Sample test

Question 1

Give the syntactic function of it in sentence:

It was a cold grey day in late November.

Answer 1

empty it subject

(the subject has no referent, it only fills the position of the subject for the sentence to be grammatically acceptable)

Question 2

Give the syntactic function of it in sentence:

The air was clammy cold, and although the windows were tightly closed, it penetrated the interior of the coach.

Answer 2

anaphoric it

(it refers back to the air)

Question 3

Give the syntactic function of it in sentence:

Whether the driver heard him or not was uncertain; it seemed more likely that the stream of reproaches was carried away in the wind.

Answer 3

anticipatory it

(the subject = dependent nominal content clause → too long and complex to appear in the initial position; the clausal subject is extraposed, and instead its position is occupied by it)

Question 4

Examples of coordination, each at a different level of syntactic structure.

Answer 4

a. coordination at the level of constituent of phrases, e.g. a cold grey day (two adjectival premodifiers coordinated), for a rogue and a murderer (two coordinated noun phrases serve as a complement to the preposition for)

b. coordination of clauses, e.g. The air was clammy cold, and … it penetrated the interior of the coach.

c. multiple clause elements, e.g. now and again (two adverbials of time), possibly also heard him or not (multiple predicate verb, with ellipsis)

Question 5

Don’t forget that nominal content clauses have another subtypes:

Answer 5

declarative

interrogative
(Whether the driver heard him or not was uncertain.)

Question 6

Identify the syntactic function (e.g. ‘subject’) of the non-finite clause and the form of the verb.

If he persisted in [driving at breakneck speed.]

Answer 6

• complement of the preposition “in”
• gerund

Question 7

What are semantic roles of adverbial clauses?

Answer 7

• manner
• time
• space
• cause/reason
• purpose etc.

Question 8

Examples of prepositional phrases with different syntactic functions

Answer 8

a. postmodification: in late November, of the coach, of rain, of the road…

b. adverbial: in the roof, in gusts, at times, between the high wheels, like a drunken man…

c. object: with the constant driving rain, in driving at breakneck speed…

Question 9

Comment on the there-construction in sentence:
…there must have been a small crack in the roof.

a) Identify the subject of the construction.

b) Give the type of dynamic semantic scale that the construction represents.

c) The rheme?

Answer 9

a) Identify the subject of the construction.
- “there” and the notional subject “a small crack”

b) Give the type of dynamic semantic scale that the construction represents.
- presentation scale

c) The rheme?
- a small crack
→ an existential-locative construction (with the adverbial in the roof)

Question 10

Use an it-cleft construction to highlight the part in bold in the clause:

One old fellow… shouted [up to the driver…,]

Answer 10

It was up to the driver that one old fellow shouted.

Question 11

Use a wh-cleft construction to highlight the verb in the clause:

…the dispirited horses plodded sullenly to his command…

Answer 11

What the dispirited horses did was (to) plod sullenly to his command.