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Introduction to English Syntax

Syntax: The analysis of sentence structure

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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.

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.

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Categories & Structure 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.

Word-level CategoriesLexical 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

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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.

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Semantic criteria > MeaningOne 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 are abstract nouns such as difficulty, truth, and likelihood.

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Morpho-syntactic Criteria

Category Inflectional affix Examples

Noun Plural –s books, chairs, doctorsVerb Past tense –ed hunted, watched,

judgesProgressive –ing hunting, watching,

judgingAdjective Comparative –er taller, faster, smarter

Superlative –est tallest, fastest, smartest

Inflection : These criteria have to do with inflectional suffixes

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Syntactic Criteria > Distribution

Category Distribution property

Noun occurrence with a determiner

For example: a car, the wheat

Verb occurrence with an auxiliary

For example: has gone, will stay

Adjective occurrence with a degree word

For example: very rich, too big

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.

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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.

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HeadPhrases are built around a ‘skeleton’ consisting of two levels.

N V A P

NP VP AP PP Phrase Level

Word Level

Note: It is possible to have a phrase in which only the head position is filled

N

NP

books(he likes)

V

VP

eat(all animals)

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Specifiers

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.

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the books

Det N

NP

never eat

Qual V

VP

quite certain

Deg A

AP

almost in

Deg P

PP

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ComplementsComplements 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 complement the thing eaten

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never eat a hamburger

Qual V Det N

VP

NP

A VP consisting of a head, a specifier, and a complement

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A NP consisting of a head, a specifier, and a complement

the book

Det N

NP

PP

about the war

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An AP consisting of a head, a specifier, and a complement

quite certain

Deg A

AP

PP

about Mary

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A PP consisting of a head, a specifier, and a complement

almost in

Deg P

PP

NP

the house

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Phrase structure rule

NP > (Det) N (PP)

VP > (Qual) V (NP)

AP > (Deg) A (PP)

PP > (Deg) P (NP)

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Sentences 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

A scientist discovered the answer

Det N V Det N

NP

NP

VP

S

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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:

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discovered

V

NP VP

InflP (=S)

the answer

Det N

NP

Infl

A scientist

Det N

Pst

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VP

InflP(=S)

discover

V

the answer

Det N

NP

InflNP

A scientist

Det N

will

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Complement ClausesAll 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).

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that

whether

if

the contestant will win

C Det N Infl V

NP VP

S

CP

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S

that

whether

if

CP

C

S

the contestant will

Det N Infl

NP VP

win

V

knows

V

The psychic

NDet NonPst

Infl

NP

VP

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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?

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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

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The movement testAnother 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.

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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, 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].

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read a book or walk the dog

V NP Con V NP

VP VP

VP

this man and that child

Det N Con Det N

NP NP

NP

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Transformation 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.

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Inversion in yes-no questionsWill the boy leave? >> The boy will leave

the Boy will leave

Det N Infl V

NP VP

S

Will the boy ----- leave?

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Deep Structure Vs. Surface Structure

Will the boy leave? >> The boy will leave

Will the boy ----- leave?

the Boy will leave

Det N Infl V

NP VP

S

Deep structure

Surface Structure

Inversion process

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Wh-Movement

The man should repair which car?

Which car should the man ----- repair ------?

inversion

Wh-Movement

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Do insertion

Those birds sing

those birds do sing

Do those birds ---- sing?

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ReferencesEagleson, 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.

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Radford, A. (1997). Syntax: A minimalist introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Pres