Syntax and Phrase Structure
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Questions and Answers

What is the study of the principles governing how words can be assembled into sentences?

Syntax

What does morphology deal with?

The internal form (parts) of words

What are the three aspects of sentence structure?

  • The categorization of words into parts of speech (correct)
  • The linear order of words (correct)
  • The pronunciation of words
  • The grouping of words into structural constituents of the sentence (correct)

    • What are the two types of questions about a phrase?

    <p>What is its internal structure? How does it function grammatically within a sentence?</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the parts of speech?

    <p>Conjunction</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Every phrase has a head.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of these are types of phrases?

    <p>Adverb Phrase</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The structure of a phrase consists of a head and dependents.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What determines the category of a larger unit?

    <p>The head</p> Signup and view all the answers

    If standing alone, the head could perform the syntactic function of the whole construction.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The head of a phrase may govern the agreement of grammatical categories.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the concept that describes the relation between a noun phrase and its function in a clause?

    <p>Relation concept</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a class of expression which are grammatically alike?

    <p>Noun phrase</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the functions that noun phrases can have in a clause or sentence?

    <p>Subject</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a typical NP (noun phrase) structure?

    <p>A noun serving as a head word and possibly various accompanying dependents</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What do nouns typically inflect for?

    <p>Case</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Nouns can normally fill the head position in phrases with any of the four functions.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the dependents that occur exclusively or almost exclusively with nouns as a head?

    <p>Determinatives</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Determinatives are found only in NP structure with certain types of singular noun as head.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does a determinative do to a noun phrase?

    <p>Determines/specifies its reference</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the optional elements that add specification to the meaning of the head?

    <p>Modifiers</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the properties that are inherent in the head of a noun phrase and are visually observable and objectively recognizable?

    <p>Shape</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Adjectives following the head can occur in fixed phrases.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Adjectives ending in '-able/-ible' can only occur in pre-head position.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the two cases of nouns?

    <p>Unmarked Common Case</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The genitive of regular nouns is realized in speech only in the singular.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The genitive of singular nouns is realized in writing by adding an apostrophe + s and the genitive of plural nouns is realized by adding an apostrophe after the plural.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The zero genitive adds nothing to regular plural nouns in speech and is realized in writing with only an apostrophe.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The zero genitive is used to avoid repetitive or awkward combinations of sounds with Greek names that end in 's'.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    With many other names ending in '/z/', the pronunciation of the genitive is most commonly '/iz/' and the spelling is an apostrophe only.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The 's' ending in the 'group genitive' is a case ending in the same sense that languages like Latin, Russian, and German have.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the group genitive (or 'embedded genitive')?

    <p>The genitive ending is attached to a post-modifier.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The Saxon genitive is only used with nouns highest on the gender scale.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The Saxon genitive uses an apostrophe 's' with the head noun and adds the dependent noun (e.g. 'the boy's bike').

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The group genitive is more common with inanimate objects than for personal names.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Geographical names use the group genitive more often when they reference the people of a country.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following are temporal nouns?

    <p>today's world</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which words are used to show possession/ownership?

    <p>The independent genitive</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The 'of' construction is more common with personal nouns than with inanimate objects.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    To avoid awkward constructions with inanimate objects, the genitive construction is preferred over the 'of' construction.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The genitive construction with determinative function (e.g. 'Susan's son' instead of 'a Susan's son') will have definite reference.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The 'post-genitive' construction results from combining an 'of' construction with a genitive to create a new construction.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the post-genitive construction, the independent genitive acts as a prepositional complement following 'of'.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The post-genitive construction is required when the head of the noun phrase is inanimate and there is another determiner.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The post-genitive construction is acceptable when the head noun is human and the post-modifier is definite (i.e. a name) and human.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The head of the superordinate noun phrase in a genitive construction may be omitted if the context makes its identity clear.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The local genitive is used for normal residences, institutions such as public buildings, and places where business is conducted.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The Saxon genitive alternates with the position of the central determiner.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The genitive in Czech is a masculine noun or feminine gender.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of these are genitive meanings?

    <p>Possessive Genitive</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Adjectives are words that define more precisely the reference of a noun or pronoun.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Adjectives can occur before nouns, modifying a noun phrase, and after verbs, complementing a verb.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Adjectives can form pairs that contrast in meaning.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Many adjectives are derived from other words and it's easy to recognize them by their suffixes.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Adjectives can freely occur in the attributive function, but cannot freely occur in the predicative function.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Adjectives can function as a subject complement.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Adjectives can take comparative and superlative forms.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Syntax

    • Syntax is the study of how words are assembled into sentences.
    • Morphology deals with the internal structure (parts) of words.
    • Sentences are structured into constituents.
      • Linear order of words
      • Categorization of words into parts of speech
      • Grouping of words into structural constituents

    Clause

    • Clauses are units of grammar.
    • Questions to ask about a clause:
      • What is its internal structure?
      • How does it function grammatically?

    Word Classes and Phrases

    • Words are grouped into word classes (noun, determiner, adjective, verb, preposition, adverb, conjunction, interjection).
    • Words are grouped into phrases.
    • Each phrase has a head.
    • A phrase that behaves as a unit with a single function is a constituent.
      • Adjective Phrase
      • Noun Phrase
      • Adverb Phrase
      • Prepositional Phrase
      • Verb Phrase

    The Structure of a Phrase

    • A phrase consists of a head and one or more dependents.
    • The category of the phrase is determined by the head.
    • The head performs the syntactic function for the whole construction.

    Grammatical Functions vs Categories

    • A function is a relation concept—the relation between a noun phrase and another part of the clause.
    • A noun phrase can function as a subject, object, or complement.
    • Noun phrases have certain properties, including inflection for number and case.
      • Plain case
      • Genitive

    Nouns and Noun Phrases

    • Nouns and noun phrases have various functions in a clause or sentence (subject, object, complement).
    • Prototypical noun phrases have properties, such as inflection for number and case.

    Determiners

    • Determiners include articles, demonstrative pronouns, possessive pronouns, interrogative pronouns, indefinite pronouns.
    • Pre-determiners and post-determiners are important considerations.
      • Quantifiers
      • Cardinal numbers
      • Ordinal numbers
      • Closed-class quantifiers (e.g., "a few," "a little," "a lot")

    Modifiers

    • Modifiers are elements that add specification to the meaning of the head.
    • Pre-modifiers come before the head; post-modifiers come after the head.

    Two Cases of Nouns

    • Unmarked common case (e.g., "boy," "boys")
    • Marked genitive (e.g., "boy's," "boys'")
    • Rules exist for the genitive in English

    The Genitive

    • Explains the genitive case in different scenarios
    • Explains the genitive of nouns highest on the gender scale
    • Explains when the "of" construction is used

    The Choice Between the of and Genitive Constructions

    • The choice between the "of" construction and the genitive construction depends on lexical and contextual factors.
    • The genitive is typically preferred with nouns related to people, animals, and time/quantity, and proper nouns.

    The Function of the Genitive

    • The genitive construction typically has a definite reference.

    Adjectives

    • Adjectives are words that define nouns more precisely.
    • Adjectives can be placed before or after the noun, to modify it.
    • Adjectives can have forms that show comparisons (e.g., better, best).

    Adverbs

    • Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.
    • They modify verbs by expressing time, place, manner, degree.
    • Closely related to adjectives.

    Auxiliary Verbs

    • Auxiliaries are verbs that are used in conjunction with main verbs to express tense, aspect, mood, or voice.
    • They have specific syntactic and grammatical properties that differentiate from other verbs.

    Non-Finite Clauses

    • Non-finite clauses contain non-finite verbs.
    • They include infinitives, gerunds, and participles.

    Voice

    • The voice of a verb indicates the relationship between the verb and its subject.
      • Active
      • Passive

    Relative Clauses

    • Relative clauses modify nouns or noun phrases.
    • They start with relative pronouns (who, whom, whose, which, that) or relative adverbs.
    • Two types:
      • Restrictive
      • Non-restrictive

    Conditional Clauses

    • Conditional clauses use "if" clauses.
    • Two types:
      • Real
      • Unreal/Hypothetical

    Reported Speech

    • Reported speech is when someone's speech or thoughts are recounted.
    • Reported speech patterns differ from direct speech and include special use cases.

    The Structure of Complex Sentences

    • Complex sentences contain at least one subordinate clause and one independent clause.
    • Types of subordinate clauses, roles in a complex sentence, and different structures.

    Classification of Subordinate Clauses

    • Different ways subordinate clauses are categorized.
    • Based on structure(finite/non-finite), function(nominal/adverbial), and modifiers(relative).

    The Use of Negation in Clauses

    • Explanation of what negation is
    • Two types of negation, verbal and non-verbal
    • Lexical and phrasal negation
    • Important consideration when using negation

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    Description

    Explore the intricacies of syntax, clause analysis, and the categorization of word classes through this quiz. Understand how sentences are constructed and how phrases function as constituents in grammar. Perfect for literature and linguistics students alike.

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