The Communicative Grammar of English Workbook - Edward Woods, Rudy Coppieters 2002

3.1. Clauses
Unit three. Structure

Sections 486-495; 151; 170; 198; 202-204; 207; 211; 499; 573-577; 588; 613; 686; 718; 724; 727; 737; 739

There are five different clause elements:

S-subject; V-verb; O-object; C-complement; A-adverbial.

There are six basic verb patterns: SVC/SVA; SVO; SVOV, ...; SVOO; SVOC; SV.

There are three types of clauses: finite; non-finite; verbless

There are two clause functions: main clause; subclause

There are various types of subclauses: nominal; relative; comment; comparative; adverbial

Task one **

Identify the organisation of the clauses below - SVC, SVA, SVO, SVOO, SVOC, SVOV ..., SV.

Identify optional adverbials as [A].

1. I did it without his help.

2. Manchester United lost!

3. The earthquake destroyed hundreds of homes.

4. The government gave the poorest people a tax cut.

5. His mother told the child a story every night at bedtime.

6. He became leader of the party after a bitter battle.

7. The 18th century was an age of reason.

8. Eleven hundred years ago, the Hungarian tribal alliance arrived in the Carpathian Basin.

9. The humiliating defeat of the government served the progressive forces.

10. Foreign Affairs is not all fun and games.

Task two *

State what types of subclauses there are in each of the items below: finite; non-finite; verbless. Identify each subclause by underlining.

1. Bring me a cup of coffee when you’ve finished.

2. Ignoring the accident is not an option.

3. Many children were left orphans in the war, babies among them.

4. He gave up a very good job to work for the charity.

5. Covered in mud, the boy proudly showed his father the athletics prize.

6. Angered by the manager’s attitude, she decided to resign her job.

7. Happy with the result, the barrister congratulated his client.

8. Is sending lots of Christmas cards only a British habit?

9. They didn’t want him to leave.

10. Opening an art gallery in such a small town was a very brave thing to do.

Task three **

Identify the functions of the clauses underlined as nominal, relative, adverbial, comparative or comment clauses. Also identify the clause patterns (SVC, SVA, SVO, SVOO, SVOC, SVOV ..., SV) and, where these begin with a conjunction, show this by putting ’conj’ in front of the pattern-type.

1. In the new job, he’s earning twice as much as he used to.

2. To be fair, I don’t think it was really Joan’s fault alone.

3. That he’s now having to do so much extra work shows he’s borrowed too much for the new apartment.

4. I take the dog with me wherever I go.

5. The ’Titanic’, which was the most advanced passenger ship of its day, was not properly equipped for an emergency.

6. House prices in the North of England are much lower than they are in the South.

7. To be cruel, I think Martin deserved to fail.

8. The couple, who are both aged 102, have been married for 77 years.

9. They moved to Kendal because they wanted to be near their friends.

10. That it’s rained so much this winter doesn’t mean we’ll have a dry summer.