Week 6 Syntax Flashcards
What is syntax
* knowledge of the structure of phrases and sentences
* determining the correct word order at the clause level
What is form based criteria when determining word classes?
Using morphological affixes and distribution (islands of reliability)
What are determiners?
* Articles (the, a, an)
* Demonstratives (this, that, those, these)
* Possessives (my, your, his, her, its, our, their)
When do determiners usually occur? (Distribution)
Usually before a noun - might be other modifiers in between
Define pronouns
A word that can be substituted with another word or a group of words
• Those black pigeons are so annoying.
• Those pigeons are so annoying
• Pigeons are so annoying.
• They are so annoying
What is a reflexive pronoun?
What is a reflexive pronoun?
All the pronouns that end in –self or –selves.
- You have outdone yourself
- She always cooked for herself
- Mary cooked that cake herself
What is an interrogative pronoun?
Occur in question forms
- Who, what, which, what, whose
- Who is the boy? What is he eating? Which apple did he eat? Whose apple is this?
What is a demonstrative pronoun?
English has four demonstrative pronouns: this/that (singular) and this/these (plural).
- I like this. (pron)
- I like this cat. (det)
What is a possessive pronoun?
These pronouns express ownership
• This recipe is mine.
What are prepositions?
- Simple prepositions: in, from, near, under
- Complex (multiword) prepositions: in front of, on top of, in addition to.
What are grammatical/function words?:
Also known as closed class words
pronouns, prepositions and conjunctions, articles/determiners, auxiliaries
What are lexical/content words
Also known as closed class words
nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs
What are primary auxiliaires?
Premodifiers - Primary Auxiliaries
- (to) be, (to) have, (to) do
- They help with the grammatical structure.
*I eating. I am eating
*I eaten. I have eaten
What re modal auxiliaries?
- Pre-modifiers
- convey aspects of probability, ability, intentionality, and obligation
- Only one modal per verb phrase.
Eg. can, could, may, might, shall, should, will, would, and must.
What are conjunctions?
words that link words, phrases, clauses or parts of clauses, or linguistic units, together
What are conjunctions?
words that link words, phrases, clauses or parts of clauses, or linguistic units, together
What are co-ordinator conjunctions?
Co-ordinators link units that are of equal status in the sentence, such as two noun phrases, two clauses etc.
• and, but, or
E.g: The cat and the dog. I love cat but I hate dogs.
What are subordinator conjunctions?
Subordinators link units which do not have the same grammatical status to be explored in complex syntax.
• E.g. We can’t go if the shops aren’t open
Distribution check
All grammatical clauses must contain a #######
Auxiliaries may occur in front of the #######
main verb
Distribution check
Adjectives may occur in front of a ###### or by themselves after a ######
……..noun……. verb
Eg.
- The handsome man is looking at me.
- The man is handsome.
Distribution Check
Adverbs can be ######
shifty
eg.
- We finally understand syntax.
- We understand syntax finally.
- Finally, we understand syntax.
What are intensifier adverbs?
Intensifier adverbs that modify adjectives or other adverbs will occur in front of the adjective or adverb.
- The lecture was very enjoyable.
- The boy ran very quickly.
What are constituents?
All the words and phrases that make up a sentence are said to be constituents of that sentence. A constituent can be a morpheme , word , phrase, or clause.
What is a phrase
A phrase is a level between words and sentences.
- Noun phrases
- Adjective phrases
- Verb phrases
- Adverb phrases
- Preposition phrases
What are the tests for phrases?
- Movement (Moving around groups of words. Eg. On their finest couch is where her cat annoyingly sleeps on.)
- Substitution - (Replacing (a group of) words by a single word within the same constituent. Eg. It annoyingly sleeps on their finest couch!)
- Stand alone question (Eg. Who is sleeping on their finest couch? … Her cat) (Only works on certain types of phrases)
Structure of phrases
- Head word
- Modifiers (optional elements that add to the meaning) E.g., The ugly cats (noun phrase) modifier: the (determiner); ugly (adjective)
Different types of phrases
Noun Phrases
Preposition Phrases
Adjective Phrases
Adverb Phrases
Verb Phrases
Headword in a noun phrase
noun or pronoun
Premodifiers occur before noun in a noun phrase
(Yes or No)
Yes
Eg these determiners
I like the** cows. I like **my** cows. I like **some** cows. I like **all cows.
