The fourth sentence from the introduction to Syntactic Structures:

"The ultimate outcome of these investigations should be a theory of linguistic structure in which the descriptive devices utilized in particular grammars are presented and studied abstractly, with no specific reference to particular languages."

The ultimate outcome of these investigations: this is the subject of the sentence. It is not a subject that has volition. No. It is a subject that is described. Described by whom? By C? "outcome" is the simple subject. "the" and "ultimate" and "of these investigations" all serve to specify "outcome." The word "these" is a demonstrative determiner that serves a discourse function. Words like This, That, These, and Those all show relativity, relationships. These determiners are said to show "deixis." Shown by whom? Not by C. "these investigations" has a discourse function, a wider function, in that it points back--ties directly to--another instance of investigation--that is, an investigation that appears in the first or second sentence. I forget which. Which what?

All this reminds me of the time a forty-two foot male sperm whale washed up on a seashore a few hours south of Arcata, California. Marine biologists from Humboldt State were so excited to see the thing. It was dead. They, the biologists, came with large knives--these large blades that were on the ends of things that looks like thick broomsticks. They brought a special, generator-powered large knife sharpener. All this reminds me of that.

should be: this is the main verb of the sentence. This is a copular verb--as in linking or copulation. "should be" is a linking verb in that it links one thing with a description of that thing. "should" carries the tense of this verb--I think the tense is in the past, but "should" is so interesting because it can be only in the past. You cannot have a present tense should--which makes sense. (The "which" I just used--in no way--is directly attached to a preceding noun. The "which" I just used, instead, is attached to an as-of-yet unnamed concept that is somehow inside what I'm writing. Does it seem natural enough? And what is it?)

a theory of linguistic structure in which the descriptive devices utilized in particular grammars are presented and studied abstractly, with no specific reference to particular languages: this whole long thing--not quite 42 feet long--as long as a washed up male sperm whale--is the subject complement--more specifically the predicate noun--of the sentence. The marine biologists had brought those large knives to dissect the whale. They wanted to see what had killed the whale. They had wanted to perform an autopsy. They were also, though, just happy to have their long knives out and a dead whale waiting for them to open. Where had they, those biologists, kept those knives when they, the knives, weren't in use? Did they have a closet? They brought that large sharpener--the one with its own generator--to sharpen their knives. The skin and blubber of the whale is tough. It can really take the edge off a knife.

"theory" is the simple subject complement. "a" is a determiner--an indefinite article. "of linguistic structure" is a prepositional phrase that modifies "theory." "in" is another preposition that introduces a phrase that modifies "structure." "which" is a relative proform. It signals the oncoming relative clause, and it also--in the straightened out clause--serves as an adjective. "in which structure" is how the straightened out clause would read. "the descriptive devices" is the subject of the embedded clause that's in the prep. phrase. This subject, really, isn't a true subject in that it is the subject of a passive construction. "utilized" is a past participial that acts as an adjective in that it modifies "devices." Also, there's something about "utilized" that--even though it's a past part--has something about the passive in it. Utilized by whoooom, we could ask. "in particular grammars" is a prep phrase that works as an adverb. It modifies the passive verb "utilized." "are presented and studied" is the main verb of this embedded clause. This verb is compound--a compound of both "to present" and "to study." What's more, this main compound verb is passive--or doubly passive. Presented by whom? Studied by whom? Utilized by whom? (So this whole thing is actually triply passive.) "abstractly" is an adverb that modifies the main, compound, passive verb. "with no specific reference to particular languages" is a string, a concatenation, of prep phrases.

This long sentence is copular, very passive, and filled with prep phrases.

The whale had no plastic netting in its stomach. It just died, and they marine biologists couldn't figure out why. The whale had been a young male--10--just reaching sexual maturity. I would have thought that it would have scars all over its snout--its muzzle?--but it didn't. It looked clean. I would have thought its skin to be black, but it wasn't. It was dark gray with a tinge or green.