Syntax 2: Constituents

Question 1

predicate

Answer 1

• words in a sentence that describe the action but not the subject
• explains what the subject does
• Verb Phrase in the sentence

Question 2

constituent

Answer 2

• word or a group of words that form a meaningful unit and perform a syntactic function
• units that serve a special function in a clause (such as a subject, predicate, direct/indirect object)
• hierarchically organized

Question 3

clause

Question 4

Replacement Test (Substitution)

Answer 4

• constituency test
• By replacing a group of words with a single word or a simpler phrase, we can determine whether that group is a constituent
• if sentence remains grammatically correct and meaningful, replaced phrase or word is likely a constituent
• Replace Noun Phrases with pronouns
• Replace Verb Phrases with “do so” (“did so” in the past)
• Replace Prepositional Phrases with there

Question 5

pro-forms

Answer 5

word that substitutes for a phrase (NP, VP, PP, etc)

Question 6

Stand-Alone Test (question-and-answer test)

Answer 6

• constituency test
• if a sequence of words can stand alone in response to a question, then they most likely constitute a constituent
  Ex. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.
  Question: What did the quick brown fox jump over?
  Answer: The lazy dog
• acceptable response, therefore constituent

Question 7

Clefting Test (Movement)

Answer 7

• If you can move a group of words around in the sentence, then they form a constituent since you can move the words as a unit
• only reliable when we can keep the meaning of the sentence the same (or relatively close to the original)
• putting a string of words between It was (or It is) and a that at the beginning of the sentence
  ex. She received a beautiful bouquet of flowers.
• It was a beautiful bouquet of flowers that she received.
• a beautiful bouquet of flowers forms a constituent since the resulting sentence is grammatical and the meaning of the original sentence is retained