UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO AMAZONAS

Instituto de Ciências Humanas e Letras

Depto. de Línguas e Literaturas Estrangeiras
Prof. Sérgio Augusto Freire de Souza

ESTRUTURA DA LÍNGUA INGLESA I

MORPHOLOGY – PART 2
(Based on MASTER, Peter. Systems in English grammar. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall
Regents. 1996)

Groups of Words

In Chapter 1, we studied the names given to the various word classes. Now we turn to
the names given to various patterns of groups of words, specifically phrases, clauses, and sen-
tence roles. At this point in our study of the systems in English grammar, we are interested
primarily in being able to identify and name these groups. A detailed explanation of their
structure and use will come in later chapters.
PHRASES
When we write or speak English, we seldom use individual words alone. We are much
more likely to use groups of words called phrases. A phrase consists of a main word plus
words closely associated with it, and the name of the phrase is based on the main word. Thus,
we have noun phrases based on a noun, prepositional phrases based on a preposition, verb
phrases based on a verb, adjective phrases based on an adjective, and adverb phrases based on
an adverb.

NOUN PHRASE (NP)

A noun phrase consists of a determiner, optional adjectives, a noun, and optional

prepositional phrases. We can write this structure as a formula: NP → DET (AdjP) N (PP)n
The formula reads as follows: a noun phrase [NP] consists of a determiner [DET], an
optional adjective phrase [AdjP] (the parentheses indicate optionality), a noun [N], and any
number of optional prepositional phrases [PP] (the small n indicates any number). From this
formula, we can see that a determiner is always part of a noun phrase and that a noun phrase
always contains a determiner. Since a pronoun refers to an earlier noun phrase, a pronoun is a
noun phrase, too, but it has no determiner. Below are some examples of noun phrases:

a large black chicken DET + ADJ + ADJ + N

two healthy girls DET + ADJ + N
the sound of a train in the night DET + N + PP + PP
cold water DET [Ø] + ADJ + N
they Pronoun
 It is important to mention that the most frequently occurring determiner in English is
the zero determiner, which we indicate with the symbol Ø. The zero determiner occurs with a
plural noun, with a noncount noun, or with a proper noun. A noncount noun (or mass noun) is
one that cannot be counted or made plural and typically refers to substances or abstract
notions. Examples are shown below:
Elephants never forget. [Ø determiner + the plural noun
elephants]
Water is essential. [Ø determiner + the noncount noun water]
John lives here. [Ø determiner + the proper noun John]
EXERCISE 2.1
Directions: Underline all the noun phrases [NP] in the following sentences. Above them,
write the word classes contained in the noun phrase.

PRON DET ADJ N

Example: We sat and watched the stormy sea.

1. A long green snake slithered across my foot.

2. Hot coffee is great on a cold morning.

3. Kennedy wanted to send a man to the moon by the end of the sixties.

4. Life without water is impossible for most creatures on this planet.

5. Two policemen examined the fingerprints on the broken window.

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE (PP)

A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition and a noun phrase. In fact, the name
preposition (meaning "before position") describes the fact that prepositions always come
before the other words in a prepositional phrase. The formula for this structure is:
PP → PREP NP
The formula reads as follows: A prepositional phrase [PP] consists of a preposition
[PREP] plus a noun phrase [NP]. But we have already seen that a prepositional phrase can be
part of a larger noun phrase. Below are some examples of prepositional phrases alone and of
prepositional phrases that contain prepositional phrases within their noun phrases:

under a log PREP + NP [DET + N]

in the morning PREP + NP [DET + N]
in the corner of the room PREP + NP [DET +N + PP]
at her house in the country PREP + NP [DET (her) + N + PP]

EXERCISE 2.2
Directions: Underline the prepositional phrases in the following sentences. Above them,
indicate the word classes contained in the prepositional phrase.
 PREP DET ADJ N
Example: We swam in the cold
river.

1. The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean in the world.

2. The fluid in the brain cavity must be removed.

3. The starship came from the Pleiades with a message for mankind.

4. The apartment on the top floor has a fantastic view over the city.

5. The inmates dug a tunnel under the wall and escaped to freedom.

VERB PHRASE (VP)

A verb phrase consists of a verb plus all the words that follow it in a simple
sentence. Since it includes everything in the sentence except the subject, another term for
verb phrase in English is predicate (the term subject will be described in the next section).
A verb phrase consists of a verb with an optional noun phrase and optional prepositional
phrases. There are two major types of verb phrase that we are interested in and we will
call them "Type I" and "Type II." The formula for the Type I verb phrase is:

VPI → V (NP) (PP)n

The formula reads as follows: a Type I verb phrase [VPI] consists of a verb [V], an
optional NP, and any number of optional prepositional phrases [PP]. Below are some
examples of Type I verb phrases preceded by a subject (Mary) in brackets:

[Mary] teaches. V
[Mary] teaches two classes. V + NP
[Mary] teaches in the summer. V + PP
[Mary] teaches two classes in the summer. V+ NP + PP
[Mary] teaches two classes at Harvard in the summer. V + NP + PP+ PP

EXERCISE 2.3
Directions: Underline the verb phrase [VP, or predicate] in the following sentences.
1. We drove along the river to the county fair.
2. The doctor cured the patient with an herbal tea.
3. Light travels at 186,000 miles per second.
4. The hungry, growling beast in the dungeon clawed at the damp walls.
5. Snowflakes drifted gently to the ground.
 The Type II verb phrase always contains the verb be or some other linking verb
(e.g., appear, become, look, remain, seem). When such a verb is present, the verb is followed
by a noun phrase or an adjective phrase and optional prepositional phrases. The formula for
the Type II verb phrase is:

VPII → be
NP (PP)n
PPn
AdjP (PP)n J

The formula reads as follows: a Type II verb phrase [VPII] consists of a linking verb
(here represented by the most common linking verb be) plus either a) a noun phrase [NP] with
any number of optional prepositional phrases [PP], b) at least one nonoptional prepositional
phrase [PP], or a nonoptional adjective phrase [AdjP] with any number of optional preposi-
tional phrases [PP] (the large brackets indicate either/or). Below are some Type II verb phras -
es preceded by a subject (John) in brackets:

[John] is a lawyer.
V + NP
[John] is a lawyer for a large firm. V + NP + PP
[John] is in the courtroom.
V + PP
[John] is brilliant. V + AdjP
[John] is really brilliant in the courtroom. V + AdjP + PP
[John] is a brilliant lawyer for poor people in the courtroom. V+
NP+PP+PP

EXERCISE 2.4
Directions: Underline the verb phrases in the following sentences.

1. The capital of the largest country in the world is the city of Moscow.
2. Stars are gigantic balls of superheated gas.
3. My sister has been successful in her chosen profession of nursing.
4. The mouse was at the bottom of the cookie jar in a state of restful repose.
5. Tuesday is the day of the week with the best conditions for working at home.

ADJECTIVE PHRASE (AdjP)

An adjective phrase consists of any number of adjectives plus any of their adverb
modifiers. There are two types of adjective phrases: attributive and predicate. Attributive
adjective phrases are part of a noun phrase, where they fill the optional adjective position
between the determiner and the noun. Predicate adjective phrases occur after the verb be (or
another linking verb) in Type II verb phrases. The formula for an adjective phrase is:

AdjP → (ADV)n ADJn

The formula reads as follows: An adjective phrase [AdjP] consists of any number of
optional adverbs [ADV] (in truth, there is sometimes one, rarely two, and almost never three)
and any number of adjectives [ADJ], although the number is rarely more than three. Some
examples are shown below. The entire adjective phrase is shown in boldface while the
adjective (or adjectives) around which the adjective phrase is built, always at the right end of
the phrase, is underlined:

That scratched old yellow bus belongs to my aunt. [attributive AdjP]

A cactus is an amazingly vigorous plant. [attributive AdjP]
Marilyn Monroe was gorgeous, sexy, and blonde.
[predicate AdjP]
The man's face was deeply, painfully scarred.
[predicate AdjP]

EXERCISE 2.5
Directions: Underline the adjective phrases in the following sentences.

1. Sophia is a dark, spirited Italian horse.

2. The new manager is intelligent, extremely organized, and diplomatic.
3. The entire deciduous forest was red-yellow-orange brown in its autumnal dress.
4. The mechanic removed the small egg-shaped device near the fuel pump.
5. Tired, hungry, thirsty, and weak, the soldier limped into the completely deserted
village.

ADVERB PHRASE (AdvP)

An adverb phrase consists of an adverb plus any number of its adverb modifiers.
Adverb phrases usually come at the end (or the beginning) of a sentence, where they show
time, place, manner, degree, etc., as adverbs typically do. In fact, we really only need the
term adverb phrase to account for the use of more than one adverb together. The formula for
an adverb phrase is:

AdvP → (ADV)n ADV

The formula reads as follows: an adverb phrase [AdvP] consists of optional modifying
adverbs [ADV] (usually one, but sometimes two) followed by an adverb [ADV]. Some exam-
ples are shown below. The entire adverb phrase is shown in boldface while the "head" adverb
is underlined:

The train is leaving right now.

Sheila finished the exam extremely quickly.
Very gently, the nurse turned out the light.
Joseph wrote, much too angrily, a letter to his ex-wife.

EXERCISE 2.6
Directions: Underline the adverb phrases in the following sentences.

1. The gun was found precisely here.

2. Too often, the rich get richer while the poor get poorer.
3. The teacher patiently and thoroughly corrected her students' essays.
4. I want an answer now.
5. The bolt must be tightened very carefully.

EXERCISE 2.7
Directions: Above the following sentences, identify the type of phrase that is used. Starting with
the smallest (NP, AdjP, or AdvP, then PP, then VP), indicate the phrases within phrases
by using brackets as shown in the example below.
[NP [AdjP ] ] [VP [PP [NP ]]]
Example: An injured bird flew into the house.

1. This building uses heat too inefficiently.

2. The story in that magazine is very well written.

3. The river flows very quickly at this spot.

4. Unfortunately, the baseball team will move to another city.

5. The old monk's skin was yellow and darkened with age.

EXERCISE 2.8
Directions: Continue EXERCISE 1.15 from the previous chapter, in which you copied
the following sentences onto a piece of paper, leaving three lines above each
sentence labeled (a), (b), and (c). On line (b) above each sentence, indicate
the type of phrase using the following abbreviations:
NP = noun phrase
PP = prepositional phrase
 VP = verb phrase
AdjP = adjective phrase
AdvP = adverb phrase

Example: (a) DET N V DET N

PREP N
(b) [ NP ] [VP [NP ][PP [ NP ]]]
(c)
The rabbit changes its color in winter.

1. A small bomb killed several people at the airport yesterday.

2. Several young women milk the cows in the evening.
3. Most of the students can speak another language.
4. Jonathan needed a new pencil so he bought one at the supermarket.
5. The insects have attacked every tree on my block.
6. Leave this house now!
7. In the fall, the leaves on the trees fall to the ground.
8. The engineer carefully removed all the accumulated oil from the gear box.
9. The children are visiting the old man and they are watering
his garden.
10. Elsie doesn't take cream in her coffee.

EXERCISE 2.9
Directions: Bracket and label the phrases in the following passage.

David lived in the country in his childhood. He was very happy there. His grandfather

had an organic vegetable farm. In the morning, he helped his grandfather in the garden and

fed the chickens. He played in the fields and woods every afternoon until dinner time. The

closest village was six miles away. Sometimes, David rode his bicycle to the village, but he

usually took the bus. David's grandfather is dead now and David owns the farm.
CLAUSES
As we have seen, a phrase is simply a word class with its associated modifiers. But
English has another type of word group called a clause. A clause is different from a phrase in
that it always shows a subject-verb relationship and is thus more sophisticated than a phrase.
Some examples are shown below:

SUBJECT NP VP
The elephant roared.
The doctor lives in North
Africa.
My boss understands.
These examples each show a subject NP and a VP, which are the minimal
requirements for a clause. They are called independent clauses because they are complete
in themselves and can stand alone.
A dependent clause, on the other hand, also shows a subject-verb relationship (in
boldface below), but it is dependent on the presence of an independent clause. The
dependent and independent portions of three example sentences are shown in the box
below:

INDEPENDENT DEPENDENT CLAUSE INDEPENDENT

The elephant roared when the hunter appeared.
The doctor whom we saw last Christmas lives in North Africa.
My boss understands why Mary wants a raise.

The dependent clauses in the box above are dependent because the word that
introduces them (i.e., when, whom, and why) establishes a dependence on another idea,
making them unable to stand alone as complete sentences. In fact, if we were to use a
dependent clause alone in an essay, it would be marked as a fragment, or incomplete
sentence.

The first word of a dependent clause is called a clause marker. Without the clause
marker, the dependent clauses in the box above would become independent (i.e., The hunter
appeared; We saw the doctor last Christmas; Mary wants a raise). Dependent clauses can be
identified by the type of clause marker that is present. There are three types of dependent
clauses: adverb clauses, adjective clauses, and noun clauses.

ADVERB CLAUSES

The first type of dependent clause is called an adverb clause because, like the
word class called an adverb, its purpose is to tell us when, why, how, to what degree, etc.,
the verb takes place.

The elephant roared when the hunter appeared . [when]

The elephant is protected because it is an endangered species . [why]
 Some adverb clause markers are listed below:

when because although (even though) if

while as despite the fact that whether

EXERCISE 2.10
Directions: Underline the adverb clauses in the following sentences.

1. Bruce eats cereal in the morning because it energizes him.

2. Although I never wear a watch, I am rarely late.
3. Monica had a haircut while she was waiting for her boyfriend.
4. The tree grew despite the fact that nobody ever watered it.
5. As the plane was landing, a bird flew into one of the jet engines.
ADJECTIVE CLAUSES

The second type of dependent clause is called an adjective clause (traditionally

known as a relative clause) because, like the word class called an adjective, its purpose is
to modify a noun. Unlike adjective phrases, which usually occur before a noun (except
predicate adjectives, which are rarely adjacent to a noun), adjective clauses always come
after a noun. Nevertheless, they are still part of the noun phrase in which the noun
occurs. We are used to the idea of phrases within phrases. Clauses can occur within
phrases, too. Examples are shown below with the complete noun phrase underlined and
the dependent adjective clause in boldface:

The doctor whom we saw last Christmas lives in North Africa.

The class that I want is Biology 110.

We can see that the structures whom we saw last Christmas and that I want are
clauses because they contain a subject-verb relationship (i.e., we saw, I want). They are
preceded by a clause marker for an adjective clause. The clause markers for adjective
clauses are listed below.

who
whom
whose + noun
which
that

EXERCISE 2.11
Directions: Underline the adjective clauses in the following sentences.
 1. The stream which we followed came from a small cave.
2. The man whose leg is broken is in Room 242.
3. My dog refuses to eat food that comes from a can.
4. A person who is rich is not necessarily happy.
5. The official whom we spoke with could not give us any details.

NOUN CLAUSES

The third type of dependent clause is called a noun clause because, like a noun
phrase, it can function as the subject or object of a sentence. A noun clause is different
from a noun phrase, however, in that it shows a subject-verb relationship. Examples are
shown below: My boss understands why Mary wants a raise. Where John lives depends on
his work. They could see that Joan was unhappy.

We can see that the structures in boldface are clauses because they contain a
clause marker and a subject-verb relationship (Mary wants, John lives, and Joan was).
Some of the clause markers for noun clauses are listed below:
that how
where how far
when how long
why how much
what what color, what language,
etc.
EXERCISE 2.12
Directions: Underline the noun clauses in the following sentences.

1. She didn't know why he was angry.

2. How much it costs is of little importance.
3. Can you see what time it is?
4. I understand that you are looking for an apartment.
5. What the university requires is a complete transcript of a l l the courses that
you have taken.

The different types of phrases and clauses are summarized in Table 2.1.

Table 2.1 Summary of Phrase and Clause Types

PHRASE TYPE CLAUSE TYPE
EXAMPLE EXAMPLE
& SYMBOL & SYMBOL

Noun Phrase (NP) the large dog Noun Clause (NCl) what the dog eats
Prep. Phrase (PP) in the yard

Verb Phrase (VP) bit three people

Adjective Phrase awfully large Adjective Clause which the cat

(AdjP) (AdjCl) teases
Adverb Phrase (AdvP) very quickly Adverb Clause when she is
(AdvCl) hungry
[Note: There is no such thing as a prepositional clause or a verb clause.]

EXERCISE 2.13
Directions: Underline and identify the adverb clauses (AdvCl), adjective clauses (AdjCl),
and noun clauses (NCl) in the following sentences.
AdjCl AdvCl
Example: The plant that we bought died because we ignored it .

1. What I want to know is the name of the person who told you about the meeting.

2. The forest that they knew when they were children has disappeared.

3. She doesn't care how long it takes; she just wants a portrait that she can be

proud of.
 4. Because most of the gold is in the river, prospectors are always present.

5. The earthquake did not frighten us although it did wake us up.

SENTENCE ROLES

We have looked at the parts of speech, the phrases, and the clauses which
together constitute English sentences. Now we will look at the way these words and
groups of words function within sentences. We call these functions sentence roles. When
we looked at verb phrases, we saw that there are two basic types, which we called Type I
and Type II. In a sentence with a Type I verb phrase, the sentence roles are usually in
this order:

SUBJECT VERB OBJECT ADVERBIAL

John drinks coffee in the morning.
In a sentence with a Type II verb phrase, which has two possible forms, the
sentence roles are usually in this order:
SUBJECT LINKING VERB PREDICATE NOUN ADVERBIAL
John is a student at the university.
SUBJECT LINKING VERB PREDICATE ADJECTIVE ADVERBIAL
John is happy at the university.
The minimal requirement for an English sentence is that the role taken by the verb,
the verb slot, must be filled. The subject slot is usually filled, but not always. The object (or
predicate noun or adjective) and adverbial slots are filled under certain conditions, but they
are often empty.

THE SUBJECT SLOT

The subject usually comes at the beginning of a sentence. It usually shows who or
what initiates the action or state shown by the verb. It always consists of a noun phrase (or
clause) and when it is linked to a predicate it creates a complete sentence. When we speak
of the subject of a sentence, we are referring to the entire noun phrase. The core of the
subject is called the bare subject (shown in boldface in the boxes below), and it is this noun
that must agree with the verb.

SUBJECT VERB OBJECT ADVERBIAL

The cat catches a mouse every morning.
The shop on the corner is selling plants this year.
The man who bought works in a garage on
my 1969 Jaguar weekends.

SUBJECT VERB PREDADJ ADVERBIAL

 The policy of the United is uncertain at present.
States government in
regard to nuclear arms
proliferation

To show a change of emphasis, the adverbial slot can be moved to the front of
the sentence. A comma is often added to show where the subject begins. For this reason,
the subject (shown in boldface below) may not always be the first element that you see in
a sentence.

Every morning, the cat catches a mouse.

This year, the shop on the corner is selling plants.
On weekends, the man who bought my 1969 Jaguar works in a garage.
At present, the policy of the United States government in regard to nuclear arms proliferation is uncertain.

EXERCISE 2.14
Directions: Underline the subjects in the following sentences. Then draw a second line
under the bare subject. Example: A tiny green frog jumped into the swimming
pool.

1. The largest city in Turkey is Istanbul.

2. Before he came to the United States, Van's father had had many horrifying experiences.
3. The weather for the northern part of the Central Valley will be cloudy and cool
tomorrow.
4. The new bridge that connects the two islands has improved business opportunities.
5. Unfortunately, the damaged space probe is not sending data back to the earth.

THE VERB SLOT

The verb usually follows the subject of a sentence. It shows the action that the
subject performs or the state that the subject is in. Every English sentence must have a verb;
otherwise, it is just a fragment, a part of a sentence. It is possible to have a verb with no
subject, as shown in the examples below:

SUBJECT VERB OBJECT ADVERBIAL

(You) Go!
(You) Go to your room!
(You) Put the book on the table.

These subjectless sentences are called commands. The subject is understood to be

you. However, it is generally not possible to have a complete sentence containing a subject
with no verb.
The verb slot in a sentence extends from the end of the subject to the beginning of
the object (or predicate noun/adjective). It includes the core verb of the sentence plus any
auxiliary verbs or adverbs that occur before the object or, if the object slot is empty, before
the adverbial slot. Examples are shown below with the core verb in boldface:

SUBJECT VERB OBJECT ADVERBIAL

The train eventually left the station.
Steven has lived in Hawaii for six
years.
The are very care- changes in this week.
ministers fully policy
suggesting

EXERCISE 2.15
Directions: Underline the entire verb slot in the following sentences.

1. Marianne lives in Scandinavia.

2. We usually take our dog when we go into the mountains.
3. The cliff suddenly and violently collapsed after the rainstorm.
4. During the operation, the doctor will carefully remove the appendix.
5. Antibiotics are only effective for the treatment of bacterial infections.

THE OBJECT SLOT

The object of a sentence shows who or what receives the action that was initiated
by the subject. It only occurs with Type I verb phrases. Like the subject, it always consists
of a noun phrase or clause. Although objects are not always required to make a complete
sentence, they are often present. Some examples are shown below:

SUBJECT VERB OBJECT ADVERBIAL

Roger pulled the car out of the mud.

Sylvia left the city of her childhood at midnight.

Many people drink orange juice in the morning.

Verbs that can have objects after them, like those in the sentences above, are
called transitive verbs because they can transfer the action of the verb onto a noun
phrase. Dictionaries identify transitive verbs with the abbreviation v.t. for "verb
transitive." Not all verbs in English can have objects after them. We call such verbs
intransitive because it is not possible to transfer the action initiated by the subject onto a
noun phrase. Dictionaries identify intransitive verbs with the abbreviation v.i. for "verb
intransitive." Some examples of sentences with intransitive verbs are shown below:
 SUBJECT VERB OBJECT ADVERBIAL
Norman sleeps until noon.

We talked every evening.

This fish always goes to the bottom of the pond.

Remember that transitive verbs can have an object after them although they do
not have to. In the set of transitive example sentences, you can see that it is possible to
pull, leave, or drink something. Intransitive verbs, on the other hand, cannot have an object
after them. In the set of intransitive example sentences, you can see that it is not possible to
sleep, talk, or go something.
EXERCISE 2.16
Directions: Underline the words that fill the object slot in the following sentences. Then
indicate if the main verb is vt (transitive) or vi (intransitive). Example: The dog
bit the cat, vt

1. The hurricane devastated the city in a few hours.__

2. Adele's father works for the government in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
3. Few animals kill for no reason.___
4. This thermometer measures temperature in degrees Centigrade.
5. The artist painted until he could paint no more.__
6. Her aunt died in Toronto.___
7. My office needs a person who can type 100 words per minute.__
8. The plumber complained about his assistant's work.__
9. The stapler fell into the wastebasket.___
10. Help that poor child!____

THE PREDICATE NOUN AND PREDICATE ADJECTIVE SLOT

A predicate noun or predicate adjective can only occur after a linking verb (a
Type II verb phrase). They take the same position as the object of a Type I verb phrase.
A predicate noun is always a noun phrase (or clause) and always follows a
linking verb (usually be), but it is not always a required element of a sentence. If the
predicate noun phrase slot is empty, however, an adverbial is required. The reason that a
predicate noun must follow a linking verb is that the function of a linking verb is to
equate the subject with whatever follows the verb rather than to show who or what
receives the action of a verb as in Type 1 verb phrases. In the case of a predicate noun,
the linking verb shows that the subject NP and the predicate noun NP are identical.
Examples are shown below:

LINKING PREDICATE
SUBJECT ADVERBIAL
VERB NOUN
A leopard is a type of cat.
Albert
was a doctor in Africa.
Schweitzer
an insect that
A bee is makes honey.
The girls were on the telephone.

Notice that in the examples above the subjects are identical to the predicate nouns:
 a leopard = a type of cat
Albert Schweitzer = a doctor
a bee = an insect that makes honey

A predicate adjective, on the other hand, is always an adjective phrase and

always follows a linking verb (usually be), but unlike the predicate noun, it is a required
element of the sentence. The function of the linking verb is to associate the adjective
phrase with the subject NP. Examples are shown below:

SUBJECT LINKING VERB PREDICATE ADJECTIVE ADVERBIAL

The girl is terribly unhappy at work.
The film was incredibly superficial.
Wind was minimal in the cities.
damage

Notice that it is possible to invert the adjective phrase to create a noun phrase:

the terribly unhappy girl

the incredibly superficial film
minimal wind damage

However, some adjective phrases may only take the predicate adjective position
and not the attributive position, e.g., The girl is asleep → *the asleep girl.

EXERCISE 2.17
Directions: Underline and identify the predicate noun or adjective phrase in the
following sentences.

P ADJ
Example: The dog is tired.

1. Trains are always late in this country.

2. The chairman was really a remarkably gifted man in many ways.
3. An analysis of the characters in this novel would be quite interesting.
4. The sari is a dress that is worn by many Indian women.
5. The opera is a tale of revenge and a commentary on the mores of the time.

THE ADVERBIAL SLOT

The adverbial is the part of the sentence that shows us the time (when), the
place (where), the manner (how), the reason (why), the degree (how much), etc., that an
action or state took place. Although the adverbial is usually at the end of the sentence, it
can move quite freely to the front of the sentence, in which case it is often followed by a
comma. There are several different types of phrases and clauses that can occur in the
adverbial slot. The most common adverbial is one or more prepositional phrases, but it
can also be an adverb phrase or an adverb clause. Examples are shown below:

SUBJECT VERB OBJECT ADVERBIAL

The taxi drove the minister up the hill to the church.

Her health deteriorated very quickly.

The man left the country because he wanted a job in Spain .

The subject-verb-object-adverbial or subject-verb-predicate noun/adjective-

adverbial structure of sentences also occurs in adverb clauses. The only difference is that
an adverb clause is always preceded by a clause marker. The last example above
contains a dependent adverb clause, which is shown in boldface below:

SUBJECT VERB OBJECT ADVERBIAL

Clause Clause Clause Clause Clause
Marker SUBJECT VERB OBJECT ADVERBIAL

The man left the country because he wante a job in Spain.

d

EXERCISE 2.18
Directions: Underline the adverbial in the following sentences. Above the adverbial, indicate the dependent
clause sentence roles.
Clause Clause Clause Clause
Marker SUBJECT VERB ADVERBIAL
Example: Janet bought a dog when she moved to Atlanta .

1. Vincent taught English when he lived in Bangkok.

2. Although she was only a girl, Sarah was the mother of the house.
3. The patient went to the beach even though his doctor warned against it.
4. If there is a major earthquake in Los Angeles, many people will die.
5. Since he is an actor, he will probably be a good politician.

EXERCISE 2.19
Directions: Continue EXERCISE 2.8, in which you copied the following sentences onto a
piece of paper, leaving three lines above each sentence labelled (a), (b), and (c).
On line (c) above each sentence, indicate the sentence roles: SUBJECT,
VERB, OBJECT (or PREDICATE NOUN/ADJECTIVE), and ADVERBIAL.

Example:
 Word Classes (a) DET N V DET N PREP N
Phrases (b) [NP ] [VP [NP ] [PP [ NP ]]]
Sentence Roles (c) SUBJECT VERB OBJECT ADVERBIAL
The rabbit changes its color in winter.

1. A small bomb killed several people at the airport yesterday.

2. Several young women milk the cows in the evening.

3. Most of the students can speak another language.

4. Jonathan needed a new pencil so he bought one at the supermarket.

5. The insects have attacked every tree on my block.

6. Leave this house now!

7. In the fall, the leaves on the trees fall to the ground.

8. The engineer carefully removed all the accumulated oil from the gear box.
9. The children are visiting the old man and they are watering his
garden.
1. Elsie doesn't take cream in her coffee.

EXERCISE 2.20
Directions: Copy the following sentences onto a piece of paper, leaving four lines above
each sentence labelled (a), (b), (c), and (d). In (a), indicate the type of phrase using
brackets; in (b), indicate the type of clause using brackets; in (c) indicate the
nature (dependent or independent) of the clause using brackets, and in (d) indicate
the sentence roles.
Example:
Type of Phrase (a) [NP ] [ VP [AdjP ]] [NP ] [VP [AdjP ]]
Type of Clause (b) [ AdvCl ]
Nature of Clause (c) [Independent Clause [ Dependent Clause ]]
Sentence Role (d) SUBJECT VERB PRED ADJ ADVERBIAL
The train is always late if the weather is bad.

1. President Lincoln is famous because he freed the slaves.

2. As the flight attendant was walking to the plane, she slipped on an oil spot.
3. The children who live in Managua must return to the bus at five o'clock.
4. The dinner was delicious even though it was cold.
5. A spy was hiding in the cupboard when Yoli came into the room.
6. The class which they took last year is not available this semester.
 7. The volcano erupted since pressure had accumulated in the magma chamber below
it.
8. Where a person works usually determines where he or she lives.
9. 9. By tomorrow morning, a bulldozer will have removed the soil that is blocking
the stream.
10. The chemistry instructor cannot explain why forty-five students failed the
exam.

CONCLUSION

We have discussed the building blocks of English sentences, starting with the
word classes in Chapter 1 and moving on to the phrases, clauses, and sentence roles in
Chapter 2. These have been presented as a hierarchy of structures, each with increasing
numbers of words. You undoubtedly have many questions about how these various
patterns are formed. At this stage, however, we only want to be able to recognize some
of the patterns that we will find in our more detailed explorations later. We also want to
be familiar with some of the grammatical terminology that is used to describe sentences.
The terms that we have encountered up to this point are summarized in the list below.

TERM DEFINITION EXAMPLE

adjective [ADJ] a word that modifies and pretty, green, big
usually precedes a noun
adjective clause a clause that postmodifies the the class that I am taking
noun
in a noun phrase
adjective phrase the group of adjectives and the very old train
adverbs that modify a noun
adverb [ADV] a word that modifies a verb or usually, very, fast
adjective and that may occur
before a verb or at the end or
beginning of a sentence
adverbial the usually optional final slot in the morning, now,
in a typical sentence that when I left Ohio
contains adverbs,
prepositional phrases, and/or
dependent clauses
adverb clause a clause that shows time, where she lives; if I succeed
place, manner, condition, etc.
adverb phrase a group of adverbs that She ran extremely fast.
modify a verb or a sentence
antecedent the word that a pronoun John ← he; a book ← it
replaces
or points back to
attributive adjective an adjective that comes before a curious phenomenon
a noun in a noun phrase
auxiliary verb [AUX] a verb that always occurs with be, do, have, and the modals
another verb, which it is said
to
help (synonym: helping verb)
bare subject the core noun of a subject the old man who lives nearby
noun phrase
clause a structure that contains a the man bought a house;
subject-verb relationship because the sun shines
clause marker a grammatical word that when, why, if, because, who
comes at the beginning of a
clause
command a sentence whose subject is (You) Close the door, please!
understood to be "you"
conjunction [CONJ] a word that joins two phrases and, but, or, so, yet, for
or clauses
content word a word (N, V, ADJ, ADV) that dog, run, big, slowly
creates a picture in the mind
count noun a noun form that may be table, star, idea, problem
counted and therefore has a
singular and plural form
dependent clause a clause that must be attached when I was in LA; if
to an independent clause in you
order to be a full sentence saw a cat; that I like
and not a fragment
determiner [DET] the first word(s) of a noun a, all, the, my, this, Ann's
phrase (e.g., an article)
function word a word (DET, REP, CONJ, a, in, and, have,
AUX, PRO) that shows a they
grammatical relationship
between content words
helping verb [see "auxiliary verb"]
independent a clause that can stand by Horses love chocolate.
clause itself (synonym:
sentence)
intransitive verb a verb (v.i.) that does go, sleep, live
not allow an object to
follow it
linking verb a verb that establishes be, seem, look,
equality between the get, become,
subject and a predicate appear
noun or adjective
mass noun a singular noun that refers milk, wood, furniture, fruit
to a liquid, material, or
category
modal an auxiliary verb that can, will, should,
shows obligation, must, ought to, could,
possibility, ability, future, would
necessity, etc.
noun [N] a content word that house, uncle, idea, tree
forms the core of a noun
phrase
noun phrase [NP] a phrase consisting of a DET, the big door; a pretty
optional ADJ, N, and optional dress; I; them; men in the
postmodification or a lone class
PRON that serves as the
subject and/or object of a
sentence or a PP
noun clause a clause that takes the where they live; what it cost
place of a noun phrase
noncount noun a noun form that cannot be
counted and therefore has water, chalk,
only a singular form [see
"mass noun"] furniture
object the third slot in a sentence Jill kicked the ball;
that shows who or what The man killed the
receives the action of the bear.
subject
phrase a structure containing a in the morning
key word and its close (PP); the old man
associates that forms a (NP)
natural group
plural a form that rooms, women, are
indicates more
than one entity
postmodification modifying words/phrases the girl in the window
that occur after a noun in
an NP
predicate all of a sentence except lives in a tree; works now
the subject NP (synonym:
VP)
predicate an adjective that occurs She is cool; he seems smart
adjective after a linking verb in the
 VP
predicate noun a noun that occurs He is a student; thev're dogs
after a linking verb in
the VP
preposition a function word that shows at, on, in, under, before, of
[PREP] a relationship between
nouns
prepositional a phrase consisting of a in a room, at the top, of mine
phrase PREP plus an NP
(acronym: PP)
pronoun [PRO] a function word that he, she, her, they, this, many
represents an earlier noun
which it is unnecessary to
repeat
proper noun a noun in the form of a John, Mrs. West, Dr. Smith
name which is usually
capitalized
referent [see "antecedent"]
sentence an independent clause I like salad; Shut up!
containing at least a
verb
singular a form that room, woman, is
indicates a single
entity
subject the first slot in a sentence John likes dogs; She paints.
consisting usually of an
NP
transitive verb a verb (v.t.) that allows kill, drink, drive, read
an object to follow it
verb [V] a word showing action/state go, taken, living; He left.
or the second slot in a
sentence
verb phrase [VP] [see "predicate"]
zero [Ø] the empty determiner slot [Ø] Aristocrats drink [Ø] tea.
determiner (zero article) in a noun
phrase