9c Svoca-3 - Lecture notes 6 PDF

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SVOC Analysis and Verb Subcategorisation Take note of the following: The questions are phrased in different ways each year and the data that are being used are different. 1) The type of questions for January 2013 and July 2013 are the same. You are required to review the sentence and provide the verb categorisation. However, for the January paper, headlines (modified) from the media are used but for the July paper, common idioms are used. 2) The question for January 2014 is similar to that in TMA02. You need to break down the sentence into functional constituents, label them and provide the verb sub-categorisation for the sentence. 3) The question for July 2014 assesses you on how interrogatives are being used in the sentences. You need to identify the type of functional constituent that the interrogative belongs to and the verb subcategorisation of the sentence. 4) The question for January 2015 assess you on your knowledge of verb subcategorisation and the role of different functional constituents that, when used with the same verb, can result in different verb subcategorisations. So the important thing is – understand what you are studying. In SVOC analysis, - the form of the words and the structure of a sentence - the meaning of the words and the meaning of the sentences all play key roles in its classification. The sentences used in the assessment are extracted (modified) from various media sources. The answers are bolded, in bolded italics or in italics. And…. One more thing In Standard English, ellipsis – dropping a word when it can be derived from the context of the sentence is commonly practiced. You may find a lot of sentences without prepositions (it is implied). As such, an intransitive sentence may look like a transitive sentence. Some examples: He ran [in] a race. They walked [for] 5 miles. Baby zoe grew [up] 6 inches. The ellipsis are in [ ] and do not physically appear in the sentences. However, they are implied. Hence the nouns phrases that appear after the ellipsis are considered Adverbials. There are constructions where the noun phrase function as an adverb, for example, She could have dance all night. All night is an adverbial as it describe the duration of her dance. Note: Due to uniSIM regulations, the marking criteria and grading conditions have been removed from the set of answers. Kelvin Wong July 2016

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SVOC Analysis and Verb Subcategorisation Question 3 – January 2013 Analyse the sentences below and demonstrate your knowledge of sub-categorisation frames. Select the sub-categorisation frame for each verb from the list below and write it in the space provided. Intranstive, Transitive, Ditransitive, Complex Transitive, Copular/Link (a) He called her a taxi. Ditransitive (b) She broke into tears at the commencement. Intransitive (c) The situation is very complicated. Copular/Link (d) After the scandal they appointed him the discipline master. Complex Transitive (e) The tabloids keep hounding Harry after the Las Vegas incident. Transitive (f) How are you? Copular/Link (g) The young boy ran for his life. Intransitive (h) Did you just tender your resignation? Transitive (i) His disqualification by the sports council made his coach upset. Complex Transitive (j) He should not have bought his son the Ferrari. Ditransitive Question 3 – July 2013 (a) A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Copular/Link (b) A poor workman always blames his tools. Transitive (c) Bad news travels fast. Intransitive (d) You just have to call a spade, a spade. Complex Transitive (e) They should just give him his just desserts. Ditransitive (f) The answer is blowing in the wind. Intransitive (g) A stitch in time saves nine. Transitive (h) All is fair in love and war. Copular/Link (i) All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Complex Transitive (j) You have got to give the man his toys. Ditransitive Kelvin Wong July 2016

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SVOC Analysis and Verb Subcategorisation Question 5 January 2014 a) Identify the syntactic functions of each constituent in each of the following sentences, clearly labelling each functional constituents (in terms of SVOC, which we have learnt in the module). b) Provide the verb subcategorisation type for each sentence. A S V Od A (i) Carefully/ Hui / placed /the violin / on the table. Transitive S V Oi Od A (ii) She / paid / her opponent / a back-handed compliment/ in that fiery riposte. Ditransitive S V A V A (iii) Who / does /n’t /snore / in their sleep? Intransitive S V Od Co (iv) Hubble /found /the village’s rustic charms /intriguing. Complex Transitive S V Cs A A (v) Gege / became / impatient / at the long wait / for a taxi. Copular/Link S V Od A (vi) Hubble / found /an uneaten carrot / under the sofa. Transitive Question 4 July 2014 Analyse the sentences (a)–(j) below and demonstrate your knowledge of functional constituents and verb sub-categorisations. In your analysis, you must do the following: i)

Select the verb sub-categorisation for each verb (in the sentence) from the list below and write it in the space provided. Intransitive, Transitive, Ditransitive, Complex Transitive or Copular/Link

ii)

Select the functional constituent for each underlined word/s (in the sentence) from the list below and write it in the space provided. Subject, Verb, Direct Object, Indirect Object, Subject Complement or Object Complement

(a) Who is that girl with the crying face? Verb Sub-categorisation: Copular/Link Functional Constituent: Subject Complement

Kelvin Wong July 2016

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SVOC Analysis and Verb Subcategorisation (b)

Why is she crying? Verb Sub-categorisation: Intransitive Functional Constituent: Adverbial

(c) When did she leave? Verb Sub-categorisation: Intransitive Functional Constituent: Adverbial (d)

Where is she going? Verb Sub-categorisation: Intransitive Functional Constituent: Adverbial

(e)

What did Tom give her? Verb Sub-categorisation: Ditransitive Functional Constituent: Direct Object

(f) Who did she marry in the end? Verb Sub-categorisation: Transitive Functional Constituent: Direct Object (g) How are they? Verb Sub-categorisation: Copular/Link Functional Constituent: Subject Complement (h) How many children do they have? Verb Sub-categorisation: Transitive Functional Constituent: Direct Object (i) How long have they been married? Verb Sub-categorisation: Adverbial Functional Constituent: Intransitive (j) What is their secret for a successful marriage? Verb Sub-categorisation: Copular/Link Functional Constituent: Subject Complement Important note: Refer to the Seminar 4 Slides on SVOC analysis for a better understanding on the syntactic structure of interrogatives in English and how they should be analysed in SVOC analysis. Review Slides ‘Interrogatives in SVOC analysis’ carefully.

Kelvin Wong July 2016

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SVOC Analysis and Verb Subcategorisation Question 4 – January 2015 Analyse the sentences (a)–(d) below and demonstrate your knowledge of functional constituents and verb sub-categorisations. In your analysis, you must do the following: i)

Identify the syntactic function of each constituent in the sentences (a) to (d). Subject - S, Verb- V, Direct Object- Od , Indirect Object - Oi, Subject Complement - Cs, Object Complement - Co, Adverbial – A

ii)

Identify the verb sub categorisation of the left in each of the sentences (a) to (d). Intransitive, Transitive, Ditransitive, Complex Transitive, Copular/Link

iii)

Justify your choice for the verb sub categorisation of the verb left in (ii).

S V A a) He / left /suddenly. Intransitive An intransitive verb does not carry any objects or complements. The verb ‘left’ carries the adverbial ‘suddenly’, there are no objects or complements. S V Od b) He / left / Nancy. Transitive A transitive verb carries a direct object. The verb ‘left’ carries the direct object, ‘Nancy’. S V Oi Od c) He / left / Nancy/ a pile of debts. Ditransitive A ditransitive verb carries an indirect object and a direct object. The verb ‘left’ carries the indirect object ‘Nancy’ and the direct object ‘a pile of debts’. S V Od Co d) He / left /Nancy / destitute. Complex Transitive A complex transitive verb carries a direct object and an object complement. The verb ‘left’ carries the direct object ‘Nancy’ and the object complement ‘destitute'.

Kelvin Wong July 2016

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