English Grammar and Clauses

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Questions and Answers

What is the purpose of the 'dummy do' in yes-no questions?

To make the sentence more formal
To add emphasis to the question
To fill the gap when there is no auxiliary verb (correct)
To form a wh-question

What is the main characteristic of declarative clauses?

They begin with a question word
They express an emotion
They have a subject and a VP (correct)
They have an inversion of the normal ordering

What type of clause does the sentence 'How many chocolate bars have you eaten?' belong to?

Interrogative clause (correct)
Declarative clause
Imperative clause
Exclamatory clause

What type of sentence does the sentence 'If I were fat, I'd be happy' belong to?

Hypothetical sentence (C) Signup and view all the answers

What is the function of inversion in interrogative clauses?

To reverse the order of the subject and the auxiliary (A) Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of using 'were' instead of 'was' in the sentence 'If I were fat, I'd be happy'?

To indicate a hypothetical situation (A) Signup and view all the answers

What is the function of wh-words in interrogative clauses?

To indicate the beginning of an interrogative sentence (A) Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for sentences that express strong emotions, such as 'What a fat man!'?

Exclamatory sentence (B) Signup and view all the answers

In the sentence 'Penny is my dog', what type of process is involved?

Relational process (D) Signup and view all the answers

In the sentence 'She gave her friend a piece of cake', what is the role of 'her friend'?

Recipient (A) Signup and view all the answers

In the sentence 'It is cold outside', what type of process is involved?

Existential process (B) Signup and view all the answers

What type of process is involved in the sentence 'Mr.Jones smiled broadly'?

Behavioural process (C) Signup and view all the answers

What type of process is involved in the sentence 'He told her “Hello”'?

Verbal process (D) Signup and view all the answers

In the sentence 'Jane heard a loud noise', what is the role of 'Jane'?

Senser (D) Signup and view all the answers

What type of process is involved in the sentence 'Ann is nice'?

Relational process (C) Signup and view all the answers

In a prototypical active sentence, what is the role of the direct object?

Patient (D) Signup and view all the answers

Which type of sentence structure is used to emphasize the doer of the action?

Cleft sentences (B) Signup and view all the answers

What is the correct form of the verb 'to be' in hypothetical situations?

Were (B) Signup and view all the answers

Which sentence structure involves shifting the ending elements to the initial position?

Left dislocation (B) Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of using inversion in sentence structures?

To emphasize the verb (C) Signup and view all the answers

Which sentence structure introduces a clause with 'what' or 'all'?

Pseudo-cleft sentences (C) Signup and view all the answers

What is the correct form of the sentence 'If I am you, I would be careful'?

If I were you, I would be careful (B) Signup and view all the answers

Which sentence structure is used to create a sense of drama or surprise?

Inversion (A) Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference between 'It was Mike who scored the goal' and 'Mike scored the goal'?

The first sentence emphasizes the doer of the action (D) Signup and view all the answers

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Study Notes

Process Types

Material process: doing, creating (e.g., actor, goal, recipient)
Mental process: sensing, feeling, thinking, perceiving (e.g., senser, phenomenon)
Relational process: being, having (e.g., carrier, attribute, identifier, identified)
Verbal process: saying, expressing, indicating (e.g., sayer, target, verbiage)
Behavioural process: behaving (e.g., behaver)
Existential process: existing, happening (e.g., existent)

Participant Roles

Actor: carries out an action
Goal: affected by the action
Recipient: goal of the action and profits from it
Senser: senses, feels, thinks, or perceives
Phenomenon: what is sensed, felt, thought, or perceived
Carrier: possesses or has an attribute
Attribute: quality or characteristic of the carrier
Identifier: identifies or characterizes
Identified: what is identified or characterized
Sayer: says, expresses, or indicates
Target: what is said, expressed, or indicated
Verbiage: what is said
Behaver: behaves
Existent: exists or happens

Exercise

Penny is my dog: relational process (being), carrier (Penny), attribute (my dog)
She gave her friend a piece of cake: material process (giving), actor (she), goal (her friend), recipient (her friend)
Mr. Jones smiled broadly: behavioural process (smiling), behaver (Mr. Jones)
It is cold outside: existential process (being), existent (it)
He told her “Hello”: verbal process (telling), sayer (he), target (her), verbiage (“Hello”)
Jane heard a loud noise: mental process (hearing), senser (Jane), phenomenon (a loud noise)
Ann is nice: relational process (being), carrier (Ann), attribute (nice)

Semantic Roles

Agent: carries out an action
Patient: affected by the action
Recipient: goal of the action and profits from it
Adverbials: define time, place, source, goal, or instrument

Non-Prototypical Sentence Structures

Cleft sentences: It + to be + that/who…
Pseudo-cleft sentences: clause introduced by what or all
Left dislocation: shifting ending elements to the initial position
Inversion: placing the verb before the NP subject

Declarative and Interrogative Clauses

Declarative clauses: have a subject and a VP
Interrogative clauses: have a subject-verb inversion and begin with a question word (wh-word)

Interrogative Clause Types

Wh-questions: begin with a wh-word and have subject-verb inversion
Yes-no questions: have subject-verb inversion or use auxiliaries

Dummy Auxiliary “Do”

Used in questions to fill the gap when there is no auxiliary in the declarative sentence
Examples: Does Great Uncle Silas drink several screwdrivers a day?

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