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SECTION 3: GRAMMATICAL RELATIONS
18 Structure
“The concept of STRUCTURE is essential in distinguishing between the
strings of words that are well-formed expressions in the language
and those that are not.” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 8] To show how things can
be analyzed into their constituent parts in this text, we use TREE-DIAGRAMS —
the trees that are upside-down:
S
NP VP
DET N’ Vgrp AP[sP/sC]

[intens]
DEM headN A
These concepts are basic.

This does not prevent us from having a quick look at some other
common types of diagrams:
Fries’ diagrams (also called UPSIDEDOWN-T DIAGRAMS) in
Stageberg [1965] and Barsova et al [1969]:
These concepts are basic
Candelabra’s diagrams in Barsova et al [1969]:

these concepts are basic
Reed and Kellogg’s diagrams in House and Harman [1965]:

concepts are
these basic
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19 Endocentric structures vs. exocentric structures
19.1 ENDOCENTRIC STRUCTURE
Phrases like the NOUN PHRASE (NP, for short) their rather dubious
jokes are said to be ENDOCENTRIC. “An endocentric construction may be
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substituted for as a whole by one of its constituent units; e.g. a noun may
stand for the whole noun phrase, c.f. big African lions roaming in the
jungle — lions.” [Jackson, 1980: 26]
19.2 EXOCENTRIC STRUCTURE

Phrases like the PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE (PP, for short) beside a
stream are said to be EXOCENTRIC. There is a TWO-WAY DEPENDENCE (⇔ ⇔,
for short) between beside and a stream as a whole: both of the two
constituents must occur to form the PP beside a stream; “one of them
cannot stand for the whole phrase” [Jackson, 1980: 26].
However, the PP beside a stream can also be considered
ENDOCENTRIC: “Although beside and a stream are both needed to express
the spatial orientation in this case, it is the word beside that is giving the
phrase as a whole its locational character. So beside is the head of the
phrase.” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 43] If the PREPOSITION (P, for short)
beside is the HEAD (H, for short) of the prepositional phrase beside a
stream then a stream is functioning as COMPLEMENT (C, for short) to that
head: (H) beside ⇔ a stream (C).
“Each phrase must have a head. A noun phrase has a noun as head, a
verb phrase has a verb as head, a prepositional phrase a preposition as
head, and an adjective phrase an adjective as head.” [Jacobs, 1995: 51]
Briefly, the STRUCTURES of MODIFICATION, COMPLEMENTATION, and
CO-ORDINATION are all endocentric whereas THE STRUCTURE OF
PREDICATION is exocentric. As to a prepositional phrase, it may be regarded
either as an exocentric structure or as an endocentric structure.
_________________
20 Types of syntactic structures
20.1 STRUCTURE OF MODIFICATION

There is a one-way dependence (⇒ ⇒, for short) in the STRUCTURE of
MODIFICATION. In the phrase their rather dubious jokes, rather is
dependent on dubious, in the sense that it is only present because dubious
is. If we are to omit dubious, rather will be left without a function, and the
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omission would result in an ill-formed string (*their rather jokes). Notice,
however, that dubious is in no way dependent on rather. We can omit
rather and still be left with a perfectly good phrase (their dubious jokes).
And rather dubious as a whole is dependent on jokes but not vice-

versa. Rather dubious (the modifier of the phrase) could be omitted
(giving their jokes), but jokes (the head of the phrase) could not (*their
rather dubious).
(modifier) rather ⇒ dubious (head)
(modifier) rather dubious ⇒ jokes (head)
(modifier) their ⇒ rather dubious jokes (head)
Thus, ‘their rather dubious jokes’ is a typical example of the

STRUCTURE OF MODIFICATION.
20.2 STRUCTURE OF COMPLEMENTATION

There is a two-way dependence (⇔⇔, for short) in the STRUCTURE of
COMPLEMENTATION. Both the monotransitive verb saw and the noun phrase
many things must occur to form the verb phrase saw many things: saw is
its head and many things is the complement of that head:
(head) saw ⇔ many things (complement)
Since one of the two constituents cannot stand for the whole verb
phrase as a unit, ‘saw many things’ is a typical example of the STRUCTURE
of COMPLEMENTATION.
20.3 STRUCTURE OF COORDINATION

“Max and Adrian is a COORDINATE NOUN PHRASE (Co-NP, for short),
with Max and Adrian coordinated by and. Co-ordinate NPs have as many
heads as there are nouns coordinated in them. Other COORDINATORS are
but and or.” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 67]
In Stageberg’s opinion [1965: 273], the coordinator “is set off as a

separate element and does not belong to either IC”:
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Co-NP Co-NP
NP1 Conj NP2 NP1 NP2 Conj NP3
N1 N2 N1 N2 N3
(1)a. Max and Adrian (1)b. sandwiches, relish, and coffee
Stuffy and hot is a COORDINATE ADJECTIVE PHRASE (Co-AP, for

short), with stuffy and hot coordinated by and. This Co-AP can be pre-
modified by too, which is a DEGREE ADVERB (DEG, for short) as in (2)a.
Stuffy and too hot is another Co-AP, with stuffy and too hot
coordinated by and. In this case, too only pre-modifies the ADJECTIVE (A,
for short) hot as in (2)c. Describe the internal structure of the phrase marked
(2)b. In what way(s) is it different from that of (2)a?
AP Co-AP Co-AP
DEG Co-AP AP1 Conj AP2 AP1 Conj AP2
A1 Conj A2 DEG A A A DEG A
(2)a. too stuffy and hot (2)b.too stuffy and hot (2)c. stuffy and too hot
The prepositional phrase up and down the stairs contain a CO-

ORDINATION OF PREPOSITIONS (Co-P, for short), with up and down
coordinated by and as in (3)a. In the foundation and under the rafters
is a COORDINATE PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE (Co-PP, for short), with in the
foundation and under the rafters coordinated by and as in (3)b.
PP Co-PP
Co-P NP PP1 Conj PP2
P1 Conj P2 the stairs P1 NP1 P2 NP2
(3)a. up and down (3)b. in the foundation and under the rafters
Two important points to notice about the co-ordinations marked (1)a-b,

(2)a-c and (3)a-b are that “the mother and the sisters of the
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coordinator (and in this case) all have the same category label”
[Burton-Roberts, 1997: 71] and that “the parts joined by Coordinate
Conjunctions ought usually to be of exactly equal value” [Campbell,
1962: 5]. All these co-ordinations are typical examples of the STRUCTURE of
COORDINATION.
20.4 STRUCTURE OF PREDICATION

Wherever possible, a SENTENCE (S, for short) should be divided into
the fewest possible parts, i.e. into two: a NOUN PHRASE (NP, for short) and a
VERB PHRASE (VP, for short).
S
NP (subject) VP (predicate)
(4)a. Ducks paddled.

b. The ducks are paddling away.
c. Those gigantic ducks were paddling away furiously.
d. The mouth-watering duck on the table won’t be paddling away again.
e. The ones over there must have paddled for a while.
f. Those on the left have been paddling noisily.
g. Mine kept on paddling quickly.
h. These did paddle.
i. They did.
The sentences (4)a-i have all been divided into two constituents; the
first is traditionally said to function as SUBJECT, and the second as PREDICATE.
“One way of thinking of these functions is to think of the subject as being
used to mention something and the predicate as used to say something
true or false about the subject.” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 31]
While the noun phrase and the verb phrase of the sentences
marked (4)a-i display the STRUCTURE of MODIFICATION, the very
sentences are typical examples of the STRUCTURE of PREDICATION.
_________________
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21 Constructions vs. constituents
21.1 A construction is any significant group of words (or morphemes):
old man, lives there, the man who lives there, has gone, to his son’s
house, has gone to his son’s house, the old man who lives there has
gone to his son’s house, etc.
But there has is not, since the two words have no direct connection.
Neither is man since this word contains only one word (and also one
morpheme). On a syntactic level lives is not a construction; but on a
morphological level it is a construction consisting of two morphemes, live
and −s.
21.2 A constituent is any word or construction (or morpheme) which

enters into some larger construction. Thus, each of the words in the
sentence ‘The old man who lives there has gone to his son’s house.’ is
a constituent. So are the two constructions old man and the old man who
lives there.
However, there has or man who is not a constituent. Neither is the

sentence as a whole since there is no larger construction of which it is a
part.
Briefly, all but the smallest constituents are constructions and all
but the largest constructions are constituents. In syntax, the smallest
constituents are words, and the largest constructions are sentences.
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22 Immediate constituents vs. ultimate constituents

22.1 An IMMEDIATE CONSTITUENT (an IC, for short) is one of the two
constituents of which any given construction is directly formed. In
other words, “each of the two parts into which any structure is
divided” [Stageberg, 1965: 263] is called an IMMEDIATE CONSTITUENT.
The IC’s of a given construction are its constituents on the next

lower level:
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the old man who lives there | has gone to his son’s house
the old man | who lives there has gone | to his son’s house
the | old man who | lives there has | gone to | his son’s house
old | man lives | there his son’s | house
his son | ’s
his | son
22.2 ULTIMATE CONSTITUENTS are the smallest constituents of
which a given construction is composed.
If the ultimate constituents of a word are “the unit morphemes
of which it is composed” [Stageberg, 1965: 98] then the ultimate
constituents of a sentence are the individual words (or the possessive
morpheme in some cases) of which it is composed.
There are thirteen ultimate constituents in the old man who lives
there has gone to his son’s house: the, old, man, who, lives, there,
has, gone, to, his, son,’s and house.
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23 Immediate constituents of a sentence
Using the diagram marked (1) as an illustration, one may say “yes” to
the question “Are words the immediate constituents of the sentence that
contains them?”
S
(1) Old Sam sunbathed beside a stream.
Compare the diagram marked (1) with the diagrams marked (2) and (3):
S
*(2) Stream old Sam sunbathed beside a.

S
*(3) Sunbathed old beside stream a Sam.
The diagram marked (1) fails to give any explanation of why the
words that occur in (1) form a well-formed English sentence, and why
those that occur in (2) and (3) do not.
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“The arrangement of words in a sentence is largely determined by the
fact that the words are not immediate constituents of the sentences, but
belong with other words to form groups which have their own specifiable
position in the structure of the sentence. In short, while sentences CONTAIN
words, they don’t CONSIST (just of) words.” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 11-12]
_________________
24 Intervening level of organization between word and sentence
The fact that words do not pattern directly into sentences
implies that there are some intervening levels of organization between
word and sentence. They are usually called phrase, and clause [Jackson,
1980: 4].
The sentence marked (1) consists of two phrases: a noun phrase as the
subject and a verb phrase as the predicate.
(1) My bother was an outstanding student.
The sentence marked (2) consists of two independent clauses that

are coordinately linked by the conjunction ‘but’:
(2) My bother was an outstanding student, but I was not.
_________________
25 Modifiers vs. complements

25.1“A modifier is a subordinate element in an endocentric
structure. It is a word or a word group that affects the meaning of a
headword in that it describes, limits, intensifies and/or adds to the
meaning of the head. In the noun cluster the blue shirt, for example, the
word blue describes the shirt; it limits by excluding other colours; and it
adds to the plain meaning of shirt.
Modifiers may appear before or after the heads they modify, and
sometimes they are separated from the head by intervening words”
[Stageberg, 1965: 230-231]:
a butterfly in the garden which was fluttering among the flowers
25.2 The term complement may be used to refer to various linguistic notions.
Richards, Platt and Weber [1985] and Jacobs [1995] share something in
common in reference to the term complement when the former [1985: 52]
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states that a complement is “that part of the sentence which follows the verb
and which thus completes the sentence” and the latter [1995: 59] believes
that “a complement is the phrase following the predicate and linked very
closely to it; it is the constituent that ‘completes’ the predicate. However,
these authors differ in what they consider as complements.
The complements according to Richards, Platt and Weber [1985:52] are:

subject complement: the complement linked to a subject by be or
an intensive verb: She IS a doctor.
object complement, i.e. the complement linked to an object:
We MADE her the chairperson.
adjective complement, i.e. the complement linked to an adjective:
I’M glad that you can come.
complement of a preposition, i.e. the complement linked to a preposition:
They ARGUED about what to do.”
In addition to subject and object complements [1995: 58-60] and
adjective and prepositional complements [1995: 99], Jacobs also presents
noun complements [1995: 99-101]: “Many nouns … takes complement
clauses or complement prepositional phrases:
that Eleanor had met with the senator
the story
the news of her marriage.”
Unlike Jacobs [1995] and Richards, Platt and Weber [1985],

Stageberg’s [1965: 165] complements also cover direct and indirect
objects: “The complements is the generic term for the completers of the
verb, which we shall later learn to know as direct object, indirect object,
object complement, and subject complement (with its subclasses of
predicative noun, predicative pronoun, and predicative adjective.”
Later in his textbook, Stageberg [1965: 275] presents “the

complement of the adjectival” but says nothing concerning either noun
complements or complements of a preposition.
_________________
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26 Types of adjective complements
An adjectival complement completes the meaning of the adjective
head in a predicative adjective phrase. There are various kinds of
complements in a predicative adjective phrase:
A prepositional phrase: averse, free and tantamount must take as its
complement a prepositional phrase:
(1)a. I’M NOT averse to a cup of tea.
b. ARE you free from all responsibilities?
c. Her remarks WERE tantamount to slander.
A non-finite to-infinitive clause: Loath must take as its complement a
non-finite to-infinitive clause:
(2) They WERE loath [E E]TO LEAVE this district.
A finite dependent clause: Aware must take as its complement a finite
dependent clause1:
(3)a. He IS aware that very few jobs ARE available.
b. I don’t think you ’RE aware how much this MEANS to me.
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27 Pre-adjectival modifiers vs. post-adjectival modifiers
An attributive adjective can only take an optional pre-modifier
while a predicative adjective may optionally be pre-modified and
optionally or obligatorily post-modified.
27.1 The pre-modifier in an adjective phrase, either attributive or
predicative, may only be an adverb:
(1)a. It IS a very exciting film.
b. This film IS very exciting.
27.2 Predicative adjectives, not attributive adjectives, may take

post-modifiers:
(2)a. *She IS a somewhat anxious about his son’s health mother.
b. She IS somewhat anxious about his son’s health.
1
Aware can also take as its complement a prepositional phrase:
He WAS aware of a creaking noise.
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27.3 There are various kinds of post-modifiers in a predicative
adjective phrase:
A prepositional phrase:
(3)a. My roommate BECAME tired of studying.
b. The dean WAS NOT angry with me.
c. I’M worried about your study.
A non-finite to-infinitive clause:
(4)a. Jack APPEARED eager [E E] TO SEE her.
b. We WERE reluctant [E
E] TO LEAVE.
delighted
c. Jane WAS delighte d [E
E] TO RECEIVE the gift.
A finite dependent clause:
(5)a. I’M glad that it IS over.
b. She IS indifferent whether you COME or not.
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28 Adjective complements vs. optional post-adjectival modifiers
28.1 For most predicative adjectives, post-modification is optional.
In other words, an adjective phrase functioning predicatively does not always
obligatorily contain a certain kind of post-modifier. Anxious and devoted,
for example, can occur with or without post-modification:
(1)a. Mrs Green IS devoted.
b. Mrs Green IS really devoted.
c. Mrs Green IS really devoted to her daughter.
(2)a. He IS anxious.
b. He IS (very) anxious.
c. He IS (very) anxious about his wife’s health.
d. He IS (very) anxious [E
E] TO PLEASE everybody.
e. He IS (very) anxious that no one SHOULD ACCUSE him of laziness.
28.2 For other predicative adjectives, however, post-modification is

obligatory.
Averse, free and tantamount are always followed by a prepositional
phrase:
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(3)a. I’M NOT averse to a cup of tea.
b. ARE you free from all responsibilities?
c. Her remarks WERE tantamount to slander.
Loath is always followed by a non-finite to-infinitive clause:

(4) They WERE loath [E
E] TO LEAVE this district.
Aware must take as its complement either a prepositional phrase or

a finite dependent clause:
(5)a. He WAS aware of a creaking noise.
b. He IS aware that very few jobs ARE available.
c. I don’t think you’RE aware how much this MEANS to me.
Afraid must take as its complement either a prepositional phrase or a

finite dependent clause beginning with the subordinator “that”:
(6)a. She WAS afraid of what MIGHT HAPPEN
if Edward turned round and saw her.
b. She WAS afraid of losing customers.
c. She WAS afraid that
that he MIGHT LOSE customers.
The obligatory post-adjectival modifier should be called THE

COMPLEMENT of the head adjective in a predicative adjective phrase to be
distinguished from any possible optional post-adjectival modifier of the

head adjective.
An adjective may be both pre-modified and post-modified. Pre-
adjectival modifiers are always optional whereas post-adjectival
modifiers may be either optional or obligatory. The combination of an
adjective and its optional post-modifier is an example of THE STRUCTURE
OF MODIFICATION whereas the combination of an adjective and its
obligatory complement displays THE STRUCTURE OF COMPLEMENTATION.
Thus, it is crucial to observe what follows the head adjective in a
predicative adjective phrase and to determine whether it is A
COMPLEMENT or A MODIFIER.
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29 Classification of English adjectives according to their post-modifiers
We may give a affirmative answer to the above question because
English adjectives vary in the kinds of post-modifiers that are possible
after them:
29.1 Many adjectives do not allow any post-modifier (though they may
take a pre-modifier): big, blue, astute, sudden, tall, criminal, etc.:
(1)a. This IS another really big problem.
b. This problem IS really big.
(2)a. She HAS blue eyes.
b. Her eyes ARE blue.
(3)a. It’S a criminal waste of public money.
b. Their actions ARE criminal.
29.2 Some adjectives allow one or more kinds of optional post-modifiers:

Interesting may take only an infinitive (phrase):
interesting
(4) His book IS interestin g to read.
Attentive allows only a prepositional phrase:

(5) The audience WAS attentive tothe speaker.
Safe allows either a prepositional phrase or an infinitive phrase:

(6)a. This toy IS safe for children.
b. This tree IS safe to climb up.
Anxious
Anxi ous, however, take all three kinds of post-modifiers:
(7)a. He IS very anxious about his wife’s health,
b. He IS very anxious to please everybody,
c. He IS very anxious that no one should accuse him of laziness.
29.3 Some adjectives require one or more kinds of oblibatory post-

modifiers, which are also known as adjectives complements:
Fond and tantamount must take as its complement a prepositional
phrase:
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(8)a. I’M fond of swimming.
b. Her remarks WERE tantamount to slander.
Loath must take as its complement a non-finite to-infinitive clause:

(9) They WERE loath [E
E] TO LEAVE this district.
Aware must take as its complement either a prepositional phrase or a

finite dependent clause:
(10)a. He WAS aware of a creaking noise.
b. He IS aware that very few jobs ARE available.
c. [I don’t think] you’RE aware how much this MEANS to me.
Afraid must take as its complement either a prepositional phrase or a

finite dependent clause beginning with the subordinator “that”:
(11)a. She WAS afraid of losing customers.
b. She WAS afraid that he MIGHT LOSE customers.
c. She WAS afraid of what MIGHT HAPPEN
if Edward turned round and saw her.
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30 Types of adverbial adjuncts
30.1 All VPs are optionally modified by one or more adverbial adjuncts
which “provide circumstantial information about the action, process or event
talked about in the clause in which they occur. Circumstantial information
includes information about the place, time, manner, etc. of the action, process
or event” [Jackson, 1980: 25]. Being adverbials, adjuncts are frequently in
form of adverbs or adverb phrases, prepositional phrases, infinitive phrases,
participial phrases and subordinate finite clauses.
30.2 Adverbial adjuncts can be sub-categorised according to the meanings

they express. Note that the adverbial adjunct in question is underlined
and the Vgrp IS CAPITALISED for better identification and that only
INTRANSITIVE VERBS are employed to simplify the following analysis a bit:
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30.2.1 Adverbial adjuncts of Time have four subcategories within them:
Adverbial adjuncts of Point of Time tell when an event takes place,
answering the question ‘When?’ or ‘At what time?’:
(1)a. My father WORKS at night.
b. We’LL BE FLYING over France at eight thirty tonight.
c. I’LL COME some time/next week.
d. They ARRIVED the next day/at a quarter past nine.
Adverbial adjuncts of Duration or Extent in Time describe how

long an event lasts, answering the question ‘How long?’:
(2)a. I’D LIKE TO GO for a week in silence.
b. The two drivers MUST STAY until the police get there.
c. He WORKS hard from morning till night.
d. The bell RANG all day long.
e. It LASTED years.
f. I’VE BEEN WORKING here since 1981/since I graduated from my
university.
Adverbial adjuncts of Frequency describe how often an event

occurs, answering the question ‘How often?’ or ‘How many times?’:
(3)a. He COMES home late from time to time.
b. We MEET twice a week and EAT OUT every Friday evening.
c. The roof LEAKS whenever it rains.
d. The electrician always/usually/often/sometimes/rarely/never
WORKS overtime.
Adverbial adjuncts of Temporal relationship convey the temporal

relationship between two events or states, answering the question ‘When?
(4)a. After this the conversation SANK for a while into mere sociability.
b. They HAD ARRIVED before the meeting started.
30.2.2 Adverbial adjuncts of Place (also called Space) have six

subcategories within them:
Adverbial adjuncts of Location or Position describe the very place
in, on or at which an action occurs, answering the question ‘Where?’:
(5)a. They STOMPED upstairs.
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b. My sister and her boyfriend MET at a dance.
c. I CAN hardly STUDY at home.
d. A Panamanian passenger bus LAY in a ditch.
e. He always HIDES where I can never reach.
Adverbial adjuncts of Distance or Extent in Space include both

general description of distance and specific measurements of an action,
answering the question ‘How far?’:
(6)a. I CAN’T WALK much farther.
b. We RAN no more than two blocks.
c. I’LL JOG as far as I can.
d. You SHOULD NOT GO too near/too close.
e. They’VE WALKED for seven miles.
Adverbial adjuncts of Direction give a general orientation or the

direction of an action, answering the question ‘In what direction?’:
(7)a. A visitor CAME in.
b. A tiger HAS GOT out.
c. We ARE FLYING due north.
d. Opinion IS SHIFTING in favour of the new scheme.
Adverbial adjuncts of Terminus describe the direction of an action

towards a destination, answering the question ‘Where?’:
(8)a. The director HAS COME home.
b. She GOES to the church to take a few pictures.
c. He JUMPED onto the ground/into the air.
d. They GO where(ever) they are told.
Adverbial adjuncts of Source describe the direction of an action

from a point of origin, answering the question ‘From which?’ ‘From where?’
or ‘From whom?’:
(9)a. She GRADUATED from Cambridge with a degree in law.
b. He BORROWED freely from other writers.
c. He JUMPED off the roof.
d. He’S COME straight back from the construction site.
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Adverbial adjuncts of Path describe the pathway of an action,
answering the question ‘By/Through/Along/Via/By way of which?’:
(10)a. They ARE TRAVELING to France by way of London.
b. You CAN GO from London to Washington via New York.
c. He JUMPED out of the window/over the wall.
d. A lot of vehicles TRAVEL along the street.
e. The train WHISTLED past (the village).
f. We CAME by country roads, not by the motor road.
g. The burglar GOT in through the window and ESCAPED through the
back door.
30.2.3 Adverbial adjuncts of Manner describe the way in which

something is done, answering the question ‘How?’ or ‘By what way?’:
(11)a. The gears WORK very smoothly.
b. She CAME in gently/in a gentle way.
c. He JUMPED this way.
d. I LINGERED on purpose.
e. He BEHAVES quite strangely/in a very strange way/as if he is
going to be attacked.
30.2.4 Adverbial adjuncts of Behalf or Guise answer the question

‘Who for?’, ‘Instead of whom?’, ‘On behalf of whom?’, ‘What as?’ or ‘What
into?’:
(12)a. I COME here as a friend.
b. Tom CAME instead of Paul.
c. He SET out poor/as a pauper.
d. He CAME back rich/a rich man/as a millionaire.
e. Mavis LEFT the house a smiling, confident woman.
30.2.5 Adverbial adjuncts of Comparison compare the manner of a

state or action relative to another, answering the question ‘How?’
(13)a. Our coach LEFT earlier than it should have done.
b. This M.C. SPEAKS more fluently than accurately.
c. He DID as much as he could.
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d. The students CAN’T TRANSLATE as well as their professor does.
e. You MUST TRANSLATE as accurately as possible.
f. The lip CURLED like a snail’s foot.
30.2.6 Adverbial adjuncts of Accompaniment lie along the

continuum from clearly conveying manner to encompassing more ambiguous
meanings. They usually answer the question ‘With/Without whom?’,
‘With/Without what?’ or ‘And who/what else?’:
(14)a. I WENT to the ball with the handsome Prince Igor.
b. I LEFT with someone else.
c. He’S COMING downstairs with two sleeping bags over the top of
his head.
The adverbial adjuncts in (14)a-b show physical accompaniment.

Though they are not always obviously answers to a ‘How?’ question, they can
be replaced by the opposite adverbial adjuncts of Manner such as
independently or by myself and thus fit the manner category most clearly. In
some sense, the adverbial adjunct in (14)c conveys information about the
Manner of ‘coming downstairs’, but the precise semantic relationship between
this adverbial adjunct and the rest of the clause is difficult to define. Below
some more adverbial adjuncts of Accompaniment:
(14)d. I CAN’T LIVE without you.
e. I’VE COME out without any money.
f. Tom CAME as well as Paul.
30.2.7 Adverbial adjuncts of Means tell the means by which an

activity or state was accomplished, answering the question ‘How?’ or ‘By what
means?’:
(15)a. Mrs. Brown never TRAVELS by air.
b. They GOT over to that deserted village on foot/on horseback.
c. I GO to work by bus.
d. He GOT here by running all the way from home.
30.2.8 Adverbial adjuncts of Instrument describe the item used to

undertake a task, answering the question ‘With/Without what?’:
116
(16)a. The prisoner ESCAPED with only a razor blade.
b. I CAN hardly STUDY without an up-to-date dictionary.
c. She frequently WRITES in pencil.
d. You SHOULD NOT READ by artificial light.
e. They usually PAY in cash, not by check.
f. She often SEWS with cotton thread.
30.2.9 Adverbial adjuncts of Cause and of Reason both answer the

question ‘Why?’ Traditionally, cause has been associate with a relatively
objective statement, as in (17)a-c, while reason has implied a more
subjective assessment, as in (17)d-e:
(17)a. He [was buried under bricks, and] DIED of head injures.
b. We MISSED the plane through being held up on the motorway.
c. The old man WALKED slowly because of his bad legs/
because his legs are bad.
d. I WENT there because I was told.
e. I’VE BEEN WAITING here as I know you’ll certainly come and pick
me up.
In the majority of cases, however, it is difficult to judge the level of

objectivity and thus to discern between cause and reason, as with the
following examples:
(17)f. The plan FELL down because it proved to be expensive.
g. He THRIVES on positive criticism.
30.2.10 Adverbial adjuncts of Contingency, like adverbial adjuncts

of Cause, also answer the question ‘Why’. However, it is necessary to note
that adverbial adjuncts of Cause “give as a reason of something which is
happening, has happened, or will happen” while adverbial adjuncts of
Contingency “give as a reason of something which might have happened, or
which may happen” [Campbell, 1962: 59]. The first is certain, the second is
only possible or probable, as shown in (18)a-d:
(18)a. They DECIDED to retreat at once
for fear (that)/lest they should be cut from the main force.
b. You SHOULD LEAVE immediately in case of fire.
117
c. You HAD BETTER NOT SKI in case the weather is really bad.
d. We STARTED early for fear of a possible traffic jam.
30.2.11 Adverbial adjuncts of Purpose answer the question ‘What

for?’ or ‘For what purpose?’:
(19)a. I’VE GOT TO WRITE to report what I’ve been doing so far.
b. She just WORKS for her own account.
c. He’S GONE on business, not for pleasure.
d. I JOG for the sake of my health.
e. The ground crew even CRAWLED into the un-pressurised luggage
compartments so as not to be left behind.
f. They always WALK
so that/in order that they may/might get plenty of exercise.
Purpose is also closely related to reason, it is possible, for example, to

paraphrase (19)a as ‘The reason I’ve got to write IS to report what I’ve been
doing so far.’
30.2.12 Adverbial adjuncts of Result:

“In Purpose Sentences something is done deliberately in order to bring
about a certain result. The Subordinate Clause often has MAY or MIGHT. In
Result Sentences something happens by chance and brings about a certain
result. The Subordinate Clause never has MAY or MIGHT.” [Campbell,1962: 58]
(20)a. He DRANK so much that he’s got stomachache.
b. My father SMOKED so heavily that he got lung cancer.
c. He JUMPED so high that he easily crossed the barrier.
d. The third couple DANCED so beautifully that all the examiners
awarded them the maximal point.
30.2.13 Adverbial adjuncts of Concession express material that

runs counter to the proposition of the rest of the clause or, in the case of
adverbial adjuncts realized as clauses, counter to the proposition in the
main clause:
(21)a. He DOESN’T SUCCEED however hard he tries.
b. She FAILS however much she does.
118
c. They KEPT on swimming
(even) though/in spite of the fact that the weather was bad.
despite/in spite of the bad weather.
d. [1700 miners have been out for seven months and,]
despite intimidation, no one HAS GONE back to work.
30.2.14 Adverbial adjuncts of Condition express the conditions

which hold on the proposition of the main clause, including both positive and
negative conditions. They usually answer the question ‘Under what
condition(s)?’:
(22)a. These people CANNOT OPERATE unless they receive support.
b. You MAY LEAVE right now
provided that you work overtime tomorrow.
c. We CAN PLAY as long as it doesn’t rain.
d. You CAN LEAVE, if necessary.
e. And if you were in the mood we COULD at least GO.
30.2.15 Adverbial adjuncts of Degree or Extent tell the extent to

which a proposition holds, answering the question ‘How much?’, ‘How many?’
‘To what degree?’ or ‘To which extent?’:
(23)a. [The government had predicted that] rateable values WOULD RISE
by about seven times.
b. The land tenure system VARIES slightly from place to place.
c. He POINTED very obviously at the woman in the fur coat.
d. He CAN hardly HAVE ARRIVED yet.
e. The girl SLIPPED and almost FELL.
f. She’S GETTING on a bit now.
g. I HAD TO AGREE partially/completely/to a certain extent.
h. I quite AGREE/UNDERSTAND.
i. I CAN’T AGREE more.
30.2.16 Adverbial adjuncts of Addition or Restriction

Adverbial adjuncts of Addition (also called additive adjuncts) show
that a current proposition is being added to a previous one:
119
(24)a. She also PLAYS well.
b. I DID, too.
c. I DIDN’T, either.
It is important to note that unlike conjuncts, adverbial adjuncts of
Addition “do not serve primarily to link units of discourse. Rather, their
primary purpose is to show that one bit of propositional content is being added
to a previously mentioned idea or entity”. [Biber et all, 1999: 779]
Adverbial adjuncts of Restriction (also called restrictive adjuncts)

emphasize that the proposition is true in a way which expressly excludes some
other possibilities:
(24)d. I’M only JOKING.
e. Well, they just FELL behind, you know.
A feature shared by adjuncts of Additive and those of Restrictive
is that, unlike many other adverbials, they often cannot be moved without
affecting their meaning in the clause. The position of the adverbial is
important in determining what element of the clause is the focus of the
addition or restriction. Thus, the following pairs of sentences are not
equivalent. Only the adverbs in (25)a-b are adjuncts; the adverb in (25)a’ is
a disjunct while that in (25)b’ is a conjunct:
(25)a. A heart born especially for me, Jackie USED TO TEASE.
a’. Especially a heart born for me, Jackie USED TO TEASE.
b. Mr. Arce Gomez also HAS a human rights reputation.
b’. Also Mr. Arce Gomez HAS a human rights reputation.
30.3 Note that adverbial adjuncts may precede and/or follow the Vgrp
of the VP:
S S
NP VP1 NP VP1
PropN VP2 AdvP AdvP VP2

[opA of Location] [opA of Manner]
Vgrp Vgrp
[intrans] PP Adv [intrans]
(26)a. Phil SUNBATHED beside a stream. (26)b. A tourist suddenly COLLAPSED.
120
30.4 Also note that two or more adverbial adjuncts of different types
may occur together, following a variety of orders:
(27)a. He TRAVELS a lot (Degree)
from and to Hanoi (Source and Terminus).
b. She WROTE quickly (Manner) in order to finish in time (Purpose).
c. The cat CREPT silently (Manner) towards the bird (Direction).
d. I WANT TO GO somewhere slightly more exotic (Terminus)
for a change (Purpose).
e. He WILL certainly (Degree) DIE
if you don’t call a doctor (Condition).
S
NP VP1
PRO AdvP1 VP2

[opA of Frequency]
VP3 AdvP2
[opA of Point of Time]
VP4 AdvP3
DEG headAdv [opA of Terminus ⇒ Purpose] PP
Vgrp
[intrans] PP
(27)f. She hardly ever GOES to bed before midnight.
30.5 An obligatory adverbial adjunct can sometimes be left out provided

that there is enough contextual support. The missing adverbial adjunct is
supplied in < > in the examples below:
(28)a. [The two patients WERE also RELEASED from Guy’s yesterday
afternoon.] One REMAINED <in hospital> for an exploratory operation
on a shoulder injury.
b. “Why HAVE I BEEN here?” he wanted to say. “How long DO I HAVE TO
STAY <here>?”
30.6 An optional adverbial adjunct may follow an obligatory

adverbial adjunct. In (29)a-f there exists an adverbial obligatory adjunct
of Place (i.e. either of Location, Terminus, Path, Direction or of Source):
121
(29) a. We HAVE LIVED here (Location) for ten years (Extent in Time).
b. We WENT to Rome (Terminus) by Milan and Florence (Path).
c. A van carrying farm workers RAN off a foggy rural road (Source)
and PLUNGED into a murky canal (Terminus) today (Point of Time).
d. He’S COMING downstairs (Direction)
with two sleeping bags over the top of his head (Accompaniment).
e. She SLID over the questions (Path)
without answering them (Manner).
f. Daddy CAME home (Terminus) from work (Source)
earlier than usual (Manner).
30.7 Quite often, only one obligatory adverbial adjunct is enough to make
the meaning conveyed by the VP of a given sentence complete. In some
cases, however, both adverbial adjuncts in the VP are obligatory:
(30)a. The project WOULD GO forwards (Direction) as planned (Manner).
b. The project WOULD GO forwards (Direction).
c. The project WOULD GO as planned (Manner).
(31)a. The jumbo jet FLEW up (Direction) into the open air (Terminus).
b. The jumbo jet FLEW up (Direction).
c’. The jumbo jet FLEW into the open air (Terminus).
It is not always easy to tell whether an adverbial adjunct is obligatory

or optional. However, this distinction is crucial as far as the meaning
expressed by the whole VP in which the adjunct occur is concerned.
30.8 The above illustrations indicate that a number of nouns or noun

phrases can, and sometimes must, appear without prepositions when they are
the adverbial adjuncts of Time, of Place or even of Manner in VPs.
Among these nouns/noun phrases are Tuesday; the next day; last night; next
week; the day before yesterday; yesterday afternoon; all the time; every Friday
evening; some time; home; there; here; then; this way; a bit; a lot; a pauper; a
rich man; a smiling, confident woman; etc. Jacobs [1995: 26] believes that
“this characteristic is a relic marked by special case suffixes rather than
prepositions”. In addition, adjectives like rich or poor can also be the
adverbial adjunct of Manner or of Guise.
122
S S
NP1 VP1 NP VP1
PRO VP2 AdvP PRO VP2 AdvP
Vgrp NP2 Vgrp AP

[intrans] [intrans]
A
(32)a. I ’LL COME some time.
b. I ’LL COME next week. (33)a. He SET out poor.
c. He JUMPED this way. b. He CAME back rich.
_________________
31 Noun phrase analyses
Using a tree-diagram to give a complete analysis for each of the
following NPs means not using any triangle notation.
(1) much evening enjoyment (3) a much more expensive trip
(2) a much harder job (4) much more white sand
(5) [That was] much the best meal I’ve ever tasted
ANSWER:
1. In much evening enjoyment, much2 is a quantifying adjective
meaning ‘a large amount or quantity (of sth)’, pre-modifying the N’2 evening
enjoyment, which is in fact a compound noun. In this case, the determiner
position is unfilled.
NP NP
DET N’1 DET N’1
AP N’2 ART AP N’2
QA ComN DEG headComparA headN
ModN headN
(2) a much harder job
(1) φ much evening enjoyment
2
much /m∧t∫/ (quantifying adj., used with uncountable nouns; esp. with negative an
interrogative verbs or after very, as, how, so, too) = a large amount or quantity (of sth): I
haven’t got much money. There’s never very much news on Sundays. Take as much time
as you like. How much petrol do you need?
123
2. In a much harder job, much3 is a degree adverb meaning ‘to a
great extent or degree’, pre-modifying THE COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVE
(ComparA, for short) harder. Much harder, in its turn, is an adjective
phrase, pre-modifying the N’2 job, which is in fact the head of the whole noun
phrase.
3. In a much more expensive trip, more is a comparative degree
adverb, pre-modifying the positive adjective expensive. Since “degree
adverbs cannot themselves be modified” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 65], much
cannot be another degree adverb, pre-modifying the very comparative degree
adverb more. That is why much should be considered a degree adverb pre-
modifying the comparative adjective phrase more expensive. Much more
expensive, in its turn, is another adjective phrase, pre-modifying the N’2
trip, which is in fact the head of the whole noun phrase.
NP NP
DET N’1 DET N’1
ART AP N’2 AP1 N’2
DEG1 headAP headN DEG headComparA AP2 headN
DEG2 headA A
(4)φ much more white sand
(3) a much more expensive trip
4. In much more white sand, much is a degree adverb, pre-

modifying more, which is the comparative form of the quantifying adjective
much in this case. The adjective phrase much more then pre-modifies the
N’2 white sand, the head noun of which is uncountable.
5. In much the best meal I’ve ever tasted, much is an adverb

of degree, pre-modifying the superlative the best. The subordinate
3
much /m∧t∫/ (adv., used with comparatives and superlatives) = to a great extent or degree:
much louder; much more confidently; She’s much better today; My favourite is usually
much the most expensive; I would never willingly go anywhere by boat, much less go on
a cruise.
124
adjective clause I’ve ever tasted post-modifies the NP2 much the
best meal.
NP1
NP2 SubACl
RESTRIC NP3
DET N’1
ART AP N’2
SuperA headN
much the best meal I ’ve ever tasted
32 Mis-diagraming
What’s wrong with the two following diagrams?
NP NP
DET N’1 DET N’1
ART AP N’2 ART AP N’2
QA headN QA headN
(1)a. a few men (1)b. a little butter

ANSWER:
“The indefinite article a can only determine constituents that have a
singular count noun as head; it cannot determine plural count nouns (*a men)
or mass nouns (*a butter). This is why a few and a little must be treated as
constituents, as phrasal determiners.” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 180]
NP NP
DET N’ DET N’
Q headN Q headN
(2)a. a few (= some) men (2)b. a little (= some) butter

_________________
125
33. Structural ambiguity in English noun phrases
33.1 Define a STRUCTURALLY AMBIGUOUS noun phrase.
A noun phrase is considered as STRUCTURALLY AMBIGUOUS when its

structure permits more than one interpretation.
33.1.1 Some Japanese print collectors is structurally ambiguous. It

means either some Japanese collectors of prints in (1)a or some
collectors of Japanese prints in (1)b:
NP NP
DET N’1 DET N’1
Q AP N’2 Q AP1 N’2
ModNP
A headComN headN1
DET N’3
ModN headN
AP2 N’4
(1)a. some Japanese print collectors A headN2
(Japanese modifies (1)b. some φ Japanese print collectors

the compound noun print collectors.) (Japanese modifies the noun print.)
33.1.2 The old Rumanian history teacher can be interpreted in

three different ways:
(2)a. ‘the old teacher of history who comes from Rumania’
NP
DET N’1
ART AP1 N’2
A1 AP2 N’3
A2 headComN
ModN headN
the old Rumanian history teacher
126
(2)b. ‘the teacher of old Rumanian history’
NP
DET N’1
ART AP1 N’2
ModNP
DET N’3 headN1

AP2 N’4
A1 AP3 N’5
A2 headN2
the φ old Rumanian history teacher
(2)c. ‘the teacher of Rumanian history who is old’

NP
DET N’1
ART AP1 N’2
A1 AP2 N’3
ModNP
DET N’4
AP3 N’5 headN1
A2 headN2
the old φ Rumanian history teacher
127
33.1.3 More exciting ideas can be interpreted in two different ways:
(3)a. ‘more ideas that are exciting’(3)b. ‘ideas that are more exciting’
NP NP
DET N’1 DET N’1
AP1 N’2 AP N’2
AP2 N’3
QA DEG headA headN
[ComparA] A headN [ComparAdv]
φ more exciting ideas φ MORE exciting ideas

More is the comparative form of More is a comparative degree
the quantifying adjective many which adverb which modifies
modifies the N’2 exciting ideas the adjective exciting
_________________
33.2 Explain STRUCTURALLY AMBIGUOUS noun phrases.
33.2.1 A small arms factory is STRUCTURALLY AMBIGUOUS because
this noun phrase can be interpreted in two different ways:
(1)a. ‘an arms factory that is small’: The adjective small pre-
modifies the compound noun (ComN, for short) arms factory meaning
‘factory in which weapons like guns, rifles, explosives, etc. are manufactured’.
This compound noun is composed of the modifying noun (ModN, for short)
arms and the head noun (headN, for short) factory.
(1)b. ‘a factory for small arms’: Small arms, which is a

compound noun meaning ‘weapons light enough to be carried in the hands’,
pre-modifies the head noun factory. This compound noun is composed of
the adjective (A, for short) small and the head noun (headN, for short) arms:
128
NP NP
DET N’1 DET N’1

ModNP
A headComN
DET N’3
headComN headN
ModN headN A headN
(1)a. a small arms factory (1)b. a φ small arms factory
33.2.2 An old girl’s bicycle is STRUCTURALLY AMBIGUOUS because

this noun phrase can be interpreted in two different ways:
(2)a. ‘a girl’s bicycle that is old’
The adjective old pre-modifies the head noun bicycle. So does the
possessive common noun (PossCommN, for short) girl’s.
(2)b. ‘a bicycle for an old girl’
Thus, old is an adjective pre-modifying girl, which is the head noun of
the possessive noun phrase (PossNP, for short) an old girl’s.
NP NP1
DET N’1 DET1 N’1
ART AP1 N’2 PossNP headN1
A AP2 N’3 NP2 PossMarker
PossCommN headN DET2 N’2
(2)a. an old girl’s bicycle ART AP N’3
A headN
(2)b. an old girl ’s bicycle
129
33.2.3 ‘The world women’s congress’ can be interpreted as ‘the
women’s congress of the world’ as in (3)a or ‘the congress of world
women’ as in (3)b.
NP1
NP DET1 N’1
DET N’1 PossNP headN1
ART AP1 N’2 NP2 PossMarker
ModN AP2 N’3 DET2 N’2
PossCommN headN ART headComN
(3)a. the world women’s congress ModN headN2
(3)b. the world women ’s congress
33.2.4 A nice man’s fur coat can be interpreted as ‘a man’s fur coat
that is nice’ as in (4)a or ‘a fur coat of a nice man’ as in (4)b.
NP NP1
ART AP1 N’2 PossNP headComN
A AP2 N’3 NP2 PossMarker ModN headN1
PossCommN headComN DET2 N’2
ModN headN ART AP N’3
A headN2
(4)a. a nice man’s fur coat
(4)b. a nice man ’s fur coat
130
33.2.5 ‘A large woman’s garment’ can be interpreted as ‘a woman’s
garment that is large’ as in (5)a or ‘a garment for a large woman’ as in
(5)b.
NP1
NP DET1 N’1
A AP2 N’3 DET N’2
PossCommN headN ART AP N’3
(5)a. a large woman’s garment A headN2
(5)b. a large woman ’s garment
33.2.6 An advanced learner’s dictionary can be interpreted as ‘an

advanced dictionary for learners’ as in (6)a or ‘a dictionary for an
advanced learner’ as in (6)b:
NP1
NP DET1 N’1
A AP2 N’3 DET N’2
PossCommN headN AP N’3
(6)a. an advanced learner’s dictionary A headN2
(6)b. an advanced learner ’s dictionary
131
33.2.7 ‘A camel’s hair brush4’ can be interpreted as ‘an implement
with bristles used to brush, scrub, clean or tidy a camel’s hair’ as in
(7)a or ‘an act of brushing, scrubbing, cleaning or tidying the hair of a
camel’ as in (7)b.
NP NP
ModNP
PossCommN headComN DET2 N’3 headN1
ModN headN PossCommN headN2
(7)a. a camel’s hair brush (7)b. a φ camel’s hair brush
33.2.8 ‘That greasy kid stuff’ can be interpreted as ‘that kid

stuff which is greasy’ as in (8)a or ‘that stuff for greasy kids’ as in
(8)b.
NP NP
DEM AP N’2 DEM AP N’2
A headComN ModNP headN
ModN headN DET2 N’3
AP N’4
(8)a. that greasy kid stuff
A headN
(8)b. that φ greasy kid stuff
4
brush 1. [C] implement with bristles of hair, wire, nylon, etc. in a block of wood, etc.
and used for scrubbing, sweeping, cleaning, painting, tidying the hair, etc.:
a clothes- brush, a tooth-brush, a paint-brush, a hair-brush.
2. [singular] act of brushing: give one’s clothes, hair, shoes, teeth, wool coat,
etc. a good brush.
132
33.2.9 ‘The basic book service’ can be interpreted as ‘the book
service that is basic’ as in (9)a or ‘the service for basic books’ as in (9)b.
NP NP
A ComN ModNP headN
ModN headN DET2 N’3
AP N’4
(9)a. the basic book service
A headN
(9)b. the φ basic book service
32.2.10 ‘A foreign language teacher’ can be interpreted as ‘a language

teacher who is foreign’ as in (10)a or ‘a teacher of a foreign language’
as in (10)b.
NP NP
DET N’1 DET N’1
A ComN ModNP headN
ModN headN DET N’3
AP N’4
(10)a. a foreign language teacher A headN

(10)b. a φ foreign language teacher
133
33.2.11 ‘An old car enthusiast’ can be interpreted as ‘a car
enthusiast who is old’ as in (11)a or ‘an enthusiast about old cars’ as in
(11)b.
NP NP
A ComN ModNP headN
ModN headN
DET2 N’3
AP N’4
(11)a. an old car enthusiast A headN
(11)b. an φ old car enthusiast
33.2.12 ‘More ferocious curries’ can be interpreted as ‘more

curries that are ferocious’ as in (12)a or ‘curries that are more
ferocious’ as in (12)b.
NP NP
DET N’1 DET N’1
AP1 N’2 AP N’2
AP2 N’3
QA DEG headA headN
[ComparA] A headN [ComparAdv]
(12)a. φ more ferocious curries (12)b. φ MORE ferocious curries
More is the comparative form of More is a comparative degree

the quantifying adjective many which adverb which modifies
modifies the N’2 ferocious curries the adjective ferocious
33.3 Disambiguate STRUCTURALLY AMBIGUOUS noun phrases.

When two or more modifying word groups occur after a head noun,
there is danger of structural ambiguity.
134
“Our English grammatical system provides us with at least five
common means of avoiding such ambiguities:
1. Gender signals: The dog on the porch with (its, his) battered look.
2. Person-thing signals: The young calf of the boy
(who, which) was standing near the gate.
3. Number signals: The rooms of the house which (were, was) dirty.
4. Position: A dispute at the courthouse on drinking.
5. Co-ordination: A second-hand car that he later traded for a motorcycle
and that he loved to tinker with.”
[Stageberg, 1965: 167-168]
NP1
NP2 AP1
DET1 N’1 PP1
headN1 P1 NP3
ART1 NP4 AP2
DET2 N’2 PP2
ART2 headN2 P2 NP5
(1)a. the dog on the porch with its battered look

NP1
NP2 AP1
NP3 AP2 PP1
DET N’ PP2
ART headN
(1)b. the dog on the porch with his battered look
135
NP1
NP2 AP1
DET N’1 PP
ART AP2 N’2 P NP3
A headN1 NP4 SubACl
DET N’1
ART headN2
(2)a. the young calf of the boy who was standing near the gate
NP1
NP2 AP1
NP3 AP2 SubACl
DET1 N’1 PP
ART1 AP N’2
A headN1
(2)b. the young calf of the boy which was standing near the gate
NP1
NP2 SubACl
NP3 AP
DET N’ PP
ART headN
(3)a. the rooms of the house which were dirty
136
NP
NP2 AP
DET1 N’ PP
ART1 headN1 P NP3
NP4 SubACl
DET2 N’
ART2 headN2
(3)b. the rooms of the house which was dirty

NP1
NP2 AP1
NP3 AP2 PP1
DET N’ PP2
ART headN
(4)a. a dispute at the courthouse on drinking

(4)b. a dispute on drinking at the courthouse
NP1
NP2 AP
DET N’ PP1
ART headN P NP2
headGer AdvP
PP2
(4)b’. a dispute on drinking at the courthouse
137
NP1
NP2 SubACl1
DET N’1
AP N’2
ComA headN
SubACl2 Conj SubACl3
(5)a. a second-hand car
that he later traded for a motorcycle and that he loved to tinker with
which he later traded for a motorcycle and which he loved to tinker with
NP1
NP2 SubACl
DET N’1
ART AP N’2
ComA headN
(5)b. a second-hand car that he later traded

for a motorcycle which he loved to tinker with
PP
P NP1
NP2 SubACl
DET N’1
ART headN
(6) [that he later traded] for a motorcycle which he loved to tinker with
33.4. Account for STRUCTURALLY NON-AMBIGUOUS noun phrases.

Are the following noun phrases STRUCTURALLY NON-AMBIGUOUS?
If not, how do you account for this?
138
(1) young car salesmen
(2) second-hand car salesmen
(3) some beautiful print collectors
ANSWER:
The three noun phrases young car salesmen, second-hand car
salesmen and some beautiful print collectors are not STRUCTURALLY
AMBIGUOUS. In other words, there is only one way to explain them:
1. young car salesmen: Since people, but not things, can be described
as ‘young’, young must modify a constituent of which salesmen is the head. It
cannot modify car and hence cannot form a constituent with car. The natural
structural analysis of this noun phrase, then, is:
NP
DET N’1
AP N’2
headComN1
A ModN headComN2
φ young car salesmen
2. second-hand car salesmen: Things, but not people, can be

‘second-hand’, so second-hand must modify (and hence form a constituent
with) car, rather than any constituent having salesmen as its head. The
natural structural analysis of this noun phrase, then, is:
NP
DET N’1
AP N’2
ModNP
headComN
DET N’3
AP N’4
A headN
φ φ second-hand car salesmen
139
3. ‘Some beautiful print collectors’ is better interpreted as ‘some
beautiful collectors of prints’ and not as ‘some collectors of beautiful
prints’; that is, “for me at least, print, when acting as a pre-modifier itself,
does not accept beautiful as a modifier” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 164].
NP
DET N’1
Q AP N’2
A headComN
ModN headN
some beautiful print collectors
_________________
34 Verb phrase analyses
34.1 Noun phrases as the sP/sC of an intensive verb
or as the dO of a monotransitive verb
When a verb is complemented by an NP, you will have to decide
whether [Vgrp + NP] is an example of a monotransitive Vgrp + its dO or
an example of an intensive Vgrp + its sP/sC. Compare (1) with the
following (2):
S S
NP VP NP VP
PropN Vgrp NP[dO] PropN Vgrp NP[sP/sC]

[monotrans] [intens]
(1) Tom SPOTTED an auctioneer. (2) Tom WAS an auctioneer.

The nature of spotting in (1) leads to a relation between two individuals
(or, participants), a spotter (the subject) and a spottee (the direct object). That
is what makes spotted in (1) a monotransitive verb.
In (2) only one individual is mentioned (by means of the subject Tom).
The rest of the sentence (the VP) is used to characterize the subject. If (2)
expresses a relation, it is the relation between an individual and a property:
the sentence expresses the ideas that Tom has the property of being an
auctioneer.
140
APs only ever identify properties. “NPs, by contrast, can be used both
to identify properties and to refer to individuals. This is why an NP can
function both as predicative (complementing an intensive verb) and as
direct object (complementing a monotransitive verb).” [Burton-
Roberts, 1997: 87]
34.2 NP direct objects of a monotransitive verb

or NP adverbial adjuncts of an intransitive verb
Since not all verbs followed by an NP are monotransitive, it is crucial to
distinguish an NP direct object of a monotransitive verb from an NP
adverbial adjunct of an intransitive verb. Consider the two following
sentences:
S S
NP1 VP NP1 VP1
headN Vgrp NP2[dO] PRO VP2 AdvP

[monotrans] [opA of Point ofTime]
Vgrp
[intrans] NP2
(1)a. Lightning STRUCK the oak tree. (2)a. They ARRIVED the next day.
One useful way to test whether or not a sentence really contains a

monotransitive verb plus its NP direct object is to see if it has a passive
counterpart. Compare:
(1)b. The oak tree WAS STRUCK by lightning.
(2)b. *The next day WAS ARRIVED by them.
‘The oak tree’ can be the subject of the passive sentence (1)b;
therefore, ‘struck’ is monotransitive. ‘The next day’ cannot be the subject
of the passive sentence (2)b; it must be an optional adverbial adjunct of
Point of Time modifying ‘arrive’, which is an intransitive verb.
In addition, “adjuncts are more freely moved than required
constituents” [Jacobs, 1995: 55]. Thus, as an optional adverbial adjunct of
‘arrive’, ‘the next day’ can easily be shifted to the front of (2)c:
(2)c. The next day they ARRIVED.
However, (1)c does not sound English:
141
(1)c *The oak tree lightning STRUCK.
Also as an optional adverbial adjunct of ‘arrive’, ‘the next day’
can easily be removed from (2)d:
(2)d. They ARRIVED.
Such an omission will result in the ungrammaticality of (1)d:
(1)d. *Lightning STRUCK.
This proves that the oak tree is a complement of ‘struck’. It is the
direct object of ‘struck’, to be precise.
34.3 Prepositional phrases as the sP/sC of an intensive verb

or as the optional adverbial adjunct of any verb
“PPs should only be treated as part of the necessary complementation
of an intensive verb (i.e. as subject-predicatives) if they cannot be omitted”.
[Burton-Roberts, 1997: 88]
So, in the engine room in (1) is a sP/sC since (2) is not a complete
sentence (even though the missing element might be understood in context):
S S
NP VP NP VP
PropN Vgrp PP [sP/sC] PropN Vgrp

[intens] [intens]
(1) Oscar SHOULD BE in the engine room. (2) *Oscar SHOULD BE.
However, beside a stream in (3) is only an optional adverbial

adjunct of Location of the intransitive verb ‘sunbathed’ since (4) is still a
complete English sentence:
S S
NP VP1 NP VP1
PropN VP2 AdvP PropN Vgrp

[opA of Location] [intrans]
Vgrp
[intrans] PP (4) Phil SUNBATHED.
(3) Phil SUNBATHED beside a stream.
142
34.4 IntransVAC vs. intransV—Adv
Distinguish an intransitive verb-adverbial composite (intransVAC,
for short), which is also called an intransitive phrasal verb, from a
combination of an intransitive head verb and its adverbial adjunct
(intransV—Adv):
1 He TURNED up. intransVAC meaning ‘appeared’
2 He CLIMED up. intransV—Adv
3 The two friends WALKED out. intransV—Adv
4 The two friends FELL out. intransVAC meaning ‘quarreled’
5 He DOES CARRY on, intransVAC meaning ‘behave strangely’
doesn’t he? or ‘argue, quarrel or complain noisily’
6 After drinking rapidly and intransVAC meaning ‘fainted’ or
heavily, ‘lost consciousness’
he suddenly PASSED on.
7 They TURNED back. intransV—Adv
8 She SAT down. intransV—Adv
9 SLOW up a bit, intransVAC meaning
or you make yourself ill. ‘work more energetically’
10 After a month intransVAC meaning ‘come to an end’
their food supplies GIVE out.
11 That foreign student intransVAC meaning ‘will survive’
WILL MAKE out.
12 Why DON’T you MAKE up? intransVAC meaning ‘put powder,
lipstick, greasepaint, etc. on your face
to make it more attractive’
13 If you are so sleepy, intransVAC meaning ‘go to bed’
why DON’T you TURN in?
14 Williard WENT in. intransV—Adv
15 She STOOD up. intransV—Adv
16 She SHUT up. intransVAC meaning ‘stopped talking’
17 She WAS LOOKING up a new intransVAC meaning ‘was searching
word as I entered the room. for (a new word) in a dictionary’
18 She LOOKED up from her book intransV—Adv
as I entered the room.
143
34.5 MonotransVAC —NP vs. IntransV—PP
34.5.1 How to distinguish a monotransVAC—NP from an intransV—PP?
ANSWER:
Only the adverbial particle (Prt, for short) of a monotransVAC can
move over its NP direct object:
(1)a. She CALLED up her husband.
b. She CALLED her husband up.
Indeed, when the direct object is a pronoun, the adverbial particle must
appear after it:
(2)a. She CALLED him up.
b.*She CALLED up him.
The preposition in a PP can never move to a position following its
complement. So, particle movement provides a very reliable test for
distinguishing between a monotransVAC—NP and an intransV—PP:
‘[He] SHOUTED out the answer’ or ‘[He] SHOUTED the answer/it

out’ is a monotransVAC—NP meaning ‘[He] gave the answer in a loud voice’.
‘[He] LOOKED out the window’ is an intransV—PP meaning ‘[He]

TURNED his eyes in a certain direction to see (sb/sth) through the window’;
thus ‘*[He] LOOKED the window out’ is ungrammatical.
‘[He] SAW through her little game’ or ‘[He] SAW her little game/it
through’ is a monotransVAC—NP meaning ‘[He] WAS NOT DECEIVED by the
trick she had tried to play on him’.
‘[He] SAW through her disguise’ is an intransV—PP meaning ‘[He]

SAW through the thing she was wearing for disguise’; thus ‘*[He] SAW her
disguise through’ is ungrammatical.
Note also that while is ambiguous, is not:

‘He LOOKED up the street’ can be either an intransV—PP meaning
‘[He] TURNED his eyes in a certain direction to see (sb/sth) up the street’ or a
monotransVAC—NP meaning ‘[He] SEARCHED for the street in a map, a guide
book, etc.’
‘He LOOKED the street up’ is only a monotransVAC—NP meaning
‘[He] SEARCHED for the street in a map, a guide book, etc.
144
34.5.2 Distinguish a combination of a transitive verb-adverbial
composite (also called a transitive phrasal verb) and its NP direct
object (monotransVAC —NP, for short) from that of an intransitive verb
and its PP adverbial adjunct (intransV—PP, for short):
1 He TURNED down the offer. monotransVAC meaning ‘rejected’
2 He TURNED down the driveway. intransV—PP
3 You MUST TURN in your kit monotransVAC meaning ‘must return’

before you leave the army.
4 He TURNED in the street. intransV—PP
5 We CALLED up the plumber. monotransVAC meaning ‘telephoned’
6 Mother CALLED up the stairs. intransV—PP
7 Frank CALLED down his son. monotransVAC meaning ‘reprimanded’
8 He CALLED down the mountain. intransV—PP
9 They RAN in a circle. intransV—PP

10 They RAN in the criminal. monotransVAC meaning ‘arrested (the
criminal)
and took (him) to the police station’
11 He BROKE in his new car. monotransVAC meaning ‘trained’
12 She dropped the plate, intransV—PP

and it BROKE in two.
13 The wind BLEW (softly) intransV—PP
down the valley.
14 The wind BLEW down the tree. monotransVAC meaning
‘caused (the tree) to fall down’
15 Jean RAN (quickly) up the hill. intransV—PP
16 Jane RAN up a bill. monotransVAC meaning
‘allowed (a bill) to accumulate’
145
17 Dr. Holmes ARRIVED at monotransVAC meaning ‘reached’
the following conclusion.
18 When did you ARRIVED intransV—PP
at the airport?
19 His normally placid dog monotransVAC meaning ‘attacked
TURNED on him (him) suddenly and unexpectedly’
and bit him on the leg.
20 WILL you TURN on the light monotransVAC meaning ‘cause (the
in this room? light) to start functioning’
21 I RAN into an old school friend monotransVAC meaning
at the supermarket this morning. ‘met (him/her) by chance’
22 The bus went out of control and intransV—PP
RAN (straight) into a shop front.
23 She monotransVAC meaning ‘deliberately
LOOKED (straight) through me. ignored (me) whom she could see
clearly’
24 I LOOKED through a key hole intransV—PP
but saw nobody in the house.
25 The police ARE LOOKING into monotransVAC meaning
his disappearance. ‘are investigating’
26 I LOOKED into the box intransV—PP
but saw nothing there.
34.6 MonotransVAC—NP vs. monotrans-prepV—prepO
Distinguish a monotransitive verb-adverbial composite (monotransVAC,

for short) from a combination of a monotransitive prepositional head
verb and its prepositional object (monotrans-prepV—prepO, for short):
1 A nice young woman WAITED upon me a monotransVAC

in Macy’s yesterday. meaning ‘served’
2 We’VE BEEN WAITING for you here monotrans-prepV—prepO
for half an hour.
3 The doctor LOOKED at a monotransVAC
my badly swollen ankle. meaning ‘examined’
146
4 LOOK at the blackboard, please. monotrans-prepV—prepO
5 She SMILED/GRINNED/STARED/ monotrans-prepV—prepO
GLANCED/SQUINTED/SHOUTED at me.
6 We LAUGHED at Jane when she said a monotransVAC meaning

that she believed in ghosts. ‘mocked or ridiculed (sb)’
7 The secretary APOLOGIZED to her boss monotrans-prepV—prepO
for her being late for work.
8 What DOES that article REFER to? monotrans-prepV—prepO
9 DO you OBJECT to what I’ve just said? monotrans-prepV—prepO
10 WOULD you please LISTEN to me? monotrans-prepV—prepO
_________________
35 Sentence analyses
35.1 Identify the syntactic function of a prepositional phrase.
S
NP VP
PropN Vgrp PP [prepO]

[monotrans-prep]
(1)a. Max GLANCED at the falling acrobat.

Subject + a monotrans-prepositional verb + a PP prepositional object
NP VP
PropN Vgrp PP[sP/sC]

[intens]
(1)b. Oscar SHOULD BE in the engine room.

Subject + an intensive verb + a PP subjective complement
147
S
NP VP1
PropN VP2 AdvP

[opA of Location]
Vgrp
[intrans] PP
(2)a. Phil SUNBATHED beside a stream.

Subject + an intransitive verb + an optional PP adverbial adjunct
S
NP VP1
Vgrp AdvP
[intrans] [obA of Location]
PP
(2)b. The National Theatre STANDS near the river.

Subject + an intransitive verb + an obligatory PP adverbial adjunct
35.2 Decide whether a prepositional phrase is

part of the complementation of a ditransitive verb:
(1) Holden IS WRITING letters to Africa.
(2) Holden IS WRITING letters to the White House.
(3) Max TOOK the hyena to the station.
(4) Max LENT his hyena to the Dramatic Society.
(5) William BAKED a cake for Mary.
(6) William BAKED a cake for Christmas.
(7) She IS SAVING a place for Sophie.
(8) She IS SAVING the money for a new car.
ANSWER:
35.2.1 A prepositional phrase (PP, for short) is counted as part of the
complementation of a ditransitive verb only if it corresponds to a NP
functioning as an indirect object. Consider (1’) and (2’):
(1’) Holden IS WRITING Africa letters.
(2’) Holden IS WRITING the White House letters.
148
(1’) is not a reasonable paraphrase of (1), but (2’) is a reasonable
paraphrase of (2). Therefore, the PP in (2) is part of the complementation of
the verb write, which must be subcategorised as [ditrans] in this sentence:
S
NP1 VP
PropN Vgrp NP2[dO] PP[iO]

[ditrans]
(2) Holden IS WRITING letters to the White House.
In (1), on the other hand, write is a monotransitive verb, complemented

the dO noun phrase letters to Africa:
S
NP1 VP
PropN Vgrp NP2[dO]

[monotrans]
NP3 AP
DET N’1 PP
headN
(1) Holden IS WRITING φ letters to Africa.
35.2.2 Considering (3’) *Max bring the station the hyena, we see that
(3’) is not a reasonable paraphrase of (3). Therefore, the PP to the station
is the obligatory adverbial adjunct of Terminus of ‘bring’, which is a
monotransitive verb:
S
NP1 VP
PropN Vgrp NP2[dO] PP

[monotrans] [obA of Terminus]
(3) Max BRING the hyena to the station.
149
Consider (4’) Max lent the Dramatic Society his hyena. (4’) is a
reasonable paraphrase of (4). So the PP to the Dramatic Society is the
iO of bring, which is a ditransitive verb.
S
NP1 VP
PropN Vgrp NP2[dO] PP[iO]

[ditrans]
(4) Max LENT his hyena to the Dramatic Society.
35.2.3 Notice that it is only NPs denoting animate things (or things
that could be interpreted as being animate) that can be indirect objects.
Mary is a person; therefore, for Mary in (5) is the iO of the
ditransitive verb bake:
S Vgrp dO iO
[ditrans]
Christmas is not a person. It is a festival; therefore, for Christmas in (6)
is not the iO the ditransitive verb bake; it is in fact the optional adverbial
adjunct of Purpose of the monotransitive verb bake:
S Vgrp dO opA of Purpose
[monotrans]
However, the moment you interpret Christmas as a person rather than
a festival, William baked Christmas a cake sounds as perfectly grammatical as
William baked Mary a cake. In other words, for Christmas can also be
considered the iO of the ditransitive verb bake as the result of the
personification of Christmas:
S
NP VP
PropN Vgrp NP[dO] PP[iO]

[ditrans]

150
35.2.4 Sophie is a person; therefore, for Sophie in (7) is the iO of the
ditransitive verb is saving:
(7) She IS SAVING a place for Sophie.
S Vgrp dO iO
[ditrans]
A new car is not a person. It is a non-living thing; therefore, for a new
car in (8) is not the iO of the ditransitive verb is saving; it is in fact the
optional adverbial adjunct of Purpose of the monotransitive verb is
saving:
(8) She IS SAVING the money for a new car.
S Vgrp dO opA of Purpose
[monotrans]
35.3 Explain the difference between two sentences.

(1)a. The meeting LASTED three hours.
b. The meeting LASTED for three hours.
(2)a. The seafront EXTENDS four miles.
b. The seafront EXTENDS for four miles.
(3)a. He CALLED her an angel.
b. He CALLED her a taxi.
(4)a. I ’LL MAKE you First Secretary.
b. I ’LL MAKE you an omelette.
(5)a. The two friends FELL out.
b. The two friends WALKED out.
(6)a. The samovar BROKE.
b. Anna BROKE the samovar.
(7)a. Ed WILL MAKE Liz a good wife.
b. Ed WILL MAKE Liz lots of money.
(8)a. The burglar LEFT the house in a mess.
b. The burglar LEFT the house in a few minutes.
ANSWER:
The following pairs of sentences differ from each another in the internal
structure of their verb phrases:
151
35.3.1 Verbs of measurement like last or extend link to a noun phrase or
a prepositional phrase which indicates ‘extent’ (e.g. how much the subject
costs, what it measures, how long it lasts, etc.).
The verb in (1)a and (2)a is monotransitive:
(1)a. The meeting LASTED three hours.
(2)a. The seafront EXTENDS four miles.
Subject Vgrp NP
[monotrans] [predicator complement]
The verb in (1)b and (2)b is intransitive:

(1)b. The meeting LASTED for three hours.
(2)b. The seafront EXTENDS for four miles.
Subject Vgrp PP
[intrans] [obA of Extent in Time or Space]
35.3.2 Call and make in (3)a and (4)a are complex transitive verbs:
(3)a. He CALLED her an angel.
(4)a. I ’LL MAE you First Secretary
S Vgrp dO oP/oC
[complex]
Call and make in (3)b and (4)b are ditransitive verbs:

(3)b. He CALLED her a taxi.
(4)b. I ’LL MA you an omelette.
S Vgrp iO dO
[ditrans]
35.3.3 Fell out in (5)a is an intransitive VERB-ADVERBIAL COMPOSITE

(intransVAC, for short) [Stageberg, 1965: 220] /an intransitive phrasal
verb meaning ‘quarreled’. This intransVAC consists of the lexical verb fell
and the adverbial particle out.
Walked out in (5)b is a combination of walked, which is an

intransitive head verb, and out, which is the adverbial adjunct of
Direction of the verb.
152
S S
NP VP NP VP1
DET N’1 Vgrp DET N’1 VP2 AdvP

[intransVAC] [opA of Direction]
ART QA N’2 AR QA N’2 Vgrp
[intrans] Adv
NUM headN NUM headN
(5)a. The two friends FELL out. (5)b. The two friends WALKED out.
35.3.4 Broke in (6)a is an intransitive verb meaning ‘separated into two

or more parts as a result of force or strain (but not by cutting)’.
Broke in (6)b is a monotransitive verb meaning ‘caused (the samovar)
to break’.
S S
NP VP NP1 VP
DET N’ Vgrp PropN Vgrp NP2[dO]

[intrans] [monotrans]
ART headN
(6)a. The samovar BROKE. (6)b. Anna BROKE the samovar.
35.3.5 Will make in (7)a is a complex transitive verb meaning ‘will

cause (Liz) to be/become’. A good wife is the object(ive) complement of
the direct object Liz.
Will make in (7)b is a ditransitive verb meaning ‘will provide (Liz)

with’. Lots of money is the direct object while Liz is the indirect object,
both complementing the verb.
S S
NP1 VP NP1 VP
PropN Vgrp NP2[dO] NP3[oC] PropN Vgrp NP2[iO] NP3[dO]

[complex] [ditrans]
(7)a. Ed WILL MAKE Liz a good wife. (7)b. Ed WILL MAKE Liz lots of money.
153
35.3.6 Left in (8)a is a complex transitive verb meaning ‘caused or
allowed (the house) to remain in a certain condition’, and in a mess is the
object(ive) complement (oC) of the direct object (dO) the house.
Left in (8)b is a monotransitive verb meaning ‘went away from (the

house)’, and in a few minutes is an adverbial adjunct of Point of Time of
the head verb.
S
NP1 VP
Vgrp NP2[dO] PP[oP/oC]

[complex]
(8)a. The burglar LEFT the house in a mess.

S
NP1 VP1
VP2 AdvP
[opA of Time]
Vgrp NP2[dO]
[monotrans] PP
(8)b. The burglar LEFT the house in a few minutes.

Note that there exists an intensive relationship linking the dO and its
oC. This can be tested by a paraphrase with be: ‘The house WAS in a mess’.
No such relationship can be found between the house and in a few minutes:
‘*The house WAS in a few minutes’.
35.4 Re-analyse sentence pairs, using tree-diagrams.

The following pairs of sentences differ from each other in the internal
structure of their verb phrases:
(1)a. He TASTED the strange meat with great care.
S + monotrans headV + NP/dO + PP/adjunct of Manner
(1)b. The meat TASTED salty and spicy.

S + intensive headV + AP/subject(ive) complement (sC)
154
(2)a. His favorite pastime IS swimming.
S + intensive headV + NP/(sC)
(2)b. He LIKES swimming in his leisure time.

S + monotrans headV + NP/dO + PP/adjunct of Time
(3)a. We WERE reluctant to leave.

S + intensive headV + AP/(sC)
(3)b. We WERE reluctant, to tell the truth.

S + intensive headV + AP/sC + disjunct 5/sentence modifier
(4)a. My brother STAYED an outstanding student

S + intensive headV + NP/sC
(4)b. The government STAYED the execution.

S + monotrans headV + NP/Do
Note that as an intensive verb, stayed means ‘remained’; as a

monotransitive verb, stayed means ‘delayed (something)’.
(5)a. She TURNED red at the thought.

S + intensive headV + A/sC + PP/adjunct of Cause
(5)b. She TURNED right (≠ “left”) at the corner.
S + intrans headV + Adv/obA of Direction + PP/ adjunct of Location
(5)b’. She TURNED right (= “exactly”) at the corner.

S + intrans headV + Adv + PP/adjunct of Location
Note that as an intensive verb, turned means ‘became’ or ‘got’; as a

intransitive verb, turned means ‘went round something’.
(6)a. He RETURNED a slightly different umbrella.

S + monotrans headV + NP/dO
A disjunct refers to “the expression of the speaker’s stance or attitude to what he is

5
saying” [Jackson, 1980: 26]: Frankly, I can’t see George doing the job either.
155
(6)b. He RETURNED home several hours later.
S + intrans headV + Adv/adjunct of Terminus + AdvP/adjunct of Time
Note that as a monotransitive verb, returned means ‘give, bring, send

(sb, sth) back’; as an intransitive verb, returned means ‘came or went back to
a place’.
(7)a. Mark GOT a scheme to win Kathy’s heart.

(7)b. Mark GOT a job to earn money for his holiday.

S + monotrans headV + NP/dO + InfP/adjunct of Purpose
(8)a. I RAN across my old friend.

S + monotransVAC/monotrans inseparable phrasal headV NP/dO
(8)b. I RAN across a field.

S + intrans headV + PP/adjunct of Path
(9)a. LEAVE the door open.

complex trans headV + NP/dO +A/oC
(9)b. LEAVE the cooking to me.

ditrans headV + NP/dO + PP/iO
(10)a. Several women MOVED to help her.

S + intrans headV + InfP/adjunct of Purpose
(10)b. Several women OFFERED to help her.

S + monotrans headV + InfP/dO
(11)a. We ASKED some questions.

S + monotrans headV NP/dO
(11)b. We ASKED three times.

S + intrans headV + NP/adjunct of Frequency
156
(12)a. I LOVED her the instant I saw her.
S + monotrans headV + pronoun/dO + NP/adjunct of Time
(12)b. I GAVE her the ticket she asked.

S + ditrans headV + pronoun/iO + NP/dO
(13)a. I never HOLD that man my friend.

S + Adv + complex headV + NP/dO + NP/object(ive) complement (oC)
adjunct of Frequency
(13)b. My brain CAN’T HOLD so much information.

Note that as a complex transitive verb, hold means ‘regard’ or

‘consider’; as a monotransitive verb, hold means ‘contain’.
_________________
36 Structural ambiguity in English verb phrases

Re-explain the structural ambiguity of each of the given verb
phrases, using tree-diagrams.
1. [He] considered the applicant hard.

This verb phrase is structurally ambiguous because:
(1)a. hard is an adverb meaning ‘carefully’ or ‘with care’, being an
optional adverbial adjunct of manner of the monotransitive verb considered,
which means ‘thought about’ or ‘took into account’:
He CONSIDERED the applicant hard.
S + monotrans headV + NP/dO + adjunct of Manner
(1)b. hard is an adjective meaning ‘difficult to be accepted’, being

the object predicative (oP)/the objective complement (oC) of the dO
noun phrase ‘the applicant’. Both the dO and its oP/oC follow the complex
transitive verb considered meaning ‘regarded’:
He CONSIDERED the applicant hard.
S + complex trans headV + NP/dO + adjective/oP or oC
157
2. [He] watched the hunters with binoculars.
(2)a. With binoculars is a PP, an adjectival post-modifier of the
NP the hunters:
He WATCHED the hunters with binoculars.
(2)b. With binoculars is a PP, an optional adverbial adjunct of

means of watched, which is a monotransitive verb:
He WATCHED the hunters with binoculars.
S + monotrans headV + NP/dO + adjunct of Means
3. [The car] coasted into the garage with lights on.

(3)a. With lights on is a PP, an adjectival post-modifier of the NP
the garage. The NP the garage with lights on, in its turn, is the
complement of the preposition into, resulting in the PP into the garage
with lights on. This PP is an optional adverbial adjunct of terminus of
the intransitive verb coasted, which means ‘move, esp. downhill (in a car, on
a bicycle, etc.) without using power’:
The car COASTED into the garage with lights on.
S + intrans headV + PP/adjunct of Terminus
(3)b. With lights on is a PP, an optional adverbial adjunct of

manner of the intransitive verb coasted. And into the garage is another PP,
an optional adverbial adjunct of terminus of coasted:
The car COASTED into the garage with lights on.
S + intrans headV + PP/adjunct of Terminus + PP/adjunct of Manner
4. [They] are moving sidewalks.

158
(4)a. Moving is the present participle of the verb move, a verbal,
part of the finite verb are moving:
They ARE MOVING sidewalks.
S + monotrans headV + Compound Noun/dO
(4)b. Moving is the present participle (V-part, for short) of the verb
move, an adjectival pre-modifier of the compound noun sidewalks:
They ARE moving sidewalks.
S + intensive headV + V-part/adjectival pre-modifier + Compound Noun/dO
5. [The witch] turned on the stove.

(5)a. On the stove is a PP, an optional adverbial adjunct of

location of the intransitive verb turned, which means ‘move so that a
different side faces outwards or upwards’:
The witch TURNED on the stove.
S + intrans headV + PP/adjunct of Location
(5)b. Turned on is a monotransitive VAC meaning ‘caused (the

stove) to start functioning’:
The witch TURNED on the stove.
S + monotransVAC + NP/dO
6. [She] decided on the train.

(6)a. On the train is a PP, a (obligatory) prepositional object
(prepO, for short) of the monotransitive prepositional verb decided meaning
‘chose, selected’ or ‘took, accepted’. Thus, the whole sentence may mean:
‘She selected to travel by train.’
She DECIDED on the train.
S + monotrans-prep headV + PP/prepO
(6)b. On the train is a PP, an (optional) adverbial adjunct of

location of the intransitive verb decided, which means ‘made up her mind’.
159
Thus, the whole sentence may mean: ‘She made up her mind (while she was
travelling) on the train.’
She DECIDED on the train.
S + intrans headV + PP/adjunct of Location
7. He runs the office and deals with critical clients well.

(7)a. Well is an adverb, an (optional) adverbial adjunct of manner
of the verb phrase deals with critical clients.
With critical clients is a (obligatory) prepositional object
(prepO, for short) of the monotransitive prepositional verb deals:
He runs the office and DEALS with critical clients well.
S+ monotrans prepositional headV PP/prepO adjunct of Manner
(7)b. Well is an adverb, an (optional) adverbial adjunct of manner

of the structure of co-ordination which consists of two VPs: runs the office
and deals with critical clients. These two VPs are linked by the co-
ordinate conjunction and:
He RUNS the office and DEALS with critical clients well.
S + VP1 + co-
co-ordinate conjunction + VP2 Adv/adjunct of Manner
8. [The teacher] stood drinking in the moonlight.

(8)a. Drink in (the moonlight) is a monotransitive VAC meaning
‘observe (the moonlight) with pleasure’.
The participial phrase (PartP, for short) drinking in the moonlight is

an obligatory adverbial adjunct of manner of the intransitive verb
stood:
The teacher STOOD drinking in the moonlight.
S + intrans headV + PartP/adjunct of Manner
160
(8)b. The PP in the moonlight is an optional adverbial adjunct of
location of drinking, which is the present/progressive participle of the
intransitive verb drink.
The participial phrase drinking in the moonlight is an obligatory
adverbial adjunct of manner of the intransitive verb stood:
The teacher STOOD drinking in the moonlight.
S + intrans headV + PartP/adjunct of Manner
9. [Max] found Ed an amusing companion.

(9)a. Found is a ditransitive verb:
S + ditransV + iO + dO = S + ditransV + dO + iO
Max FOUND Ed an amusing companion. = Max FOUND an amusing companion for Ed.
(9)b. Found is a complex transitive verb:

Max FOUND Ed an amusing companion.
S + complex transV + dO + oP/oC
10. [The members] only were allowed to buy beer.

This verb phrase is structurally ambiguous because it may or may not
contain the adverb only:
(10)a. Only is an adverb; and it plays the role of a restricter to emphasize
the NP the members:
The members only WERE ALLOWED to buy beer.
NP/Subject + VP/Predicate
b. Only is an adverb; and it plays the role of an optional adverbial adjunct

of degree or extent which is used to emphasize the VP were allowed to buy
beer:
The members only WERE ALLOWED to buy beer.
NP/Subject + VP/Predicate
The above illustrations prove that the adjectival post-nominal
position coincides with the adverbial pre-verbal position.
________________
161
37 Phrase structure
37.1 Definition:
“Phrase structure is the division of a sentence into parts, and
the division of those parts into subparts.” [Kaplan, 1989: 191] For
instance, the sentence Our French teachers have just left for France
can be first divided into two parts as follows:
S
Our French teachers have just left for France.
It’s usually easy to split a sentence into two parts. The left part
normally functions as subject, the right part as predicate. Within the subject
and the predicate, though, the division isn’t always so straightforward. In the
above sentence, for example, there are two possibilities for dividing up the
NP subject our French teachers:
(1) Our French teachers may mean ‘our teachers, who come
from France’. French in this case is an adjective of nationality meaning
‘of or concerning France’. It pre-modifies the head noun teachers,
resulting in the noun phrase French teachers.
(2) Our French teachers may mean ‘our teachers whose subject
is French’. French in this case is a noun meaning ‘the language spoken in
France’. It is one of the two free bases which are combined together to form
the compound noun French teachers.
NP NP
DET N’1 DET N’
PossA AP N’2 PossA headComN
A headN ModN headN
(1) our French teachers (2) our French teachers
37.2 How to determine phrase structure?

37.2.1 Apply the SUBSTITUTION criterion: “One approach to
determining phrase structure is a substitution test: whatever you can
162
substitute a single word for, preserving grammaticality, is a ‘chunk’, a phrase
[Kaplan, 1989: 191].”
37.2.1.1 Substitution usually supports the intuitive division of a

whole sentence into subject and predicate.
Sentence
Subject Predicate
A white horse cantered eagerly around the coral
Substituting Max burped gives: A white horse burped,

You snored Max cantered eagerly around the coral,
I laughed I cantered eagerly around the coral,
They dozed They snored, etc.
Substitution produces sentences like Max cantered eagerly around

the coral, I cantered eagerly around the coral, a white horse burped,
they snored, etc. Since these are grammatical, the division of the sentence
into two parts a white horse and cantered eagerly around the coral is
supported.
37.2.1.2 Suppose we believed the sequence horse cantered

eagerly was a phrase, a ‘chunk’ of the sentence. We should search in vain
for a substitution for it that would preserve grammaticality:
A white horse cantered eagerly around the coral
letter *A white letter around the coral,

existed *A white existed around the coral,
Substituting of gives:*A white of around the coral,
clearly *A white clearly around the coral,
green *A white green around the coral, etc.
Because the results of substituting are not grammatical sentences,
horse cantered eagerly is not a phrase.
37.2.1.3 It is also useful to extend the substitution criterion a bit

further, first, by substituting not just a single word, but a word sequence for
163
another word sequence, and second, by examining mutual substitution
possibilities in a range of environments. “The idea is that word
sequences which are mutually substitutable in a given environment are
likely to be phrases; and if they are mutually substitutable in different
environments they are even more likely to be phrases [Kaplan, 1989: 193].”
Suppose we suspect the underlined word sequences in the

following sentences are phrases:
(1)a. The puppy scratched at the screen door.
(2)a. I want that little striped kitten.
(3)a. Little Susie yawned.
(4)a. I really like swimming in the reservoir.
In the context of (4)a, these four underlined word sequences are

mutually substitutable.
(4)b. I really like the puppy.
c. I really like that little striped kitten.
d. I really like Little Susie.
In the context of (1)a, (2)a, and (3)a; the puppy, that little striped
kitten, and Little Susie are mutually substitutable:
(1)b. That little striped kitten scratched at the screen door.
c. Little Susie scratched at the screen door.
(2)b. I want the puppy.
c. I want Little Susie.
(3)b. The puppy yawned.
c. That little striped kitten yawned.
In these contexts we cannot place swimming in the reservoir:

(1)d. *Swimming in the reservoir scratched at the screen door.
(2)d. *I want swimming in the reservoir.
(3)d. *Swimming in the reservoir yawned.
In other contexts, however, swimming in the reservoir is mutually

substitutable with other candidate phrases:
164
(5)a. The puppy can really be fun.
b. That little striped kitten can really be fun.
c. Little Susie can really be fun.
d. Swimming in the reservoir can really be fun.
(6)a. I just love that little striped kitten.

b. I just love Little Susie.
c. I just love swimming in the reservoir.
(7)a. What the puppy means to me is a good time.

b. What that little striped kitten means to me is a good time.
c. What Little Susie means to me is a good time.
d. What swimming in the reservoir means to me is a good time.
Therefore, we can tentatively conclude that all four of these

candidate phrases are in fact phrases.
37.2.2 Apply the CONJOINABILITY criterion: “Phrases are conjoined

with and [Kaplan, 1989: 194].” All the conjoined word sequences are
phrases:
(8)a. Max left and Stella stayed. (2 conjoined clauses)
b. King Arthur and Queen Guinevere both lustre after gold.

(2 conjoined NPs)
c. Mark runs the office and deals with clients. (2 conjoined VPs)
d. A very large and kind of scary dog is barking next door.

(2 conjoined APs)
But non-phrases cannot be conjoined:
(9) *The boy ran into the and girl dashed out of the schoolyard.
The reason why this example is ungrammatical is that boy ran into
the and girl dashed out of the are not phrases.
“The way to apply the conjoinability test is to try to conjoin a

suspected phrase with one containing different words, but what seems to
165
be the same internal structure. For instance, if you suspect (as you should)
that in the sentence Max devoured the sweet jam the word sequence the
sweet jam is a phrase, you should try to conjoin it with something similar,
like the stale toast: On the table is the sweet jam and the stale toast.
This is a grammatical sentence, so you conclude, tentatively, that the sweet
jam is a phrase.” [Kaplan, 1989: 195]
37.2.3 Apply the MOVEMENT criterion: “Any sequence of words that

moves as a unit, linguists have reasoned, is a unit [Kaplan, 1989: 196].” For
instance, in Max bought some great toys for Alison’s four-year-old
daughter, the word sequence some great toys and Alison’s four-year-
old daughter can both be switched:
(10)a. Max BOUGHT some great toys for Alison’s four-year-old daughter.
b. Max BOUGHT Alison’s four-year-old daughter some great toys.
Both movements indicate “phrase-hood” [Kaplan, 1989: 196]. The

movements in (10a-b) result in the deletion of for while those in (11)a-b
result in the addition of was and by:
(11)a. A moron BURNED that old house.
b. That old house WAS BURNED by a moron.
Although the movements in the following examples show neither

deletion nor addition, they identify certain word sequences as phrases:
(12)a. Jane BOUGHT a new leather handbag.
b. A new leather handbag IS what Jane BOUGHT.
(13)a. That Max loves blue cheese dressing IS surprising to no one.
b. It IS surprising to no one that Max loves blue cheese dressing.
166
(14)a. Ed CRIED when Sally left.
b. When Sally left, Ed CRIED.
(15)a. She said he would wash the dishes, and he DID WASH the dishes.
b. She said he would wash the dishes, and WASH the dishes he DID.
37.2.4 Check whether or not a sequence of words is THE ANTECEDENT

for A PRO-FORM:
“Pronouns, pro-verb phrases, pro-sentences, pro-prepositional phrases,
and pro-adjective phrases all take phrases as antecedents, not non-phrase
strings of words. In the following examples, the underlined sequences of
words (all phrases) are the antecedents for the understood pro-forms”
[Kaplan, 1989: 198]:
(16)a. Pronoun: The old men stopped because they were tired.
b. Pro-verb phrase: Jeff asked Sandy to dance before Peter could do so.
c. Pro-sentence: Smith now plays the horses,
and it doesn’t surprise me one bit.
d. Pro-prepositional phrase: We put the bugs in the jar
and left them there overnight.
e. Pro-adjective phrase: Lavern is really obese but she didn’t become so
until after she inherited all the money.
“When we can find evidence from more than one criterion, the case for
a particular sequence being a phrase is obviously strengthened.” [Kaplan,
1989: 196]
37.3 Phrase structure exercises

Which criterion (substitution, conjoinability, movement or
checking the antecedent for a Pro-form) can satisfactorily discover the
phrase structure of a white horse? Support your choice.
ANSWER:
37.3.1 In a white horse, if we can find a single word to substitute for a
white, then we are justified in calling a white a phrase. For a white we can
167
substitute the, my, this, one, in each case preserving grammatically: the
horse, my horse, this horse and one horse.
(1) a white horse
the the horse

Substituting: my gives: my horse
this this horse
one one horse
On the basis of this, we can divide the phrase like this: a white — horse.
However, for white horse, we can also find grammatical substitutes:

piano, horse, tree, man, soul: a piano, a horse, a tree, a man, a soul.
(2) a white horse
piano a piano
horse a horse
Substituting: tree gives: a tree
man a man
soul a soul
On the basis of this, we can divide the phrase like this: a — white horse.
Unfortunately, substitution fails to tell us which of the two groupings, either
(1) or (2), is correct.
37.3.2 How helpful is conjoinability in helping us decide on the phrase

structure of a white horse? Unfortunately, not very. Both a white and white
horse are conjoinable with similar sequence:
(3)a. A6 white horse and gray pony7 WERE DELIVERED yesterday.
b. A white and a gray horse8 WERE DELIVERED yesterday.
6
Since ‘a white horse’ and ‘a gray pony’ have exactly the same internal structure, the
repeated indefinite article ‘a/an’ is acceptably omitted in the second noun phrase, i.e.
after the co-ordinate conjunction ‘and’.
7
pony /‘p6ån1/ (noun) a small type of horse
8
Since ‘a white horse’ and ‘a gray horse’ have exactly the same internal structure, the
shared head noun of these two noun phrases , which is ‘horse’, is acceptably omitted in
the first.
168
Therefore, as with the substitutability criterion, according to the
conjoinability criterion both a white and white horse are constituents.
But they can’t both be, since they overlap.
37.3.3 Can the movement criterion determine the phrase structure of a

white horse?
Look at the movement pattern shown below:
(4)a. Though he IS a careful typist, he still makes mistakes.
b. Careful typist though he IS, he still makes mistakes.
(5)a. Though she WAS a fast finisher, she didn’t win all her races.
b. Fast finisher though she WAS, she didn’t win all her races.
Significantly, this pattern applies to white horse, but not to a white:

(6)a. Though he IS a white horse, he will fit in with the rest of the herd.
b. White horse though he IS, he will fit in with the rest of the herd.
(7)a. Though he IS a white horse, he will fit in with the rest of the herd.
b. *A white though he IS horse, he will fit in with the rest of the herd.
Since the result of the movement in (6)a-b is grammatical, but that in

(7)a-b is ungrammatical, it seems reasonable to conclude that the phrase
structure of a white horse is a — white horse; it is not a white — horse.
NP
*NP
DET N’1
ART AP N’2 ART A headN
A headN a white horse
a white horse
169
37.3.4 There is a so-called ‘pronoun’ one that can refer to white horse
as an antecedent, if not in a white horse, at least in the identity structured
the white horse:
(8) I want the white horse by the gate, not the one in the stall.
On the basis of movement and being an antecedent for a pro-form,

then, we can be fairly confident about assigning the phrase structure a —
white horse to the phrase a white horse.
________________
38 Phrase structure rules
38.1 Phrase-structure Rules “specify the constituency of syntactic
categories in the language.
For example, in English a Noun Phrase (NP) can be an Article (Art)
followed by a Noun (N) … The Phrase Structure Rule which makes this
explicit can be stated as:
NP → Art N
This rule conveys two facts:
(a) A Noun Phrase can be an Article followed by a Noun.
(b) An Article followed by a Noun is a Noun Phrase.
…
Phrase-structure Rules make explicit speakers’ knowledge of the order
of words and the grouping of words into syntactic categories.” [Fromkin and
Rodman, 1993: 87-88]
38.2 The following Phrase Structure Rules are part of the grammar of
English:
38.2.1 Phrase-structure Rules for rewriting Noun Phrases:
1. NP → N (NP consists of N)
2. NP → DET N (NP consists of DET + N)
3. NP → DET A N (NP consists of DET + A + N)
4. NP → DET A N PP (NP consists of DET + A + N + PP)
These four rules can be collapsed into a single rule if we place

parentheses around optional elements (that is, around elements that need not
be present). Notice that the only constituent required in each NP rewrite rule
170
is N: the other constituents — DET, A, and PP — are optional and must be
placed in parentheses. The abbreviated rule looks like this:
5. NP → (DET) (A) N (PP)
Because DET, A, and PP are optional, we can rewrite NP not only as in

1, 2, 3, and 4 above, but also in other ways, including 6 and 7.
6. NP → A N
7. NP → DET N PP
38.2.2 Phrase-structure Rules for rewriting Sentences and Verb Phrases:

To capture the fact that sentences and clauses have two basic
constituent parts, we formulate the following phrase structure:
8. S → NP VP
Having seen various expansion of NP, we turn now to the internal

structure of VP to explore its expansion and the rewrite rules necessary to
accommodate them:
9. VP → V: Lou won.
10. VP → V NP: Lou won a bicycle.
11. VP → V NP (S): Lou warned [the cook] [that he must wash the celery].
12. VP → V (NP) (PP) (S): Lou warned [the cook] [on Monday]
[that he must wash the celery].
13. VP → V (S): The indictment charged [that Lou embezzled funds].
14. VP → V PP: Lou flew to Miami.
15. VP → V NP PP: Lou won the bike in a contest.
16. VP → V PP S: Lou denied in court that he flew to Miami.
38.2.3 Phrase-structure Rules for rewriting Prepositional Phrases:

Other well-form English sentences indicate that a PP consists of a
preposition and that all prepositions take complements and their complements
are always nominals [Stageberg, 1965: 196-199]. In other words, a
preposition is always dominated by a PP and always has a nominal
complement as a following sister:
17. PP → PREP NP
171
38.2.4 We have now arrived at the following phrase-structure rules for
English:
S → NP VP
NP → (DET) (A) N (PP)
VP → V (NP) (PP) (S)
PP → PREP NP
________________
39 Surface structures vs. deep structures
“Each sentence is considered to have two levels of structure: the deep
structure and the surface structure. The surface structure is generally the
syntactic structure of the sentence which a person speaks, hears, reads or
writes, e.g. the passive sentence
The newspaper was not delivered today.
The deep structure is much more abstract and is considered to be in the

speaker’s, writer’s or reader’s mind. The deep structure for the above
sentence would be something like:
(NEGATIVE) someone (PAST TENSE) deliver the newspaper today (PASSIVE)
The items in brackets are not lexical items but grammatical concepts
which shape the final form of the sentence. Rules which describe deep
structure (phrase-structure rules) are in the first part of the
grammar (BASE COMPONENT). Rules which transform these structures
(transformational rules) are the second part of the grammar
(TRANSFOMATIONAL COMPONENT).” [Richards, Platt and Weber, 1987: 74]
Thus, we postulate two levels of sentence structure in the sentence

John loves Richard more than Martha. “The level that is represented by
the linear string of morphemes and words as uttered or written is called a
surface structure … The other level of structure is an abstract level underlying
the surface structure. Structure at this level is called deep structure or
underlying structure.
“From an underlying structure, a surface structure is generated by

application of a series of syntactic processes called transformational rules, or
transformations.” [Finegan, 1994: 141-142]
172
The phrase-structure rules we proposed earlier would actually
generate a deep structure. Then the syntactic processes — the
transformations — would operate on the deep structure generated by the
phrase-structure rules to produce a surface structure. We can represent
the situation schematically as follows:
PHRASE-STRUCTURE RULES
↓
Deep structure
↓
TRANSFORMATIONAL RULES
↓
Surface structure
Let’s consider the two following examples:

Ex1. PHRASE-STRUCTURE RULES: S → NP VP
NP → PropN
↓ VP → V NP AdvP
Deep structure: John LOVES Richard more than he LOVES Martha.
↓
THE OMISSION TRANSFORMATIONAL RULE:
Omit the repeated subject he and the repeated verb loves.
↓
Surface structure: John LOVES Richard more than Martha.
Ex2. PHRASE-STRUCTURE RULES: S → NP VP

NP → PropN
↓ VP → V NP AdvP
Deep structure: John LOVES Richard more than Martha LOVES Richard.
↓
THE OMISSION TRANSFORMATIONAL RULE:
Omit the repeated verb loves and the repeated direct object Richard.
↓
Surface structure: John LOVES Richard more than Martha.
173
The two above examples prove that two different deep structures may
share the same surface structure as a result of the application of a certain
transformational rule. Note also that a sentence is structurally ambiguous
when its only surface structure is derived from two or more different deep
structures.
________________
40 Signals of syntactic structures
There exist five signals of syntactic structures: word order,
function words, inflections, derivational contrast, and prosody.
40.1. Word order /‘w3:d ,0:d6/ is “the arrangement of words in a

sentence. Languages often differ in their word order ... In English, the
position of a word in a sentence often signals its function. Thus, in the
sentence: Dogs eat meat. The position of dogs shows that it is the SUBJECT,
and the position of meat shows that it is the OBJECT.
In some languages, including English, a change from the usual word
order may often be used to emphasize or contrast, eg:
That cheese I really don’t like.
where the object is shifted to the beginning.”
[Richards, Platt and Webber, 1987: 313]
40.2. Function words /‘f∧7k∫6n ,w3:dz/ are “words which have little
meaning on their own, but which show grammatical relationships in and
between sentences (grammatical meaning). Conjunctions, prepositions,
articles, e.g. and, to, the, are function words.” [Richards, Platt and Webber,
1987: 61]
A preposition is a word that shows the relation between a noun or a

pronoun and other words in a sentence.
I walked to the house the book by him
around the house him
for
through the house about him
In the above examples, prepositions make great differences in meaning
when they link the house with walked, and him with the book.
174
Co-AP Co-NP
AP1 Conj AP2 NP1 NP2 Conj NP3
A1 A2 N1 N2 N3
(1)a. stupid but persevering (1)b. sandwiches, relish, and coffee
‘Stupid but persevering’ is a CO-ORDINATE ADJECTIVE PHRASE with

stupid and persevering coordinated by but.
‘Sandwiches, relish, and coffee’ is a CO-ORDINATE NOUN PHRASE
with sandwiches, relish, and coffee coordinated by and.
40.3. Inflection
“Inflection is the change, or modification, in the form of a word to
indicate a change in its meaning.” [House and Harman, 1965: 15]
“Inflection refers to the way English makes related forms of words of

the same ‘part of speech,’ such as plurals and possessives of nouns and past
tenses of verbs.” [Kaplan, 1989: 28]
“Almost all English nouns have two forms: the plain form used in the
constructions like ‘a book’ or ‘the book’ and the inflected form which is
formed by adding inflectional suffixes to the plain form. The plain form and
its three inflected forms together make up a four-form inflectional noun
paradigm, which is a set of relative forms of a noun. Not all nouns have three
inflected forms:
one plain form three inflected forms

(= the stem) (= the stem + inflectional suffixes)
mother (singular noun) mothers (plural noun)
mother’s (singular-possessive noun)
mothers’ (plural-possessive noun)
The inflections of a verb are more complicated than those of a noun.
The inflectional paradigm of an irregular verb has four inflected forms:
breaks, breaking, broke, and broken.” [Toâ Minh Thanh, 2003: 45]
175
40.4. Derivational contrast /,der1‘ve1∫nl ‘k4ntrast/ is
Derivation is “the formation of new words by adding affixes to
other words or morphemes. For example, the noun insanity is derived
from the adjective sane by addition of the negative prefix in− and the noun-
forming suffix −ity.” [Richards, Platt and Weber, 1987: 77]
The verb flirt, the noun flirtation, the adjective flirtatious, and the
adverb flirtatiously can be identified thanks to such derivational contrast.
40.5. Prosody /‘pr4s6d1/ is “a collective term for variation in loudness,

pitch and speech rhythm” [Richards, Platt and Webber, 1987: 233]
Different degrees of stress are used for emphasis. A stressed syllable

can be given greater stress by increasing its length, its loudness and/or by
raising its pitch more. In the following examples, the responses are stated
at different levels of stress:
stress for emphasis greater stress for emphasis
How was the ship? It was huge. It was HUGE!
Was it a bad storm? It was terrible. It was TERrible!
How was the sunset? It was awesome. It was AWEsome!
“Rhythm is a pattern in timing. We can see rhythm patterns in

many things, such as in dancing, in music, and in speech. The rhythm of
speech is based on the timing of sound segments. In English, these segments
are the word syllables.” [Lujan, 2004: 4.1]
The uneven timing in STRESSED SYLLABLES and in unstressed syllables

gives English speech its characteristic rhythm:
- I’d LIKE to TAKE my DOG for a WALK.
- It isn’t MEREly eNOUGH.
- They DID it ALL by themSELVES.
Function words are normally unstressed and therefore are often

spoken with the same timing as unstressed syllables. In the following
dialogue, and is spoken reduced or stressed, resulting in variations of the
English rhythm:
176
Would you like soup or salad? _ I’d like soup and salad.
What kind of dressing? _ Oil and vinegar.
What to drink? _ Coffee with cream and sugar.
And for dessert, we have cake or ice cream.
_ I’ll take cake and ice cream.
________________
41 What is syntax?
• Syntax is “a term used for the study of the rules governing the way words
are combined to form SENTENCES." [Finch, 2000: 77]
• Syntax is “the study of how words combine to form sentences and the rules
which govern the information of sentences” [Richards, Platt and Weber,
1987: 285]
• Cuù phaùp laø caáp ñoä duy nhaát cuûa ngoân ngöõ tröïc tieáp lieân heä vôùi vieäc bieåu ñaït
tö töôûng vaø caâu laø phöông tieän hình thaønh vaø dieãn ñaït tröïc tieáp moät tö duy
troïn veïn. [Cao Xuaân Haïo, 1991: 24]
177
SECTION 4: SAMPLE TESTS IN ENGLISH LINGUISTICS
TRÖÔØNG ÑH KHXH&NV COÄNG HOØA XAÕ HOÄI CHUÛ NGHÓA VIEÄT NAM
HOÄI ÑOÀNG TUYEÅN SINH SÑH 2000 Ñoäc laäp - Töï do - Haïnh phuùc
TRÖÔØNG ÑH KHXH&NV **********
**********
ÑEÀ THI TUYEÅN SINH SAU ÑAÏI HOÏC
CHUYEÂN NGAØNH PHÖÔNG PHAÙP GIAÛNG DAÏY TIEÁNG ANH
Moân thi: LINGUISTICS
Thôøi gian: 180 phuùt
PART I. SYNTAX
1. a. What is a “descriptive grammar”? How is it different from a
“prescriptive grammar”?
b. Explain “deep structure” and surface structure”. Give an example from
English in which two deep structures are realized by only one surface
structure.
2. Determine the form (N, V, Adj, Adv, or Uninflected Words – UW),
position (Nominal, Verbal, Adjectival, adverbial), and syntactic function
(Subj, DirObj, IndirObj, PrepObj, V, SubjComp, Mod) of the underlined word
in each of the following sentences.
Ex: Max was struck by lightning.
Form: V – Position: Nominal – Function: PrepObj
(i) She gave him an encouraging smile.
(ii) I am too frightened to move.
(iii) They visited him in the summer.
(iv) Self-confidence is the key factor in getting yourself a good job.
(v) She works in a language center.
3. Determine whether the underlined parts in the following sentences are
constituents by using any of the following tests: substitution, coordination, and
movement. If you decide that something is NOT a constituent, you need to
identity what the constituent is by underlying it.
Ex: She sharpened the pencil with a knife.
Not a constituent (you also need to say what test you have used to
make your decision). There are in fact two constituents here:
She sharpened the pencil with a knife.
178
(i) The boy turned down the radio.
(ii) They ran quickly down the road.
(iii) Everyone charged with a crime deserves a fair trial.
(iv) The roaring crowd drowned out the candidate.
(v) I climbed out of bed and jumped into the shower.
PART II. SEMANTICS
1. a. What are primitive elements? Identify semantic properties of the
following words: democracy, maid, ruler, plod, water-lily, gull, ewe, soul
b. Give presuppositions to the following sentences:

1. I lost my grammar book on the way home yesterday.
2. It took us two day to come back from Hanoi by train.
2. a. Identify the difference between SYNONYMY and POLYSEMY. Give

examples to illustrate.
b. Interpret the meaning of the following sentences and then identify the
kinds of figurative language used:
1. The conversation back-fired suddenly.
2. He tries to sing his praises to the skies.
3. Give situations, interpret the meaning and then classify the following
sentences into different kinds of speech acts:
1. The meeting is over!
2. Hurry up, we are going to have a final exam.
3. I call her “My Little Cat” and she seems happy.
4. How are you?
PART III. WRITING
Write a short essay of about 300 - 350 words on either topic.

1. Should all errors made by foreign language learners be corrected at
any cost?
2. Games can help to learn a foreign language.
*********************************************************
Thí sinh khoâng söû duïng taøi lieäu.
Giaùm thò khoâng giaûi thích gì theâm.
179
ANSWER KEY
1. a/ A descriptive grammar describes how a language is actually spoken or
written. A prescriptive grammar to lay down rules about how people
ought to speak and write rather than how they actually do. (1/2 point)
b/ The deep structure is the propositional core of a sentence, and the

surface structure is the way it appears in an actual sentence.
An example of two deep structures realized by only one surface structure:

They feed her dog biscuits.
(or any other structurally ambiguous sentence). (1 point)
2. (i) She gave him an encouraging smile. → Verb, Adjectival, Mod

(ii) I am too frightened to move. → Verb, Adjectival, SubjCom
(iii) They visited him in the summer. → Verb, Verbal, Predicator
(iv) Self-confidence is the key factor in getting yourself a good job.
→ Noun, Adjectival, Mod
(v) She works in a language center. → Noun, Adjectival, Mod (1 point)
3. (i) The boy turned down the radio. → not a constituent, as the underlined
part of the sentence cannot be moved as a whole (The radio was turned
down). The constituent here is the radio.
(ii) They ran quickly down the road. → a constituent because it can be
moved as a whole (Down the road they ran quickly.)
(iii) Everyone charged with a crime deserves a fair trial. → not a constituent
because the underlined part of the sentence cannot be substituted by one
word (eg charged with it). The constituent is a crime.
(iv) The roaring crowd drowned out the candidate. → not a constituent (The
candidate was drowned out…)
(vi) I climbed out of bed and jumped into the shower. → not a constituent
(Out of bed I climbed and into the shower I jumped).
Writing (3 points)
- Form (spelling, punctuation, grammar) - Usage of English
- Ideas, organization of ideas - Persuasiveness and effectiveness
180
ÑH QUOÁC GIA TP HOÀ CHÍ MINH COÄNG HOØA XAÕ HOÄI CHUÛ NGHÓA VIEÄT NAM
TRÖÔØNG ÑH KH XAÕ HOÄI & NHAÂN VAÊN Ñoäc laäp - Töï do - Haïnh phuùc
__________ _________
TUYEÅN SINH CAO HOÏC

NGAØNH PHÖÔNG PHAÙP GIAÛNG DAÏY TIEÁNG ANH (TESOL)
MOÂN THI: NGÖÕ HOÏC
THÔØI GIAN: 180 PHUÙT
PART ONE: SYNTAX

1. Do you or don’t you agree with the following statement by Kaplan (1989:
267): “Embedded sentences typically function as subjects and direct objects
and as sentence-adverbial phrases.” Give examples to support your answer.
2. What do you know about the post-modification in English adjective

phrases? Give three appropriate examples to illustrate your presentation.
3. How do sentences in each of the following pairs differ from each other?
(3a) I will see you the day before you go.
(3b) I will give you the information before you go.
(3c) Several women moved to help her.

(3d) Several women offered to help her.
4. Explain the structural ambiguity of the phrase and the sentence given
below, using tree diagrams:
(4a) the motor boat of the man that would not start
(4b) Fred said that he would pay me on Thursday.
PART TWO: SEMANTICS
1. What are semantic features? Consider the following table and give the
semantic features to each of the given words.
English Vietnamese Chinese

anh huynh
brother
ñeä
sibling em
muoäi
sister
chò tyû
181
2. Distinguish true synonymy from partial synonymy? Give two examples
to illustrate each.
3. Identify the presupposition(s) in the following sentences:

(3a) I’ve been dreaming of having a house of my own.
(3b) If they hadn’t waited until the last minute, they would have passed
the exam.
4. Interpret the following sentences and identify the figure(s) of speech

employed.
(4a) Her beloved father was laid to rest in this cemetery.
(4b) Don’t live in such a sea of doubt.
5. For each of the following utterances, provide two situations so that one
utterance performs two different speech acts. Interpret the utterances and
identify the speech acts performed in the light of the situations you
provide.
(5a) Why don’t you live with your parents?
(5b) You’re home early.
PART THREE: WRITING
Write a short essay of about 300-350 words on either topic.
1. How can you help your students to enlarge their vocabulary?
2. Is it true that one who is good at English grammar can write well in
English?
Ghi chuù: Caùn boä coi thi khoâng giaûi thích gì theâm.
182
ANSWER KEYS
Part one: Syntax (30 ñieåm = 3/10)
(6 ñieåm) 1. Students are supposed to answer positively with a few examples like:
Embedded sentences functioning as subjects: (2 ñieåm)
That Mary swallowed a gold fish grossed everyone out.
It grossed everyone out that Mary swallowed a gold fish.
Where we are going has not been decided.
Embedded sentences functioning as objects: (2 ñieåm)
Jack made whoever came here the same offer. (IO)
They found what they wanted. (DO)
We will name the baby whatever his grandmother wishes. (OC)
Embedded sentences functioning as sentence-adverbial phrases: (2 ñieåm)
Julia laughed when Max snored.
when Max snored, Julia laughed.
(10 ñieåm) 2.
2.1. Many adjectives do not allow any kind of post-modification: big, blue,
sudden, tall, astute, etc. (2 ñieåm)
2.2. For most English adjectives, post-modification is optional; for a few,

however, it is obligatory. Aware, for example, cannot occur without its
adjective complement:
* He was aware.
He was aware of a creaking noise. (2 ñieåm)
2.3. There are three kinds of post-modifier or complement: (3 ñieåm)

- a prepositional phrase: He is very anxious about Jim’s health.
- an infinitive phrase: He is very anxious to please everybody.
- a that-clause: He is very anxious that no one should excuse him of laziness.
2.4. Not all adjectives allow all the three above-mentioned kinds of
complement. Some allow only one or two of them. Interesting, for example,
may take only an infinitive phrase: this book is very interesting to read; safe
allows either a prepositional phrase or an infinitive clause (but not a that-
clause): this toy is safe for children, this tree is not safe to climb up. (3 ñieåm)
183
(8 ñieåm) 3.
verb Head pronoun noun phrase/adverbial
simple transitive verb direct object adjunct of time of “will see”
(3a) I will see you the day before you go.
(2 ñieåm)
verb Head pronoun noun phrase subordinate clause/adverbial

double transitive verb IO DO adjunct of time of “will give”
(3b) I will give you the information before you go.
(2 ñieåm)
verb Head infinitive phrase/adverbial

intransitive verb adjunct of purpose
(3c) Several women moved to help her.
(2 ñieåm)
verb Head infinitive phrase

simple transitive verb nominal/DO
(3d) Several women offered to help her.
(2 ñieåm)
(Note that tree diagrams are equally acceptable here.)
(6 ñieåm) 4.
(4a) “the man’s motor boat which would not start” vs. “the man who
would not start” (3 ñieåm)
(4b) “Fred said on Thursday that he would pay me.” vs. “Fred said
that it is on Thursday that he would pay me.” (3 ñieåm)
(Note that tree diagrams must be used in this question. Any explaination
without its acommpanying illustrating diagram(s) is not acceptable.
184
Part two: Semantics (30 ñieåm = 3/10)
(6 ñieåm) 1. Semantics features are the smallest units of meaning in a word.

The meaning of a word may be described as a combination of its smallest
units of meaning _ its semantic features.
a. Sibling has only one semantic feature: [+born by the same parents].
b. Brother and sister both have two semantic features: [+born by the same
parents] and [±male]
c. Anh and chò both have three semantic features: [+born by the same
parents], [±male] and [+older].
d. Em has only two semantic features: [+born by the same parents] and
[+younger].
e. Huynh, ñeä, muoäi and tyû all have three semantic features: [+born by the
same parents], [±male] and [±older].
(6 ñieåm) 2. True synonymy vs. Partial synonymy

2.1. TRUE SYNONYMY is a sense relation in which TWO OR MORE WORDS/
VARIOUS WORDS are written and pronounced differently but have the
same meaning.
E.g.:
- The two English verbs hide and conceal are synonyms; they both
mean “keep sb/sth from being seen or known about”.
- The four English nouns kind, type, sort and variety are synonyms;
they all refer to “a group having similar characteristics”.
2.2. PARTIAL SYNONYMY is a sense relation in which a polysemous word

shares one of its meanings with another word.
For example, one meaning of deep is synonymous with profound:
You have my deep/profound sympathy.
Similarly, one meaning of broad is synonymous with wide:
The river is very broad/wide at this point.
(6 ñieåm) 3. Presuppositions
(3a) I haven’t had/onwed/possessed any house (yet).
(3b) They waited until the last minute (and thus they failed the exam).
185
(6 ñieåm) 4. Figures of speech
(4a) Her beloved father was laid to rest in this cemetery.
“Was laid to rest” is an expression of euphemism meaning “was buried”.
(4b) Don’t live in such a sea of doubt.
- “Live in a sea of doubt” is an overstatement/an expression of hyperbole
meaning “be too suspicious”.
- “Doubt” is implicitly compared to “a sea”, both being characteristic of their
immeasurability. This is a metaphor.
(6 ñieåm) 5. Speech Acts
Answers to the questions in this part vary depending on the situations
provided by the student. If there is no situation provided, there will certainly
no mark counted.)
Part three: Writing (40 ñieåm = 4/10)

Noäi dung yù töôûng: 10 ñieåm
Boácuïc/daøn yù: 10 ñieåm
Lieân keát trong vaø giöõa caùc ñoaïn vaên: 10 ñieåm
Ngöõ phaùp/voán töø: 10 ñieåm
186
ÑAÏI HOÏC QUOÁC GIA TP. HOÀ CHÍ MINH
Tröôøng Ñaïi Hoïc Khoa hoïc Xaõ hoäi vaø Nhaân vaên
HOÄI ÑOÀNG TUYEÅN SINH SAU ÑAÏI HOÏC NAÊM 2003

ÑEÀ THI TUYEÅN SINH SAU ÑAÏI HOÏC

Moân cô sôû: LINGUISTICS
Thôøi gian laøm baøi: 180 phuùt
I. Semantics:
Part 1: Why is it said that sense and reference are two aspects of the
meaning of a word? Which of the two is the aspect of meaning that
first come to the mind of a child who is exposed to his/her native
language at an early stage (say, from the age of 8 months to the age of
15 months)?
Part 2: What is the connotation of a word? Identify three possible (positive or
negative) connotations of the word titanic.
Part 3: Read the following sentence carefully and answer the questions.
English is spoken in more parts of the world than in any other
language by more people than any other tongue except Chinese.
1. Is there any instance of synonymy in the above sentence?
2. What is the sense relation between the terms English, language, and
Chinese in the above sentence?
3. Like many other words in English, tongue is a polysemous word,
which can lead to lexical ambiguity when it is used in a certain
utterance. Is the word tongue in the above sentence an instance of
ambiguity?
4. What is the figure of speech expressed through the use of tongue in
the above sentence?
Part 4: Identify the speech acts performed in the following underlined
utterances.
1. A. Hey, buddy! There’s a big hole in front of our classroom!
B. Thanks.
2. A. You know what I found on he first day of my new school year?
There’s a big hole in front of our classroom.
B. Really?
187
3. A. Oh, my God! There’s a big hole in front of our classroom!
B. It’s not unusual around here.
II. Syntax:
Part 1: Make a complete IC analysis of the following sentence by using an
upside-down-T diagram (e.g. she smile happily)
Research into the health effects of air pollution is going.
Part 2: What are the syntactic functions typical of a noun phrase? Illustrate
your answer with examples.
Part 3: Compare and contrast the following underlined phrases.

1. She is very beautiful.
2. She is of great beauty.
Part 4: What are the types of verbs that do not allow passive transformation?
Part 5: How many types of noun clauses are there? Give an example for each
type.
III. Academic writing:

“The goal of teachers who uses the Communicative Approach is to
have students become communicatively competent. While this has
been the stated goal of many of the other methods, in the
Communicative approach the notion of what it takes to be
communicatively competent is much expanded.”
State the reason why you are for/against the above idea.
188
ÑAÙP AÙN MOÂN CÔ SÔÛ: LINGUISTICS
I. Semantics (10 points):

Part 1 (3 points):
1.1 It is said that sense and reference are two aspects of the meaning of a
word because the meaning of a word comes to our mind sometimes as
sense (0.3 points) and sometimes as reference (0.3 points).
The meaning of a word that comes to our mind can be established

as the intra-linguistic relationship between the word (in question) and
another word or other words that are semantically equivalent to the
word in question (0.3 point). This is called sense. (0.3 point)
sense (meaning)
word semantically equivalent word(s)
The meaning of a word that comes to our mind can also be

established as the extra-linguistic relationship between the word (in
question) and its referent(s) (i.e. the thing(s) in the real world the word
in question refers to) (0.3 point). This is called reference. (0.3 point)
1.2 The aspect of meaning that first comes to mind of a child who is
exposed to his/her native language at such an early stage (from the age
of 8 months to the age of 15 months) is reference (0.3 points). The
reason is that there is only one way for an adult/caretaker/babysitter to
communicative with a child of this age, which is to point to specific
referents of word whenever using that word talking to the child (e.g.
point at a teddy bear when saying “bear” to the child) (0.3 points)
Part 2 (1.5 points):

The connotation of a word is the association(s) that a word has over and
above its denotation (0.3 points). A word like titanic (whose denotation is
[+huge] (0.3 points) may have such connotations as [+romance/romantic]
(0.3 points), [+ship] (0.3 points). [+sacrifice/sacrificial] (0.3 points), etc.
189
Part 3 (3.5 points):
1. There is an instance of synonymy in the above sentence (0.25 points).
The synonymy found here are language and tongue (0.25 points).
2. The sense relation between these word is hyponymy (0.25 points)
because the superordinate term (or hypernym) language (0.25 points)
can be English (a hyponym) (0.25 points), Chinese (anther hyponym)
(0.25 points), etc.
language
English Chinese … … … …
(0.25 points)
The classification of language into English, Chinese, etc. is often referred
to as taxonomy (0.25 points).
3. The word tongue in the above sentence is not an instance of ambiguity

(0.25 points) because the context “English is spoken … by more people
than any other tongue …” is clear that tongue here can only be
interpreted as a synonym of language (0.25 points).
4. The figure of speech found in the use of tongue in the above sentence
is metonymy (0.25 points) because tongue, which is associated with
language (0.25 points), especially spoken language, is substituted for
language (0.25 points). However, native speakers of English use the
word tongue with this sense so naturally that many of them are
unaware that that this is an instance of metonymy (0.25 points).
Part 4 (2 points):
1. In this utterance, the speaker performs an illocutionary act of
warning (0.4 points). This speech act is a directive (0.4 points).
2. In this utterance, the speaker performs an illustration act of
stating/reporting a fact (0.2 points). This speech act is a
representative (0.4 points).
3. In this utterance, the speaker performs an illocutionary act of
exclaiming (0.2 points). This speech act is an expressive (0.4 points).
190
II. Syntax (10 points):
Part 1 (2 points):
Research into the health effects of air pollution is going.
Notes: According to functional grammar, such a preposition phrase as of air

pollution is regarding as an endocentric structure (of which the head is
the preposition) and can be diagrammed as follows.
of air pollution
Part 2 (3 points): The syntactic function typical of a noun phrase are subjects
of a verb (0.3 points), object of a verb (direct object, in direct object)
(0.3 points), object of a preposition (0.3 points), and complement
(subject complement, object complement) (0.3 points).
E.g. My dog is sleeping.
(subject of is) (0.3 points)
I gave the little boy a toy.
(IO) (DO) (0.6 points)
He’s fond of Chinese tea.
(object of the prep. of) (0.3 points)
She is a counsellor.
(subject complement) (0.3 points)
I consider him my archenemy.
(object complement) (0.3 points)
Part 3 (1 point):
The two phrases are both adjectivals (0.2 points), “very beautiful” being
an adjective phrase (0.2 points) and “of great beauty” a prepositional phrase
(0.2 points). Although they are almost the same in meaning (0.2 points), “of
great beauty” is a much more formal structure than is “very beautiful”.
191
Part 4 (2 points):
Verbs that do not allow passive transformation are of two main types
(0.2 points): all intransitive verbs (0.3 points) including linking verbs (0.3 points)
and some transitive verbs, especially verbs of state (0.3 points).
E.g. Active Passive
He worked very hard. (0.3 points)
(intransitive verb)
He was a marketeer. (0.3 points)
(linking verb/copula)
He has two sister. (0.3 points)
(transitive verb of state)
Part 5 (2 points):
There are three types of noun clause (0.2 points): that-clause (i.e. a
noun clause beginning with that (0.2 points), whether/if-clause (i.e. a noun
clause beginning with whether/if) (0.3 points), and (W)H-clause (i.e. a noun
clause beginning with W)H-word) (0.3 points).
E.g. He said that he would come. (0.3 points)
She wanted to know whether he could come. (0.3 points)
She asked me who would come. (0.3 points)
III. Academic writing (10 points):

Trong baøi caàn neâu baät moät soá yù sau:
1. Communicative competence involved being able to use the language
appropriate to given context.
2. Students need knowledge of linguistic forms, meanings, and functions.
3. Students need to know that many different form can be used to perform
a function and also that a single form can often serve a variety of
functions.
4. Students must be able to choose from among these different forms the
most appropriate form, given the social context and the roles of the
interlocutors.
5. Students must also be able to manage the process of negotiating
meaning with their interlocutors.
Chuù yù caùch tính ñieåm:
Ñieåm toaøn baøi = ñieåm Semantics + ñieåm Syntax + ñieåm Writing
192
ÑAÏI HOÏC QUOÁC GIA TP HOÀ CHÍ MINH COÄNG HOØA XAÕ HOÄI CHUÛ NGHÓA VIEÄT NAM
TRÖÔØNG ÑH KHXH&NV Ñoäc laäp - Töï do - Haïnh phuùc
********** **********
MOÂN THI CÔ SÔÛ: LINGUISTICS
CHUYEÂN NGAØNH PHÖÔNG PHAÙP GIAÛNG DAÏY TIEÁNG ANH
THÔØI GIAN LAØM BAØI: 180 PHUÙT
PART I. SYNTAX
1. What is the difference between descriptivism and prescriptivism.
2. The following sentence is structurally ambiguous. Paraphrase the

sentence in two different ways and draw tree diagrams to show the
ambiguity involved.
He killed the robber with a knife.
3. Explain the difference between the following underlined structures,

which are apparently similar.
a. I never accept the idea that public housing can’t be beautiful.

I can’t understand the idea that he has been toying with.
b. He turned off the motorway at Lancaster.

He turned off the light in the living room.
PART II. SEMANTICS

1. a. What are proforms? Give two examples to illustrate.
b. Identify the presuppositions in the following sentences:
1. Where did you buy the motorbike?
2. You are late for the meeting again.
2. Interpret the meaning of the following sentences and then identify the
kinds of figurative language used.
a. Don’t substitute the good for the best.
b. The man is a demon of energy.
3. Provide situations, interpret the meaning and then classify the following
utterances into different kinds of speech acts.
a. We are going to be in the rainy season!
b. What time is it according to your watch?
c. We always call him “Jack of all the trades.”
193
PART III. WRITING
Write an essay of about 250 - 300 words on either topics:
1. English has played an important part in providing employment
opportunity for many people in Vietnam.
2. Advantages and disadvantages in teaching English to adults learners
in the current situation in Vietnam.
ÑAÙP AÙN MOÂN THI CÔ SÔÛ: LINGUISTICS
PART I. SYNTAX (3m)

1. The differences between descriptism and prescriptivism: (1m)
Prescriptivism Descriptism
1 To prescribe rules for the To describe the language as it is

“correct” use of the language actually used by native speakers
(often irrespective of how the of that language
language is actually used by
native speakers of that language)
2 Subjective; speculative in nature Objective; empirical; data-based
3 Examples (or “evidence”) are Use of naturally-occurring

often contrived or made up language data as evidence
2. “He killed the robber with a knife.” is structurally ambiguous: (1m)

a. He used a knife to kill the robber.
S
NP VP
V NP PP
Pro. Art. N Prep. NP
Art. N
194
b. He killed the robber who was carrying a knife.
S
NP VP
V NP
Art NP
N PP
Prep. NP
Pro.
Art. N

3. The differences between the following underlined structures: (1m)
a. I never accept the idea that public housing can’t be beautiful.
“That public housing can’t be beautiful” is a noun clause

functioning as an appositive (of the noun phrase “the idea”).
→ “That public housing can’t be beautiful” = “the idea”
I can’t understand the idea that he has been toying with.
“That he has been toying with” is a adjective/relative clause

functioning as a post-modifier of the noun phrase “the idea”.
→ “the idea” “that he has been toying with”
b. He turned off the motorway at Lancaster.
“Off the motorway” is a prepositional phrase modifying the

intransitive verb “turned” and indicating direction/location.
He turned off the motorway at Lancaster.
195
“The light in the living room” is a noun phrase functioning as
the direct object of the phrasal verb “turned off”.

PART II. SEMANTICS (3m)
1a. What are PROFORMS? Give two examples to illustrate. (0.5m)
Definition: Proforms are forms which can serve as replacements for
different elements in sentence. (1/4m)
1). A: I hope you can come.
B: I hope so. (So replaces that I can come.) (1/8m)
2). A: I like green tea.
B: We do too. (Do replaces like green tea.) (1/8m)
1b. Identify PRESUPPOSITIONS in the following sentences: (0.5m)

1. Where did you buy the motorbike? (You bought the motorbike.) (1/4m)
2. You are late for the meeting again. (You were late before.) (1/4m)
2. Interpret the meaning of the following sentences and then identify

the kinds of FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE used. (0.5m)
a. Don’t substitute the good for the bad.
… the good and the bad in this context means good work and bad work.
This is metonymy. (1/4m)
b. The man is a demon of energy.
…a demon of energy in this context means the man is very energetic/
metaphorr. (1/4m)
full of energy/ very active. This is metapho
3. SPEECH ACTS (1.5m)
Marking the answers according to the situations provided by the candidates.
(no situation: no marking)
PART III. WRITING (4m)
Content: 1m Grammar: 1m
Organisation: 1m Language use: 1m
196

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SECTION 3: GRAMMATICAL RELATIONS

DET N’ Vgrp AP[sP/sC]

These concepts are basic.

Candelabra’s diagrams in Barsova et al [1969]:

Reed and Kellogg’s diagrams in House and Harman [1965]:

19.2 EXOCENTRIC STRUCTURE

20 Types of syntactic structures

20.1 STRUCTURE OF MODIFICATION

And rather dubious as a whole is dependent on jokes but not vice-

Thus, ‘their rather dubious jokes’ is a typical example of the

20.2 STRUCTURE OF COMPLEMENTATION

20.3 STRUCTURE OF COORDINATION

In Stageberg’s opinion [1965: 273], the coordinator “is set off as a

NP1 Conj NP2 NP1 NP2 Conj NP3

(1)a. Max and Adrian (1)b. sandwiches, relish, and coffee

Stuffy and hot is a COORDINATE ADJECTIVE PHRASE (Co-AP, for

DEG Co-AP AP1 Conj AP2 AP1 Conj AP2

A1 Conj A2 DEG A A A DEG A

The prepositional phrase up and down the stairs contain a CO-

Co-P NP PP1 Conj PP2

P1 Conj P2 the stairs P1 NP1 P2 NP2

Two important points to notice about the co-ordinations marked (1)a-b,

20.4 STRUCTURE OF PREDICATION

(4)a. Ducks paddled.

21.2 A constituent is any word or construction (or morpheme) which

However, there has or man who is not a constituent. Neither is the

22 Immediate constituents vs. ultimate constituents

The IC’s of a given construction are its constituents on the next

(1) Old Sam sunbathed beside a stream.

*(2) Stream old Sam sunbathed beside a.

*(3) Sunbathed old beside stream a Sam.

The sentence marked (2) consists of two independent clauses that

25 Modifiers vs. complements

The complements according to Richards, Platt and Weber [1985:52] are:

Unlike Jacobs [1995] and Richards, Platt and Weber [1985],

Later in his textbook, Stageberg [1965: 275] presents “the

27.2 Predicative adjectives, not attributive adjectives, may take

28.2 For other predicative adjectives, however, post-modification is

Loath is always followed by a non-finite to-infinitive clause:

Aware must take as its complement either a prepositional phrase or

Afraid must take as its complement either a prepositional phrase or a

The obligatory post-adjectival modifier should be called THE

distinguished from any possible optional post-adjectival modifier of the

29.2 Some adjectives allow one or more kinds of optional post-modifiers:

Attentive allows only a prepositional phrase:

Safe allows either a prepositional phrase or an infinitive phrase:

29.3 Some adjectives require one or more kinds of oblibatory post-

 Loath must take as its complement a non-finite to-infinitive clause:

 Aware must take as its complement either a prepositional phrase or a

 Afraid must take as its complement either a prepositional phrase or a

30.2 Adverbial adjuncts can be sub-categorised according to the meanings

Adverbial adjuncts of Duration or Extent in Time describe how

Adverbial adjuncts of Frequency describe how often an event

Adverbial adjuncts of Temporal relationship convey the temporal

30.2.2 Adverbial adjuncts of Place (also called Space) have six

Adverbial adjuncts of Distance or Extent in Space include both

Adverbial adjuncts of Direction give a general orientation or the

Adverbial adjuncts of Terminus describe the direction of an action

 Adverbial adjuncts of Source describe the direction of an action

30.2.3 Adverbial adjuncts of Manner describe the way in which

30.2.4 Adverbial adjuncts of Behalf or Guise answer the question

30.2.5 Adverbial adjuncts of Comparison compare the manner of a

30.2.6 Adverbial adjuncts of Accompaniment lie along the

Loath must take as its complement a non-finite to-infinitive clause:

Aware must take as its complement either a prepositional phrase or a

Afraid must take as its complement either a prepositional phrase or a

Adverbial adjuncts of Source describe the direction of an action