Oblique Complements in English Grammar
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Questions and Answers

What is the grammatical function of the constituent 'a boy' in the sentence 'The monkey scratched a boy on Monday'?

  • PRED (Predicate)
  • SUBJ (Subject)
  • MOD (Modifier)
  • OBJ (Object) (correct)
  • What is the main characteristic of a Subject in a sentence according to Kim & Sells (2008)?

  • It modifies the verb phrase
  • It is always a noun phrase
  • It performs the action denoted by the verb (correct)
  • It receives the action denoted by the verb
  • What is the structural property of a Direct Object that involves the verb 'to be' in the passive voice?

  • Subject-auxiliary inversion
  • Agreement with verb
  • Passivization (correct)
  • Agreement in tag questions
  • What is the grammatical function of the constituent 'on Monday' in the sentence 'The monkey scratched a boy on Monday'?

    <p>MOD (Modifier)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the main characteristic of a Direct Object in a sentence according to Kim & Sells (2008)?

    <p>It undergoes the process denoted by the verb</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the structural property of a Subject that involves changing the word order in a sentence?

    <p>Subject-auxiliary inversion</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the grammatical function of the constituent 'scratched' in the sentence 'The monkey scratched a boy on Monday'?

    <p>PRED (Predicate)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the main characteristic of a Modifier in a sentence according to Kim & Sells (2008)?

    <p>It provides additional information about the verb or the noun</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the structural property of a Direct Object that cannot be applied to all sentences?

    <p>Passivization</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the grammatical function of the constituent 'The monkey' in the sentence 'The monkey scratched a boy on Monday'?

    <p>SUBJ (Subject)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Grammatical Functions

    • Grammatical functions represent the grammatical role each constituent plays in a sentence, such as SUBJ (Subject), OBJ (Object), MOD (Modifier), and PRED (Predicate).
    • Example: The monkey scratched a boy on Monday. [S [SUBJ The monkey] [PRED scratched [OBJ a boy] [MOD on Monday]]].

    Subject (SUB)

    • The NP subject performs the action denoted by the verb.
    • Examples:
      • My brother wears a green overcoat.
      • This car stinks.
      • It rains.
      • The committee disliked her proposal.
      • The car chased the mouse.

    Structural Properties of a Subject

    • Agreement with verb:
      • Examples:
        • She never writes home.
        • These books sadden me.
        • Our neighbor takes his children to school in his car.
    • Agreement in tag questions:
      • Examples:
        • The lady singing with a boy is a genius, isn't she?
        • With their teacher, the kids have arrived safely, haven't they?
    • Subject-auxiliary inversion:
      • Examples:
        • Is this teacher a genius?
        • Have the kids arrived safely?
        • Could it be more detrimental?

    Direct and Indirect Objects

    • A direct object (DO) is an NP that undergoes the process denoted by the verb.
    • Examples:
      • His girlfriend bought this computer.
      • That silly fool broke the teapot.

    Structural Properties of a Direct Object

    • Passivization:
      • Examples:
        • This computer was bought by his girlfriend.
        • The teapot was broken by that silly fool.
      • Note: Not all sentences can be passivized.

    Oblique Complements (OC)

    • Oblique complements are neither objects nor predicative complements.
    • Their presence is obligatory for syntactic well-formedness.
    • Examples:
      • John put books in the box.
      • John talked to Bill about the exam.
      • She reminded him of the last time they met.
      • They would inform Mary of any success they have made.

    Predicative Complements (PC)

    • Predicative complements describe a property of the subject or object.
    • They are NPs which follow a verb but do not behave as DOs or IOs.
    • Examples:
      • This is my ultimate goal.
      • Michelle became an architect.
      • They elected Graham chairman.
      • I consider Andrew the best writer.
    • Note: Even though they are NPs, they do not passivize.

    Modifiers (MOD)

    • Modifiers are optional and specify the manner, location, time, or reason, among other properties, of the situations expressed by sentences.
    • Examples:
      • The bus stopped suddenly.
      • Shakespeare wrote his plays a long time ago.
      • They went to the theater in London.
      • He failed chemistry because he can't understand it.
    • Modifiers can be stacked up (i.e., can come together subsequently), whereas complements cannot.

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    Description

    Identify and understand the concept of oblique complements in English grammar, including their role in sentence structure and examples of oblique phrases.

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