English grammar - Roger Berry 2012
C10 Exploring texts (2)
Section C Exploration
In this exploration section we will analyse complex sentences, involving several subordinate clauses. You will need to identify both clause elements and different types of phrase, e.g. a noun phrase acting as a subject, or a prepositional phrase acting as an adverbial.
The text below is part of a description of British cultural peculiarities. It is quite dense in terms of information and the clause structure of the sentences is quite complicated. There are two sentences and both are multiple and complex. Read the text and then answer the questions below.
No other nation can produce a book collector on quite the heroic scale of Sir Thomas Philips (1792-1872), who in 50 years amassed the greatest private library the world has ever seen, spending on it some £250,000 (add two noughts for inflation). Few other nations can produce such dedicated book loonies as Bernard Levin, who has been advised that should he ever be rash enough to display on shelves the tons of books he has amassed so far, he would assuredly bring the walls of his London apartment crashing about his ears.
Activity C10.1
Identify all the finite and non-finite verb forms. (Remember modals and imperatives count as finite.) How many clauses are there?
Activity C10.2
Some small points.
1. Find two contact relative clauses (i.e. where there is no relative pronoun).
2. The object of produce in the second sentence begins such . . . Where does it end?
3. What clause type is add two noughts for inflation?
Activity C10.3
Analyse the structure of the second sentence according to its finite clauses; name each type of subordinate clause and show how they relate to each other.
Activity C10.4
Explain the role of his ears in the second sentence. Each time it becomes part of a larger unit, explain that unit’s role, and so on till you reach the sentence level. Ignore the text from . . . should he . . . to . . . so far . . .
Comments
Activity C10.1:
There are nine finite and eleven non-finite verb forms. There are therefore nine finite clauses. There are also three non-finite clauses (starting with spending, to display and crashing). In the copy of the text below the verb phrases (both finite and non-finite) are underlined; the finite verb forms are also italicised. Note the different roles of the two cases of amassed.
No other nation can produce a book collector on quite the heroic scale of Sir Thomas Philips (1792-1872), who in 50 years amassed the greatest private library the world has ever seen, spending on it some £250,000 (add two noughts for inflation). Few other nations can produce such dedicated book loonies as Bernard Levin, who has been advised that should he ever be rash enough to display on shelves the tons of books he has amassed so far, he would assuredly bring the walls of his London apartment crashing about his ears.
Activity C10.2:
1. The two contact clauses are (with their antecedents and with the relative pronoun that inserted):
the greatest private library that the world has ever seen . . .
the tons of books that he has amassed so far. . .
One way to work this out is to note that although there are finite clauses there is no subordinator connecting them to the previous clauses. Another clue is the presence of two nouns phrases together (. . . the greatest private library the world . . .).
2. It ends with ears at the end of the sentence. This is all one long object noun phrase. 3. An imperative.
Activity C10.3: Here is a diagram of the analysis:
Figure C10.1.1 Analysis of a complex sentence
And this is without dealing with the non-finite clauses.
Activity C10.4
His ears is a noun phrase which is part of a prepositional phrase (about his ears)
. . . which is an adverbial in the non-finite clause (crashing . . .)
. . . which is an object predicative of the verb bring (bring something crashing . . .)
. . . which is the verb in a nominal clause (that he would assuredly bring . . .)
. . . which is the direct object of advise
. . . which is the main verb in a relative clause (who has been advised . . .)
. . . which is the postmodifcation of Bernard Levin
. . . which is part of a prepositional phrase (as Bernard Levin)
. . . which in itself is the postmodification of a noun phrase (such dedicated book loonies. . .)
. . . which is the object of produce
. . . which is the main verb of the main clause (Few other nations can . . .)
The figure below represents the same information in visual form.
Activity C10.4:
A tree diagram of the grammatical structure
Figure C10.1.2 A tree diagram of grammatical structure
Sentences are like the Russian dolls called ’babushkas’ - you unpack one and find another inside, and so on. A noun phrase may contain another noun phrase or even a clause. This concept is called ’recursion’.