DISCONTINUOUS NP

1. Identify (i.e. underline) discontinuous noun phrases in the following sentences if there
are any.
a. The annual celebration of a pagan Spanish ritual honouring the coming of spring
is always an expression of unity and fun.
b. The bread industry and nutritionists alike have been trying to get the message
across that a healthy balanced diet should include sufficient bread.
c. She rapidly spotted the book right on my desk that I had been desperately
searching for all morning.
d. The decisions about congestion parking that have been pushed through by the
City Council without proper consultation are now beginning to cause even more
problems for motorists.
e. A bird is in that tree which I've never seen around here before.
f. A modest effort was begun in some countries toward compensating women for
the work they had always done for nothing: cooking, cleaning, taking care of
children, the sick and the old.
g. A tape recording was then published in which Mr Brown freely admitted he had
rung the president.
h. The real nation, he contended, already existed in Eastern Europe possessed of an
authentic Jewish culture passed down through the medium of the Yiddish
i.

language.
In spite of the splendid work in the last few decades of a highly dedicated group
of neuroscientists, we are still quite ignorant about the structures and

j.

functioning of the human brain.

A hunt's begun for two gunmen who burst into a pub in South London and

opened fire on drinkers.

k. The cause of ice ages is still a controversial subject, and debates continue about
l.

the precise climatic effects of individual cycles.

Valuable contributions towards botanical classification have been made in India,

which are discussed later.

m. A rumour spread through the camp that a relieving force from Dinapur had been
cut to pieces on the way to Krishnapur.

2. In order to achieve a well-balanced sentence in terms of style and information

structure, rewrite the sentences below following the principles of end-weight and endfocus as appropriate.
a. The time to talk of many things has come, the Walrus said.
b. We heard the story of how he was stranded for days without food from his own

c.
d.
e.
f.

lips.
Did you yourself paint the portrait?
An idea that the rest of us are against him is in his head.
However, new sets that were able to receive all the TV channels soon appeared.
The format has a slight drawback in that few VCRs that accept its tapes are

available.
g. Repeated attempts to fulfill the purposes of the United Nations without conflict
were therefore rightly made.
h. In this chapter a description of the food assistance programs that address the

i.
j.

needs of the family will be given.

What hope of finding any survivors could there be?
No evidence of any corruption was found.