THE SYNTAX OF SIMPLE SENTENCES

SEMINAR 2 THE INTRANSITIVE PREDICATION

I. Decide whether the verbs in the sentences below are unergatives or unaccusatives:
1. The car had vanished from sight. 2. No other creature can fly as fast, or for as long as birds. 3. My
hopes collapsed. 4. They work very hard. 5. The soldiers face reddened with anger. 6. The bells were
clanging. 7. Dogs bark. 8. The child burped after eating. 9. A cluster of stars glowed above us. 10.
When I saw them they were dancing with joy. 11. All the water has evaporated. 12. He was
suffocating with indignation. 13. When I last met him, he was meditating on a difficult question. 14.
The lake has already dried up. 15. A dim glow of light emanated from the room.
II. Why are the sentences below (un)grammatical?
1. *Eat you up! 2.*Always laugh you at his joke! 3. *Arrive you before six! 4. Several facts recently
come to light point to his guilt. 5.*The thief stolen the jewels was never captured. 6. He is a changed
man. 7. *The overdosed man was John Smith. 8. He spoke an unforgettable speech. 9. They fought
the most important battle in their lives. 10. *A ghost appeared me. 11. *Several major problems have
arisen John.
III. Account for the grammaticality / ungrammaticality of the there-insertion in the sentences
below:
1. There has never been such an opposition. 2. There remains nothing to be done. 3. *Karen appeared
a striking appearance at the party. 4. ??There darted a little boy in the room. 5. There thawed the snow
in the early spring. 6. *There banged a man at the door. 7. There floated logs down the river. 8. *There
is John in the garden. 9. There was the air of a soldier about him. 10. There is that type of student in
the class. 11. There was a person of that sort the party. 12. There is her past to consider. 13. *There
was a basketball player tall in those days. 14. *There is a kind of dinosaur widespread. l5. Q: Whats
on the table? A: There, is the plate, the fork and the knife. 16. There was Ann. 17. There werent the
sailors to man the ship. 18. There were tires in short supply. 19. There appeared only Mary at the
party. 20. There strutted a man into the room.
IV. Discuss the grammaticality/ungrammaticality of the following NPs:
tarnished metal, an existed solution, fallen leaves, a trembled student, capsized boat, withered plants,
an already occurred event, a sparkled diamond, a gushed fountain, a bubbled stew, dried clothes.
V. What type of surface Subject do the verbs below select?
TASTE, EXIST, BREATHE, BLOOM, BARK, CHIRP, RAIN, HAPPEN, LIE, LIVE, SUFFER,
JUMP, CURDLE, NEIGH, WITHER, EMERGE, SEEM
VI. Translate the following into English using there-insertion:
1. Masa aceasta are un capt. 2. Exist un oarecare adevr n asta. 3. Sunt puini cei care se ncadreaz
n aceste criterii. 4. Este loc pentru toat lumea. 5. Trebuie luai n consideraie trei factori. 6. Nu-mi
mai rmne nici o alt cale. 7. Se pare c martorul are ceva. 8. Din ntmplare a mai rmas doar un
exemplar. 9. n faa trsurii clrea un brbat superb. 10. n toat ara exist un anume numr de
cldiri asemntoare. 11. Vine cineva la cin? Da, este vorba despre un vecin nou, prietenul su i
directorul colii.
VII. Identify the intransitive subtypes in the sentences below.
I. His eyes glimmered, his lips quivered. 2. It is raining. 3. We went away frequently. 4. The seconds
ticked by. 5. They toiled away in silence till dawn. 6. Their traditions are dying out. 7. The
neighbourhood has gone down recently. 8. They went through with the marriage despite their parents
opposition. 9. We can look up to many people. 10. He can bestir himself to answer the phone. 11.
They acted responsibly. 12. The interruptions must have lasted a week. 13. Some trees, Jive for
hundreds of years. 14. They live in a small flat. 15. It weighs two pounds. 16. His estate totals twenty
square miles. 17. He beamed at everyone. 18. Some opted for the solution. 19. The house belongs to
him. 20. The two buses collided on a country lane. / Bus 31 and bus 34 collided yesterday. / Bus 31
collided with bus 34 yesterday. 21. She complained to me about his rudeness to spare your feelings.

22. His record weighed against him with the jury. 23. The landmarks serve as signposts for an
invisible mesh of trackways. 24. He emerged as a leader at the age of 40. 25. He looks at your as
another son.
VIII. Identify the transformations that occurred in the sentences below:
1. Down came all the scales. 2. The balloon came right up.3. He has been talked to on several
occasions. 4. This has been talked about before.5. We talked for an hour. 6. Up he went 7. The
workers staged a sit-in two weeks ago. 8. The police organized a round-up of all suspects last night.
IX.
Supply subcategorization frames for the verbs below:
DIFFER, STAND, FALL, GO, RUN, OCCUR, DRIZZLE, DART, ABSENT, DEAL, COME,
BEHAVE, SULK, RESIDE, DWELL, PANT
X.
Which of the sentences below containing instances of locative inversion are grammatical
and which are ungrammatical?
l. On the line are drying a lot of towels. 2. In a little white house lived two rabbits.3.To their left,
beyond a strip of glass, was die front of a large high building in grey stone. 4. Above then pranced the
horses on the frieze.5. On her finger sparkled a magnificent diamond.
XI.

Passivize the sentences below:

1. A gang of thieves broke into the house last night. 2. He glanced through the article quickly. 3. We
will go very carefully into these proposals. 4. We ran through the main points. 5. They had done away
with that piece of legislation. 6. They are looking forward to their voyage.7. The speaker did not put
up with the interruptions so cheerfully. 8. They agreed with him on the matter. 9. You should not look
down on such people. 10. They discussed the matter and put forth their proposals.
XII.
Fill in the appropriate item and specify if it is a Preposition or a Particle:
1. She was _____ a strange spell. 2. The waiter has run _____ our bill. 3. Xandra seems to look _____
some of her schoolmates. 4. The horse was being galloped _____ the slope. 5. Alice fell _____ a
trance. 6. The indigo horizon is penciled _____ silver.7. Why do you kick _____ this comfortable
chair? 8. Will the crystals break _____ a peal of bells? 9. The tigers fur was spotted _____ yellowish
brown. 10. My parents have frowned _____ my decision. 11. She looked _____ at the tables standing
_____. 12. The kid was crying _____ pain.'
XIII. Translate into English:
A.
1. A strigat pn a rguit.2. A plns pn a adormit. 3. Lacul a ngheat de tot. 4 Adesea se
ncuie pe dinafar. 5. Beivul a czut dar a reuit s se redreseze. 6. A rs pn i s-a fcut ru.7. A tot
mers pn a obosit. 8. Cinele a ltrat pn 1-a trezit din somn. 9. A plns de i-au ieit ochii din cap.
10. A dormit pn i-a trecut mahmureala. 11. Soldaii lui Napoleon au murit ngheai n Siberia. 12.
Calul a galopat pn a nceput s chiopteze. 13. Apa a ngheat bocn. 14. Ua s-a rotit i s-a
deschis. 15. Poarta s-a blngnit pn s-a nchis.
B.
1. n ce abund lacul? 2. Cui s-au predat? 3. Merge pe treizeci de ani. 4. Vasul nu mai suport
schimbri. 5. Conta pe faptul c va fi transferat n India. 6. Clubul asigur satisfacerea preocuprilor
celor tineri. 7. Mulimea vocifera mpotriva deciziei nedrepte. 8. Se aga de creang. 9. M-a atacat ca
o tigroaic. 10. Tnjea dup pace i linite. 11. Soarele apru n sfrit. 12. Vinul s-a terminat nainte
de sfritul recepiei. 13. A trebuit s suportm mult zgomot cnd prinii lor au fost plecai de acas.
14. N-are rost s lsm lucrurile s se adune. 15. Era posibil s apar probe noi. 16. Vocea nu era la
nlimea nfirii. 17. Te dai n vnt dup srutatul minii? 18. Ar fi cazul s vorbeasc cineva n
favoarea conceptului de cinste i onoare. 19. Nu pot da napoi de la ce am zis. 20. De ce parte eti? 21.
Ce valori aperi? 22. Atepta s primeasc noi instruciuni. 23. Mai redu din poria de dulciuri, ai s
faci diabet. 24.Doctorul i-a recomandat s elimine grsimile ca s nu mai fac iar o criz de inim. 25.
Ieri la edin a prezentat cteva propuneri. 26. S trecem la urmtoarea chestiune. 27. ipa ct l
ineau plmnii. 28. A trecut luna pe cer. 29. Ploaia a inut trei zile. 30. Oile tocmai urcau la stn i
baciul venea agale pe lng ele.