The English language is messy, and many times analyzing for grammatical elements is not always as obvious as the simple examples that we use on the content pages. So to assist your ability to analyze all the different texts you may encounter as you read, we want to offer a few more sample analyses of more difficult texts.

For these more complicated examples, we review some or all of the key features discussed in Section 4. Please review these examples closely, trying to understand the analysis or the choices made. As always, if you have any questions, please ask your instructor or start a conversation in your work group.

Complicated Example #1

Except as otherwise provided in these rules, every order required by its terms to be served, every pleading subsequent to the original complaint unless the court otherwise orders because of numerous defendants, every paper relating to discovery required to be served upon a party unless the court otherwise orders, every written motion other than one which may be heard ex parte, and every written notice, appearance, demand, offer of judgment, designation of record on appeal, and similar paper shall be served upon each of the parties.

Because this sentence is so long, I just want to point out a few key points:

Except as otherwise provided in these rules, every order required by its terms to be served, every pleading subsequent to the original complaint unless the court otherwise orders because of numerous defendants, every paper relating to discovery required to be served upon a party unless the court otherwise orders, every written motion other than one which may be heard ex parte, and every written notice, appearance, demand, offer of judgment, designation of record on appeal, and similar paper shall be served upon each of the parties.

Except as otherwise provided in these rules, 

In this case, PROVIDED is a past participle functioning nominally as the object of the preposition AS.

every order required 

This is the first in a series of participles functioning adjectivally to modify the preceding noun. In this case, REQUIRED is a past participle functioning adjectivally to modify ORDER. It would be easy to confuse this construction with the past tense verb, but in this case, REQUIRED is not denoting action, but merely modifying the noun. As we will see later, the actual main verb of this LOOOOONG sentence is SHALL BE SERVED.

by its terms to be served, 

Here, SERVED is a past participle, functioning as part of a passive infinitive phrase. So its function is as a verb: BE + [-en] + SERVE. (We’ll discuss this in much more detail in Section 5.)

every pleading subsequent to 

PLEADING is a present participle inflection, functioning nominally. We know that it’s nominal because of the presence of the indefinite determiner EVERY. As we will discuss in Module 3, PLEADING is a gerund (form).

every paper relating to discovery

RELATING contains the present participle inflection [-ing], which makes it a present participle functioning adjectivally to modify EVERY PAPER.

to discovery required to be served

As described before, REQUIRED is a past participle functioning adjectivally to modify the noun DISCOVERY.

Also, as described before, SERVED is a past participle, functioning as part of a passive infinitive phrase. So its function is as a verb: BE + [-en] + SERVE. (We’ll discuss this in much more detail in Section 5.)

every written motion other than 

WRITTEN is a past participle functioning adjectivally to modify the noun MOTION. This is one that should always be clear since the participle follows a determiner and precedes a noun. No reason to ever make a mistake on a construction like this one.

one which may be heard ex parte, and 

In this example, HEARD is a past participle, but functioning as a verb - part of a passive main verb phrase for a relative clause - MAY + BE + [-en] + HEAR (again, we will discuss this much more in Module 3, and again in Module 4).

every written notice, 

Once again, WRITTEN is a past participle functioning adjectivally to modify the noun NOTICE. 

. . . and similar paper shall be served upon each of the parties.

SERVED is a past participle, functioning as a verb as part of a passive main verb phrase - SHALL + BE + [-en] + SERVE.

NOTE: as a bit of a preview to Section 5, this will be one of the hardest things for some of you to understand, that SERVED is not past tense, but, instead, is a past participle because tense actually inflects at the beginning of the Main Verb Phrase, not at the end, and the BE verb (in the passive construction) inflects the past participle ending. But we’ll discuss that (in great detail) in the future.

Complicated Example #2

He dashed his head against the knotted trunk; and, lifting up his eyes, howled, not like a man, but like a savage beast getting goaded to death with knives and spears.

1. He: pronoun
2. dashed: verb - past tense
3. his: possessive determiner (REMEMBER: a determiner and a pronoun are NOT the same.)
4. head: noun
5. against: preposition
6. the: definite article
7. knotted: verb/adjectival - past participle
8. trunk: noun 
9. and: coordinating conjunction
10. lifting: verb/adverbial - past participle
11. up: preposition
12. his: possessive determiner
13. eyes: noun
14. howled: verb
15. not: negative
16. like: preposition
17. a: indefinite article
18. man: noun
19. but: coordinating conjunction
20. like: preposition
21. a: indefinite article
22. savage: adjective
23. beast: noun
24. getting: verb/adjectival - present participle 
25. goaded: verb - past participle
26. to: preposition
27. death: noun
28. with: preposition
29. knives: noun
30. and: coordinating conjunction
31. spears: noun

Complicated Example #3

The truth knocks on the door and you say, ‘Go away, I'm looking for the truth,’ and so it goes away.

1. The: definite article
2. truth: noun
3. knocks: verb - present tense
4. on: preposition
5. the: definite article
6. door: noun
7. and: coordinating conjunction
8. you: pronoun 
9. say: verb
10. go: verb
11. away: adverb
12. I: pronoun
13. am: auxiliary
14. looking: main verb - present participle
15. for: preposition (some might argue that this is a verb particle.)
16. the: definite article
17. truth: noun
18. and so: coordinating conjunction
19. it: indefinite pronoun
20. goes: verb - present tense
21. away: adverb

Complicated Example #4

His surprises began here; when once they had begun they multiplied; they came rather with a rush: it was as if, in the oddest way in the world, they had all been kept back, sown in a thick cluster, for the late afternoon of life, the time at which for people in general the unexpected has died out.

Structure-Class Words Only:

1. His: possessive determiner
2. here: pronoun
3. when once: phrasal subordinator (an odd construction: might argue that WHEN is a subordinator and ONCE is an adverb.)
4. they: pronoun
5. had: auxiliary
6. they: pronoun
7. they: pronoun
8. with: preposition
9. a: indefinite article
10. it: indefinite pronoun
11. as if: phrasal subordinator
12. in: preposition
13. the: definite article
14. in: preposition
15. the: definite article
16. they: pronoun
17. had: auxiliary
18. been: auxiliary
19. back: verb particle
20. in: preposition
21. a: indefinite article
22. for: preposition
23. the: definite article
24. of: preposition
25. the: definite article
26. at which: phrasal subordinator
27. for: preposition
28. in: preposition
29. the: definite article
30. has: auxiliary
31. out: verb particle

After reading through these sample analyses, please go to the practice exercises page to further develop your analytical skills.