Unit 2: syntax

syntax

the set of rules that governs how words, phrases, and symbols are arranged to form complete sentences in human languages or valid instructions in computer programming languages.

constituent

a word or a group of words that functions as a single, coherent unit within a hierarchical sentence structure.

noun phrase

a group of words centered around a head noun or pronoun that functions as a single unit—such as a subject, object, or complement—within a sentence.

prepositional

a word that links a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase to other words in a sentence.

phrase

a group of words that acts as a single grammatical unit or constituent within a sentence

head / dependent

a head is the core word that dictates a phrase's grammatical category or semantic identity (such as the noun water in "boiling hot water"), while dependents are the surrounding words that modify, complement, or depend on that head

head noun

the core word in a noun phrase that dictates its grammatical category, determines its core meaning, and controls agreement with other parts of the sentence

recursion

the repeated use of a grammatical rule inside a structure of the same type

constituency

how words group together in a sentence to form larger, hierarchical units called constituents

hierarchy

the nested, tree-like organization of words into larger grammatical units—such as phrases, clauses, and sentences—rather than a flat, linear string of words

constituent structure

the arrangement of a sentence into a hierarchical series of linguistic units—such as words, phrases, and clauses—that function together as single building blocks.

evidence for constituency

syntactic tests showing that a group of words acts as a single structural unit rather than isolated pieces

clause

a group of words that contains a semantic predicand (such as a subject) and a semantic predicate (such as a verb phrase)

argument

an expression or syntactic element—most commonly a noun phrase—that is required by a predicate (such as a main verb) to complete its meaning

core arguments

an obligatory noun phrase or participant required by a predicate (such as a verb) to complete its basic meaning, typically functioning as the subject, direct object, or indirect object

oblique argument

a noun phrase or prepositional phrase selected by a verb that functions outside the core grammatical roles of subject, direct object, or indirect object.

intransitive verbs/clauses

a verb that does not take a direct object to complete its meaning

transitive verbs/clauses

a verb that requires a direct object to complete its meaning, passing the action from the subject to a noun or pronoun.

ditransitive verbs/clauses

verbs that require two objects (or a core argument structure with three elements: a subject, a direct object, and an indirect object or object complement)

grammatical relations

describe how words and phrases structurally connect to a clause or a predicate.

grammatical relations

describe how words and phrases structurally connect to a clause or a predicateubs

subject

a core grammatical relation and a primary component of a clause

object

a noun phrase or argument that is acted upon or affected by a verb, or governed by a preposition

indirect object

a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase that indicates the recipient or beneficiary of a direct object

double object construction

a sentence structure where a ditransitive verb (a verb that takes two objects) is followed immediately by an indirect object (the recipient or beneficiary) and then a direct object (the theme or thing being acted upon), without any preposition