Syntax and Verb Phrases Quiz
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Questions and Answers

Which of the following best describes the verb phrase (VP)?

  • It is always a single verb.
  • It only includes nouns.
  • It consists of only auxiliary verbs.
  • It contains verbal forms and may include auxiliary verbs. (correct)

    • A prepositional phrase (PP) always starts with a noun.

    False

    What is the role of the lexical verb in the verb phrase?

    It is the principal part of the verb phrase.

    In the phrase 'very small children', 'small' is the head of an ______ phrase.

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

    Match the following phrases with their components:

    <p>NP = Noun Phrase PP = Prepositional Phrase VP = Verb Phrase AP = Adjective Phrase</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How many verbal forms can be present in a verb phrase at maximum?

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

    'Across' in the phrase 'across the road' serves as a preposition.

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

    What is a finite clause and can you give an example?

    <p>A finite clause contains a subject and a verb and indicates a specific time. Example: 'They work harder than we expected.'</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the unboundedness of syntax refer to?

    <p>The ability to create new sentences indefinitely</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Grouping in syntax only involves the arrangement of single words.

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

    What are the three aspects of syntax?

    <p>grouping, function, and word order</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the sentence structure, the prepositional phrase is included in the lower ______ phrase.

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

    Which tree diagram branch represents the action in a sentence?

    <p>Verb Phrase (VP)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Match the following terms with their definitions:

    <p>Noun Phrase (NP) = A phrase that acts as a noun Verb Phrase (VP) = A phrase that represents the action Prepositional Phrase (PP) = A phrase that provides additional information about time, place, etc. Sentence (S) = The complete thought or message expressed in a clause</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Creativity in language implies that speakers can only use familiar structures.

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

    What role do 'nodes' play in a tree diagram of a sentence?

    <p>They represent the branching points for different phrases.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the typical word order in English sentences?

    <p>Subject-Verb-Object</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Agreement in English requires subjects and verbs to agree in gender.

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

    What does Chomsky's conception of sentence structure involve?

    <p>Tree diagrams to illustrate grammatical relations</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is an example of a phrase structure in the sentence 'The happy dog played in the park'?

    <p>Noun Phrase (NP) 'The happy dog' and Prepositional Phrase (PP) 'in the park'</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The direct object is directly dominated by the verb in all languages.

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

    In English, to express negation, we can use auxiliary verbs combined with _____ or contractions.

    <p>not</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Name one language mentioned that is inflected for case.

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

    Match the following syntactic structures with their definitions:

    <p>Word order = Arrangement of words to convey meaning Phrase structure = Combination of phrases within sentences Agreement = Consistency in number between subjects and verbs Negation = Linguistic devices that express negativity</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Chomsky's theory proposes to develop an account of linguistic __________.

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

    Which of the following sentences correctly demonstrates subject-verb agreement?

    <p>The students are reading books.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Match the following languages with their characteristics:

    <p>Arabic = VSO order English = Not inflected for case German = Inflected for case Polish = Inflected for case</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Questions in English typically have the same structure as declarative sentences.

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

    What evidence does the tree diagram illustrating 'The boy ate the bread' provide?

    <p>Evidence of differing grammatical relations</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What auxiliary verb can be used to form the negation in the sentence 'She does not like pizza'?

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

    What is a primary criticism of Universal Grammar related to the nature of linguistic knowledge?

    <p>It may be learned using general cognitive abilities.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    All languages have the same word order.

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

    The poverty of the stimulus argument has received strong empirical support.

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

    Name an alternative approach to language acquisition that critics of Universal Grammar propose.

    <p>usage-based models or connectionism</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What role does dominance play in grammatical relations according to the content?

    <p>It identifies the subject and direct object in a syntactic structure.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Universal Grammar has limited _____ power regarding the diversity of languages worldwide.

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

    Match the following criticisms of Universal Grammar with their respective descriptions:

    <p>Nature of innate linguistic knowledge = Questioning if knowledge is truly innate or learned Poverty of the stimulus = Argument lacking empirical evidence Insufficient explanation for language change = Limited on language development Predictive limitations = Challenges in predicting language behavior</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is NOT a criticism of Universal Grammar?

    <p>The innate language acquisition device</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following statements about argument specifiers is true?

    <p>Argument specifiers tend to be subjects.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Universal Grammar has made substantial contributions to our understanding of language acquisition.

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

    What do critics suggest about the role of input in language acquisition?

    <p>It could be more significant than previously proposed.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The verb 'arrived' can have a subject that is an abstract concept.

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

    What must the subject of a verb be semantically compatible with?

    <p>The Θ-role assigned by the verb.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the sentence 'Garry is in the garden', Garry functions as a _____.

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

    Match the verbs with their compatible subjects:

    <p>arrived = a concrete object sank = a tangible entity is = a person or entity wondered = an abstract concept that can't be a DP</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following pairs demonstrates the incompatibility of a verb and its subject?

    <p>Wonder woman wondered the time.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    'The complete works of Shakespeare' can be interpreted as a set of manuscripts.

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

    Subjects are never subcategorised for but are positioned in the _____ of the VP.

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

    Study Notes

    Introduction to Syntax

    • Syntax is traditionally concerned with the sentence as the starting point, analyzing it into smaller units (constituents)

    • Immediate constituents (ICs) are the parts a sentence is segmented into

    • The whole sentence is the largest unit of syntactic description

    Levels of Analysis

    • Linguistic units: constituents, phrases, words, morphemes

    • Constituents are independent linguistic objects with characteristics and internal structure

    • Phrases may consist of single words or several

    • Noun phrase (NP): example: 'a walk', 'a walk in the sun'

    • Verb phrase (VP): example: 'took a walk', 'could have been fun'

    • Adjective phrase (AP): example: 'fairly interesting', 'too good to marry'

    • Adverb phrase (AdvP): example: 'admittedly', 'very well'

    • Prepositional phrase (PP): example: 'in the morning sun', 'in Spain'

    Rankshift

    • Units are not always composed of units of the next lowest rank

    • Sentences can function as constituents of phrases and other sentences

    Rankscale

    • A hierarchy of units involved in linguistic description

    • Morphemes are constituents of words

    • Words are constituents of phrases

    • Phrases are constituents of sentences

    Functions and Categories

    • Linguistic units play varied roles in larger structures

    • Function: a unit's role within a larger structure

    • Category: a unit's class or type

    Direct Object (DO)

    • A single complement immediately following a verb

    • Can become the subject of a passive sentence

    • Example: 'She read the grammar book'

    Indirect Object (IO)

    • Associated with the first complement of a verb

    • Associated in the passive sentence

    • Example: 'She gave me the money'

    Benefactive Subject (BO)

    • Resembles the IO

    • Can be exchanged for a prepositional phrase

    • Example, 'Her father bought her a car'

    Subject Complement (SC)

    • Complements the verb

    • Related to the subject of sentence

    • Example, 'She is a happy girl'

    Object Complement (OC)

    • Predicates something about the direct object

    • Follows the direct object

    • Example: 'She called me a psycho'

    Predicator Complement (PC)

    • A miscellaneous type of complement

    • Doesn't fit well into other types

    • Example: 'This car costs £16,000'

    Categories (phrases)

    • Phrases consist of at least a Head

    • Pre-Head string: string of elements before Head

    • Post-Head string: string of elements after Head

    • Example: [the small children in class 5]

    Noun Phrase (NP)

    • The Head of a Noun Phrase (NP) is its noun

    • Determiners and adjectives usually are in the pre-Head string

    Unboundedness of Syntax

    • Sentences can be indefinitely long

    • This is possible due to the creativity of language

    Recursion in Syntax

    • Phrases can be expanded by adding phrases of their own types

    • Sentences can contain smaller phrases within the sentence

    • Example: I know I saw her once

    The Verb Phrase (VP)

    • Composed of verbal forms

    • Maximum number of verbal form is 5

    • Lexical verbs can occur alone or with auxiliary verbs

    The Prepositional Phrase (PP)

    • Consists of a preposition and prepositional complement (post-head string)

    • Example: [PP through the window]

    Phrases within Phrases

    • Phrases can be embedded inside phrases

    • Example: [NP the man [PP on the bench]]

    Ambiguity

    • Words, phrases, or sentences having two or more meanings

    • Lexical ambiguity: depends on different word meanings

    • Grouping ambiguity: determined by different groupings of words

    • Example: "They admitted that we had attended only with reluctance"

    • Example: "Let's have chocolate cake and ice cream"

    Knowledge of Functions

    • Understanding grammatical relations (S, DO, IO, etc), parts of speech (Det, N, V.P), and relations of head and modifier

    Transformational Generative Grammar

    • Syntax is a core and autonomous component
    • Grammar comprises three levels of analysis: phrase structure rules, transformational rules, and morphophonemic rules

    Universal Grammar

    • An innate ability for rapid language acquisition
    • Innate linguistic knowledge
    • Shared structures across languages

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    Syntax PDF

    Description

    Test your knowledge of syntax and verb phrases with this quiz. Explore various aspects of sentence structure, including the roles of verb phrases, prepositional phrases, and tree diagrams. This quiz will help solidify your understanding of fundamental concepts in syntax.

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