Syntax

syntax

the study of phrase structure

sentence

a particular type of phrase

lexical

words that give information about the world around us (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition)

non-lexical

words that provide grammatical functions rather than to convey concrete information about the world (aux, deb, det, conj), also known as functional words

phrase

a word or collection of words that can be swapped out for comparable words or collections of words

head

the key word in a phrase, which determines what type of phrase it is and carries the core of its meaning

argument

a word or phrase that provides details about the head

complement

an optional component coming after the head

modifier

an optional component in some phrases coming between the specifier and the head

specifier

an optional component at the start of a phrase that refines the meaning a little

direct object

a noun phrase argument that indicates what the main action of the verb applies to, same as an object

indirect object

a noun phrase argument that generally indicates for whose sake the main action of the verb is applied to the direct object

transitive

a verb with a direct object but no indirect object

ditransitive

a verb with a direct and an indirect object

intransitive

a verb with no direct or indirect objects

grammatical role

the structural function that a noun phrase plays relative to the main verb of the sentence

oblique object

a noun phrase that provides further information beyond the subject, direct object, and indirect object, such as how, where, or when the action happened

subject

a noun phrase argument connected to the main node of the sentence tree

semantic role

the particular semantic relationship between an entity indicated by a noun phrase and the action indicated by the main verb of a sentence

agent

an entity that actively, deliberately does the action

patient

an entity that is moved or changed by the action

beneficiary

an entity whose welfare is affected (positively or negatively)

experiencer

an entity that undergoes a sensory or emotional experience as part of the action or event denoted by the verb

goal

a place where the action ends

instrument

something used to perform the action

location

a place where the action happens

source

a place where the action begins

recipient

an entity that receives something (concrete or abstract)

theme

an entity whose role doesn’t fit any of the other roles given