Sentences from An Introduction to English
Sentence Analysis
by Carl Bache, Mike Davenport, John Dienhart and
Fritz Larsen
(© Copyright 1999 by Gyldendal)
Sentences from An Introduction to English
Sentence Analysis
by Carl Bache, Mike Davenport, John Dienhart and
Fritz Larsen
(© Copyright 1991, 1993 by Munksgaard)
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
PART I
1. Sentence functions
2. Forms
3. The Internal Structure of Complex Forms
4. The Full System
PART II
5. Group Structure
6. Missing Forms
7. Comparative Constructions
8. Complex Predicators
9. Special Types of Clausal Constructions
PART III
EXERCISE 1.A (The Basic Sentence Functions)
1.A1. Henry laughed.
1.A2.
He was a great joker.
1.A3.
The old lady likes flowers.
1.A4.
Yesterday she picked a whole bunch.
1.A5.
A friend from Paris will arrive in the morning.
1.A6.
He will have dinner with us.
1.A7.
After that we will go to a concert.
1.A8.
On the sofa lay a book.
1.A9.
What a lovely day this is.
1.A10.
This is the last sentence.
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EXERCISE 1.B (Additional Sentence Functions)
1.B1.
My father gave his old car a complete overhaul.
1.B2.
They painted the new library green.
1.B3.
It seems strange that the mail has not come yet.
1.B4.
I have it from a friend that the exam has been cancelled.
1.B5.
Who has seen my razor?
1.B6.
It was raining hard.
1.B7.
She must have been giving him sweets.
1.B8.
Here comes the bride.
1.B9.
On Sunday my father grudgingly gave me my allowance.
1.B10.
They always considered him a complete idiot.
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EXERCISE 1.C (Discontinuous Constituents)
1.C1.
What are you doing here?
1.C2.
For a moment he did not answer.
1.C3.
Have you been ill?
1.C4.
Your steak is surely getting cold.
1.C5.
Andrew was no longer speaking to Julian.
1.C6.
The matter was never mentioned.
1.C7.
How can you say such a thing?
1.C8.
When did you last see him?
1.C9.
That book I didn't like.
1.C10.
Where are you calling from?
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EXERCISE 2.A (The Word)
2.A1.
John handled it badly.
2.A2.
Since you have been so greedy, I have now stopped your allowance.
2.A3.
The Mounties always get their man.
2.A4.
Next year Henry will have been paid by me for 25 years.
2.A5.
John's best friend was single.
2.A6.
It is unlikely that he will be back.
2.A7.
I really hope this will solve the problems.
2.A8.
The games spies play also will dominate John Walker's own trial.
2.A9.
Still, there remains an element of scepticism within the
community.
2.A10.
Brokers go high tech to keep up with the wild world of
investments.
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EXERCISE 2.B (The Group)
2.B1.
The lorry driver at the next table demanded better service.
2.B2.
Those costumes looked incredibly old-fashioned.
2.B3.
Those tourists have been treated very badly.
2.B4.
A dozen of the best seats for the film were sold extremely
quickly.
2.B5.
Letters like that people should ignore completely.
2.B6.
The members present elected the youngest candidate chairman.
2.B7.
The successful applicant must have experience in sentence
analysis.
2.B8.
He is leaving for Rome on Sunday with a letter to my uncle.
2.B9.
Brokers who dismiss computerization may be doing this at their own
peril.
2.B10.
The spinal treatments are particularly effective for cancer
patients.
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EXERCISE 2.C (The Clause)
2.C1.
My brother was hoping that you would come.
2.C2.
If you want me, I will be at home.
2.C3.
Since you have been so greedy, I have now stopped your allowance.
2.C4.
What I want is another cup of coffee.
2.C5.
Saying this, she burst into tears.
2.C6.
The book, unless you protest, will be returned.
2.C7.
She wants to marry a Norwegian who is rich.
2.C8.
It is unlikely that he will be back.
2.C9.
These techniques are no substitute for drugs, they claim.
2.C10.
As the investigation went on, they were trying to prove his
innocence.
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EXERCISE 3.A (The Subordinate Clause)
3.A1.
People outside could not hear what was happening.
3.A2.
That her son should have done such a thing shocked her no end.
3.A3.
He gave going to France a good deal of thought.
3.A4.
To hear him, one gets the wrong impression.
3.A5.
Whatever he says is of no importance.
3.A6.
It bothers me to see him drunk.
3.A7.
I remember reading about the vitamin properties of nettles.
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EXERCISE 3.B (The Group)
3.B1.
Those costumes looked incredibly ancient.
3.B2.
Surprisingly enough, he had lost her.
3.B3.
That old fellow was the best teacher of all.
3.B4.
All the guests wanted another cup of coffee.
3.B5.
On the other hand, he may be seeing her privately.
3.B6.
It could easily be destroyed during an earthquake.
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EXERCISE 3.C (The Form of Group Constituents)
3.C1.
The Victorians made England much stronger.
3.C2.
The thief who escaped yesterday has been recaptured.
3.C3.
At the very next moment, the entire edifice collapsed.
3.C4.
For us to stop there was a tragedy of unimaginable proportions.
3.C5.
John gave Mary, Bob's wife, a never to be repeated opportunity.
3.C6.
The after dinner conversation lasted until after breakfast.
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EXERCISE 4.A (Lower-Level Analysis)
4.A1.
The tall white lilies were reeling in the moonlight.
4.A2.
Was the boy amused by all the funny pictures?
4.A3.
The children had never heard such rain in all their lives.
4.A4.
Sarah could see the masts of the ships on the horizon.
4.A5.
This problem bothered the researchers no end.
4.A6.
The favourite pastime of his ancestors must have been hunting.
4.A7.
Laughing made the young man oblivious of the bad news.
4.A8.
For events to progress that far was a development beyond
expectations.
4.A9.
What had become of Cynthia, James did not know.
4.A10.
Borg made an unusually inelegant figure in the tournament.
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EXERCISE 4.B (Coordination)
4.B1.
You are awful, but I like you.
4.B2.
They couldn't accept the proposal, nor could I.
4.B3.
Deer and horses are always hunted by big cats and wolves and
hyenas.
4.B4.
Mondale revealed that he and the Japanese had discussed numerous
issues.
4.B5.
He believed that money and fame were of vital importance.
4.B6.
Either you tell me the truth or you get out now.
4.B7.
Trying hard but forgetting the facts, he failed to finish the
job.
4.B8.
Patiently and deliberately, she had worked at finding a new base.
4.B9.
She grew very close to him and his family.
4.B10.
He would rather dance than eat.
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EXERCISE 4.C (Complex Heads)
4.C1.
They claimed that she tried to infiltrate the Greenpeace crew in
1984.
4.C2.
People in the government or intelligence community knew all about
it.
4.C3.
This no longer has any relevance to the making of a decision.
4.C4.
There was no explaining this, but it was a fact.
4.C5.
I doubt our students will like our new French teacher's teaching
methods.
4.C6.
It's no use our standing here the rest of the day.
4.C7.
However, here a certain refining of terms is necessary, I think.
4.C8.
His thinking I looked Jewish actually both excited and depressed
me.
4.C9.
All he gave her was some really cheap artificial silk women's
underwear.
4.C10.
What made me suspicious was never having encountered his name
before.
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EXERCISE 5.A (Adjective, Adverb and Preposition Groups)
5.A1.
The ball hit him right between the eyes.
5.A2.
An incredibly small and speedy object shot past from under the
table.
5.A3.
The whole thing happened really rather fast and it quickly spoiled
the atmosphere.
5.A4.
That should be clear enough even to someone who reads so slowly and
laboriously.
5.A5.
Over on the western side of the island the sea was beautifully calm
and still.
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EXERCISE 5.B (Dependents within the Verb Group)
5.B1.
Susan swore that she had been sleeping upstairs all the time.
5.B2.
It is of course possible that she may not necessarily have been
telling the truth.
5.B3.
Where have you been hiding all my life?
5.B4.
The evidence could well have been mislaid in the ensuing scuffle.
5.B5.
He must have been seen over at the pub by someone.
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EXERCISE 5.C (Dependents within the Noun Group)
5.C1.
A great big stupid-looking brown and black Alsatian was watching me
through the gate.
5.C2.
In the mirror John saw about six different clear-cut instances of
minor traffic offences.
5.C3.
There are things over there in that house that I wouldn't want my
worst enemy to see.
5.C4.
The best pub in the village is the one behind the church with the
thatched roof next to the doctor's house.
5.C5.
The only two sensible arguments presented at the meeting Peter hadn't
heard before seemed on reflection to be somewhat derivative and
uninteresting.
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EXERCISE 6.A (The Zero Notation)
6.A1.
I'll tell you everything I know.
6.A2.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
6.A3.
The committee found the applicant both incompetent and in poor mental
shape.
6.A4.
Are you sure my mother-in-law's business has gone bankrupt?
6.A5.
The car you bought so cheap won't last very long.
6.A6.
It isn't always true people have got the government they deserve.
6.A7.
Succumbing to outside pressure they elected Sir Geoffrey Chairman of
the board.
6.A8.
Bob and Liz are the only friends we haven't heard from.
6.A9.
I think his reputation is a lot better now he's dead.
6.A10.
If pressed, it is tempting to admit one's superiority.
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EXERCISE 6.B (Zero for Suppressed Repetition)
6.B1.
This may not be a wonderful solution, but can you think of a
better?
6.B2.The
claim that her beauty surpassed the Queen of Sheba's is
unsubstantiated.
6.B3.
They were smoking large cigars and talking with their heads close
together.
6.B4.
John's is the most expensive project in the department.
6.B5.
They sell the cheapest but certainly not the worst equipment.
6.B6.
Britain will defend the Falklands, and America the rest.
6.B7.
We need a secretary who can type and serve coffee every half
hour.
6.B8.
We were offered chocolate ice-cream, but I much prefer vanilla.
6.B9.
John likes apples but detests cherries.
6.B10.
This could possibly deter Argentina but hardly the Russians.
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EXERCISE 6.C (Pro-Forms)
6.C1.
She didn't get the attention her brother did.
6.C2.
The British took the defeat calmly, but the French did so with a
maximum of noise.
6.C3.
I cheered the end of the war and the coming of peace, as did everyone
else.
6.C4.
Tomorrow he'd blame me, and so would his wife.
6.C5.
I don't know if you'll go to prison, but I hope so.
6.C6.
If you're asking me whether we should proceed with this, I think
not.
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EXERCISE 7.A (Morphological and Syntactic Comparison)
7.A1.
There can be no doubt that her sister is both prettier and more
intelligent.
7.A2.
Which do you think played the best?
7.A3.
The most recent campaign was far better planned.
7.A4.
We sell only Foniware - most durable, least expensive.
7.A5.
Most perceptive people consider Alice better at practical tasks.
7.A6.
On this occasion, however, Bill spoke more wisely.
7.A7.
Don't you find this a most extraordinary construction?
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EXERCISE 7.B (The Comparative Basis)
7.B1.
Alice is more intelligent by far than most of her classmates.
7.B2.
Peter was that detestable 'holier than you' type.
7.B3.
He worked harder than before, though not more successfully.
7.B4.
Of all tall stories this was the tallest I had heard.
7.B5.
John is the most hardened of criminals.
7.B6.
Perhaps Peter had spoken to his father in London more recently than
she.
7.B7.
He cultivates the garden more than his wife.
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EXERCISE 7.C (Positive Forms in Comparative
Constructions)
7.C1.
John is every inch as bright as Jane, his elder sister.
7.C2.
Do you think they are so stupid they won't notice?
7.C3.
Bismarck had been happy enough to reaffirm the inviolability of
Belgium.
7.C4.
Martin is quite as capable of this kind of caper as his father.
7.C5.
Bill is not so wicked as to deserve this treatment.
7.C6.
Investors have been much too slow to profit from recent trends.
7.C7.
Sam is popular enough to have been elected pal of the year.
7.C8.
Each scene is so adroitly realized that it creates its own
suspense.
7.C9.
We were high enough to see the treetops just a block or two away.
7.C10.
Everything considered, the Germans were very clever to lose that
war.
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EXERCISE 8.A (Phrasal Verbs)
8.A1.
A high explosive went off as the men were putting out the fire.
8.A2.
I then received an offer I couldn't turn down.
8.A3.
My father brought me up to put down everything English.
8.A4.
Wilson has come down unambiguously on the side of the miners.
8.A5.
It turned out an ambitious task, but Wilson pulled it off very well
indeed.
8.A6.
We'll talk it over once you turn the light on and the stereo
down.
8.A7.
A lot of people have been taken in by his tone of voice.
8.A8.
The decision to close down the pit has not gone down well with the
union.
8.A9.
It was the last government that brought about the mess we must now
clean up.
8.A10.
More pits have been systematically run down than you can count on
your fingers.
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EXERCISE 8.B (Prepositional Verbs)
8.B1.
If this fellow's boss stands by him, he might get away with it.
8.B2.
People come up with some strange arguments for not going off
liquor.
8.B3.
If you turn down the next street, you'll come in for a big
surprise.
8.B4.
I could see, as he came up the street, that he took after his
father.
8.B5.
One must allow for the beating Britain took after the war.
8.B6.
That patients will voluntarily come in for check-ups is not something
we can count on.
8.B7.
Santa Claus went down the chimney, selected the biggest present, and
got away with it.
8.B8.
Once she had caught up with her classmates, they all turned on
her.
8.B9.
The topic that he lectured on was more interesting than mine.
8.B10.
If you are running out of contributors, you can put me down for
£5.
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EXERCISE 8.C (Catenative Verbs)
8.C1.
I happened to run into the professor who is to be your supervisor
next term.
8.C2.
People tend to arrive early to avoid driving in the dark.
8.C3.
I'm sure we don't need to go through all the details again.
8.C4.
There is bound to be controversy over who is going to preside at the
conference.
8.C5.
The time will come when they'll have to charge him or release
him.
8.C6.
You've got to try to stop smoking.
8.C7.
Emerging from the scrum was the man who was to be detained.
8.C8.
I fail to see the offence if he offered to leave at once.
8.C9.
I want to be quite sure that you've come to see the light.
8.C10.
The Americans appear to be planning to resume negotiations soon.
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EXERCISE 8.D (Other Constructions)
8.D1.
The regiment had taken part in all the decisive battles.
8.D2.
These measures laid waste whole sectors of the industry.
8.D3.
The fence had come apart when the wall caved in.
8.D4.
This job demands higher skills than you can lay claim to.
8.D5.
Why should I always have to put things straight?
8.D6.
Has everything been taken care of?
8.D7.
The tax reform is sure to create confusion when it takes effect.
8.D8.
He took apart and reassembled the rifle in less than a minute.
8.D9.
We'll have to try to get hold of a substitute.
8.D10.
Some husbands and wives try to run out on marriages or domestic
situations they have got bored with.
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EXERCISE 9.A (The "Accusative with Infinitive")
9.A1.
I don't want him to know any non-German service is involved.
9.A2.
This is someone I'd like you to meet.
9.A3.
The bowler hat made him look like a retired general.
9.A4.
It wasn't easy for me now to look at Champion's file with an
objective eye.
9.A5.
Puckered scar tissue made it difficult to distinguish his smiles from
his scowls.
9.A6.
It was a double-edged compliment and he bared his teeth to let me
know it.
9.A7.
I thought Dawlish was asking me to confirm that it was a forgery.
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EXERCISE 9.B (The "Accusative with -ing ")
9.B1.
This case will keep the lawyers arguing for months.
9.B2.
It's surprising how many times we seem to find ourselves talking
about it.
9.B3.
Clothes that I'd seen Melodie Page wearing were packed in plastic
carrier-bags.
9.B4.
Schlegel took his time getting his cigar well alight.
9.B5.
I had to stop my client going down to the Customs and raising hell
about the spares.
9.B6.
Ford tried desperately to think, but was interrupted by the guard
shouting again.
9.B7.
Arthur was astonished to see him laughing.
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EXERCISE 9.C (The "Nominative with Infinitive")
9.C1.
I was forced to see her as she was.
9.C2.
You're supposed to enjoy being a martyr.
9.C3.
The Kremlin could not be expected to comply with agreements reached
under those circumstances.
9.C4.
He was never seen to speak to or notice a private soldier.
9.C5.
This was the result of what were said to be computer failures.
9.C6.
Chile's registered voters clearly know what they are being asked to
say yes to.
9.C7.
So numerous were the floral tributes that two hearses were needed to
carry them away.
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EXERCISE 9.D (The "Nominative with -ing ")
9.D1.
Somewhere on the far side of the ballroom a man was heard singing an
old country song.
9.D2.
He was treating us as if we'd been caught stealing secrets for the
Russians.
9.D3.
She was seen leaving the hotel an hour before her husband.
9.D4.
A ghostly armada of old boats suddenly emerged groaning from the grit
and sand of the scorched riverbed.
9.D5.
The mouse was filmed defending itself against a laboratory
reptile.
9.D6.
Germany's Bundesbank has spent nearly $5 billion trying to stem the
dollar's rise against the mark.
9.D7.
The last time we saw him, he was being dragged screaming from the
hotel lobby.
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EXERCISE 10.A (Imperatives, Interjections and Clause
Structure)
10.A1.
Please yourself.
10.A2.
Drop dead!
10.A3.
STOP (Context: road sign).
10.A4.
If you can't be good, be careful.
10.A5.
Allow me to introduce myself.
10.A6.
Walk tall and carry a big stick.
10.A7.
England (won). (Context: Who won?).
10.A8.
England (is winning). (Context: Who's winning?).
10.A9.
(I would prefer to live in) England. (Context: What country would you
prefer to live in?).
10.A10.
(Give her) meat! (Context: Give your daughter something that will put
a little blood into her veins.).
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EXERCISE 10.B (Utterances that are not Clauses)
10.B1.STOP.
10.B2.
Whoa!
10.B3.
Naughty.
10.B4.
What?
10.B5.
The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English.
10.B6.
Out of Africa.
10.B7.
Naughty you.
10.B8.
25% OFF.
10.B9.
The Beast in Me and Other Animals.
10.B10.
Up and Away!
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EXERCISE 10.C (Clause-like Structures)
10.C1.
Probably not, but it depends on the circumstances. (Context: Will I
be able to claim unemployment benefit straight away?).
10.C2.
Simply cold early rising and annoyance at children being late.
(Context: There is no rejoicing on feast days in England.).
10.C3.
Not like yours and mine, beautiful. (Context: What beautiful German
he spoke.).
10.C4.
Village halls at risk from soaring costs.
10.C5.
Bleak year ahead.
10.C6.
Good port this.
10.C7.
Behind with the mortgage?
10.C8.
Old in a cold season.
10.C9.
Reviews in brief.
10.C10.
An Introduction to English Sentence Analysis.
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EXERCISE 10.D (Complex Utterances)
10.D1.
Oh, come on!
10.D2.
Good God, woman.
10.D3.
Yes, we have no bananas.
10.D4.
Christ, what nonsense.
10.D5.
Goodbye, Mickey Mouse.
10.D6.
Pardon me, ma'am, is this the Chattanooga choo-choo?
10.D7.
No need for you to concern yourself with this one anymore,
Bernard.
10.D8.
However, the individual is not simply a social automaton.
10.D9.
Can't stand those bloody Bavarians, to tell you the truth.
10.D10.
More interestingly, and perhaps more surprisingly, there is evidence
of a phenomenon called age-grading.
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EXERCISE 11 (The Top of the Tree: Utterance Types)
(Note: in this text, some entries consist of two or more
utterances. Each of these is treated as a separate tree. Thus in
entry no. 2, you must type in some portion of the string "How old are
you?" to get the second utterance. Or else type in 11.2b (11.2a will
get you an analysis of "Thirty."). Similarly in entries 5 (11.5a,
11.5b), 6 (11.6a, 11.6b) and 8 (11.8a, 11.8b, 11.8c, 11.8d).
11.1.
How old are you, Luke?
11.2a. Thirty.
11.2b. How old are you?
11.3.
Almost twenty-three.
11.4.
You look like a baby.
11.5a.
I'm not a baby.
11.5b. Stop treating me like one!
11.6a.
Oho!
11.6b. Have you ever been in love then?
11.7.
Once.
11.8a.
Is that all?
11.8b. At twenty-three?
11.8c. Good Lord!
11.8d. I'd
been in and out of love a dozen times by your age.
11.9.
I forbid you to talk to me in that condescending tone!
11.10.
You'll never grow up, will you?
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