FORMS AND FUCTIONS OF THE ENGLISH CLAUSE TESTS AND MARKING SCHEMES
EBS 282: FORMS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE ENGLISH CLAUSE
TIME: 1hr
Instructions: Answer ALL the questions in Section A and B on the question paper.
Provide appropriate answers in the spaces provided where applicable.
NAME………………………………………………INDEX NUMBER…………………………...
SECTION A
Identify the clause type highlighted in the sentences below.
1.
Though Anita is rich, she is very humble and respect.
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2.
Eating in-between meals is not good for our health.
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3.
The man whose wife won a scholarship has been sacked from work.
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4.
Tracy received the love letter that Fiifi wrote a fortnight ago.
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5.
We must help the poor if possible.
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Identify the function of the highlighted clause in each of the sentences below.
6.
What we witnessed last night at the roadside was an eyesore.
7.
The lecturer whose period we used for the assignment is angry today.
8.
This is where the quarrel started.
9.
The truth was that women were stronger than men in the ancient times.
10. We believed what the children told us today.
SECTION B
With two examples each, illustrate the following clause types.
11. Verb clause
12. Non-restrictive relative clause
13. Bare infinitive
14. That nominal clause15. Adverbial clause of time
SECTION C
Essay Answer one question from this part
1. (a) With appropriate examples, distinguish between finite and non-finite clauses.
(b) With appropriate illustrations, discuss the forms and functions of non-finite clauses.
2. The verbless clause is considered a clause although it has no verbal element in its structure. With
appropriate illustrations, discuss the concept of verbless clauses in the grammar of English.
3. With appropriate examples and illustrations, examine the That-nominal clause in the grammar of English.
SAMPLE ESSAY TYPE QUESTION WITH ANSWER
QUESTION
WITH RELEVANT EXAMPLES, DISCUSS THE
ADVERBIAL CLAUSE AND ITS TYPES
It is imperative to note that the clause is one of the major units or ranks in the
grammatical analysis in every language such as the English language. It is obvious
therefore that one cannot moot any scholarly discussion of a particular type of
clause without giving the background of the clause as a unit. The grammar of
every language is made up of a set of units. The set of units under reference is what
is known in grammar as ranks. As the name aptly suggests, the ranks are in levels
depending on the position they occupy on the scale. The unit or rank that realizes
the largest grammatical meaning in the language is the clause. There are so many
types of clauses in the grammar of the English language which are classified
mainly by their structure and the functions they perform. As students of English
and teachers in the making for that matter, it is necessary for us to know the types
of clauses and the grammatical functions that each of them performs. It is against
this background that I resolve to discuss the adverbial clause as a component of the
clause grammatical rank scale. This paper is aimed at discussing the following
about the adverbial clause: What the adverbial clause is, the form it takes, the
functions it performs and finally what actually goes into a clause that is
classified under adverbial type.
What is an adverbial clause and how is it realized in the English language? In the
English Language, adverbial clauses are defined by their structure and function.
All adverbial clauses are finite clauses because the main verb in them is always a
finite verb. In terms of function, the adverbial clause in all its variety always
modifies the main verb in the main clause of a complex sentence. For instance, in
the underlined portion in the sentence, wherever you send me I will go, is a good
example of a complex sentence because it is made up of a main or independent
clause and a subordinate or dependent clause.
We note that the main clause: I will go; and the verb. “go” in the main clause is
modified by the underlined portion of the sentence. Note also that wherever you
send me which is an example of adverbial clause of place is introduced by the
conjunction “wherever” This implies that apart from the finite clause structure, the
next most important feature of the adverbial clause is the conjunction which
introduces the clause.
In the first example, “you send me” we noticed that it is a finite clause structure
because the main verb which is “send” has a subject “you” which is marking tense
to reflect the present tense of the verb and finally the verb “send” is maintaining
concord with the subject “you”. .In the final analysis, it is observed that the
introduction of the conjunction “wherever” at the beginning of the clause is
responsible for its classification as an adverbial clause of place.
The following are examples of types of adverbial clauses with their distinctive
classifications in the English language based on the type of conjunction that
introduces the finite clause structure in the complex sentence. Adverbial clause of
time which is one of the types is introduced by conjunctions such as, when,
whenever, after, before, as soon as, since, now that, ever since, long after, until
and others. For example, whenever you send me, I will go. We note that the
underlined portion of the clause above is an adverbial clause of time because it is
introduced by the conjunction “whenever”. It is also classified as an adverbial
clause because it has a finite verb “send” that modifies the verb “go” in the main
clause. Other examples of adverbial clauses indicating time include,
1. Until you change your behaviour, he will not be serious with you
2. I had talked to him before I left
3. Wait there while I eat.
4. I came as soon as I heard you called
Another type of adverbial clause is the one that tells reason. It is called
adverbial clause of reason. It provides the reason for an action and answers
the question “why” The adverbial clause of reason is introduced by
conjunctions such as , because, since, now that, seeing that, in view of ,
considering, owing to the fact that. Examples of adverbial clause of
reason are indicated below,
1. Now that we have him, our survival is certain.
2. I am not perturbed because I am not guilty.
3. Since she has refused to be pervious to common sense, we will pump
some level of sense of decency into her leaking head
@bpafeku4God&countryAll the underlined portions of the sentences above denote adverbial clause of
reason mainly because of the type of conjunctions that introduce them.
Another type is the adverbial clause of concession. This type provides
information that contrasts with the information in the main clause. The
adverbial clause is introduced by subordinators or conjunctions such as,
although and though. Some examples of adverbial clauses of concession
include the following
1. Although the student is a known academic germ, she appears modest.
2. Though the party leadership knows nothing, they project themselves
publicly as cornucopia of wisdom
3. Mr. Nuku is a good administrator though he is deficient in human
relations
All the underlined sections are examples of adverbial clause of concession.
One other type of adverbial clause is the one that gives information about
expected result of an action. It simply means, doing something in order to
achieve something. This type is called adverbial clause of purpose. The
conjunctions that introduce this type are, in order to, so as to, in order
that.
Example
1. We have to arrive at a concrete decision so as to fight our right.
2. I have decided to break all the barriers of retreat so that the sky becomes
my starting point.
The underlined portions are adverbial clauses of purpose and they modify
the verbal group in the main clause.
Another example of an adverbial clause is the one that indicates the actual
result that one gets after one has performed an action. They are
introduced by conjunctions such as “so” and “so that” Examples of
adverbial clause of result are seen below
1. I have to go early so that I can finish the work in time.
2. I have passed my college examination so I can pursue law in Legon
@bpafeku4God&countryThe adverbial clauses in the sentences above modify the verbal group, “have
to go” and “have passed” respectively. The verbs in them “can finish” and
“can pursue” are finite hence they are adverbial clauses.
Adverbial clause of place is another and it answers the question “where”
It is generally introduced by “where and wherever” as indicated in the
earlier page. Examples include,
1. The boy killed the snake where he saw it.
2. Wherever it is planted the seed will germinate
3. We parted company where the incident occurred
On a note of conclusion therefore, we can say that adverbial clauses are
defined by their structure and function. Structurally, all adverbial clauses
are finite clauses because their verbs are finite and they modify the verb or
verbal group in the main clause in a complex sentence structure. Again their
analysis in terms of their functions which classify them into types is
determined by the type of conjunction that introduces them. The adverbial
clause performs a variety of functions depending on the subordinator that
introduces it. The adverbial clause can tell time, show place, give reason,
show concession, indicate purpose, and many more. We can say therefore
that because of its unique role in the grammar of the English language,
knowledge of adverbial clauses is key to every scholar especially those that
are trained to teach the future generation.
NOTE TO STUDENTS
In view of the semester requirement of the essay component of the English
paper, I believe this material will serve as a worthy portrait which will guide
students to know the actual thing that the paper requires of them. I therefore
hope that everybody will read it and use it as a guide in answering questions
MARKING SCHEME
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