Monthly Archives: December 2017

Grammar 362

English 362: Final Prep!

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Almost done Pwips! Congratulations! As you review for the final, make sure you study Professor Baumgardt’s handouts. They nicely summarize all the main topics that we covered. Also, review sample sentences and diagrams. You should be able to diagram sentences down to the very last word.  Professor Baumgardt has a study guide that covers everything you need to study.

Since diagramming will be a crucial part of the final, here’s a review of some of the main steps and details to keep in mind:

Diagramming steps–

1. Create the “S” node over the whole sentence

2. Create NP node and PredPhr node, and nodes for any postcore or precore elements.

3. Divide the PredPhr into the VP and any other elements that may be there such as NPs and PrepPhrs

4. Divide the VP into the head V and any Auxiliaries and modifiers

5. Divide any NPs into nodes of its head N, and any other elements such as adjective phrases, PrepPhrs, DetPhrs, etc.

6. Divide any PrepPhr into Prep + NP

7. Divide any Detphr into any pre-determiners (PreDet), the main Det, and post-determiners (Post-Det). Also, mark the “of” as a Prep in form and Link in function.

8. Divide any AdjPhr into its head Adj and any comparative elements (like “more” or “bigger”) and any modifiers of that head Adj

9. Divide any AdvPhr into its head Adv and any comparative elements (like “more”) and other Advs

10. Remember that the function of the head of the phrase is the function of the whole phrase and vice versa.

See page 45 for a list of diagram Form and Function labels. Also note pp. 48-9 for the definitions of the different phrases we learned about.

Good luck all! Study hard!

Grammar 362

Grammar 362 Ch. 11: The Passive – Prepositional Verbs

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Prepositional phrases are still a part of the passive construction. Adverbials and adverbial complements, however, do differ in how they are a part of a passive sentence.

Adverbial Complements

As a reminder, adverbial complements are a part of the PredPhr.  This means that the NP of the adverbial complement (or the PrepComp), can become the subject of a passive sentence.

Ex.: I listened to the lecture. ————> The lecture was listened to by me.

However, if the verb of the sentence has a DO, then the PrepComp cannot become the subject. The DO must be.

Ex.:

Incorrect: Olivia taught the pwips about diagrams. ———-> ***Diagrams were taught the pwips to by Olivia.

Correct: Olivia taught the pwips about diagrams. ————> The pwips were taught about diagrams by Olivia.

 

Adverbials

Adverbials are not a part of the sentence core. This means, unlike adverbial complements, they can never be the subject of a passive sentence.

Ex.:

Incorrect: I tried on Thursday. ———-> ***Thursday was tried on by me.

Correct: I tried on Thursday. ———–> (It) was tried by me on Thursday.

 

Grammar 362

English 362: Chapter 11: Intro to the Passive

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Heyo Pwips! Before we get into the passive, let’s review the parts of the verb phrase that we have learned so far:

1. The modal auxiliaries that express “modalities”, or ways of modifying the meaning of the verb by suggesting an obligation or degree of probability.

2. The perfect aspect, which suggests a past event that has a continuing effect in the present (remember the perfect is formed by have + -en)

3. The progressive aspect, which backgrounds a process to a real or implied foregrounded event (remember progressive is formed by be + -ing)

4. The lexical verb itself

This formula sums up the verb phrase that we have learned so far:

VP = (Modal) (have+en) (be+ing) Verb

 

The Passive

Now we will add another element to the VP formula—the passive. The passive is formed by the auxiliary verb to be followed by a verb in the –en form. Along with being an auxiliary, the passive creates an interesting word order in sentences.

For example:

My first princess Barbie doll was destroyed by my older brother.

(Note how the passive is formed with a form of to be, in this case was, and the –en form of a verb, in this case destroyed is the –en form of destroy.)

Notice how the subject (my first princess Barbie doll) is not the thing performing the action. Rather it is receiving the action. Instead the noun phrase “my older brother” in the PrepPhr is the performer of the action. This is the unusual word order that the passive creates in a sentence. The prepositional phrase “by my older brother” is called the by-phrase.

When a sentence is in the passive, you can change it to an active sentence by taking the NP in the by-phrase and making it the subject.

For example:

My older brother destroyed my first princess Barbie doll.

We call the NP of the by-phrase the agent. When you diagram a by-phrase, its form will be PrepPhr, and its function will be Agentive. The NP of the by-phrase will simply be PrepComp.