Chapter 8: Syntax

Syntax is the study of the structure and arrangement of words within sentences in a language.

1.Syntactic rules

"All and only" criterion: The analysis of syntax must account for all grammatically correct phrases and sentences, and only those, in a language.

We must ensure that rules for creating well-formed structures, when applied logically, do not lead to ill-formed structures.

A Generative Grammar

A set of rules generating the possible phrases and sentences in a language.

Ex: S → NP + VP

NP → Det + N
VP → V + NP

2.Deep and Surface Structure

the underlying structure of sentences as represented by phrase structure rules consists of the basic components (Noun Phrase + Verb + Noun Phrase) -> Deep Structure.
the structure of individual sentences in contrast to deep structure -> Surface Structure.

3.Syntactic Analysis

using syntactic rules to break down and describe how different parts of speech form phrases and sentences.

Syntactic analysis involves two tasks:

Identifying Parts of Speech: Determine the grammatical role of each word (noun, verb, adjective, etc.) in a sentence.
Breaking Sentences into Phrases: Group words into phrases like noun phrases (NP) and verb phrases (VP) that follow specific grammatical patterns.

4.Phrase Structure Rules

Some Common Phrase Structure Rules:

S → NP VP
NP → Det N
VP → V NP
PP → P NP
NP → Adj N
VP → V NP PP
VP → V PP
S → NP Aux VP

5.Lexical Rules

We also need lexical rules that specify which words can be used when we rewrite constituents.
Ex: PN → {Bill, Peter} Art → {the, an}

N → {table, book, chair} Adj → {tall, short, beautiful}

V → {read, found, run} Pro → {it, you}

Grammatical sentence:
➡ "She found the red book."

Ungrammatical sentence:
➡ "Found the book red she."

6.Tree Diagrams

a diagram with branches showing the hierarchical organization of structures

Tree Diagrams of English Sentences

8.Study Questions

1 What was the original literal meaning of syntax in Greek?

->The original literal meaning of "syntax" in Greek is "a putting together" or "arrangement."

2 What is wrong with the following rule of English syntactic structure? “A prepositional phrase rewrites as a preposition followed by a noun.”

->The rule is too limited because a prepositional phrase (PP) should rewrite as a preposition followed by a noun phrase (NP), not just a noun.

3 Which of the following expressions are structurally ambiguous and in what way?

(a) These are designed for small boys and girls.

-> "Small" could apply to both "boys and girls" (small boys and small girls)

(b) The parents of the bride and groom were waiting outside.

->It could mean both sets of parents (bride’s and groom’s parents)

->Not ambiguous: This sentence plays with lexical ambiguity

(d) We met an English history teacher.

->Ambiguity: Could refer to a teacher who teaches "English history"

(e) Flying planes can be dangerous.

-> "Flying planes" could mean "the act of flying planes"

(f) The students complained to everyone that they couldn’t understand.

->Could mean either that the students couldn't understand

4 What part of speech is lovely in the following sentence?

We saw a lovely rainbow yesterday.

-> lovely is an adjective because it modifies the noun "rainbow.

5 How many noun phrases are there in the following sentence?

George saw a small dog in the park near the fountain and it followed him when he left the park.

->There are 8 noun phrases:

George
a small dog
the park
the fountain
it
him
he
the park

6 Which part of the following sentence is the VP?

None of the people in the building supported the proposed rent increase.

->The VP (verb phrase) is "supported the proposed rent increase."

7 Which of the following expressions would be generated by this phrase

structure rule: NP → {Art (Adj) N, Pro, PN}?

(a) a lady (c) her (e) the widow (b) the little girl (d) Annie ->NP

(f) she’s an old woman -> this is a sentence, not just a noun phrase

8 What kind of generative rule is this: N → {girl, dog, boy}?

-> This is a lexical rule.

9 Do phrase structure rules represent deep structure or surface structure?

-> Phrase structure rules represent deep structure because they outline the abstract organization of sentence components before any transformations.

10 Complete the following tree diagrams.

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