Download A Sketch of Modern Hebrew Syntax

A Sketch of Modern Hebrew Syntax L303, Fall 2012 Basic Sentence Structure •  As in English, the basic word order in Hebrew is SVO. •  This suggests the rule S -­‐> NP VP Basic Sentence Structure •  There are a few wrinkles, however. Subjectless Sentence Verbless Sentence ‘The apple is big.’ ‘I ate an apple.’ The Noun Phrase AdjecQves follow nouns. ‫חכם‬
Rules: ‫סוס‬
xaxam
sus
smart stallion
‘a smart stallion’
NP ➛ N (Adj)
*Oh yeah. The Hebrew text reads left to right.*
The Noun Phrase The definite arQcle ‘the’ is a prefix. If we aUach it to the noun, we must also aUach it to the adjecQve. ‫החכם‬
Rules: NP ➛ N (Adj)
NP ➛ N.def (Adj.def)
‫הסוס‬
ha-xaxam
ha-sus
the-smart the-stallion
‘ the smart stallion’
The Noun Phrase Some determiners follow the adjecQve. But others, which we’ll call Pre-­‐determiners (PDet), precede the noun. ‫חכם‬
‫כל סוס‬
xaxam
sus
kol
smart stallion each
‘each smart stallion’
Rules: NP ➛ (PDet) N (Adj)
NP.def ➛ (PDet) N.def (Adj.def) (Det.def)
‫הזה‬
‫החכם‬
‫הסוס‬
ha-ze ha-xaxam
ha-sus
the-this the-smart the-stallion
‘this smart stallion’
The Noun Phrase All NP elements (with the excepQon of pre-­‐
determiners) must agree in number, gender, and definiteness. ‫ההן‬
ha-hen
the-them.fp
‫החכמות‬
‫הסוסות‬
‫כל‬
ha-xaxamot
ha-susot
kol
the-smart.fp the-mares(fp)
all
‘all those smart mares’
Rules: NP.ms ➛ (PDet) N.ms (Adj ms)
NP.def.ms ➛ (PDet) N.def.ms (Adj.def.ms) (Det.def.ms)
NP.fs ➛ (PDet) N.fs (Adj.fs)
NP.def.fs ➛ (PDet) N.def.fs (Adj.def.fs) (Det. def.fs) NP.mp ➛ (PDet) N.mp (Adj mp)
NP.def.mp ➛ (PDet) N.def.mp (Adj.def.mp) (Det.def mp) NP.fp ➛ (PDet) N.fp (Adj.fp)
NP.def.fp ➛ (PDet) N.def.fp (Adj.def.fp) (Det.def.fp) The Possessive Phrase Possessive phrases are headed by the possessive marker (Poss) šel ‘of’, which takes a definite NP has its complement. The Possessive Phrase Possessive phrases occupy the same slot as determiners within the NP. NP ➛ (PDet)
N
(Adj)
({PossP, Det})
[ kol ha-susot ha-xaxamot [ šel ha-xasmala’i ] ]
all the-mares the-smart of the-electrician
‘all the electrician’s smart mares’
The PreposiQonal Phrase PPs work much as they do in English: The Prep precedes an NP. However, some preposiQons aUach to the NP as prefixes. PP ➛ Prep
NP
el
xanut
to
store
‘to a store’
el
ha-xanut
to
the-store
‘to the store’
be-xanut
in-store
‘in a store’
ba-xanut
in.the-store
‘in the store’
TransiQve Verbs Every transiQve verb selects a parQcular parQcle to mark its complement, either et, or a prefixed cliQc such as b-­‐ or l-­‐. •  ET verbs VP ➛ V.et
ET
bišla
et
cooked.fs OM
‘cooked the soup’
VP ➛ V.et
NP
bišla
marak
cooked.fs soup
‘cooked soup’
NP.def
ha-marak
the-soup
(PP)
(PP)
TransiQve Verbs •  b-­‐ verbs VP ➛ V.b
b- { NP, NP.def }
(PP)
yištamšu
b- (h)a-maxšev
use.FUT.3mp
the-computer
‘they will use the computer’
•  l-­‐ verbs VP ➛ V.l
l- { NP, NP.def }
azarnu
l(h)a-susa
help.PAST.1cp
the-mare
‘we helped the mare’
(PP)
IntransiQve Verbs VP ➛ V.intrans
(PP)
caxakta
laugh.PAST.2fs
‘you laughed’
caxakt
b-(h)a-xanut
laugh.PAST.2fs
in-the-store
‘you laughed in the store’
Linking Verbs VP ➛ V.link
nir’e
seem.PAST.3ms
‘seemed short’
Adj
kacar
(PP)
AUribuQve Verbs VP ➛ V.attrib.1
l-
NP
{ NP, Adj } (PP)
kar’a
l- (h)a-xasmala’i mexo’ar
call.PAST.2ms
the-electrician
ugly
‘you called the electrician ugly’
VP ➛ V.attrib.et
ET
NP
cavata
et
ha-xeder
paint.PAST.2ms
the-room
‘you painted the room red’
{ NP, Adj }
adom
red
(PP)
Clausal Verbs VP ➛ V.clausal
Comp
xašavti
šethink.PAST.1cs that
‘I thought you laugh’
raciti
šewant.PAST.1.cs that
‘I wanted you to laugh’
S
[ ata
you.ms
coxek ]
laugh.PRES.ms
[ caxakta ]
laugh.PAST.2ms
Verbs Taking InfiniQval Complements VP ➛ V.modal
VP.inf
yaxol
can.PRES.ms
‘can laugh’
[ li-cxok ]
to-laugh
carix
must.PRES.ms
‘I must laugh’
[ li-cxok ]
to-laugh
Subject-­‐Verb Agreement The VP and subject NP must agree in person, gender, and number.