sentence analysis 7

[hela]

Dear teachers,

Would you please help me analyzing the following sentences and tell me which adverbials are optional and which ones are obligatory?


1. They parted good friends.
“good friends” = Subject complement or Adverbial (optional or obligatory) ?

2. They married young.
“Young” = Subj. compl. or Adverbial (opt. or oblig.) ?


3. The sun shone bright.
= bright = Adverbial of manner ? (opt. or oblig.?)


4. Hungrily, the dog smelled at the package.
- Verb = “smell” or “smell at”?
- Direct object = “at the package”; OR
- “the package = object of the preposition “at”?
- Hungrily = optional or obligatory adverbial of manner?


5. She has quite rapidly become an expert.
"an expert" = Subj. complement
"quite rapidly" = Adv. of time (opt. or oblig.) ?

6. The phone rang loudly in the night. =
optional or obligatory adverbials?


7. She is remaining at Cambridge.
"is remaining" = intransitive verb ?
"at Cambridge" = optional or oblig. adverbial of place?

8. My watch has disappeared from my desk.
"has disappeared" = intransitive verb ?
"from my desk" = opt. or oblig. adverbial of place ?


9. The soldiers fought well. = S V A(manner) ?
optional or obligatory?


10. She agreed to be my friend for life.
"agreed to be" = transitive verb?
"Agreed to be" = transitive verb + complemental infinitive ?
"my friend" = direct object?
"for life" = adverbial of time (opt. or oblig.)?

Thanks a million for your patience.
Kind regards,
Hela

[Tdol]

1. They parted good friends.
“good friends” = Subject complement or Adverbial (optional or obligatory) ?
Optional- you don't need to tell me how they parted.

2. They married young.
“Young” = Subj. compl. or Adverbial (opt. or oblig.) ?
Optional- I'd say this was a complement as it descibes them more than the marriage, but you could argue that it describes the way the got married.

3. The sun shone bright.
= bright = Adverbial of manner ? (opt. or oblig.?)
Optional

4. Hungrily, the dog smelled at the package.
- Verb = “smell” or “smell at”?
- Direct object = “at the package”; OR
- “the package = object of the preposition “at”?
- Hungrily = optional or obligatory adverbial of manner?
Hmm, 'hungrily' is optional, but if you remove 'at the package', you imply something else- namely, that the dog smelled bad to other people, in which case you'd have to remove 'hungrily' as well, but you woukld have a very different meaning- from hungry dog to stinky dog.

5. She has quite rapidly become an expert.
"an expert" = Subj. complement
"quite rapidly" = Adv. of time (opt. or oblig.) ?
Optional

6. The phone rang loudly in the night. =
optional or obligatory adverbials?

optional
7. She is remaining at Cambridge.
"is remaining" = intransitive verb ?
"at Cambridge" = optional or oblig. adverbial of place?
Yes, obligatory

8. My watch has disappeared from my desk.
"has disappeared" = intransitive verb ?
"from my desk" = opt. or oblig. adverbial of place ?

Yes, optional
9. The soldiers fought well. = S V A(manner) ?
optional or obligatory?
Optional

However, I can't really see what you're doing here- you can take a lot out, but you end up with something different- you can say 'the phone rang', but that's quite a way from where you started.

[Casiopea]

In addition, here are a few tricks:

1. They parted good friends.
They are good friends. (predicate nominal)

2. They married young.
They were young when they married. (predicate adjective)

3. The sun shone bright.
'bright' is an adjectve; 'brightly' an adverb.
The sun is bright. (predicate adjective)

4. Hungrily, the dog smelled at the package.
intrans. The dog smelled.
trans. The dog smelled the package.
adverbial. The dog smelled at the package . . . How?

Originally Posted by tdol

if you remove 'at the package', you imply something else

I needed that, tdol. Thanks.

5. She has quite rapidly become an expert.
She has become an expect quite rapidly.
Quite rapidly, she has become an expert.

6. The phone rang loudly in the night. =
The phone rang (in the night).
The phone rang (louldy).
The phone rang loudly in the night. (People usual sleep at night, so 'loudly' pairs with 'in the night'.

7. She is remaining at Cambridge.
remain (vb. trans.) + prepositional phrase; adverbial in function; e.g., she remained behind after class; Please remain here , in this location, until further notice. remain (stative vb.) + adjective; e.g., she remained calm. Synon. staying; e.g., she is staying at school for the summer.

8. My watch has disappeared from my desk.
My watch disappeared. (into thin air; it vanished)
My watch disappeared from my desk. (someone must have taken in!)

9. The soldiers fought well.
The soldiers fought. (the enemy)
The soldiers fought well. (in the battle)

Originally Posted by tdol

However, I can't really see what you're doing here- you can take a lot out, but you end up with something different- you can say 'the phone rang', but that's quite a way from where you started.

tdol makes a valid point. The examples you've provided us with deal with semantics, not syntax per se. It would be beneficial - for you and for us - if you could let us know what your focus is.

10. She agreed to be my friend for life.
She agreed. (to something)
She agreed to be my friend. (predicate nominal)
She agreed to be my friend for life. (for the duration of my life, a lifetime friend)

Hela, How's Alan these days?

[hela]

Thank you very much to both of you. I'll study that very carefully as usual.

All the best,
Hela