IBN TOFAIL UNIVERSTY

FACULTY OF LANGUAGES, LETTERS AND ARTS

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH STUDEIES

GRAMMAR III
Pr. ANASSE KHADIJA
Pr. GHOUATI AZIZ
Pr. EL MOSTAFA BIBOUSSI

ACCADEMIC YEAR:
2020-2021

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Course Description:
This course seeks to develop the students’ ability to analyze the different
elements which constitute the sentence in English. More specifically, it
is intended to help the students recognize the different phrasal
constituents in a sentence, describe them in terms of their grammatical
category and function, and ultimately to develop their sense of analysis
of the English sentence structure

Course content

1. Glossary of Grammar Terms ……………………………………………. p. 3

2. Parts of Speech ………………………………………………………...…p. 6
3. Sentence Structure ……………………………………………………...…p.7
4. Fragments ……………………………………………………………...… p.8
5. Types of phrases 1: noun and verb …………………….…………….…..p.10
6. Types of phrases 2: adjectives, adverbs and prepositions ….……...…….p.11
7. Participles ………………………………………………………………..p.13
8. Infinitives …………………………………………………………..……p.16
9. Gerunds ………………………………………………………………….p.36
10. Infinitives and gerunds …………………………………………..………p.41
11. Types of clauses …………………………………………………………p.44
 Noun Clauses ………………………………………………...………p.48
 Adjective Clauses ……………………………………………..……..p.49
 Adverbial Clauses ………………………………………….………..p.50

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 Fragments
A fragment is an incomplete sentence punctuated as though a complete sentence. There are
four sentence errors that can produce fragments.

FRAGMENT TYPE 1: NO SUBJECT

Usually, in order to express a thought completely, a sentence must contain a subject

and a verb. Sometimes, however, it may contain only a verb. This particular type of
sentence, called an imperative sentence, is used to express commands: for example,
"Stop!" The verb is stop; the subject is understood to be “you” because the speaker is
commanding someone else to stop.

A group of words written without a subject is a fragment.

Example: Was driving the car over the speed limit.

Obviously, you don't write this type of sentence frequently, but it does happen. The
mistake can be corrected by simply adding a subject.
Correction: The police officer was driving the car over the speed limit.

EXERCISE: Follow the above example, and correct the following fragments.
1. Felt embarrassed.

2. Knew the answer.

FRAGMENT TYPE 2: NO VERB

A group of words written without a verb is a fragment.
Example: The woman with the flower tattoo.

Again, this type of fragment isn't usually mistaken for a sentence, but it can happen.
When it does, the simplest way to correct the error is to add a verb.
Correction: The woman with the flower tattoo attracted some attention.

EXERCISE: Follow the example above, and correct the following fragments.
1. The man in the blue velvet suit.

2. The convention center downtown.

FRAGMENT TYPE 3: -ING VERB WITH NO HELPING VERB

A sentence containing an -ing verb without a helping verb (is, are, were, have been, will
be, etc.) is a fragment.
Example: The patient struggling bravely against a terrible disease.

This can easily be corrected by adding an appropriate helping verb.

Correction: The patient was struggling bravely against a terrible disease.

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EXERCISE: Follow the above example, and correct the following fragments.
1. The dancers circling the stage.

2. The jet flying overhead.

FRAGMENT TYPE 4: INCOMPLETE THOUGHT

A dependent clause (a group of words that contains a subject and a verb but does not
express a complete thought) that is punctuated as a sentence is a fragment.
Example: That the children were very curious.

When editing very quickly, you might see a subject and verb in this dependent clause and
incorrectly label it a sentence. But if you read the clause carefully, you can hear that it is
not a complete thought. The fragment leaves the reader hanging in mid-air, asking Who?
When? or Why?

NOTE: A dependent clause usually begins with a subordinate conjunction or a relative

pronoun. The following words are some of the most common subordinate conjunctions and
relative pronouns; you should be able to recognize most of them.

after since while

although so that who
as (as if) that whoever
because what whom
even though whatever which
how when unless
if where until

There are two ways to correct a dependent-clause fragment:

1. Because it is the subordinate conjunction that transforms the independent clause (simple
sentence) into a dependent clause, removing the subordinate conjunction will leave you with
a simple sentence.

Fragment: That the children were very curious.

Correction: The children were very curious.

2. Connect the dependent clause to an independent clause, and create a complex sentence.

Fragment: Although I have an email account.

Correction: Although I have an email account, I rarely email my friends.

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 NOUN CLAUSES

A noun clause is a dependent clause. A noun clause can be a subject, a direct or indirect object, or
an object of a preposition. Noun clauses can begin with "wh- question" words (what, which, when,
where, who, whom) and question words like (how, if, that).
Examples:
Noun Noun Clause
Subject 1. His whereabouts are unknown. 1. Where he lives is unknown.
Direct Object 2. I don't know that man. 2. I don't know who he is.
Indirect 3. The security officer gave the students 3. The security officer gave whoever
Object the key. wanted it the key.
Object of 4. He isn't interested in geometry. 4. He isn't interested in what the class is
Preposition studying.

A noun clause begins with a subordinator that connects the clause to the main clause. The following
is a list of subordinators used to introduce noun clauses:

how where what, whatever whose, whosever

that whether, if who, whoever which, whichever
when why whom, whomever

Examples:
Note: The subordinator is in italics. The noun clause including the verb and any helping verb is underlined.
The laboratory aide reported that all the students had completed the experiment.
The students asked when the psychology reports were due.
Mrs. Peterson asked whether the secretaries had ordered the office supplies yet.

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Clauses Handout created by Dr. M. Dickerson
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Practice Exercise: In each blank space, write a noun clause to complete the sentence. Be careful
that your noun clause is correctly constructed and that it makes sense.

1. After the movie, the sisters asked their father __________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________
2. The customer wondered ___________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
3. Sarah's instructor explained ________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
4. During the history lesson, Sarah wondered ____________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
5. I said __________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

ADJECTIVE CLAUSES (who/which/that clauses)

An adjective clause is a dependent clause. An adjective clause modifies a noun or a pronoun. An
adjective clause begins with who, whom, which, that, whose, when, where, why and follows
the word it modifies.
Examples:
David, who has been with the company five years, is our new director.
noun adjective clause

The time when our plane arrives is 4:00 p.m.

noun adjective clause

The house where Lincoln lived as a young man was in Springfield, Illinois.
noun adjective clause

The diamond ring which the thief stole was worth a million dollars.
adjective noun adjective clause

An adjective clause, like an adverb clause, begins with a subordinator. The subordinator connects
the adjective clause to the word in the main clause it modifies: it stands for this word.

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Clauses Handout created by Dr. M. Dickerson
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Practice Exercise: Underline the adjective clause in sentences and circle the nouns they modify.
1. The scientists discussed the issues that the conference had raised.
2. The company rejected the parts whose design was defective.
3. We found the bird whose wing had been damaged.
4. The children whom you asked about live next door.
5. Senator Jackson, who was up for re-election, was for the bill.
6. The desserts that they serve are really good.
7. The neighborhood where I live is changing a lot.

ADVERB CLAUSES (because/if/when clauses)

An adverb clause is a dependent clause. An adverb clause modifies a verb, an adjective, another
adverb, or a sentence.
Adverb clauses always begin with a subordinator. The subordinator is a connecting word which
explains the relationship between the adverb clause and main clause. It tells the reader what kind of
information is added by the adverb clause. The following subordinators are often used to begin
adverb clauses:
after before though whatever
although even it unless whenever
as even though until wherever
as if as far as as soon as whether
because Since as well as while

An adverb clause can answer any of the following questions: When? Where? How? To what
degree? and Under what condition(s)?
Examples of adverb clauses answering a question:
Cinderella lost her shoe after the clock struck twelve. (when did she lose her shoe?)
(after...twelve)
Mary hid the key where no one could find it. (where did she hide it?)
My sister drove so fast that she got a ticket. (how fast did she drive?)
The bush is as high as the fence. (to what degree?)
The fire will burn the forest unless it rains. (under what condition?).
Note: Because the subordinator is always the first word of an adverb clause, you can identify the
adverb clause very easily:

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Clauses Handout created by Dr. M. Dickerson
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...First: Find the subordinator.

...Second: Identify the words that provide the kind of information signaled by the subordinator.

...Third: Remember, the whole adverb clause may often be placed before or after the main clause.

...Fourth: After you identify the adverb clause or clauses, what remains in the complex sentence will be
the main clause.

Examples: Each subordinator is bold-faced, and the whole adverb clause is underlined.
1. Joanne had to develop many money-management skills when she served as treasurer of her
senior class.
2. As Mike worked on his research project for his English class, he learned to gather information
from sources on the Internet.

Practice Exercise: In each of the following complex sentences, underline the whole adverb clause
and circle the subordinator.

1. The children looked as if they had been playing in a dirt mound.

2. Mary went shopping while Barbara was working.

3. My oldest brother has always given me help whenever I needed it.

4. The other children did not play their instruments as well as Tony did.

5. After he had tried every other way to raise his grades, John decided to study.

6. Peggy missed her appointment because she was in a car accident.

7. Although many of the booths close as early as 7:00 p.m., Marilyn kept hers open until 8:00 p.m.

ESSENTIAL AND NONESSENTIAL CLAUSES

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An essential clause or phrase (also called a restrictive, or necessary, clause or phrase) appears
after a noun and is essential in the sentence to complete the meaning. An essential clause or phrase
cannot be moved to another sentence or omitted because the meaning of the sentence would change.
Note: Essential clauses and phrases are not set off by commas. Clauses starting with that are
almost always essential.

Examples: Compare the meaning of the following two sentences with and without the clause after
the noun people:
People who can speak more than one language are multilingual.
People are multilingual.
Using the that clause versus taking the that clause out:
Please repair all the windows that are broken.
Please repair all the windows. (the meaning of the sentence changes).
A nonessential clause or phrase (also called a nonrestrictive or unnecessary clause or phrase) adds
extra information but could be removed from a sentence without disturbing the meaning. The
information could be put in another sentence.
Examples: Compare the following two sentences to see if the primary meaning of the sentence
remains the same even after the clause is removed:
My cousin Michael, who lives in New York, is coming for a visit over Thanksgiving
vacation.
My cousin Michael is coming for a visit over Thanksgiving vacation. He lives in New York.
The who clause is nonessential because it adds information about where Jim lives but is not
necessary.
Note: A pair of commas is necessary when nonessential clauses and phrases appear in the middle of
a sentence. Only one comma is needed when non-essential clauses and phrases appear at the end of
a sentence.

Examples:
The computer, a revolutionary advance in communication technology, has made
typewriters obsolete. (clause appears in the middle of the sentence)
Consumers are now spending millions of dollars on computers, a revolutionary advance in
communication technology. (clause appears at the end of the sentence)

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Practice Exercise: Some of these sentences contain essential clauses; others contain nonessential
clauses. In the blank space before each sentence:
write E if the clause is essential
write N for nonessential.
Then, underline each clause, and insert commas where needed.

1. Joanne is wearing the dress that she received for Christmas.

2. People who are careless do not make good drivers.

3. The book that I have read for this course is a nonfiction focus on the Vietnam War.

4. Professor Thompson who is my biology teacher is a great motivator.

5. All the tickets that had been sold for the football game were recalled.

6. My uncle who works at the Post Office lives in Omaha, Nebraska.

7. The city which fascinates me most is New York City.

8. Tom Marshall who was offered scholarships to two colleges will enroll at The University of
Kansas.

9. On my return home I discovered my neighbor had moved away.

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