Definition:

Syntax in English is the arrangement of

words and phrases in a specific order.
If you change the position of even one
word, it's possible to change the meaning
of the entire sentence.
Is our language nature/nurture?
Nature (born with it = genetics)/ Nurture
(To feed=> we are fed language =
society's environment).
System=language.
20th Century => 2 paradigms that
tackled this issue.
Behaviorism => pioneered by Skinner.
He believed that:
• We are born Tabula Rasa (Table rasée =
reset).
• 0 knowledge at first.
• Blank Sheet = born empty headed.
These are all nurturists beliefs.
=>It was inspired by the idea that society
is the key factor of language learning (FLA
= First Language Acquisition).
Society teaches us language by:
• frequent repetition.
• Stimulus {Say <<...>>} => Response
{Saying it} => Reinforcement { + or -
feedback = reward or punishment}.
Behaviour ----> elements: motivational
stimulus/ desire stimulus.
Later on a scientific revolution started
and was pioneered by Noam Chomsky:
Language is Natural.
=> Details: He was triggered by a book
written by Skinner (published in 1957)
called Verbal Behavior where he explains
how language is produced (nurture
perspective).
Chomsky reacted to this book by
publishing a review => Belief: no language
is Nurture.
One of his argument: Children make
mistakes they have never learnt before.
Phonology ---> Example: Sara --> Saha.
Syntax ---> Example: Manhelsh lbab -->
Manhel babche.
Conclusion: by virtue of being human
beings we are born with elements in
our brain that are innate. These
elements enable us to speak and
produce language.
We are born with the language
acquisition device L.A.D.
This is the Nativists beliefs = Nativism.
•This L.A.D cannot work on its own => we
need society as well. Example: locking a
child = unlikely to develop this device.
•The L.A.D is subject to maturation.
Chomsky's idea was supported by
biologists.
A child can learn language rather quickly
but an adult cannot since it is difficult=>
before •the L.A.D atrophy => Critical
period => Difficult or impossible.
The notion of creativity:
Having L.A.D is supported by a lot of
arguments, one of them is the notion of
creativity.
• the ability to come up with structures that
the child has never learned before/
understand sentences that he has never
learnt before.
Child: 《buy=>buyed》capable of
separating the morpheme "ed" and place
it in any verb in the past. Example: 《
work=>worked》.
The notion of rapidity:
If a language is not acquired in a dynamic
way, how come children acquire
languages even if they are complex.
Learn all this in a matter of 5 years.
The notion of uniformity:
We tend to be similar from people around
the world. Example: Acquiring who{learn
this first} , whom {learn this later on}.
(relative pronouns).
Tendency to learn Direct Object before
Idirect Object.
Nurturists: Reinforcement: punishment
or reward.
Nativists: The L.A.D is able to
comprehend and work with
impoverished data.
What is the LAD?
Definition:
The language acquisition device (LAD) is
part of chomsky's acquisition hypothesis.
It is a structured in the brain and is
responsible for helping children learn
language. It is an instinctive mental
capacity which enables an infant to
acquire and produce language. It is a
component of the nativist theory of
language.
What does it consist of?
•It has the tendency to exist in the mind of
every human.
•For the LAD, we pick up the data of the
impoverished environment.
•It is adaptable to all languages:
characteristics that are universal--->
Universal Grammar (UG): characteristics
of grammar that are shared in all
languages.
Example:
•Np cannot be headed by a verb.
•We cannot have a sentence without
subject.
2 levels of representation:
Surface and deep structures:
Because of the nature of language, a
particular deep structure can be
represented by multiple surface structure
sentences. "Ahmed loves Sally" and
"Sally is loved by Ahmed" or “I bought
black shoes” and “Black shoes were
bought by me” are two different surface
structure sentences that mean exactly
the same thing, meaning, they both
represent the same deep structure.
Linguistic competence:
Formal definition: linguistic competence
is the system of unconscious knowledge
that one knows when they know a
language.
Simple definition: it is knowing what is
grammatically correct and what is
ungrammatical.
Example: The man in the red jacket
always drinks water in the morning.
Details: We know that the man in the
jacket red is wrong so jacket belongs after
red.
Each category belongs in a certain place.
We
recognize two categories: words and
phrases.
Important to note: intuition about what
can be a constituent and what cannot.
Side note: Metalanguage:
Definition1: Metalanguage is words or
symbols for talking about language
itself.
Example: The words 'verb', 'noun' and
'adjective' are all examples of
metalanguage – they are all words that we
use to describe other words.
Definition2: Meta-language is the
language teachers and learners use to
talk about the English language,
learning and teaching. Words and
phrases such as 'verb', 'noun', 'present
perfect continuous', 'phrasal verb' and
'reported speech' are all examples of
common classroom meta-language.
Word and phrase level
categories:
The arguments:
Word level: there s existence of
syntactic constituents (parts of
speech).
Words are divided by function.
Question we might get in the exam:
what evidence is there for word level
category.
1/Phonological argument:
Some words are stressed at the beginning
of words=> category: Nouns: stress on
the first syllable .e.g. rebel/record.
Some words are stressed at the end of
words=> category: Verbs: stress on the
second syllable .e.g. rebel/record.
2/Morphological argument:
The fact that we can put certain inflections
with certain words.
-Verbs: ed=> work--->worked.
-Nouns: s=> cat---> cats.
-Adjectives: ous=> student--->
studious.
Side note: "ous" is usually used/employed
for comparison.
Side note2: just so we keep in mind there
are 4 types of infinitive=> bare infinitive
(be)/ ed infinitive (have worked)/ ing
infinitive (was playing)/ to infinitive (to be).
Semantic argument:
Ambiguity: some words can be
interpreted in two ways=>having two
meanings, because they are
pronounced, written the same way but
belong to different categories.
Example: Mistrust wounds.
+Interpretation one: mistrust is a verb
and wounds is a noun in plural.
+Interpretation two: mistrust is a noun
and wounds is a verb in third person.
Side note: knowing the difference is part
of your implicit knowledge.
Phrase level category:
Constituents are not just in form of
words, but can be found in forms of
phrases as well.
The arguments for the existence of this
category:
1/Pronominalization:
•John is a very good student.
Or
•The guy with the cool hoodie is a very
good student.
We use a pronoun instead:
•He is a very good student.
=>We find that we can replace both
these Nps with the right pronoun and
the sentence makes complete sense.
Side note: a pronoun should represent
the entire structure+ we cannot
pronominalize another element beside the
NP.
2/Substitution: it is the action of replacing
an element with another, typically using
too, do, or so. (Testifying the existence of
VP).
Example: he traveled to England and his
friend did too.
Did too replaces: he traveled to England
and his friend traveled to England.
3/Preposing and post-posing:
Preposing:
Definition: preposing – moving elements
to an earlier position in the clause.
Example: I cannot understand his
argument. => his argument, I cannot
understand.
Postposing:
Definition: postposing – moving
elements to
 a later position in the clause.
Example: You will wash the dishes and
wash the dishes you will.
We postposed you will.
Phrase markers:
The tree diagram helps you visualize
phrases and constituents clearly.
What does a syntactic tree represent?
A syntax tree is a representation of the
structure of a single sentence – of the
way that the individual words are grouped
into phrases and eventually form the full
sentence.
A tree consists of a set
of nodes connected by branches.
xists A dormimates c
aç
hierchical

order D E
a later position in the clause.
Example: You will wash the dishes and
wash the dishes you will.
We postposed you will.
Phrase markers:
The tree diagram helps you visualize
phrases and constituents clearly.
What does a syntactic tree represent?
A syntax tree is a representation of the
structure of a single sentence – of the
way that the individual words are grouped
into phrases and eventually form the full
sentence.
A tree consists of a set
of nodes connected by branches.
 •A: is the maximal projection. We say it
is the mother node and the upper most
one. It immediately dominates C.
•C: the right most node and it is the
sister node of B.
•B: the left most node and it is the
sister node of C.
•E: is the terminal node/non branching
and lower most node.
•Between B and D: the relationship of
precedence=> B precedes D.
Example: My friend drinks tea.
If we have to draw a tree diagram of the
VP drinks tea then we will automatically
know that VP is the maximal projection.

C-command:
 M is a parent or mother to A and B.
 A and B are children or daughters of M.
 A and B are sisters.
 M is a grandparent to C and D.
The standard definition of c-command is
based partly on the relationship
of dominance: Node N1 dominates node
N2 if N1 is above N2 in the tree and one
can trace a path from N1 to N2 moving
only downwards in the tree (never
upwards); that is, if N1 is a parent,
grandparent, etc. of N2. For a node (N1)
to c-command another node (N2) the
parent of N1 must establish
 dominance over N2.
Based upon this definition of dominance,
node N1 c-commands node N2 if and only
if:
 Node N1 does not dominate N2,
 N2 does not dominate N1, and
 The first (lowest) branching node that
dominates N1 also dominates N2.
For example, according to the standard
definition, in the tree at the right,
 M does not c-command any node
because it dominates all other nodes.
 A c-commands B, C, D, E, F, and G.
 B c-commands A.
 C c-commands D, F, and G.
 D c-commands C and E.
 E does not c-command any node
because it does not have a sister node or
any daughter nodes.
 F c-commands G.
 G c-commands F.
If node A c-commands node B, and B also
c-commands A, it can be said that
A symmetrically c-commands B. If A c-
commands B but B does not c-command
A, then A asymmetrically c-commands B.
The notion of Anaphora:
The notion of anaphora or anaphoric
reference is illustrated in the existence
of what we refer to as reflexive
pronouns: yourself, herself...
Example:
•He likes his brother.
🙋🏻‍♂️------------👨🏼‍🦰(2 different people).
His brother: an independent reference.
•He likes himself. (Same person🙋🏻‍♂️).
He: anticident.
Himself: dependent reference.
•It would be
ungrammatical/semantically inform if
we say that he and himself are different
NPs.
Same for:
•They like their friends. (Independent
reference).
•They like each other. (Dependent
reference).
They: anticident.
Each other: anaphor.
•They like himself. × (there is no
agreement/ungrammatical).
•[They believe] [that their friends like
themselves.]
Clause: red and blue.
Anaphoric reference: green.
=> They need to have an appropriate
clausemate and anticident. They need
to belong to the same clause.
Definition: The relation between two
syntactic elements that are part of a
single clause.
NP Structure From An Xbar Theory
Perspective:
The{specifier} book{head} [of
history]{prep. Phrase}.
The king of England.
Between the maximal projection and
the head, there is evidence of the
existence of a third element that lies in
between: there is an element(hidden
but can be argued for)
between the NP and the N.
This category is larger than a N but
smaller than an NP.
S.N: He likes (subcategorizes for a full
NP) the book of history.
The arguments for the existence of a
third element:
1- Coordination: The king of England and
ruler of the empire is presiding a meeting.
(Ruler suggests that the kind and ruler are
the same person).
The addition of a specifer before ruler
will suggest that there are two different
people (the king and the ruler).
This testified the intermediate category
named: NP minus specifier/determiner.
2- Substitution: She did not write about
the king of England, she wrote about the
Spanish one.
The usage of one suggests that we are
referring to the word king+if we put a
specifier before the word one (the
spanish
 the one) the sentence would be
ungrammatical.
We conclude that:
•The specifier does not always
accompany the NP.
•Pronominalizing does not take the full
NP.
•All these pieces of evidence testify for
the third element we mentioned before:
N minus specifier.
We refer to it as N bar which we
represent as: N' or
It would look as the following on a tree
Egdiagram:
NP
N

N
the one) the sentence would be
ungrammatical.
We conclude that:
•The specifier does not always
accompany the NP.
•Pronominalizing does not take the full
NP.
•All these pieces of evidence testify for
the third element we mentioned before:
N minus specifier.
We refer to it as N bar which we
represent as: N' or
It would look as the following on a tree
diagram:
 In the sentence: a student of syntax.
NP or N double bar is the whole
sentence.
N bar is student without the a
The head which we refer to as N° (N
zero) is student.
Of Syntax is the PP.
Of is the head of the PP.
Syntax is a NP-->N bar-->N°
*,-8
spv & pg*,

A
student TpÉg

à"
Syntax
In the sentence: a student of syntax.
NP or N double bar is the whole
sentence.
N bar is student without the a
The head which we refer to as N° (N
zero) is student.
Of Syntax is the PP.
Of is the head of the PP.
Syntax is a NP-->N bar-->N°
 The book of history.
Will be represented as follows by the tree
diagram:
E
spà N

the Dû À
I
books

^
poê

j'
n'

history
The book of history.
Will be represented as follows by the tree
diagram:
 Point 1: spec branches directly come
from the N double bar/NP, and it is the
daughter node of the NP.
Point 2: If in a tree diagram there is an
NP/N double bar, the it means that
there is an obligatory N bar to the right
of it.
Point 3: there is no N bar without an N°/
head.

laughter_ pec\
node
of*

Very important to note: the X bar theory

is applicable on all nodes: AdjP, AdvP,
PrepP....
The Complement and Adjunct:
There is a distinction between two
category of prepositions:
Complement: characterized by its
closeness to the head and its non
repetitiveness.
Adjunct: characterized by its repetition
in the
Point 1: spec branches directly come
from the N double bar/NP, and it is the
daughter node of the NP.
Point 2: If in a tree diagram there is an
NP/N double bar, the it means that
there is an obligatory N bar to the right
of it.
Point 3: there is no N bar without an N°/
head.

Very important to note: the X bar theory

is applicable on all nodes: AdjP, AdvP,
PrepP....
The Complement and Adjunct:
There is a distinction between two
category of prepositions:
Complement: characterized by its
closeness to the head and its non
repetitiveness.
Adjunct: characterized by its repetition
in the
sentence and adverbial function : tells
you where(Adverb of place),
when(Adverb of time), how(Adverb of
manner)...
Example:
The man of principles in the room.
-Of principles: Prep1.
-In the room: Prep2.
Prep1 and Prep2 are different.
•It is ungrammatical to say: the man in the
room of principles.
•Man of principles of morals: it is
ungrammatical.
•We can say the man is in the room, but
not the man is of principles.
•So they have two different manners
Prep1: Complement.
Prep2: Adjunct.
•One difference between complement and
adjunct is that complements are closer to
the head than are adjuncts.
•The complement is not recursive unlike
the adjunct.
 Example: the man in the room by the
window at the university...
It is for this reason we can say:
I ate an apple in the morning.✅
I ate in the morning an apple.❌
He read a story of a philosopher in
Germany.✅
He read a story in Germany of a
philosopher.❌
A book of history.
=> complements are sister nodes of
heads.
I
spec\N

sister N'apô
node* p amplement

par ^À
Two
Example: the man in the room by the
window at the university...
It is for this reason we can say:
I ate an apple in the morning.✅
I ate in the morning an apple.❌
He read a story of a philosopher in
Germany.✅
He read a story in Germany of a
philosopher.❌
A book of history.
=> complements are sister nodes of
heads.
 As for the adjunct=> The prepP that we
judge to be an adjunct, we create a
copy of the bar since it occurs far away
from it but still relates to it.
•Here is a visual representation through a
tree diagram.
N opy
ses~~~=

the...
NP
Original NE pas

..P
book pô i'm spèr~
À the no

of No 100m
history
As for the adjunct=> The prepP that we
judge to be an adjunct, we create a
copy of the bar since it occurs far away
from it but still relates to it.
•Here is a visual representation through a
tree diagram.
Overview:
•Language is nature not nurture.
•UG (Universal Grammar) can be found in
•LAD(Language Acquisition Device).
•There is evidence of a third element that
is larger than the word level but smaller
than the phrase level.
The king of Englad.
•Test 1: Coordination=> He is the king
of England and ruler of the empire.
(The# two people).
Intermediate category : N bar/N minus
specifier.
•Test 2: Substitution of NPs=> She
wrote to the king of England not the
Spanish one.
There are some words that
subcategorizes this third category.
•Intermediate category: N bar/N minus
specifier.
•Adjunct:
Time-->when. Reason-->why.
Place-->where. Manner-->how.
 •Adjunct is optional: you can take it off
and the sentence still makes sense.
(Not always works)
•Adjunct can be repeated: it is
recursive in nature. Example: The
student of physics with the long hair in
the room at the university.
•The complement: it cannot be
repeated:
The man of physics of principles of
À
language..
Tree diagram with both preps.
spéc'\=

a~*
, çà is
N° -5 with,

student pip Adirais'ino

of'inini hair
physics Adlong
•Adjunct is optional: you can take it off
and the sentence still makes sense.
(Not always works)
•Adjunct can be repeated: it is
recursive in nature. Example: The
student of physics with the long hair in
the room at the university.
•The complement: it cannot be
repeated:
The man of physics of principles of
language..
Tree diagram with both preps.
RULE: Everything that modifies a noun
phrase is an adjunct.
=>Adjective are an example of adjuncts
since they modify and describe the NP,
therefore, they need a N bar copy.
Side note: in some sentences, we might
stumble on two interpretations one where
we have an adjunct and one where we
have a complement.
Example:
1. The English teacher. (If we mean the
teacher which teaches the module of
English then we are talking about a
complement).
2. The English teacher. (If we mean the
teacher who is a native speaker of
english then we are describing him so
we have an adjunct here).
Very important to keep in mind: for
each adjunct we need a copy.
Visualize this in the example:
The beautiful talented lady.
Tree diagram:
X_Dqu'On - Ban'.
spec Ed) it's
The As Adj lady

Adj° Adj
beautiful talented

I saw you in the recently inaugurated

museum.
I saw you in the recently inaugurated
museum.
Important to note: relative clauses like
who, which, that are all adjuncts in a
noun phrase.
Clauses=> CP are sister nodes with the

original N bar.

If you read this document and understood

it.
All I ask for is a sincere prayer for me and
my parents.
‫♡ هللا يوفق الجميع‬
Sara Moufki.