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Introduction

PHRASES

A phrase is any group of related words that, unlike a sentence, has no subject-predicate
combination. The words in a phrase act together so that the phrase itself functions as a
single part of speech. For example, some phrases act as nouns, some as verbs, some as
adjectives or adverbs. Remember that phrases can’t stand alone as sentences.

Phrases combine words to form a larger unit which is the sentence. The central element
in a phrase is referred to as the head. It is the part that cannot be omitted from the phrase.
There are different kinds of phrases:

1. Verb phrase consists of a main verb which either stands alone as the entire verb
phrase, or is preceded by up to four verbs in an auxiliary function:

The ship sank

The ship may have been sunk.

2. Noun phrase consists of a head, which is typically a noun (e.g. ‘trip’ in the sentence
below), and of elements which (either obligatorily or optionally) determine the head
and (optionally) modify the head, or complement another element in the phrase:

I remember a good trip that I once had.

3. Adjective phrase consists of an adjective as head, optionally preceded or followed by

modifying elements:

The weather was incredibly pleasant enough to be enjoyable.

4. Adverb phrase is similar to adjective phrase in its structure, except that it has an
adverb, instead of an adjective, as its head:

I spoke to him as clearly as I could.

5. Prepositional phrase consists of a preposition followed by a prepositional

complement, which is normally a noun phrase:

I met her at the corner of the street.

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Chapter 1

The Noun Phrase

A noun phrase has a noun as its Head. Often a noun phrase is just a noun or a pronoun:

People like to have money.

I am tired.

The Head of an NP does not have to be a common or a proper noun. Recall that pronouns
are a subclass of nouns. This means that pronouns, too, can function as the Head of an
NP:
[NP I] like chocolate.
My classmate gave [NP me] his notes.
[NP This] is my bicycle.

Similarly, numerals, as a subclass of nouns, can be the Head of an NP:

[NP Two of my friends] have arrived.

[NP The first to arrive] was Sarah

1- Determiners
A determiner is a word that determines or limits the meaning of a noun. Determiners
are grammatical words that inform about the definite and indefinite identity and
quantity of the Head.

Determiners are of three different types: Central determiners, pre-determiners,

and post-determiners.
1.1. Central determiners or Determiners
They are used before a noun in a sentence.
Examples:
What is your name? (Possessives)
What time is it? (Interrogative)
The door is open (Articles)
I would like those books (Demonstratives)
A few/Many people come to visit this place (Quantifiers)
Each/Every student has to complete the task (Distribution)
• Articles (the, a, an)
• Demonstratives (this, that, these, those)
• Possessives (my, her, their, Samira’s, etc.)
• Quantifiers (some, any, much, many, half, two thirds, etc.)
• Wh-determiners: whose, what, which.
Notice that the determiner position in an NP is not always occupied by a real expression:

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Tables are made of wood.

The noun phrases (Tables) do not seem to be preceded by any determiner. However,
there is one (o) called zero article which always determines mass and count nouns in the
plural.

1.2. Pre-determiners
Pre-determiners are determiners that occur before a determiner. They are used to
express a proportion (such as all, both, or half) of the whole indicated in the noun
phrase.
Examples:
I have completed half the homework. (the pre-determiner is half)
All my students are present.
The underlined noun phrases consist of the following structure:

Pre-determiner + determiner + head

half the homework
all my students

Just like the following noun phrases in spite

of superficial differences:

All men…

Both cars…
Pre-determiner + zero article + head (count nouns in the plural).
1.3. Post-determiners
Post-determiners are determiners that occur after a central determiner in a noun phrase
to make precise references.
Look at this example: The last day of work
The post-determiner last comes after the determiner the.
Post-determiners can be:
a- Cardinal numbers: one, three, seven (e.g. Look at these two birds)
b- Ordinal numbers: first, second, third (This is my first class)
c- General ordinals: next, last, other, previous, several, certain…(this is his last
chance)
d- Number expressions or quantifiers: many, few, … (The few people left)
NB: More than one post-determiner can occur in a NP (e.g. my next two goals).

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2. Modifiers
A noun phrase may optionally contain noun modifiers. If these modifiers are placed
before the noun they are called pre-modifiers. However, if they are placed after the
noun, they are called post-modifiers.

2.1. Premodifiers
A modifier can be defined as a word (or a group of words) that optionally precedes or
follows a head noun. Adjective phrases, -ed /-ing participles, and nouns function as pre-
modifiers in English.

The Adjective phrase

It is a group of words that does the function of an adjective in a sentence. It is a very
common type of pre-modifiers. The adjective phrase preceding the head is called
“attributive” adjective because it attributes a quality to, or describes, the head.

Examples:
a beautiful house; a red car.
Adjective phrases may have these forms: Intensifier + Adjective as in:
He is a very energetic boy / She was a little angry with him
or Adjective + Adjective as in:
I ate a tasty healthy meal / He is a nice and intelligent man.

Participle
A participle is a form of a verb that ends in ‘ing’ in the present tense, and in ‘ed’ in the
past tense. Both function as pre-modifiers.
- Progressive/present participle: It denotes an ongoing or temporary action of the
head:
The approaching train / The running girl / The barking dog.
- Past participle: It denotes a completed, passive action or a permanent state:
A faded dream (describes an action that has already taken place: completed)
A broken glass (passive)
A complicated exercise (a permanent state)

Nouns
A noun can pre-modify another noun and both make up a compound noun:
A children book / A post office / A computer game

2.2.Postmodifiers
Other parts of a noun phrase go after the noun. These are called postmodifiers.

Postmodifiers can be:

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prepositional phrases:
a man with a gun
the boy in the blue shirt
the house on the corner

Adjective Phrase
The students present /The men responsible
A post-modifying adjective phrase is known as post-posed or postpositive. It is in fact a
reduced relative clause:
The students who are present / The men who are responsible
 –ing phrases :
the man standing over there
the boy talking to Angela

relative clauses :
the man we met yesterday
the house that Jack built
the woman who discovered radium

 to infinitives :
I've got no decent shoes to wear.

 Apposition
Appositives are two words, clauses, or phrases that stand close together and share the
same part of the sentence, they are in apposition.
In fact, an appositive is very much like a subject complement but without the linking
verb:

Subject complement My brother is a doctor.

Appositive My brother, the doctor, travels a lot.
Subject complement Ahmed became a lawyer.
Appositive I have already met Ahmed, the lawyer

There may be more than one postmodifier:

an eight-year old boy with a gun who tried to rob a sweet shop
that girl over there in a green dress drinking a Coke

In theory at least, the post-modifier in an NP can be indefinitely long:

[NP the dog that chased the cat that killed the mouse that ate the cheese that was
made from the milk that came from the cow that...]
Fortunately, they are rarely as long as this in real use.

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If the Head is a pronoun, the NP will generally consist of the Head only. Pronouns do not
take determiners or adjectives, so there will be no pre-modifiers. However, with some
pronouns, there may be a post-Head string/post-modifier:
[NP Those who did not arrive on time] cannot be admitted until the interval.

3- NP complementation
A complement completes another sentence part. Noun phrase complements are words,
phrases, and clauses that complete the meaning of a noun or noun phrase.
While noun phrase modifiers modify or describe a noun or noun phrase, noun phrase
complements complete the meaning of a noun or noun phrase.
The two grammatical forms that can function as noun phrase complements are the
Prepositional phrase and the Noun clause.

3.1. Prepositional Phrases as Noun Phrase Complements

A prepositional phrase is defined as a preposition directly followed by a prepositional
complement in the form of a noun phrase, noun clause, verb phrase, or prepositional
phrase. For example, the following underlined prepositional phrases function as noun
phrase complements:

• My English teacher encourages my passion for reading.

• Your preference for spaghetti with ketchup seems strange to me.
• His fear of falling to his death prevents him from bungee jumping.

3.2. Noun Clauses as Noun Phrase Complements

The second grammatical form that can perform the grammatical function of noun phrase
complement is the noun clause. A noun clause is defined as a dependent clause that is
formed by a subordinating conjunction directly followed by a clause. The subordinating
conjunctions that introduce noun clauses in English are that, Ø, if, whether, wh- words,
and wh-ever words. For example, the following italicized noun clauses function as noun
phrase complements:

• The claim that the earth is flat was once accepted as true.
• The idea that a parent would hurt a child makes me ill.
• Our hope that no child will ever go hungry is possible with your help.

The examples in the table below show how noun phrases can grow in length, while
their structure remains fairly clear:

Predeter- Determin Premodif Head Postmodifier (Pm) Verb phrase(not

miner er ier complement (C) part of NP
appositive (A)

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Tables are made of wood

These tables are made of wood
The nice table in the hall (Pm) is made of wood
Thjne table Which I bought is made of wood
(PM)
All tables are made of wood!
Not all tables are made of wood
The fact that they were late C didn’t surprise
him
John the magistrate A is a nice person

The above variations can be expressed otherwise as follows:

(post-modifier)
(Pre) Determiner + (pre-modifier) + Head + complement
appositive

Basic functions of a noun phrase

Noun phrases can function as subjects (doer of action), objects (receiver of the action) of
a sentence:
1. That sophisticated woman is beautiful. (That sophisticated woman is a noun phrase
that functions as a subject.)
2. I like the book that you bought. (the book that you bought is a noun phrase that
functions as an object.)
3. Nouns can also modify by being possessive. Sometimes, they act like an adjective, as
in “water heater” where “water” modifies “heater.”
4.They can also function as an adverb, as in “She went home” where “home” tells where
she went

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Chapter Exercises

I. Underline the noun phrase in each sentence.

1. The green and red balloons look perfect.
2. Jenny gave the neatly packed gift box to her mother.
3. The end of the story was quite a surprise.
4. My old book of maps is in this rack.
5. Kylie gifted us her hand-made greeting cards.
6. Can we adopt that little brown spotted dog?
7. It was a typically lazy Sunday afternoon.
8. The multi-talented child artist was a treat to watch.
9. It was a very old joke.
10. Ben rode on his new foam surfboard

II. Identify the head nouns in the following passage.

BBC weatherman MichaeI Fish's failure to give a warning of the great storm of October
1987 was a spectacular example of how modern meteorology fails, says the Consumers’
Association in a report today. It claims that the Met Office’s near monopoly on
meteorology casts a cloud over consumer interests, and argues for an Office of Fair
Trading investigation into the weather forecasting industry. The association’s magazine
report stresses that forecasting is clearly improving overall, but it takes the Met Office to
task for failing to explain the weather in a use friendly way. It says the language of isobars
and anticyclones is less important than ‘whether Suffolk should put out its washing’ and
calls for better translations of what forecasts actually mean, which favours a new style of
forecasting based on probability closer to the science of placing a bet on a horse than a
traditional forecast. This would include phrases such as ‘there’s a 70 per cent chance of
rain in the south rather than the more usual ‘there may be scattered showers.

III. Give the structure of the noun phrases in the following sentences:
1.The day before vacation
2.The necessity to do correctly their job
3.The girl running to the store
4.The man wanted by the police
5.The house where I was born
6.The dog in the store
7.The girl running to the store
8.The man wanted by the police
9.The house where I was born
10.The thought that I had yesterday
11.The laughing, smiling, sunny baby
12.Those rotten and terribly smelly athletic socks

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IV. Identify then determine the functions of the noun phrases in the following
passage:
In his social history of venereal disease, Allan M. Brandt describes the controversy in
the US military about preventing venereal disease among soldiers during World War I.
Should there be a disease prevention effort that recognized that many young American
men would succumb to the charms of French prostitutes, or should there be a more
punitive approach to discourage sexual contact? The United States decided to give
American soldiers after-the-fact, and largely ineffective, chemical prophylaxis. American
soldiers also were subject to court martial if they contracted a venereal disease. These
measures failed. 383,000 soldiers were diagnosed with[ venereal diseases between
April 1917 and December 1919 and lost seven million days of active duty .

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Chapter 2

The Verb Phrase

A verb phrase is one or more words that function as a verb. The head is the verb. Verbs
indicate an action, a state, or an event. A Verb Phrase includes a main verb and its helping
verbs. It can function only as the predicate of a sentence. The main verb is a Lexical verb
which typically expresses action, state, or other predicate meaning. Lexical verbs give
basic information. The helping verbs are auxiliary verbs which express grammatical
meaning or determine the mood or tense of another verb. Auxiliary verbs can be primary
(do, have, be), or models such as can, could, may, and will.

1- Finite and non-finite verbs (tensed and non-tensed)

Finite verbs show agreement with a subject and express tense.
Examples:
I go to school every day.
He is looking for a job/He has found a good job.
I have been waiting for a long time.
He must have been talking on the phone.
On the other hand, a non-finite verb is most often not the main verb in the sentence. It
does not show the tense or number of the verb. The main types of nonfinite verbs
are infinitives (with (1) or without to(2)), -ing forms (also known as present
participles and gerunds (4)) and past participles (also called -en forms
(3)).Examples:
(1) Ahmed hoped to live in Canada.
(2) I had my sister cut my hair.
(3)Severely punished by his father, he no longer did the same mistake.
(4) Smoking is a nasty habit.

2. Verb Complementation

2.1. Linking Verbs

A linking verb or a copular verb – is one which is used to describe its subject. Examples
are verbs like be, seem, appear, look, become.
After the verb we can use a noun phrase (1), a gerund (2), an infinitive phrase (3),
participles (present participle or past participle used as adjectives (4-5)), an adjective
(6), a numeral (7) , an adverb (8-9), a prepositional phrase (10) or noun clause (11) as a
subject complement (Cs) in sentences like these:

1. He is a teacher.
2. My hobby is collecting stamps.
3. My job is to help you today.
4. He is amazing. (Amazing is a present participle used as adjective).
5. They are married. (Married is a past participle used as adjective).

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6. She is healthy/interesting.
7. She was the first to arrive and the last to leave.
8. He is here (there, in, out, away, off, downstairs, etc., these adverbs denote “place.”)
9.The storm is over now.
10. They are in the cafeteria.
11. That is where he died.

Many linking verbs (with the significant exception of "be") can also be used as transitive
or intransitive verbs:

Linking Transitive
Griffin insists that the water in I tasted the soup before adding more salt
Winnipeg tastes terrible

My neighbour's singing voice sounds Upon the approach of the enemy troops,
very squeaky despite several hours of the gate-keeper sounded his horn.
daily practice.

Cynthia feels uneasy whenever she The customer carefully feels the fabric of
listens to banjo music. the coat.

2.2. Intransitive Verbs

The intransitive verb (vi.) is one which makes a complete sense by itself and does not
require any word or words to be added to it for this purpose. That is, the intransitive
verb does not take an object.

 I was sleeping.
 The baby cried.
 He was speaking.
2.3. Transitive verbs
The Transitivity of a verb is about the number of objects that it takes. The meaning
of a transitive verb is incomplete without a direct object, as in the following
examples:
Incomplete: The shelf holds.

The child broke.

Complete: The shelf holds three books

The child broke the plate.

Many verbs can be either transitive or intransitive, depending on their context:

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Transitive Intransitive

According to the instructions, we must We would like to stay longer, but we must
leave this goo in our hair for twenty leave.
minutes.

The audience attentively watched the The cook watched while the new dishwasher
latest production of The Trojan Women. picked up surreptitiously the fragments of the
broken dish.

Every spring, William moves all boxes He moves across the field in an attempt to
and trunks from one side of the attic to see the rock star get into her helicopter.
the other.

Transitive verbs are further divided into mono-transitive (having one object), di-
transitive (having two objects) and complex-transitive (having an object and a
complement)

3. Transitive Complementation.
Generally speaking, the mono-transitive verbs take only one object; it falls into the
pattern of SVO (subject + verb + object). An object (O) can be a noun phrase [1], a
pronoun [2], an infinitive [3], gerund [4], a noun clause [9].

1. We are studying English.

2. Mr. Marlowe hit me.
3. I want to go now.
4. We’ll consider going to Las Vegas.
5. I know where she has gone.

4- Di-transitive Complementation
The following verbs are usually followed by two objects (Oi Od ): accord, allow, assign,
award, bring, call, cause, deal, deny, do, fetch, give, grant, hand, leave, lend, offer, owe,
pass, pay, post, promise, read, recommend, refuse, render, return, sell, send, show, sing,
take, telephone, teach, tell, throw, wish, write, etc.

4.1 Noun phrases as both indirect and direct object

Di-transitive complementation in its basic form involves two object noun phrases: an
indirect object and a direct object.
Jane gave the gorilla some fruits.
Jane gave some fruits to the gorilla.

Has he paid you the money?

Most di-transitive verbs can also be mono-transitive. The indirect object can often be
omitted:

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She may give (us) a large donation.

With a few verbs like ask, pay, teach, tell, show either object can be omitted:

He taught us physics.

He taught us.

He taught physics.

4.2. Object and prepositional object

There are numerous di-transitive verbs that take a prepositional object as the second
object. Notice that with this category of verbs either object is optional:

We addressed our remarks (to the children).

We reminded him (of the agreement).

The following are grammatically similar to di-transitive prepositional verbs:

accuse of punish for protect from

persuade of compare with prevent from

deprive of charge with introduce to

Some verbs allow more than one preposition

The social services provided the poor with food.

The social services provided food for the poor.
They blamed him for the damage.
They blamed the damage on him.
Notice that for most di-transitive verbs with noun phrases as indirect and direct objects
the indirect object can be introduced with a preposition and postponed (it will be seen
later that this is one of the criteria that differentiate di-transitive from complex
transitive verbs):

John wrote me a letter.

John wrote a letter to me.
With other fewer verbs (envy, excuse, forgive), it is the direct object which is
introduced by the preposition for:

They excused him his mistake.

They excused him for his mistake.
4.3 Indirect object and that-clause object

Some di-transitive verbs take a noun phrase as indirect object and a that-clause as direct
object:
Elisa convinced them (that) she was honest.

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The president of the Union showed (them) that he was wrong.

4.4 Prepositional object and that-clause object

Some di-transitive prepositional verbs take a prepositional object and a that-clause.

Estelle mentioned (to me) that her daughter was getting married.

4.5 Indirect object and wh-clause object

The second object may be a finite wh-clause:

Martin asked me what time the meeting would end.
A preposition, usually optional, may precede the wh-clause:
Would you remind me (about) how we start the engine?
Some of the verbs also take a wh-infinitive clause object:
She advised us what to wear for the party.
4.6 Indirect object and to-infinitive clause object:

This pattern is used with verbs that introduce indirect directives. Only the indirect object
can be made subject of the corresponding passive construction.

I persuaded Mark to see a doctor.

5- Complex-transitive verbs

The complex transitive verb has a complement to its object. It falls into the pattern of
SVOC (subject + verb + object + complement). The complement is something added to
the object to complete the predication of the verb.

(1) Jane considered Alice a good student.

(2) Jane considered Alice to be a good student.
In complex-transitive complementation, the two elements following the complex-
transitive verb are described as object and object complement. They have an intensive
relationship similar to the pattern of the that-clause S V Cs in the following sentence:

(3) Jane considered that Alice was a good student.

Note that the finite sub-clause above functions as object of sentence (3). In sentences (1)
and (2) the clauses are respectively verbless and non-finite. Both clauses can be described
as objects of the verb “considered”. However, the passive suggests that the two elements
in (1) and (2) are not a single constituent, since the first element (direct object) is
separated from the second element and becomes the passive subject:
Alice was considered (to be) a good student.

5.1 To-infinitive clause

Some of the verbs taking a direct object and to-infinitive clause in complex-transitive
complementation correspond to the factual verbs that take a that-clause with an
indicative verb:

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The police reported the traffic to be heavy. (formal)

= The police reported that the traffic was heavy.
5.2 Bare infinitive clause

Two small groups of verbs take this pattern of complex-transitive complementation: the
causative verbs have, let, make and some of the perceptual verbs of seeing and hearing
feel, hear, notice, observe, see. In addition, help and know may occur with the bare
infinitive or the to-infinitive.

They had me repeat the message.

Did you notice anyone leave the house?

Sarah helped us (to) edit the script.

She let/made her daughter do the housework.
Perception Vbs..

She saw him do the housework.

He heard her sing his favorite song.
5.3 Ing-participle clause
Three small groups of verbs take this type of complex-transitive complementation:
perceptual verbs (feel, hear, notice, observe, see...) verbs of encounter (catch, discover,
find, leave) causative verbs (get and have)
She heard the rain splashing on the roof.
She hates him talking all the time.
5.4 Ed-participle clause
Three groups of verbs occur with this type of complex-transitive complementation:
perceptual verbs (see, hear, feel, watch); volitional verbs (like, need, want); causative
verbs (get and have)

I want this watch repaired immediately.

She had her hair cut.
He ordered his car cleaned.
He found his house stolen.
5.5 Verbless clause
Compare the following sentences

He was a good driver and he never had an accident.

While he was in London, he visited Victoria Station.
If it is possible, we will play football this week.
With:

A good driver, he never had an accident.

While in London, he visited Victoria Station.
If possible, we will play football this week

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Chapter Exercises:
A. Give the pattern of the following sentences:

1) She spread the butter.

2) The news spread quickly.
3) The hunter shot the deer.
4) The hunter shoots expertly.
5) The child wanted a bicycle for Christmas.
6) John prefers a trip in a foreign country.
7) We found a student who speaks three African indigenous languages.
8) We recommend that more money be spent on education.
9) The package has arrived.
10) After the argument, she left.
11) They swam across the lake twice last week.
12) The workers struck last month.
13) Henk sent Olga a letter.
14) Paul sent roses to his mother.
15) Could you lend me your book?
16) Susan made a dress for her friend.
17) Bill became a teacher.
18) Bill seems happy.
19) Bill is in a good mood.
20) He likes being alone in the house.

B. Identify the verb, subject complement, direct object, indirect object and object
complement in the following sentences.

1. George is the captain.

2. The judge pronounced the judgment.
3. My sister looked worried.
4. Parents should be kind to their children.
5. Mother brought us tea.
6. The officer asked him several questions.
7. Let us send him our greetings.
8. We should keep our surroundings clean.
9. My aunt has brought me a computer.
10. The class elected Martin their monitor.
11. Our visit made the host happy.
12. This book is interesting.

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Chapter 3
Adverb Phrases and Adverbials

An adverb is a word used to modify a verb an adjective or another adverb.

The adverb is used most commonly as the modifier of a verb. It may tell how, when, where,
or to what extent (how often or how much) the action of the verb is done.
EXAMPLES She drives carefully. [Carefully tells how she drives.] Adverb of manner
She drives early and fate. [Early and late tell when she drives.] Adverb of time
She drives everywhere. [Everywhere tells where she drives.] Adverb of place
She can almost drive. [A [most tells to what extent she can drive.] adverb of degree
She drives daily. [Daily tells how often she drives.] adverb of frequency

Adverb phrase is the term used for a phrase with an adverb as Head. The adverb phrase can
contain modifiers of various kinds, as in
This happens very rarely. Nevertheless, it happens too often for my taste.
or it can consist of only an adverb, as in
They sometimes take a walk along the river.
Modifying Function
An adverb may modify an adjective or another adverb:
Adverbs pre- and post-modify adjectives and other adverbs within the same clause. Pre-
modifying adverbs are frequently used as intensifiers. Very, so, highly, awfully, terribly, quite,
unbelievably, pretty, too, that (informal) etc. are often used in this context:
This office is quite beautiful.
We urged him to dial the number more expeditiously.
She is a really good driver. [Really modifies the adjective good.]
He behaved very well. [The adverb very modifies the adverb well.]
They left him well behind.
He knocked the man right out.
Notice that in the last two examples the adverbs pre-modify particles (behind, out) as they
behave in the same way with prepositional phrases functioning as adverbial:
The man went straight/right through trees.
As post-modifiers, the adverb enough is frequently used in:
high/short/ large enough.
interestingly enough.

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Adverbial function:
A group of words that functions as an adverb in a sentence is an adverbial:

Some nouns/ PPs/ adverbs may be used adverbially.

I called her yesterday.
We are going to travel next week
Their children play in the park
He doesn’t play well enough

Adverbials: Phrases that Act Like Adverbs:

Adverbials function like adverbs to modify verbs, adjectives and adverbs. Adverbials are
typically infinitive phrases or prepositional phrases that are functioning as adverbs. Adverbials
function to explain when, where, how, why something happens. They can also address
frequency or degree.
Adverbials are also used to focus on a particular part of a clause, to express the speaker’s (or
writer’s) evaluation of the proposition, or to indicate the semantic relationship between the
current clause and an earlier clause in the text. In this respect, an adverbial can be an adjunct,
a disjunct or a conjunct.
2.1 Adjuncts:
Adjunct adverbials are words, phrases, and clauses that modify an entire clause by providing
additional information about time, place, manner, condition, purpose, reason, result, and
concession. They provide additional information and are grammatically optional in addition to
their characteristic mobility. Four grammatical forms can perform the grammatical function of
adjunct adverbial in the English language.
a- Adverb Phrase:
Stubbornly, the little girl refused to eat her vegetables at dinner.
Eagerly, my baby brother told me what he wanted for Christmas.
James answered my call immediately.
b- Prepositional Phrase
She failed the test because of her illness.
The jogger ran under the boardwalk
He finished his essay despite his procrastination.
c- Adverb Clause
So that he would not ruin the carpet, he took off his shoes.
She passed the course because she worked hard.
You will be late for work unless you hurry.

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She opened the window to let in some fresh air.

2.2 Disjuncts:
A disjunct is word or phrase that provides additional information to frame an entire clause. In
writing, it is distinguished by a comma and by a pause in speaking. Unlike adjuncts, disjuncts
do not modify anything within the sentence with which they are loosely associated, but modify
it as a whole.

Disjuncts express the following semantic categories:

Fact-evaluating disjuncts are used to express the speaker’s evaluation, in emotional terms,
of an event or situation taken as a fact:
Truthfully, none of the children failed the test.
Fortunately, no lives were lost in the fire.
Honestly, I have no idea.
Luckily, they were there to help you.
Obviously, he must have misunderstood you.
She may possibly be at home.

Disjuncts take the following forms:

 Adverb phrases: luckily, honestly, confidentially, sincerely, personally,

understandably, frankly, etc.
 Prepositional phrases: in fact, as a matter of fact, in my opinion, of course, in all
fairness, etc.
 Clauses: to be honest, to be frank, to tell the truth, sincerely speaking, if you want
me to be frank with you, etc.

Notice that the same adverb phrase functions either as an adjunct or disjunct depending on the
use of the comma:
You should answer me honestly. (adjunct)
Honestly, I was not near the scene of the accident when it happened. (disjunct)
The criminal admitted the crime frankly. (adjunct)
The criminal admitted the crime, frankly. (disjunct)

2.3 Conjuncts:
Conjuncts serve to mark semantic relationships between statements expressed by different
clauses, or between larger sections of a text. They express textual relationships. They are
adverbs that serve as connectors and signal a transition between ideas. In this respect their
function resembles that of conjunctions (co-ordinating and subordinating), although there is
greater positional variation to be found among the conjuncts.

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Most of the children wanted to go to the beach. However, Mary preferred to

stay at home. (conjunct)
Mary, however, preferred to stay at home.
Mary preferred to stay at home, however.
First wash and peel the potatoes. Then chop the potatoes into small pieces.
Cut the tomatoes into small chunks too.
Additionally, I enjoy studying modal verbs.
He did not have all the ingredients the recipe called for; therefore, he decided
to make something else. (conjunct)
The crowd waited patiently for three hours; finally, the doors to the stadium
were opened. (conjunct)

Conjuncts can be used to express the following semantic relationship between clauses:
comparison (similarly, likewise)
contrast (on the other hand)
concession (however, nevertheless)
reason (therefore, because of that)
result (consequently, in consequence, as a result).
addition (in addition, furthermore)
enumeration (first, secondly, finally)
transition (by the way; meanwhile, in the meantime).
Finally, conjuncts take the following forms:
Adverb phrases: nevertheless, however, moreover, furthermore, yet, so, thus, incidentally,
etc.
Prepositional phrases: on the contrary, on the one/other hand, in conclusion, in sum, etc.
Clauses: to conclude with, to sum it up, what is more, to put it differently, etc.

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Chapter exercises
A. Underline the adjective phrases in the following sentences and identify their
functions:
1. That wasn't very sensible, was it?
2. Exercise is very good for you.
3. We knew we were totally lost.
4. She's absolutely impervious to criticism.
5. The trees were completely covered in golden leaves.
6. We're very proud of our children.
7. I'm really surprised at your behaviour.
8. How on earth can you be feeling so calm about all this?
9. There is an extremely small risk of contamination.
10. We were utterly exhausted
B. Underline the adjectival phrases in the following sentences and identify their
functions:
1. A first-past-the-post voting system means that the candidate who gets the most votes
wins.
2. The most sensible way of going about this would be to borrow the money from a bank.
3. This is the all-in-one solution to all your decorating problems.
4. The country has a serious balance of payments problem.
5. She's a totally normal teenager.
6. There was something strangely familiar about the man.
7. Meeting the president was a never-to-be-forgotten experience.
8. She glanced at him with an oh my goodness look on her face.
C. Identify the PPs in the following sentences and identify their function (adjunct,
disjunct or conjunct, or modifier).
1. The meal was eaten in silence.
2. To their horror, the vase slipped from his grasp and fell to the floor.
3. She studied the picture for a few minutes with great interest.
4. The man in front of me seemed to have lost his wallet.
5. This dress is meant to be worn off the shoulder.
6. She was wearing an off-the-shoulder dress.
7. The Smiths live in the house on the corner of the street.
8. I don't mind in the least.
9. The clothes were lying in a pile on the floor.
10. The clothes in that pile on the floor are mine.
11. In my opinion, we're lost.
12. If you pull and I push at the same time, we should manage to move the car.
13. In that case, I'll let you decide what to do.
14. There's a bird with a broken wing in the garden

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D. Identify all the phrases in the following sentences and identify their function:
1. Last year over 3000 people in Scotland died of flu.
2. I only decided to come at the last minute.
3. Sasha stretched out her arm very slowly.
4. This house was built in 1874.
5. You're talking far too loudly.
6. They stood there in silence.
7. We meet for coffee fairly often.
8. We go there every summer

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Chapter 4

Clauses

Clauses are defined as grammatical structures that contain a subject and a predicate and that
are the smallest grammatical unit that can express a complete proposition. One primary
division in the analysis of clauses is the distinction between independent clauses and
dependent clauses.

Independent clauses are grammatical structures that can function independently as complete
sentences. All independent clauses in the English language are finite, meaning that the clauses
contain conjugated verbs functioning as predicates.
Her house was burglarized last week.
Joe attends all his classes.
Where do you live?

Dependent clauses are grammatical structures that consist of a subordinating conjunction

followed by a subject and a predicate and that cannot function independently as complete
sentences. Dependent clauses are either finite, meaning that the clause contains a conjugated
verb functioning as a predicate, or nonfinite, meaning that the clause lacks a conjugated
verb. Noun clauses, adjective clauses and adverb clauses are the three dependent clauses in
English grammar.

I know where Mary lives

The museum will send a bill to whoever damaged this statue.
After Elizabeth gave the baby a bath, she cooked fried chicken.
The gentleman who works at the nursery was my neighbor.

1- Nominal (Noun) Clauses

A noun clause is a dependent or subordinate clause that consists of a subordinating

conjunction followed by a clause and that performs a nominal function.

Two categories form nominal clauses:

 Clauses introduced by the interrogatives: who, whom, what, which, whoever, whomever,
whatever, when, where, how, why; Each of these elements has a function within the
clause it introduces.
Where my daughter hid my keys remains a mystery.
How rich I am should concern no one except me
I cannot recall when Sarah moved to US

 Nominal clauses may also begin with the expletives: that, whether, if. Expletives have
no function within nominal clauses.
She told him that he is smart.
Whether to attend or not is not my business.

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Noun clauses perform nine grammatical functions in English grammar:

1- Subjects
2- Subject complements
3- Direct object
4- Object complement
5- Indirect object
6- Prepositional complement
7- Noun phrase complement
8- Adjective phrase complement
9- Appositive

Clause function Example

subject Whoever ate my lunch is in big trouble
Direct Object Do you know when the train should arrive
Subject complement The truth was that the moving company lost all your
furniture
Object complements You may call your husband whatever you like
Indirect object Jerry gave what Joe suggested a try
Prepositional They argue about how they should solve the problem
complement
Noun phrase complement The claim that the earth was flat was once considered true
Adjective phrase I’m pleased that you are here today
complement I’m sad that my husband is sad.
Appositive The problem, that the storm knocked our power, is affecting the
entire town.

Notice :
(i) In “The fact that you received no news should not disturb you”, the element “that”, in this
respect, is an expletive or complementizer. It has no function except for introducing finite non-
wh sub-ordinate clauses and should not be confused with “that” as a demonstrative or a relative
pronoun. Compare:
Demonstrative: That person is my uncle.
Relative pronoun: Edward Cook is the man that escaped from prison.
Complementizer: The fact that the baby cries reassures Mary.

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2- Adjectival clause

Adjectival clauses are dependent clauses that modify or give further information about noun
and pronouns. They introduced by relative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, that, etc.
Consider:
(1) A person who habitually tells lies…
(2) The man to whom he spoke…
(3) This is the man whom I met ….
(4) The couple whose house caught fire….
(5) Dogs, which are mammals, should be treated with care.
(6) Earnest Hemingway, who is a novelist, wrote The Old Man and the Sea.
Notice
The clauses in (1) to (4) are examples of restrictive relative clauses since they specify exactly
the person or thing being referred to. In this type, there are no restrictions as to the form of the
relative pronoun used, except for the personal/non-personal character of the antecedent. Non-
restrictive relative clauses as in (5) and (6) just provide additional information not really
necessary to the identification of the antecedent. Besides, as will be seen later, there are some
limitations to the use of the relative pronoun, especially its substitution by “that” as a relative
pronoun.

Adjective clauses perform four grammatical functions within sentences in the English
language. The four functions of adjective clauses are displayed in the following table:

Adjective clause Example

Noun Phrase modifier The map, you sent me yesterday, seems outdated.
The cookies, which I promptly devoured, reminded me of
home.
participial modifier Reading, which is one of my favorite hobbies, keeps the mind
sharp.
I enjoy writing, which I do almost every single day.
PP modifier Between seven and nine, which is a reasonable time frame, is
the time when employees must arrive.
You must clean under the bed, which is covered with dust.
Noun clause modifier That the museum cancelled the lecture, which is quite
surprising, disappointed me.
He loved her in spite of all the nasty things she had said about him,
which was rather surprising."

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Chapter Exercise

A- Underline the noun clauses in the following sentences and indicate their functions:
1. What you thought about that candidate is correct.
2. The paleontologist remembers when he met you at the conference.
3. Will these older folks recall how they were part of a terrific generation?
4. Remind whoever is on your discussion panel that we will meet tomorrow morning in the
library.
5. Give whoever needs that information the correct numbers.
6. Mr. Bellington reminded us of where we should obtain the necessary papers for our
licenses.
7. My children's request is that you wear your silly tie to the birthday party.
8. The lady's wish is that you bring her some pansies and daisies.
9. These math teachers taught us whatever we needed to know for the exam.
10. The winner will be whichever speller correctly spells the most words.
11. Are you sure that she left early?
12. The problem was that she left early.
13. The claim that the earth is flat was once widely believed.
14. His wife listened to him singing in the shower.
15. My supervisor is worried that the roof will leak again

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Final Exam: Grammar III

I- Read the text and answer the questions.

(1) The uncomfortable atmosphere of a stress interview gives the potential employer a
chance to watch a candidate react to pressure. In one case, the interviewer ended each
interview by saying, “We are really not sure (2) that you are the right person for this job.”
One excellent candidate asked (3) the interviewer angrily (4) if he was sure he knew how to
conduct an interview. She clearly could not handle the pressure (5) she would encounter as
a television news anchor. Stress interviews may be (6) appropriate for some jobs, but they
can also work against a company. Some good candidates may refuse the job (7) after a
hostile interview. A word of warning to job candidates: Not all though questioning is
legitimate. In some countries, certain questions are illegal (8) unless the answers are directly
related to the job. If you think a question is (9) improper, you can refuse (10) to answer or
ask the interviewer how the answer specifically relates to that job. If you don’t get a
satisfactory explanation, you don’t have to answer the question. Whatever happens, don’t lose
your cool. The interview will be over before you know it.

A- Identify the form and function of the underlined items in the text above.
Form Function
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

B- Find two examples from the text of adverbial clauses. Give their types.
1. …………………………………………….
2. …………………………………………………
II- Identify the constituents of the following Noun phrases.
1- The best thing we can do to help the environment
…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
……………………………………………………………………………………………….......
2- The claim that fast food restaurants should be reduced
…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
3- All the great prizes won by our team
…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…………………………………………………………………………………………………...

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III- Identify the subject, main verb, and verb complementation in these sentences.
Specify the type of the main verb in each sentence.
1 – The employer can watch a candidate react to pressure.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
………………………………………………………………………………………...................
2- The stress interview gives the potential employer a chance to watch a candidate react to
pressure.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
3- An extrovert seems a person whose energies are activated by being with others.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
4- Some find the Internet a waste of time and energy.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
5- I don’t understand why you find that funny.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…………………………………………………………………………………………………..

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Exercises from Previous Exams

I- Read the text and answer the questions.

Almost everyone has friends, but ideas about friendship differ from one person to
another. For some, a friend can be (1) a person who chats with you on the internet. For
others, a friend is someone who has known you all your life. (2) What one person defines
as a friend can be called an acquaintance for another person. Definitions of (3)
friendship can vary from culture to culture. (4) In Russia, for example, friendship
emphasizes innermost feelings. In Mexico, it is a lifelong commitment. The British
relationships are based on shared activity. Likewise, Americans form friendships around
interests such as playing sports or going shopping. Although different people and cultures
emphasize different aspects of friendship, there is one element, (5) which is always
present, and that is the element of choice. We may not be able to select our families or
our co-workers. We can, (6) however, pick up our friends. As the anthropologist, (7)
Margaret Mead, puts it, “a friend is someone (8) who chooses and is chosen.” (9)
Frankly, it is this freedom of choice that makes friendship (10) a special relationship.

A- Identify the form and function of the underlined items in the text above.
Form Function
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

B- Find two examples from the text of adverbials. Give their types.
………………………………………………………….……………………………………………………………………...
……………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………...
II-Identify the constituents of the underlined NPs.
1- I hate flights that take ten hours.
………………………………………………………….……………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………
2- These two remarkable books are really worth reading.
………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………
3- The truth that many students lack the language basics.

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………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………
4- The best thing we can do to help the environment.
………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………
5- The claim that fast food restaurants should be reduced
………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………
6- All the great prices won by our team.
………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………
III-Identify the subject, verb and verb complements in the following sentences
1- She is thinking about what he said.
………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………
2- Some consider the computer a machine that thinks.
………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………
3- They robbed her of her bracelet.
………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………
4- Her youngest child grew mature.
………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………
5- He grew his beard.
………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………
6- The employer can watch a candidate react to pressure
………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………
7- Some find the internet a waste of time and energy.
………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………

8- I don’t understand why you find that funny

………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………

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Further Exercises

I- Answer the following questions

1. What do intensive verbs require? Give an example
2. What is the difference between a ditransitive verb and a complex transitive verb? Illustrate
this with examples.
2. What is an adjunct obligatory? Illustrate this with examples.
4. What is the difference between a postpositive and an attributive adjective phrase? Illustrate
this with examples.
II- Identify the constituents of the Noun phrases in the following sentences.
1- The dull brown liquid spilled onto his two antique carpets which he had kept for years.
2-The lady was a famous activist.
3-The best thing we can do is to care for homeless people.
4-All fast food restaurants should be controlled.
5-All the great prizes were won by our team.
III- Identify the form of the underlined items and their function in the following
sentences.
1- What students want is to go right into the workplace after graduation.
Form: ……………………………………………………………………………………….
Function: …………………………………………………………………………………...
2- What students want is to go right into the workplace after graduation.
Form: ……………………………………………………………………………………….
Function: …………………………………………………………………………………...
3- The boy threw himself on the ground.
Form: ……………………………………………………………………………………….
Function: …………………………………………………………………………………...
2
4- There are many problems to solve before this program can be used.
Form: ……………………………………………………………………………………….
Function: …………………………………………………………………………………...
5- She could have won a prize if she had run faster.
Form: ……………………………………………………………………………………….
Function: …………………………………………………………………………………...
6- I can’t decide if I should go to the medical school.
Form: ……………………………………………………………………………………….
Function: …………………………………………………………………………………...
7- The boy with the red shirt is the one I want in my team.
Form: ……………………………………………………………………………………….
Function: …………………………………………………………………………………...
IV. Analyse and identify the elements of the following sentences
1.The best player won a prize.
2.That old lady is easy to convince
3. Finally, the manager convinced them that his decision was right.
V. Illustrate the following structure with examples
1. Determiner (plural) + Premodifier (present participle) + Head (plural) + Postmodifier
(prepositional phrase.

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2. Determiner + Head+ intensive verb + Complement (finite clause).

3. Determiner + Premodifier + Verb + Adjective + Complement of adjective (in the form of a
prepositional phrase).
(4. An independent clause + an independent clause + a dependent clause + a dependent
clause.)
VI- Identify the pattern/structure of these sentences. Specify the type of the main verb in
each sentence. Give the function and form of the elements in the sentences
1- Whatever you do is the right choice.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
2- I put the dish in the microwave.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
3- The company appointed her the financial manager.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………….

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