Instructor’s Manual

to Accompany
Understanding English Grammar
Allie
Instructor’s Manual
to Accompany
Understanding English
Grammar
A Linguistic Approach
Second Edition

Ronald Wardhaugh
© 1995, 2003 by Ronald Wardhaugh

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Instructor’s Manual
Contents
Preface 1
1 Preliminaries 1
2 Word Classes 2
3 Constituents and Phrases 3
4 Basic Clauses 8
5 Coordination and Embedding 10
6 Clausal Variation 11
7 Underlying Relationships 12
8 Rules and Principles 15
9 Sounds and Systems 18
10 Phonetic Realization 19
11 Word Formation 19
12 Words and Sounds 23
13 Sounds in Context 24
14 Further Reading 24
Indexed Glossary 25
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 Instructor’s Manual 1

Understanding English Grammar: A Linguistic Approach is designed to famil-

iarize students with the basic concepts they need in order to achieve an under-
standing of English grammar. It does this within a framework of modern
linguistic ideas about the nature of language. The book also provides students
with an opportunity to try out their knowledge as it develops in the exercises
that are found at the end of each chapter. This manual is designed to help
instructors use the book by providing further information about its contents,
additional suggestions about some of the issues that are addressed, and an-
swers of varying completeness to the exercises found at the end of each chapter.

Preface

The preface indicates the scope of the book, which is not designed to cover
all aspects of English grammar, clearly an impossibility. The main goals are
to provide a linguistic orientation to the English language and to do this
largely within the current Chomskyan paradigm without subscribing to one
narrow doctrine within that paradigm. Instructors should therefore feel free to
adapt and modify the contents to suit their own theoretical inclinations. Gram-
matical study is an open-ended pursuit; instructors – and students – will
benefit most from using this book if they keep that idea in mind at all times.

1 Preliminaries

This brief chapter is designed to raise the basic issue of descriptivism vs

prescriptivism in language study. It also offers the opportunity to discuss the
fundamental relationship between speech and writing. The rest of the book is
concerned with a standard variety of the language, but not one that is hyper-
correct. For example, in the first exercises for this chapter it may be useful to
indicate that a number of people hold very strong opinions about the undesir-
ability of all the examples given there; however, the examples themselves show
a whole range of acceptability in educated speech where items like (d), (g),
(m), (n), and (s) are likely to occur frequently but (h), (v), and (z) not at all.

Exercises

1 The following are the points of contention: (d) me/I; (e) one another/each
other; (f) most unique/unique; (g) me/I; (h) nothing/anything; (i) those/that;
2 Understanding English Grammar

(j) was/were; (k) their/his or her; (l) have/has; (m) only had it/had it only;
(n) who . . . to/whom . . . to or to whom, (o) Rewrite to avoid the dangling
Finding . . . ; (p) like/as; (q) than/from; (r) I/me; (s) and/to; (t) When board-
ing/When you board; (u) whom/who; (v) irregardless/regardless; (w) whom/
who; (x) less/fewer; (y) badly/bad; (z) disinterested/uninterested.
2 Some common pronunciation variants, indicated here in a variety of ways:
dipthong, diffthong; tomato with the vowel of bad, baa, or bay; film,
fil[ə]m; secretary, secretry; bath with the vowel of bad or baa; clerk to
rhyme with work or dark; shone to rhyme with gone or bone; Arctic,
Artic; comely with the vowel of home or come; often, offen; herb, erb;
athlete, ath[ə]lete; ate to rhyme with get or gate; défence, defénce; dance
with the vowel of bad or baa; butter, budder; soot with the vowel of boot,
good, or but; news, nyews.
3 We could not speak to each other in English if we did not somehow know
the grammar of the language. However, it is unlikely that we can describe
that grammar; that is what this book does, provide a description of part
of it. For many people, however, knowing the grammar of English means
knowing the traditional Latinate rules, many of which are rules of “good”
linguistic behavior rather than rules that people follow in their actual use
of the language.

2 Word Classes

Everybody knows something about nouns, verbs, etc. and about nouns being
“naming words” and verbs being “action words.” So that is where the book
really begins. We also begin with language in its written form.
The aim of this chapter is to introduce the idea that form and distribution
rather than meaning are what we should look at when we try to classify words
as parts of speech. Formal and distributional criteria often go hand in hand,
so many words are unambiguously nouns, verbs, etc. Sometimes they conflict
so we end up with classes, or sub-classes, like gerund and conjunctive adverb.
The point in this chapter is not to find out how many parts of speech there
are in English. Who knows? The point is to question the traditional defini-
tions, e.g., the traditional “garbage can” class of adverbs, show that classification
is interestingly problematic but still necessary, and demonstrate, mainly in the
chapters that follow, that equating grammatical study almost entirely with
the assignment of words to a part-of-speech category is a very unenlightened
pursuit.

Exercises

1 (b) they is a personal pronoun, very is an intensifier, quickly is an adverb,

ate is a verb, up is a particle, the is a determiner, and food is a noun.
 Instructor’s Manual 3

(c) what is unique, a is a determiner, horrible, old, and red are adjectives,
decaying is a verb, and brick is a noun.
(d) The important point here is that while sparks and bang are “action”
words and should by traditional definitions, be verbs, they are quite
clearly nouns. They could be said to “name” actions, but their forms
and distributions are surely the clearest guide here to what kind of
word each is, not their “meanings.”
(e) The possibility of parsing brillig, slithy, wabe, etc. arises from the
forms they have and where these forms are found, i.e., their distri-
butions. Mome raths outgrabe: possible noun noun verb; that is they
are mome raths (like home bodies) and outgrabe is an irregular past
tense (of outgribe perhaps?).
2 They are all formed like regular English plurals.
3 All are nouns though some more obviously so than others, e.g., reds and
females with their plural marking and their occurrence after these and two
respectively.
4 Noun: brug is like trick in its possibilities.
5 In (b), (c), and (d) it can be omitted and in each case appears to refer to
a following phrase or clause. In (e) the first it refers to that you did it for
him and the second it to something known to both the speaker and listener.
In (f) and (g) we have the weather or time use of it.
6 A possible solution but well worth discussing is as follows: gerunds: boat-
ing, (first) laughing; nouns: wedding, surfing; adjectives: promising,
enterprising, exciting; participle: (second) laughing; prevailing is clearly
problematic.
7 Ever appears to function like no other word in the language; therefore, it
could be said to be a unique part of speech. To describe it as an “adverb”
is clearly to ignore all that is grammatically interesting about the word.
8 Some of the meaning relationships are not at all clear. The point to be
made is that “possessive” is just one of numerous relationships expressed
by means of either genitive.
9 The -s ending in (a) provides for subject-verb agreement in a statement,
which can be either true or false. The absence of the -s ending in (b) makes
for something other than a statement; (b) can be neither true nor false. The
verb in (b) is an example of the so-called subjunctive in English.

3 Constituents and Phrases

The major focus of this chapter is on constructions and constituents, specifi-

cally on phrase-building. Clauses are built out of phrases of different kinds,
each of which has a head word, which in some cases may indeed be the only
constituent of that phrase. We must once again confront the issue that form
and distribution do not always work hand in hand. One way of doing this is
described on pages 47, 53, and 55 with the use of labels such as Adj(N),
4 Understanding English Grammar

PrepP(NP), etc. Instructors can choose either to ignore this idea or to develop
it further.
In the approach outlined here we have constructions of the following kind:

NP NP VP
boys the iron gate has been going

N Det NP V VP
boys the iron gate has been going

N N V V
iron gate been going

In such constructions NPs can be components of NPs and VPs can be com-
ponents of VPs. Ns and Vs are also NPs and VPs. This kind of description is
used in order to avoid the kinds of labels typical of Chomskyan X-bar syntax
in which there are different levels of Ns, Vs, etc. Instructors who are familiar
with X-bar theory may wish to introduce some of its ideas at this point (with
all its complications and abstractions); others should be aware that the
description offered in the text is designed to handle in as simple a way as
possible an issue that may not be so simple after all.
A very important goal of this chapter is to familiarize students with the idea
that it is possible to draw constituency trees for constructions of all kinds.
Consequently, most of the exercises concentrate on developing this skill.

Exercises

1 (d) past may be+-ing come; (e) present be; (f) past do; (g) present have;
(h) present/past must have+-en be+-en tell; (i) present have+-en see; (j) past
go; (k) present have+-en be+-ing go; (l) past have+-en tell; (m) past can
have+-en leave; (n) present be+-ing be+-en count; (o) past shall be+-ing
write; (p) present/past must be; (q) past will; (r) past shall be; (s) present
have+-en be+-en inform.
2 The following trees provide labeled nodes only:

NP NP

NP NP

NP NP

Adj Adj N N Adj Adj Adj N

(c) fresh red snapper fillets (d) fresh American white shrimp
 Instructor’s Manual 5

NP NP

NP NP

AdjP NP NP NP

Int Adj Adj N N Adj N N N N

(e) extra lean fresh pork (f) fresh Ontario pork back
tenderloin spareribs

NP

NP

NP NP

NP NP NP

N N Adj N(?) N N Int N N

(g) BBQ time boneless top sirloin steak (h) extra jumbo shrimps

NP

NP NP

NP NP

Adj N N N N N N

(i) fresh Atlantic salmon fillets (j) baby tiger shrimps

3 Some of the issues to be resolved are indicated: (c) rambling is an adjective

– the house is not walking!; (d) in ice-cold ice modifies cold in an AdjP;
(e) Lucille Ball and America’s first lady of comedy are coordinated, i.e.,
appositive NPs; (f) one constituent; (g) there could be two constituents seat
the boys and at the back of the room or seat could be in construction with
the boys at the back of the room; (h) rather sad is an AdjP; (i) long is
coordinated with ultimately unsuccessful in an AdjP; (j) his friend’s is a
constituent; (k) like (e); (l) free is in construction with week of television;
6 Understanding English Grammar

(m) cool is coordinated with dry in an AdjP; (n) where they are standing
is in construction with to in a PrepP, but is itself rather hard to break
down because of the discontinuity created by the position that where has;
(o) from, a Prep, is in construction with behind his back, itself a PrepP; (p)
the NP the night modifies the PrepP before the battle, the part of the whole
construction that cannot be omitted here; (q) either right up and into the
attic are separate constituents or they unite in a larger construction; (r) the
NP six feet modifies the Adj tall; (s) the NP ten foot modifies the N drop;
(t) the Adv immediately modifies the PrepP after lunch; (u) PrepP (NP); (v)
threw out is a VP in which out is a particle, not an adverb; (w) a bagel with
cheese is coordinated with coffee in an NP.

4 NP

NP NP

NP NP

Det N N Ord N N

(b) your lawyer friend’s first court appearance

NP

NP

PrepP

NP

NP

NP NP

Det N N Prep Adj Adj N N

(c) a fashion buyer for young contemporary women’s wear

 Instructor’s Manual 7

NP

NP

NP VP NP

Card N N V N N

(d) two dozen fire hardened floor tiles

NP

NP

NP NP

Det N N N N

(e) my cousin Fred’s restaurant business

5 (c) [about ten] is not, about [ten minutes]; (d) [inch nails] is not, [three
inch] nails; (e) [give me] is not, [to give] me; (f) [friend’s dogs] is not, [his
friend’s] dogs; (g) [her new] is not, her [new coat], [large leather] is not,
large [leather buttons]; (h) [wife’s cousin] is not, [my wife’s] cousin.

6 (b) VP NP

V N V N
flying planes flying planes
(flying can be dangerous) (planes can be dangerous)

(c) NP NP

NP PrepP NP NP
the son of Frank’s daughter the son of Frank’s daughter
(Leslie is a male) (Leslie is a female)

(d) VP VP

VP NP PrepP V NP
took the book from the library took the book from the library
(It was from the library (The book from the library
that he took the book) was the one he took)
8 Understanding English Grammar

7 Try to distinguish between “factual” matters and matters of obligation,

probability, necessity, etc.
8 These are dangling modifiers, so explicit subjects are needed throughout,
e.g., (h) Angry at the accusation, she formed a plan in her mind.
9 There are too many prepositional phrases strung together, so it becomes
somewhat unclear how they relate or do not relate to each other. Begin the
sentence with In his first article of a series.

4 Basic Clauses

Understanding how clauses are constructed is a key issue in understanding

how English works. The initial principle discussed shows how the verb, or pre-
dicate, may be regarded as the key element in a clause because of the various
possible relationships that the nouns in the clause have to that verb. The
linguistic literature contains numerous discussions of such role relationships,
but the accounts differ widely. The account given here should be sufficient to
instill the basic idea, and instructors who wish to do so can further develop
it. The main thrust of the chapter, following a discussion of subjects and of
subject-verb agreement, is on the different kinds of predicates that are possible
in English clauses: without objects, with objects, and linking. The clauses dealt
with in this chapter are also finite clauses. Non-finite clauses exhibit the same
kinds of predicates, e.g., in I want to tell him the verb to tell (a marked
infinitive) is transitive and in Giving him the book, I congratulated him on his
success the verb giving (a present participle) is ditransitive.
The material in this chapter can easily be supplemented with the addition
of constituency-tree diagramming:

S S
John gave him the money Sheila is unhappy

NP VP NP VP
John gave him the money Sheila is unhappy

VP NP NP V Adj
gave him the money is unhappy

Det N
the money
 Instructor’s Manual 9

S
Fred gave up the position

NP VP
Fred gave up the position

VP NP
gave up the position

V Part Det N
gave up the position

Exercises

1 The important point of this exercise is not that there should be unanimous
agreement about the labels, but that students come to realize how varied
are the roles played by nouns, or NPs, in English clauses. Why, for example,
can you not coordinate John struck the wall and The car struck the wall
to give *John and the car struck the wall? The answer is that John and the
car are in different role relationships to strike and the coordinate con-
struction constraint disallows such coordination.
2 (c) nearness; (d) grammatical; (e) nearness; (f) nearness; (g) nearness.
3 (d) phrasal-prepositional; (e) phrasal transitive; (f) object complement; (g)
linking; (h) monotransitive; (i) linking; (j) monotransitive; (k) intransitive;
(l) object complement; (m) object complement; (n) monotransitive; (o)
linking; (p) ditransitive; (q) phrasal-prepositional; (r) prepositional.
4 They are all different: (b) *He waited for a house and a taxi; (c) *She
appears every night and angry; (d) ditransitive and object complement; (e)
phrasal (She looked the word up) and intransitive; (f) pseudo-transitive
and transitive; (g) linking (hard is an adjective) and intransitive.
5 (b) her money is either an indirect object plus direct object or a determiner
and noun; (c) either have wounded is a verb phrase or wounded men is a
noun phrase; (d) bank has two quite different meanings; (e) rabbit is either
an agent or a patient; (f) the wall in the house is either one or two
constructions; (g) that he proposed is either a relative clause and part of
the NP the idea that he proposed (he proposed the idea) or it is itself an
NP coordinate with the idea (Where did you get the idea that he had
proposed to her?); (h) a close friend is either conjoined with a loyal supporter
and both are in construction with of the Prime Minister, or a close friend
is coordinated with a loyal supporter of the Prime Minister (who may not
even know him); (i) violent is in construction with either how or women;
10 Understanding English Grammar

(j) the boy in the bus is either one or two constructions; (k) cheating
students is either a VP (in which someone cheats students) or an NP (in
which students do the cheating); (l) comment is either an intransitive verb
or a prepositional verb; (m) harder is either an adjective or an adverb; (n)
look is either an intransitive verb or a prepositional verb.
6 (a) found is either a ditransitive verb or an object complement verb; (b)
found is a ditransitive verb (She found a good wife for him); (c) found is
an object complement verb (He was a good husband).
7 The construction employs one of a small set of frequently used verbs and
turns an original intransitive verb into a noun following one of those
verbs, e.g., She looked at it becomes She took a look at it. Note that a
passive is possible but not at all likely, e.g., A look was taken at it by her.

5 Coordination and Embedding

This chapter expands the material of the previous chapter by showing how
clauses can be conjoined and how one clause can be embedded within another
clause. It deals with finite clauses and the concluding section explains the
traditional views of a “simple” sentence, a “complex” sentence, and so on.
Students can gain much from a mastery of this classification: they learn how
to pick out clauses and relate the various clauses in sentences to each other.

Exercises

1 (d) who did it is object noun; (e) than we expected it to be is adverb; (f)
when the party was over is adverb; (g) you went there is restrictive relative;
(h) that he’s brilliant is restrictive noun; (i) whose woods these are is object
noun; (j) I’m looking for is restrictive relative; (k) which surprised all who
knew him is sentential relative, who knew him is restrictive relative; (l)
what she wrote is subject noun; (m) he’s borrowed from you is restrictive
relative; (n) he says is restrictive relative; (o) that you’ll do it is object
noun; (p) where we were going to spend our vacation is object noun; (q)
where I’d been is object noun; (r) who is a fine pianist is non-restrictive
relative; (s) we reached that night is restrictive relative; (t) when you please
is adverb; (u) where Sally lives now is non-restrictive relative; (v) whose
tail was caught is restrictive relative; (w) that John is worthy of such an
honor is non-restrictive noun; (x) that occurred that day is restrictive relative;
(y) that you spoke up about it is adverb; (z) that she already knew about
it is subject noun.
 Instructor’s Manual 11

2 (e) where she’s always wanted to be is adverb; (f) he would do it is object

noun; (g) that he’s quite competent is restrictive noun; (h) what he is today
is object complement noun; (i) what he’s wearing today is object noun; (j)
I was looking for is restrictive relative; (k) what your country can do for
you and what you can do for your country are object noun clauses; (l)
when it was all over is adverb; (m) who will be chosen next is object noun;
(n) which never came to anything is non-restrictive relative; (o) which one
was broken is object noun; (p) he’s in is restrictive relative; (q) you bought
at the sale is restrictive relative; (r) who hesitates is restrictive relative; (s)
what I want to know is subject noun and why you did it is subject com-
plement noun; (t) if you do that is adverb; (u) where I’ve just been is
adverb; (v) where I’ve just been is object noun; (w) what mattered then is
subject complement noun; (x) that you wrote is restrictive relative; (y) that
you should believe such a thing is extraposed noun.
3 (c) complex; (d) complex; (e) compound; (f) simple; (g) complex; (h) sim-
ple; (i) compound-complex; (j) complex; (k) compound; (l) complex; (m)
complex; (n) simple.
4 No. In (a) that he came is a restrictive noun clause. In (b) that he men-
tioned is a restrictive relative clause. In (c) that he mentioned that he came
is a restrictive noun clause containing within it that he came, which is an
object noun clause.
5 The phrases following left cannot be coordinated: *Sally left the house,
this morning, and this painting. Both Sally left this painting this morning
and Sally left the house this morning are good, but both *Sally left this
morning this painting and *Sally left this morning the house are bad. Sally
left the house and Sally left this painting are also both good and have
possible passives; however, leave must have the sense of “bequeath” and
house and painting must be patients. If house is a location, i.e., a place
Sally moved away from rather than an object she left someone in a will,
then *The house was left by Sally is not possible.
6 In one reading John believed Mary is coordinated with Fred trusted Sally
and in the other reading Mary and Fred trusted Sally is an object noun
clause, being what John believed.

6 Clausal Variation

This chapter introduces descriptions of some of the basic clauses and varia-
tions that we will focus on in the chapters that follow, in which a transfor-
mational framework is employed. Here it is the essential structural characteristics
of such structures as passives and yes-no questions that is our concern. It is
important to emphasize such matters as inversion, the use of do in a support
role, and the placement of interrogative words, i.e., wh-words, in questions.
12 Understanding English Grammar

Exercises

1 (b) Did John and his brother take it? John and his brother took it, didn’t
they? (c) Did the story she told turn out to be true? The story she told
turned out to be true, didn’t it? (d) Does yellow go with green? Yellow
goes with green, doesn’t it? (e) Did they buy new shoes for their children?
They bought new shoes for their children, didn’t they? (f) Hasn’t John any
money with him? John hasn’t any money with him, has he? (Note that in
some varieties of English the original sentence would have to be that given
in (g), i.e. John doesn’t have any money with him; the two answers would
then be Doesn’t John have any money with him? and John doesn’t have
any money with him, does he?) (h) Should he be told about it? He should
be told about it, shouldn’t he?
2 (b) Sally was given the brush by Peter. (Note that The brush was given to
Sally by Peter is the passive of Peter gave the brush to Sally.) (c) A house
was being built for him by government workers. (d) His bed was being
made up for him by a maid. (e) I was taken to the movies by Sally and
her friend. (f) They were provided with the necessary clothing by the
agency. (g) The port they needed to supply themselves was captured by the
invading army.
3 (b) Which school did Sally go to last year? (c) Where is he going for his
holidays this year? (d) Which book did you borrow last week? (e) How big
was the fish you caught yesterday? (f) Which instrument does he play quite
well? (g) How much can you lend me? (h) Why did he do it?
4 The problem has to do with indefinite pronouns, or quantifiers, like none,
everyone, etc. In (b) through (e) they is the tag for such a pronoun and,
as we can see from (e), the verb in the tag is the form that occurs with a
plural subject pronoun. In (a) with none followed by of us the tag is we.
(None of you can go would be tagged can you?) The positive-negative
polarity change holds for all the examples with the first three tags positive
and the final two negative. However, the polarity resides in the sense of the
initial clause rather than in the actual negation of the verb in that clause.
For example, it is the negatives none, not everyone, and nobody which
produce the negative polarity of the first three clauses. If we had Everyone
knows that, the tag would also have do, show polarity change, and almost
certainly contain they to give us Everyone knows that, don’t they?

7 Underlying Relationships

This chapter presents much of the material of the previous chapters within a
different framework, one derived from Chomsky’s work. It uses the idea that
sentences are generated from a finite set of rules, base rules and transformational
 Instructor’s Manual 13

rules. The base rules are able to generate an infinite set of d(eep) structures
which the transformational rules then convert into s(urface) structures.
It is possible to create constituency-tree diagrams for all the structures de-
scribed in this chapter (and in the chapters that follow) and it may be desirable
to do so for some examples. However, the problems inherent in such a task
can be quite formidable because of the complex theoretical issues that must
be confronted. Some students may want to pursue such matters but their
desires should be met with a degree of caution and only by an instructor who
is thoroughly familiar with this kind of linguistic analysis. (Sentence diagram-
ming can also too easily become an end in itself with the wood becoming lost
sight of because of the trees!) For the vast majority of students it will be the
basic ideas that are important, the ideas of sentence generation, of transfor-
mation, and of rule application, all applying to structures that can be mapped
as was done in previous chapters. (Note that the 䉭 introduced on page 157
is a particularly useful device in that it allows unimportant structural matters
to be disregarded.)
The passive transformation is here formulated specifically to keep the d(eep)
subject in subject position. It does require two movements in many cases, of
that subject into the by phrase and of the direct object into the vacant subject
position to create a new subject. However, for the reasons stated on page 149
that solution is preferred. The alternative solution mentioned there requires
writing a very different kind of grammar.

Exercises

In these sets of answers, which provide the initial d(eep) structure for each
example, the transformations are abbreviated as follows: af for affix hopping,
do for do support, imp for imperative, pass for passive, qu for question, rel
for relative, wh- for wh-movement; (2) means that there are two applications
of this transformation; (3) that there are three. The transformations are best
applied in the order that is given. Embedded clauses should also be attended
to before matrix clauses. Each sentence should be laid out as on pages 161–
2 of the text so that the result of the application of each transformation can
be seen.

1 (b) he pres have -en be -ing go (af)

(c) she pres like the car (af)
(d) she pres will buy a new car (af)
(e) she pres have a good job (af)
(g) question she pres have a good job (qu, af)
(h) [ ] pres have -en be -en make the decision by [ ] (pass, af)
(i) a stranger past be -en approach her by [ ] in the park (pass, af)
(j) [ ] past be -en recapture him by [ ] last week (pass, af)
14 Understanding English Grammar

(k) imp you pres will stand up (imp)

(l) [ ] past be -en steal it by [ ] (pass, af)
(m) [ ] past be -en send Bill away by [ ] (pass, af)
(n) [ ] past be -en elect Sally treasurer by [ ] at the meeting (pass, af)
(o) [ ] pres have -en be -en dismiss John by [ ] (pass, af)
(p) question Bill and Tom pres be -ing come tonight (qu, af)
2 (b) the girl past be -en take the cake by [ ] (pass, af)
(c) the girl past take the cake and the books (af)
(d) the girl past be -en take the cake and the books by [ ] (pass, af)
(f) Sally and George past take the cake (af)
(g) Sally and George past be -en take the cake by [ ] (pass, af)
(h) John pres be -ing be -en eat the grapes by [ ] (pass, af)
(i) question [ ] past be -en tell her about it by [ ] (pass, qu, af)
(j) Mary past send a letter to Bill (af)
(k) [ ] past be -en send a letter to Bill by [ ] (pass, af)
(l) the boy with red hair past take it (af)
(m) the boy with red hair past be -en take it by [ ] (pass, af)
3 (b) the car1 [that he past buy the car1] pres be a lemon (rel, af(2))
(c) the employee1 [that [ ] past be -en dismiss the employee1] by [ ]] past
sue the firm (pass, rel, af(2))
(d) the dog1 [that the dog1 past bite me] pres be usually friendly (rel, af(2))
(f) the place1 [that they pres be -ing go to the place1] pres be cold in
winter (rel, af(2))
(g) the boy at the back1 [that the boy at the back1 past speak up] pres
be correct (rel, af(2))
(h) Smith1 [that Smith1 pres be a friend of mine] pres be correct (rel, af(2))
(i) the boy at the back1 [that the boy at the back1 past speak up and the
boy at the back1 pres be a friend of mine] pres be correct (rel(2),
af(3)). In this example both instances of who refer to the boy at the
back.
(j) the boy at the back1 [that the boy at the back1 past speak up]2 [[that
the boy at the back1 [that the boy at the back1 past speak up]]2 pres
be a friend of mine] pres be correct (rel(2), af(3)). In this example the
first who refers to the boy at the back and the second who refers to
the boy at the back who spoke up.
(k) she pres be the teacher1 [that I past attend the teacher1’s classes last
year] (rel, af(2))
(l) the dress1 [that [ ] past have -en be -en weave specially the material
of the dress1 by [ ]] past cause a sensation (pass, rel, af(2))
(m) question [ ] past be -en evacuate the soldiers1 [that [ ] past be -en
wound the soldiers1 by [ ]] quickly by [ ] (pass(2), rel, af(2))
4 (b) question they pres be -ing go where (qu, wh-, af)
(c) question who past say that (qu, wh-, af)
(d) he pres be -ing go where (af)
(e) question he pres be -ing go where (qu, wh-, af)
 Instructor’s Manual 15

(g) he pres want to do what (af)

(h) question these pres be whose shoes (qu, wh-, af)
(i) question they past advance along which road (qu, wh-, do, af)
(j) she pres want to know [question they pres be -ing go] (qu, af(2))
(k) she pres want to know [question they pres be -ing go where] (qu,
wh-, af(2))
(l) he past give it to the man1 [that the man1 past take what] (rel, af(2))
(m) he past left [when John past say what] (af(2))
(n) question he past say what [when John past drink the wine] (qu,
wh-, do, af(2))
(o) he past say [that I past know whom] (af(2))
(p) question he past say [I past know whom] (qu, wh-, do, af(2))
(q) question what past be -ing happen at the time (qu, wh-, af)
(r) question you pres can do what about it (qu, wh-, af)
(s) he past ask [question I past do for a living] (qu, wh-, af(2))
(t) question you pres do what for a living (qu, wh-, do, af)
(u) question [ ] past be -en give John all the help1 [that he past need the
help1] by [ ] (rel, pass, qu, af(2))
(v) question [ ] past be -en recapture them where by [ ] (pass, qu,
wh-, af)
(w) he past ask [question his laundry-past be ready] (qu, af(2))

(Note that in (c), (q), and (r) the wh- movement undoes the effects of the
inversion of the question transformation. In (i) the wh- movement moves all
of along which road.)

8 Rules and Principles

This chapter further develops the material of the previous chapter as it moves
into more complex structures. However, the basic principle is unchanged: each
sentence has a d(eep) structure that requires the application of certain transfor-
mations in order to produce a s(urface) structure. In some cases, e.g., reflexives
and equi deletion, some indication is given of a possible alternative treatment
through the government-binding approach. An instructor can downplay that
alternative or exploit if (s)he wishes.

Exercises

In these sets of answers the transformations are abbreviated as follows: af for

affix, dm for dative movement, do for do support, equi for equi deletion, extra
for extrapositioning, f-to for for to complementation, imp for imperative, it
16 Understanding English Grammar

for it insertion, neg for negative, pass for passive, pro for pronominalization,
qu for question, raise for raising, refl for reflexive, rel for relative, there for
there insertion, and wh- for wh- movement.

1 (d) question negation they past can tell the answer to him (neg, dm, qu,
af)
(e) imp you1 pres will please you1 (imp, refl)
(f) she1 past hurt she1 [when she past fall] (refl, af (2))
(g) she1 pres talk to she2 every day (af)
(h) she1 pres talk to she1 every day (refl, af)
(i) negation he past will give the book1 [that I past want the book1] to
me (rel, neg, dm, af)
(j) imp negation you1 pres will hurt you1 (refl, neg, imp, do)
(k) the shed [ [ ] past be -en store it in the shed by [ ]] past burn down
(pass, rel, af(2))
(l) a man pres be at the door (there, af)
(m) a pen pres/past must be around here somewhere (there, af)
(n) he1 pres like [for he1 to party] (f-to, equi, af)
(o) I pres consider [for you to be a friend] (f-to, af)
(p) I past believe [for Mary to be innocent] (f-to, af)
(q) I1 pres want [for I1 to go] (f-to, equi, af)
(r) I pres want [for he to go] (f-to, af)
(s) he1 pres wants [for he2 to go] (f-to, af)
(t) I1 pres be happy [for I1 to oblige] (f-to, equi, af)
(u) negation some time pres be for it (neg, there, af)
(v) they1 pres be anxious [for they1 to help they2] (f-to, equi, af)
(w) they1 pres be anxious [for they1 to help they1] (refl, f-to, equi, af)
2 (d) [ ] pres be certain [for he to please them] (f-to, raise, af)
(e) [ ] pres be difficult [for [ ] to please him] (f-to, raise, af)
(f) he1 pres be eager [for he1 to please] (f-to, equi, af)
(g) [ ] pres appear [for no reason to be for it] (there, f-to, raise, af)
(h) I pres think [that negation he pres will do it] (raise, neg, do, af(2))
(i) [ ] past be -en agree [that John past will do it] by [ ] (pass, extra,
af(2))
(j) [ ] pres seem [that he pres be ready for it] (it, af(2))
(k) [ ] pres seem [for negation he to be ready for it] (f-to, raise(2), neg,
do, af)
(l) [ ] pres seem [for John to like Mary] (f-to, raise, af)
(m) [ ] pres seem [that John pres like Mary] (it, af(2))
(n) I pres believe [for [that it pres will fail] to be inevitable] (f-to, extra,
af(2))
(o) they1 past consider [for [they1 to press on] to be foolish] (f-to, equi,
extra, af)
(p) he1 past consider [for [he1 to quit] to be wise] (f-to, equi, extra, af)
(q) John past imagine [for he to be -ing kiss Sally] (f-to, af(2))
 Instructor’s Manual 17

(r) John1 past imagine [for John1 to be -ing kiss Sally] (f-to, refl, af(2))
(s) John past imagine [for he1 to be -ing kiss he1] (refl, f-to, af(2))
(t) John past imagine [for John1 to be -ing kiss John1] (refl, f-to, refl,
af(2))
(u) [ ] pres be too crazy [for [ ] to live with John] (f-to, raise, af)
(v) Fred1 pres need someone2 [for Fred1 to work for someone2] (f-to,
equi(2), af)
(w) Fred1 pres need someone2 [for someone2 to work for Fred1] (f-to,
equi, pro, af)
(x) [ [ [for pigs to fly] pres be impossible] pres be clear] (extra(2), af(2) )
(y) question John past think [that Fred past believe [that I past have won
which prize]] (qu, wh-, do, af(3))
(z) This is a very complicated sentence but it is possible to come up with
a possible d(eep) structure and work systematically to the s(urface)
structure.
question past you hear [that [ ] pres be -en rumor [that [ ] pres be
-en allege [for [ ] to have -en be -en see I1 [for I1 to be -ing go into
what hotel] by [ ]] by [ ]] by [ ]]
The final three by phrases are for the three passives, and there are
no subjects for the verbs rumor, allege, and see, which are the verbs
that are in the passive. The transformational process requires f-to
and equi (the two instances of I), three instances of passive,
extraposition to produce the it, question, wh-movement, do support,
and considerable affix hopping. It does work and it is worth the
effort to work it all out. This sentence also comes from a well-known
American humorist; it was not made up for this book!
3 (a) [for the firm to rehire the complainant]; (b) [for [ ] to be -en rehire
the complainant by [ ]]; (c) [for the complainant to reapply for the
position]
4 (a) question he past say [question who past do it]
question he past say [who past do it]
The first sentence contains an embedded question, but the second
sentence does not.
(b) he1 pres want a song2 [for he1 to sing a song2]
he1 pres want [for he1 to sing a song]
(c) question who pres have -en see your friend
question your friend pres have -en see who
5 Use the following d(eep) structures and transformations such as equi, pro-
nominalization, and reflexive to derive the surface forms.
(a) I1 past want [for I1 to shave I1]
(b) I past want [ for he1 to shave he1]
(c) I1 past want [for he to shave I1]
(d) I1 past want [for I1 to shave he]
(e) I past want [for [ ] to be -en shave he by [ ]]
(f) I1 past want [for [ ] to be -en shave I1 by [ ]]
18 Understanding English Grammar

9 Sounds and Systems

This chapter presents a “traditional” phonemic analysis of the sounds of

English for a rhotic dialect. (The treatment of vowels in non-rhotic dialects is
not at all easy. In the chapter that follows they are in effect treated as variants
of rhotic dialects, a treatment that some theoreticians may decry but one that
has considerable pedagogical merit.) Minimal pairs and the principle of contrast
are therefore important. However, not everyone pronounces certain words in
the same way, so particular choices given here may not apply in certain cases.
For example, some speakers of English do not distinguish the vowels of cot
and caught, others may have considerable neutralization of vowels before r,
and others may have // in many unstressed vowels rather than /ə/. Any dif-
ferences that are noted should be used to reinforce the understanding that
variety does indeed exist in the way we use the language and that on the whole
it is to be welcomed as showing language to be a living thing and not something
hidebound by arbitrary rules and decrees.

Exercises

Answers are provided for the first exercise but not for the second and third
where the interest is in the variation that we can find in the language. This
variation may also be an issue in the first exercise. The pronunciations given
for the examples in the exercise exist in one variety of English; other pronun-
ciations exist for some of the words.

1 /jokt/, /dəléd/, /pǽ
ənət/, /pύlŋ/, /rəpé
əs/, /pl έzənt/, /l́mətləs/, /ətámək/,

/bárgənŋ/, /́lnəs/, /əprέntə
p/, /grídi/, /də́lə
/, /pis/, /jɔ́səz/, /təmétoz/,
/táksək/, /prέzəns/, /w ύlən/, /əlaύəns/, /ópənd/, /ákyəpad/, /frέdi/, /pi stɔks/,
/əraύzd/, /tíər/, /pis tɔks/, /wύmən/, /kəmó
ən/, /tiðd/, /stípəlz/, /snæt/,
/síər/, /Inst́ŋktəv/, /bə́ndəl/, /lέsən/, /fíər/, /w́mən/, /sέtəl/, /lέsən/,
/fr́kətəvz/, /wυlvz/, /tεnθ/, /ózən/, /r́pəld/, /ekt/, /kənú/, /səlέk
ənəl/,
/sέptər/, /kənstrénd/, /έmfəsazd/, /s́ŋər/, /́nəsənt/, /ríəlzəm/, /ósəfin/,
/f ́ŋgər/, /prέzədənt/, /tr́ŋkət/, /g ə́rgəlz/, /pr έsədənt/, /ə́pror/, /də́klŋ/,
/f ́ksər/, /b ύlət/, /s́mpəθi/, /ri ǽlt i/, /f ǽk
ənəl/, /v ə́rbləs/, /r ǽpədli/,
/bǽkwərdz/, /æstrənáməkəl/, /trízənəs/, /f ́ŋgərd/, /bəláŋgd/
4 /dáəl/, /nían/, /məríə/, or /məráə/, /flúəd/, /rúən/, /báəs/, /súəsad/, /póəm/,
/póətri/, /nóə/, /krúəl/, /wíərd/
5 dens/dense is voiced–voiceless, wren/Len is retroflex–lateral, pin/bin is
voiced–voiceless, peel/pool is frontness–backness, batter/backer is alveolar–
velar, sin/sing is alveolar–velar, and me/may is high–mid.
9 These spellings are correct.
 Instructor’s Manual 19

10 Phonetic Realization

The first part of this chapter deals with the major allophones of English within
the traditional phonemic analysis that was presented in the previous chapter.
The second part of the chapter discusses a number of issues related to regional
and social pronunciation variants. Just as speakers differ in their phonemic
choices so they differ in their allophonic choices; that is why we have different
accents but speak the same language.

Exercises

The second exercise should be done just like the first exercise for which
answers are provided. The answers may vary according to the variety of the
language that is spoken.

1 /livz/ [li·vz], /gəlf/ [g f], /yεlp/ [yεp] or [εp], /m́səlto/ [ mslto],

v
/εmfǽtək/ [εm fæɾək], /b έti/ [ bεɾi], /slo/ [slo:], /f ǽsən/ [fæsn], /slip/ [slip],
/tim/ [th~·m], /kst/ [k hst], /krími/ [ khr ~mi], /fli/ [fl i:], /most/ [most],
/sparkəl/ [sparkl ], /θrld/ [θrd], /hst/ [hst], /kæst/ [k h æst], /splæ
t/
[splæ
t], /r́pəl/ [rpl ], /pεnd/ [phε~nd], /jus/ [jus], /krǽkəld/ [khrækl d],
/kolz/ [khoz], /wókən/ [wokn] or [υ okn], /ŋkt/ [̃ŋkt], /θǽəz/ [ θæəz],
/snæp/ [snæp], /pr́ti/ [ phrɾi]
3 All the differences are phonemic except for those in bad–man, face–phase,
lose–loose, bed–Ben, play–plate, and plain–plaint where the differences are
allophonic.
5 In these words igh is a low central front-rising diphthong, tt is a flap, oa
is a mid back round tense vowel, en is a syllabic nasal, c is a voiceless
aspirated velar stop, t is a voiceless aspirated alveolar stop, s is a voiced
alveolar fricative, l is a light voiced lateral, a is a low front unround vowel,
ai is a mid front unround tense vowel, r is a voiceless retroflex, r is a
voiced retroflex, ch is a voiceless palatal affricate, and n is a voiceless
alveolar nasal.

11 Word Formation

This chapter introduces the basic concepts of English morphology and returns
to some of the issues dealt with in chapter 2. It approaches them this time with
the knowledge of phonology acquired in chapter 9. We may expect some dis-
agreement about certain morphological matters because not everyone agrees
about certain analyses or even methods of analysis, particularly when mor-
phology shades into etymology. A person with an extensive knowledge of
20 Understanding English Grammar

languages such as Latin, Greek, and French, the source languages for a con-
siderable part of our English vocabulary, may indeed have a very different
morphology for the language than a “naive” native speaker.

Exercises
1 case and race are homonyms; range, free, rare, and light are almost
certainly polysemous.
2 feet /i/ replaces /υ/; children // replaces /a/ and /-rən/ is suffixed; deer
zero; data /ə/ replaces /əm/; theses /i/ replaces /ə/; wives /v/ replaces /f/ and
the regular /-z/ is suffixed.
3 both put zero; went suppletion to /wεnt/, and gone /a/ replaces /o/ and
/-n/ is suffixed; broke /o/ replaces /e/, and broken /o/ replaces /e/ and
/-ən/ is suffixed; got /a/ replaces /ε/, and gotten /a/ replaces /ε/ and /-ən/
is suffixed; both read /ε/ replaces /i/; drove /o/ replaces /a/, and driven
// replaces /a/ and /-ən/ is suffixed; suppletion to was and were /waz/ or
/wəz/ and /wər/, and been // replaces /i/ and /-n/ is suffixed; both sold
/o/ replaces /ε/ and /-d/ is suffixed; both sought /ɔt/ replaces /ik/; both
spent /d/ replaces /t/; both kept /ε/ replaces /i/ and /-t/ is suffixed; took
/υ/ replaces /e/, and taken /-ən/ is suffixed; began /æ/ replaces //, and
begun /ə/ replaces //; sank /æ/ replaces //, and sunk /ə/ replaces //; did
/d/ replaces /u/, and done /ən/ replaces /u/; bit // replaces /a/, and bitten
// replaces /a/ and /-ən/ is suffixed; lay /e/ replaces /a/, and lain /e/
replaces /a/ and /-n/ is suffixed; saw /ɔ/ replaces /i/, and seen /-n/ is
suffixed; wove /o/ replaces /i/, and woven /o/ replaces /i/ and /-ən/ is
suffixed.
4 In a traditional analysis you expect to find other instances of each mor-
pheme, i.e., other instances of the -ter of laughter, the luke- of lukewarm,
etc. The example of cranberry points to one solution if you do not find
any other such instances, the postulation of a unique “cranberry” mor-
pheme, i.e., to say that cran- is a separate morpheme in cranberry be-
cause a cranberry is a “cran” kind of berry. But how many such
cranberry-type morphemes should we postulate? Particular problems are
also posed here by folk etymologies such as a possible bell in belfry and
the possible musk and rat in muskrat.
5 There are existing words like wisdom, savagery, strength, severity, cyclist,
typist, rapist, thief, and shop assistant. They mean what these words
would mean so we do not need these words. However, the meaning of
each of these words is quite transparent.
6 the comparative -er: bigger, friendlier
the agent -er: baker, diner, worker, player, painter
the product(?) -er: trailer, slipper, planter, rubber
the unique -er of widower
no -er at all in brother, order, and cylinder
 Instructor’s Manual 21

7 There are four possible different negative prefixes here: un-, non-, in-
(with variants), and dis-. They attach to forms which vary in their inter-
pretability in isolation, from -ept (the isolated form seems to be apt) and
-scrutable to -sipid, -plussed, and -trepid. What would it be to be sipid,
plussed, and trepid?
9 Note the various vowel changes and reductions, and the stress shifts, e.g.,
/ǽlkəhal/ but /ælkəhálək/ and /kətǽstrəfi/ but /kætəstráfək/.
10 These compounds have equal parts; no one part can be said to be a head.
11 The issue here has to do with the second part of each of these words.
Does that second part behave like a derivational affix or like the second
part of a compound? Compare gentleman /έntəlmən/ with Batman
/bǽtmæ̀n/.

12 N

NP

Adj N af
free trade -er

Adj

NP

Adj N af af
other world -ly -ness

Adj

Adj

af V af af
non- judge ment -al
22 Understanding English Grammar

NP

NP

NP

af Adj N N
anti- nuclear armaments campaign

NP

NP

VP

af Adj N V af
ex- former- cigarette smoke -er

af N af
pro life -er

Adv

Adj

af Adj af
dis- passionate -ly

NP

N N N af
deputy chair man -ship
 Instructor’s Manual 23

12 Words and Sounds

There are different views of how the English system of stress works, and the
issues involved are really much too complicated for a beginning book on
English. Here two views are presented: the “traditional” view that English has
four stresses (with one of these actually being lack of stress) and another view
that stress is assigned to words and phrases through a set of rules. Either of
these views can be developed. They cannot both be correct, but that observa-
tion can be used as a good teaching point.
The second issue dealt with in the chapter is the various alternations that
we find in words that are obviously related. This observation can be used to
pull together some of the ideas found in chapters 9 and 11 in order to show
that just as there was a d(eep) level of syntax there may also be a d(eep) level
of phonology, i.e., a morphophonology. An instructor may wish to develop
this idea further.

Exercises

1 The first example in the text is based on a pronunciation in which Mental

Health serves as a modifier of Awareness but Mental Health Awareness and
Week are compounded much like Business Week, the name of a publication.
The week of course is national in scope so National here modifies all of
Mental Health Awareness Week. A similar approach is indicated for the
remaining examples. What is a spaceship center maintenance coordinator?
Someone who coordinates maintenance for a spaceship center. So we have
a committee of the Research Council for the Social Sciences, literatures
written in African languages, and someone who takes tickets at a railroad
station. The stress assignments and reductions would work according to
these meanings.
2 English nouns of two-syllable duration are typically stressed on the first
syllable. Such first syllable pronunciations are sometimes found on these
words with accompanying changes in the vowels, e.g., /dítrɔt/ rather than
/dətrɔ́t/. Cement is sometimes therefore pronounced just like semen in
those dialects which exhibit both this stress shift and the reduction of cer-
tain final clusters ending in stops.
3 It may be interesting to try to find out how many of these words are native
English words and how many are of foreign origin. Most should be of
foreign origin.
4 There are good examples here of many of the phonological relationships
discussed earlier in the chapter. However, trying to specify a single
underlying form for the similar parts in bone and bonfire, and throat and
throttle, for example, together with the conditions that bring about the
24 Understanding English Grammar

variation would lead to an inordinately complex phonological analysis for

the language, one that also seems to be counter-intuitive.
5 [go– s], [bεd], [r–ıd], [drŋk], [nam],
– –
[st ɔn], [hεlp], [sυn], [fυl], [fæst].

13 Sounds in Context

The syllable as an organizational unit is the focus of the first part of this
chapter. It is presented as a unit with its own structural characteristics. The
possibility of each syllable being a discrete unit is addressed. Note that this
possibility rests on classifying vowels as being either free or checked so it is
essentially circular in nature. That is why the ambisyllabic possibility is also
mentioned. There are still other views of the syllable that refer to the quality
of the vowel and the kinds of clusters that occur with them. These views are
not mentioned but again an instructor could do so. The essential point to
remember is that one major focus of the book is to show how problematic,
i.e., difficult, it actually is to provide definitions for “sound,” “syllable,” “word,”
and “sentence.” In one sense that is what a grammar of English is all about:
an attempt to figure out what these things are. This, therefore, is the last
opportunity to emphasize this important point.

Exercises

1 (These answers are given in a modified version of English spelling.) loss$es,

fiks$chure, an$swered, fac$sim#i$le, no$ble, i$dle, en$gin$eer, scram$ble,
a$rise, e$qua$lized, e$vade, re$store, tenn$is, bi$op$sy, pit$y, de$tail,
du$ty, pet$rol, prac$tice, crack$le, pe$tro$le$um, par$ents, pa$rade,
eg$zist, po$stal. Possible ambisyllabic consonants are boldfaced.
2 /məst/ to /mə́sənt, /du/ to /dont/, /wl/ to /wont/, /kæn/ to /kænt/ or /kant/,
/sæl/ to /sænt/ or /sant/, /æm/ to /arnt/ or sometimes /ent/.
3 These are good examples of how certain kinds of spellings are used to
represent allegro speech, either deliberately as in the milk advertisement or
through a not infrequent spelling error, as in the of of I could of done it.

14 Further Reading

This chapter and the bibliography point out some essential reading for those
who wish to go further into matters discussed in the text.
 Instructor’s Manual 25

Indexed Glossary

The glossary offers brief definitions and an example or two in most cases for
terms used in the text. The indexing also allows students quick reference to
the text for further information.