Introduction to
English Syntax
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.
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,
Word-level Categories
Lexical 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
Semantic criteria > Meaning
One 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
Morpho-syntactic Criteria
Category Inflectional affix Examples
Noun Plural –s books, chairs, doctors Verb Past tense –ed hunted, watched, judges
Progressive –ing hunting, watching, judging Adjective Comparative –er taller, faster, smarter
Superlative –est tallest, fastest, smartest
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
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
Head
Phrases 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
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
Complements
Complements 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].
never eat a hamburger
Qual V Det N
VP
NP
A NP consisting of a head, a specifier, and a complement
the book Det N
NP
PP
An AP consisting of a head, a specifier, and a complement
quite certain
Deg A
AP
PP
A PP consisting of a head, a specifier, and a complement
almost in
Deg P
PP
NP
Phrase structure rule
NP > (Det) N (PP)
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
Det N V Det N
NP
NP VP
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
Complement Clauses
All 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
that whether
if
the contestant will win
C Det N Infl V
NP VP
S
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
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
The movement test
Another 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,
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,
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
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.
Inversion in yes-no questions
Will the boy leave? >> The boy will leave
the Boy will leave
Det N Infl V
NP VP
S
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
Wh-Movement
The man should repair which car?
Which car should the man --- repair ---?
inversion
Do insertion
Those birds sing
those birds do sing
References
Eagleson, 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.
