A Workbook to Communicative Grammar of English (14 page)
Read A Workbook to Communicative Grammar of English Online
Authors: Dr. Edward Woods,Rudy Coppieters
There are at least four different types of adjectives which have a construction with
to
-infinitive:
(i) | She’s wrong |
(ii) | Such people are hard |
(iii) | I was delighted |
(iv) | Many dealers were quick |
Some adjectives do not belong to any of these four types:
(v) | I might be able |
Task one **
Paraphrase the following sentences by turning the adjective patterns with a
to
-infinitive into alternative structures.
1.
The doctor was
slow
to realize the seriousness of his patient’s condition.
2.
Susan was
wise
to ditch her boyfriend.
3.
Manual typewriters are almost
impossible
to come by these days.
4.
The Queen was
astonished
to see so many well-wishers.
5.
Such vicious attacks are
likely
to recur in the next few months.
6.
Sixteen-year-olds can be very
pleasant
to teach.
7.
The 6 o’clock plane for Tokyo is
certain
to arrive on time.
8.
You were
foolish
to accept a bribe from that man.
9.
Some species of fish are increasingly
hard
to catch.
10.
The couple next door were
relieved
to get news from their son.
11.
Bob was
clever
to write a letter of apology to the headmaster.
12.
I was
happy
to be invited to the Prime Minister’s birthday party.
Task two **
Arrange the above adjectives in groups according to type, adding to each group one synonym OR antonym of your own which patterns in the same way.
Adverbs, adverbials and prepositions
Most adverbs are formed from adjectives by adding the suffix -
ly:
complete ⇒ completely.
Adverbs can function as
•
adverbials in sentences:
Everything was
carefully
planned/planned
carefully
.
•
pre-modifiers of
– adjectives and other adverbs:
John was
extremely
angry/He reacted
extremely
angrily.
This is
too
weak an argument to convince anybody./
How
painful a reminder it was!
– prepositions, determiners, numerals and pronouns:
The pub is
just
round the corner/It is
just
two hundred yards away.
– nouns or noun phrases:
It was
rather
a disappointment./
What
a painful reminder it was!
•
post-modifiers of
– adjectives and other adverbs:
That’s not good
enough
./Oddly
enough
, he didn’t turn up.
– certain quantifiers, pronouns and interrogatives:
I met somebody
else
./Who
else
was there?
– nouns or noun phrases:
Our journey
home
was uneventful./We had left the day
before
.
•
complements of prepositions:
Keep all that stuff for
later
./The snake was in
there
.
Task one *
Identify the adverbs (12 in all) in the following text.
Saying Tajikistan’s borders are “soft” would be too kind. Foreign diplomats and local journalists say the place is effectively run by a coalition of feudal warlords largely financed, directly or otherwise, by the drug trade. The country derives fully a third of its GDP from the heroin industry, according to U.N. estimates. Even so, Tajikistan’s senior narcotics officer must be doing something right. Why else would a gang of gunmen have attacked his apartment in Dushanbe back in March?
(from
Newsweek
, 17 September 2001, p. 22)
Task two **
Classify the above adverbs on the basis of their function, i.e. in terms of the elements they modify.
Example:
I knew
pretty
well
what I was doing
.
⇒
(pretty)
well
:
adverbial in sentence
⇒
pretty
:
premodifier (of adverb)
Task three **
Fill the gaps in the following text, using one of the adverbs below:
ago | almost | beautifully | certainly | far |
however | just | mainly | more | nearly |
never | normally | only | still | well |
Note:
never
and
still
are to be used twice
As ___________ as roles are concerned, most people assume that a family’s financial situation is not _______________ the responsibility of the man. On the other hand, they would _______________ ______________ compliment the woman, not the man, on a ______________ decorated or _______________-kept house. Everyday care of the children is _________________ seen as ________________ the woman’s responsibility. Although ______________ as many women have jobs as men, _____________ half of the jobs done by women are part-time. In fact, the majority of mothers with children under the age of twelve either have no job or work _________________ during school hours. Men _________________ take a ______________ active domestic role than they did forty years _______________. Some things, __________________, ________________ seem to change. A comparison of child-rearing habits of the 1950s and the 1980s showed that the proportion of men who ______________ changed a baby’s nappy had remained the same (40 per cent)!
(from James O’Driscoll,
Britain
, p. 51)
Task four **
Replace the underlined parts by alternative collocations (with adverbs) which are equivalent in meaning.
Example:
We had
very little
time to make up our minds
.
⇒
We had
hardly any
time to make up our minds
.
1.
I want to spend my holidays
at some other place
this year.
2.
The organization was
sufficiently powerful
to strike back again.
3.
What an impertinent
young man Tony is!
4.
There were
very few
people around at that moment.
5.
I was
familiar enough
with local customs to appreciate their importance.
6.
How ludicrous an
idea it was!
7.
Surprisingly, there was
hardly any
food left in the refrigerator.
8.
Under the circumstances there was
no other person
I could turn to.
9.
Wilma was
too inexperienced a
pilot to fly a jumbo jet.
10.
Ronald is
an honest stockbroker and would never cheat
you out of your money.
7.2. Adverbials – Introduction
Adverbials give extra information about an action, happening or state as described by the rest of the sentence.
Adverbials have a number of different forms:
•
adverbs, adverb phrases, noun phrases, prepositional phrases
•
finite clauses, non-finite clauses (infinitives, -
ing
and -
ed
participles), verbless clauses.
Most adverbials are mobile, so that they can occur in different places in the sentence:
•
front-position (FP): before the subject
•
mid-position (MP): before the main verb occurring on its own, after an unstressed operator, before a stressed operator
•
end-position (EP): after the verb (and its object and/or complement, if present).
Long adverbials normally occur in end-position, while short ones usually occur in mid-position. Front-position gives contrast or provides the background or setting for what follows.
Task one **
Underline the adverbials in the following text.
In the last 50 years mining and forest industries have taken a larger place in Newfoundland economics. Although the fishing industries are still the largest employers, the province no longer depends upon them exclusively for its livelihood. In recent years gas and oil reserves to rival those in the North Sea have been discovered off the coast of the island and off Labrador. The federal government has given the go-ahead to a $5.2 billion project known as the Hibernia Oil Fields just off the east coast of St John’s. If plans are realized, oil could flow by the millennium.
(from
Insight Guide: Canada
, p. 232)
Task two **
(a)
Arrange the above adverbials in groups on the basis of form categories, while adding FP, MP or EP in brackets to designate their position in the sentence.
(b)
How does length affect these positions?
Task three **
Insert the adverbials (presented in alphabetical order) in the most appropriate position. Only the underlined sentences should be considered.
1.
General elections take place.
(
always; on a Thursday
)
They are not public holidays.
People have to work, polling stations are open.
(
from seven in the morning; in the normal way; so; till ten at night; to give everybody the opportunity to vote
)
(from James O’Driscoll,
Britain
, p. 101)
2.
Andrew Nugée would pack an SLR film camera and about 30 rolls of film.
(
not long ago; when he went on vacation
)
He takes a digital camcorder.
(
for capturing both moving and still images; now; simply
)
Nugée is just one of many who have been bitten by the digitalimaging bug:
“It’s changed my approach to photography. I take my camcorder,” he says.
(
completely; everywhere
)
(from
Newsweek
, 3 September 2001, p.16)
Time-when is often expressed by adverbials having end-position.
The commonest type of adverbial is the prepositional phrase, used especially to refer to points and periods of time:
•
at
6.30 p.m.;
at
noon (= clock-time)
•
on
Sunday;
(on
) the next day (= day periods)
•
in
/
during
the morning;
in
/
during
April (= shorter or longer than day periods)
•
between
1990 and 2000 (= periods with clearly defined limits)
•
by
night;
by
day (= idioms).
Noun phrases and adverbs are used in adverbials such as:
•
last Saturday; this year; yesterday; tomorrow.
Task one *
Add time-when adverbials to the sentences below, giving them end-position and using the most appropriate connecting preposition where necessary.
1.
Western society changed profoundly. (the 1960s)
2.
British-born actor Sir Alec Guinness died. (2000; 5 August)
3.
Two people were killed in an accident on the nearby motorway. (last Friday)
4.
A system of voluntary schools developed. (the 19th century)
5.
Have you ever visited Paris? (night)
6.
I heard the clock strike twelve. (midnight)
7.
People tend to spend less money. (a recession)
8.
We are leaving for the Seychelles. (next week)
9.
The inter-city bound for Bristol was derailed. (10.54 a.m.)
10.
Most schools are open again. (early autumn)
11.
The operation is due to take place. (Tuesday morning)
12.
World War One ended. (1918; 11 a.m.; 11 November)
Task two **
Complete the following sentences by adding time-when adverbials at the end. Use a variety of adverbials.
1.
I was born ……….
2.
I went to school for the first time ……….
3.
The last time I was abroad was ……….
4.
The happiest time in my life was ……….
5.
I usually get up ………. and go to bed ……….
6.
I’m in the right mood for working ……….
