📝 Chapter Exercises - Complete Answer Guide
Exercise I: Noun Phrases
A noun phrase consists of a noun (the head) and all the words that modify it. Let's identify the noun phrases in each sentence:
Answers:
1. The green and red balloons
2. the neatly packed gift box
3. The end of the story
4. My old book of maps
5. her hand-made greeting cards
6. that little brown spotted dog
7. a typically lazy Sunday afternoon
8. The multi-talented child artist
9. a very old joke
10. his new foam surfboard
Exercise II: Head Nouns in Passage
The head noun is the main noun in a noun phrase. All other words in the phrase modify or describe this head noun.
Head Nouns from the BBC Weather Passage:
• weatherman (BBC weatherman Michael Fish)
• failure (Michael Fish's failure)
• warning (warning of the great storm)
• storm (the great storm of October 1987)
• example (spectacular example)
• meteorology (modern meteorology)
• Association (Consumers' Association)
• report (a report)
• monopoly (Met Office's near monopoly)
• cloud (a cloud over consumer interests)
• investigation (Office of Fair-Trading investigation)
• industry (weather forecasting industry)
• magazine (association's magazine)
• forecasting (forecasting)
• Office (Met Office)
• task (to task)
• weather (the weather)
• way (user friendly way)
• language (the language of isobars)
• translations (better translations)
• forecasts (what forecasts mean)
• style (new style of forecasting)
• probability (based on probability)
• science (science of placing a bet)
• forecast (traditional forecast)
• phrases (phrases such as)
• chance (70 per cent chance)
• rain (rain in the south)
• showers (scattered showers)
Exercise III: Noun Phrase Structures
Understanding the structure helps identify how determiners, modifiers, and complements work together:
Structure Analysis:
1. The day before vacation
Det + Head + Postmodifier (PP)
2. The necessity to do correctly their job
Det + Head + Postmodifier (Infinitive clause)
3. The girl running to the store
Det + Head + Postmodifier (Present participle phrase)
4. The man wanted by the police
Det + Head + Postmodifier (Past participle phrase)
5. The house where I was born
Det + Head + Postmodifier (Relative clause)
6. The dog in the store
Det + Head + Postmodifier (PP)
7. The thought that I had yesterday
Det + Head + Postmodifier (Relative clause)
8. The laughing, smiling, sunny baby
Det + Premodifiers (three adjectives) + Head
Exercise A: Sentence Patterns
Sentence patterns show the arrangement of subject (S), verb (V), object (O), complement (C), and adverbial (A):
Pattern Answers:
1. She spread the butter. → SVO
2. The news spread quickly. → SVA
3. The hunter shot the deer. → SVO
4. The hunter shoots expertly. → SVA
5. The child wanted a bicycle for Christmas. → SVOA
6. John prefers a trip in a foreign country. → SVO
7. We found a student who speaks three African indigenous languages. → SVO
8. We recommend that more money be spent on education. → SVO
9. The package has arrived. → SV
10. They swam across the lake twice last week. → SVOA
Exercise B: Sentence Components
Identifying verbs, complements, and objects in sentences:
Component Identification:
1. George is the captain.
Verb: is | Subject Complement: the captain
2. The judge pronounced the judgment.
Verb: pronounced | Direct Object: the judgment
3. My sister looked worried.
Verb: looked | Subject Complement: worried
4. Parents should be kind to their children.
Verb: should be | Subject Complement: kind | Adverbial: to their children
5. Mother brought us tea.
Verb: brought | Indirect Object: us | Direct Object: tea
6. The officer asked him several questions.
Verb: asked | Indirect Object: him | Direct Object: several questions
7. Let us send him our greetings.
Verb: send | Indirect Object: him | Direct Object: our greetings
8. We should keep our surroundings clean.
Verb: keep | Direct Object: our surroundings | Object Complement: clean
9. My aunt has brought me a computer.
Verb: has brought | Indirect Object: me | Direct Object: a computer
10. The class elected Martin their monitor.
Verb: elected | Direct Object: Martin | Object Complement: their monitor
Exercise A: Adjective Phrases
Adjective phrases modify nouns or act as complements. They can be predicative (after linking verbs) or attributive (before nouns):
Adjective Phrase Functions:
1. very sensible - Predicative (after 'wasn't')
2. very good - Predicative (after 'is')
3. totally lost - Predicative (after 'were')
4. absolutely impervious to criticism - Predicative
5. completely covered in golden leaves - Predicative
6. very proud of our children - Predicative
7. really surprised at your behaviour - Predicative
8. so calm about all this - Predicative
9. extremely small - Attributive (before 'risk')
10. utterly exhausted - Predicative
Exercise B: Adjectival Phrases
Adjectival phrases (compound adjectives and multi-word modifiers):
Adjectival Phrase Functions:
1. first-past-the-post - Attributive (modifies 'voting system')
2. most sensible - Attributive (modifies 'way')
3. all-in-one - Attributive (modifies 'solution')
4. serious balance of payments - Attributive (modifies 'problem')
5. totally normal - Attributive (modifies 'teenager')
6. strangely familiar - Attributive (modifies 'something')
7. never-to-be-forgotten - Attributive (modifies 'experience')
8. oh my goodness - Attributive (modifies 'looks')
Exercise C: Prepositional Phrases
PPs can function as adjuncts (adverbials), disjuncts (comment on sentence), conjuncts (connectors), or modifiers (within NPs):
PP Functions:
1. in silence - Adjunct (manner adverbial)
2. To their horror - Disjunct (comment on whole sentence)
3. for a few minutes / with great interest - Adjuncts (time and manner)
4. in front of me - Modifier (postmodifier in NP)
5. off the shoulder - Modifier (part of verb phrase 'be worn')
6. off-the-shoulder - Attributive modifier (compound adjective)
📚 Key Grammar Concepts Summary
Noun Phrase Structure
A complete noun phrase typically follows this structure: Determiner + Premodifiers + HEAD NOUN + Postmodifiers
Example: "The very old book on the shelf" = Det (The) + Premod (very old) + Head (book) + Postmod (on the shelf)
Sentence Patterns
SV: Subject + Verb (The package arrived)
SVO: Subject + Verb + Object (She spread the butter)
SVC: Subject + Verb + Complement (George is the captain)
SVA: Subject + Verb + Adverbial (The news spread quickly)
SVOO: Subject + Verb + Object + Object (Mother brought us tea)
SVOA: Subject + Verb + Object + Adverbial (They swam across the lake)
SVOC: Subject + Verb + Object + Complement (We keep our surroundings clean)
Types of Complements and Objects
Subject Complement: Describes the subject after a linking verb (is, seems, looks)
Object Complement: Describes the direct object
Direct Object: Receives the action of the verb
Indirect Object: Receives the direct object
Post a Comment