Lexical categories, such as nouns (N), verbs (V), adjectives (A), prepositions (P), and adverbs (Adv), are concerned with content words that convey the core meanings in sentences. Functional categories include determiners (Det), auxiliaries (Aux), conjunctions (Con), and degree words (Deg), which are used to express grammatical relations and structures rather than specific lexical meanings . Lexical categories often serve as the heads of phrases, which are central in forming sentences. They create the semantic content, while functional categories usually act as specifiers or markers within phrases and sentences, clarifying the function or grammatical role of the lexical content . The interaction between these categories through processes such as Merge and Move allows for the construction and transformation of complete syntactic structures .

The Merge operation is fundamental in constructing sentences by combining words into phrases and phrases into larger syntactic units, following hierarchical structures defined by the X-Bar Theory. It builds the basic structure of sentences from the lexical and functional categories available . Move, on the other hand, is a transformational operation used to alter the position of elements within a sentence, often to satisfy syntactic or semantic criteria. It is employed in creating questions and different sentence types by moving elements like auxiliary verbs or WH-words to specific positions, such as from T (Tense) to C (Complementizer) positions in the case of inversion in questions . While Merge builds the deep structure of sentences, Move derives the surface structure from it .

In X-Bar Theory, which is used to represent the hierarchical structure of phrases, the head is the core of a phrase, and it is an obligatory element. Heads, which can be formed by N, V, A, or P categories, determine the type of phrase being formed . Specifiers are optional elements that precede the head and are often filled by functional categories like determiners or adverbs, providing additional specification or modification of the head . Complements, which follow the head, complete the meaning of the head and are usually other phrases, such as noun phrases (NPs) or prepositional phrases (PPs). This hierarchical structure, defined by the head-complement-specifier relationship, allows for a systematic approach to analyzing sentence and phrase construction, offering insight into universal grammar principles across languages .

Universal Grammar (UG) refers to the innate system of grammatical categories, principles, and operations shared by all humans, enabling the acquisition of any language . UG accounts for similarities between languages, such as the existence of categories (nouns, verbs) and structural principles like the head-complement relationship. However, UG also allows for parametric variation, which introduces language-specific differences. Parameters act as options or settings within UG that languages can select differently. For example, the head-complement parameter explains why English uses head-complement order ('in school') while languages like Japanese use complement-head order ('school in'). Similarly, the WH movement parameter varies between languages, explaining different placements of WH words in questions .

WH questions illustrate the application of both Merge and Move operations in their syntactic structure. Initially, Merge creates the deep structure by combining lexical categories into a coherent sentence, such as 'John can speak which languages' . The Move operation then adjusts this structure to form the WH question by relocating the WH word to the specifier of CP and the auxiliary verb to the C position, resulting in 'Which languages can John speak?' . This demonstrates how questions require syntactic transformations beyond the basic sentence structure, utilizing the operations of Merge to build and Move to modify to achieve the surface structure necessary for question formation .

To determine phrase structure constituency, three tests are commonly used: the substitution test, the movement test, and the coordination test. The substitution test involves replacing a syntactic unit with a single word; for instance, replacing 'the children' with 'they' confirms it as a constituent . The movement test checks whether a group of words can be relocated together; phrases that move as a unit, like 'at the corner' in 'At the corner, the children will stop,' are constituents . The coordination test involves connecting similar constituents with conjunctions like 'and' or 'but'; if a phrase can be coordinated with another of the same type, like 'at the corner and look both ways,' it passes the test for constituency . These tests help to establish the boundaries and identities of syntactic units within sentences.

Complement clauses function as embedded clauses within a larger sentence, serving to complete the meaning of verbs that require sentence-level complements. They are represented as CPs (Complementizer Phrases) with the complementizer as the head, such as 'that', 'whether', and 'if' . The complementizer introduces the embedded clause, and the TP (Tense Phrase) functions as its complement, providing propositional content that fills out the meaning of the main clause verb. Examples include sentences like 'The mother knows that the party is at school', where 'that the party is at school' is the complement clause introduced by the complementizer 'that' . This structure highlights the integration of multiple hierarchical layers within sentence construction, providing depth and complexity to syntactic analysis .

Verb subcategorization is determined by the types and number of complements a verb can take, stored within our mental lexicon as part of the verb's entry. It categorizes verbs into classes such as intransitive (no complements, e.g., 'arrive'), transitive (one NP complement, e.g., 'devour'), and ditransitive (two complements, e.g., 'give'). The presence and type of complements dictate how the verb integrates into sentence structures, influencing both the syntactic and semantic analysis. For example, verbs like 'send' can take NP and PP complements, as in 'send the package to the headquarters,' affecting the hierarchical and dependency relationships in phrases . This subcategorization is crucial for accurately parsing and constructing grammatical sentences .

Inflection involves changes to the form of a word to express grammatical contrasts, such as tense, mood, voice, aspect, person, number, and case. In syntax, inflection helps determine the category to which a word belongs. For example, plural markers like '-s' indicate a noun, while tense markers like '-ed' suggest a verb . However, inflection is not a foolproof criterion because not all words in a category will exhibit inflection consistently. For example, irregular verbs like 'sang', 'went', and 'ate' do not follow the regular '-ed' pattern for past tense, necessitating reliance on other criteria, like distribution and meaning, to accurately determine word categories .

In English syntax, inversion involves moving only auxiliary verbs (not main verbs) to the T position and then to the C position for questions, leading to structures like 'Have they cut the cake?' . This is because in English, main verbs remain in the V position within the VP, and only auxiliary verbs can occupy the T position . In French, however, both main verbs and auxiliaries can rise to the T position, allowing for inversion with main verbs, as in 'Travaille-t-il?' (Does he work?). This difference highlights the syntactic parameter differentiation in verb behavior between the two languages, affecting how questions and other constructions are formed .