FURTHER PRACTICE FOR SYNTAX

I. PROPOSITIONAL CONTENT
1. Predicate/Predicator
2. Argument
3. Thematic Roles

Exercise 1. All the exercises in the course book (Jacobs)

Exercise 2. Discuss the differences in meaning between the verbs in each pair of the
following sentences.

a. (1) The winds moving the curtain.

(2) The curtains moving.

b. (1) Something woke her.

(2) Suddenly she woke.

c. (1) The jewels are in her safe.

(2) She put the jewels into her safe.

Exercise 3. Identify the predicate, argument(s) and if-any adjunct(s) in each of the
following propositions

1. Two firemen entered the hall.

2. They are quite unhesitatingly in agreement.
3. I was totally over the moon
4. Her parents promised her a new car if she passed her exams.
5. Emsworth is walking the dogs.
6. That Thanh Lam had cancelled the show disappointed the audience.
7. The huge pig frightened the spectators.
8. I have received the books this morning.
9. The male gorilla at the zoo had a nasty accident yesterday.
10. The gorilla at the zoo is a male.
11. The gorilla at the zoo is male.
12. All humans are mortal.
13. Socrates was human.
14. These bones are human.
15. Margaret believes the taxi driver innocent.
16. Johns decision is very unfortunate.
17. I consider John a real idiot.
18. The chief inspector wants Mary in his office.
19. Bob got Mary in trouble.
20. Peter asked whether anyone had seen the pigs.
21. Charles is aware of the problems.
22. Caroline is unaware that the pig is in danger
 23. Her failure disappointed her parents.
24. The scenery inspired the photographer.
25. Tom opened the door with the iron key.
26. Tom used the key to open the door.
27. I have received the books this morning.
28. My father sent my teacher a letter.
29. Jan comes from Virginia.
30. Marta put the book onto the shelf
31. I smelled the freshly baked bread
32. Minh threw himself onto the sofa.
33. This key opens the drawer.
34. The ball rolled down the ramp.
35. Peter believed that Nam Hong should be the would-be Dean
36. She hoped for an interview next week.
37. The old man died.
38. The delegates left Cantho for Hanoi
39. The Dauphin sent Henry tennis balls
40. The jewels are in her safe.

Exercise 4. Determine the thematic roles of the arguments in the following sentences

1. The road is empty

2. Her failure disappointed her parents.
3. The scenery inspired the photographer.
4. Tom opened the door with the iron key.
5. Tom used the key to open the door.
6. I have received the books this morning.
7. The gorilla at the zoo is a male.
8. My father sent my teacher a letter.
9. Jan comes from Virginia.
10. Marta put the book onto the shelf
11. I smelled the freshly baked bread
12. Minh threw himself onto the sofa.
13. This key opens the drawer.
14. The ball rolled down the ramp.
15. Susan put the soup in the bowl with a spoon.
16. Peter believed that Nam Hong should be the would-be Dean
17. She hoped for an interview next week.
18. The old man died.
19. The delegates left Cantho for Hanoi
20. Othello liked Desdemona
21. Othello pleased Desdemona.
22. The Dauphin sent Henry tennis balls
Exercise 5. For each of the predicates, use the logical notation to represent the concepts
expressed by them and include an example sentence for each.
Example: Kill x KILL y valency = 2
The boy killed the fly mercilessly.

1. ache
2. mention
3. show
4. allow
5. prepare
6. (be) a trainer
7. (be) thirsty
8. pass
9. be praised
10. on

II. SENTENCE PATTERNS

Exercise 1. All the exercises in the course book (Jacobs)

Exercise 2. Identify possible constituents in the following sentences

1. Two firemen entered the hall.

2. A doctor with a huge stethoscope climbed up the cliff.
3. Gandhi was said to find out that the hatred still survived.
4. Peter asked whether anyone had seen the pigs.
5. She hoped for an interview next week.

Exercise 3. Identify syntactic categories (and the head) of the following underlined phrases

1. He killed the fly quite mercilessly.

2. They are quite unhesitatingly in agreement
3. He ran clearly faster than me
4. I was totally over the moon
5. They felt deeply disappointed about the results
6. They deliberately destroyed the garden
7. I'm so terribly pleased to hear that you've got a job.
8. They designed the museum in tandem with an Italian architect.
9. The car ran extremely fast.
10. He is pretty stupid and quite eager.

Exercise 4. Identify the pattern of the following sentences

1. The box is large
2. The physicist grew sleepy.
 3. We stayed boon companions for years
4. The dog smelled bad.
5. The dog smelled the package hungrily.
6. She looks sharp today.
7. He looked sharply to the right.
8. His face went pale.
9. The investigator looked outside.
10. The party must have been enjoyable
11. The milk remained sweet after a week.
12. The table stood near the desk.
13. The well ran dry.
14. My sister has made a delicious fruit cake for my birthday.
15. A fruitcake makes a fine gift.
16. He had never been an honor student.
17. She is lying on a comfortable sofa.
18. The audience clapped their hands loudly after the main act.
19. He paid his bills on the first of the month.
20. This bed sleeps comfortable.
21. A strange man is lurking behind the garage.
22. They were drinking quietly at the table.
23. They were drinking their morning coffee.
24. The center passes the ball to the quarterback.
25. Chris became a skillful tennis player.
26. The company made the manager a fine offer.
27. The sheriff was leading the posse.
28. Harris remained the assistant coach.
29. She gave him a dirty look.
30. The basketball team chose Charlotte captain.
31. He considered her brilliant.
32. Susie fed the baby robins some juicy worms.
33. I thought the caller you.
34. She played him a trick.
35. We supposed him upstairs
36. I imagined her eating.
37. We found her a sandwich.
38. We thought her overworked.
39. He threw us a curve.

III. CLAUSES AND SENTENCE TYPES:

1. Independent Cls
 2. Dependent Cls
a. Complementizers (-) Embedded Cls = N Cls )Adj Cls) = Arguments
b. Subordinators (+) Subordinate Cls = Adverbial Cls = Adjuncts
c. Coordinators (and, but,or nor ) = Coordinate Cls

Exercise 1. All the exercises in the course book (Jacobs)

Exercise 2. A Identify (1) the types of all the constituent clauses, (2) the patterns, and (3)
the type (simple, complex or compound) of the following sentences

1. When we met them, the brothers were arguing about a football game.
2. That Sharons car had broken down astonished the mechanic.
3. Jacques thought that Menandez met Julia in Rangoon.
4. I'm pleased to say that I'm now the proud owner of a new car.
5. He considered her brilliant.
6. For the government to abandon those refugees was heartless.
7. Jack has to hurry up or hell be late for school.
8. Although the hounds had gone, his fear remained, since the man knew he was
somewhere in the forest.
9. The coach designated Jan the new manager of the team
10. I looked for Mary and Samantha at the bus station, but they arrived at the station
before noon and left on the bus before I arrived.

Exercise 3. Identify the patterns then the type of each of the sentence in the following
paragraph.
The first of our three brains to evolve is what scientists call the reptilian cortex. This brain
sustains the elementary activities of animal survival such as respiration, adequate rest and a
beating heart. We are not required to consciously think about these activities. The reptilian
cortex also houses the startle centre, a mechanism that facilitates swift reactions to unexpected
occurrences in our surroundings. That panicked lurch you experience when a door slams shut
somewhere in the house, or the heightened awareness you feel when a twig cracks in a nearby
bush while out on an evening stroll others, the reptilian brain offers up only the most basic
impulses: aggression, mating, and territorial defence. There is no great difference, in this sense,
between a crocodile are both examples of the reptilian cortex at work.

IV. PHRASE
1. Phrase Structure
a. Head
b. Specifiers
c. Complements
d. Adjuncts/Modifiers
2. Noun Phrases and Case

Exercise 1. All the exercises in the course book (Jacobs)

Exercise 2. Identify the category of each of the following phrases and its components

1. never talked to him angrily

2. at the local maternity hospital
3. the little girl with high-heeled shoes
4. A thorough investigation into the disappearance of a thirteen-year-old boy several days ago
5. a lecturer in psychology
6. made an unexpected announcement of the loss of the aircraft over the Mediterranean Sea
this morning
7. announced the death of their mother in the local paper
8. the announcement of their mothers death in a car accident in the local paper
9. not know whether to laugh or cry at his jokes
10. walk with your lover in the rain
11. not rain at all last night
12. thought that Kate believed the story
13. carefully looked at the new machine
14. strongly blew through the tall pines
15. sure that I left my keys on the table
16. pleased about John's promotion
17. from under the ground
18. beyond what I told you earlier
19. never showed the inspector her letters
20. a handsome actor from Brazil
21. gold jewels in her safe.
22. gave John the book yesterday.
23. put the soup in the bowl with a spoon.
24. opened the drawer with that iron key.
25. call to say I love you
26. many scientists from England / many scientists of England
27. an enthusiastic teacher
28. the teachers of syntax
29. reviewed by that critic
30. always work indoor in winter

Exercise 3. Identify all verb phrases and noun phrases/noun clauses in the sentence below

1. The government made an unexpected announcement of the loss of the aircraft in the over
the Mediterranean Sea this morning.
2. The proof that Tom stole the donuts is before your eyes.
3. The beautiful bird on a tree in the park filled Frans sister with some joy.
 4. One of the Lumiere Brothers earliest films was a 30-second piece which showed a section
of a railway platform flooded with sunshine.
5. Birds that feed on nectar usually have beaks that match the shape of the flowers from
which they eat.
6. Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the
prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such
opinions.
7. The source of the problem is the Helium Privatisation Act (HPA), an American law passed
in 1996 that requires the U.S. National Helium Reserve to liquidate its helium assets by
2015 regardless of the market price.
8. Over three years, this ongoing sacrifice translates into a first class degree and a scholarship
to graduate school; over a lifetime, it can mean groundbreaking contributions to human
knowledge and development.
9. The ability to sacrifice our drive for immediate satisfaction in order to benefit later is a
product of the neocortex.

Exercise 4. Arrange the following constituents in appropriate order to form sentences as

required.

1. so/ to hear / you've got a job/ pleased (ADJ Phrase)

2. surprising/on the Times/ of her marriage/ the /news (Noun Phrase)
3. absent / about/ from English class /those students/ of physics (Prepositional Phrase)
4. criticism/ of the plan/ Alans/which made him very unpopular (Noun Phrase)
5. that you are always right /your belief/ admire/ that you put forward yesterday/ really
(Verb Phrase)
6. to help/ publicly/ to contribute/ agreed / some money/ the victims of the earthquake / to
charity (Verb phrase)
7. the young player / to raise money/ for /an impressive performance/ by / AIDS research
(Noun Phrase)
8. the impact/ on/an international conference/ in / the report/of/ electronic media violence
(Noun Phase)
9. about / the decision/ against /the campaign/ on passing the same-sex marriage bill / of the
British lawmakers (Prepositional Phrase)
10. of their principle contributions/ in the field/ significant achievements / and /particularly
proud/ of natural science (Adjective Phrase)

Exercise 5. Identify the case of the noun phrases in the following sentences

1. The police(a) stopped each car on the free way(b).

2. They sent the baby(a) a toy car(b).
 3. The judge(a) fined Sugita one hundred dollars(b).
4. You couldnt find such artists(a) in a place like this(b).
5. It's absolutely vital for you(a) to do exactly what she wants(b).
6. They never give me(a) a chance(b).
7. I(a) never know what's going on(b) in her head(c)
8. Emily was anxious for Tim to leave
9. The police(a) believed that they(b) had left
10. The police believed them to be leaving.
11. Her(a) situation(b) was very unfortunate. / Betty(a)s situation(b) was very
unfortunate.
12. For the government(a) to abandon those refugees(b) was heartless.

Exercise 6. Convert the following noun phrases into sentences

1. His thorough understanding of the writing process
2. The determination to improve primary education for children in Africa by the United
Nations
3. Their solution to the problem of inflation
4. Davids important contribution to the success of the company
5. My responsibility for organizing her birthday party

Exercise 7. How does Case Theory rule out the following as well-formed sentences of
English? Identify the mistake and fix the sentences.

1. There were about 3.8 million Vietnamese people died in Vietnam War.
2. He put his books the schoolbag.
3. I was invited by the girl who I met her at the conference.
4. For he to buy that house would spell disaster.
5. The little boy ate the apple which his mother laid it on the table.
6. She placed her name the list of volunteers.

Exercise 8. Construct phrases and sentences that have the following features.

1. A noun phrase (NP) with:

b. A prepositional phrase (PP) as a complement
c. A prepositional phrase (PP) as a modifier
d. A clause as a complement
e. A clause as a modifier
f. A NP as a complement
2. A verb phrase (VP) with:
a. A NP as a complement
b. A clause as a complement
c. A PP as a complement
 3. An Adjective Phrase with:
a. A PP as a complement
b. A clause as a complement
4. An PP with a clause as a complement
5. Add at least 1 adjunct to the sentences in 1,2,3, and 4.
6. One simple and one complex sentence for each of the following sentence pattern.
a. S V C (A)
b. S V O (A)
7. A complex sentence with
a. A nonfinite clause as a subject
b. A nonfinite clause as an object
c. A finite clause as a subject
d. A finite clause as an object
e. A finite clause as a subject complement
f. A finite subordinate clause of time
g. A finite subordinate clause of reason

V. TREE DIAGAM

Exercise 1. Draw constituent tree diagrams for the following phrases and sentences

1. put the soup in the bowl with a spoon.

2. the announcement of her death in a car accident in the local paper
3. The police stopped each car on the free way
4. The engineers looked at the new machine carefully
5. The judge fined Sugita one hundred dollars
6. They announced the death of their mother in the local paper.
7. The proof that Tom stole the donuts is before your eyes
8. I believe that people are fundamentally good
9. They know that the sun will rise tomorrow.
10. She considered whether the expense was worth it.
11. I will repair it when I return.
12. She wants her brother to bake a cake.

Exercise 2. Draw two different tree structures for each of the following ambiguous sentence
to show its different interpretations

1. I saw the girl with a telescope

2. He observed the children in the garden
3. They gave her dog meat
4. They called her a talented pianist.
5. Tam found Thu an interesting person