Traditional Grammar - Assignment 16 James Madison University

Instructions: [This assignment will be marked only as an acceptable or unacceptable effort.]

• PRACTICE WITH SOME SPECIAL TYPES OF INFINITIVES -- infinitives with subjects, so-called "simple" infinitives with or without subjects, and infinitives introduced by the subordinate conjunction "for" -- as discussed in Emery Lesson 12. From lesson 12, diagram exercises 2-5, 7, 12-13, 16, 19, and 20. Hint: There's practice with a delayed subject or object in some of these examples too...


• NOUN CLAUSES: We've briefly discussed the fact that, with the right verbs, English allows whole clauses to be subjects, objects, etc. (i.e., clauses can play a "noun-like" role inside other clauses.) Of course, these noun clauses are still diagrammed pretty much just like the clauses they are, but platforms are needed again. Re-read Emery's lesson 15 to see examples of how this looks in different positions. Notice too that often, as in most of the examples you are going to try below, a noun clause will have a subordinate conjunction in front of it, which is just your extra little grammatical hint that the clause following it plays a subordinate role inside some other clause. The only three relevant subordinate conjunctions for this purpose with noun clauese are "that," "whether," and "if." Try diagramming the following examples of sentences with noun clauses. Emery also shows you where to put these helpful little words in your diagram. Give the following examples your best shot:
  1. The jury decided that the defendant was guilty. (noun clause [NC] as direct object)
  2. That the defendant was guilty was obvious to everyone. (NC as subject)
  3. It seems unlikely that pigeons will someday rule the world. (NC as delayed subject with filler-it)
  4. Sally's wish is that Santa will give her a baby sister. (NC as subject complement)
  5. Sally will not let anyone figure out her secret wish, that Santa will give her a baby sister. (NC as appositive --Notice that this one has a simple infinitive with a subject too. :) )
  6. To make a long story short, we never learned whether the chicken did cross the road. (NC as direct object)
  7. His doctor believes he do not like to exercise. (NC as direct object -- infinitive phrase inside the NC too)
  8. I think you know this sentence has two noun clauses.( First, don't panic! :) There are two NCs; one is the direct object of the verb in the main clause and the other is the direct object of the verb in that first NC. The diagram will look pretty top-heavy at the end.)