Posted: April 21st, 2015

STRUCTURE OF ENGLISH;

LING3350 STRUCTURE OF ENGLISH;

Assignment 2 – Verb Phrases, Transitive, Intransitive
and Copular Verbs, Tense, Aspect, Voice
Value: 20%
Due: Friday 1st May, 2015
1. Please provide Tense and Aspect information for the following sentences in terms of:
a) Tense – present, past, none
b) Aspect – simple, perfect, progressive [3 marks]
Example: Your submission doesn’t demonstrate any understanding of the question.
present tense, simple aspect
(i) John has taken this test a number of times.
(ii) They should have been watching for the train.
(iii) By yesterday evening the storm had already arrived in Newcastle.
(iv) Evidence of continual corruption will be presented at the trial.
(v) Peter has been filming the complete event.
(vi) There were conflicting rumours about the marriage yesterday.
2. Provide your own sentences which are marked for TENSE and ASPECT in the manner specified below. [4 marks]
Example: Past Tense; Perfect Aspect
I had eaten my lunch before twelve o’clock.
PERFECT ? HAVE + Past participle
had (past tense of the auxiliary ‘HAVE’)
eaten (past participle of ‘eat’)
(i) Present Tense; Perfect Aspect
(ii) Past Tense; Simple Aspect
(iii) Present Tense; Perfect Aspect; Progressive Aspect
(iv) No Tense; Progressive Aspect
LING3350 Assignment 2 1
3. For each of the following sentences, state whether the main verb is transitive, intransitive or copular. [3 marks]
(i) The court ordered a significant settlement for Martha
(ii) Phil will be transferring to Bangalore in December.
(iii) The road became wet with the sudden shower.
(iv) The other students used the new submission process.
(v) My friend ordered the best meal for me.
(vi) The path meandered through narrow gaps in the cliffs.
4. Give the passive equivalent of each of the following sentences. If a passive equivalent is not possible, state why. [4 marks]
(i) The linguistics students were attempting the grammar assignments.
(ii) Ian was thinking about his friend’s imminent arrival.
(iii) Mary had become a very good friend.
(iv) Jenny has now completed the course in Speech Pathology.
5. For each of the following sentences, identify the verb phrases and draw its tree diagram (for the VP only, NOT the whole sentence). [6 marks]
Example: Angela ignored the opportunity for a submission to the committee.
VP
V NP
DET N PP
P NP
DET N PP
P NP
DET N
ignored the opportunity for a submission to the committee
LING3350 Assignment 2 2
(i) Paul received a letter from the Prime Minister.
(ii) By the end of the day Evan seemed very unhappy.
(iii) We are implementing a new round of cutbacks.
(iv) The attendant stacked the cans on the shelf in a tidy manner LING3350 Assignment 2 3