Introduction to English Syntax The analysis of sentence

Introduction to English Syntax: The analysis of sentence structure 12/2/2020 1

Syntax: The definition Syntax >> The system of rules and categories that allows words to be combined to form sentences in human language. Syntax is concerned with the ways in which words can be combined together to form phrases and sentences. q A sentence is grammatical if speakers judge it to be a possible sentence of their language Example: 1. *House painted student a the. 2. A student painted the house. Thus, example 2) is a grammatical sentence of English, but 1) is not. 12/2/2020 2

Categories & Structure l l l A fundamental fact about words in all human languages is that they can be grouped together into a relatively small number of classes, called Grammatical/Syntactic categories. A grammatical category is a class of expressions which share a common set of grammatical properties. This classification reflects a variety of factors, including the type of meaning that words express, the type of affixes that they take, and the type of structures in which they can occur. 12/2/2020 3

Word-level Categories Lexical Categories Examples Noun (N) Harry, boy, wheat, policy, moisture, bravery Verb (V) arrive, discuss, melt, hear, remain, dislike Adjective (A) good, tall, old, intelligent, beautiful, fond Preposition (P) to, in, on, near, at, by Adverb (Adv) silently, slowly, quietly, quickly, now Non-lexical categories Examples Determiner (Det) the, a, this, these Degree word (Deg) too, so, very, more, quite Qualifier (Qual) always, perhaps, often, never, almost Auxiliary (Aux) will, can, may, must, should, could Conjunction (Con) and, or, but Note: A potential source of confusion in the area of word classification stem from the fact that some items can belong to more than one category, e. g. comb, watch, etc. 12/2/2020 4

Semantic criteria > Meaning One criteria involves meaning. § Noun, for instance, typically name entities such as individual (Paijo, Tessy) and objects (book, desk). § Verbs characteristically designate actions (run, jump), sensation (feel, hurt), and state (be, remain). § Adjectives is to designate a property or attribute of the entities donated by noun (tall, handsome) § Adverbs typically denote properties and attributes of the actions, sensations, and states designated by verbs (quickly, early). § Unfortunately, a word’s category membership does not always bear such a straightforward relationship to its meaning. For example, there abstract nouns such as difficulty, truth, and likelihood. 12/2/2020 5

Morpho-syntactic Criteria Inflection : These criteria have to do with inflectional suffixes Category Inflectional affix Examples Noun Verb Plural –s Past tense –ed Progressive –ing Comparative –er Superlative –est books, chairs, doctors hunted, watched, judges hunting, watching, judging taller, faster, smarter tallest, fastest, smartest Adjective 12/2/2020 6

Syntactic Criteria > Distribution The syntactic criteria for word classes are based on what words a given word occurs with and the types of phrase in which a given word occurs. Category Distribution property Noun occurrence with a determiner For example: a car, the wheat occurrence with an auxiliary For example: has gone, will stay occurrence with a degree word For example: very rich, too big Verb Adjective 12/2/2020 7

Phrase structure Sentences are not formed by simply stringing words together like beads on a necklace. Rather, sentences have a hierarchical design in which words are grouped together into successfully larger structural units. 12/2/2020 8

Head Phrases are built around a ‘skeleton’ consisting of two levels. NP VP AP PP Phrase Level N V A P Word Level Note: It is possible to have a phrase in which only the head position is filled (he likes) 12/2/2020 NP VP N V books (all animals) eat 9

Specifiers l l Semantically, specifiers help to make more precise the meaning of the head. They are determiner (Det), qualifier (Qual), and degree words (Deg). Syntactically, specifiers typically mark a phrase boundary. In English, specifiers occur at the left boundary (the beginning) of their respective phrases. 12/2/2020 10

NP Det the VP N Qual V books never eat PP AP Deg quite 12/2/2020 A certain Deg P almost in 11

Complements are elements, which are themselves phrases, provide information about entities and locations whose existence is implied by the meaning of the head. For example, the meaning of “eat” implies an object that is eaten, the meaning of “in” implies a location, and so on. A vegetarian should never eat [a hamburger]. head 12/2/2020 complement the thing eaten 12

VP NP Qual never V eat Det a N hamburger A VP consisting of a head, a specifier, and a complement 12/2/2020 13

NP Det N the book PP about the war A NP consisting of a head, a specifier, and a complement 12/2/2020 14

AP Deg quite A certain PP about Mary An AP consisting of a head, a specifier, and a complement 12/2/2020 15

PP Deg P almost in NP the house A PP consisting of a head, a specifier, and a complement 12/2/2020 16

Phrase structure rule NP > (Det) N (PP) VP > (Qual) V (NP) AP > (Deg) A (PP) PP > (Deg) P (NP) 12/2/2020 17

Sentences l l The largest unit of syntactic analysis is the sentence (S). A sentence combines an NP (often called the subject) with a VP. The (S) rule: S > NP VP S VP NP NP 12/2/2020 Det N V Det N A scientist discovered the answer 18

l The above analysis assumes that S is special in the sense that, unlike other phrases, it does not have internal structure (with head, a complement, and a specifier). However, many linguists now believe that S is essentially similar to other phrases and has the structure as follow: 12/2/2020 19

Infl. P (=S) VP NP Infl NP Pst Det A 12/2/2020 N scientist V discovered Det N the answer 20

Infl. P(=S) VP NP Infl NP Det A 12/2/2020 N scientist V will discover Det N the answer 21

12/2/2020 22

12/2/2020 23

Complement Clauses All human languages allow sentence-like construction to function as complement. Example: [The psychic knows [that/whether/if the contestant will win]] * The smaller bracketed phrase is called a complement clause while the larger phrase in which it occurs is called the matrix clause * Words such as that, if, and whether are known as Complementizers (Cs). 12/2/2020 24

CP S NP C Det that whether if the 12/2/2020 VP N contestant Infl V will win 25

S VP CP NP S Infl Det N The psychic 12/2/2020 NP Non. Pst V knows C Det the that whether if VP N Infl V contestant will win 26

12/2/2020 27

12/2/2020 28

Tests for phrase structure According to the syntactic analysis, the words that make up a sentence form intermediate structural units called phrases. How do linguists using this approach to syntax determine which words should be grouped together into phrases? 12/2/2020 29

The substitution test Evidence that NPs are syntactic units comes from the fact that they can often be replaced by an element such as they, it, or do so. Example: a. [NP The citizens] rebelled after they discovered the truth. (they = the citizens) b. The students will [VP wear ties] if the teachers will do so. c. They stopped [PP at the corner] and we stopped there too 12/2/2020 30

The movement test Another indication is that phrases can be moved as a single unit to a different position within the sentence (this is called a movement test) Example, They stopped [PP at the corner] >> [PP at the corner], they stopped. 12/2/2020 31

12/2/2020 32

The coordination test A group of words forms a constituent if it can be joined to another group of words by a conjunction such as and, or but. (This is labeled the coordination test since patterns built around a conjunction are called coordinate structure). Example, The children [VP often sweep the floor] but [VP never clean the wall]. 12/2/2020 33

NP NP NP VP VP V read 12/2/2020 Det N Con this man and Det that N child VP NP a book Con V or walk NP the dog 34

Transformation l l Transformation is a special type of rule that can move an element from one position to another. Transformation can be in the form of Inversion and insertion Inversion >> moves the auxiliary from the Infl position to a position to the left of the subject. Insertion >> adds a special auxiliary verb. 12/2/2020 35

Inversion in yes-no questions Will the boy leave? >> The boy will leave S NP VP Det N Infl the Boy will 12/2/2020 V Will the boy ----- leave? leave 36

Deep Structure Vs. Surface Structure Will the boy leave? >> The boy will leave S NP VP Det N Infl the Boy will V leave Deep structure 12/2/2020 Will the boy ----- leave? Inversion process 37

Wh-Movement The man should repair which car? Which car should the man ----- repair ------? inversion Wh-Movement 12/2/2020 38

Do insertion Those birds sing those birds do sing Do those birds ---- sing? 12/2/2020 39

References Eagleson, R. D. , Threadgold, T. , & Collins, P. (1985). Inside language. Melbourne: Pitman Publishing. Fromkin, V. , Blair, D. , & Collins, P. (2000). An introduction to language. New South Wales: Harcourt Australia Pty Limited. O'Grady, W. (1997). Syntax: The analysis of sentence structure. In W. O'Grady, M. Dobrovolsky & F. Katamba (Eds. ), Contemporary linguistics (pp. 181 -244). Essex: Pearson Education Limited. O'Grady, W. , Dobrovolsky, M. , & Aronoff, M. (1989). Contemporary linguistics: An introduction. New York: St. Martin's Press. 12/2/2020 40

Radford, A. (1997). Syntax: A minimalist introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Pres 12/2/2020 41