Unit 4 The Structures of English (I)
[Check your understanding]
1. Word order plays an important role in the organization of English sentences. T
2. All ambiguous sentences result from our failure to use proper organization. F
Note: We can consciously avoid ambiguity, though.
3. With transformations, we can organize a sentence the way we like. F
Note: Transformations are rule governed and constrained.
4. Like English, modern Chinese is a SVO language. T
Note: But Chinese also employs theme-theme organization a lot, e.g. 他的话我没听见。
■ In-Class Activities
1．ASK:
(1) Can you think of other modes of recursion?
Relative-clause recursion.
(2) Give one example of VP recursion.
Omit.
2. ASK:
(1) Paraphrase the two parts of the sentence before and after “because”.
Under Jane’s influence, John became a good husband.
She serves as a good wife for John.
(2) Which sentence patterns do the two parts belong to?
VOC; VOO
(3) Can you find more verbs like “make” in English?
leave, allow, etc.
3. ASK:
(1) Is the sign ambiguous? If so, use paraphrases to show the different readings.
a. Do not let such situation happen that no one attends the valuables.
b. Do not go away from the valuables that are not attended.
(2) Is the ambiguity involved the same kind as that in The mother of the boy and the girl arrived?
No. Ambiguity in the latter case arises from coordination as shown by the use of “and”.
(3) Newspaper headlines and advertisements often deliberately employ ambiguity to attract
customers or readers. How are the following ambiguous?
(a) A New Model For Getting Rich Online
“Online” may modify both “model” and “getting rich”.
(b) Two Philippine ships collide--one dies.
“One” may refer to both passengers and one of the ships.
(c) Eye drops off shelf.
a. An eye of somebody’s drops off shelf.
b. Eye drops (as a kind of medicine) are off shelf (i.e., out of sale).
(d) Wanted: A man to wash dishes and two young waitresses.
a. Wasted: a man to wash both dishes and two young waitresses.
b. Wanted: two young waitresses and a man whose job is to wash dishes.
(4) Is the following public sign ambiguous?
No. “Dog Free Park” means “a park where dogs are not allowed”.
4. ASK:
(1) Are these sentence patterns found in English but not in Chinese?
Yes. English employs some formal subject like “there” and “it”. Chinese may allow subjectless
sentences.
(2) Can you think of any other sentence patterns in English that are not shared by Chinese?
Fancy meeting you here!
No wonder you were so angry.
5. ASK:
(1) What similarities do those sentences in the second category share?
The object is pronominal.
(2) What is the special condition that necessitates particle movement?
When the verb phrase takes a pronoun as its object, particle movement is a must. Thus, we
must say “look it up” instead of “look up it”.
VP
VP
VP
V
Particle
NP
V
NP
Particle
V
NP
Particle
Pron
6. ASK:
(1) Is there any difference in meaning between the sentences in the first pair?
(a) It is possible that only a small numbers of books were sold out.
(b) It is likely that a large number of books were sold out, although John did not sell many.
(2) How are the sentences in the second pair different from each other?
(b) is more emphatic than (a) now that it deviates from the normal way of sentence
organization, resulting in what we call foregrounding.
7. ASK:
(1) Can you write out four different phrases in English illustrating each of the VP types?
a. read
b. read a novel
c. take the book off the desk
d. think that life is difficult
(2) Can you use the abbreviatory convention above to integrate the following sets of rules into a
single rule?
a. A →( B) C
b. W → (X) Y( Z)
8. ASK:
(1) How many sentence types are covered by the data?
(1) Mexico Vote Tally Gives Free-Trader A Narrow Victory [ SVOO]
(2) Israeli Tanks Meet Fierce Resistance [SVO ]
(3) Ruling Keeps DeLay on Ballot [ SVOC]
(4) Favoritism Trial Hurts Chicago Mayor [SVO ]
(5) Discovery Docks With Space Station [ SVO]
(6) Russia's Signal to Stations Is Clear: Cut U.S. Radio [ SVC]
(7) Mayor's Stadium Proposal Advances [SV ]
(8) Dumfries Regrets Raid on Homeless [SVO ]
(9) A Driven President Faces a World of Crises [SVO ]
(10) Consultant Breached FBI's Computers [ SVO]
(2) Which type occurs most frequently?
SVO
Task 3: Study Questions
1. It is important that the rules of syntax specify all and only the grammatical sentences of the
language. Why is it important to say “only”? That is, what would be wrong with a grammar that
specified as grammatical sentences all of the truly grammatical ones plus a few that were not
grammatical?
The grammatical rules will become invalid because we will not know which sentences are
grammatical.
2. Analyze how the following sentences are incorrect according to English grammar.
a. Snowing outside.
“It is/was” cannot be deleted.
b. Jane loves John, she calls him every day.
This is a run-on sentence. The sentence contains two independent sentences.
c. There are two boys play football on the ground.
The sentence contains two finite verbs.
d. Jane is very kind to John, for example, she prepares dinner for him whenever she can.
This is a run-on sentence. “For example” is not a conjunction and thus cannot link two clauses
into a complex sentence.
e. Diligent is very important to succeed.
“Diligent” cannot function as the subject because it is an adjective. In English, the subject as
well as the object must be nominal.
f. John find the two book very interesting.
There is a lack of grammatical concord in number between the subject and the predicate verb.
g. John is a great leader, however, he is sometimes too strict.
This is a run-on sentence. “However” is not a conjunction and thus cannot link two clauses into
a complex sentence.
h. Although Jane loves John, but she never says “I love you” to him.
In English, “although” and “but” do not co-occur.
i. The reason Jane loves John is because he is kind to her.
In English, we say “the reason (….) is that ….
j. – Have you seen John lately, Jane?
-- Not seen.
When answering a question, one repeats the auxiliary verb, rather than the main verb.
k. Finish the job in two days is impossible.
In English, the subject as well as the object must be nominal. “Finish the job” is verbal rather
than nominal.
l. Why Jane didn’t go to Beijing with John?
There must be the movement (or addition) of the auxiliary when forming an interrogative
sentence in English. The correct form is Why didn’t Jane go to Beijing with John?
3. Paraphrase each of the following sentences in two different ways to show that you understand
the ambiguity involved:
(1) Smoking grass can be nauseating.
a. To smoke grass can be nauseating.
b. Grass for smoking can be nauseating.
(2) John finally decided on the boat.
a. On the boat John finally made a decision.
b. John finally decided to use (buy, etc.) the boat.
(3) Jane’s appointment was shocking.
a. Jane’s appointment of someone was shocking.
b. Jane’s being appointed by someone was shocking.
(4) Old men and women are hard to live with.
a. Both old men and old women are hard to live with.
b. Women and old men and are hard to live with.
(5) The governor is a dirty street fighter.
a. The governor is a fighter against dirty street.
b. The governor is a street fighter who is mean and corrupt.
(6) I cannot recommend him too highly.
a. I cannot recommend him too highly because he is not so good.
b. I can recommend him as highly as I can because he is so good.
4. Questions typically come from a first-person speaker and are addressed to a second-person
hearer. Can you relate this use of questions to the fact that you is deleted from abbreviated
questions? Can any subject be deleted from abbreviated questions as long as use and context
make the deletion recoverable?
Like the book?
Fancy meeting John Here?
Want to have a cigarette?
When questions are used to make an offer, seek information, etc., the understood “you” can
be deleted.
5. Give the passive version of the following sentences.
(1) Phil watered the garden too much.
The garden was too much watered by Phil.
(2) Bill expected me to leave soon.
I was expected to leave soon by Bill.
(3) The doctor expected the technician to develop the X-rays fast.
a. The technician was expected by the doctor to develop the X-rays fast.
b. The doctor expected the X-rays to be developed fast by the technician.
c. The X-rays were expected by the doctor to be developed fast by the technician.
6. Study the following sentences and analyze them in terms of sentence patterns.
a. John seems happy. [SVC]
b. The girls sing quite often. [SV]
c. They elected Bush president again. [SVOC]
d. Chasing cats is fun for dogs. [SVC]
e. Jane sent John a bunch of roses. [SVOO]
f. John never keeps his room clean. [SVOC]
g. The film lasted two hours. [SVA]
h. John let Jane out. [SVOC]