Chapter 7
Phrasal Structure and Verb Complementation
Phrase Structure and Function
Label the phrasal category of each underlined phrase. Then name its function.
Example: he gave the dog a hesitant, reassuring pat (COCA: Magazine).
Answer: Category: NP
Function: iO
Your article gave readers a glimpse of the truth. (coca:mag)
I relied upon knowledge, imagination, observation, and visual memory. (coca:mag)
Kids’ shoes are a quickly expanding market. (coca:mag)
For many years I taught an introductory theology course for undergraduates. (coca:mag)
In a sense it was similar to e-mail today. (coca:mag)
His colleagues all thought him quite mad. (coca:mag)
Praise even came from the other side of the world. (coca:mag)
We’re more fixated on the radiant glow that moms-to-be exude . (coca:mag)
It taught me 16-hour days and multitasking. (coca:mag)
It was in an advanced state of disrepair, every window broken. (coca:mag)
I chose him as a subject of my test. (coca:mag)
they sounded hauntingly familiar to me. (coca:mag)
relativity became the paradigm of the atomic age. (coca:mag)
Mary was leaning over on her elbow. (coca:mag)
All of the rest of the good-paying jobs are gone. (coca:mag)
the legacy built by the baby boomers is in danger. (coca:mag)
Identify the verb type in each sentence. Then give tree diagrams for the following sentences:
Those useful items are in very high demand.
She followed the detailed instructions on the back of the box.
We put the books with torn pages under the counter.
The doctor administered the shot to the crying child.
The students concentrated on the assignment for the next day's class.
My aunt is quite allergic to the roses in the garden.
Those other people are very distantly related to us.
We went to our relatives’ cabin in the mountains.
The manager discounted the very slightly damaged goods.
They pushed the table right up against the back wall.
Category | Function | |
a. | NP | dO |
b. | PP | pC of V |
c. | AdvP | Mod of A |
d. | NP | Su |
e. | AP | sC |
f. | AP | oC |
g. | PP | Mod of N |
h. | AP | Mof of N |
i. | NP | iO |
j. | NP | OP |
k. | PP | oC |
l. | PP | pC of A |
m. | NP | sC |
n. | PP | pC of P |
o. | AP | Mod of N |
p. | PP | sC |
Verb type:
copulative
(mono)transitive
complex transitive
complex transitive
prepositional
copulative
copulative
prepositional
(mono)transitive
complex transitive
The tree diagrams for (2) are given below.