Syntax Flashcards
Syntax
a computational system for generating sentences
Determiners
precede nouns, specify properties like quantity and proximity, closed class of words (ex. the, a some, every)
Nouns
can follow a determiner, can be modified by an adjective, can be replaced by a pronoun
Verbs
have a past tense form, can combine with auxiliary verbs, can take an object
Adjectives
can modify nouns, can occur between a determiner and a noun, may have comparative and superlative forms
Adverbs
modify anything by nouns, often end in -ly, can appear between the subject and an auxiliary verb
Complex base
might consist of a root plus an affix
What happens sometimes when we add an affix to a base?
word changes lexical category
Prepositions
can be modified by ‘right’, can take an object, closed class (ex. in, on, under, with)
Auxiliary verbs
close class (can, could, might, am, are, have, has)
Noun compounds
often the part of the compound of the right determines the category of the compound
Syntactic grammaticality judgments
there are constraints on word order, verbs, and groups of words
Intuitive patterns
certain words seem to cluster together
Constituents
a word or group of words that function together as a unit, generally nested (i.e. hierarchical)
Merge
a fundamental syntactic operation that combines two constituents to form a single new constituent
Two important properties of phrases (XPs)
1) every phrase has a head: the most important part of the phrase, which generally cannot be left out, and 2) the category of the head determines the properties of the phrase: all categories (heads) project to a phrase
Projection
all words of category X project to a phrase XP
Constituency test
methods for isolating constituents and determining their identity
Coordination test
constituents of the same category can be coordinated with a conjunction like ‘and’ or ‘or’
Movement test
constituents can be moved around within a sentence
Substitution test
a group of adjacent words that can be substituted by a single word while preserving the meaning of a phrase
Crucially, all sentences need ________.
tense
Auxiliary verbs and PAST/PRES cannot _______.
co-occur
PAST and PRES
unpronounced tense words that ultimately get realized as morphemes on the main verb
Complement
the phrase which merges with (and is sister to) the head
In English, the complement merges to the ______ of the head.
right
Adjuncts
a (non-essential) phrase YP which is merged with another full phrase XP to produce an XP overall
An Adjunct relationship is characterized as a phrase whose _______ is the same as its _______.
sister, mother
Specifier
the phrase which merges with (and is sister to) an X’
Intransitive verb
verbs that only require a subject; structurally, they are represented by a verb which immediately projects to a VP
Transitive verbs
need two arguments - a subject and an object
Embedded clauses
a sentence that is embedded inside of another sentence
Complementizers
words that allow for embedded clauses (ex. that, for, if)
Zero complementizer (/) change in frequency from Late Middle English (1350) to Early Modern English (1710)
Increased
Trace
an unpronounced component that if left behind when a syntactic element moves out of its position to a new position; marked with angle brackets and struck out
Some syntactic elements may be deleted or are unpronounced (‘null’) e.g.:
null determiners (proper names and simple nouns), null (‘zero’) complementizers, moved elements
Questioning test
the WH-word targets a specific constituent
Other examples of movement
Direct object (‘topicalization’) in English, verb movement in German
Children aged about 2.5 - 5.5 years old produce questions like:
Who do you think who’s under there?
