syntax final

constituents

are groups of words that function syntactically as single units

constituent structure

it’s the way words in a sentence are grouped together into larger units

phrasal constituents

they are groups of words that function together as a single phrase and behave as one syntactic unit

phrase marker

it’s a formal representation of a sentence’s syntactic structure; it can be shown as a tree diagram or with brackets

node

it’s any point in a tree diagram representing a syntactic category or a word

terminal node (or a leaf node)

it’s the lowest node in a tree diagram; it has no branches below it and corresponds to an actual word (or morpheme) in the sentence

non-terminal node

it’s a node that dominates one or more other nodes; it represents a phrase or larger syntactic category; they contain smaller constituents beneath them

branches

they are the lines connecting nodes in a tree diagram, showing the relationship between parent and child nodes

parent node

it’s a node that is directly above another node in a tree diagram; it immediately dominates its child node(s)

child node

it’s a node that is directly below a parent node and is immediately dominated by it

root

it’s the highest node in a tree diagram from which all other nodes descend; it usually represents the entire sentence (S or TP)

dominance

a node dominates another node if it is above it in the tree and can be reached by following downward branches

constituency

it’s the property of words forming a syntactic unit that functions together in a sentence

immediate dominance

node A immediately dominates node B if A dominates B directly, with no intervening node between them

immediate constituency

it refers to the direct constituents that make up a larger constituent

hierarchical relations among categories

they refer to the way syntactic categories are organized in different levels of a sentence structure; some categories are contained within larger categories, creating a hierarchy (a tree-like structure)

generate

in syntax, generate means to produce grammatical sentences using a set of syntactic rules

phrase structure rules (PS-rules)

they are formal rules that specify how words and phrases combine to form larger constituents in a sentence

constituency test

it’s a method used to determine whether a group of words forms a constituent

recursion

it’s the property of language that allows structures to contain other structures of the same type, making sentences infinitely expandable

complement

it’s a phrase that completes the meaning of another element, usually a verb, adjective, or preposition

finite declarative clause

it’s a statement containing a finite verb marked for tense and usually an explicit subject (She studies English)

finite verb

it’s a verb that is marked for tense (past or present) and agrees with the subject in person and number (e.g. She works - “works” agrees with “she”)

subordinate clause

it depends on another clause and cannot normally stand alone (e.g. I know [that she is here])

infinitival clause

it’s a clause whose verb is in the infinitive form, usually beginning with “to” (She wants [to leave])

clefting

it’s a construction that emphasizes one part of a sentence by dividing it into two clauses (It was [John] who broke the window)

wh-movement

it moves a question word (who, what, where, when, why, how) to the beginning of a clause

fronting

moving a constituent to the beginning of a sentence for emphasis or topicalization (This book, I have already read)

pro-form

it’s a word that replaces another word or phrase (noun - pronoun, verb - do so)

ellipsis

it’s the omission of words whose meaning can be understood from the context (John can play guitar, and Mary can _ too)

coordination

it joins two or more equal constituents with conjunction like “and”, “or”, or “but”

fragment

it’s an incomplete sentence that lacks some element but is understandable in context (In the kitchen)

topic

it is what the sentence is about; it is often placed at the beginning and is then commented on by the rest of the sentence

antecedent

it’s the word or phrase that a pronoun refers to

adjunct

it’s an optional element that provides extra information such as time, place, manner, or reason; unlike complements, adjuncts are not required by the verb

recoverability

it’s the principle that omitted material (through ellipsis) can be understood from the surrounding context

VP ellipsis

it’s a type of ellipsis in which an entire verb phrase is omitted because it can be recovered from the context (John cleaned the kitchen, and Mary did _ too)

recursion

the ability of rules to apply to their own output (language is infinite)

X-bar Theory

a theory saying that all phrases share the same internal structure; instead of having separate rules for NP, VP, AP, PP, we use one universal schema; “X” stands for any category; the theory explains phrase structure, hierarchy and projections

head

the central element of a phrase; it determines the category of the phrase and much of its meaning

endocentric structure

the phrase has a head belonging to the same category as the whole phrase; most modern syntax assumes phrases are endocentric

exocentric structure

the phrase has no clear head; older grammar theories sometimes treated sentences this way

specifier

it appears at the edge of a phrase and gives additional information; often: determiners, possessors, degree words

c-selection (categorical selection)

a head selects the category of its complement, meaning verbs choose what type of phrase can follow them

lexical entries

is the information stored about a word in the mental lexicon; it includes: pronunciation, meaning, category, syntactic properties, theta roles

projection

a phrase built from a head; the properties of the head “project” upward

categorial features

grammatical category properties

maximal projection

the largest phrase projected from a head; written as: NP, VP, AP, PP (the very old house (house = head, the very old house = maximal projection))

minimal projection

is the head itself; it is the lowest level of structure and consists of a single lexical category (N, V, Adj, P, etc.); it is often written as X zero (the book (book = minimal projection))

intermediate projection

it’s the level between the head and the maximal projection; it consists of the head together with its complement

proposition

the basic meaning or claim expressed by a sentence; it can be true, false, believed, denied, etc.

do-support

it occurs when English inserts auxiliary “do”; usually in questions, negation and emphasis (Do you like coffee?)

adjunct (modifier)

is an optional modifier; they are not selected by the head and can usually be added freely; they provide extra information: time, place, manner, reason, etc.

affix hopping

is a process in transformational/generative grammar in which a grammatical affix (such as a tense or agreement marker) moves from the auxiliary position onto the main verb, attaching to it

Complementizer Phrase (CP)

is a phrase whose head is a complementizer (C); it usually introduces a clause and marks its type (e.g. declarative, interrogative, subordinate); common complementizers: that, if, whether, for; in many syntactic theories, CP is the highest projection of a clause

sentence

it’s a group of words that expresses a complete thought or idea (notional definition); it’s the largest grammatical unit, consisting of one or more clauses and functioning independently (formal definition)

grammatical sentence

a sentence that follows the rule of grammar

irregular (ungrammatical) sentence

a sentence that violates grammatical rules

clause

it’s a group of words containing a subject and a predicate (verb)

simple sentence

a sentence containing one independent clause

multiple sentence

a sentence containing more than one clause

declaratives

sentences used to make statements

interrogatives

sentences used to ask questions

imperatives

sentences expressing commands or requests

exclamatives

sentences expressing strong emotion

yes-no questions

questions answerable with yes or no

wh-questions

questions beginning with who, what, where, when, why or how

declarative questions

statements pronounced with question intonation to request confirmation (You’re coming?)

alternative questions

questions offering a choice between alternatives

tag questions

statements followed by a short question tag (You’re tired, aren’t you?)

rhetorical questions

questions asked for effect rather than to receive an answer

speech acts

actions performed through language, such as requesting, promising, apologizing, or ordering

active sentences

the subject performs the action

passive sentences

the subject receives the action

positive sentences

sentences without negation

negative sentences

sentences containing negation

compound sentence

a sentence consisting of two or more independent clauses joined by coordination (John smiled and Mary laughed)

complex sentence

a sentence containing one independent clause and at least one subordinate clause (I know that she is honest)

subordinate clause

a clause that depends on another clause

non-finite clause

a clause whose verb is not marked for tense

verbless clause

a clause without an explicit verb (Although tired, she continued)

nominal clause (noun clause)

a subordinate clause functioning as a noun phrase

subject

the constituent that the sentence is about and that typically agrees with the finite verb

subject complement

a phrase that follows a linking verb and describes or identifies the subject (She is a doctor)

direct object

the noun phrase directly affected by the verb (She bought a car)

prepositional complement

the phrase that completes the meaning of a preposition (on (the table))

modifier clause

a subordinate clause that modifies another element, often a noun or verb

comparative clause

a clause used in comparisons (She is taller than I am)

adverbial clause

a subordinate clause functioning like an adverb by expressing time, reason, condition, place, etc. (Because it rained, we stayed home)

subordinate

lower in the grammatical hierarchy; dependent on another element

superordinate

higher in the grammatical hierarchy; contains subordinate elements

cleft sentence

a sentence divided into two clauses to emphasize one constituent; structure: It + be + focused element + who/that clause

pseudo-cleft sentence

wh-clause + be + focused element (What I need is a vacation

anticipatory it (dummy it)

it’s the pronoun “it” used as a temporary subject while the real subject appears later in the sentence (It is important to study regularly (real subject: to study regularly))

relative clause (adjectival clause)

it’s a subordinate clause that modifies a noun or noun phrase; it usually begins with a relative pronoun (who, which, that, whose, whom) or a relative adverb (where, when, why) (The woman who olives next door is a doctor)

linking relative clause

it doesn’t modify a single noun; instead, it refers back to the whole preceding clause or sentence, adding extra information; it is often introduced by “which”

appositive clause

it’s a subordinate clause that renames or explains a noun, usually an abstract noun such as fact, idea, belief, news, claim, or possibility; it is often introduced by “that” (the fact that she passed the exam surprised everyone)

adverbial clause

it’s a subordinate clause that functions like an adverb, modifying a verb, adjective or another clause by expressing time, reason, condition, purpose, concession, place, or manner (When the meeting ended, everyone left)

intransitive verb

a verb that doesn’t take an object (complement); it only has a subject; no NP is required after the verb; examples: sleep, arrive, run, die

transitive verb

a verb that takes one object (a complement NP); the object is required for the meaning to be complete; examples: ear, read, love, have