Chapter 5 Syntax

Outline Introduction 4. Sentence structure 1. What is grammar? 5. Functions of tree structures 2. Category 6. Embedded sentences 2.1 Lexical category 2.2 Subcategorization 3. Phrases 7. Transformation rules 7.1 Inversion rules 7.2 Wh-movement 3.1 Phrase structure rules 3.2 VP structure rules 3.3 PP structure rules 3.4 Other PS structure rules 3.5 Internal structure of phrases 8. Summary

Introduction (1/3) Syntax structure of sentences inspired by Noam Chomsky finite basic structures for infinite sentences in a language concerned with leading linguistic research in theories tenet

Introduction (2/3) Issue explored Why can a child acquire a language in such a short time? usually mastering native language before 12 years old twofold assumption Universal Grammar LAD (language acquisition device) in our brain If that language is innate, it is not learned but acquired. There are a certain common properties among languages.

Introduction (3/3) Utterances sentences Different languages share a lot of common structures. NP (Noun phrase) + VP (Verb phrase) This chapter includes: (1) category (2) subcategory (3) phrase structure rules basic unites different in appearance E.g., composed of (4) sentence structure rules (5) transformation (inversion, Wh-movement, NP-movement)

1. What is grammar

1. What is grammar? (1/9) English grammar a nightmare To most of the Taiwanese students be part of our linguistic knowledge or language intuition in this chapter Very different has suffered from tests and memorization of grammatical terms & structures pedagogical grammar

1. What is grammar? (2/9) One who does not have any deficiency in language (e.g., articulator disorder or heavy retarded) (1) speak her/his own native language (NL) (2) understand what he hears if s/he is spoken to in his own NL (3) judge what sentences are ungrammatical be able to

English native speakers 1. What is grammar? (3/9) E.g., (1) a. The boy met the girl. b. The met boy the girl. (2) a. The girl met the boy. b. The girl the boy met. knowing that both are not good sentences might not be able to point out what makes them weird or unacceptable All the words are the same, but different in word order. English native speakers language faulty although stop from speaking ungrammatical sentences Q: What is the nature of language faculty or language competence?

1. What is grammar? (4/9) language faulty a. innovation of new sentences b. if you listen carefully what you are told creativity autonomy Each grammar is independent, & to some extent is arbitrary. would find few sentences are repeated (Red) although topics might be Red & Red. the same finding as reading (to check quotation dictionaries) All sentences might be foreign to you, but you understand what they mean even if it is your first time reading

1. What is grammar? (5/9) Autonomy E.g., English V.S. Chinese sentences 1a & 2a a. Grammar is different in a certain respect. b. Each grammar is unique & autonomous. (1) a. He studied in the classroom in the evening. b. Ta dushu zaijaoshi zhaiwanshang He study in the classroom in the evening (2) a. Wanshang ta zaijiaoshi dushu b. In the evening he in the classroom studied. translated word by word acceptable unacceptable translated implication

1. What is grammar? (6/9) (Only animate can do the action of sleeping) Q: What does it mean by unacceptable or ungrammatical? Are they are the same? (1) Grammatical but unacceptable E.g., a. Colorless green sleeps furiously. subject verb common reasonable, e.g. pretty girl, colorful pictures modify structure/grammar perfect unacceptable, for (a) (b) (c) but adjective (b) Green never sleeps. (Only animate can do the action of sleeping) adverb (c) Sleep can be sound but not furious, (e.g. He had a sound sleep last night.) (a) no green without any color

1. What is grammar? (7/9) has become an idiomatic use in pragmatics (1) Grammatical but unacceptable E.g., b. He killed the dead umbrella. c. The excited pencil walked gigantically in the park. (2) Not entirely grammatical but acceptable & frequently used E.g, a. Sally poured the glass with water. Sally poured water into the glass. filled the glass with water. b. Been there, done it. = We have been there and we have done it. grammatically should be has become an idiomatic use in pragmatics simplification forgotten

1. What is grammar? (8/9) Grammatical sentences acceptable Conclusion Grammatical sentences acceptable Acceptable sentences grammatical The target of this chapter is grammatical & acceptable sentences. not always However

1. What is grammar? (9/9) Review 1. What do you think is linguistic knowledge? Please try to answer this question on the basis of some examples. 2. What is linguistic creativity? Please give at least two sentences to argue for it. 3. What does autonomy mean in linguistics? Please give a good example to show what autonomy means to you. 4. Please write down at least two grammatical but unacceptable sentences. 5. What difference is there between pedagogical and linguistic grammar?

2. Category 2.1 Lexical category 2.2 Subcategorization a grouping so that each group of words may occur in a certain position 2.1 Lexical category 2.2 Subcategorization

2.1 Lexical category (1/2) a. occurring in the nominative position Words or lexica a category nouns naming of persons, events, time, with the same properties a. occurring in the nominative position b. used as an object in a sentence E.g., The book is on the table e.g., desk, cup, tiger, water referring to places, or materials nominative or subject

indefinite quantifiers 2.1 Lexical category (2/2) category abbreviated examples noun N desk, pen, food, air, Tom verb V walk, read, cry, smile, give, put adjective A beautiful, calm, tall, low, thin preposition P in, on, under, above adverb Adv. slowly, yesterday, where, furiously auxiliary Aux. can, ought to, might, will pronoun Pro you, him, they, she determiner Det. a, an, the, this, some, many, any, few conjunction Conj. and, but, neither…nor, when frequently used in syntactic structures indefinite quantifiers articles

in the process of English acquisition when acquiring mother tongues 2.2 Subcategorization (1/2) Subcategorization (SUB) in lexical categories There are further subcategories. Children knowing has been assumed be part of the language faculty Children putting all the categories & SUB in their mental lexicon E.g., verbs (Vs) & nouns (Ns) in the process of English acquisition when acquiring mother tongues Vs transitive (vt.) intransitive (vi.) Ns countable (e.g., book, pen, table) uncountable (e.g., water, paper, air)

2.2 Subcategorization (2/2) In the mental lexicon of an English child, word inputs are listed below: V. = verb; NP = noun phrase; PP = preposition phrase (1) a. cry, V. ____ b. buy, V. _____ NP c. give, V. ____ NP, NP d. put, V. ____ NP, PP (location) a verb (vi.) independently a verb (vt.) that must + NP a dative verb that must + 2 NPs a verb that should + an NP & a PP (2) a. He put a book on the table. b. He put a book here. c. He put a book. d. He put on the table. good sentences no PP following put bad sentences no NP following put

2. Category Review 1. Please sort out the following words according to their lexical categories. 2. What is subcategorization? Please write down the subcategorizatin of the following lexicon. insert cancel beautiful about excited hospitality could we those quickly but behind into several some send dance kill smile deliver water pen John beauty

3. Phrases 3.1 Phrase structure rules 3.2 VP structure rules 3.3 PP structure rules 3.4 Other PS structure rules 3.5 Internal structure of phrases

phrase structure rules a phrase more than 1 word based on grammatical use NP: noun phrase VP: verb phrase PP: preposition phrase AP: adjective phrase Adv.P: adverb phrase constructed by phrase structure rules composed of

3.1 Phrase structure rules (1/5) Phrase structure rules (PS-rules) are written as follows: E.g., NP (1) a. NP (Det) N b. NP (Det) (AP) N a NP = a Det (article) + a noun (Det) optional, Det may be skipped. generating (2) a. NP b. NP N Det N water the book article tree diagrams ( ) indicating

3.1 Phrase structure rules (2/5) node (2) b. NP Det N the book c. [NP [Det the][N book]] ; mother node can be written dominating daughter nodes sister nodes (to each other) domain

(finding lexicon for each node) 3.1 Phrase structure rules (3/5) (2) a. NP N water node b. NP Det N the book Any types of noun can be inserted, e.g. the water or the pen. lexical insertion (finding lexicon for each node) Only an uncountable noun can be inserted.

3.1 Phrase structure rules (4/5) (1) b. NP (Det) (AP) N A (3) a. NP b. NP1 AP N Det NP2 A AP N cold water the colorful book based on the presence or absence of a Det

3.1 Phrase structure rules (5/5) Review: the relation of each node (3) b. NP1 Det NP2 AP N the colorful book NP1 Det NP2 AP N the colorful book grandmother node mother node dominating A A is mother of sister nodes (to each other) head sister (to each other)

3.2 VP structure rules (1/3) VP structure rules are written as follows: (1) a. VP V (PP) b. VP V NP c. VP V NP PP Tree diagrams optional ( ) indicating implies The verb is vi. The verb is vt. (2) a. VP b. VP V V PP cry P NP Det N cry in the morning

3.2 VP structure rules (2/3) head (1) b. VP V NP c. VP V NP PP Tree diagrams (3) a. VP V NP Det N buy a book b. VP V NP PP Det N P NP Det N put the book on the desk head

3.2 VP structure rules (3/3) be unlikely generated V. ___ NP Det N cry the book lexical insertion V. ___ NP subcategorization ungrammatical cry, V. ___ (PP) No NP is allowed.

3.3 PP structure rules head A PP structure rule is written below: (1) PP P NP Tree diagrams (2) a. PP b. PP P NP P NP Det N Det N in the room of the value head

3.4 Other PS structure rules After getting the basic knowledge of NP, VP, & PP, other PS rules are quite obvious, for which reason we would like to skip other PS rules here.

3.5 Internal structure of phrases (1/5) There is a head node for each phrase structure (PS). (1) a. NP N b. VP V c. PP P d. AP A X (as a variable) = V, N, P, or A (2) XP X

3.5 Internal structure of phrases (2/5) a. NP N b. VP V c. PP P d. AP A Specifier (Spec) XP Spec X E.g., (1) very beautiful, (2) to slowly speak (to speak slowly) (3) a beautiful lady. a modifier + used in linguistics Tree diagram: XP Spec X

3.5 Internal structure of phrases (3/5) VP V NP vi. XP X C (E.g., X = A, P, N; C = PP, NP, PP) a. AP A PP b. PP P NP c. NP N PP object complement He is fond of reading. I am satisfied with his achievements. He lives in Taipei. I believe his capability of doing that job.

3.5 Internal structure of phrases (4/5) XP X C XP Spec X C X-bar theory further revised as Tree diagram: XP Spec X C (Complement) maximal projection X’’ Spec X X’ X C XP = VP, PP, NP, AP (X-double bar) X-bar an independent unit

3.5 Internal structure of phrases (5/5) X-bar theory E.g., a Taiwan tea party cannot be independent usually occurring X’’ Spec X X’ X C b. N’’ Det N’ N’ N N N a Taiwan tea party a. N’’ N N’ N N a Taiwan tea party an NP

3. Phrases (1/2) Review 1. What are PS-rules? Please draw a tree diagram for the phrase “a magic kiss.” 2. Please draw tree diagrams according to the given PS rules.

3. Phrases (2/2) Review 3. Please draw a tree diagram for each phrase below. a. buy a piece of chocolate for John b. cry sadly in the park near my house c. to the beautiful garden in the school d. a very tall gentleman with white hair

4. Sentence structure With the general backgrounds of phrase structure rules and how different phrase structures are generated, it will be not so difficult to get the idea of sentence generation.

4. Sentence structure (1/3) The rule for sentence structure: (1) S NP VP (1) rule + PS-rules PS-rules for sentence generation: (2) a. S NP VP b. NP Det N c. VP V NP (3) S NP VP Det N V NP Det N The boy bought that book

4. Sentence structure (2/3) More examples in the following: (4) a. Mary mailed a book to Harris. b. John put a flower on the table. S S N’’ V’’ NP VP V’ P’’ V N’’ P’’ V N’’ P N’’ Det N P N’’ Det N Det N Mary mailed a book to Harris John put a flower on the table

4. Sentence structure (3/3) Review Please write down PS-rules responsible for the following sentences and draw a tree diagram for each sentence. a. buy a piece of chocolate for John b. cry sadly in the park near my house c. to the beautiful garden in the school d. a very tall gentleman with white hair

5. Functions of tree structure Q: Why should we use tree diagrams for syntactic structure? A: Ambiguous sentences can be made clear by way of tree structures.

5. Functions of tree structures (1/3) E.g., The man saw the girl in the garden. (There are 2 possible meanings.) a. S b. S NP VP NP VP Det N V NP Det N VP PP Det NP V NP P NP N PP Det N Det N P NP Det N The man saw the girl in the garden The man saw the girl in the garden with a telescope

5. Functions of tree structures (2/3) E.g., The man saw the girl in the garden. Bracket label can save the space: a. [[[Det The N man] NP [V saw [[Det the N girl] NP [P in [Det the N garden] NP] PP]NP]VP]S b. [[[Det The N man] NP [V saw [Det the N girl] NP [P in [Det the N garden] NP] PP]]VP]S

5. Functions of tree structures (3/3) Review 1. What are ambiguous sentences? How can ambiguous sentences be clarified in meaning? 2. Please draw tree diagrams for the following sentences: a. I sent a letter to John. c. The chicken is ready to eat. b. He danced happily. 3. Each of the following sentences is ambiguous. Please use tree diagrams for the distinction of meaning. a. He looked at the girl with glasses. b. He met the polite woman and man. c. Visiting professors might be boring.

6. Embedded sentences

1. Embedded sentences (1/4) embedded sentences (ESs) a. a sentence put into another one, like relative clauses. b. used to be called subordinate clauses c. usually led by conjunctions like that, which, or what. COMP (Complementizer) a. an ES S-bar (S’) S’ COMP S signified with PS-rule inserted under

6. Embedded sentences (2/4) (1) + (2) = (3) (1) a. S NP VP (2) S’ COMP S b. NP Det N c. VP V NP S NP VP Det N V S’ COMP VP NP VP Det N V NP Det N The boy said that his friend bought that book (3) a. S NP VP b. NP Det N c. VP V S’ d. S’ COMP S e. VP V NP

6. Embedded sentences (3/4) (3) a. S NP VP b. NP Det N c. VP V S’ d. S’ COMP S e. VP V NP E.g., a. The boy said that his friend bought that book. b. The woman said that the boy said that his friend bought that book. c. The girl said that the woman said that the boy said that his friend bought that book. recursive generating infinite sentences if applied continuously because of our memory span An ES follows a transitive verb.

6. Embedded sentences (4/4) Review 1. What are embedded sentences? What are the specific properties of embedded sentences? 2. Please draw tree diagrams for the following sentences: a. Mary claimed that she would marry John. b. I don’t believe that he has told me the truth. c. The man that we met last night is John’s father. d. He told me a story about John. e. Bill said that he would help you with the homework.

7. Transformation rules 7.1 Inversion rules 7.2 Wh-movement are responsible for sentence variations

7.1 Inversion rules (1/2) grammatical (1) a. He will leave tomorrow. b. Will he leave tomorrow? (1b) is a very good sentence & used quite often. How can we account for this phenomenon? according to PS rules (S NP VP) Aux (auxiliary verbs) + NP + VP cannot be generated by any PS rules However Generative Grammar

7.1 Inversion rules (2/2)  Transformation rules  Framework of Generative Grammar:  Transformation rules  (1) a. He will leave tomorrow. b. Will he leave tomorrow? Inversion rule: NP (Aux) V  Aux NP V 1 2 3 3 1 2 Deep structure Surface structure is because of no TRs works together a statement  an interrogative sentence

7.2 Wh-movement (1/2) The rule of Wh-movement: Wh-words (when, what, who, where, which, & how) in the sentences the beginning of a sentence E.g., (1) Which car did he put in the garage? (2) He put which car in the garage. He put which car in the garage. moved to Deep structure (Which car)

7.2 Wh-movement (2/2) applying 2 transformation rules (1) Which car did he put in the garage? (2) He put which car in the garage. S’ COMP Aux S NP VP N VP PP V NP P NP Det N Det N He (did) put which car in the garage Wh-movement Inversion

7. Transformation rules (1/3) Why should there be transformational rules? a. not entirely answered yet b. might be due in part to the creativity of languages a. Not everything can be moved in a sentence. b. Some constraints are there to keep something stable in a sentence. However

7. Transformation rules (2/3) E.g., (1) a. I would like to buy that book for him. b. For him I would like to buy that book. c. That book I would like to buy for him. The Subject (NP) always precedes the V (VP) if anything in a sentence can be moved out no chance in communication some constraints: to stop movement from happening one thing in common What? without any answer so far so

7. Transformation rules (3/3) Review 1. What is a transformation? 2. What is the inversion rule? In which circumstances, Inversion Rule has to be applied? 3. What is Wh-movement? Please try to illustrate your answer with examples.

8. Summary

8. Summary (1/2) a. produce all the possible grammatical sentences This chapter to explore what underlies our linguistic knowledge To know a language to possess the grammar of that language a. produce all the possible grammatical sentences b. stop any ungrammatical sentences from being spoken out goal be able to

8. Summary (2/2) in Deep structure Framework of syntax   Surface structure Framework of syntax There are PS rules different types of sentences Lexicon is inserted PS + subcategorizations of each word Transformation rules can be applied   resulting in based on X-bar theory generating based on