Unit 1
Is the following sentence non-standard or informal?
I ain't told a thing.
Non-standard
What is the difference between a lexical and a grammatical word?
Lexical words: words that carry meaning: verbs, nouns, adjectives & adverbs.
Grammatical words: link and order lexical words to ensure coherence and cohesion: pronouns, articles, determiners, auxiliary verbs and prepositions
How many tenses do we have in English?
Present & Past (Future is not a tense grammatically speaking).
which 2 main types of modality can be expressed?
Epistemic (probability) and deontic (obligation)
Which is has a closer relationship with the head noun: a modifier or a complement?
A complement
What is descriptive grammar?
Grammar that underlies the way people actually speak and write the sentence.
Which type of verb is it according to the state of affairs? Action, Process, Position or State?
I slipped.
Process: it implies a change, but it is not controlled by the participant.
Complete the sentence:
Tense is concerned with.....while aspect is concerned with..
Tense is concerned with time while aspect is concerned with duration and completion.
Complete the sentence with a modal verb:
If you don't feel ok, you _____________ to see a doctor.
ought
Which type of noun is cattle?
The cattle run into the forest.
It is a common noun --> countable --> concrete --> collective
Divide the following sentence into subject & predicate:
That kid that was talking to my nephew while playing with the ball is much older than you think.
Subject: That kid that was talking to my nephew while playing with the ball
Predicate: is much older than you think.
Is this a prepositional or a phrasal verb?
Mary put on her shirt.
Phrasal verb:
Mary put it on.
Decide whether the situation expressed in the sentence below is bounded (with an end-point) or unbounded (without an end-point):
The light projects a weird shadow.
unbounded
Which type of construction is it?
I gave John a pen.
ditransitive constraction
What is the function of the different pronouns in the following sentence:
She offered me your sit.
She: Subject
me: Indirect Object
your: Determiner
Is this sentence acceptable for descriptive grammar, prescriptive grammar, or both?
Here it is the teacher I spoke to yesterday.
Only descriptive. Prescriptive grammar will only accept:
Here it is the teacher to whom I spoke yesterday.
How many constituents do we have in this sentence?
John drives smoothly.
4
1) John
2) drives
3) smoothly
4) drives smoothly
Is this sentence perfect or perfective?
I have been to Australia.
Both: Perfect (have been) and perfective (completed action).
What type of construction is it?
The stone moved.
middle construction
Is it a disjunct, an adjunct or a conjuct?
Honestly, I don't know what you do in here.
Disjunct (expresses feelings/emotions)
Is this sentence canonical or noncanonical? If noncanonical, which noncanonical category does it belong to?
This wall was painted by my sister.
Noncanonical --> passive
Which type of clause is it: finite, non-finite or verbless?
Eating vegetables is not that healthy
non-finite (gerund)
Create the passive version of this sentence:
The car sold yesterday.
That's a middle construction. The passive voice will be:
The car was sold yesterday by the car dealer.
What type of construction is it?
I bought a camera; A very expensive camera it was.
Fronting construction.
Which are the elements that play a role in the deictic center?
Now (the moment of speaking)
I (the speaker)
Here (the location of the speaker)