Some advanced sentence structures in English

Trước khi học thuộc những cấu trúc câu, người học cần bổ sung một số kiến thức ngữ pháp về cấu trúc câu trong tiếng Anh. Đây là kiến thức căn bản giúp thí sinh học bất cứ cấu trúc câu nào một cách dễ dàng, nhớ lâu và có thể áp dụng vào giao tiếp thực tế.

Một câu trong tiếng Anh có thể ngắn gọn, dễ hiểu nhưng cũng có thể phức tạp, dài dòng. Trong tiếng Anh, có 4 cấu trúc câu phổ biến nhất:

Câu đơn: câu chỉ có một mệnh đề độc lập.

Ví dụ: John finished the book. (John đang đọc sách)

Câu ghép: câu có hai hoặc nhiều hơn câu đơn ghép lại, sử dụng thêm từ nối.

Ví dụ: She went to sleep and he stayed up to finish the work. (Cô ấy đi ngủ và anh ấy thức để làm việc)

Câu phức: câu có một mệnh đề độc lập và một mệnh đề phụ thuộc.

Ví dụ:  John finished the book even though he was getting late for work. (John đọc hết cuốn sách mặc dù anh ấy muộn giờ làm).

Câu phức tổng hợp: câu có ít nhất 2 mệnh đề độc lập và thêm 1 hoặc nhiều hơn mệnh đề phụ thuộc.

Ví dụ: Even though I set my alarm last night, I didn’t hear it ring this morning and I woke up late. (Mặc dù tôi đã đặt chuông báo thức, tôi không nghe thấy gì sáng nay và tôi dậy muộn.)

Khi sử dụng trong giao tiếp tiếng Anh, thí sinh nên bắt đầu với những câu đơn giản, mở rộng hơn với câu ghép. Khi đã tới trình độ nâng cao, người học cần biết cách áp dụng những câu phức và câu phức tổng hợp để câu nói được hay hơn.

Inversion

Cấu trúc:

• Hardly (.....when) 

Ví dụ: Hardly had the new law been introduced when the mistake was realized. (Lỗi lầm vừa được phát hiện ra thì luật mới được ban hành).

• Scarcely (....when) 

Ví dụ: Scarcely had I opened the front door when I heard a noise from the kitchen. (Tôi vừa mở cửa trước khi nghe thấy tiếng động từ trong bếp).

• Barely (...when) 

Ví dụ: Barely had we solved one problem when another one arose. (Chúng ta vừa giải quyết được một vấn đề thì một vấn đề khác nảy sinh).

• No sooner (......than)

Ví dụ: No sooner had the alarm gone off than the police arrived. (Cảnh sát vừa đến thì cũng là lúc chuông báo động vang lên).

• At no time/ point/ stage 

Ví dụ: At no point did I realize that he was the Prime Minister. (Không lúc nào tôi nhận ra rằng ông ấy là Thủ tướng).

• On no account 

Ví dụ: On no account should you try to tackle a burglar yourself. (Bạn không nên cố gắng tự mình xử lý một tên trộm).

Inversion with adverbial expressions indicating location (+ verb indicating movement / position)

Here/ There 

Cấu trúc:

Ví dụ:

Here comes the Minister now (Bộ trưởng chuẩn bị tới đây rồi).

There stood the next king of England. (Vị vua tiếp theo của Anh đứng ở kia).

Adverbial Phrases

Cấu trúc:

At the top of society are the aristocracy. (Đứng đầu xã hội là tầng lớp quý tộc).

Beside the Town Hall stood the public library. (Bên cạnh Tòa thị chính là thư viện công cộng).

In this prison are housed some of the most dangerous criminals. (Trong nhà tù này là nơi giam giữ một số tội phạm nguy hiểm nhất).

On the corner of the street sat a homeless man. (Một người đàn ông vô gia cư ở góc phố).

Inversion with Such and So… that: (So… that)

Cấu trúc:

Ví dụ:

It all happened so quickly that I didn’t have time to see the man’s face. (Mọi chuyện diễn ra nhanh đến nỗi mà khiến tôi không kịp nhìn mặt người đàn ông).

This problem has gone on for so long that I don’t think  they’ll ever find a solution. (Vấn đề này đã xảy ra lâu đến nỗi tôi không nghĩ rằng họ sẽ tìm ra giải pháp).

It was such a terrible crime that the judge sentenced him to life in prison. (Đó là một tội ác khủng khiếp đến nỗi mà quan tòa đã kết án anh ta trong tù chung thân).

There is such a lot of crime around here that I’m thinking of moving. (Có nhiều tội phạm xung quanh đây đến nỗi mà tôi đang nghĩ đến việc chuyển đi).

Cleft Sentences

Cleft Sentences with “It + be”

Cấu trúc chung:

Emphasizing the subject

Cấu trúc câu chẻ nhấn mạnh chủ ngữ là loại được dùng phổ biến nhất ở dạng ngữ pháp này.

Cấu trúc:

Ví dụ: Luna is the most intelligent student in my school. (Luna là học sinh thông minh nhất ở trường tôi)

=> It is Luna who/that is the most intelligent student in my school.

Emphasizing the object

Cấu trúc:

Ví dụ:

The boss gave his employee a confidential document. (Ông chủ đưa cho nhân viên của ông ấy một tập tài liệu mật.)

=> It was the employee that/whom the boss gave a confidential document.

Emphasizing the adverbial (time, place, manner, reason, ...)

Cấu trúc:

Ví dụ: Tom started his new job last Monday. (Trạng ngữ chỉ thời gian)

=> It was last Monday that Tom started his new job (Thứ hai vừa qua chính là ngày Tom bắt đầu công việc mới của anh ấy.)

Emphasizing in passive sentences

Cũng giống như câu bị động trong tiếng Anh, cấu trúc câu chẻ nhấn mạnh trong câu bị động vẫn tuân thủ quy tắc chia động từ ở dạng bị động, và đưa vật hoặc người cần nhấn mạnh lên đầu.

Cấu trúc:

Ví dụ: People usually discuss this topic.

=> It is this topic that is usually discussed. (Đó là chủ đề mà mọi người thường thảo luận tới.)

Emphasizing cleft sentences with “What”

Khác với loại cấu trúc “It+be”, đây là loại câu câu chẻ đặc biệt khi thông tin cần nhấn mạnh thường được đặt ở cuối. Mệnh đề “what” được đặt ở đầu câu và hay trong một số trường hợp khác là các đại từ quan hệ như “where”, “why” hay “how”. Bởi những đặc trưng riêng về vị trí từ loại, cách tạo thành cấu trúc câu chẻ trong tiếng Anh với “what” cũng có nhiều khác biệt hơn.

Cấu trúc:

Ví dụ:What July likes to eat for breakfast is always Pho. (Thứ mà July muốn ăn vào bữa sáng thì luôn luôn là phở).

Emphasizing cleft sentences with “all”

Cấu trúc:

Ví dụ: What July likes to eat for breakfast is always Pho. (Thứ mà July muốn ăn vào bữa sáng thì luôn luôn là phở).

Ví dụ: All that Keith wanted was to get his money back.

To get his money back was all that Keith wanted.

Practice Exercise

1. Hardly I had sat down when the doorbell rang. 

2. Scarcely had Julian finished writing when the teacher told the students to put their pens down. 

3. We had barely set off on our journey when the kids started asking when we would get there. 

4. No sooner the government changes the tax laws than business find a way around them. 

5. Scarcely they had finished painting the house when it started to rain. 

6. Hardly the new computer system had been installed when it started to go wrong.

7. It’s true that no sooner we had started eating than we realized we had forgotten the potatoes. 

8. Barely had the politician started to speak when began the crowd to boo.

9. Hardly the new park was finished when vandals destroyed the flowerbeds.

10. Scarcely Keith had arrived in Argentina when he was arrested. 

Bai 2: Write so, such, too or enough in each gap.

1. It was _________ good a meal that we left the waiter quite a large tip.

2. It’s becoming increasingly clear that there just aren’t _____________ people willing to buy our products online. 

3. I’m quite enjoying my math degree, but I just find statistics ____________ boring!

4. Angela seemed to be having _______________ a good time at the party that I decided not to tell her how late it was. 

5. We’ve all been working ________________ hard on the latest project the manager gave us a couple of extra days off. 

6. I worry about my grandparents because they have _______________ a lot of health problems. 

7. It’s _______________ early to tell whether the business is going to succeed or not. 

8. Set the alarm or we’ll never wake up early ____________ to catch the first train. 

9. I never knew that Andrew had _____________ few friends. 

10. Everyone was surprised when Dan failed because he’s _______________ a good student. 

11. A year after losing my job, I had ____________________ many debts that I was really beginning to panic. 

12. I was hoping to have a word with Alan before he left, but it seems to be __________ late now. 

Bài 3: Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between three and eight words, including the word given.

1. I had to clear the spare room before I could start decorating. cleared 

=> Only when ___________________________________ start decorating.

1. The phone rang again as soon as I put it down. had 

=> Hardly ______________________________________ it rang again.

1. The Watsons moved to London and very soon after they decided to get divorced. had

=> No sooner ____________________________________ they decided to get divorced.

1.  I had no idea the manager wanted to see me to fire me. realize

=> Little _________________________________________ the manager wanted to see me to fire me.

1. I was told about the website by Charlie. who

=> It ____________________________________________ me about the website.

Đáp án

Bài 1:

1. Hardly I had sat down when the doorbell rang. 

=> Hardly had I sat down when the doorbell rang.

1. Scarcely had Julian finished writing when the teacher told the students to put their pens down. 

=> correct.

1. We had barely set off on our journey when the kids started asking when we would get there. 

=> correct.

1. No sooner the government changes the tax laws than business find a way around them. 

=> No sooner does the government change the tax laws than business find a way around them.

1. Scarcely they had finished painting the house when it started to rain. 

=> Scarcely had they finished painting the house when it started to rain.

1. Hardly the new computer system had been installed when it started to go wrong.

=> Hardly had the new computer system been installed when it started to go wrong.

1. It’s true that no sooner we had started eating than we realized we had forgotten the potatoes. 

=> It’s true that no sooner had we started eating than we realized we had forgotten the potatoes.

1. Barely had the politician started to speak when began the crowd to boo.

=> Barely had the politician started to speak when the crowd began to boo.

1. Hardly the new park was finished when vandals destroyed the flowerbeds.

=> Hardly was the new park finished/ had the new park been finished  when vandals destroyed the flowerbeds.

1. Scarcely Keith had arrived in Argentina when he was arrested

=> Scarcely had Keith arrived  in Argentina when he was arrested

Bài 2:

1. It was SO good a meal that we left the waiter quite a large tip.

2. It’s becoming increasingly clear that there just aren’t ENOUGH people willing to buy our products online. 

3. I’m quite enjoying my math degree, but I just find statistics SO boring!

4. Angela seemed to be having SUCH a good time at the party that I decided not to tell her how late it was. 

5. We’ve all been working SO hard on the latest project the manager gave us a couple of extra days off. 

6. I worry about my grandparents because they have SUCH a lot of health problems. 

7. It’s TOO early to tell whether the business is going to succeed or not. 

8. Set the alarm or we’ll never wake up early ENOUGH to catch the first train. 

9. I never knew that Andrew had SO few friends. 

10. Everyone was surprised when Dan failed because he’s SUCH a good student. 

11. A year after losing my job, I had SO many debts that I was really beginning to panic. 

12. I was hoping to have a word with Alan before he left, but it seems to be TOO late now. 

Bài 3:

1. I had to clear the spare room before I could start decorating. cleared 

=> Only when I had cleared the spare room could I start decorating.

1. The phone rang again as soon as I put it down. had 

=> Hardly had I put the phone down when it rang again.

1. The Watsons moved to London and very soon after they decided to get divorced. had

=> No sooner had the Watsons moved to London than they decided to get divorced.

1.  I had no idea the manager wanted to see me to fire me. realize

=> Little did I know that the manager wanted to see me to dismiss me. 

1. Charlie was the one who told me about the website.

=> It was Charlie who informed me about the website.  

Summary