Uppsala University
Department of English
A1/HS1 Grammar
Autumn/Fall Term 2010
Grammar Assignment 1: Key to Seminar Tasks
Task 1
a.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
She | deserves | a present.
S|V|Od
The chef | served | us | lunch | on the patio.
S|V|Oi|Od|A
She | gave | me | a book about race horses.
S|V|Oi|Od
My brother | keeps | a python | in his bathtub.
S|V|Od|A
A woman who lives in our street | grows | beautiful roses.
S|V|Od
The python | always | seems | hungry.
S|A|V|Ps
She | seems | a nice girl.
S|V|Ps
His offer | made | us | very happy.
S|V|Od|Po
1)
2)
She = pronoun; deserves = verb; present = noun.
chef = noun; served = verb; us = pronoun; lunch = noun; on = preposition;
patio = noun.
She = pronoun; gave = verb; me = pronoun; book = noun; about = preposition;
race = noun; horses = noun.
My = pronoun; brother = noun; keeps = verb; python = noun; in = preposition;
his = pronoun; bathtub = noun.
woman = noun; who = pronoun; lives = verb; in = preposition; our = pronoun;
street = noun; grows = verb; beautiful = adjective; roses = noun.
python = noun; always = adverb; seems = verb; hungry = adjective.
She = pronoun; seems = verb; nice = adjective; girl = noun.
His = pronoun; offer = noun; made = verb; us = pronoun; very = adverb;
happy = adjective.
b.
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
1
Uppsala University
Department of English
c.
determiner
premodifier
a
The
the
a
My
a
his
A
The
a
His
beautiful
nice
A1/HS1 Grammar
Autumn/Fall Term 2010
head
She
present
chef
us
lunch
patio
She
me
book
brother
python
bathtub
woman
roses
python
She
girl
offer
us
postmodifier
about race horses
who lives in our street
Task 2
a.
b.
1)
this | book
D|H
2)
a | very interesting | film
D|PRE|H
3)
some | exciting | books | on this topic
D|PRE|H|POST
4)
the | friendly | people | who met us at the door
D|PRE|H|POST
5)
the many | narrow | alleys | in this town
D|PRE|H|POST
You need to be able to find the head of a subject noun phrase in order to know
how the verb should be inflected, if the verb has different forms. Most verbs
agree with their subjects only in the present indicative, where subjects with
third-person singular heads require a verb form in -(e)s (e.g. The owner of the
bookshop reads lots of novels), while subjects with other heads require the base
form (e.g. The owners of the bookshop read lots of novels). The verb to be has
additional forms: in the present indicative, am for subjects with first-person
singular heads (e.g. I am an avid reader of novels), is for subjects with thirdperson singular heads (e.g. The owner of the bookshop is also a pianist), and are for
subjects with other heads; in the past indicative, was for subjects with firstperson singular and third-person singular heads (e.g. The owner of the bookshop
was tired of selling books) and were for subjects with other heads.
2
Uppsala University
Department of English
A1/HS1 Grammar
Autumn/Fall Term 2010
Task 3
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
My best friend | may have arrived. My best friend: S (NP). may have arrived:
V (VP).
She | seems | lonely. She: S (NP). seems: V (VP). lonely: Ps (AdjP).
The French artist who won the contest | sang | beautifully. The French
artist who won the contest: S (NP). sang: V (VP). beautifully: A (AP).
Unfortunately, | English teams | buy | our best football players.
Unfortunately: A (AP). English teams: S (NP). buy: V (VP). our best football
players: Od (NP).
Dave | was | in the kitchen. Dave: S (NP). was: V (VP). in the kitchen: A
(PP).
He | told | my oldest cousin | his biggest secret. He: S (NP). told: V (VP).
my oldest cousin: Oi (NP). his biggest secret: Od (NP).
You | can call | me | in the afternoon. You: S (NP). can call: V (VP). me: Od
(NP). in the afternoon: A (PP).
We | called | our first child | Henrietta. We: S (NP). called: V (VP). our first
child: Od (NP). Henrietta: Po (NP).
That evening | she | cooked | a lovely Italian meal. That evening: A (NP).
she: S (NP). cooked: V (VP). a lovely Italian meal: Od (NP).
Task 4
There can be a one-to-one correspondence between an adverb (the word class) and
an adverbial (the clause element), as in He | never | tells | lies (S|A|V|Od), where
never is an adverb as a word class and an adverbial as a clause element. However,
this need not be the case. In He | was telling | lies | the whole time (S|V|Od|A), the
adverbial the whole time is a noun phrase that does not contain an adverb. Conversely,
in This car | is | really fast (S|V|Ps), the adverb really is not an adverbial, but a
modifier of the adjective fast in the adjective phrase really fast.
Task 5
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
They | are working | this evening.
They | are dreading | this evening.
She | was eating | chicken with mushroom sauce.
She | was eating | chicken | with chop sticks.
Alternative 1: She | hit | the man with a stick.
Alternative 2: She | hit | the man | with a stick.
Alternative 1: They | found | her | a good friend.
Alternative 2: They | found | her | a good friend.
She | made | me | furious.
She | made | me | a cake.
I | have become | a teacher.
3
S|V|A
S|V|Od
S|V|Od
S|V|Od|A
S|V|Od
S|V|Od|A
S|V|Oi|Od
S|V|Od|Po
S|V|Od|Po
S|V|Oi|Od
S|V|Ps