Homework #3 (Due February 16, at beginning of class)
Answer the following questions for the text that you chose last time.
Sci Am:
For the following present participles, are they
- part of a VP; if so, are they a progressive in a main clause or an adverbial? Does
the VP function as an NP?
- in the adjective position of an NP
- in the pronominal noun position of an NP
- in the head noun position of an NP
- in a noun complement
feeling, living, leading, causing, taming
For the following prepositional phrases, what do they modify? Are the ambiguities
benign?
“by a ratio ...”, “in the 14th century”, “over the past 100 years”, “with antibiotics”
For the following relative clauses or other wh-constructions, where is the gap? I.e., it the
subject, object, some other complement, or an adjunct missing and needs to be filled?
“that break the rules ...”, “how bacteria cause disease”
Find a headless NP with no post-modifier.
Find an adjective phrase functioning as a post-modifier.
Newsweek:
For the following present participles, are they
- part of a VP; if so, are they a progressive in a main clause or an adverbial? Does
the VP function as an NP?
- in the adjective position of an NP
- in the pronominal noun position of an NP
- in the head noun position of an NP
- in a noun complement
ratings, confronting, ruling
For the following prepositional phrases, what do they modify? Are the ambiguities
benign?
“[after one year} in office” (line 2), “in his first year in office”, “against him”
For the following relative clauses or other wh-constructions, where is the gap? I.e., it the
subject, object, some other complement, or an adjunct missing and needs to be filled?
“How bad do things look ...”, “that the ruling party has taken”, “he campaigned to
become”
Find three headless NPs.
Find an adjective phrase headed by a past participle functioning as a post-modifier.
Solitude:
For the following present participles, are they
- part of a VP; if so, are they a progressive in a main clause or an adverbial? Does
the VP function as an NP?
- in the adjective position of an NP
- in the pronominal noun position of an NP
- in the head noun position of an NP
- in a noun complement
firing, dragging (line 11), trying, dragging (line 15)
For the following prepositional or other phrases, what do they modify? Are the
ambiguities benign?
“when his father ...”, “built on the bank ...”, “near the village”, “behind Melquiades’
magical irons”
For the following relative clauses or other wh-constructions, where is the gap? I.e., it the
subject, object, some other complement, or an adjunct missing and needs to be filled?
“that ran along a bed ...”, “who introduced himself as ...”, “what he himself called ...”,
“from where they had been searched for the most”
Find a prenominal noun.
Find an adjective phrase headed by a past participle functioning as a post-modifier.