1 The syntax of a language is relatively more "open" than the morphology or phonology.
A O1
O1 True
R1
O2 False
R2 See p.000.
2 By definition a sentence is the largest linguistic unit with grammatical structure.
A O1
O1 True
R1
O2 False
R2 See p.000.
3 Does They followed his dripping blood until nightfall, didn't they? constitute a single sentence?
A O1
O1 Yes
R1
O2 No
R2 It does: it shows grammatical patterning, and can stand alone not as part of any larger grammatical unit.
4 The ambiguity test shows that I like the port has two different grammatical structures.
A O2
O1 True
R1 No. The ambiguity of this sentence lies in the ambiguity of the word port, not the structure of the sentence.
O2 False
R2
5 Which of the following is ungrammatical but interpretable in English?
A O3
O1 Colourless green ideas sleep furiously
R1 This is a grammatical sentence. See p.000.
O2 The horse raced past the barn fell
R2 This is actually grammatical: raced past the barn is to be interpreted as a relative clause modifying the horse.
O3 The farmer was sawn kill the duckling
R3
O4 Where did you go to?
R4 This is grammatical in English, even if it does not follow all the rules of prescriptive grammar.
6 Which of the following contsists of just a single clause?
A O2
O1 I smelt the farmer spreading manure on the field.
R1 There are two clauses in this sentence; see p.000.
O2 The farmer will spread manure on the field at daybreak.
R2
O3 The farmer spread manure on the field and kissed the duckling.
R3 There are two clauses in this sentence; see p.000.
O4 When I arrived at the piggery, the farmer was spreading manure on the field.
R4 There are two clauses in this sentence; see p.000.
O5 Who did you say spread manure on the field?
R5 There are two clauses in this sentence; see p.000.
7 Which of these claims is/are true: (i) sentences are always clauses; but (ii) clauses are not always sentences?
A O3
O1 Both claims are true
R1 Read p.000 again carefully.
O2 Both claims are false
R2 Read p.000 again carefully.
O3 The first claim is false, the second is true
R3
O4 The first is claim true, the second false
R4 Read p.000 again carefully.
8 In He tripped and fell into the river the words fell into the river do not make a clause because they can't stand alone as an independent utterance.
A O2
O1 True; the reasoning is good.
R1 No, the fact that fell in the river cannot stand alone as an independent utterance is not a criterion for clausehood; see p.000.
O2 False; the reasoning is bad.
R2
9 A noun phrase can never consist of more than a single noun or pronoun, although it may also contain words of other parts-of-speech.
A O2
O1 True
R1 No. There are many counterexamples, including e.g. cats and dogs, me and you, both of which consist of two nouns/pronouns.
O2 False
R2
10 A clause always consists of at least one NP and at least one VP.
A O2
O1 True
R1 Minor clauses usually have neither NPs nor VPs; see p.000.
O2 False
R2
11 One interpretation of The police shot the man with a rifle involves a PP embedded in an NP. In this interpretation, could you rephrase the clause as It was with a rifle that the police shot the man?
A O2
O1 Yes
R1 In the interpretation specified, it is the man who has the rifle, not the police who are using the rifle as an instrument.
O2 No
R2
12 Which of the following groups of words involves conjunction of NPs?
A O1
O1 the man and his dog
R1
O2 the man on the moon
R2 No, the two NPs are not conjoined in this example; see p.000.
O3 the man's dog
R3 No, the two NPs are not conjoined in this example; see p.000.
O4 the green and white dress
R4 No, in this example the adjectives green and white are conjoined; the NP cannot refer to the a green dress and a white dress.
13 Actor and Undergoer are purely meaningful categories, and have nothing to do with the grammar of English or any other language.
A O2
O1 True
R1 Read p.000 again.
O2 False
R2
14 In The cat fell off the wall the NP the cat is in the Undergoer role.
A O2
O1 True
R1 See p.000.
O2 False
R2
15 Which role(s) does the key serve in The key was broken by the farmer?
A O5
O1 Just Subject
R1 No, the key serves another role as well; see p.000.
O2 Just Undergoer
R2 No, the key serves another role as well; see p.000.
O3 Subject and Actor
R3 No, the key is not an Actor: see p.000.
O4 Object and Actor
R4 No, the key is neither an Object nor an Actor: see p.000 and p.000.
O5 Subject and Undergoer
R5
O6 Object and Undergoer
R6 No, the key is not an Object: see p.000.
16 Which role(s) does the key serve in The key broke?
A O3
O1 Just Subject
R1 No, the key serves another role as well; see p.000.
O2 Just Undergoer
R2 No, the key serves another role as well; see p.000.
O3 Subject and Actor
R3
O4 Object and Actor
R4 No, the key is not an Object: see p.000.
O5 Subject and Undergoer
R5 No, the key is not an Undergoer: see p.000.
O6 Object and Undergoer
R6 No, the key is neither an Object nor an Undergoer: see p.000 and p.000.
17 Adding a tag question to a clause identifies the Theme by the pronoun that occurs in the tag.
A O2
O1 True
R1 No, the pronoun identifies the Subject of the clause: see p.000.
O2 False
R2
18 Is Theme a grammatical relation?
A O1
O1 Yes
R1
O2 No
R2 See p.000.
19 Which of the following is a minor clause in English:
A O1
O1 Yes!
R1
O2 Come!
R2 No; this clause has experiential structure.
O3 He's sick.
R3 No, this clause has grammatical structure.
O4 Go away!
R4 No; this clause has experiential structure.
O5 A dog.
R5 No; if this is a clause, it is elliptical (and the full version has grammatical structure).
O6 No, never again.
R6 No; this is not a single clause.
20 Does English have both prepositional phrases and postpositional phrases?
A O1
O1 Yes
R1
O2 No
R2 Yes, it does: an example of a prepositional phrase is in the garden; an example of a postpositional phrase is the dog's.
21 In which of the following clauses can the PP with binoculars be interpreted as either belonging along with the NP the criminal in a larger word group, or not so belonging?
A O4
O1 The criminal with binoculars was seen by the police.
R1 Only one interpretation is admitted, namely that the criminal has binoculars.
O2 The police with binoculars saw the criminal.
R2 Only one interpretation is admitted, namely that the police have binoculars.
O3 With binoculars the police saw the criminal.
R3 Only one interpretation is admitted, namely that the police are using the binoculars instrumentally.
O4 The criminal saw the police with binoculars.
R4
22 It is useful to recognise grammatical relations in syntax, but not in morphology.
A O1
O1 True
R1
O2 False
R2 See p.000.
23 Can a sentence consist of just a single morpheme?
A O1
O1 Yes
R1
O2 No
R2 It can. An example would be No.