Syntactic structures
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Transcript of Syntactic structures
This is the house.
This is the house that Jack built.
This is the hay that lies in the house that Jack built.
This is the rat that lives under the hay that lies in the house that Jack built.
<modification, coordination, complementation, subordination>
SYNTAX
The part of the grammar that represents a speaker’s
knowledge of sentences and their structure
Syntactic Structure – WORD ORDER
She has what a man wants.
She wants what a man has.
WHAT GRAMMATICALITY IS BASED ON
(a) The boy found the ball.
(b) The boy found quickly.
(c) The boy found in the house.
(d) The boy found the ball in the house.
WHAT GRAMMATICALITY IS NOT BASED ONColorless green ideas sleep furiously.
A verb crumpled a milk.
Furiously sleep ideas green colorless.
Milk the crumpled verb a.
Sentences have hierarchical structures as well as word order. The words in the phrase synthetic buffalo hides can be grouped in two ways.
synthetic
buffalo hides synthetic buffalo
hides
SENTENCE STRUCTUREThe child found the puppy.
The child found the puppy
(subject) (predicate)
The child found the puppy
(subject) (verb) (direct object)
PHRASAL CATEGORIES: THE INTERNAL STRUCTURE Phrasal categories: a group of words that have a canonical structure and form a constituent.
Head: the word the phrase is built around, gives the phrase its name and usually contributes the principal meaning of the phrase
[the greedy politician] NP
Specifier: word or phrase that marks a boundary for the phrase; typically functions to further reine the meaning of phrase.
[this apple] NP
Complement: phrases that follow the head and typically provide further information about the entities or location implied by head
[take a picture] VP
NOUN PHRASE: [(Det) (Adjective) Noun]
NPs: the wise man, fancy dinner, rain
1. The couple had a fancy dinner.
2. A fancy dinner is definitely expensive.
3. *[At fancy] many couples eat dinner.
Use phrasal categories to account for the natural groupings.
VERB PHRASE: [(Qual) Verb (NP)]
VPs: always visit(s), filled the cup, clean
1. Sheryl always visits her grandmother at the nursing home.
2. The queen filled the cup of the prime minister.
3. Please, clean your room.
ADJECTIVE PHRASE: [(Deg) Adjective (PP)
APs: so pretty, too deep in thought, busy
1. Oscar is so pretty.
2. She is too deep in thought to notice.
3. The chairman is busy right now.
PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE: [(Deg) Preposition (NP)]
PPs: so into your subject, beyond the sea
1. Gary is so into your subject.
2. My father lives beyond the sea.
STRUCTURE OF PREDICATIONIn structure of predication we are concerned with the
properties or features of the verb which acts as the predicate and with the features of the noun which serves as the subject of the sentence.
English verbs have seven distinctive properties:
PERSON
Common – present (verb base form) used with plural subjects and I and you
Third singular – takes on the [verb+s] form (know-knows) used with singular subjects and he, she, it; this agreement in number subject and verb is called concord
TENSE
Common – present (usually in the verb base form although it may be marked with –[s] morpheme depending on its agreement with the subject; past (takes on the past tense-marking bound morpheme (know-knew)
PHASE
Simple – the verb base form or the past tense
Perfect – takes the various forms of [have + past participle]
Resultative – made up of [he + past participle of intransitive verb]
ASPECT
Simple – verb base – with or without the {-s} inflectional morpheme
Durative – [verb to be + ing verb]
Inchoative – [get + ing verb]
MODAL
modals (can, may, must…) which are followed by the verb base as well as the periphrastic modals (ought to, have to, used to) which are also followed by verb base
VOICE
Normal or active voice – made up of the verb base, its past, perfect or durative forms
Passive voice – the get passive (get is used instead of the verb to be
STATUS
Affirmative – have the subject coming before the verb
Interrogative – the subject comes after the helping verb or the do form (this inverted form is generally used in questions)
Negative – the negative marker not is placed between the helping verb and the main verb
Negative interrogative – the auxiliary in the sentence initial position plus the negative marker coming before the main verb or attached to the auxiliary if the contraction of not is used
Subject – topic; usually a noun which also has distinctive features or properties
NUMBER
There must be agreement between the subject and the verb in number (concord)
Singular or plural (boy-boys)
Count or non-count (bottle-water)
Concrete or abstract (tears-sorrow)
Discrete or collective (members-committee)
*some nouns are always singular such as mathematics, news, measles, politics, ethics, etc.
*some nouns are always plural such as scissors, police, cattle which require a singular counter to make them singular (a pair of scissors)
Verb base – Common (are, were, have, do)
We, you, they (I)
Plural count nouns
Plural concrete nouns
Collective nouns (individuals)
Nouns always plural
Compound subjects
Subjects joined by or
Verb base – Common (are, were, have, do)
Relative pronoun subjects – depends on the referrent
Indefinite pronouns - all, same, none – depends on referrent
There are/There is – depends on the noun that follows
Nouns marked by the expression a number of
GENDER
Gender has nothing to do with predicate; rather, a knowledge of the gender of certain nouns is needed when it pertains to the pronouns used when referring to those nouns.
STRUCTURE OF MODIFICATIONThe structure of modification is made up of two components: a head or main word and a modifier which serves to qualify, broaden, specify or in some way affect the meaning of the head
STATEMENT HEAD MODIFIER
Angry men men Angry
Young boy boy Young
Boy in blue jeans
boy In blue jeans
Boy who is seated next to me
boy Who is seated next to me
In single word modifiers, some order of arrangement is involved
•these four little ginger kittens
[pronoun, number, size, color]
•a cheap black plastic bag
[article, cost, color, material]
•the first three eager applicants
[article, ordinal, cardinal, quality]
•many hand-crafted wooden jewel cases
[quantity, verbal adjective, nominalized adjective, material]
FUNCTION WORD
articles
quantifiers
pronoun
+ LIMITING ADJECTIVES
ordinal + cardinalnumber number
+ DESCRIPTIVE ADJECTVES
size + color + shape + material
verbal + nominalizedadjective adjective
In adjectival structure of modification the head is a noun and its modifiers are considered adjectives. W. Nelson Francis however, points out that any part of speech or form class may act as head and as modifier.
HEADModifier
NOUN VERB ADJECTIVE ADVERB FUNCTION WORD
Noun the dog DAYSa dog’s LIFEa dining TABLE
LIVED a yearSAW a mile
stone COLDbone DRY
a foot AWAYsame way UP
a mile OFF base
Verb running WATERMONEY to burn
CAME runningCAME to scoff
boiling HOTHARD to get
Adjective the gloomy ROOMbarbed WIREa pleasing TABLE
RAN wildFEEL flat
icy COLDcold SOBER
Adverb PEOPLE hereEUROPE now
DRIVES rapidlyseldom SPEAKS
wildly FAMOUSeverywhere DARK
unusually EAGERLYfar AWAY
exactly ON the marksoon AFTER dark
Prepositional phrase
a MAN above suspiciona PLACE in the sun
CAME down the streetLIVED in the country
GOOD for nothingGREEN as grass
OUTSIDE in the coldAWAY at school
MORE than enough workENOUGH for now
Function word
the BOOK MONEY enough
very STRONG a lot STRONGER
very EASILYmuch AHEAD
very MUCHrather MORE
EXERCISE
older used to walksisters every morningmy around the parkbriskly by themselvesthree in the past
people young in their twentiesnowadays jogging who are figure consciousoften go whenever they canmany
1. In the past, my three older sisters used to walk briskly by themselves around the park every morning.
2. In the past, my three older sisters used to walk briskly by themselves every morning round the park
3. Every morning in the past, my three older sisters used to walk briskly by themselves around the park.
1. Nowadays, many young people in their twenties who are figure conscious often go jogging whenever they can.
2. Many young people in their twenties who are figure conscious often go jogging nowadays whenever they can.
STRUCTURE OF COMPLEMENTATION
The structure of complementation refers to the different complements that linking and transitive predicate verbs may take to complete the comment that they make about the subject.
1.[Subject + Linking Verb + Subjective Complement].
2.[Subject + Transitive Verb + Direct Object]
3.[Subject + Transitive Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object]
4.[Subject + Transitive Verb + Direct Object + Objective Complement]
[Subject + Linking Verb + Subjective Complement]
Today is her birthday. (noun)
Today is all there is. (function word)
Today is dark and gloomy. (adjective)
Today is almost over. (adverb)
Her plan today is to settle unfinished business. (verb{infinitive})
Today has been quite taxing. (verb{present participle})
Today will remain imprinted in our memory. (verb{past participle})
Today seems of little consequence. (prepositional phrase)
Today can become whatever you want to be. (clause)
[Subject + Transitive Verb + Direct Object]
He sees something. (single word indefinite pronoun)
He sees the object. (single word – noun)
He loves to open the presents. (infinitive verb phrase)
He loves opening the presents. (gerund)
He knows what I’m doing. (clause)
[Subject + Transitive Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object]
The committee awarded him first prize.
Grandfather left my mother an inheritance.
[Subject + Transitive Verb + Direct Object + Object of Preposition]
The committee awarded the first prize to him.
Grandfather left an inheritance to my mother.
[Subject + Transitive Verb + Direct Object + Objective Complement]
Everybody considers him very lucky.
They named the dog Natalie.
WHAT ABOUT INTRANSITIVE VERBS?Intransitive verbs do not need an object to complete its
meaning. It can stand by itself as predicate of the sentence. Those three types of verbs may be differentiated one from the other as follows:
Intransitive verbs: Has neither complement nor passive
Transitive verbs: Has both complement and passive
Linking verbs: Has complement but no passive
Since the intransitive verb requires no complement, then the sentence pattern would be:
[Subject + Intransitive verb]
EXERCISE. Identify the type of verb used (LV, TV, IV) and the syntactic structure of complementation in the following sentences:
1. He got sick.
2. I will get him some medicine.
3. The fish got away.
4. He doesn’t feel well.
5. I feel his pain, too.
6. I felt him move.
7. I will not stay there.
8. You should stay calm.
STRUCTURE OF COORDINATION
This structure consists of two or more syntactically equivalent units by connectors to form a structure which acts as a single unit.
1.Coordinators - appear between elements that they join and so do the phrasal connectors although the latter may also occur in split constructions
and, but, nor, not, or, phrases such as rather than, as well as, together with, and along with
2. Correlatives – appear in two parts; the first part appears at the beginning of the structure whereas the second part comes between the last two components being joined.
not (only), but (also), either…or, neither…nor and both…and
With coordinators as connectors
Function words: over and above, in not out
Adjectives: young but terrible
Verbs: to stay put or to leave
Nouns: books nor magazines
With phrasal connectors
Function words: up rather than down
Adjectives: intelligent as well as good natured
Nouns: good looks together with good breeding
With correlatives
Nouns: not only books but also magazines
Clauses: Either you do this or you’re fired