English Linguistics II: Syntax and Semantics

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the core terminology of Syntax and Semantics based on the English Linguistics II lecture notes.

Syntax

The study of the way in which parts of a sentence are internally organized and arranged, and the way they relate to each other as syntagms or constructions.

Semantics

The branch of grammar concerned with the meaning and interpretation of linguistic expressions.

Morphology

The study of morphemes, consisting of inflectional morphology (grammatical guises) and derivational morphology (word formation).

Grammar (Broad Sense)

The entire system of regular patterns and structural relationships in a language, embracing phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.

Rank Scale

The hierarchy of grammatical units consisting of five levels: Sentence, Clause, Phrase, Word, and Morpheme.

Tree Diagram

A visual representation showing hierarchical part-whole relationships and labels for syntactic categories and roles.

Embedding

When a unit of a certain rank (e.g., a clause or phrase) appears within another unit of the same or lower rank, such as a relative clause inside a noun phrase.

Substitution Test

A constituency test where a string is replaced by a pro-form (like a pronoun or pro-adverb) to prove it is a distinct unit.

Fronting (Topicalization)

A movement test where a constituent is placed at the beginning of the sentence for emphasis or markedness.

Pseudo-clefting

A focus construction where a constituent is highlighted by being separated by a formula such as "What the teacher read… was a short book."

Lexical Words

Open classes that are the main carriers of content, including nouns, full verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.

Function Words

Closed classes with a limited number of members that indicate meaning relationships, such as prepositions, coordinators, and pronouns.

Phrasal Verb

A lexical verb followed by an adverbial particle that forms a single semantic and grammatical unit (e.g., "take off").

Prepositional Verb

A lexical verb followed by a bound preposition that is specifically selected by the verb (e.g., "refer to").

Endocentric Phrase

A phrase built around a central head word (like $NP$, $AjP$, or $VP$) that determines its distribution.

Exocentric Phrase

A phrase in English without a clear head word, specifically the Prepositional Phrase ($PP$) consisting of a preposition and a complement.

Predicator

The syntactic function of the verb phrase ($VP$) in a clause, serving as the core around which arguments are organized.

Determiner

The grammatical function in an $NP$ used to specify the reference (definiteness or indefiniteness) of the head noun.

Subject Predicative ($SP$)

A clause element that characterizes the Subject, following a copula verb like "be", "seem", or "become".

Object Predicative ($OP$)

A clause element that characterizes the Direct Object, found in complex transitive patterns (e.g., "They appointed him secretary").

Circumstantial Adverbial

Adverbials that provide background information about the time, place, manner, or reason of an event.

Stance Adverbial

Adverbials used to express the speaker's feelings, evaluation, or comments about the clause (e.g., "Fortunately").

Linking Adverbial

Adverbials that serve to connect one clause to another (e.g., "Furthermore", "However").

Ellipsis

The omission of elements that are recoverable from the linguistic context or physical situation.

Coordination

A relation between two or more elements of syntactically equal status, usually linked by "and", "but", or "or".

Subordination

The process of embedding one clause within another so that it no longer has equal status with the primary clause.

Activity Verbs

Verbs of doing or happening that involve an Agent/Actor and potentially a Patient/Goal.

Mental Verbs

Verbs referring to cognitive, emotional, or perceptual states, involving the roles of Senser and Phenomenon.

Relational Verbs

Verbs reporting a logical relationship between entities, including characterising and identifying copula constructions.

Copula Construction

A structure using linking verbs to associate an attribute (the Subject Predicative) with the Subject.

Extraposition

A construction where a long constituent (like a subject clause) is moved to the end of the clause and replaced by a dummy "it".

Specifying Genitive

A genitive construction that fills the Determiner slot and specifies the reference of the Head noun (e.g., "John’s shoes").

Classifying Genitive

A genitive that fills the Premodifier slot and indicates a sub-class or type of the noun (e.g., "children’s books").

Descriptor

A descriptive adjective indicating a quality or property (objective or subjective) that is typically gradable (e.g., "blue", "splendid").

Classifier

An adjective or noun indicating a sub-class of an entity, usually non-gradable (e.g., "electric train", "wooden chair").

Appositive

An NP that postmodifies another NP and shares the same status, being either integrated (restrictive) or supplementive (non-restrictive).

Complement Clause

A dependent clause licensed or controlled by a preceding lexical word such as a verb, noun, or adjective.

Restrictive Relative Clause

A relative clause that provides information necessary to identify the reference of the head noun.

Nominal-Relative (Fused Relative)

A construction where the antecedent and relative word are fused together (e.g., "What he said was right").

Comparative Governor

The element in the first part of a comparison (like "more", "as", "too") that licenses the comparative complement.

Subject-to-Subject Raising

A construction where the subject of a dependent clause is moved to become the subject of the main clause (e.g., "He seems to be ill").

It-cleft (Cleft Sentence)

A construction starting with "It" + "be" + focused element + relative clause (e.g., "It was John who wrote the letter").

Existential Construction

A structure using dummy "there" + "be" to introduce the existence or occurrence of an entity.

Submodification

When one modifier has scope over another modifier within a phrase (e.g., "quite remarkably well").

Stacked Modification

When multiple modifiers are combined to modify the head successively (e.g., "blue [cotton blankets]").

Dummy It

A non-referential pronoun used as a placeholder in extraposition or in empty subject positions (e.g., "It’s raining").

Gapping

A type of medial ellipsis found in coordinate clauses (e.g., "Kim lives in Perth, Pat in Melbourne").

Valency Frame

The specific pattern of obligatory clause elements (complements) required by a particular verb.

Postdeterminer

A function in the $NP$ fulfilled by cardinal numerals, ordinal numerals, or quantifiers when preceded by a central determiner (e.g., "those two mistakes").

Hollow Infinitival

A non-finite subclause with a missing constituent (gap) in a non-subject function that is recoverable from an antecedent (e.g., "This book is easy to read").