Syntax

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syntax (111)

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a level of grammar that specifically refers to the arrangement of words and morphemes in the construction of sentences.

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descriptive grammar (112)

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the mostly subconscious rules of a language that one uses to combine smaller units into sentences (also, the study of these rules).

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prescriptive grammar (112)

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the view that language rules are absolute; there is a correct and incorrect way to speak, write, or sign.

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transformational/ generative grammar (112)

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a model of syntax that includes a finite set of rules that could hypothetically produce an infinite number of utterances.

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sentence (112)

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a string of words that is grammatically complete with at least two components, a subject and a predicate.

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constituents (112)

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the units being combined to create larger syntactic constructions.

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subject (113)

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the topic of the sentence.

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predicate (113)

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in traditional grammar- a comment/assertion about the topic. In most modern grammars-is an element that assigns a property to another element or relates elements.

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arguments (113)

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necessary elements of a sentence used to complete the meaning of a predicate.

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adjuncts (113)

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optional elements of a sentence that add information that isn't essential to the meaning of the predicate.

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simple sentence (113)

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a sentence with one subject and one predicate.

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compound sentence (113)

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a sentence with at least 2 simple sentences joined by a coordinating conjunction; in writing, punctuation can substitute for the conjunction.

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independent clause (113)

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a simple sentence (one subject and one predicate).

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dependent clause (113)

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this structure has a subject and a predicate but cannot stand alone.

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complex sentence (114)

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a sentence that contains a simple sentence and one or more dependent clauses.

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compound-complex sentence (114)

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a sentence containing 2 or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses.

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passive voice (114)

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when used, the subject of a sentence receives the action of the verb. The direct object becomes the grammatical subject.

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phrase (114)

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any constituent of a clause.

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head of the phrase (115)

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the word in a phrase that determines the syntactic or phrasal category (i.e., part of speech) of that phrase.

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dependents of a phrase (115)

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non-head words in a phrase.

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specifier (115)

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words in a phrase that make the meaning of the head more precise (type of dependent. e.g., "the").

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complements (115)

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words in a phrase that provide further information about the head (type of dependent).

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noun/nominal phrase (116)

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a phrase that does the work of a noun.

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determiner (116)

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a word used before a noun to indicate whether the noun refers to something that is specific or general.

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verb phrase (117)

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a phrase that tells you something about the subject. It includes a verb and can also include an auxiliary verb, direct or indirect object, and modifiers.

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adjective phrase (117)

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a phrase headed by an adjective. May also include an adjective modifier. These phrases modify nouns.

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adverb phrase (117)

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a phrase that modifies a verb.

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prepositional phrase (117)

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a phrase headed by a preposition; can function to modify a noun phrase or a verb phrase.

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lexicon (121)

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a list of all the morphemes that are used to form words in a language.

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co-occurrence restriction (121)

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a limitation on the use of a morpheme. E.g., transitive verbs need objects.

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tree diagram (122)

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a diagram of a sentence that is shaped like an upside-down tree showing the most general constituents on top and the more specific constituents on the bottom.

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node (122)

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a point in a tree diagram where branching occurs.

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phrase marker/ phrase structure tree (122)

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a tree diagram that specifies the function of each constituent of an utterance.

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phrase structure rules (122)

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Rules that specify how constituents of an utterance are arranged and what ones can occur as parts of others (hierarchically).

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transformational rules (T rules) (128)

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rules that relate the spoken form of sentences (their surface structure) to their underlying meaning (or deep structure).

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phrasal verb (129)

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a verb phrase with a verbal base and a verbal particle. It can have idiomatic or special meaning.

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verbal base (129)

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the main part of a phrasal verb.

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verbal particles (129)

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prepositions that co-occur with some verbs and can appear to the left or right of the direct object noun phrase.

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derived phrase marker (130)

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a phrase marker after transformational rules have been applied.

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topicalization (130)

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a kind of movement transformation where a sentence is derived with a different focus than the basic sentence.

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grammatical sentence (135)

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sentence in which the sequence of words conforms to the syntactic knowledge (rules) of fluent speakers of the language.

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ungrammatical sentence (135)

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sentence in which the sequence of words does not conform to the syntactic knowledge (rules) of fluent speakers of the language.

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linear word order (136)

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the specific sequence that different types of words follow.

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case (136)

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indicates the function of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives within a sentence and the relationship of these words to verbs and other words within a sentence.

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lexical/ polysemantic ambiguity (138)

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when a word or phrase can refer to more than one meaning.

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structural/ syntactic ambiguity (139)

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when the constituents of an utterance can be arranged in multiple ways, resulting in multiple meanings.

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part of speech ambiguity (139)

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exists when a word could be interpreted as belonging to different lexical categories; for instance, the word could function as either a noun or a verb.