Syntax

what is syntax?

The study of how to combined in the sentences; arrangements of words in sentences

What are phrases?

A group of one or more words that function together as a single unit to convey meaning

How is a phrase classified?

By their head word

What are the five types of phrases and their acronym?

A - VANP adjective phrases, verb phrases, adverb phrases, noun phrases, prepositional phrases

What are some examples of adjective phrases?

"sweet food really hurts my gums" adj.

"We were angry that you left*." adj. + subordinate clause

What are some examples of verb phrases?

" Mary slept " v.

" Mary slept quietly* " v. + adv.

" We took all the remaining cupcakes* " v. + NP

" Santa lives in the North Pole " v. + PP

What are some examples of adverb phrases?

" they finished eating quickly" adv.

" they ran very quickly*" adv. + adv.

What are some examples of noun phrases?

"Grass" n.

" the garden is beautiful " adv.P + n.

" I like really hot curry* " adv.P + n.

What are some examples of prepositional phrases? PAR ATTENTION TO NOTATION!

" I live in Australia " prep + NP

" he is on the roof " prep + NP

What is a clause?

A syntactic unit that includes, at a minimum, a subject (NP) and a verb (VP)

What are some examples of clauses?

" Mr Phan shouted " 1 clause

" I ate and apple and drank water " 2 clauses

What are the two types of clauses?

Main/independent and subordinate/dependent clause

What are main/independent clauses?

Can stand/exist on its own as a sentence

e.g. " my mum bought me apples "

What are subordinate/dependent clauses?

Cannot exist on its own and hold the original meaning

e.g. " she yelled because she was angry* " main clause + conj. + subordinate clause ( yes, she was angry is a sentence, but it doesn't have the same meaning without the main clause )

What are the components within clauses? What is its acronym?

SPOCA subject, predicate, object, complement, adverbial

What is the subject?

Something ( the actor ) that performs or controls the verb; are typically noun phrases

"Daniel is studying chemistry "

What is a predicate?

Everything after the subject essentially

e.g. " Daniel is studying chemistry "

What is an object?

Signal something affected by the action (of the verb)

What are the two kinds of objects?

Direct and indirect

What are direct objects?

Something that is directly affected by the verb

e.g. " the gangster shot three innocent people " Od

What are indirect objects?

Something that is indirectly affected by the verb

e.g. " she gave a present to her husband* " pp. + Oi

What are complements?

Adds further information subject or object ( Cs or Co )

What are the two kinds of complements?

Subject complement and object complement

What is an example of a subject complement?

" Martha's grandchildren all became teachers" Cs = NP

What is an example of an object compliment?

"I have four apples" Con= number/ordinal determiner

What is the adverbial?

Gives additional information about place, time, manner, degree, probability, comparative, superlative of the verb/VPs

What are some examples of adverbial?

" they walked slowly" adverbial of manner

" they walked yesterday morning " adverbial of time

" They walked to the shops " adverbial of place

What is a sentence classified as?

A group of words that contains at least one main clause

What are the different kinds of sentences?

Sentence fragments, simple sentences, compound sentences, complex sentences, compound - complex sentences

What are sentence fragments? Give an example

Incomplete sentences that do not have a whole complete clause OR are missing a subject (NP) or a main verb (VP)

e.g. "Anything else?"

What are simple sentences? Give an example

Contains only one main clause (a subject and a main verb)

e.g. " I eat cake." " my dad never works on the weekends."

What are compound sentences? Give an example

Contains tour (or more) main clauses, joined together by one (or more) coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS)

e.g. " Liam chose the ball but he threw the glove out."

What are complex sentences? Give an example

One main cause and one (or more) subordinating clause(s) joined by one (or more) subordinating conjunction(s)

e.g. " I eat cake because I like it " main.cl + conj. + sub.cl

What are compound-complex sentence?

At least two (or more) main clauses, each joined together by one (or more) coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS) and one (or more) subordinating clause(s) joined by one (or more) subordinating conjunction(s)

e.g. " I like to eat cake and drink coffee because it's delicious" main.cl + conj. + main.cl + conj. + sub.cl

What are the two different kinds of processes?

Coordination and subordination

What is coordination? Give an example

The process of joining two (or more) main clauses that are syntactically equivalent in function, status, and meaning

e.g. " Jamie brought apples and Tommy brought pears "

What is a subordination? Give an example

The process of joining two or more clauses that are syntactically non-equivalent; the combination of a main clause with a subordinate clause

e.g. " although full, I still continued to eat "

What is a sentence?

A group of words that make sense as a whole; can stand on its own to create meaning

What are the different types of sentences? What is the mnemonic?

Interrogative, declarative, imperative, exclamative I - DIE

What interrogative sentences (structure and function)?

Interrogative typically contain a subject - verb inversion; verb preparing before the subject

Generally asks questions, and seek information/gains responses. Can also be rhetorical or requests

e.g. " who are you talking to? "

What are declarative sentences ( structure and function)?

Always contains a subject and a verb

Make statements, provide provides information, observations, express emotions, attitudes or opinions

e.g. " that was fun. "

What are imperative sentences (structure and function)?

Often omit/delete the subject, which is an implicit "you"

Make requests or orders/instructions/commands, give advice or encouragement, make offer or invitations

e.g. " kick the ball! "

What are exclamative sentences (structure and function)?

Can be a sentence and not have a subject or a VP

Makes exclamations, expresses emotions, makes emphatic observations

e.g. "how good is this show?"