Welcome to the Most Hellish Part of Grammar Class - Syntax

[major_kerina]

He even says so. A lot more online exercises and readings. I'll post the readings later.


Intro to Syntax...

Purposes of this Section (besides destroying your soul)

To define the concept of phrase.
To identify different types of phrases. NP AP VP etc...
To describe the internal structure of phrases.
To define the concept of constituent. Part of a phrase.
To distinguish between optional (you can remove them and keep a sentence grammatical) and obligatory (you can't delete them without an un-grammatical sentence) constituents.
To identify the functions of the different phrases acting as constituents. Difference between form and function. NP up to six grammatical functions.
To present techniques for identifying the constituents in a sentence. Movement, deletion, and substitutions. If you can move it, you've discovered a phrase....etc.
To boldly go where no English Major really wants go...

Phrases
What is it?
A sequence of words that has a particular word as its head.
(If any) - Note, however, that some of them may consist of a single word.
The internal structure of the phrase follows specific patterns that conform to the grammar of the language. There are patterns...patterns everywhere!!! (Ex -NP - One word has to be a noun, and then maybe an adjective, and determiners...only can appear as determine--adjective---noun).
The phrase functions as a unit. Proforms can replace these phrases.

The Internal Structure
All phrases are endocentric (has a head...no headless horsemen nouns).
Each phrase has a head.
Phrases are maximal projections (other things that modify it) of the head.
The head determines the type of phrase it is.
A noun is a head of a noun phrase

What we'll be talking about...
Noun Phrase (NP)
Adjective Phrase (AP)
Adverb Phrase (AvP)
Prepositional Phrase (PP)
Verb Phrase (VP)

First, the Noun Phrase.
The NP consists of a head noun and all of its modifiers, if any.
According to this definition, a NP can consist of many words or a single word.
The hiker who fell off the cliff during the storm was badly injured.
The hiker was badly injured.
He was badly injured. (proform)

A one way dependency exists between a noun and its modifiers.
A NP must have a noun, but it does not have to have any modifiers.
Nancy bought a very rare book.
Nancy bought a book.
*Nancy bought a very rare.

Adjective Phrase
An AP consists of a head adjective and all of its modifiers, if any.
Again, a AP may consist of a single word or many.
The students were very happy with their grades.
The students were very happy.
The students were happy .

A one way dependency exists between an adjective and its modifiers.
An AP must have an adjective, but it does not have to have any modifiers.
The oven was very hot.
The oven was hot.
*The oven was very.

Adverb Phrase
An AvP (Alien Vs. Predator Phrase!!!) consists of a head adverb and all of its modifiers, if any.
An AvP may consist of several words or just one.
The instructor spoke too quickly by far.
The instructor spoke too quickly.
The instructor spoke quickly.

A one way dependency exists between an adverb and its modifiers.
An AvP must have an adverb, but it does not have to have any modifiers.
Some people drive too slowly.
Some people drive slowly.
*Some people drive too.

Prepositional Phrases
A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition and a complement called the object of the preposition.
The object of the preposition is a noun phrase or a noun phrase substitute.
from the terrace
on the stairs

Every preposition has an object which generally follows the preposition.
Sometimes movement rules extract the object, but it is always recoverable.
Luis is from Chile.
Where is Luis from?
Where is the object of the preposition even though it does not follow the preposition. (From where). WH movement. Wh- words move to the beginnings of clauses.

The preposition and its object are in a state of mutual dependency.
For a PP to exist, it must have both a preposition and an object.
We received a letter from Spain.
*We received a letter from.
*We received a letter Spain.

The Verb Phrase
A VP consists of a verb group and all of its complements (necessary and can't be deleted) and modifiers, if any.
The verb group and its modifiers are in a condition of one way dependency.
The runner stumbled awkwardly.
The runner stumbled.
*The runner awkwardly.

A verb group consists of a head verb and all of its auxiliaries, if any.
The main verb and auxiliaries are in a condition of one way dependency.
should have been studying
should be studying
should study
study

Constituents
Internal structures and definitions.
What are they?
Any structure that participates in making up a larger structure is a constituent of that larger structure.
NPs, APs, AvPs, VPs and PPs are the constituents of sentences.
Words are the constituents of phrases.
Every phrase in a sentence is a phrasal constituent.

Sentences are constructed of phrases intermediate between the highest node--the S--and the ultimate constituents--the words. (Picture - Sentence leading out to Phrases and then Words below them).

Order
Constituents are arranged in specifiable and predictable orders.
S --->  NP  VP
NP ---> (Det)  (AP) N (PP) [Parentheses for non-obligatory parts]
PP ---> P NP

Optional Constituents
Optional constituents are those that can be deleted from a sentence.
Deletable constituents are not needed for a sentence to be grammatical.
We had dinner after the concert last night.
We had dinner after the concert.
We had dinner.

Obligatory Constituents
Obligatory constituents are those that cannot be deleted from a sentence.
They are needed for the sentence to be grammatically complete.
The tornado destroyed the bridge.
*destroyed the bridge
*the tornado the bridge
*the tornado destroyed

Functions of Phrasal Constituents
Each type of phrasal constituent has a specifiable range of functions.
The VP is always the predicate (its grammatical function).
APs, AvPs, and PPs are modifiers

The NP has six different functions:
Subject of Verb (SV)
Direct Object (DO)
Indirect Object (IO)
Subject Complement (SC)
Object Complement (OC)
Object of Preposition (OP)

The function of a NP depends upon its relationship to other elements in a S.
The king was coronated (SV)
Someone tried to assassinate the king. (DO of assassinate)
The queen gave the king a gift. (IO)
That man is the king. (SC)
The people made Leopold the king. (OC)
A letter arrived from the king. (OP)

Subject and Predicate
The two immediate constituents of a clause are the NP functioning as the SV and the VP functioning as predicate.
S (or clause) ---> NP  VP
The NP and the VP are in a relationship of mutual dependency.  The function of one can only be determined through the presence of the other.

Identifying them in Statements
Find the verb group; everything to the left is the subject.  The predicate is the VG and everything to its right.
The instructor of the last class has forgotten his notes.
Verb group = has forgotten
SV = The instructor of the last class
VP = has forgotten his notes

Find the subject and predicate in the simple sentences below:
The subjects of sentences {subject} / {predicate} are easy to find.
WWII s/p lasted from 1939 to 1945.
The first human occupants of the Americas s/p arrived here 13,000 years ago.
The atomic number of an atom s/p is its total number of protons.

Problems with Declarative Sentences: Sentence Adverbials
Some declarative sentences may begin with a sentence adverbial.
Suddenly, the fire alarm sounded. (NP not suddenly, Predicate sounded suddenly)
In 1492, Columbus landed in Cuba. (same)
Sentence adverbials are not part of the subject; simply move them to the end of the sentence as in the following slide.

Suddenly, the fire alarm sounded.  --->
The fire alarm sounded suddenly.
Verb Group = sounded
SV = the fire alarm
VP = sounded suddenly

Predicate Adverbials
Some declarative sentences have a predicate adverb between the subject and the verb group.
Napoleon never should have invaded Russia.
The SV is the NP before the verb group.
Because never is not part of the NP, it is not part of the subject.

You can see that never is not part of the NP by using pronoun substitution.
Napoleon never should have invaded Russia.  --->
He never should have invaded Russia.
The pronoun substitutes for Napoleon, not for Napoleon never.

Find the subject and predicate in the sentences below.
After the revolution <(sentence adv moves) Russia s/p became an industrialized nation.
Unfortunately (Adv), many people s/p lost their homes in the hurricane.
In the United States (same) 50,000 people s/p are shot with hand guns every year.

Identifying Subject and Predicate in Yes/No Questions
Whatever is between the first auxiliary and the rest of the verb group is the SV.
Are politicians financing their campaigns legally?
Verb group = are financing
SV = politicians
VP = are financing their campaigns legally

Find the subject and predicate in the following yes/no questions.
Has (the United States SV) [P] found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq?
Did {the horse} become extinct in the Americas?
Can {chimpanzees} manufacture tools?

Yes/no questions with the copula do not have an auxiliary.
(Is -verb group copula) your family at home? Your family is at home.
How would you find the SV?
Turn the question into a statement.
Find the verb group.
Everything to the left is the SV.

Yes/No with the Copula
Find the subject and predicate in the sentences below.
Are {sub-atomic particles} visible?
Were {the questions} easy on the test?
Are {student textbooks} too expensive?
Is {phi} really the golden ratio?

Subject and Predicate in Content Questions
With one exception content questions are like yes/no questions—the subject is found between the first auxiliary and the rest of the verb group.
When will {hydrogen} be a dependable source of energy?
Why is {the universe} expanding?

Problem
When content questions question the subject position, no auxiliary is used.
Who wrote the article?
To find the subject, turn the question into a statement using a NP for the WH.
Chomsky wrote the article.
Chomsky is the SV is the statement, so who is the SV in the question.

Practice
Find the subjects and predicates in the following content questions. 
Why did (you) miss class?
(Who) discovered penicillin?
Which class did (you) miss?
When did (the dodo) become extinct?
What is (the capital of Canada)?

Grammatical and Logical Subjects
So far we have identified the subject as the NP, or NP substitute, that occupies a specific syntactic position in sentences.  This is the grammatical subject, and all sentences in English have a grammatical subject.

English has two words that can be the grammatical subjects of sentences:  it and there.
There are too many people in New York.
It is apparent that the students studied hard.
It and there are the grammatical subjects, but they are also devoid of semantic content.

Because there and it are devoid of semantic content, they are dummy subjects, not the logical subjects.
The logical subjects have been moved to a different location in the sentence.
A girl is in my soup --->
is a girl in my soup --->
There is a girl in my soup.

In nearly all clauses the logical subject and the grammatical subject are identical.
Only when clauses have dummy subjects (There and It) are the grammatical subject and the logical subject different from each other.

Find the grammatical and logical subjects in the sentences below.
(The atomic number of uranium - both) is 92.
(There) is a {hare} in my spaghetti.
(It) is obvious that the administration has launched an attack on legitimate science in the United States. - Same

Manipulating Constituents (What Politicians Do All the Time)
Tests for identifying the boundaries of constituents

Only phrases can be manipulated.
Deletion
Movement
Substitution
If a sequence of words is deleted, moved, or replaced by a single word and the result is a grammatical structure, the sequence is a phrase.

If sentences were not composed of phrasal constituents, then any sequence of words would be manipulable.
They walked to campus in the morning.
In the morning they walked to campus.
*Morning they walked to campus in the.
*Campus in the they walked to morning.

Substitution
Many constituents can be replaced by a single word called a proform.
Pronouns are a type of proform.
The magician who performed the most amazing tricks to raise money for poor Republicans who couldn’t get accepted into country clubs made himself disappear.
He made himself disappear.

Pronoun substitution can determine if a PP is inside or outside of a NP.
She met the man in the sunglasses.
She met him.
She met the man in the park.
She met him in the park.
In the sunglasses is part of the NP, but in the park is not.

Using pronoun substitution, find the NPs in the following sentences.
{The Queen}abdicated.
{Those two people}taught {the history course}.
{Many young kids}wear {oversized jeans}.
{A few students}left {their books}.

Using pronoun substitution, decide whether the following prepositional phrases are modifiers in a NP.
We left the papers on the desk. complete
I write my papers on a computer. complete
The text for the course is expensive. incomplete PP Adjectively
I met the faculty of linguistics. incomplete PP adjectively

Deletion
Deletion is useful for finding the optional constituents of a sentence.
What can be eliminated from the following sentence?
Because it was going to rain, the students walked very quickly to the library.
Optional constituents include PPs, APs, AvPs and some clauses.

Using deletion, decide if the underlined structures are optional constituents.
Some politicians are honest. no
We watched the news last night. yes
The alarm went off too early. yes
For the most part,  modifiers are optional constituents. yes
NPs are not optional constituents. no

Movement
If a sequence of words can be moved as a unit, the sequence is a constituent.
Movement is especially useful for identifying adverbial modifiers.
Last election, less than 40% of the registered voting population actually voted.
Less than 40% of the registered voting population actually voted last election. - Is an adverbial modified because it would move.

Using movement, find the adverbial modifiers below.
Many people exercise {to lose weight}.
{If you have some time later}, you can help me.
{In 1944}, the Allies landed in Normandy.
The East India Company lost control of India {after the Sepoy Rebellion}.