English Grammar: An Introduction

There are sometimes problems with the bracketing conventions when elements of the clause are interrupted by other elements. Thus in (6) the negative particle comes within the VP, between auxiliary and main verb. In such cases we simply include it within the VP brackets, and link the separated elements by a line.

A similar problem often occurs with adverbials:

A similar solution is adopted, but A retains the phrase brackets which it would normally have as a SPOCA element.

The problem gets even worse with some types of questions:

Here both S and A split the VP, so the VP brackets are delayed until the main verb, and the connexion with the auxiliary is simply indicated by the line.