Syntax ˈsɪntæks

Syntax?

• When we concentrate on the structure & ordering of components within a sentence, we are
studying the syntax of a language.

• Syntax (originally Greek) = ‘putting together’/ ‘arrangement’

(σύν (syn): meaning "together" or "with" τάξις (taxis): meaning "arrangement" or "order ")

• Syntax is the study of the rules governing the way words are combined to form phrases and
sentences in a language.
 Syntax? (cont.)

• The grammar will generate all the well-formed structures of the language.

• The grammar will not generate any ill-formed structures.

• We might say informally that, in English

a preposition (e.g. near) + a noun (e.g. London)

= a prepositional phrase (near London).

 Syntax? (cont.)

• If we follow this rule, we will produce phrases like *near tree or *with dog.

• We clearly need to be more careful in forming this rule.

→ a preposition + a noun phrase (not just a noun) = a prepositional phrase.

• So that the revised rule can produce these well-formed structures:

near London, with you, near a tree, with the dog

 Syntax? (cont.)

• When we have an effective rule such as “a prepositional phrase in English consists of a

preposition followed by a noun phrase,” we can imagine an extremely large number of
English phrases that could be produced using this rule.

• In fact, the potential number is unlimited.

• This reflects another goal of syntactic analysis, which is to have a small and finite set of rules
that will be capable of producing a large and infinite number of well-formed structures.
= limitless
• This small and finite set of rules is sometimes described as ‘generative grammar’ because it
can be used to “generate” or produce sentence structures, rather than merely describe them.
Symbols used in syntactic analysis
Symbols used in syntactic analysis (cont.)
 Phrase structure rules

• We can think of the tree diagram format in 2 different ways:

1. As a static representation of the structure of the sentence shown at the bottom of the diagram.
= stable, fixed

2. As a dynamic format (represents a way of generating a very large number of other sentences

with similar structures)

The girl ate an apple.
The teacher read a book.
The child played a game.
The man bought a car.
…..
 Phrase structure rules (cont.)

• This second approach would enable us to generate a very large number of sentences
with a very small number of rules.

• These rules are called phrase structure rules.

• Phrase structure rules (e.g. S → NP VP, NP → Det N, VP → V NP) state that the structure of
a phrase of a specific type will consist of one or more constituents in a particular order.

• We can use phrase structure rules to present the information of the tree diagram in
another format.
 Phrase structure rules (cont.)

• The first rule in the following set of simple phrase structure rules states that “a sentence
rewrites as a noun phrase and a verb phrase.” (S → Phrase)

• The second rule states that “a noun phrase rewrites as either an article plus an optional
adjective plus a noun, or a pronoun, or a proper noun” (Phrase → … )

NP VP

Det N V NP
 Determiners

1. Articles: Definite article: the (e.g., the book) / Indefinite article: a, an (e.g., a car, an apple)

2. Demonstratives this, that, these, those (e.g., this house, those cars)

3. Possessive Determiners: my, your, his, her, its, our, their (e.g., my laptop, their house)

4. Quantifiers: some, many, few, several, all (e.g., many people, some cookies)

5. Numbers: Cardinal numbers (e.g., one, two, three)

6. Interrogative Determiners : which, what (e.g., Which book did you choose?)
 Lexical rules

• Phrase structure rules generate structures.

• Lexical rules are the step that insert appropriate words into these structures and modify them
to form an actual English sentence.
 Lexical rules (cont.)

• We can rely on these rules to generate the grammatical sentences 1-6, but not the
ungrammatical sentences 7-12.
Lexical rules (cont.)
 Evidence for Phrases and Clauses

• Substitution

- process by which we replace a phrase with a pronoun (or other pro-form).

e.g. The new houses will make a fine addition to the neighborhood.

*The new they will make a fine addition to the neighborhood.

They make a fine addition to the neighborhood.

e.g. The mouse ran down the hall, and the cat did so, too.

e.g. I left the book on the table, but now it’s not there.

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 Evidence for Phrases and Clauses (cont.)

• Coordination and Parallelism

- joining phrases of the same category with a conjunction
(for, and, nor, but, or, yet)
e.g. *Amelia plays the guitar and in the woods. (NP - PP)
cf. Amelia plays the guitar and the banjo./ˈbæn.dʒoʊ/
*Amelia saw not seven but thrilling soccer games. (Det - AP)
cf. Amelia saw not boring but thrilling soccer games.

Do not worry, for I will help you.

e.g. John believes in honesty and Wiley told a lie.
He didn’t call me, nor did he send a message.
The novel is long, yet very interesting.

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 Movement rules

• Declarative forms (You will help Mary.) → Interrogative forms (Will you help Mary?)

• In making the question, we move one part of the structure to a different position.

→ This process is based on a movement rule.

 Movement rules (cont.)

• With these components, we can specify a simple movement rule that is involved in the
creation of one basic type of question in English.
 Movement rules (cont.)

• This type of rule has a special symbol and can be illustrated in the process of one tree, on
the right, being derived from the tree on the left.
 Movement rules (cont.)

• Wh-movement

Deep structure: You bought what? → Surface structure: What did you buy?
• Passive movement
Deep structure: They arrested the man. → Surface structure: The man was arrested.

• Raising
Deep structure: It seems [that John is happy]. →Surface structure: John seems to be happy.

• Extraposition

Deep structure: That John arrived early surprised me.

→ Surface structure: It surprised me that John arrived early.
 Deep and surface structure

• This type of grammar should also be capable of revealing the basis of two other phenomena:

1. how some superficially different sentences are closely related

= seemingly
(same deep structure / different surface structure)

2. how some superficially similar sentences are in fact different

(different deep structure / same surface structure)

e.g. Flying planes can be dangerous. → ambiguity

1) The act of flying planes can be dangerous.

2) Planes that are flying can be dangerous.

 Deep and surface structure (cont.)

• All of the following sentences share the same deep structure, despite their differences in
surface structure.
Charlie broke the window.
The window was broken by Charlie. (cf. end-focus principle)
Charlie was the one who broke the window.
It was Charlie who broke the window.
Was the window broken by Charlie?

→ All the sentences communicate the same idea: “Charlie broke the window”
 Deep and surface structure (cont.)

• Different in their surface structure = different arrangement or ordering

• However, they have the same ‘deep’ or underlying structure = same basic components.
(NP + V + NP)

• The deep structure is an abstract level of structural organization in which all the elements
determining structural interpretation are represented.

• In short, the grammar must be capable of showing how a single underlying abstract
representation can become different surface structures.
deep structure surface structure
 Structural ambiguity

• Annie whacked the man with an umbrella.

→ Same surface structure, but different deep structure is possible.
• What are the two possible meanings(the two distinct deep structures/ two distinct underlying
interpretations) in the followings?

e.g. The boy saw the man with the telescope.

Small boys and girls

• Our syntactic analysis should be capable of showing the structural distinction between
these underlying representations.
 Structural ambiguity (Cont.)

• Structural ambiguity: a situation in which a single phrase or sentence has two (or more)

different underlying structures and interpretations.

e.g. The boy saw the man with the telescope.

→ two meanings:

Using the telescope, the boy saw the man.

The boy saw the man. The man had a scope.

Structural ambiguity (Cont.)
 Structural Ambiguity (cont.)
S

NP VP
NP
Det N V NP

Det N PP

P NP

Det N
The boy saw the man with the telescope
Meaning: The boy saw the man. The man had a telescope. 27
Structural ambiguity (Cont.)
Structural ambiguity (Cont.)

?
 Ambiguous sentences

• We met an English history teacher.

• The parents of the bride and groom were waiting outside.

• The students complained to everyone that they couldn’t understand.
→ The students complained [that they couldn’t understand] to everyone.

→ The students complained to everyone, saying that they couldn’t understand them.

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 Recursion

• A recursive rule is a rule that allows a phrase to contain another phrase of the same type.

1. prepositional phrase recursion

The gun was on the table.

The gun was on the table near the window.

The gun was on the table near the window in the bedroom.
 Recursion

2. Complement clause recursion

Mary helped George

→ Cathy knew [that Mary helped George.]

→ John believed [ that Cathy knew [ that Mary helped George.] ]

3. Relative clause recursion

The cat was sold by the man.

→ This is [the cat [that ate [the rat [that ate [the cheese [that was sold by the man [that

lived in the city [that was on the river]]]]]]]].

 Recursion (cont.)

• No end to recursion that would produce longer complex sentences.

• Our syntactic analysis should account for the fact that a sentence can have another
sentence inside it or that a phrase can be repeated as often as required
 Complement phrases

• Complement phrases are phrases that complete the meaning of a sentence by

providing necessary information to certain verbs, nouns, or adjectives.

• These complements help complete the meaning of the sentence, making it grammatically
or semantically complete.

• Common types of complement phrases include that-clauses, infinitive phrases, and

wh-clauses.

• She thinks that he is smart. I want to go home. I am happy to see you.

She is happy that he came. The fact that she left surprised everyone.

Her decision to move shocked her friends. She explained why she was late.
 Complement phrases (cont.)

• Cathy knew that Mary helped George.

that = complementizer (C)

→ The role of that as a complementizer is to introduce a complement phrase(CP)
that Mary helped George = complement phrase(CP)

• New rule: CP → C S
“A complement phrase consists of a complementizer and a sentence.”

• From the example, the CP comes after a V . → This means that we are using the CP as part
of a VP (knew that Mary helped George).

• Now, we have a new rule, “A verb phrase consists of a verb and a complement phrase.” or,
VP → V CP
Complement phrases (cont.)
 Rule Order
• You wash you.
↓ reflexivisation
You wash yourself.
↓ You - deletion for imperative
(You) Wash yourself.

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 Rule Order (cont.)

• He writes some letters in English.

↓ passivization

Some letters are written in English by him.

↓ there-insertion

There are some letters written in English by him.

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 Rule Order (cont.)

• He writes some letters in English.

↓ there-insertion

there is him some letters in English are written in English by him.

↓ passivization (x)
?

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 Exercise

• Draw the tree diagrams of the following sentences.

1. The old tree swayed in the wind.

2. The children put the toy in the box.

3. The small boy saw George with a crazy dog recently.

 Exercise (cont.)

• The old tree swayed in the wind.

 Exercise (cont.)

• The children put the toy in the box.

 Exercise (cont.)

• The small boy saw George with a crazy dog recently.

 Exercise (cont.)

• Draw the tree diagrams of the following sentences.

Sarah went to the hospital.

He saw John with an amazing car yesterday.

I met her yesterday.

He saw the girl with a telescope.