Compound Main Clauses (Ex # 3): from
1. So I have lost my love (DO), | and my heart is broken (P). | 2. The seven years are over, | and yesterday should have been our wedding [#1] day (PN). | 3. The old man led the way (DO) {with Robin}, [#2] | and the others followed two [NuA] {by two}. | 4. {From a window} {in his house} the Sheriff kept looking and looking [#3] {for Robin and his men}, | but no Lincoln green (DO) could he see. | 5. Robin loved to roam [#4] {in the forest}, | and he would often leave his men (DO) and wander off {by himself}. | Notes 2. Note the importance of the comma here. Without it, readers would process "and the others" as part of the phrase -- "with Robin and the others." Then they would be confused by "followed." 3. Grammar textbooks rarely, if ever, deal with constructions such as this. Some grammarians would argue that "looking" and "looking" are gerunds that function as the direct objects of "kept"; others would simply consider them as part of the finite verb phrase. Thus we should accept either explanation from students. 4. The infinitive "to roam" functions as the direct object of "loved." Until students get to infinitives, I would also accept it as part of the finite verb phrase. |