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Chapter 4 Syntax
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The definition of syntax
A subfield of linguistics that studies the sentence structure of language A branch of linguistics that studies how words are combined to form sentences and the rules that govern the formation of sentences. The definition of syntax
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The basic components of a sentence
Subject Referring expression Predicate comprises finite verb or a verb phrase and says something about the subject The basic components of a sentence
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Simple sentence: consists of a single clause which contains a subject and a predicate and stands alone as its own sentence. Coordinate (Compound) sentence: contains two clauses joined by a linking word called coordinating conjunctions, such as “and”, “by”, “or”… Types of sentences
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Complex sentence: contains two, or more, clauses, one of which is incorporated into the other
Embedded clause matrix clause ① subordinator ②functions as a grammatical unit ③ may be complete
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The linear and hierarchical structures of sentences
When a sentence is uttered or written down, the words of the sentence are produced one after another in a sequence, which suggests the structure of a sentence is linear. But the superficial arrangement of words in a linear sequence does not entail that sentences are simply linearly-structured; sentences are organized with words of the same syntactic category, such as NP or VP, grouped together. The linear and hierarchical structures of sentences
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Tree diagram of constituent structure
Brackets and subscript labels
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Category refers to a group of linguistic items which fulfill the same or similar functions in a particular language such as a sentence, a noun phrase or a verb. The most central categories to the syntactic study are the word-level categories (traditionally, parts of speech) Categories
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Lexical categories: (parts of speech)
Major lexical categories (open categories): N. V. Adj. Adv. Minor lexical categories (closed categories): Det. Aux. Prep. Pron. Conj. Int. Phrasal categories: NP, VP, PP, AP Lexical categories: (parts of speech)
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The criteria on which categories are determined
Meaning Inflection Distribution Note: The most reliable criterion of determining a word’s category is its distribution. The criteria on which categories are determined
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Phrase structure rules
The grammatical mechanism that regulates the arrangement of elements that make up a phrase is called a phrase structure rule Phrase structure rules
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NP VP NP →(Det) + N +(PP)…… e.g. those people, the fish on the plate,
pretty girls. VP → (Qual) + V + (NP)…… e.g. always play games, finish assignments. NP VP
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AP PP AP → (Deg) + A + (PP)…… very handsome, very pessimistic,
familiar with, very close to PP → (Deg) + P + (NP)…… on the shelf, in the boat, quite near the station. AP PP
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The XP rule XP Specifier X Complement Head
Specifier X Complement Head The phrase structure rules can be summed up as XP rule shown in the diagram, in which X stands for N, V, A or P. The XP rule
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Coordination rule Coordinate structures No limit on number
Any category can be coordinated Same type Identical category type Coordination rule
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Phrase elements Specifier Semantically precise meaning
Syntactically phrase boundary Det.+N. Qualifier+V. Degree+A./P. Phrase elements
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Phrase elements Complements Subcategorization The XP Rule(revised)
Complementizers Complement clause Complement phrase Matrix clause Phrase elements
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Modifiers AP for N. Adv.P and PP for V. Phrase elements
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S rule S→NP VP Sentences
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Transformation Auxiliary movement Do insertion
D-structure and S-structure Wh movement Move ἀ and constraints on transformations Transformation
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