I am Dr. Abdulrahman Alqurashi King Abdulaziz University Department of European Languages & Literature Welcome to Syntax (LANE-334) I am Dr. Abdulrahman Alqurashi 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Course website http://aaalqurashi.kau.edu.sa/Pages-LANE-334.aspx The course website contains the following materials for you to download course description lecture materials (i.e. I will put copies of my Powerpoint slides on the website after I finish my lectures every week) Coursebook Wekker, H., & Haegeman, L. M. (1985). A modern course in English syntax. Croom Helm.   2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

What you should do every week Read the text of the appropriate chapter of your coursebook in advance of the lecture (look at the course time plan in the course description ) Write down your questions and bring them to the lecture, so we can discuss them together. 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

What I will do in the lecture • Summarize keys points of the appropriate chapter of the coursebook according to the course time plan. • Analyse some of the exercise material in each chapter • Answer your questions 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Syntax (LANE-334) Chapter 1 Aims and Methods 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

What is Syntax? Syntax is the study of how sentences are formed. In other words, Syntax or Syntactic Analysis is the study of how a specific language combines words to form sentences. Syntax vs. Morphology Morphology is the study of how words are formed. 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

The tasks of syntax The study of Syntax involves two related tasks: (a) breaking down the sentence into its components parts (i.e. constituents). (b) assigning some grammatical label to each constituent. Each constituent (i.e. syntactic unit) belongs to a specific grammatical category and serves a specific grammatical function. 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

The tasks of syntax (e.g. noun or verb ) Grammatical categories = parts of speech (e.g. noun or verb ) Grammatical function = grammatical job (e.g. subject or predicate ) 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

The tasks of syntax The study of Syntax involves two related tasks: (a) breaking down the sentence into its components parts (i.e. constituents). (b) assigning some grammatical label to each constituents, to say what grammatical category it belongs to and what grammatical function it serves. 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

An example (1). The student talked. This sentence has two constituents : (a). the student (b). Talked What is the Grammatical category of the constituent (the student)? - noun What is the Grammatical category of the constituent (talked)? - verb 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

An example (1). The student talked. This sentence has two constituents : (a). the student (b). Talked What is the Grammatical function of the constituent (the student)? - subject What is the Grammatical function of the constituent (talked)? - predicate 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Syntactic units SENTENCE SENTENCE CLAUSE CLAUSE  PHRASE  PHRASE WORD MORPHEME SENTENCE  CLAUSE PHRASE WORD MORPHEME 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

An example (2). The boy took the ball and hid it. A: One. Q: How many sentences do we have ? A: One. The boy took the ball and hid it. 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

An example (2). The boy took the ball and hid it. Q: How many clauses do we have ? A: Two. The boy took the ball hid it. The boy took the ball and hid it A sentence may consist of one or more than one clause. 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

An example (3). The boy took the ball A: Two. Q: How many phrases do we have in the above clause? A: Two. the boy the (Det) boy (N) - (noun phrase - NP) took the ball took (V) the (Det) ball (N) (verb phrase – VP) Det = Determiner - N = Noun – V=Verb 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

An example (4). (he) hid it A: one. Q: How many phrases do we have in the above clause? A: one. hid it (verb phrase – VP) A clause may consist of one or more than one phrase. A clause is made up of phrases 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

An example (5). The boy (NP) A: Two. the (Det) + boy (N) Head Q: How many words do we have in the above phrase? A: Two. the (Det) + boy (N) Head 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

An example (6). took the ball (VP) A: three. Head Q: How many words do we have in the above phrase? A: three. took (V) + the (Det) + ball (N) Head A phrase may consist of one or more than one word. 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

An example (7). took the ball (VP) A: three. Q: How many morphemes do we have in the above phrase? A: three. took , the , ball A morpheme is the smallest indivisible unit in syntax. 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

An example (8). talked (V) A: two. talk + ed Q: How many morphemes do we have in the above word? A: two. talk + ed A word may consist of one or more than one morpheme. 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Representing a syntactic structure There are two ways to represent a syntactic structure: a). Labelled Bracketing [a square brackets ] = [ S John died] b). Tree Diagrams XP X XP X XP X X 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Examples Labelled Bracketing Sentence (S): e.g. The boy took the ball and (he) hid it. [S1 [ S2 the boy took the ball] and [S3 hid it]] Clauses (S): [ S1 the boy took the ball] and [S2 hid it] [ S the boy took the ball] [S he hid it] 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Examples Phrases (P): e.g. The boy took the ball and (he) hid it. [S1 [ S2 [NPthe boy] [VP took [NPthe ball]]] and [S1[VP hid [NP it]]]] [NP the boy] [VPtook] [NPthe ball] [VPhid] [NP it] 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Examples Words: e.g. The boy took the ball and hid it [NP [Det the] [N boy]] [VP [V took]] [NP [Det the] [ N ball]] [Coord and] [VP [V hid]] [NP [ N it]] Coord = Coordinator 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Examples [NP [ N it]] [NP [Det the] [N boy]] [VP [V took]] [NP [Det the] [ N ball]] [Corrd and] [VP [V hid]] 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Examples [VP [V hid] [NP [ N it]]] [NP [Det the] [N boy]] [VP [V took]] [NP [Det the] [ N ball]] [Corrd and] [VP [V hid]] 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Examples [S1[NP [N he]] [VP [V hid] [NP [N it ]]]] [NP [Det the] [N boy]] [VP [V took]] [NP [Det the] [ N ball]] [Corrd and] [NP [N (he)]] 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

[S1[NP [N he]] [VP [V hid] [NP [N it ]]]] Examples [Corrd and] [S1[NP [N he]] [VP [V hid] [NP [N it ]]]] [NP [Det the] [N boy]] [VP [V took]] [NP [Det the] [ N ball]] 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

[S1[NP [N (he)]] [VP [V hid] [NP [N it ]]]] Examples [NP [Det the] [ N ball]] [Corrd and] [S1[NP [N (he)]] [VP [V hid] [NP [N it ]]]] [NP [Det the] [N boy]] [VP [V took]] 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

[S1[NP [N (he)]] [VP [V hid] [NP [N it ]]]] Examples [VP [V took] [NP [Det the] [ N ball]]] [Corrd and] [S1[NP [N (he)]] [VP [V hid] [NP [N it ]]]] [NP [Det the] [N boy]] [VP [V took]] 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

[S2[NP [Det the][N boy]] [VP [V took] [NP [Det the] [ N ball]]]] Examples [S2[NP [Det the][N boy]] [VP [V took] [NP [Det the] [ N ball]]]] [Corrd and] [S1[NP [N he]] [VP [V hid] [NP [N it ]]]] [NP [Det the] [N boy]] 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Examples [S1[S2[NP [Det the][N boy]] [VP [V took] [NP [Det the] [N ball]]]] [Cor and] [S3[NP [N he]] [VP [V hid] [NP [N it ]]]]] 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Representing a syntactic structure b). Tree Diagrams e.g. The boy took the ball and (he) hid it. it 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Representing a syntactic structure b). Tree Diagrams e.g. The boy took the ball and (he) hid it. PRN it 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Representing a syntactic structure b). Tree Diagrams e.g. The boy took the ball and (he) hid it. NP PRN it 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Representing a syntactic structure b). Tree Diagrams e.g. The boy took the ball and (he) hid it. NP hid PRN it 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Representing a syntactic structure b). Tree Diagrams e.g. The boy took the ball and (he) hid it. V NP hid PRN it 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Representing a syntactic structure b). Tree Diagrams e.g. The boy took the ball and (he) hid it. VP V NP (he) hid PRN it 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Representing a syntactic structure b). Tree Diagrams e.g. The boy took the ball and (he) hid it. NP VP PRN V NP (he) hid PRN it 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Representing a syntactic structure b). Tree Diagrams e.g. The boy took the ball and (he) hid it. S3 NP VP PRN V NP (he) hid PRN it 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Representing a syntactic structure b). Tree Diagrams e.g. The boy took the ball and (he) hid it. N ball 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Representing a syntactic structure b). Tree Diagrams e.g. The boy took the ball and (he) hid it. N the ball 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Representing a syntactic structure b). Tree Diagrams e.g. The boy took the ball and (he) hid it. Det N the ball 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Representing a syntactic structure b). Tree Diagrams e.g. The boy took the ball and (he) hid it. NP Det N the ball 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Representing a syntactic structure b). Tree Diagrams e.g. The boy took the ball and (he) hid it. NP took Det N the ball 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Representing a syntactic structure b). Tree Diagrams e.g. The boy took the ball and (he) hid it. V NP took Det N the ball 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Representing a syntactic structure b). Tree Diagrams e.g. The boy took the ball and (he) hid it. VP V NP took Det N the ball 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Representing a syntactic structure b). Tree Diagrams e.g. The boy took the ball and (he) hid it. VP V NP boy took Det N the ball 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Representing a syntactic structure b). Tree Diagrams e.g. The boy took the ball and (he) hid it. VP N V NP boy took Det N the ball 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Representing a syntactic structure b). Tree Diagrams e.g. The boy took the ball and (he) hid it. VP N V NP the boy took Det N the ball 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Representing a syntactic structure b). Tree Diagrams e.g. The boy took the ball and (he) hid it. VP Det N V NP the boy took Det N the ball 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Representing a syntactic structure b). Tree Diagrams e.g. The boy took the ball and (he) hid it. NP VP Det N V NP the boy took Det N the ball 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Representing a syntactic structure b). Tree Diagrams e.g. The boy took the ball and (he) hid it. S2 NP VP Det N V NP the boy took Det N the ball 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Representing a syntactic structure b). Tree Diagrams e.g. The boy took the ball and (he) hid it. S2 NP VP Det N V NP the boy took Det N the ball S3 NP VP PRN V NP (he) hid PRN it 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Representing a syntactic structure b). Tree Diagrams e.g. The boy took the ball and (he) hid it. S2 NP VP Det N V NP the boy took Det N the ball S3 NP VP PRN V NP (he) hid PRN it and 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Representing a syntactic structure b). Tree Diagrams e.g. The boy took the ball and (he) hid it. S2 NP VP Det N V NP the boy took Det N the ball Coord and S3 NP VP PRN V NP (he) hid PRN it 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Representing a syntactic structure b). Tree Diagrams e.g. The boy took the ball and (he) hid it. S1 S2 NP VP Det N V NP the boy took Det N the ball Coord and S3 NP VP PRN V NP (he) hid PRN it 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Assignment Choose one of the sentences on P.7 and analyze it from sentence level to word level using labelled brackets and a tree diagram. See you next week. 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Additional terminology Node is the point in a tree diagram which carries a category label (e.g. S, NP, VP, N … etc). S1 NP VP Det N V NP the boy took Det N the ball Coord and S2 S3 NP VP PRN V NP (he) hid PRN it 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Additional terminology Node is the point in a tree diagram which carries a category label (e.g. S, NP, VP, N … etc). Branch : e.g. S2, S3, and Coord are branches of S1 S1 NP VP Det N V NP the boy took Det N the ball Coord and S2 S3 NP VP PRN V NP (he) hid PRN it 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Additional terminology Terminal Node is one at the bottom of the tree (e.g. Det, N, V, PRN). Terminal nodes are immediately above words (i.e. lexical items) S1 NP VP Det N V NP the boy took Det N the ball Coord and S2 S3 NP VP PRN V NP (he) hid PRN it 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Additional terminology Terminal Node is one at the bottom of the tree (e.g. Det, N, V, PRN). Non-terminal Node is one which is not at the bottom of the tree (e.g. S1, S2…) S1 NP VP Det N V NP the boy took Det N the ball Coord and S2 S3 NP VP PRN V NP (he) hid PRN it 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Additional terminology Mother: (e.g. S1 is the mother of S2, and S3,). Daughter: (e.g. S2,and S3, are daughters of S1). Sister: (e.g. S2,and S3, are sisters). S1 NP VP Det N V NP the boy took Det N the ball Coord and S2 S3 NP VP PRN V NP (he) hid PRN it 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Phrase Structure Rules (PS rules) S S - Coord - S S1 NP VP Det N V NP the boy took Det N the ball Coord and S2 S3 NP VP PRN V NP (he) hid PRN it 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Phrase Structure Rules (PS rules) S S - Coord - S S NP – VP S1 NP VP Det N V NP the boy took Det N the ball Coord and S2 S3 NP VP PRN V NP (he) hid PRN it 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Phrase Structure Rules (PS rules) S S - Coord - S S NP – VP VP V – NP S1 NP VP Det N V NP the boy took Det N the ball Coord and S2 S3 NP VP PRN V NP (he) hid PRN it 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Phrase Structure Rules (PS rules) S S - Coord - S S NP – VP VP V – NP NP {Det – N / N} S1 NP VP Det N V NP the boy took Det N the ball Coord and S2 S3 NP VP PRN V NP (he) hid PRN it 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Phrase Structure Rules (PS rules) The node labeled S1 immediately dominates the nodes S2, coord, and S3. S2, coord, and S3 are sister nodes related to the same mother node S1 S1 NP VP Det N V NP the boy took Det N the ball Coord and S2 S3 NP VP PRN V NP (he) hid PRN it 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Phrase Structure Rules (PS rules) The node labeled S2 immediately dominates the nodes NP and VP. S2 also dominates Det, N, V, NP, Det, and N but not immediately dominates them. S1 NP VP Det N V NP the boy took Det N the ball Coord and S2 S3 NP VP PRN V NP (he) hid PRN it 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Phrase Structure Rules (PS rules) The node labeled S3 immediately dominates the nodes NP and VP. S3 also dominates PRN, V, NP and PRN but not immediately dominates them. S1 NP VP Det N V NP the boy took Det N the ball Coord and S2 S3 NP VP PRN V NP (he) hid PRN it 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Constituency What is a constituent? A constituent: is a syntactic unit which combines with other components to form a larger structure such as a phrase , a clause or a sentence. Types of constituents? Words : (e.g. Mary , take, he, smart …etc). Phrases: (e.g. [NP the boy] , [ VP took [NP the ball ]] Clauses: (e.g. [ S1 [ S2 The boy took the ball] and [S3 (he) hid it] ]. 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Constituency ✔ How to test constituents? There are many ways to test whether or not a string of words is a constituent. One way to test the structure is to use clefting. Clefting is a process by which a constituent can be given more emphasis by placing it at the beginning of the sentence and surrounding it by the words it is/was ….. that e.g. John gave this book to Mary on Friday. It was on Friday that John gave this book to Mary. On Friday is a constituent. ✔ 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Constituency ✔ ✔ Clefting e.g. John gave this book to Mary on Friday. It was to Mary that John gave this book on Friday. To Mary is a constituent. It was this book that John gave to Mary on Friday. This book is a constituent. ✔ ✔ 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Constituency * ✔ ✖ Clefting e.g. John gave this book to Mary on Friday. It was John that gave this book to Mary on Friday. John is a constituent. It was John gave that this book to Mary on Friday. John gave is not a constituent. ✔ * ✖ 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Constituency ✔ How to test constituents? Another way to test whether a string of words is a constituent or not is by Pseudo-clefting. Pseudo-clefting is a process that is similar to clefting but it involves the use the word what to form a sentence. e.g. John gave this book to Mary on Friday. What John did was gave this book to Mary on Friday. gave this book to Mary on Friday is a constituent. ✔ 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Constituency ✔ ✔ Pseudo-clefting e.g. John gave this book to Mary on Friday. What John gave to Mary on Friday was this book. This book is What John gave to Mary on Friday. This book is a constituent. ✔ ✔ 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Constituency * ✔ ✖ How to test constituents? Another way to test whether a string of words is a constituent or not is by Passivisation. Passivisation is a process by which a constituent undergoes movement from the object position to the subject position e.g. John wrote several books. Several books are written. Several are written books. Several books is a constituent. Several is not a constituent. ✔ * ✖ 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Constituency How to test constituents? Another way to test whether a string of words is a constituent or not is by Substitution. Under coordination a constituent can be substituted by a single word. Examples: Ahmad likes the math teacher and the students like him too. Ahmad met his brother at the university and Ali met his friend there too. 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Constituency Substitution. I visit my grandfather every week and Hind does (so) too. The teacher thinks that Ali is a good student and the principle thinks so too. 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Constituency How to test constituents? Another way to test whether a string of words is a constituent or not is by Fronting. . A constituent may be fronted as a unit. Examples: The minister received the letter directly from the king. Directly from the king, the minister received the letter. 2014 KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334

Phrase Structure Rules (PS rules) In generative grammar, recursive rules generate constituents: . S NP – VP A sentence consists of an NP plus a VP VP V – NP A transitive verb consists of a V plus an NP NP Det – N A noun phrase consists of a determiner plus a noun KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334 2014

Phrase Structure Rules (PS rules) Different constituent structures may give rise to different meanings like the following: John [VP hit [NP the man with an umbrella]]. John [VP hit [NP the man] [PP with an umbrella]]. John [VP saw [NP a man with binoculars]]. John [VP saw [NP a man] [PP with binoculars]]. This is known as ambiguity . KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334 2014

Ambiguous sentences S NP VP V NP John hit the man with an umbrella S V NP PP John hit the man with an umbrella KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334 2014

Thank you See you next time KAU-Syntax/ LANE-334 2014