Chapter 5

Question 1

Syntax

Answer 1

A component of mental grammar that deals with constructing phrasal expressions out of smaller expressions. Also a name for the subfield of linguistics that studies how expressions can combine to form larger expressions.

Question 2

Linguistic Expressions

Answer 2

A piece of language with a form, a meaning, and syntactic properties.

Question 3

Grammatical

Answer 3

A term used to describe a sentence that is in accordance with the descriptive grammatical rules of some language, especially syntactic rules. When some phrasal expression is constructed in accordance with the syntactic rules of a language, we say it is grammatical or syntactically well-formed.

Question 4

Ungrammatical

Answer 4

Not in accordance with the descriptive grammatical rules of some language, especially syntactic rules. When some phrasal expression is not constructed in accordance with the syntactic rules of a language, we say it is ungrammatical or syntactically ill-formed.

Question 5

argument

Answer 5

A linguistic expression that must occur in a sentence if some other expression occurs in that sentence as well. If the occurrence of an expression X in a sentence requires the occurrence of an expression Y in that sentence, we say that Y is an argument of X.

Question 6

Object

Answer 6

A noun phrase that normally occurs immediately to the right of the verb in English. A noun phrase complement.

Question 7

principle of compositionality

Answer 7

The notion that the meaning of a phrasal expression is predictable from the meanings of the expressions it contains and how they were syntactically combined.

Question 8

lexical expressions

Answer 8

A linguistic expression that has to be listed in the mental lexicon, e.g., single-word expressions and idioms.

Question 9

phrasal expressions

Answer 9

A linguistic expression that results from the syntactic combination of smaller expressions. A multi-word linguistic expression. A sentence is a special kind of phrasal expression.

Question 10

substitution

Answer 10

In syntax, a constituency test that involves replacing a constituent with a single word (or simple phrase), such as a pro-form. In language processing, a production error in which one unit is replaced with another.

Question 11

word order

Answer 11

The linear order in which words can occur in some phrasal expression. Also, the set of syntactic properties of expressions that dictates how they can be ordered with respect to other expressions.

Question 12

syntactic distribution

Answer 12

Refers to the set of syntactic environments in which an expression can occur. If two expressions are interchangeable in all syntactic environments, we say that they have the same syntactic distribution and therefore belong to the same syntactic category.

Question 13

topicalized

Answer 13

A syntactic process by which (in English) a syntactic constituent occurs at the beginning of a sentence in order to highlight the topic under discussion.

Question 14

sentential complement verbs

Answer 14

The name of a syntactic category that consists of those expressions that if combined with a sentence to their right result in a verb phrase; a verb that needs a sentence as its complement.

Question 15

cleft

Answer 15

A type of sentence that has the general form It is/was X that Y, e.g., It was Sally that I wanted to meet. Can be used as a constituency test.

Question 16

determiners

Answer 16

The name of a lexical category and a syntactic category that consists of expressions such as the, a, this, all, etc. Syntactically, consists of those expressions that when combined with an expression of category noun to their right result in an expression of category noun phrase.

Question 17

modifiers

Answer 17

See Adjunct

Question 18

ditransitive verbs

Answer 18

The name of a syntactic category that consists of those expressions that if combined with two expressions of category noun phrase to their right result in a verb phrase. A verb that needs two noun phrase complements.

Question 19

morphosyntax

Answer 19

The name for syntax and morphology considered jointly as a single component of grammar.

Question 20

noun phrases

Answer 20

The name of a syntactic category that consists of proper names, pronouns, and all other expressions with the same syntactic distribution.

Question 21

mass nouns

Answer 21

A linguistic expression that has to be listed in the mental lexicon, e.g., single-word expressions and idioms.

Question 22

nouns

Answer 22

The name of a lexical category and a syntactic category. Morphologically, consists of words to which the plural suffix -s or the suffix -like can be added. Syntactically, consists of expressions that can combine with determiners to their left, the resulting expression being of category noun phrase.

Question 23

pro-form

Answer 23

A word (e.g., a pronoun) that can replace a syntactic constituent.

Question 24

prepositional phrase

Answer 24

The name of a syntactic category that consists of those expressions that contain a preposition and a noun phrase. Can be verb phrase adjuncts or noun adjuncts.

Question 25

Phrase Structure Tree

Answer 25

A visual representation of how phrases are constructed within a descriptive grammar, given the lexicon and the phrase structure rules.

Question 26

verb phrase

Answer 26

The name of a syntactic category that consists of all expressions that, if combined with a noun phrase to their left, result in a sentence.

Question 27

transitive verbs

Answer 27

The name of a syntactic category that consists of those expressions that if combined with an expression of category noun phrase to their right result in a verb phrase; a verb that needs a noun phrase complement.

Question 28

VP Adjuncts

Answer 28

A kind of adjunct that combines with an expression of syntactic category verb phrase with the resulting expression also being of category verb phrase.