj. In other words, S2 is dominated by Sj and therefore
subordinate to it.
Subordination and Coordination 103

There are various types of subordinate clause which we’ll look at

individually.

Relative Clause

The example at (8) is another example of a relative clause. You will

remember that we said that a relative clause post-modifies the head noun of
a noun phrase (see pages 95-6). In this case the relative clause is that loves
dogs and it post-modifies the noun cat. The whole unit the cat that loves
dogs is a noun phrase, functioning as the subject of the sentence. You can
check that it is functioning as one constituent by substituting the pronoun it.
(See also the discussion on page 97.) At the level of the whole sentence then
the function analysis is:

(9) The cat that loves dogs (pres) is mad

S P sC

We can also say that the subordinate clause that loves dogs is EMBEDDED
in the main clause the cat is mad. One advantage of the tree diagram is that
it shows this embedding quite clearly; in the example at (8), S2 is contained
or embedded in Sj.
This embedding is a feature of all subordinate clauses. For instance, in
example (6), the cat is mad is the subordinate clause, the cat loves dogs is the
main clause. This is analysed as:

(10) S,

NP VP

Vgp NP
Jtrans]^
AUX V N

TENSE

The cat that is mad (pres) loves dogs

Again you can see from the diagram that S2 is dominated by Sj and
subordinate to it. It is also embedded within Sj. As before, the triangle
104 Subordination and Coordination

notation is used to show that a constituent is being considered in its entirety

and that it is not necessary for current purposes to analyse it further.
Another way of showing embedding without the elaboration of a tree
diagram is by the use of square brackets. For example:

(11) [^The cat [s2that is mad] loves dogs]

One feature of relative clauses is that it is not necessary in every case for
them to be introduced by a subordinator; this can be optional. For example:

(12a) [s,The film [s,that I saw last night] was really good]
(12b) [s,The film [S,I saw last night] was really good]

As far as function is concerned, within the overall structure a relative

clause always forms part of a larger NP and so takes on the function of that
NP. For example:

(13) f The cat that is mad{ (pres) loves dogs

lit
s
t P dO

(14) I (pres) like (the cat that loves dogs 1

lit
S P dO

Exercise 25

The following contain examples of relative clauses post-modifying nouns. Using

triangle notation, draw tree diagrams for these sentences and analyse them in
terms of function. (Check your analyses on pages 186-8.)

1. Ken gave the cake that he made to Sally

2. Sally enjoyed the cake that Ken made
3. Sue’s dog might have buried the bone she gave him
4. I like the dress you’re wearing
5. The dress that Sally wore was a great success

Adverbial Clause

Like adverbs and adverb phrases, subordinate adverbial clauses add infor¬
mation in relation to manner, time, place and so on. They tend to answer
the questions ‘How?’, ‘When?’, ‘Where?’, ‘Why?’ For example:
Subordination and Coordination 105

(15) I’ll give you the next clue when you’re ready
(16) We must be careful because there’s a ghost
(17) If I open this, you can put the cake mix into the bowl

All adverbial clauses begin with a subordinator. In example (15) the

subordinator is when; in examples (16) and (17) it is because and if
respectively. There is no option to omit the subordinator in adverbial
clauses (unlike the example of a relative clause we looked at earlier).
The tree diagram for the example at (15) is:

(18) S,

NP VP

PRO . ,ygp NP
[ditrans]
auxT^v pro det n

MOD

(wi)ll give you the next clue when you (a)re ready

Adverbial clauses, like sentence adverbs, can appear in different sentence

positions. For example, (15) could equally well be written as follows:

(19) [s, [s2When you’re ready] I’ll give you the next clue]

For this reason, the subordinate clause (S2) is analysed as being immediately
dominated by Si and not VP.
The function of subordinate adverbial clauses is, not surprisingly, adver¬
bial.

(20) I (wi)ll give you the next clue when you (a)re ready
S P iO dO A

Exercise 26

The following are examples of subordinate adverbial clauses. Using triangle

notation, analyse these sentences in terms of form and function. (Check your
analyses on pages 188-9.)
106 Subordination and Coordination

1. We must be careful because there's a ghost

2. When the lights are red you must stop
3. If I open this you can put the cake mix into the bowl

Noun Clause

In some cases it is possible for clauses rather than phrases to function as

subjects or objects. These types of clause are called noun clauses. For
example:

(21) How he deals with the deficit is grossly important

(22) I know (that) they like me
(23) We told her (that) she could come

In (21) the subordinate clause is the subject, in (22) the subordinate clause is
the direct object of a transitive verb, and in (23) the subordinate clause is the
direct object of a ditransitive verb. These functions are indicated on the tree
diagram: a subordinate clause functioning as a subject is immediately
dominated by Sj and a subordinate clause functioning as direct object is
immediately dominated by VP. For example:

(24b) How he deals with the deficit (pres) is grossly important

S P sC

You can check that the entire S2 is functioning as the subject by substituting
the pronoun it:
Subordination and Coordination 107

(25a)

PRO Vgp
[intens]
AUX V

It grossly important

(25b) It (pres) is grossly important

S P sC

Similarly, a direct object:

(26a) S,

PRO Vgp
[trans]
auxT^ V

TENSE

I (pres) know they like me

(26b) I (ptes) know they like me

S P dO
108 Subordination and Coordination

Compares with:

(27a) S

NP VP

PRO

AUX V PRO

TENSE

I (pres) know something

(27b) I (pres) know something

S P dO

You can see from examples (22) and (23) that, as with some relative clauses,
the subordinator is not always essential.
Because a noun clause functions as an obligatory element in a sentence,
that is as a subject or an object, the main clause cannot stand independently
on its own. This is different from the main clauses in sentences containing a
subordinate relative or adverbial clause. For example, we said that in:

(28) [s,The cat [s2that loves dogs] is mad]

the main clause is:

(29) The cat is mad

S P sC

This is complete, with subject, predicator and subject complement. Simi¬

larly, in:

(30) [g, I’ll give you the next clue [s,when you’re ready]]

the main clause is:

(31) I (wi)ll give you the next clue

S P iO dO
Subordination and Coordination 109

which is again complete with subject, predicator, and both objects. In (24)
though, the subordinate clause functions as subject so the main clause is
incomplete:

(32) [[S2] is grossly important]

In (26) the subordinate clause functions as direct object, so again the main
clause is incomplete:

(33) [I know [S2]]

Exercise 27

Using triangle notation, analyse the following in terms of form and function. What
kind of subordinate clause is present in each example? (Check your analyses on
pages 189-92.)

1. I chose this option because I love grammar

2. We thought that we were looking for a dark passage
3. They’re the only ones I’ve got
4. What has been done already has been done extremely badly
5. We told her she could come
6.1 love it when my plans work
7. What the election might bring is a change of leadership

Complement Clause

Subject complement
A subordinate clause can also appear with an intensive verb and function as
the subject complement. For example:

(34a) The important thing (pres) is that you’re happy

S P sC
110 Subordination and Coordination

This presents a very similar situation to the one described above where a
subordinate noun clause acts as direct object. The subordinate clause is
functioning as an obligatory part of the sentence, so the main clause appears
incomplete:

(35) [The most important thing is [S2]j

Complement of A
Subordinate clauses can also complement adjectives. For example:

(36) I am sure that she must have known him

(37) He made her sorry that she knew him

In both cases the subordinate clause forms part of the adjective phrase and
takes on the same function within the sentence. That is:
Subordination and Coordination 111

(38b) I (pres) am sure that she must have known him

5 P sC

(39 a) S,

NP VP

PRO Vgp NP AP
[complex]
AUX V PRO

TENSE

He (past) made

(39b) He (past) made her sorry that she knew him

S P dO oC

Exercise 28

Draw tree diagrams for the following and analyse in terms of function. Indicate the
type of subordinate clause present in each. (Check your analyses on pages
192-3.)

1. She will be pleased that she came

2. I think she will be pleased
3. The chances are that she will be pleased

Non-finite Verbs

So far we have only looked at FINITE clauses; that is clauses where the
verbs carry tense. There are occasions when NON-FINITE or untensed
verbs can appear in subordinate clauses. The form of non-finite verbs is
either to + infinitive, bare infinitive (that is infinitive without to), or the
-ing and -en particles. Examples are:

to + infinitive:

(40) She wants to hold the baby

112 Subordination and Coordination

bare infinitive:

(41) She made him hold the baby

-ing participle:

(42) She left him holding the baby

and -en participle:

(43) Bored by the baby, she left

As with finite verbs, some non-finite verb groups can also be more complex.
For example:

to + infinitive

(44) perfect + -en

She wants to have held the baby
(45) progressive + -ing
She wants to be holding the baby
(46) passive + -en
The baby wants to be held

-ing participle

(47) perfect + -en

She left happy having held the baby all day
(48) perfect + -en; passive + -en
Having been held all day the baby slept peacefully

Analysing to as a particle (part), the non-finite verb groups for examples

(44)—(48) are:

(49) Vgp (50) Vgp

part PERF part PROG

to have held to be holding

Subordination and Coordination 113

(51) Vgp (52) Vgp

ftransl [trans]
AUX V

PERF

held having held

(53) vgP
[trans]
AUX V

PERF PASS

having been held

By definition, these verb groups cannot carry tense.

Also like finite subordinate clauses, non-finite clauses serve a variety of
functions. We will look at those you are already familiar with.

Post-modifier
Like relative clauses, non-finite clauses can function as post-modifiers to
head nouns (see pages 95-8 and 103-4). For example:

(54) [sjThe letter [s2for you to type] is on your desk]

The form of this non-finite verb is to + infinitive (to type) and by

post-modifying letter, it forms part of the subject NP. As before, you can
check that this is part of the subject NP by substituting the pronoun it for
the subject of the sentence:

(55) | The letter for you to type) (pres) ig Qn your desk

S P sC
114 Subordination and Coordination

We can analyse this as follows:

As with the other noun post-modifiers (PP and relative clause, see pages 93
and 97—8) we are arguing that letter for you to type is an N' constituent.
You can check this with the one test we used earlier.
In the example at (56) the subordinator for is used. In other types of
sentence construction using the non-finite to + infinitive a subordinator is
not necessary.

(57a) [s, The letter [Sito type] is on your desk]

(57b) Passive + -en
[sjThe letter [Sito be typed] is on your desk]

Head nouns can also be post-modified by the -ing and -en participles. For
example:

(58) The cat lying on the doorstep is asleep

(59) Those books scattered over the floor are yours

Again, you can test that these phrases are post-modifying the head nouns
{cat and books) and are therefore part of the subject noun phrase by
substituting a pronoun.

(60) It is asleep
(61) They are yours

The tree diagram for (58) is:

Subordination and Coordination 115
(62a) S,

DET Vgp AP
[intens]
ae5Pv A

TENSE

The cat lying on the doorstep (pres) is asleep

(62b) The cat lying on the doorstep (pres) is asleep

S P sC

Again, cat lying on the doorstep forms an N' constituent.

Exercise 29

Draw tree diagrams for the following and analyse in terms of function. (Check your
analyses on pages 193-6.)

1.1 have nothing to wear

2. The food to be cooked is in the fridge
3. That man must have money to burn
4. That man is standing at the checkout
5. That man standing at the checkout has forgotten his money
6. Those books scattered over the floor are yours
7. The woman arrested for his murder was innocent
8. That little girl is wearing a red dress
9. The little girl wearing the red dress is Sally’s daughter

We can now add the non-finite clause to the rules to remember for a noun
phrase:
116 Subordination and Coordination

Rules to remember: Noun Phrase (NP)

NP^ (pre-modifiers) + HEAD (+ post-modifiers)

pre-modifiers —> DET e.g. a game

AP e.g. a new game
N e.g. a new computer game

post-modifiers --> PP e.g. the cat with three legs

Rel clause (S) e.g. the cat which is lying on
the mat
Non-finite clause (S) e.g. the letter for you to type
is on your desk
the cat lying on the
doorstep is asleep

Adverbial
Non-finite clauses can also function as adverbials (see pages 104—6). For
example, -ing participle:

(63a)

S2 NP VP

PRO Vgp NP
|trans] ,
AUX V DET N

TENSE

Whistling cheerfully he (past) typed the letters

(63b) Whistling cheerfully he (past) typed the letters

A S P dO

Again, because the adverbial can appear in more than one position (we
could just as easily have he typed the letters whistling cheerfully), the
subordinate clause is in this instance shown as immediately dominated by
Si- Adverbial non-finite clauses also appear in other forms. For example:
Subordination and Coordination 117

(64) to + infinitive
[s,[s2 [To type the letters accurately] he worked hard]
(65) -en participle
[Sl[s, [Exhausted by his efforts] he left early]

Exercise 30

Draw tree diagrams for the following and analyse in terms of function. (Check your
analyses on pages 197-8.)

1. To type the letters accurately he worked hard

2. She might give him more letters to type
3. Exhausted by his efforts he left early
4. Reeling drunkenly they staggered from the pub
5. They must have had lots to drink

Subject
Like noun clauses (see pages 106-9), non-finite clauses can also appear as
subjects:

(66a)

(66b) Going to parties (pres) is fun

5 P sC

You can check that S2 is in fact the subject by substituting the pronoun it.
That is:
118 Subordination and Coordination

(67) (Going to parties

lit

In the example at (66), S2 has no subordinator, but a subordinator may

appear in a non-finite clause using to + infinitive. For example:

(68b) For Cinderella to go to the ball (pres) is impossible

5 P sC

Direct object
Non-finite clauses, like noun clauses, can also function as direct objects (see
pages 106-9).

(69a)

(69b)
Subordination and Coordination 119

Once more, you can check that this is the direct object by substituting a
pronoun:

(70)

As with the noun clause, when a non-finite clause functions as a subject or

object, it seems that the main clause is incomplete. (See the discussion on
pages 108-9.) So, for example, the main clause in (69) is:

(71) [She wants [S2]]

This analysis can also be used for examples such as:

(72) [s,She wants [s2him to hold the baby]]

for examples where a bare infinitive is used:

(73) [sjShe made [s,him hold the baby]]

and for examples where an -ing participle is used:

(74) [s,She likes [^holding the baby]]

Exercise 31

Draw tree diagrams for the following and analyse in terms of function. (Check your
analyses on pages 198-201.)

1. To type accurately is difficult

2. They might like to take a winter break
3. Throwing tantrums is the story of her life
4. The passage for you to read can be found on the last page
5. Those students must enjoy going to lectures
6. Impressed with the meal they gave the waiter a large tip

Complement of A
The last function we’ll look at is that of complementing adjectives. As with
finite clauses (see pages 110—11), the subordinate non-finite clause function¬
ing as complement of A forms part of the adjective phrase. For example:
120 Subordination and Coordination

(75) Finite clause

[She made him sorry [that he went]]
(76a) Non-finite clause
[She made him sorry [to go]]

(76b) S,

NP VP

PRO VgP NP
[complex]
AUX^V PRO U

TENSE

She (past) made him sorry to go

Since the subordinate clause is part of the AP, it has the same sentence
function, in this case, object complement:

(76c) She (past) made him sorry to go

S P dO oC

Coordination

An alternative way of joining clauses together is to coordinate them.

Coordinated elements are of equal importance and carry equal weight. One
way of linking clauses in this way is to use the COORDINATOR (coord)
and. For example:

(77) My brother’s got a little honey bear and it’s china and he keeps honey
in it

You can link as many clauses together as you like in this way, without ever
making any one clause subordinate to another. They are all therefore main
clauses. Other coordinators are but and or. An example of a tree diagram
for coordinated clauses is as follows:
Subordination and Coordination 121

(78) S,
coord coord

NP VP NP VP NP VP

PRO Vgp NP N Vgp NP N Vgp NP

[trans] [trans] [trans]

AUX V N AUX V N AUX V N

TENSE TENSE TENSE

I (pres) like tea and Sue (pres) likes tea but James (pres) likes coffee

It is possible to coordinate phrases as well as clauses. For example:

(79)

NP coord NP Vgp
jintens]
DET N DET N AUX V AP N

TENSE A

T le cat and the dog (pres) are good friends

Both noun phrases the cat and the dog have equal importance; they are the
joint subject of the sentence.

(80) The cat and the dog (pres) are good friends
S P sC

You can test that this is so by substituting the plural pronoun they for the
subject NP.
122 Subordination and Coordination

The example at (79) seems fairly straightforward. However, when noun

phrases are pre-modified by adjective phrases the position is not quite so
clear. For example, if we say:

(81) Old women and men love cakes

do we mean that old women and all men love cakes, or that old women and
old men love cakes? In other words, does the expression old refer to just
women or to men as well? If it refers to just women then old women should
have its own exclusive node on the tree diagram. The structure will therefore
look like:

(82)

Vgp NP
Jtransj^
AUX V N

TENSE

Old women and men (pres) love cakes

On the other hand if old refers to men as well as women then the structure will
look like:

(83)

Vgp NP
[trans]
AUX V N

TENSE

Old women and men (pres) love cakes

Subordination and Coordination 123

The sentence at (81) is ambiguous. Tree diagrams both illustrate and

remove this ambiguity. The different structures at (82) and (83) indicate
clearly how the sentence is to be interpreted.

Exercise 32

Draw tree diagrams for the following and analyse in terms of function. (Check your
analyses on pages 201-5.)

1. The dog ran across the road and the man chased it
2. Sally is buying a new dress to wear for the party
3. I like Jane but I hate her brother
4. She might have been persuaded by the saleswoman
5. Smoking cigarettes is a dangerous pastime
6. Her ambition is to live a life of luxury
7. Put those books on the table
8. The books on the table are yours
9. The waiter must have been certain that the bill was right
10. When I was four I said I was going on the stage

Summary of Rules

Rules to remember: Noun Phrase (NP)

NP—> (pre-modifiers) + HEAD (+ post-modifiers)

pre-modifiers —> DET e.g. a game

AP e.g. a new game
N e.g. a new computer game

post-modifiers —> PP e.g. the cat with three legs

Rel clause (S) e.g. the cat which is lying on
the mat
Non-finite clause (S) e.g. the letters for you to type
are on the desk
the cat lying on the
doorstep is asleep
Summary of All Rules

Phrases

Rules to Remember: Adjective Phrases (AP)

AP -> (AdvP) + A

function: 1. sC
2. oC

e.g. 1. The dog is (quite disgustingly) fat

2. John made Kate angry

Function: pre-modifier within NP

e.g. The fat brown dog chased a girl

Rules to remember: Adverb Phrase (AdvP)

AdvP —> (deg) + Adv

function: A

e.g. Ken snores (very) loudly

Summary of All Rules 125

Rules to remember: Noun Phrase (NP)

NP-^ (pre-modifiers) + HEAD (+ post-modifiers)

pre-modifiers —■> DET e.g. a game

AP e.g. a new game
N e.g. a new computer game

post-modifers --» PP e.g. the cat with three legs

Rel clause (S) e.g. the cat which is lying on
the mat
Non-finite clause (S) e.g. the letter for you to type
is on your desk
the cat lying on the
doorstep is asleep

Rules to remember: Prepositional Phrase (PP)

PP-^ P ( + NP)

function: 1. A
2. iO
3. sC
4. oC
5. pO

e.g. 1. Sally looked up

Sally looked up the chimney
2. Sue gave a jumper to Oxfam
3. George is in the garden
4. Carol put the car in the garage
5. The children glanced at the pictures

function: post-modifier within NP

e.g. The dog chased the cat with three legs

126 Summary of All Rules

Verb Classes

Rules to remember: Complex-transitive Verb

VP —> complex-transitive verb + dO + oC

dO-+ NP
oC —» NP or PP or AP

e.g. Kate - thought - John - a fool

Carol - put - the car - in the garage
John - made - Kate - angry

Rules to remember: Ditransitive Verb

VP —> ditransitive verb + iO + dO

iO -> NP
dO —> NP

e.g. Sue — gave — Oxfam — a jumper

VP —> ditransitive verb + dO + iO

dO —> NP
iO -> PP

e.g. Sue - gave - a jumper - to Oxfam

Rules to remember: Intensive Verb

VP —» intensive verb + sC
sC —> NP or PP or AP

e.g. 1. Sally — is — a doctor

2. George - is - in the garden
3. Sue — seems - unhappy
Summary of All Rules 127

Rules to remember: Intransitive Verb

VP —» intransitive verb

e.g. Ken — snores

Rules to remember: Prepositional Verb

VP —> prepositional verb + pO

pO^ PP

e.g. The children - glanced - at the pictures

Rules to remember: Transitive Verb

VP —» transitive verb + dO
dO —» NP

e.g. Kate — hugged - the baby

Auxiliary Verbs

Rules to remember: Auxiliaries - modals

1. Modal auxiliary + infinitive

e.g. will hug

Rules to remember: Auxiliaries — perfect aspect

2. Perfect aspect: have + -en form

(past particiciple)

e.g. had given

128 Summary of All Rules

Rules to remember: Auxiliaries - progressive aspect

3. Progressive aspect: be + -ing form

(present participle)

e.g. was giving

Rules to remember: Auxiliaries - passive voice

4. Passive voice: be + -en form

(past participle)

e.g. was chased

Rules to remember: Order of Auxiliaries

1. Tense or
modal + infinitive
2. Perfect: have + -en
3. Progressive: be + -ing
4. Passive: be + -en

+ LEXICAL VERB

Rules to remember: Auxiliary do

do + infinitive
Answers to Exercises

Exercise 1 (page 13)

1. s
NP VE RB NP NP VE RB NP

NOUN NOUN DET NOUN DET NOUN

Carol lik es Henry The hen al e the corn

3. 4.

NP VERB NP

NOUN NOUN

Joe kicked James

RB NP

DET NOUN

The detective found a clue

130 Answers to Exercises

Exercise 2 (page 21)

Example sentences using the rules at (50) are:

a. S—» NP + VP S

NP VP

VP^ V + NP

NP VP

V NP

scoffed

from NP^ (DET) + N we can select

NP —> N S

N V
I I
Karen scoffed

from NP —»(DET) + N we can select

NP—» DET + N S

NP* VP

N V NP

DET N

Karen scoffed the chocolates

Answers to Exercises 131

from NP —> (DET) + N we can select in both cases

NP—> N S

N V NP

Vampires hate garlic

c. NP + VP S

NP VP

VP-» V + NP S

V NP

buried

The dog buried the bone

132 Answers to Exercises

Tree diagrams for examples 1-9

1. S

DET N

Alice followed the rabbit

3. S

The lamb followed Mary

N V NP

Beavers build dams

Answers to Exercises 133

The witnesses helped her

134 Answers to Exercises

Examples on page 24:

extremely fast = AdvP —> deg + Adv
seriously = AdvP —> Adv
too loudly = AdvP —» deg + Adv

Exercise 3 (page 28)

f\ ( AdvP

Adv

Ke n sno res atrociously

Ken snores atrociously

S P A

2. S

AdvP NP VP

Adv N V

Unfortunately Ken snores

A S P
Answers to Exercises 135

deg Adv

The baby cried extremely loudly

S P A

4. S

AdvP NP VP

Adv PRO V NP

Frankly she hates babies

A S P dO

Exercise 4 (page 31)

The cow jumped over the moon

S P A
136 Answers to Exercises

The boy laughed uproariously

S p A

3. S

DET N

The cat sat on the mat

S P A

The baby sleeps in the afternoon

S P A
Answers to Exercises 137

5. S

sleeps quite soundly

P A

Exercise 5 (page 38)

DET N

The dog found a bone

S P dO

2. S

NP VP

N V NP
[trans]
PRO

Jenny hit him

S P dO
138 Answers to Exercises

3. S

PRO V NP
[trans] /' x
DET N

She broke the rules

S P dO

4. S

DET N V NP
[trans]
N

The milkman se Is bread

The milkman sells bread

S P dO

Exercise 6 (page 40)

NP VP
1
DET N V
[intrans]
1
The baby cried

The baby cried

S P
Answers to Exercises 139

NP VP

PRO V
[intrans]

She smiled

^NP^ VP
1
DET N V
1 [intrans]

Tfle dog barked

The dog barked

S P

4. S

NP VP

N V
[intrans]

Jack fell

Jack fell
S P
140 Answers to Exercises

Exercise 7 (page 41)

DET N V
[intrans]

The baby slept

S P

DET N V AdvP
[intrans]
Adv

The baby sle Pt soundly

The baby slept soundly

S P A

DET N

The baby slept in the pram

SPA
Answers to Exercises 141

DET N

Alan played the piano

S P dO

V PP^
[intrans]
P ^NP

DET N

The children played in the garden

SPA

6. S

DET N V
[intrans]

The sun shone

S P
142 Answers to Exercises

She knows a secret

S P dO

8. S ft

NP^ ''vp

DET N V AdvP
[intrans]
deg Adv

The dog snar ed quite menacingly

The dog snarled quite menacingly

SPA

GET N

Sally sang a solo

S P dO
Answers to Exercises 143

10.

NP VP

N V PP
[intrans]
NP

DET N

Sa iy sings in a club

Sally sings in a club

S P 4

The examples at 4 and 5, and 9 and 10 illustrate how some verbs can
belong to more than one verb class.

Exercise 8 (page 45)

Tree diagrams

1. S

NP VP

N V NP NP
[ditrans]
DET N DET N

Sally showed the children the pictures

DET V AdvP
[intrans]
Adv

The children screamed hysterically

144 Answers to Exercises

3. S

The ba Dy loves this teddy

NP VP

N
[ditrans]
DET N

Ken gave the cake to the children

The children bought Ken a present

She patted the dog on the head

Answers to Exercises 145
Function analysis
1. Sally showed the children the pictures
S P iO dO
2. The children screamed hysterically
S P /\

3. The baby loves this teddy

S P (dO
4. Ken gave the cake to the children
S P dO iO
5. The children bought Ken a present
S P iO dO
6. She patted the dog on the head
S P dO
7. Ken made a cake for the party
S P dO 7\
8. Ken made a cake for Sally
S P dO iO
9. She wrote a letter to the council
S P dO iO
10. She wrote a message on the wall
S P dO A

Exercise 9 (page 49)

1. S

DET N V NP
[intens]
DET N

That man is a teacher

S P sC
146 Answers to Exercises

DET N V PP
[intransj/X^
P NP
/X
DET N

The queen waved to the crowd

SPA

The crowd cheered

S P

[intens]

DET N

The statue is by the pond

S P sC
Answers to Exercises 147

She gave him a kiss

S P iO dO

She rewarded him with a kiss

S P dO A

NP VP

N V PP
[ditrans]
DET N P

DET N

Sue paid the money to the cashier

S P dO iO
148 Answers to Exercises

8. S

DET N V AP
[intens]
A
i
The answer seems clear

The answer seems clear

S P sC

9. S

N V NP
[trans] /\
DET N

George broke the statue

S P dO

PRO V AdvP
[intrans]
Adv

He laughed nervously

He laughed nervously
S P A
Answers to Exercises 149

Exercise 10 (page 50)

1. s

NP VP

DET N V NP NP
[ditrans] | /\
N DET N

The porter cal ed George a taxi

The porter called George a taxi

S P iO dO

Test sentence: The porter called a taxi for George

2. S

NP VP

DET N V NP NP
[complex]
N DET N

The porter cal ed George an idiot

The porter called George an idiot

S P dO oC

Test sentence: The porter called an idiot for George - although

this may make sense in some context, the meaning has changed.
150 Answers to Exercises

Exercise 11 (page 52)

N
[complex]
DET N

DET N

Ken put the cake in the oven

S P dO oC

PRO

gave a bone to the dog

She gave a bone to the dog

S P dO iO

NP VP

N V NP PP
[ditrans]
DET N NP

Ken offered the cake to Sally

S P dO iO
Answers to Exercises 151

Sue hung the washing on the line

S P dO oC

Exercise 12 (page 55)

1. S

NP VP

DET N V PP
[intrans]
NP

DET N

The baby played in the playpen

SPA

Kate dealt with the problems

S P pO
152 Answers to Exercises

N V PP
[intrans]

Henry died in the night

S P A

The dog lay by the fire

S P pO
Answers to Exercises 153

6. S

NP VP

Sally danced on the table

S p A

Note: the forms in these examples are largely the same; the functions vary:

Exercise 13 (page 57)

Children hate the dark

S p dO

2. S

D N V
[intrans]

DET N

The wind whistled through the trees

S P A
154 Answers to Exercises

3. S

NP VP

DET N
[complex]
PRO A

The medicine made her ill

S P dO oC

NP VP

PRO V
[trans]

She rode donkey at the seaside

She rode a donkey at the seaside

S P dO A

5. VP

DET N V
[intrans]

The wind blew

The wind blew
S P
Answers to Exercises 155

NP VP

PRO <r
[complex]
NP

DET

He put

He put the cake in the oven

S P dO oC

NP VP

DET N V AP
[intens]
A

This verb is intensive

S P sC

Imperative mood
8. S

V NP
[trans]
DET N

Shut that door

P dO
156 Answers to Exercises

9. S

The doctor gave her the medicine

S P iO dO

10.

Hilary is a hairdresser

Hilary is a hairdresser
S P sC

Actually she rode a donkey

A S P dO
Answers to Exercises 157

V AdvP
[intrans]
Adv

The wind howled eerily

S PA

13.

gave

She gave the medicine to the baby

S P dO iO

14.

NP VP

DET N V NP NP
[complex] |
/\
DET N N

the girls names

S P dO oC
158 Answers to Exercises

15.

V PP
[intens]
NP

DET N

The vil is near the beach

The villa is near the beach

S P sC

16.

AdvP NP VP

Adv PRO V PP
[prep]
NP

PRO

Obviously he relies on her

A S P PO

Exercise 14 (page 63)

4a. S

DET N Vgp NP
[trans] \
AUX V DET N

TENSE

The dog (pres) eats the bone

Answers to Exercises 159

DET N Vgp NP
[traps]^
AUX V DET N

TENSE

The dog (past) ate the bone

5a. S

O Vgp AP
[intens]
AUX ~V A

TENSE

She (pres) is hungry

5b. S

NP VP

PRO Vgp AP
[intens]
AUX V A

TENSE

She (past) was hungry

160 Answers to Exercises

Exercise 15 (page 66)

11a. S

DET N Vgp NP
jtrans]^ /X
AUX V DET N

TENSE

The dog (past) found a bone

DET N Vgp
[trans]
AUX^V

MOD

The dog must find a bone

11c.

N Vgp NP
Jtrans]^
AUX "v PRO

TENSE

Jenny (pres) hits him

Answers to Exercises 161

lid. S

N Vgp NP
[trans] |
AUX^^V PRO

MOD

Jenny may hit him

The baby (past) cried hourly

The baby might cry hourly

162 Answers to Exercises

Exercise 16 (page 68)

Sally (pres) has finished this book

S P dO

NP VP

N Vgp
[intens]
V P

TENSE PERF DET N

George (past) had been in the garden

S P sC

3. S

DET N Vgp
[intrans]
V P NP

TENSE PERF N

The guests (past) had gone by midnight

S P A
Answers to Exercises 163

TENSE PERF

The dog (pres) has eaten the bone

S P dO

NP VP

DET N Vgp PP
[intrans]
AU)T -v P

MOD DET N

That letter might arrive in the morning

S P A

DET N Vgp AdvP

[intrans]
AUX ^V Adv

TENSE

The phone (pres) rings continually

S P A
164 Answers to Exercises

Jack (past) sat in the corner

S PA

NP VP

AUX V DET N

MOD

Ken can cook the dinner

S P dO

Exercise 17 (page 69)

MOD PERF

This example should have been illuminating

S P sC
Answers to Exercises 165

NP VP

PRO Vgp
[complex]
AUX V DET N P NP

MOD PERF DET N

She may have put the food in the cupboard

S P dO oC

PRO

DET N

MOD PERF

He could have taken the money

S P dO

DET N Vgp
[intrans]
AUX V

TENSE

The penny (past) dropped

S P
166 Answers to Exercises

PRO

Sally (pres) has written an article

S P dO

PRO Vgp
[trans]
AUX^~ V

MOD

She might write book

She might write a book

S P dO

Exercise 18 (page 71)

Sally (pres) is walking along the beach

SPA
Answers to Exercises 167

Sue may be giving the dog a bone

S P iO dO

NP VP

N Vgp NP NP
jditmns]^ A A
AUX V DET N DET N

TENSE PERF PROG

Sue (pres) has been giving the dog a bone

S P iO dO
4.

NP VP

N Vgp NP NP
[ditrans]
A
AUX V DET N DET N

MOD PERF PROG

Sue may have been giving the dog a bone

S P iO dO
168 Answers to Exercises

5. This sentence is ambiguous and has more than one interpretation:

5a. S

DET N Vgp
Jjntrans]^
AUX V

TENSE PROG

The students (pres) are revolting it

The students (pres) are revolting

S P

Meaning: the students are in the throes of revolution

5b.

NP VP

DET N Vgp AP
[intens]
AUX V

TENSE

The students (pres) are revolting

S P sC

Meaning: the speaker/writer has a low opinion of student qualities

6. (She) must have run

7. (She) had been running
8. (She) must be running
9. (She) is running
10. (She) must have been running
11. (She)ran
12. (She) has run
Answers to Exercises 169

Exercise 19 (page 75)

1. s

NP VP

DET Vgp NP
[ditrans]
AUX V DET N

TENSE PERF PASS

The dog (past) had been given a bone

S P dO

NP VP

DET N Vgp PP
[ditrans]
AUX V NP
/X
TENSE PERF PASS DET N

bone (pres) has been given to the dog

A bone (pres) has been given to the dog

S P iO

NP VP

D N Vgp PP
[trans]
AUX V P NP
XX
TEN SE PASS DET N

le murder (past) was committed by the butler

The murder (past) was committed by the butler

S PA
170 Answers to Exercises

4. S

NP VP

PRO Vgp
[trans]
AUX V

MOD PERF PASS

He must have been arrested

S P

NP VP

PRO Vgp PP
[trans]
AUX V P NP

TENSE PASS DET N

She (pres) is shocked by the news

S P A

6. (She) must have been seen

7. (She) must have seen

8. (She) was being seen

9. (She) has seen

10. (She) saw

Answers to Exercises 171

Exercise 20 (page 77)

1. s

NP VP

PRO Vgp N
[trans]
AUX V N

MOD PERF

He may have said something

S P dO

She might be seen by the neighbours

S P A
172 Answers to Exercises

Vgp
[intrans]
AUX ^ ~V

TEh GG

George (pres) has been drinking

S P

George drink heavily

George (pres) does drink heavily

S P A

Ray (past) had been telling the children story

Ray (past) had been telling the children a story

S P iO dO
Answers to Exercises 173

She must be innocent

S P sC

Ken (pres) is being stopped by the police

S P A

Vgp
[complex]
AUX V

MOD PE RF

Sa ly must have thought George an idiot

Sally must have thought George an idiot

S P dO oC
174 Answers to Exercises

9. S

Sue (pres) has been visiting the theatre regularly

S P dO ' A

11.

The summons might have been delivered already

S PA
Answers to Exercises 175

Exercise 21 (page 89)

DET N' Vgp

JtTcLQS^
AP N AUX V DET N

A TENSE

The red hen (past) ate her corn

S P dO

The quick brown fox (past) jumped over the lazy dog
S P A
176 Answers to Exercises

Sue ’s dog (pres) seems remarkably happy

Sue’s dog (pres) seems remarkably happy

S P sC

DET

The time (pres) has come for a huge celebration

S P A
Answers to Exercises 177

TA
V det

Those unhappy students might have failed their final exams

S P dO

6. S

This hateful child (pres) has given my best coat to Oxfam

S P dO iO
178 Answers to Exercises

Exercise 22 (page 91)

The electricity board (past) sent her a nasty letter

S P iO dO

2. S

This (pres) is a tree diagram

S P sC

My younger sister might become a taxi driver

S P sC
Answers to Exercises 179

Exercise 23 (page 95)

1. S

TENSE N

P NP

Li (pres) is a bowl of cherries

Life (pres) is a bowl of cherries

S P sC

The man with the wooden leg (past) walked slowly

S P A
180 Answers to Exercises

The man (past) walked along the road

S P 4 it

4. This sentence is ambiguous and has more than one interpretation:

4a.

AUX V

TENSE

The old woman (past) hit the man with the wooden leg

The old woman (past) hit the man with the wooden leg
S P dO

Meaning: the man who had a wooden leg was hit by the woman by object
unknown.
Answers to Exercises 181

Meaning: the old woman used a wooden leg to hit the man with.

The dog (past) bit the old man on the nose

S P dO A
182 Answers to Exercises

P Nf

DPT N

Thewoman on the bus (past) was tel ing me the story of her life

The woman on the bus (past) was telling me the story of her life
S P iO dO

Exercise 24 (page 98)

DET

The face that launched a thousand ships (past) was amazingly beautifi
The face that launched a thousand ships (past) was amazingly beaui
S P sU
Answers to Exercises 183

The spy who loved me (pres) has gone

S P

PRO

She

She (past) collected the letters that were lying on the table
S p dO
184 Answers to Exercises

The typist (past) copied the letter on her pad

S P dO

The typist (past) copied the letter in her own time

S P dO 4
Answers to Exercises 185

6. This sentence is ambiguous and has more than one interpretation:

6a.

PRO

(past) found her a reliable typist

I (past) found her a reliable typist

S P dO oC
Meaning: I found her to be a reliable typist

(past) found her reliable typist

I (past) found her a reliable typist

S P iO dO
Meaning: I found a reliable typist for her.
Compare this with the example at 7 below.
186 Answers to Exercises

7. S

I (past) found him a reliable typewriter

S P iO dO

8. S,

The lame dog that is following me might be lost

S P sC

Exercise 25 (page 104)

TENSE

Ken (past) gave the ca <,e that he made to Sa iy

Ken (past) gave the cake that he made to Sally

S P dO iO
Answers to Exercises 187
2.

Sally (past) enjoyed the cake that Ken made

S P dO

Sue 's dog might have buried the bone she gave him

Sue’s dog might have buried the bone she gave him
S P dO

PRO

(pres) like the dress you’re wearing

I (pres) like the dress you’re wearing

S P dO
188 Answers to Exercises

AUX V DET N'

TENSE

The dress that Sally wore (past) was a great success

S P sC

Exercise 26 (page 105)

When the lights are red you must stop

A S P
Answers to Exercises 189

4
NP

PF O

AUX

MOD N
/\ N

If I open this you can put the cake mix into the bowl

If I open this you can put the cake mix into the bowl
A S P dO oC

Exercise 27 (page 109)

1. Adverbial Clause

Vgp
rtransl
DET

I (past) chose this option because I love grammar

S P dO A

2. Noun Clause
S,

We (past) thought that we were looking for a dark passage

S P dO
190 Answers to Exercises

3. Relative Clause

They (pres) (a)re the only ones I’ve got

S P sC

4. Noun Clause
S,

What has been done already (pres) has been done extremely badly

What has been done already (pres) has been done extremely badly
S pa
Answers to Exercises 191

5. Noun Clause

6. Adverbial Clause
192 Answers to Exercises

7. Noun Clause

What the election might bring (pres) is a change of leadership

S P sC

Exercise 28 (page 111)

1. Complement Clause: complement of A

She will be pleased that she came

S P sC
Answers to Exercises 193
2. Noun Clause

PRO Vgp
JtransL
AUX V

TENSE

(pres) think she will be pleased

S P dO

3. Complement Clause: subject complement

DET N

The chances

The chances (pres) are that she will be pleased

S P sC

Exercise 29 (page 115)

1. S,

I (pres) have nothing to wear

S P dO
194 Answers to Exercises

The food to be cooked (pres) is in the fridge

S P sC

DET l\ Vgp NP
[tr^JisO
AUX V

MOD

That man must have money to burn

S P dO

That man (pres) is standing at the checkout

S P A
Answers to Exercises 195

That man standing at the checkout (pres) has forgotten his money

That man standing at the checkout (pres) has forgotten his money
S P dO

Those books scattered over the floor (pres) are yours

S P sC

7. S,

The woman arrested for his murder (past) was innocent

S P sC
196 Answers to Exercises

That little girl (pres) is wearing a red dress

S P dO

9. S,

The little girl wearing the red dress (pres) is Sally ’s daughter

The little girl wearing the red dress (pres) is Sally’s daughter
S P sC
Answers to Exercises 197

Exercise 30 (page 117)

She might give him more letters to type

S P iO dO

Exhausted by his efforts he (past) left early

A SPA
198 Answers to Exercises

Reeling drunkenly they (past) staggered from the pub

ASP A *

They must have had lots to drink

S P dO

Exercise 31 (page 119)

To type accurately (pres) is difficult

S P sC
Answers to Exercises 199

They might like to take a winter break

They miqht like to take a winter break

S P dO

3. S,

Throwing tantrums (pres) is the story of her life

S P sC
200 Answers to Exercises

The passage for you to read can be found on the last page

The passage for you to read can be found on the last page
S PA

Those students must enjoy going to lectures

S P dO
Answers to Exercises 201

Impressed with the meal they (past) gave the waiter a large tip

Impressed with the meal they (past) gave the waiter a large tip
A S P iO dO

Exercise 32 (page 123)

1. S

The dog (past) ran across the road and the man (past) chased it

The dog (past) ran across the road and the man (past) chased it
S P A coord S P dO
202 Answers to Exercises

Sally (pres) is buying a new dress to wear for the party

S P dO

3. S

S coord S

PRO Vgp NP
[trans]
AUX V N AUX V DET N

TENSE TENSE

(pres) like Jane but (pres) hate her brother

I (pres) like Jane but I (pres) hate her brother
S P dO coord S P dO

She might have been persuaded by the saleswoman

S P A
Answers to Exercises 203

Smoking cigarettes (pres) is a dangerous pastime

S P sC

6. S,

NP VP

Her ambition (pres) is to live a life of luxury

S P sC

7. Imperative mood
S

Vgp
[complex]

Put those books on the table

P dO oC
204 Answers to Exercises

8. S

The books on the table (pres) are yours u

The books on the table (pres) are yours

S P sC

The waiter must have been certain that the bill was right
S P sC
Answers to Exercises 205

10.

PR 0 Vgp
[trans]
AUX V

TENSE

When I was four I (past) said

When I was four I said I was going on the stage

A S P dO

Main clause: / said

Subordinate adverbial clause: When I was four
Subordinate noun clause: / was going on the stage
Further Reading

I recommend the following texts as the next step in your studies.

For syntax study:

Burton-Roberts, Noel (1986) Analysing Sentences, Longman.

Huddleston, Rodney (1988) English Grammar: an outline, Cambridge
University Press.

As an introduction to transformational grammar, working at a more

complex level, but readable:

Radford, Andrew (1988) Transformational Grammar: a first course,

Cambridge University Press.

For the description of English grammar:

Leech, Geoffrey, Margaret Deuchar and Robert Hoogenraad (1982)

English Grammar for Today.
Quirk, Randolph and Sidney Greenbaum (1973) A University Grammar of
English, Longman.

You may need to check the use of terminology in any follow up text. For
instance, the expression ‘Verb Phrase’ can be used to describe the predicate,
as in this book, or to describe what I have labelled the ‘Verb Group’. Make
sure you are aware of what each writer means by their use of terminology as
you proceed.
Index

active, 71-3 complement clause, 109—11, 119

adjective (A), 23, 31—4, 86-8, 110—11, complex-transitive verb (complex), 37,
119-20 49-53, 73, 126
adjective phrase (AP), 23, 32-4, 46-8, constituent, 2, 9, 10-11, 14, 15-17,
52-3, 83, 85-9, 110-11, 119, 18-20, 45, 61, 72, 80, 83, 86-9,
120, 122, 124 91, 94, 96-8, 103-4,114-15
adverb (Adv), 23-8, 30, 32 coordinate phrase, 121—3
adverbial (A), 27-8, 30, 40, 43-5, 73, coordination, 101, 120-3
92, 105, 116 coordinator (coord), 120
adverbial clause, 104—5, 108 copular verb, see intensive verb
non-finite adverbial clause, 116
adverb phrase (AdvP), 23—8, 30, 32—3, declarative, 56
40, 124 degree adverb (deg), 24, 32
affected, 72-3 demonstrative determiner, 84
agent, 72—3 demonstrative pronoun, 82, 84
article, 6-7 determiner (DET), 6-7, 11, 12-13, 20,
definite article, 6, 83 21, 83-5, 86, 87-8, 92-3
indefinite article, 6, 83 direct object (dO), 17-18, 27, 37-8,
aspect, 61, 66 41-5, 49-53, 73, 91-2, 106-7,
see also perfect aspect; progressive 109, 118-19
aspect ditransitive verb (ditrans), 37, 41—5,
auxiliary verb (AUX), 61-77 47, 50, 51, 73, 126
see also primary auxiliary; modal do, 66, 75-7, 128
auxiliary dominate, 18, 25, 27, 29, 87, 102, 103
immediately dominate, 18, 26, 72,
73, 105, 106, 116
bare infinitive, 65, 77, 111, 112
be, 66, 69-75, 128
embedding, 18, 103, 104
see also progressive aspect; passive
-en participle, 67, 68, 69, 73, 74,
branch, 9, 18
111-12

category, 21, 23-34 finite, 111

phrase category, 12, 21, 23, 24 form, 9, 14-18, 27, 40, 43, 45, 46, 66
word category, 3-9, 21, 23 function, 14—18, 27, 30, 38, 40, 43,
circumstance adverb, 23, 24 45, 46, 86, 106
208 Index

genitive, 84-5 abstract noun, 21, 80

grammatical, 3-5, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, common noun, 10, 80
27 proper noun, 10, 12, 80
have, 66-9, 128 noun clause, 106-9, 110, 117, 118,
see also perfect aspect 119
head, 61, 80, 83, 84, 86, 90, 91, 96, noun phrase (NP), 12-13, 14, 15, 16,
98, 103, 113, 114 17, 18, 20, 27, 29, 33, 37-8,
hierarchy, 18 41-5, 46-8, 49-50, 51, 56,
hypotactic, 101 80-100, 103, 113-16, 121-3, 125

imperative, 37, 56-7 object, 17, 18, 38, 39, 41, 72-3, 106,
indefinite pronoun, 81 108, 109, 119
indirect object (z'O), 41-5, 50, 51 see also direct object; indirect object
infinitive, 65, 66, 69, 70, 77 object complement (oC), 49-53, 120
see also bare infinitive; optional, 20, 24, 30, 40
to + infinitive
-ing participle, 70, 73, 111-12, 114 paratactic, 101
intensive verb (intens), 37, 46—8, 109, particle (part), 65, 112
126 passive (PASS), 71-5, 92, 112, 128
interrogative pronoun, 82 past tense, 62-3, 67, 70
intransitive verb (intrans), 37, 39—40, past participle, see -en participle
127 perfect aspect (PERF), 66—9, 70, 71,
74, 75, 112, 127
lexical verb (V), 61, 62, 65, 67, 68, personal pronoun, 80—1
69,71, 74, 75 phonology, 1
linking verb, see intensive verb phrase, 10—13, 29, 32, 87, 93
possessive determiner, 84
main clause, 96, 101-2, 103, 108-9, possessive phrase (POSS), see genitive
110, 119, 120 possessive pronoun, 82
modal auxiliary (MOD), 64—6, 68-9, post-modification, 83, 91-8, 103,
70, 71, 74, 75, 127 113-16
modality, 61, 62, 64 post-modifier, 83, 91-8, 113-16
modify, 23, 24, 25, 26, 32, 33, 61, pragmatics, 1, 4
83,91 predicate, 15-18, 25, 29
see also pre-modification; predicator (P), 17-18, 27, 38, 65, 67
post-modification pre-modification, 83-91, 122
mood, 37, 56 pre-modifier, 83-91, 98
morphology, 1 preposition (P), 23, 29-31, 43, 54
prepositional object (pO), 54-5
N', 88-9, 93, 97, 114, 115 prepositional phrase (PP), 23, 29-31,
node, 18, 26, 29, 62, 64, 73, 87, 90 40, 43-5, 46-8, 50-2, 54-5, 91,
non-finite, 111-20 95, 125
noun (N), 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 19, prepositional verb (prep), 37, 54-5,
21, 32, 33, 80, 81, 83, 85, 86, 88, 73, 127
90, 91, 103, 113 present tense (pres), 62-3, 67, 70
Index 209

present participle, see -ing participle substitution, 10-12, 16, 25, 29, 33,
primary auxiliary, 66—77 86, 87, 88, 91, 96, 103, 106, 113,
progressive aspect (PROG), 66, 69-71, 114, 117, 118, 121
73, 74, 75, 112, 128 syntax, 1, 4
pronoun (PRO), 10-11, 12, 16, 20,
33, 80-3, 84 tense (TENSE), 61, 62-3, 64, 65,
66-7, 68, 70, 71, 73, 74, 75, 76,
quantifier, 84 111, 113
to + infinitive, 65, 111-13, 114, 117
reflexive pronoun, 82 transitive verb (trans), 18, 37-8, 40,
relational verb, see intensive verb 42, 45, 47, 50, 62, 73, 106, 127
relative clause, 91, 95-8, 103-4, 113 tree diagram, 9, 18, 86-9, 93—4, 96-8,
relative pronoun, 96, 102 102, 103-4, 106, 122-3
re-write rules, 18-20 triangle notation, 97-8, 103-4

semantics, 1, 4, 5, 72
ungrammatical, 3, 5, 14
sentence adverb, 25-7, 105
structure, 1, 4, 5, 7, 8-9, 14, 18, 20,
21, 57 verb (V), 7-9, 10, 12, 15, 17, 21, 23,
subject (S), 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 27, 38, 25, 26, 27
56, 72, 73, 76, 81, 86, 87, 88, 92, verb class, 37, 38, 39, 41, 46, 49, 50,
96, 101, 103, 106, 108-9, 113, 54, 62
114, 117, 119, 121 verb group (Vgp), 61-79, 112-13
subject complement (sC), 46-8, 108, verb phrase (VP), 15-18, 20, 25,
109-10 37-60, 61, 62
subordination, 96, 101-20 voice, 61, 62, 66, 71
subordinate clause, 96-7, 101-20
subordinator, 102, 104, 105, 108, 114, well-formed, 1, 3, 4, 10
117 WH-determiner, 84
This is a well-organized and down-to-earth book. It will help anyone
in search of an introduction to grammatical analysis and to the main
patterns of English grammar. It is informative without being daunting.
Richard Hudson, University College, London

'Its purpose is clear: to provide undergraduates with a university-level

introduction to English grammar; and it succeeds impressively in its
aims. Two strengths are evident throughout: clear explanations and
useful examples/ Terence Odlin, Ohio State University

This is an elementary introduction to syntactic analysis. Assuming no

prior knowledge of the subject whatsoever, it is intended for students
who are encountering such analysis for the first time. For those
embarking on a longer term study of syntax, this will be a valuable and
quickly assimilated foundation course. For students who will need to
use syntax as a basic descriptive tool — such as trainee teachers,
speech therapists or students of literary style — the book provides a
framework for their analysis and practice in its use.

The book begins by looking at the use of generalizations in describing

sentence structure and the basis for word categories. It then moves
through increasingly more complex constructions giving students
plenty of opportunity by way of practical exercises to understand the
basis of each analysis before moving further. The aim of the book is not
to explore complex issues of argumentation. Its emphasis is on
practical 'hands on' analysis.

Linda Thomas

The author is Senior Lecturer in English Language, Roehampton

Institute, London.

Cover design by Tony de Saulles

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Beginning Syntax

Uploaded by

Beginning Syntax

Uploaded by

Linda Thomas

To my very unique Dad, with love

First published 1993

Reprinted 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996

Blackwell Publishers Ltd

Blackwell Publishers Inc.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Typeset in 10 on 12pt Sabon

This book is printed on acid-free paper

Preface and Acknowledgements vii

1 Tools for Analysis 1

3 The Verb Phrase 37

4 The Verb Group 61

5 The Noun Phrase 80

6 Subordination and Coordination 101

Summary of All Rules 124

Answers to Exercises 129

Further Reading 206

Languages are by nature extremely complex and describing a language, any

(1) I shot the sheriff

would be considered by native speakers of English to be a syntactically

(2) the shot sheriff I

(3) S —> word + word + word + word + word + . . .

You can use this to describe any sentence. Try it with:

(4) Beanz meanz Heinz

(6) S —> word + word + word

(7) S —> word + word + word + word + word +

word + word + word + word + word +

and following the formula:

(9) S —> word 4- word + word + word + word

If we were to randomly select words as the formula suggests, we could

(10) "'Girl apple likes this that

(11) The girl likes the dog

This appears to be reasonable (if a little unexciting). What about:

(12) The dog likes the girl

(13) ’"The girl likes the this

(15a) The girl likes the apple

NOUNS: girl, dog, apple

(16) S -> the + NOUN + likes + the + NOUN

Determiners " Tf~o/lo\sJ<Lc2$

(17a) This girl likes the dog

Advertising slogans can usefully illustrate the distinction between the

(18) Twix: the longer lasting snack

(19) Twix: a longer lasting snack

Assuming that advertisers want to create as favourable an image of their

(20a) The longer lasting snack

DETERMINERS: the, this, that

(21) S -* DETERMINER + NOUN + likes + DETERMINER + NOUN

(22) This girl likes the apple

(23a) This girl eats the apple

(24a) This girl eats the apple

So what exactly is a verb? One definition which is sometimes given is that

(25) The girl buys the apple

(26) The girl is happy

This isn’t an entirely satisfactory definition but will do for now.

VERBS: likes, eats, buys

So we can now say that a sentence in English can consist of:

(27) S -» DETERMINER + NOUN + VERB + DETERMINER + NOUN

to this abstract pattern. So it’s conceivable that an English speaker might

DETERMINER NOUN VERB DETERMINER NOUN

Another way of representing this abstract structure is in diagramatic form.

DETERMINER NOUN VERB DETERMINER NOUN

e.g. a dog chased that girl

Phrases and Phrase Structure

(30) That girl was chased by a dog

(31) Henry chased Carol

By substituting a proper noun for a common noun we have had to replace

(32) *A he/it chased that her

There is a choice of pronoun for dog since it is normal to refer to animals by

(33a) A dog chased that girl

(34a) The dog wants a bone

(35a) The detective found a clue

(36) (DETERMINER + NOUN + VERB + (DETERMINER + NOUN))

PHRASE A VERB PHRASE B

DETERMINER NOUN DETERMINER NOUN