Lecture 3 Sentence Structure Flashcards
Sentence Structure and Types
Word Order (SVO):
Description: Refers to the arrangement of the subject, verb, and object in a sentence. In SVO languages (like English), the typical sentence structure is Subject-Verb-Object. For example, “The cat (S) eats (V) the mouse (O).”
Other Languages:
Description: Many languages employ different word orders, such as SOV (Subject-Object-Verb, e.g., Japanese) or VSO (Verb-Subject-Object, e.g., Classical Arabic). These variations can affect syntax and meaning.
Coordinate Sentence:
Description: A sentence that connects two independent clauses using coordinating conjunctions like “and,” “but,” or “or.” For example, “I wanted to go for a walk, but it started raining.”
Complex Sentence:
Description: A sentence that contains at least one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses. For example, “Although it was raining, I went for a walk.” The dependent clause “Although it was raining” cannot stand alone.
Embedding:
Description: The process of inserting one clause within another. For instance, in the sentence “The cat that I adopted is friendly,” the embedded clause “that I adopted” provides additional information about the subject.
Constituents
Description: The individual parts of a sentence that can stand alone as phrases or clauses. Constituents can be words or groups of words functioning together as a single unit.
Hierarchical Order of Constituents:
Description: Refers to the way constituents are organized in a structured manner, where some elements are dependent on others. This hierarchical structure can be illustrated through phrase structure trees.
Structural Ambiguity:
Description: Occurs when a sentence can be interpreted in multiple ways due to its structure. For example, “I saw the man with the telescope” can mean either that you used a telescope to see the man or that the man you saw had a telescope.
Phrase Structure Tree:
Description: A visual representation of the grammatical structure of a sentence, showing how phrases and constituents are organized hierarchically. Each branch represents a constituent or phrase type.
Phrase Structure Rules:
Description: Formal rules that describe how phrases can be constructed in a language. For instance, a basic rule might state that a noun phrase can consist of a determiner followed by a noun (e.g., “the dog”).
Head of a Constituent:
Description: The main word in a phrase that determines the nature of that phrase. In the noun phrase “the big dog,” “dog” is the head, while “the” and “big” are modifiers.
Substitution Test:
Description: A method used to determine if a group of words functions as a single constituent. For example, if you can replace “the big dog” in the sentence “The big dog barked” with “it,” then “the big dog” is a constituent.
Pro-forms:
Description: Words like pronouns or adverbs that can replace a phrase to avoid repetition. For example, in “Sara loves chocolate, and she enjoys it,” “it” is a pro-form that replaces “chocolate.”
Transitive:
Description: Refers to verbs that require a direct object to complete their meaning. For example, in the sentence “She kicked the ball,” “kicked” is a transitive verb requiring the object “the ball.”
Intransitive:
Description: Refers to verbs that do not require a direct object. For example, “He sleeps” is intransitive because it does not need an object to make sense.
