5: Phrases- Syntax
- Page ID
- 199916
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)When you’ve completed this chapter, you’ll be able to:
- Use the evidence of constituency tests to identify the phrases within a sentence
- Categorize words into lexical and functional categories based on their distribution
- Identify relationships between grammatically related sentences (active and passive, statements and questions)
- Draw tree diagrams to represent the structural analysis of sentences in English
In Chapter 5 we looked at the internal structure of words (morphology). In this chapter we look at how words are organized into phrases and sentences, which in linguistics is called syntax. In linguistics, syntax is the study of how words are organized into phrases and sentences. Just as the morphemes in a word are organized into structures, the words in a sentence are also best viewed not just as a string of words, but instead as having a hierarchical structure. And just as words contain a head morpheme, we’ll see that every phrase has an element that is its syntactic head.
- 5.1: Syntax Terminology
- The page discusses syntactic terminology, highlighting the parallels between syntax and morphology, particularly lexical and functional categories. It emphasizes the unique role of prepositions/adpositions as 'tweeners,' which function both lexically and functionally. Lexical categories, including nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and prepositions, can head their own phrases, while functional categories support lexical items.
- 5.2: Word order
- This page discusses the importance of word order in sentences, focusing on English's fixed Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) structure compared to languages with more flexible orders. It outlines basic grammatical terminology such as sentences, clauses, predicates, and arguments, and describes how predicates are classified by transitivity and arguments by their position and role.
- 5.5: Clausal embedding
- This document explores the concept of recursion in sentences, where clauses are embedded within other clauses. It discusses how verbs select their complements, which can range from noun phrases to prepositional and complementizer phrases. The article examines the role and variety of complementizers, such as "that," "whether," or "if," and highlights the flexibility of certain verbs in selecting complements.
- 5.6: From constituency to tree diagrams
- This section introduces formal notation of tree diagrams for making specific claims about sentence structures. It discusses phrase structure rules, which form the basis of generative syntax, a theory developed by Chomsky in 1957. Various rules for constructing noun phrases (NP), verb phrases (VP), and prepositional phrases (PP) are described through examples.
- 5.7: Trees- Introducing X-bar theory
- This page discusses X-bar theory in linguistics, which restricts the shape of possible syntactic trees by introducing an intermediate structural level known as X-bar or X???. It emphasizes that every phrase has a head of the same category and all heads project a corresponding phrase. The theory suggests that phrases have a hierarchical structure where the head is closely related to its complement.
- 5.8: Trees- Sentences as TPs
- The page discusses the application of X-bar theory to sentences, proposing that sentences can be viewed as tense phrases (TPs), essential for embodying finiteness and tense in language structure. It describes how auxiliary phrases fit within this framework, and explores language variation in head direction between languages like English and Japanese. The concept of modifiers as adjuncts in X-bar structures is introduced, providing structural flexibility.
- 5.9: Trees- Embedded clauses
- This page discusses the embedding of clauses using complementizers in X-bar theory. It explains how verbs select if they have an embedded clause and how a CP (complementizer phrase) acts as the complement of the verb, taking TP (tense phrase) as its own complement. The text also differentiates between declarative and interrogative complementizers, and introduces nonfinite clauses with [???FIN] complementizers.
- 5.10: Trees- Movement
- The page elaborates on the concept of X-bar theory, focusing on transformations in syntax, specifically Subject-Auxiliary Inversion and its relationship to Head Movement. It explains how yes-no questions are formed in English by moving the auxiliary from T to C (T-to-C movement), contrasting with WH-movement for content questions, where the question phrase (XP) moves to Spec,CP.
- 5.11: Grammaticality
- The page discusses the concept of grammaticality in language, focusing on the relationship between syntax and semantics. Grammaticality refers to a sentence's structural correctness regardless of its meaning. Noam Chomsky's theories highlight the distinction, exemplified by "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously," grammatically correct but semantically nonsensical.
- 5.12: Exercise your linguistics skills.
- The page provides a series of linguistic exercises ranging from beginner to intermediate levels. The tasks include creating and evaluating sentences for grammaticality and semantics, analyzing sentence structure, identifying roles of phrases, determining sentence types, and exploring language syntax for both natural languages and constructed languages.