Syntax December 16, 2015
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What is Syntax?
Syntax is a level of linguistic analysis which studies combination of words into larger units – phrases, clauses and sentences.
Phrases are combinations of grammaticaly related words which do not imply the relation of predication.
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Unlike phrases, clauses and sentences imply the relation of predication.
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Phrases
Phrases consists of a headword, premodification and postmodification of the headword.
A smart girl In the house ...
The headword determines the type of phrase, so there are noun phrases, verb phrases, prepositional phrases etc. 4
Types of Clauses
Clauses could be divided in several ways.
There are declarative, interrogative, imperative and exclamatory clauses, then positive and negative clauses, as well as nominal and modifying clauses.
To do as I’m told is not my cup of tea. I wanted to meet the girl who was standing in the corner.
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Finally, there are finite, nonfinite and verbless
To see is to understand. Leaving home, he forgot to lock the door. When out of school, the children went home. ...
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Within a clause, syntactic units have specific syntactic functions (subject, predicate, direct/indirect object, subject complement, object complement, adverbial).
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Syntactic organization
Clauses within a sentence could be related in two ways: they could be coordinated or subordinated.
Subordination implies a superordinate (independent/main) clause and a subordinate (dependent) clause.
When I realized that he had lied, it was already too late.
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In coordination, clauses have equal status and each of them is a separate syntactic unit.
Mary dislikes when he lies but she doen’t like him telling the truth. Peter was about to cry and he left the room.
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Syntactic coordination
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In addition to structuralist syntax, there is a transformational-generative syntax, created by the American linguist Noam Chomsky and developed during the previous 50 years with several variants (e.g. government and binding, the minimalist approach).
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What is the difference between these sentences? My son, who lives in New York, is an engineer. My son who lives in Manchester is a psychologist. Politicians who tell lies are to be despised. Politicians, who tell lies, are to be despised. I had a cocktail, which was very unusual. I had a cocktail that was very unusual. I've met the man I want to marry. I've met the man that I want to marry. He stopped smoking. He stopped to smoke.
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II Replace the following participles with finite clauses and say which type of clause they are. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Looking seriously at the student, the teacher repeats the question. Crossing the street, I came across an old friend. Upset and discouraged, he gave up the idea. Who is the man talking to Elizabeth? Feeling rather tired, I telephoned and said I couldn't come. Most of the students invited did not come. John heard his name being called. The newly constructed highway is a pleasure to drive on. Having been told that the roads were blocked, he decided not to go. The lost child was crying for his mother.
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III Paraphrase each of the following sentences in two different ways to show that you understand the ambiguity involved: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Smoking grass can be nauseating. Dick finally decided on the boat. The professor’s appointment was shocking. The design has big squares and circles. The sheepdog is too hairy to eat. Could this be the invisible man’s hair tonic? The governor is a dirty street fighter. I cannot recommend him too highly. Terry loves his wife and so do I. They said he would go yesterday.
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IV Explain the ungrammaticality of the following examples: 1. John has just built a new house and so have Mary. 2. John has just built a new house and so does Mary. 3. Mary didn’t finish her new house and John didn’t neither. 4. Neither of them doesn’t have a new house. 5. The government and the Mayor has decided on the new funding plan. 6. This is John’s new house. Is this one your? 7. Whoever say something like that is wrong! 8. Where did you decide to do it and why you did it? 9. Mary asked why has John bought a new house. 10. She wondered why has that happened.
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