15:42 10/8/24 Excersie chapter 1
Exercise 1: Draw a simplified phrase marker for the following structures.
1. Two very silly jokes 2. Members of the team
3. People from the rural area
4. No previous experience of syntax
5. She opened the squeaky door. about:blank 1/4 15:42 10/8/24 Excersie chapter 1
6. John considers visiting his aunt.
7. John considers visiting his aunt next weekend.
8. John considered visiting his aunt last weekend. (because the sentence is ambiguous,
draw the phrase marker that represents the following interpretation: Last weekend,
he thought of visiting his aunt sometime before the end of the month.) about:blank 2/4 15:42 10/8/24 Excersie chapter 1
Exercise 2: Explain if the underlined sequences of words are constituents of the sentence. If
it’s not, identify the correct constituents. Refer to the appropriate test of phrase in your explanation.
1. Maria simply gazed at the traffic light she had demolished.
No, the underlined word cannot be considered constituents of the sentence. The
underlined words can be replaced by It and but cannot be an answer for any WH questions.
2. Everyone heads for the beach in August.
No. It’s true the string can be omitted but that’s because it consists of two separate constituents
of this sentence, both optional. Notice there’s no single question to which that string is the
answer (the beach in August answers neither What do they head for? nor *When do they head
for?). Nor can it be moved as a unit (e.g. *The beach in August is what they head for.)
3. Roy put a silencer on the gun.
No. Due to the oddity of *Simon put it and *Simon put something. And the oddity of *What did Simon put?
4. She attacked the man with the crutch.
The underlined sequence can be moved to the front of the sentence: "The man
with the crutch, she attacked." This movement demonstrates that the entire phrase is a constituent. 5.
5. He attacked the woman with the stick.
The underlined sequence can be moved to the front of the sentence: "The women
with the stick, he attacked." This movement demonstrates that the entire phrase is a constituent. about:blank 3/4 15:42 10/8/24 Excersie chapter 1
Exercise 3: Explain the ambiguity in the sentence by giving two different interpretations that
correspond with two different structures.
1. We need more interesting ideas.
2. He loves good food and wine.
The ambiguity lies in whether "good" applies to both "food" and "wine" equally or only to "food."
- He loves good food, and he loves good wine
- He loves good food, and he loves wine
3. She attacked the man with the crutch.
The ambiguity arises from whether the man had the crutch, or the attacker used a crutch in the attack.
-She attacked the man who had a crutch
- She attacked the man using the crutch about:blank 4/4