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Syntax

The document defines syntax as the way words are arranged to form sentences according to grammatical rules. It provides examples of noun phrases and verb phrases, which are groups of words that function as subjects, objects, or complements. The document also demonstrates how constituent structure can be represented using labeled bracketing or tree diagrams.

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Mursyid Diey
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17 views

Syntax

The document defines syntax as the way words are arranged to form sentences according to grammatical rules. It provides examples of noun phrases and verb phrases, which are groups of words that function as subjects, objects, or complements. The document also demonstrates how constituent structure can be represented using labeled bracketing or tree diagrams.

Uploaded by

Mursyid Diey
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SYNTAX

DEFINITION
 The way in which words are put together to form
sentences.
 The internal grammatical structure of phrases, clauses
and sentences.
 word + word + word + … + word = sentence

 Eg : Dougal breeds rabbits


SYNTAX
 A term for the study of the rules governing the way
words are combined to form sentences in a language. In
this use, syntax is opposed to Morphology, the study of
word structure.
or
 The study of interrelationships between elements of
sentence structures, and the rules governing the
arrangement of these elements in sequence.
NOUN PHRASE
Definition:

A word group with a noun or pronoun. The


noun can be accompanied by modifiers,
determiners (such as the, a, her), and/or
complements. A noun phrase (NP) most
commonly functions as a subject, object, or
complement.
NOUN PHRASE

Noun Phrases Examples:

1-The hockey coach is happy. (Noun phrase as subject.)

2-My best friend's father drove us. (Noun phrase as


possessive.)

3-We saw a very small dog. (Noun phrase as a direct object)

4-Shirley gave the tall girl the file. (Noun phrase as an indirect
object)

5-He wants to become a goalie. (Noun phrase as a


complement)
VERBS PHRASE
 Verb phrases are groups of words that express action or state of
being. They take on
various forms.
 Verb phrases consist of one main verb and one or more
helping verbs (also called auxiliary verbs).
 They are made up of verbs. But, the point here is that although
they are made up of different words, all of the words come
together to act as one part of speech, a verb.
EXAMPLES
 The cheesecake might be exploding.
 Did you call Owen?

 Owen has become a great cook.


REPRESENTING IMMEDIATE
CONSTITUENT STRUCTURE
The constituent structure of the whole sentence can
be represented by means of labeled bracketing e.g.
[ [ [Poor] [John] ] [ [lost] [ [his] [watch] ] ]
Or using a tree diagram for the same -
Labeled bracketing using Category Symbols :
[ [ [Poor]ADJ [John]N ]NP [ [lost]V [ [his]PRON [watch ]N ]NP ]VP ]S

‘Poor’ – ADJ ‘Poor John’ - NP


‘John’ – N ‘his watch’ - NP
Lost – V ‘lost his watch’ - VP
His – PRON ‘Poor John lost his watch’ - S
Watch - N
Using Tree Diagram

S
NP VP

ADJ N V NP

PRON N

Poor John lost his watch


S

NP VP

N V NP

Dougal breeds rabbits

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