Hockett's Classification of Phrases

Vocabulary flashcards covering Hockett's Classification of Phrases, syntax definitions, constituents, distribution types, and endocentric vs. excentric phrase classifications.

Syntax

The part of grammar that studies phrases and sentences, showing how words are combined into larger grammatical structures.

Phrase

A combination of two or more words which forms one grammatical unit, but is NOT an analytical form of one word (e.g., 'beautiful girl', 'read a book', 'in the garden').

Constituents

The separate word elements that form a phrase (e.g., in 'beautiful girl', the constituents are 'beautiful' + 'girl').

Distribution

The sum total of all possible linguistic environments in which a linguistic element can appear.

Distributional Equivalence

A condition where two linguistic elements can appear in the same position or linguistic environment; associated with endocentric phrases.

Complementary Distribution

A condition where no single constituent can replace the whole phrase in a given linguistic environment; associated with excentric phrases.

Endocentric Phrases

Phrases that contain a head word which can replace the whole phrase and serves as the most important word in the phrase.

Excentric Phrases

Phrases that do not have a head word which can replace the whole phrase, resulting in the whole phrase having a different function from its individual parts.

Subordinate (Attributive) Endocentric Phrase

A type of endocentric phrase consisting of a Head (H) and an Attribute (A).

Subordinate Phrase Patterns

The four structural patterns of subordinate phrases: AH ('big tree'), HA ('book on the shelf'), AHA ('interesting book on the shelf'), and HAH ('will never happen').

Coordinate Endocentric Phrase

A type of endocentric phrase where constituents have equal rank or status, categorized into additive, alternative, appositive, and other types.

Additive Coordinate Phrase

A coordinate endocentric phrase formed using 'and' to connect elements (e.g., 'boys and girls').

Alternative Coordinate Phrase

A coordinate endocentric phrase formed using 'or' to express a choice (e.g., 'boys or girls').

Appositive Coordinate Phrase

A coordinate endocentric phrase where constituent elements rename or specify one another (e.g., 'Queen Elizabeth', 'Dr. Johnson').

Directive Excentric Phrase

A main type of excentric phrase categorized into objective, prepositional, and conjunctive forms.

Objective Directive Phrase

A directive excentric phrase containing a verb and object, which has five subtypes: simple object, nonfinite type, complex/clausal object, and two objects.

Prepositional Directive Phrase

A directive excentric phrase that begins with a preposition (e.g., 'in the box', 'on Monday', 'behind me').

Conjunctive Directive Phrase

A directive excentric phrase that begins with a conjunction (e.g., 'before he came', 'before they know').

Connective Excentric Phrase

An excentric phrase composed of a link verb + predicative (e.g., 'is happy', 'was a student', 'became a teacher').

Predicative Excentric Phrase

An excentric phrase structured as topic + comment, divided into Transitive, Intransitive, and Equational types (TIE).

Transitive Predicative Phrase

A predicative excentric phrase containing a verb and an object (e.g., 'John saw me').

Intransitive Predicative Phrase

A predicative excentric phrase containing a verb with no object (e.g., 'The train arrived').

Equational Predicative Phrase

A predicative excentric phrase containing a link verb (e.g., 'John is a student').