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ENGLISH SYNTAX

SUPPLEMENTARY EXERCISES

I. Choose the correct form of the verb that agrees with the subject.

1. Annie and her brothers (is, are) at school.

2. Either my mother or my father (is, are) coming to the meeting.

3. The dog or the cats (is, are) outside.

4. Either my shoes or your coat (is, are) always on the floor.

5. George and Tamara (doesn't, don't) want to see that movie.

6. Benito (doesn't, don't) know the answer.

7. One of my sisters (is, are) going on a trip to France.

8. The man with all the birds (live, lives) on my street.

9. The movie, including all the previews, (take, takes) about two hours towatch.

10. The players, as well as the captain, (want, wants) to win.

11. Either answer (is, are) acceptable.

12. Every one of those books (is, are) fiction.

13. Nobody (know, knows) the trouble I've seen.

14. (Is, Are) the news on at five or six?

15. Mathematics (is, are) John's favorite subject, while Civics (is, are)

Andrea's favorite subject.

16. Eight dollars (is, are) the price of a movie these days.

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17. (Is, Are) the tweezers in this drawer?

18. Your pants (is, are) at the cleaner's.

19. There (was, were) fifteen candies in that bag. Now there (is, are) only

one left!

20. The committee (debates, debate) these questions carefully.

21. The committee (leads, lead) very different lives in private.

22. The Prime Minister, together with his wife, (greets, greet) the press

cordially.

23. All of the CDs, even the scratched one, (is, are) in this case.

II. Identify the phrases and their syntactical function.

1. He was surprised at her attitude.

2. Who asked you the question?

3. They accused his friend of murder.

4. They seldom go in the countryside nowadays.

5. Fetch a glass of water for me.

6. They found them alive.

7. She was waiting for the bus in front of the cinema.

8. Despite the bad weather he went to London for an interview.

9. He listened silently to the radio yesterday morning.

10. In case of fire, call this number.

11. He taught her a valuable lesson.

12. He painted his house green.

13. The beautiful girl with long, blonde hair was looking at the landscape

in amazement.

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14. Because of the fog they couldnt find a parking space.

15. They elected him president despite their warnings.

III. Use the following verbs as transitive verbs, intransitive verbs andlink verbs.

to grow to get to turn to stand

IV. Build up sentences according to the following patterns:

1.Adv.mod.of concession + subj + pred + adv.mod.of manner +adv.mod.of

time

2.Subj+adv.mod.of manner + pred + direct object +object complement

3.Subj+pred+direct object + direct object + adv.mod.of concession

4.Subj+pred+direct object + prep object+ adv.mod.of place + adv.mod.of

time

5.Adv.mod. of condition + subj + predicate + direct object

6. Adverbial modifier of concession + subject + predicate +direct object

+adverbial modifier of time

7. Subject + predicate +direct object + direct object + adverbial

modifier .of concession

8. Subject + predicate + direct object + prepositional object + adverbial

modifier of place+ adverbial modifier of time

9. Subject + adverbial modifier of manner + predicate + direct object +

adverbial modifier of purpose

10. Subject +predicate + adjective complement + adverbial modifier of

cause

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V. Identify the subjects, predicates, objects, complements and

adverbials in the following sentences:

1.Her parents dont give her any money.

2.They christened her Susan.

3.I found the movie boring.

4.As a result of bad weather conditions they stayed home to listen to

the weather forecast.

5.Who is looking after the babies tonight?

6.Trisha read her nephew a story about ogres.

7.Many people consider computers a necessity.

8.She made Frank her assistant.

9.Trisha offered the young child the plush toy.

10. She is interested in gardening.

11. We asked some passers-by the way.

12. Open your mouth wide!

13. They were suspicious of our decision.

14. Do you find this painting a masterpiece?

15. She swept the floor clean.

VI.Identify the type of predication.

George said he felt thirsty ( I never knew George when he didnt) and, as I

had a presentiment that a little whisky, warm, with a slice of lemon,

would do my complaint good, the debate was by common assent

adjourned to the following night

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He fastened the car door, and climbed to his own seat outside, and we set

off. Our progress was leisurely, and gave me ample time to reflect. I was

content to be at length so near to the end of my journey: and as I leaned

back in the comfortable though not elegant conveyance, I meditated

much at my ease.

VII. In the following text identify the phrases and their syntactic

function and analyse the underlined words from a morphological

point of view.

e.g. He is a student.

He noun phrase substitute, subject

- pronoun, simple, personal, 3rd person, singular, Nominative

I would have called Mark to help me. But the other day I calledhim stupid in front of his friends. Im ashamed of my behaviour. I think I

will go to him this afternoon to apologise. But for this incident, we would

have been best friends. I think I did it because of my colleagues. They

dont like him so, to please them, I betrayed my real friend. Although

Mark didnt accuse me of anything I know that he must feel hurt. I will

buy him his favourite book and ask for his forgiveness.

VIII. Identify the sub-clauses:

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1. He ran so hard that he soon was quite exhausted.

2. This is the place where they first met.

3. I can guarantee it will be here on time.

4. He fell as if he had been shot.

5. Since you are here we may as well settle the business.

6. What happened between us must remain a secret.

7. This is where she was born.

8. They called him as you have suggested.

9. While tiding up the attic, John came across a trunk which was

full of books.

10. Had he been better educated, he might have had a brilliant

career.

11. It is certain that de did a good job although he is pretty

inexperienced.

12. He is certain he did a good job because everybody

congratulated him on doing such a good job.

13. It is weird that he should want to meet you.

14. He moved closer so that he could hear better the presentation

that was about to begin.

15. It is obvious that john was thinking of what to do next.

IX. Construct sentences, each containing the clause where they

first met, using it

1.as a nominal subject clause

2.as a relative clause

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3.as an adverbial clause of place

4.as a nominal subject complement clause

5.as a nominal direct object clause

X. Rephrase the following sentences and identify the sub-clauses.

1. As soon as I had said the words I wished I could take them

back.

No

2. His ideas might be brilliant but they will never work in practice. Though

3. As he was asked to state his intentions, we know what to do

now.

If..

4. Follow my advice and Im sure you wont go wrong.

Unless.

5. The problem was so difficult that I asked my brother to help me.

It was.

XI. Read the short text and decide if the clauses in the questions

which follow are adverbial or relative. If you decide a clause is a

relative, determine if it is restrictive or nonrestrictive. Also

determine how the relative pronoun functions within its clause.

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Dr. Berzins has had her suit since 1994, when she was interviewed

on a local television news series called "Fat and Forgotten," for which a

reporter used a fat suit to investigate anti-fat prejudice. After the show,

Dr. Berzins, who weighs about a hundred and fifteen pounds, begged to

be given the suit. She now uses it when she gives lectures to

schoolchildren. She arrives in the suit, which pushes her apparent

weight to about two hundred and fifty pounds, and begins a talk on body

image and the media. The students yawn and shift in their seats. Then

she leaves the room for a moment, like Clark Kent. When she reappears

without the suit, she suddenly has her audience's attention. A

discussion ensues.

XII.1. Identify the words written in bold (type of phrase,

constituents, syntactic function)

2.Identify the main clauses ad subordinate clauses in the text

above.

Had I rememberedhis phone number, I would have called him on the

spot, because it is known that Mark isthe best chess playerin our

school. I would have appointed him captainbut I left homein a hurry

lest I should miss the bus, and I forgot my agenda at home. I was so

upset that I did not know what to do. The idea that I could call one of his

friends finally occurred to me. I called John to askfor Marks phone

number. I wish I had had this idea earlier because he wasnt at home. No

matter how hard I tried to find Marks phone number, I just couldnt.

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XIII. Use the word which as introductory word for the following

sub-clauses:

1) nominal subject clause,

2) restrictive relative clause,

3) nominal direct object clause,

4) independent relative clause,

5) nominal subject complement clause.

XIV. Making subjects and predicates agree. Some of the followingsentences contain mistakes. Tick () the correct ones and providethe correct form for the incorrect ones.

1.Neither the colour, nor the shape of this car appeal to me.

2.Three metres is not enough.

3.Rhythm and blues are not my kind of music.

4.A large number of people was not pleased with the presidents decision.

5.The book, including all those extra chapters, are boring.

6.My brother, together with his wife are travelling throughout Europe.

7.More than half of the children in this district qualifies for reduced price

or free lunches.

8.On the rim of the Kilauea volcano in the Hawaiian Islands are a hotel

called the Volcano Hotel.

9.The great digital advances of the electronic age, such as integrated

circuits and microcomputers, has been planted in tiny chips.

10.The President accompanied by his wife are travelling to India.

11.Either my friends, or John is going to accompany me.

12.All of the bags, including yours, is in the car.

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13..Each of the team members have a new uniform.

14.Measles are a very dangerous disease.

15.In spite of what was decided at the meeting, half of the procedures was

not changed.

XV. Build up sentences according to the following patterns:

1.Subject + adverbial modifier of manner + predicate + direct object +

object complement

2.Subject + predicate +direct object + direct object + adverbial modifier .of

concession

3.Subject + predicate + direct object + prepositional object+ adverbial

modifier of place+ adverbial modifier of time

4.Adverbial modifier of condition + subject + predicate + direct object

5.Subject + predicate + direct object + object complement+ adverbial

modifier of cause

6.Subject + predicate + direct object + prepositional object

7.Subject + predicate + prepositional object + adverbial modifier of time +adverbial modifier of time

8.Adverbial modifier of result + subject + predicate + direct object t+

adverbial modifier of time

9.Subject + adverbial modifier of manner + predicate + direct object +

adverbial modifier of purpose

10.Adverbial modifier of concession + subject + predicate +adverbial modifier

of manner +adverbial modifier of time

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