Seminar 4

Constituent Structure of the Sentence. Syntactic Processes

Required Reading

1. Блох М. Я. Теоретическая грамматика английского языка. (Ch. XXIV, p. 261 – 272)

2. Иванова И.П., Бурлакова В.В., Почепцов Г.Г. Теоретическая грамматика современного английского языка. (3.2.1. – 3.2.2.8, с. 183 – 230)

3. Ilyish B. The Structure of Modern English. (Ch. XXVI – XXIX, p. 198 – 237)

Points to discuss

1. The traditional scheme of sentence parsing.

2. The main sentence parts: the subject and the predicate, their types.

3. The secondary sentence parts: attribute, object, adverbial modifier.

4. The structural scheme of the sentence. The elementary sentence.

5. Syntactic processes.

Questions for discussion

1. What criteria is the description of sentence parts based on? What principle underlies the division of sentence parts into main and secondary?

2. Comment on the status of the subject and the predicate.

3. What types of predicates can be singled out?

4. List the existent classifications of the object.

5. Comment on the order of prepositive attributes.

6. What is the structural scheme of the sentence? What is the elementary sentence?

7. Characterize the following syntactic processes: expansion, compression, specification, complication, contamination, adjunction, inclusion, isolation, substitution, representation and ellipsis. Give examples.

Practice Assignment

I. State the type of the predicate in the following sentences:

1. Mr. Dursley stopped dead. (J. K. Rowling)

2. It just gave him a stern look. (J. K. Rowling)

3. In 1915 Horace Tarbox was thirteen years old. (F. S. Fitzgerald)

4. The two young people were having tea together. (E. Waugh)

5. Winston’s entrails seemed to grow cold. (G. Orwell)

6. For the first time in her life she had been danced tired. (F. S. Fitzgerald)

7. Priscilla’s gay and gadding existence had come to an abrupt end. (A. Huxley)

8. They were of no importance. (J. Cheever)

9. But he really must find that word. (A. Huxley)

10.O’Donnell was inclined to be more critical. (A. Hailey)

II. State the means of expressing the subject in the following sentences:

1. None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window. (J. K. Rowling)

2. Everything about her was manly. (A. Huxley)

3. To face the worst and have it over was better. (J. Galsworthy)

4. Was this normal cat behavior? (J. K. Rowling)

5. There was a crisis. (A. Huxley)

6. All subsequent crimes against the Party, all treacheries, acts of sabotage, heresies, deviations, sprang directly out of his teaching. G. Orwell)

7. To tell it is to live through it all again. (O. Wilde)

8. Hers was not a face to command instant attention or recognition. (A. Christie)

9. Sleeping was her latest discovery. (K. Mansfield)

10.It’s no good your flying in a temper. (W. S. Maugham)

III. State the type of objects in the following sentences.

1. The war of 1914 gave him his final chance. (W. S. Maugham)

2. The brilliance was not diminished by their injuries. (J. Cheever)

3. Bernice raised the brows in question. (F. S. Fitzgerald)

4. The barn-door and the jaw were separated by a line strait as a nail. (F. S. Fitzgerald)

5. He gave the cross a stiff nod. (J. Cheever)

6. He would ravish her and cut her throat at the moment of climax. (G. Orwell)

7. James took another chair by the table, and leaned his head on his hand. (J. Galsworthy)

8. Old Jolyon raised his head and nodded. (J. Galsworthy)

9. O’Donnell was introducing Pearson to Hilton. (A. Hailey)

10.They stared at each other across the breakfast-table for a moment. (F. S. Fitzgerald)

IV. State what syntactic processes are observed in the following sentences. Reconstruct the corresponding elementary sentences.

1. The hat had obviously been worn as a practical joke! He himself was a connoisseur of such.
(J. Galsworthy)

2. They found him tiresome and ridiculous. (W. S. Maugham)

3. Timothy, indeed, was seldom seen. (J. Galsworthy)

4. That makes the pathologist’s work difficult. Usually. (A. Hailey)

5. I badly wanted a cigarette, but did not like to light one. (W. S. Maugham)

6. It is a product of greed, avarice, hate, revenge, or perhaps fear. (E. S. Gardner)

7. Larry seated himself at the writing-table and began to count. (W. S. Maugham)

8. Isabel, a little scared, took hold of my hand. (W. S. Maugham)

9. You must retrieve the stone for me. Immediately. Tonight. (D. Brown)

10.The autopsy-room doors swung open. (A. Hailey)

Seminar 3

The Composite Sentence

Reading

1. Блох М. Я. Теоретическая грамматика английского языка. (Ch. XXVI – XXX, p. 283 – 351)

2. Иванова И.П., Бурлакова В.В., Почепцов Г.Г. Теоретическая грамматика современного английского языка. (3.2.3. “Сложное предложение”, c. 230 – 238)

3. Ilyish B. The Structure of Modern English. (Ch. XXXII – L, p. 254 – 331)

Points to discuss

1. The composite sentence vs. the simple sentence.

2. The compound sentence.

3. Coordination. Types of coordinating connectors.

4. The complex sentence.

5. Subordination. Types of subordinating connectors.

6. Asyndetic sentences.

7. Semi-composite sentences.

8. Mixed types of composite sentences.

Questions for discussion

1. What problems underlie the notion of the composite sentence?

2. What similar syntactic properties characterize the simple sentence and the composite sentence?

3. What principles can serve as the basis of a general classification of composite sentences?

4. What is a compound sentences?

5. How are clauses in a compound sentence connected?

6. What is a complex sentence?

7. What connectors can be used to join clauses of a complex sentence together?

8. What types of subordinate clauses are differentiated?

9. What is an asyndetic sentence?

10.Can asyndetic sentences be classified into compound and complex?

11.What semantic relations are possible between clauses of an Asyndetic sentence?

12.What sentences are referred to as semi-composite sentences?

13.What makes semi-composite sentences transitional structures?

14.What is a compound-complex sentence?

Practice Assignment

I. State the type of connectors in the following compound sentences:

1. The cognac tasted salty, but Rémy didn't care. (D. Brown)

2. “You’ve got to come, or else I’ll pull your hair”. (J. Galsworthy)

3. The rain was getting heavier now, and he tucked the cryptex deep in his right-hand pocket to protect it from the dampness. (D. Brown)

4. And, as a matter of fact, it wasn’t technically called a monastery, but only a seminary; nevertheless it shall be a monastery here despite its Victorian architecture or its Edward VII additions, or even its Woodrow Wilsonian, patented, last-a-century roofing. (F. S. Fitzgerald)

5. The stuff was like nitric acid, and moreover, in swallowing it one had the sensation of being hit on the back of the head with a rubber club. (G. Orwell)

6. “You keep your hands off my wife, or I’ll bust your pretty little nose”. (J. Cheever)

7. He knew himself to be old, yet he felt young; and this troubled him. (J. Galsworthy)

8. And this is reasonable, for upon the accuracy of his estimates the whole policy of his life is ordered. (J. Galsworthy)

9. We were locked together this way for maybe a couple of seconds; then the sound of the mill jumped a hitch, and something commenced to draw her back away from me. (K. Kesey)

10.It was Saturday, so they were early home from school: quick, shy, dark little rascals of seven and six, soon talkative, for Ashurst had a way with children. (J. Galsworthy)

II. Comment on the relations between clauses in the following asyndetic sentences:

1. He did not leave town; Irene refused to go away. (J. Galsworthy)

2. Teacher had heard the poem, he had known the answer. (D. Brown)

3. The Teacher recalled a small announcement sign he had seen on his way into the abbey. (J. Brown)

4. We had half imagined George was dead. (M. Spark)

5. She shivered slightly: they were like dead men. (F. S. Fitzgerald)

6. He still hoped she might once more become a comfort to himself. (J. Galsworthy)

7. You needn’t worry, I shall be careful all right. (A. Christie)

8. She had asked Phil to dinner many times; his invariable answer had been ‘Too busy.’ (J. Galsworthy)

9. I would not have spoken had I not been inspired to it. (M. Spark)

10.It was the piece of evidence they had all unconsciously been waiting for. (J. Galsworthy)

III. State the type of subordinate clauses in the following complex sentences:

1. On sunny afternoons, Londoners picnic beneath the willows and feed the pond's resident pelicans, whose ancestors were a gift to Charles II from the Russian ambassador. (D. Brown)

2. Since he had neglected to do it on first coming to the estate, their quitting his house might be looked on as the most suitable period for its accomplishment. (J. Austin)

3. As the Teacher approached the front passenger door of the parked limousine, Rémy leaned across and opened the door. (D. Brown)

4. Even if she hated him, he at all events ought not to put himself in the wrong by neglecting this ancient rite. (J. Galsworthy)

5. What she thought of her brother’s guests I can only imagine. (W. S. Maugham)

6. The grey light clung about the trees of the square, as though Night, like a great downy moth, had brushed them with her wings. (J. Galsworthy)

7. Though he had not seen the architect since the last afternoon at Robin Hill, he was never free from the sense of his presence—never free from the memory of his worn face with its high cheek bones and enthusiastic eyes. (J. Galsworthy)

8. But he put his knee over my ankles, so that I couldn’t move. (M. Spark)

9. He was looking at his wife’s face when he came to this conclusion. (J. Galsworthy)

10.The boy didn’t dare look at his father lest he should scold and punish him. (A. Cronin)

IV. State what makes the following sentences semi-composite:

1. Langdon nodded, feeling the first faint wisps of possibility materializing. (D. Brown)

2. Langdon read the words twice, his heart pounding wildly. (D. Brown)

3. I’ll never do anything as good as that. (W. S. Maugham)

4. Sophie was already stepping over the swag and moving forward. (D. Brown)

5. Nothing afforded him greater amusement than a drunken man. (J. Galsworthy)

6. They found my body and made me a boat of sticks and dragged me across the desert. (M. Ondaatje)

7. Young Jolyon sat down not far off, and began nervously to reconsider his position. (J. Galsworthy)

8. He was as pleasant, attentive, and soberly gay as usual. (W. S. Maugham)

9. Not constitutionally interested in amphibious sports, his visit had been one of business rather than pleasure, a client of some importance having asked him down. (J. Galsworthy)

10.The soft fullness of the coat made her face as small as a child’s. (J. Galsworthy)

Seminar 2

The Sentence: General. The Simple Sentence

Reading

1. Блох М. Я. Теоретическая грамматика английского языка. (Ch. XXI, p. 229 – 236; Ch. XXIII, p. 243 – 261)

2. Блох М. Я. Теоретические основы грамматики. (Ч. 3, гл. 1, с. 97 – 113; гл. 3 – 4, с. 123 – 142)

3. Иванова И.П., Бурлакова В.В., Почепцов Г.Г. Теоретическая грамматика современного английского языка. (3.1 “Признаки предложения (общая характеристика)”, c. 164 – 183)

4. Ilyish B. The Structure of Modern English. (Ch. XXIV, p. 182 – 191; Ch. XXXI, p. 250 – 254)

Points to discuss

1. The notion of sentence. The sentence as a language unit. Predication and modality.

2. Communicative types of sentences.

3. Structural types of sentences.

Questions for discussion

1. What problems underlie the definition of the sentence? What is the difference between the phrase and the sentence, the sentence and a combination of sentences?

2. What properties does the sentence possess?

3. What criteria are taken into account when sentences are differentiated as simple/composite, one-member/two-member, etc.?

4. What is the difference between elliptical and one-member sentences?

5. What communicative types of sentences are traditionally differentiated?

6. What classification of sentences was proposed by prof. Pocheptsov? What principle is it based on?

Practice Assignment

I. Define whether the structures in italics are one-member or elliptical sentences. State the type of one-member sentences.

1. Virgins of the school of Rafael, Virgins of the school of Guido Reni, landscapes of the school of Zuccarelli, ruins of the school of Pannini. (W.S. Maugham)

2. "Glad to hear it." (Th. Dreiser)

3. I don't write. Not such a fool. (J. Galsworthy)

4. To be alive! To have youth and the world before one. (Th. Dreiser)

5. Living room in the house of Philip Phillimore. (L. Mitchell)

6. Looks to me for all the world like an alf-tame leopard. (J. Galsworthy)

7. A scandal! A possible scandal! (J. Galsworthy)

8. She could think of him now with indifference. She loved him no longer. Oh, the relief and the sense of humiliation! (W. S. Maugham)

9. To receive so flattering an invitation! To have her company so warmly solicited! (J. Austen)

10.Soames stole a glance. No movement in his wife's face. (J. Galsworthy)

11.“Had an autopsy. Took longer than I figured.” (A. Hailey)

12.She was going to bed at last. Ah! Joy and pleasant dreams! (J. Galsworthy)

13.In this search, who knows what he thought and what he sought? Bread for hunger—light in darkness? (J. Galsworthy)

14.A divorce! Thus close, the word was paralyzing, so utterly at variance with all the principles that had hitherto guided his life. (J. Galsworthy)

15.‘Want to see the hanging! Want to see the hanging!’ chanted the little girl, still capering round. (G. Orwell)

II. State structural and communicative types of the following sentences:

1. Well, there they were! (J. Galsworthy)

2. ‘What do you mean by that?’ (W. S. Maugham)

3. “Careful! You'll break it—“ (W. Golding)

4. What could he have been thinking of? (J. K. Rowling)

5. She had gone out a quarter of an hour before. Out at such a time of night, into this terrible fog! (J. Galsworthy)

6. Who had done this barbarous deed? (A. Conan Doyle)

7. It hadn’t changed at all. (R. Dahl)

8. “Piggy! Piggy!” (W. Golding)

9. He was not used to being talked to like that. (R. Chandler)

10.Forgotten! (J. Galsworthy)

11.This is certainly a beautiful country! (E. Bronte)

12.Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters... (J. K. Rowling)

13.Even a no-charge job was a change. (R. Chandler)

14.“You walking out on me?” (R. Chandler)

15.Be careful. I warned you about the dangers. (M. Ondaatje)

Seminar 1

The Phrase: Principles of Classification

Reading

1. Блох М. Я. Теоретическая грамматика английского языка. (Ch. XX, p. 222 – 229)

2. Иванова И.П., Бурлакова В.В., Почепцов Г.Г. Теоретическая грамматика современного английского языка. (Гл. 2 “Словосочетание”, с. 100 – 163)

3. Ilyish B. The Structure of Modern English. (Ch. XXIII, p. 171 – 181)

Points to discuss

1. The phrase in the hierarchy of language units.

2. The structural and the semantic properties of the phrase.

3. Classifications of phrases.

4. Types of syntactic connections: coordination, subordination, accumulation.

5. Agreement and government as two main types of syntactic relations.

6. Adjoinment and enclosure as special means of expressing syntactic relations.

Questions for discussion

1. What is the phrase? What are the differential features of the phrase?

2. What parts of speech can function as head words?

3. What principle is the traditional classification of phrases based on?

4. Comment on different approaches to classifying phrases.

5. Comment on types of syntactic connections.

6. What does agreement as a syntactic relation consist in?

7. What differentiates government from agreement?

8. What makes adjoinment and enclosure special means of expressing syntactic relations?

Practice Assignment

I. Define the properties of the following phrases:

For us to come; (made) him feel tired; denied the accusations; seriously damaged; pride and prejudice; a wedding dress; naïve country (girls); to kiss tenderly; over the net; beauty, grace, elegance; he runs; proud of the success; early riser; perfectly sure; a feeling of disgust; rich in copper ore; love of God; (caught) the boy snooping around; my old (shoes); the book falling out of her hands; junk food; to stably reproduce; we trust; new blue (jacket); on the table.

II. State the type of syntactic relations (agreement, government, adjoinment, enclosure):

A negative answer, these books, he comes, to fully understand, to know them, on me, they agreed, lovely face, your lovely smile, with him, to speak quietly, that shop, gave to him.

Theoretical Questions on Theory of English Grammar

1.      The Main Branches of Grammar: Morphology and Syntax. Word-building

2.      Analytical and synthetic forms. Grammatical Category.

3.      The Noun. The forms of the Nouns

4.      The Noun. The Category of Case

5.      The Noun. The Category of Number

6.      The Adjective. The Grammatical Category of Degrees of Comparison

7.      Substantivization of Adjectives. Partial Substantivization

8.      The Pronouns

9.      The Numerals

10.  The Verb. Different Classifications

11.  The Verb. The Category of Voice

12.  The Verb. The Category of Mood

13.  The Verb. The Category of Tense

14.  The theory of the phrase. Types of Phrases. Syntactic Relations.

15.  The Sentence as a central syntactic unit. The types of sentences.

16.  The two-member sentence. Elliptical sentences.

17.  Composite Sentences. Compound Sentences. Complex Sentences.

18.  The subject. The Predicate.

19.  Secondary parts of the sentence. The object. The adverbial modifier. The attribute.

20.  Specific parts of the sentence

Seminar 6

The Verb: the Categories of Voice and Mood.

Oppositional Reduction of Verbal Categories

Reading

1. Блох М. Я. Теоретическая грамматика английского языка. (Ch. XVI – XVII, p. 150 – 179)

2. Хлебникова И. Б. Основы английской морфологии. (Ch. VI – VII, p. 85 – 114)

3. Ilyish B. The Structure of Modern English. (Ch. XI – XII, p. 99 – 122)

4. Quirk R., Greenbaum S. et al. A University Grammar of English. (3.37.– 3.47., p.50– 57)

Points to discuss

1. The category of voice.

2. Language means of expressing modality.

3. The category of mood.

4. Oppositional reduction of verbal categories. Neutralization and transposition of verbal forms.

Questions for discussion

1. What makes the expression of voice distinctions in English specific?

2. How many voices are there in English?

3. Comment on the connection between the problem of voice and transitivity/intransitivity of verbs.

4. What complicates the analysis of English mood forms?

5. What does the category of mood express?

6. What is the status of the imperative mood in English?

Practice Assignment

I. State the kind of passive constructions used in the following sentences (direct primary passive, indirect secondary passive, prepositional tertiary passive):

1. I had been invalided home from the Front; and, after spending some months in a rather depressing Convalescent Home, was given a month's sick leave. (A. Christie)

2. Winston hardly knew Tillotson, and had no idea what work he was employed on. (G. Orwell)

3. He felt that sooner or later this principle would have been promulgated by someone in the room. (J. Steinbeck)

4. The threshing machines were oiled and cleaned. (J. Steinbeck)

5. On occasion he had even been entrusted with the rectification of ‘The Times’ leading articles, which were written entirely in Newspeak. (G. Orwell)

II. Analyze the forms of the oblique mood in the following sentences:

1. “Do you suggest we keep quiet about such things?” (A. Hailey)

2. If he had known what it had cost me to acquire my art, he would also have known that it would break any collector to buy it. (M. Twain)

3. “I wish there were some other way to tell you this,” Pearson said, “but I’m afraid there isn’t.” (A. Hailey)

4. And somewhere or other, quite anonymous, there were the directing brains who co-ordinated the whole effort and laid down the lines of policy which made it necessary that this fragment of the past should be preserved, that one falsified, and the other rubbed out of existence. (G. Orwell)

5. If only Richard had left him alone, without interference, simply left him alone. (A. Cronin)

III. State the functional meaning (realization, neutralization, transposition) of verbs in the following sentences:

1. O’Donnell was maneuvering for time while he marshaled his thoughts. (A. Hailey)

2. O’Donnell was introducing Pearson to Hilton. (A. Hailey)

3. “Somebody was being poisoned last time we were here, I remember,” said Tuppence. (A. Christie)

4. Just a little minute ago I am asking questions of a gentleman who wants to tell me all his ideas on every subject. (A. Christie)

5. I’ll give you a hand when it comes to putting them in. (E. S. Gardner)

6. Virginia returned to her car, drove to Bakersfield and called Perry Mason, just as the lawyer was reaching his office. (E. S. Gardner)

7. “He’s always straying off and getting lost, and turning up again; he’s so adventurous.” (K. Grahame)

8. “Are you feeling happy just now?” (P. Abrahams)

9. Brown was having to tread warily and to be diplomatic. (A. Hailey)

10. “Yes, it was old Mrs. Caraway. She’s always swallowing things.” (A. Christie)

Seminar 5

The Verb: General.

The Categories of Person, Number, Tense, Aspect and Temporal Correlation

Reading

1. Блох М. Я. Теоретическая грамматика английского языка. (Ch. X, p. 83 – 99; Ch. XII – XV, p. 119 – 150)

2. Хлебникова И. Б. Основы английской морфологии. (Ch. V, p. 62 – 84)

3. Ilyish B. The Structure of Modern English. (Ch. VIII – X, p. 76 – 98; Ch. XIII, p. 123 – 129)

4. Quirk R., Greenbaum S. et al. A University Grammar of English. (3.1.– 3.36., p. 32 – 50)

Points to discuss

1. A general outline of the verb as a part of speech.

2. Classification of verbs.

3. The category of person.

4. The category of number.

5. The category of tense. Modern conceptions of English tenses.

6. The category of aspect.

7. The category of temporal correlation: traditional and modern approaches.

8. The category of voice.

Questions for discussion

1. Characterize the verb as a part of speech.

2. Speak about the existing classifications of verbs.

3. What is specific to the categories of person and number in English?

4. What does the immanent character of the category of tense imply?

5. What does the problem of the future tense consist in?

6. What are the weak points of the traditional “linear” interpretation of tenses?

7. What categorial meanings do continuous and non-continuous forms express?

8. What is the difference between grammatical aspect and semantic aspectuality?

9. Is there a direct correlation between aspects in English and Russian?

10.What category do the perfect forms express? Describe the existing approaches to the problem of perfect forms.

Practice Assignment

I. Analyze the morphological structure of the following verbs:

To man, to give in, to belittle, to lip-read, to ill-treat, to darken, to put down, to towel, to bleed, to undermine, to transport.

II. Dwell upon the categorial features of verbs in the following sentences:

1. Months before, with an architect at their elbows, the three had worked over the detailed plans for each section which would have its home in the new wing. (A. Hailey)

2. “Doctors!” said James, coming down sharp on his words: “I’ve had all the doctors in London for one or another of us. There’s no satisfaction to be got out of them; they’ll tell you anything. There’s Swithin, now. What good have they done him? There he is; he’s bigger than ever; he’s enormous; they can’t get his weight down. Look at him!” (J. Galsworthy)

3. “Vivacious! Good grief! I’ve never heard her say anything to a boy except that it’s hot or the floor’s crowded or that she’s going to school in New York next year. Sometimes she asks them what kind of car they have and tells them the kind she has. Thrilling!” (F. S. Fitzgerald)

4. “So you’re going to Wales to-morrow to visit your young man’s aunts? You’ll have a lot of rain there. This isn’t real old Worcester.” He tapped the bowl. “Now, that set I gave your mother when she married was the genuine thing.” (J. Galsworthy)

5. “Did you ever see such a collection of rumty-too people?” (J. Galsworthy)

6. “All I know is that other girls not half so sweet and attractive get partners. Martha Carey, for instance, is stout and loud, and her mother is distinctly common. Roberta Dillon is so thin this year that she looks as though Arizona were the place for her. She’s dancing herself to death.” (F. S. Fitzgerald)

7. It so happened that the night before I had been present at a rather cheery little supper, and I was feeling pretty rocky. (P. Wodehouse)

8. ‘I’ve been using the same blade for six weeks,’ he added untruthfully. (G. Orwell)

9. He recollected with satisfaction that he had bought that house over James’s head.
(J. Galsworthy)

10.‘The Eleventh Edition is the definitive edition,’ he said. ‘We’re getting the language into its final shape—the shape it’s going to have when nobody speaks anything else. When we’ve finished with it, people like you will have to learn it all over again. You think, I dare say, that our chief job is inventing new words. But not a bit of it! We’re destroying words—scores of them, hundreds of them, every day. We’re cutting the language down to the bone. The Eleventh Edition won’t contain a single word that will become obsolete before the year 2050.’ (G. Orwell)

Seminar 4

The Adjective

Reading

1. Блох М. Я. Теоретическая грамматика английского языка. (Ch. VIII, p. 197 – 214)

2. Ilyish B. The Structure of Modern English. (Ch. V, p. 58 – 65; Ch. VII, p. 74 – 75)

3. Quirk R., Greenbaum S. et al. A University Grammar of English. (5.1. – 5.20., p. 108- 118; 5.42. – 5.47., p. 129 – 133)

Points to discuss

1. The adjective as a part of speech.

2. Classifications of adjectives.

3. The category of comparison.

Questions for the discussion

1. What categorial meaning does the adjective express?

2. List the semantic, morphological and syntactic features of the adjective.

3. What subclasses are adjectives traditionally divided into?

4. What principle of distinction was proposed by Prof. Blokh? What subclasses of adjectives are singled out according to this principle?

5. What does the category of adjectival comparison express? What is the linguistic status of less/ least combinations and such constructions as ‘a most beautiful girl’?

Practice Assignment

I. Give the forms of degrees of comparison and state whether they are formed in a synthetic, analytical or suppletive way:

Well-off, amazing, sunny, noticeable, little, bad-tempered, ill-bred, handsome, good-looking, common, pleasant, magnificent, far-fetched.

II. State the classification features of the adjectives in the following sentences:

1. Julia, smiling good-naturedly, looked at her with ingenuous eyes. (W. S. Maugham)

2. He was tall and homely, wore horn-rimmed glasses, and spoke in a deep voice. (J. Cheever)

3. She was very fond of him, but he was so elegant, so well-bred, so cultured, she could not think of him as a lover. (W. S. Maugham)

4. He advanced with unmistakable authority on squat, powerful legs. (D. Brown)

5. Surely there is not another language that is so slipshod and systemless, and so slippery and elusive to the grasp. (M. Twain)