What is Syntax Presented by Daiana Lohn Syntax

What is Syntax? Presented by Daiana Lohn

Syntax: the rules that determine how words combine into phrases and sentences. Syntax has a predictable, rulegoverned order. Every language has different syntax, so explicit discussion is helpful.

Syntax: the rules that determine how words combine into phrases and sentences. Syntax rules for the English language include: 1. A sentence must contain a subject and a verb, and the order of those two parts of speech must be subject-verb (S-V). The subject can be a noun or a subject or indefinite pronoun. John loves Susan. 2. Subjects and verbs must agree (match) in number. For example, if the subject is singular, the verb must also be in singular form. Singular: He drives too fast. Plural: They drive too fast.

Syntax: the rules that determine how words combine into phrases and sentences. 3. Verb tenses must be consistent throughout the paragraph and/or document. Do not switch between tenses. Incorrect: Anthony and Kadeem listened to Hip-hop music and practice their dance moves. Correct: Anthony and Kadeem listened to Hip-hop music and practiced their dance moves. 4. A sentence must begin with a capital letter and end with one of these punctuation marks: Period (. ) Question mark (? ) Exclamation point (!) Ellipsis (. . . )

Syntax: the rules that determine how words combine into phrases and sentences. 5. Articles are used with nouns. A and an describe singular nouns; the may be used for singular or plural nouns. When introducing a singular noun for the first time, always use a or an. In follow-up sentences, use the. This is normally because the first usage introduces the general topic and the follow-up sentences become more specific. A school should be a happy, safe place for children. The school my brother goes to is a perfect example. A lizard is a reptile. The gliding lizard has rib extensions that allow it to fly.

Syntax: the rules that determine how words combine into phrases and sentences. 6. Prepositions are words used only with nouns or pronouns to form a phrase. Prepositions are important for meaning; they show the relationship between the nouns in the sentence. Notice the difference in meaning caused only by the choice of preposition: My pencil is under my book. My pencil is in my book.

Syntax: the rules that determine how words combine into phrases and sentences. 7. Adjectives and adverbs can be used in the base form, in the comparative form, or in the superlative form. The base form of the adjective is used to describe one noun. The base form of the adverb is used to describe one verb, adjective, or other adverb. The comparative is used to compare two. The number of syllables in the base form is important. One syllable – add –er suffix Two syllables – use “more … than” The superlative is used to compare three or more. Again, the number of syllables is important. One syllable – add –est suffix Two syllables – use “the most … of all”

Syntax: the rules that determine how words combine into phrases and sentences. (Rule 7 continued) Adjectives and adverbs can be used in the base form, in the comparative form, or in the superlative form. ADJEC TIVES ADV ERBS 1 SYLLABLE 2 SYLLABLES BASE FORM She is a nice girl. The daisy is a beautiful flower. I will type it soon. The Post Office sends mail quickly. COMPARATIVE Julie is nicer than that girl is. The rose is more beautiful than the daisy is. I will type the letter sooner than I will call you. UPS sends mail more quickly than the Post Office. Charlene is the nicest girl of all. The lily is the most beautiful flower of all. The soonest I can type it is 1: 00. Fedex sends mail the most quickly of all the companies. FORM SUPERLATIVE FORM

Syntax – Implications for Instruction ESL learners from certain native languages will have a hard time writing English sentences in subject-verb-object order (SVO), so teach it! English = SVO: Jack sees the book. Korean = SOV: Jack book see. Indonesian = VOS: See the book Jack.

Syntax – Implications for Instruction English language learners have a hard time differentiating between in, on, and at, so teach them the difference! In: used with general categories, or literally “in a container” the bathroom the corner 1955 May On: touching the surface of something, or making some other type of contact; more specific than in In In On On the bathroom counter the corner of Broadway and Main Street May 2, 1955 At: an exact point; even more specific than on At the coffee shop on the corner of Broadway and Main At 6384 Main Street At 7: 30 PM on May 2, 1955

Syntax – Implications for Instruction Fronting We usually begin sentences with their grammatical subject. But sometimes we move things to the front for emphasis. Crazy, that driver. (More emphatic than ‘That driver is crazy. ’) Moving something to the beginning of a sentence in this way is called fronting. Fronting is very common in informal speech. It is possible to begin an affirmative clause with the object or complement, in order to make this the topic or give it more immediate importance. This kind of fronting is common in informal speech: Very good lesson we had yesterday. Question-word clauses are often fronted. What I'm going to do next I just don't know.

Practice: Change the word order of the sentences using fronting. A large white cat sat in the middle of the bed. _____________________ The robbers ran out of the bank. _____________________ There’s an old man at the front door. _____________________ He'd written her address on a small piece of paper. _____________________

What is a sentence? They’re made up of clauses: groups of words that express a single idea. 1. Simple sentences consist of just one independent clause. It requires only one punctuation mark at the end (a period, exclamation or question mark). The bell didn't ring on time. 2. Compound sentences are made by joining simple sentences. We join sentences which are closely related in content. We can join simple sentences with a comma and a word such as: and, but, so, yet. The bell didn't ring on time, so we missed the lecture.

3. Complex sentences are made when we combine an independent clause with a dependent clause. Because the bell didn't ring on time, we missed the lecture. When the dependent clause comes first, it is separated from the independent clause with a comma. When the sentence begins with the independent clause, no comma is needed in the sentence. We missed the lecture because the bell didn't ring on time.

Decide if the sentence is simple (S), compound (C) or complex (CX). While the students were taking the exam, the teacher was preparing for his lesson. He took a long time driving to the party, so they were very late. I need you to blow the whistle when you see the flag. Both Jane and Jim ate pasta and went shopping. I can imagine you wearing that jacket and running away like that. Would you rather take the Jeep or the Lexus? I think Anne was talking about going on a ski trip with Michael. I remember taking that exam although it was a long time ago. The visitors complained loudly about the heat, yet they continued to play golf every day.

LET'S PRACTICE MORE : ) Online exercise : https: //www. cs. bham. ac. uk/~pxc/nlp/Int eractive. NLP/NLP_syn 1. html