Syntax 3: Types of clauses
1. Identify the type and function of each nonfinite clause.
Example: I plan to make some Mint Juleps.
Answer: to make some Mint Juleps
Type: to-infinitive
Function: dO
(a)
Type: for-infinitive; Function: Mod of task
There was still one last task for him to achieve.
Type: -ing participle;
(b) Anderson and his son had often talked about hiking to Shoshone Lake.
Function: OP
(c) We've had to hire people to answer the phones. Type: to-Infinitive; Function: Mod of people
(d) My parents asked me where to eat lunch. Type: wh-infinitive; Function: dO
Type: -ing participle;
(e) The patient had earlier denied having been bitten or scratched by a cat.
Function: dO
(f) A bank employee loudly turned down her application to open an account. Type: to-infinitive;
(g) Worried about his future, he went to college. Function: comp of n
Type: -en participle; Function: aA
(h) Judging from the online photos, the place looked adorable.Type: -ing participle; Function: dA
(i) He asked her what made her think she could paint. Type: bare infinitive; Function: oC
(j) Yet he remained committed to Irish republicanism. Type: -en participle; Function: sC
(k) We think that's not the best idea, to raffle off guns. Type: to-infinitive; Function: comp to n
(l) Half the money spent on a political campaign is wasted.
Type: -en participle; Function: Mod of money
(m) Having been founded by the Saracens in the ninth century, Nettuno still attracts
tourists. Type: -ing participle; Function: Mod of Nettuno
(n) Consumed by a sudden curiosity, Buridan follows. Type: -en participle; Function: aA (or Mo
(o) It's hard to know where to draw the line. Buridan)
Type: to-infinitive; Function: eSu
Type: wh-infinitive; Function: dO
2. Identify the function of the italicized nonfinite clause in each sentence.
(a) He is anxious to be getting away. complement of A
(b) I was surprised at Sid's criticizing my work. object of P
(c) For them to lose their son was a great tragedy. subject
(d) Do we have the money to buy that car? modifier of N
(e) We were pleased to be seeing our old friends. complement of A
(f) It is very tedious writing papers. extraposed subject
(g) He has been warned about taking on that job. object of P
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(h) I will write the manager to get my money back. adjunct adverbial
(i) Where is the best place to buy fish? modifier of N
(j) We regretted his decision to leave university. complement of N
(k) We were not able to get away until now. complement of A
(l) Anyone not registered in this course must leave. modifier of N
(m) To tell you the truth, I don't know. disjunct adverbial
(n) He is the person wanting to see you. modifier of N
(o) Wanting to see him, I visited his office. adjunct adverbial
3. Bracket the that-clause in each of the following and identify its function (Su, sC,
dO, comp of A, comp of NP, or eSu).
(a) The employee complaint that triggered the investigation was retracted. comp of N
(b) That he is gone seems unnatural. Su
(c) My guess is that he has a plan. sC
(d) It was apparent that the waiters know the kitchen and the wine list. eSu
(e) She is confident that the Sioux will one day own the Black Hills again. comp of A
(f) We know it's created a tremendous amount of fear. dO
(g) We were just happy he didn't get in. comp of A
(h) The news that others are finding similar data is extremely exciting. comp of N
(i) The blast of heat told her that the lightning had struck nearby. dO
(j) It was outrageous that they e-mailed those things here. eSu
4. Identify the nominal and adverbial clauses in the following sentences.
(a) That Nestor made that mistake is rather worrying.
(b) It is rather unlikely that he will propose to her soon.
(c) I hope they will visit me when I am in hospital. Text
(d) Claude thinks that Stan and Louise would make a nice couple. Text
Text
(e) My brother said that the man became a millionaire before he reached the age of thirty.
(f) The manager locked the safe because he was concerned that someone might enter
the office. Text
(g) Although the economy is improving, it is not clear that we will see growth this year. Text
(h) His opinion is that you should take another course after you have completed this one.
2 Text
(i) Unfortunately, we can't have our picnic if it rains tomorrow. Text
(j) He said he knew before he had completed the deal that he would be cheated. Text
(k) It is obvious to everyone that he has been telling the prosecutors lies. Text
(l) Can the absurd rumor that he will resign be true? Text
(m) Did he tell the premier that he shouldn't be nervous about the disclosures? Text
(n) Could the professor have said that the essay by Swift was ironic? Text
(o) He was upset by the announcement that the plane would be delayed. Text
(p) I will explain it to him that honest politicians are a rarity. Text
(q) Sherrill spread the news around the department that Sarah likes tofu. Text
(r) The owner said that you should use extreme caution when approaching the dog.
Text
5. Identify the non finite in each sentence and state the functions.
(a) Williams continued driving to the corner. dO
(b) Mr. Shapiro clearly wants to be running this defense team. dO
(c) Julie admits having stolen her father's money. dO
(d) Having been elected as a champion of the "forgotten middle class", Clinton will
immediately bump up against unpleasant realities. Mod of Clinton
(e) I don't recall having asked for you, Peter! dO
(f) One of them even reported his having been seen off the coast of the British Zone on a
red yacht. dO
(g) I much preferred to be thought of as a stylish dowager. dO
(h) He'd never before heard her say anything remotely like okey-dokey. dO
(i) All the birds seem to have disappeared from the city. Subject Complement
(j) New York City's budget crisis appeared to have been settled. Subject Complement
(k) The young star wanted to strike out on his own. dO
(l) Removed from the ocean, Sarbin's slick skin would quickly dry out and crack. aA
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6. In the following prose passage from the conclusion of George Orwell's "Why I
Write" (1946: 316), identify the form and function of all finite and nonfinite
clauses:
Mod of I dO oC aA
Looking back through the last page or two, I see that I have made it appear as though my
motives in writing were wholly public-spirited. I don't want to leave that as the final
dO
impression. All writers are vain, selfish and lazy, and at the very bottom of their motives
Su
there lies a mystery. Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of
aA
some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by
Mod of demon Mod of all
some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand. For all one knows that demon is
Mod of instinct
simply the same instinct that makes a baby squall for attention. And yet it is also true that eSu
aA
one can write nothing readable unless one constantly struggles to efface one's own aA
personality. Good prose is like a window pane. I cannot say with certainty which of my dO
dO dO
motives are the strongest, but I know which of them deserve to be followed. And looking Mod of I
dOthat it is invariably where I lacked a political purpose that I
back through my work, I see dO
aA
sC wrote lifeless books and was betrayed into purple passages, sentences without meaning,
decorative adjectives and humbug generally.
-ing participle
that-clause
bare infinitive
adverbial clause
to-infinitive
-ing participle
adverbial clause
relative clause
relative clause
relative clause
that-clause
adverbial clause
to-infinitive
free relative
free relative
to-infinitive
-ing participle
that-clause
adverbial clause
that-clause
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