Теоретична граматика

Practical assignment


Exercise 1. Comment on the following terms: language, system, structure, semiotic, sign, phoneme, morpheme, word, word-combination, sentence, text, hierarchy, segmental unit, supra-segmental unit, macrosystem.


Exercise 2. Decide what features of linguistic units are revealed when we speak about these units as follows:
Elements, signs, units, components, constituents, members.


Exercise 3. Identify the lexeme “question” as a part of speech, using the method of distributional analysis. State its functions. Give distributional and structural patterns of the following sentences:
1. Put questions to the boldfolded words. 2. The officer questions the prisoner. 3. A well-guarded secret of Mr. Nixon’s schedule was his visit to the Commons during questions time. 4. You ask too many questions. 5. The question worried me terribly for I didn’t feel entitled to consult who knew him. 6. I don’t question the Pope’s being right. 7. Among the questions to discuss were these of Monday’s strikes.


Exercise 4. Analyse the following language units using the method of immediate constituents (IC analysis).


Model: dread ful ly
IC₁ IC₂
IC_ful IC_ly

a) Words for analysis: unfavourable, extraordinary, inconsiderable;

b) Sentences for analysis: 1. The sun had disappeared behind the tree line (O’Connor). 2. The whole place is ready to be turned into a market garden (Christie). 3. The tragedy of life is that sometimes we get what we want (Maugham).


Exercise 5. Identify the “ing”-forms as gerunds or as participles; state the functions using the method of transformational analysis.
V_ing + N
Note: Gerund is identified due to the transformation V_ing+ N ---- N+ prep.+ Ving.