Download LI2013 (10) – Syntax (for students)

SYNTAX
LI 2013
N AT H A L I E F. M A R T I N
Table of Content
II.
Grammatical vs. Ungrammatical
The Sentence
III.
Phrases
I.
Rowe & Levine
(2012):
p. 115-155 .
O’Grady &
Archibald (2009)
p. 146-189.
Tree Diagrams /Labelling Phrases
V. Inflection
VI. Syntax & Ambiguity
VII. Deep Structure vs. Surface Structure
VIII. Moves
IV.
Definition: Syntax
 A child’s definition 
“All the money
collected at church
from sinners”
(Taken from
Laughing
Matters,
by Phil
Callaway)
 Syntax:
The analysis of
sentence
structure
Grammatical vs Ungrammatical
Grammatical or Ungrammatical?
1. The boy found the ball
2. The boy found quickly
3. The boy found in the house
4. The boy found the ball in the house
5. David slept the baby
6. David slept soundly
KEEP IN MIND
Written versus spoken
Formal versus informal (or
even slang)
Right or wrong?
The Sentence
DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES
TO THE SENTENCE
PERSPECTIVES
 What do you see?
 How
would you describe
it?
 Why different answers:
 Perspectives/background

Different descriptions
Phrase
PHRASE TYPES
PHRASE STRUCTURE
1st Perspective of the Sentence
 The most minimal view.
 Constituents:
Subject
(topic of the sentence)
Predicate (comment or assertion made about
the topic)
Ex:
The cat is the most beautiful in the world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGN_NxKIIFM 
1st Perspective of the Sentence
 Types of sentences based on
grammatical construction
A.
Simple sentence:
1 Subject + 1 Predicate
Ex: The boy went swimming.
1st Perspective of the Sentence
 Types of sentences based on
grammatical construction
B. Compound sentence:
(Subject & Predicate) + (Subject & Predicate)
= Subject + CONJ + Subject + predicate
= Subject + predicate CONJ + predicate
1st Perspective of the Sentence
 Types of sentences based on
grammatical construction
B. Compound sentence:
Ex:
(The boy went swimming) + (The
girl went swimming)
= The boy and the girl went swimming.
1st Perspective of the Sentence
 Types of sentences based on
grammatical construction
C. Complex sentence:
• (Simple: Subject & Predicate) +
SUBORDINATING CONJ + (Dependant:
Subject & Predicate) (Etc.)
Ex:
The cat slept WHILE the dog ate.
1st Perspective of the Sentence
 Types of sentences based on
grammatical construction
D. Compound-Complex sentence:
Ex:
Although I like to go camping (Dep clause),
 I haven't had the time to go lately (Ind clause),
AND
I haven't found anyone to go with (Ind clause).
nd
Perspective of the Sentence
 Types of sentences based on meaning,
purpose or voice:
 Declarative
 Interrogative
 Imperative
 Exclamatory
 Negative
 Active or passive voice
3 rd Perspective of the Sentence
 Study of the sentence based on
grammatical construction.
Phrases:
Heads
of phrases + dependants
(specifiers + complements)
• Nouns, verbs, prepositions,
adjectives, etc.
Phrase
PHRASE TYPES
PHRASE STRUCTURE
Let’s Try it Out
How would you divide this sentence?
a) The children put the brand new toys in
the box.
 Definition of “phrases”:
 independent linguistic objects with their
own characteristics and internal structure
From Phrase Structure
to Sentence Structure
 We form sentences by
combining words into phrasal
constituents, phrases into larger
constituents, and these
constituents into sentences.
Phrase types
 Noun Phrase (NP): Functions like a
noun
 Ex.
The car, a clever student
 Verb Phrase (VP): Functions like a verb
 Ex: study hard, play the guitar
Phrase types
 Adjective Phrase (AP): Functions like
an adjective
 Ex:
pretty, very tall, quite certain
 Adverb Phrase (AdvP): Starts with an
adverb / modify verbs
 Ex:
all day, for many days, at noon, like
a child, to prove her intelligence
Phrase types
 Prepositional Phrase (PP): Starts with
preposition (Prep) [in, on, with, etc.]
 Ex:
in the class, above the earth
Phrase Structure Rules
 NP  (Det) N (PP)
 PP  P NP
The bus in the yard
NP
The bus (NP)
Det
N
The
bus
Det
N
PP
P
The
bus
in
NP
Det
N
the
yard
Phrase Structure Rules
 VP  V (NP) (PP)
 S  NP (Aux) VP
took the money from the bank
VP
took the money (VP)
V
NP
Det
V
NP
N
Det
took
the
PP
N
P
NP
money
took
the
money
from
Det
N
the
bank
Head Types
 In Noun Phrase (NP):
 Functions like a noun, head is noun (N)
 Ex. The car, a clever student
 In Verb Phrase (VP):
 Functions like a verb, head is verb (V)
 Ex: study hard, play the guitar
 In Adjective Phrase (AP):
 Functions like an adjective, head is adjective (Adj)
 Ex: very tall, quite certain
 In Prepositional Phrase (PP):
 Head is preposition (Prep) [in, on, with, etc.]
 Ex: in the class, above the earth
Phrase Structure
• All phrases have the same basic structure:
Phrase (XP)
{Specifier}
Head (X)
{Complement(s)}
 The specifier narrows the meaning of the head.
The complements give more information about the
head.
Specifier types
 In NPs, specifiers are determiners like
a, the, this, that, these, those.
 In VPs, specifiers are adverbs like
always, never, seldom, often.
 In APs, specifiers are degree words like
very, quite, too, so.
 In PPs, specifiers are adverbs like
almost, nearly.
Complement types
 In NPs, complements can be PPs: cabin by
the lake, book on the table.
 In VPs, complements can be NPs or PPs:
ate the cookies, ate at the park.
 In APs, complements can be PPs: happy
about the new job.
 In PPs, complements are NPs: at the park.
Sentence structure
 The basic English sentence (S or IP) structure is:
S (or IP)
NP (Subject)
VP (Predicate)
 For this course, we will use either IP (for “inflection”)
found in your textbook or S (for sentence)
Simple Sentence
 The NP and VP might only contain a head (no
specifiers or complements):
S
NP
N
VP
V
Bill
swims
Simple sentence 1
The boy swims.
S
NP
Det
VP
N
The boy
V
swims
Simple sentence 2
The boy swims in the stream.
S
NP
Det
VP
N
V
PP
Prep
The
boy
swims
in
NP
Det N
the stream
Simple sentence 3
The boy from Ohio swims in the stream.
S
NP
Det N
VP
PP
V
Prep NP
PP
Prep
N
The boy
from Ohio swims in
NP
Det N
the stream
Tree Diagrams /
Labelling Phrases
Example with brackets
How would you devide this sentence into phrases?
 The children put the toys in the box
 [The children] [put [the toys]
[in [the box] ] ]
The Main Phrase Structure Rules
1. S  NP VP
2. NP  (Det) (AP) N (PP)
3. VP  (Aux) V (NP)
4. PP  (Deg) P (NP)
Up Side Down Trees
Sentence
(+ Infl)
Phrases
(Phrases)
Syntactic
Categories
Words
O’Grady, p. 181
 How to build trees structures:
How to Build a Tree (O’Grady, p. 181)
Example - Phrase Tree (1)
play
with
the
toy
VP
VP
V
PP
P
NP
Det
play
with
the
N
toy
Draw the tree Structure of phrase
1. repair the telephone
2. the success of the program
3. a film about pollution
4. move towards the window
5. The end of the road
How to Build a Tree (O’Grady, p. 181)
Example – Sentence Tree (2)
He
likes
the
toy.
S
NP
N
VP
V
NP
Det
He
likes
the
N
toy
How to Build a Tree (O’Grady, p. 181)
Example – Sentence Tree (2)
The children
like
the
toy.
S
NP
Det
VP
N
V
NP
Det
The
children
put
the
PP
N
toy
P
in
NP
Det
N
the
box
How to Build a Tree (O’Grady, p. 181)
Example – Sentence Tree (3)
The children
put
the
toy
in
the
box.
S
NP
Det
VP
N
NP
V
Det
The
children
put
the
PP
N
toy
P
in
NP
Det
N
the
box
Draw the structure trees for the following
sentences
Draw the tree structure of the following
sentences:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
Those guests should leave.
Maria never ate a brownie.
That shelf will fall.
The glass broke.
The student lost the debate.
The manager may offer a raise.
Question # 5 (a–f) p. 187 (O’Grady)
TENSE
THE TENSE OF THE SENTENCE
Tense of a Sentence?
 What is the tense of this sentence?
a) He plays.
b) He will play.
c) He has played.



What marks the tense of the sentence?
What characterises these sentences?
Modal auxiliary
« Inflection » or TENSE
 Abstract category dubbed « tense »
and sometimes « Infl » for inflection
that indicates the tense of the
sentence.
Within the VP
Example (1)
Future
The old tree
will
sway
in
the
wind.
S
NP
Det
Adj
VP
N
V
PP
Infl
Past (- Pst)
P
NP
Det
N
the
wind
Aux
The
old
tree
will
sway
in
Example (2)
(Past tense)
The old tree
swayed
in
the
wind.
S
NP
Det
Adj
VP
Infl
N
Past (+
Pst)
V
PP
P
The
old
tree
swayed
in
NP
Det
N
the
wind
TENSE
 Circle the elements which occupy the
“tense”
 Underline the VP
a)
b)
c)
Jane did solve the mystery.
Jane will patiently wait for John in the garden.
Marilou was snoring again in the kitchen.
Draw the structure trees for the following
sentences
a)
Those guests should leave.
S (IP)
NP
Det
Those
N
guests
VP
V
Aux
should
leave.
Question # 5 (a–f) p. 187 (O’Grady)
Draw the structure trees for the following
sentences
b)
Maria never ate a brownie.
S (IP)
NP
VP
V
NP
AdvP
N
N
Det
Adv
Maria
never
ate
a
brownie
Question # 5 (a–f) p. 187 (O’Grady)
Syntax &
Ambiguity
What was Understood?
THOUSAND DOLLAR
BILLS ARE FINE FOR
LITTERING.
How can we change this
sentence to make it clear?
What should we add?
A 1000$ FINE FOR
LITTERING.
(YOU CAN RECEIVE A
1000$ FINE FOR
LITTERING IF CAUGHT)
Ambiguity: a word, phrase or sentence
with multiple meanings
Synthetic buffalo hides (NP)
Synthetic
buffalo hides
Buffalo hides that are synthetic.
Synthetic buffalo hides (NP)
Synthetic buffalo
hides
Hides of synthetic buffalo.
Ambiguities often lead to humorous results
 For sale: an antique desk suitable for lady with thick
legs and large drawers.
 what does “thick legs and large drawers” refer to?
The desk or the lady?
Structural Ambiguity (1)
The boy saw the man with the telescope
S
NP
Det
VP
N
V
NP
Det
PP
N
P
NP
Det
The
boy
saw the
N
man with the telescope
Structural Ambiguity (2)
The boy saw the man with the telescope
S
NP
Det
VP
N
NP
V
Det
N
PP
P
NP
Det
The
boy
saw
the
N
man with the telescope
« Inflection »
TENSE
Deep Stucture
and Surface Structure
Transformation
1. How can we interpret “all mimsy were the
borogroves”?
2. How can we find the category of “mimsy”?
3. How can you transform the sentence to make it
more understandable (syntactically)?
Can You Find the Deep Structure
Draw the deep structure of the following sentences
(adapted from #10 & 11, p.242)
1. Will the boss hire Hillary?
2. Is that player leaving the team?
3. Who should the director call?
4. What is Joanne eating?
Transformation
D E C L A R AT I V E – I N T E R R O G AT I V E
YES-NO QUESTIONS
DO INSERTION
WH MOVEMENT
Transformation
 Movement Transformation
 Deletion Transformation
 Insertion Transformation
 Substitution Transformation
From One Sentencfe to The Other
 Look at these sentences:
1. What do we need to do to transform it from one
sentence structure to the other?
a) Will the boy leave?
b) Which car is your’s?
Declarative – Interrogative
 Move the auxiliary to the left of the subject.
The boy will leave.
S
NP
VP
Will the boy leave?
S
Aux
NP
VP
Aux
Det
N
The boy
V
will
leave
The deep structure
Will
Det
N
V
the
boy leave
The surface structure
The Wh Movement
 Surface structure: Which car should the man repair?
 Deep structure:
S
NP
Det
The
VP
N
man
Aux
NP
V
should repair
Det
N
which
car
Ask Your Own Wh- Questions