Search results for 'tag:Spelling tag:Noun phrases' matching tags 'Spelling' and 'Noun phrases'

Re: The First Sin

Grammar Geek — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 16:21:02 GMT

Drew, you need to let this go. You will not convince anyone here of your arguments.

I agree that a lack of parallel (look up the spelling, by the way) structure can be a problem, but not the way you describe. Lack of parallelism is when someone say "I like to play the piano and swimming" or "She is is tall, pretty, and taking care of my cats." Or when they have a list of bullets and some are full sentences and some are noun phrases and some are adjectival phrases.

In any case, this is the last I shall say to you on your absurd sins. Good luck to you.

Re: sentence analysis in terms of function and form

Mister Micawber — Tue, 22 Nov 2005 01:26:58 GMT

There are often optional ways of looking at sentence structure, but here are my opinions:

1. She | tried phoning | his home number, | but | he | didnÂ´t answer.

2. Recently | the company | has been trying | to increase its turnover | by diversifying (into other fields).

adverbial | subject | verb | Direct object / nonfinite clause | adverbial / prepositional phrase (with embedded prep phrase)

3. That they are now a mess | is | beyond dispute.

Subject / nominal clause | verb | adverbial/prepositional phrase

4. It | is | almost certain | that the government will lose the next election.

Itroductory 'it' as subject | verb | phrasal adverb | postponed subject / nominal clause

5. The principal activity of the company | is | cleaning carpets.

subject | verb | subject complement / noun phrase [note spelling of 'complement']

7. They | have worked | very hard | all year | raising money for people in the Third World.

subject | verb | adverbial of manner | adverbial of time | nonfinite clause/ verb complement

8. Whenever possible, | the public | should be informed | about dangerous conditions (on the roads).

adverbial | subject | verb | verb complement (adjective / prepositional phrase)

Re: Dangling

Casi — Thu, 09 Dec 2004 13:49:18 GMT

Ooh, yes, very nice addition, and it fits well with the ambiguity notion.

If a speaker wants to express two thoughts: tense + tense, wherein 'tense' refers to a subject+verb structure, and the subject in the lesser clause is the same as the subject in the main clause, then as a means of efficiency, the speaker will omit the lesser subject-verb structure, and replace it with a structure that fits the syntax. And that structure could either be a participle or a gerund, because adverbs modify both, which is where ambiguity sets in:

Verb => Participle and Gerund
After I swam (subject+verb) a few lengths, I took a shower.
1a. After swimming (participle), I took a shower. (adverb+participle)
1b. After swimming (gerund), I took a shower. (preposition+participle)

And just to make things even more problematic for the descriptive linguist--poor Swan--in that context; i.e., following 'After', participles merge to gerunds:

Participle => Gerund
2a. After my swimming lesson (participle), I took a shower. (participle+noun)
2b. After swimming (gerund), I took a shower. (gerund; 'swimming' represents a noun phrase; no "Cube" gymnastics happening here. Just omitted words, that's all.)

OK. So why isn't there a 2c.? That is, why not "After swimming (participle), I took a shower"? Well, I bet there is, and that descriptive linguists are dealing with the same question. One problem I see is with meaning. In terms of semantics, what does 2c. "After swimming" actually mean? That is, can an adverb pre-modify a participle? And if so are there any other like structures in the grammar? Moreover, and this is what sociolinguists are probably asking: when a speaker reduces a participle+noun phrase (2a.) to a noun phrase (2b), s/he knows it's a noun, and yet does the listener/reader also know it's a noun? If so, how do speakers pick up on that reading--context most likely--and if not, then speaker A thinks 'gerund', whereas listener A thinks 'participle', which is an excellent example of efficiency gone wrong. Here we've an "efficiency" process (Reduction) that generates ineffective communication, which, rightly so, manifests itself in dicussions about its function. (As Sherlock says, "The answer, my Dear Watson, is always in the question.") In sum, I believe we're dealing with ambiguity: it all makes sense, and then it doesn't make sense.

Here's the link to the 'copular' quote:

http://www.englishgrammartutor.com/The%20Parts%20Of%20Speech.htm

Scroll down to where it says, Adverbs. The bit we're interested in is located at the very end that section. It's a two-liner. You can't miss it.

Looking forward to the discussion ahead.

Apologies for the spelling and whathaveyou errors. It's late.

Re: Help need from grammarian.

miriam — Wed, 16 Jun 2004 11:17:10 GMT

Hello, mona
The real grammarians out there must be busy trying to think of more rules to make our lives miserable. ~laughs~

I don't think I can help you with all of it, but I'll do what I can. and I hope I've understood your question, to begin with.

1. The four prepositions can take a noun phrase as object.
"John is as intelligent as her sister."
"I thank you for your help."
"This table is made of the finest wood."
"I'm going camping with a few of my friends."

2. I'm not sure what you mean by 'PP'. That usually means 'prepositional phrase', but I don't think it would make sense here: a preposition followed by a prepositional phrase? Can you please explain to me what you meant by 'PP'?

3. Gerunds can follow these prepositions, but I don't think that present participles can. Although both have the same spelling, they are different types of words and function differently.
"Thank you for writing back."
"I'm tired of working on Saturdays."
"What's the problem with staying up late?"
"Writing your autobiography would be the same as writing a soap opera."

4. I'll have to think about 'whether'. My first idea was to say that you can't use it after those prepositions, but the truth is that I'm not sure at the moment.

5. If I got 'tensed declarative clause' right, then the four prepositions can take one as object.
"That's the woman for whose brother I fall."
"I'm going out tonight regardless of what he may say about it."
"He's the type of man with whom I'd never go out even for a coffee."
"This isn't the same as what you said yesterday."

Let's hope all the above are correct!

Miriam