INTRODUCTION

TO SYNTAX
UNIT 4 (PART I)

PATCHARAPHAN SUSAMAWATHANAKUN
Linguistics & Syntax

Syntax is the central component of

human language.

Language has often been characterized as the systematic correlation

between certain types of oral/graphic forms for spoken/written
language; and, for signed language, they are manual.
Linguistics & Syntax (cont.)

It's not the case that every possible meaning that

can be expressed is correlated with a unique,
unanalyzable form.

Rather, each language has a stock of meaning-bearing elements and

different ways of combining them to express different meanings, and
these ways of combining them are themselves meaningful.
 Chris gave the Dana gave the
notebook to Dana. notebook to Chris.

These two sentences contain exactly the same meaning-bearing

elements, i.e. words.

They have different meanings because the words are combined

differently in them.
 These different combinations fall into
the realm of syntax;

the two
sentences differ not in terms of the words
in them but rather in terms of their syntax.
Syntax & Grammar
- The difference -

Syntax is how a sentence is worded and

structured.

Syntax is "the study of principles and

processes by which sentences are
constructed in particular languages."

It consists of the type of sentence and word

order.

It refers to length of sentences.

Syntax & Grammar
- The difference -

Grammar is the study of rules governing the

use of language.

Grammar is "the set of structural rules that

governs the composition of clauses, phrases,
and words in any given natural language."
syntax has literary meaning and
use,
while Grammar just shows good form.
Syntax & Grammar
- The similarity -
Both Grammar and Syntax are usually focus at the
level of words-in-sentences but can spill over into
these and other subfields.

Grammar and Syntax are the knowledge of

making a good phrase, clause, and absolutely in
making a correct sentence.

Both of them are used in a abstract way, and also

refer to the structure of a single language, and in
either case "Syntax" is a subset of "Grammar".

In addition "Grammar" is used in a different way,

to mean the prescriptive grammar of a language.
 "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously."

is a sentence composed by Noam Chomsky in 1957 as an example of

a sentence whose grammar is correct but whose meaning is nonsensical.
Definitions to Syntax

Syntax is the study of the structure of

phrases, clauses and sentences.

In other words, Syntax is the study of how

words are combined to produce sentences.
Definitions to Syntax (cont.)
To make clear the meaning, of Syntax, let us clarify
three aspects involved.

Catogories Phrase Structure

Transformation
Categories

Words in a language are organized into different categories, or in

traditional terms, parts of speech.
Categories may be lexical e.g. Nouns (N), Verbs (V), Adjectives (A),
Prepositions (P), Adverbs (Adv) or non-lexical e.g. Determiners
(Det), Auxiliaries (Aux), Conjunctions (Conj), Degree words (Deg) or
phrasal e.g. Noun phrases, Verb phrases, Adjective phrases,
Prepositional phrases, Adverb phrases.
Phrase Structure

Phrase Structure is the division of a sentence into part, or

constituents, and the division of those constituents into subparts.
There are four ways to determine phrase structures:
1. substitution test
2. the ability of constituents to "move"
3. conjoined with a similar sequence
4. anaphora
Transformation

A transformation is an operation that moves a phrasal category

(e.g. NP, VP, PP) from one location to another within a structure.
There are two levels of syntactic structure:
1. Deep Structure
2. Surface Structure
Transformation (cont.)

1. Deep Structure
- Deep structure is formed by the PS rules in accordance with
the head's subcategorization properties.
- Deep structure plays a special role in the interpretation of
sentences.

2. Surface Structure
- Surface structure, results from applying whatever
transformation are appropriate for the sentence in questions.
Phrase structure rules

Deep structure -- (subcategorization restricts choice of

complement)

Transformations

Surface structure
For example
What did the boy see?
(Deep structure) Aux NP VP

Did Det N V NP

the boy see Pro

What
For example
What did the boy see?
(Surface structure)
N Aux NP VP

Pro Det N

What did the boy see

SYNTACTIC
STRUCTURES
Syntactic Structures
Grammar is conveniently divided into two
portions morphology and syntax.

Syntax may be roughly defined as the

principles of arrangement of the
constructions formed by the process of
derivation and inflection into larger
constructions of various kinds
(Gleason: 1961, 128).
 Syntactic Structures
There are four principle groups on the basis of their
structural meaning.

M P
The structure of The structure of
modification predication

C1 C2
The structure of The structure of
complementation coordination
M The structure of modification
A structure of modification
consists of a head (H) and a modifier (M).
The head, the word which is modified, can be any of part of speech.
(n./v./adj./adv.)
It may be a single word, a phrase, or a sentence.
Therefore, noun phrases, verb phrases, adjective phrases, adverb
phrases, prepositional phrases, and sentences, which have heads and
modifiers as their two major components, can constituent structures of
modification.
M The structure of modification (cont.)

The modifier, serves to qualify, select and limit the meaning of the head
in order to make the more specific and vivid.
Example(s):
- That beautiful lady is neither my sister nor my niece.
M H
Structures of modification are: That / beautiful lady

M H
my / sister

M H
my / niece
P The structure of predication
A structure of predication consists of two main
components: a subject (S) and a predicate (P).

The subject may be a word or a group of words that tell who and what
about the subject whereas the predicate is a verb or a verb with its
modifier, direct object, indirect object or complement.
The predicate usually follows the subject:
P The structure of predication (cont.)

Example:
- That beautiful lady is neither my sister nor my niece.

Structures of predication is:

SUBJECT PREDICATE
That beautiful lady is neither my sister nor my niece.
C1 The structure of complementation
A structure of complementation
consists of two immediate constituents: a verbal
element (VB) and a complement (C).

The verbal element can be s simple verb or a syntactic structure in which

the verb must be the core.
Therefore, a verbal element may be an infinitive, a verb or a verb phrase,
or a structure of coordination.
C1 The structure of complementation (cont.)

The complements which appear in structures of complementation may

be divided into four types:
- Subjective Complement
- Direct Object
- Indirect Object
- Objective Complement
C1 The structure of complementation (cont.)

Example:
- That beautiful lady is neither my sister nor my niece.

Structures of complementation is:

VERBAL ELEMENT COMPLEMENT

is neither my sister nor my niece.
C2 The structure of coordination
A structure of coordination consists of
two or more conjoins, either with or without
a coordinator or correlative conjunctions.

The most common coordinators are: and, but, or, with, not, as well as,
whereas, as much as, rather than, together with, except, and along with.
The correlative conjunctions which are normally found are: either...or...,
neither...nor..., not only...but (also)..., and both...and....
The structure of coordination is the only structure in English that can
have more than two immediate constituents or conjoins.
C2 The structure of coordination (cont.)

Example:
- That beautiful lady is neither my sister nor my niece.

Structures of coordination is:

CONJOIN 1 CONJOIN 2
neither my sister nor my niece
The structure of subordination*
Apart form the four basic types of syntactic structure,
some linguists have developed another type of
structure known as the structure of subordination,
which consists of a subordinator and a dependent
unit.

Subordinators are prepositions (in/at/on/to), relative adverbs

(when/where/why/how), and subordinating conjunctions
(before/tell/after/since).
The structure of subordination* (cont.)
Dependent unit may be words, phrases, or clauses.
A structure of subordination can have various functions in all the four
basic structure.
- As a modifier in the structure of modification
- As a subject in the structure of predication
- As a subject complement in the structure of complementation/
As a direct object in the structure of complementation/
As objective complement in the structure of complementation
- As the two conjoins in the structure of coordination
THE
STRUCTURE OF
MODIFICATION
A structure of modification consists of
a head (H) and a modifier (M).

Noun or Noun Phrase as Head

Verb or Verb Phrase as Head

Adjective as Head

Adverb as Head

Prepositional Phrase as Head

Sentence as Head
1. Noun or Noun Phrase as Head
When noun appears as the head in the structure of modification, the
modifier may be any of the four parts of speech: nouns, verbs,
adjectives and adverbs.

M H M H
world / history baked / potatoes
(n.) (v.)

M H
dancing / girls
(v.)
1. Noun or Noun Phrase as Head (cont.)

M H H M
red / carpets American / now
(adj.) (adv.)
1. Noun or Noun Phrase as Head (cont.)
Modifiers which precede the head are called pronominal
modifiers.
They include noun determiners, adjectives, noun adjuncts,
present participles, and past participles
Those that follow the head are called postnominal modifiers and
include adverbs, infinitives, infinitival phrases, present participial
phrases, past participial phrases, adjective phrases, prepositional
phrases and relative clauses.
Relative Clauses
There are two types of relative clauses: restrictive clauses and non-
restrictive relative clauses.

H M
Example(s): I wrote to a friend who now lives in California. (restrictive relative clause)

H M
I wrote to Janet, who now lives in California. (non-restrictive relative clause)
2. Verb or Verb Phrase as Head
A verb or a verb phrase can function as a head in a structure of
modification. Verb or verb phrase modifiers are not direct objects.

Example(s): John ate out.

*ate as a head/out as modifier

John ate rice.

**ate -- verbal element/rice -- direct object
a structure of complementation
2. Verb or Verb Phrase as Head (cont.)
H M
She dances / beautifully.
(adv.)

H M
The convict came / clean.
(adj.)

H M
They talked / about the accident.
(prep. phrase)

H M
Jane stood on tiptoe / so that she could see the tiger.
(adv. cl.)
3. Adjective as Head
Apart form being modifiers, adjectives may function as heads in
structure of modification and their modifiers can be nouns, verbs,
adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases.
M H
Example(s): stone / cold (only certain noun can function as adj. modifiers. )

M H

}
freezing / cold

(verbs which function as adj. modifiers. )

M H
hard / to learn
3. Adjective as Head (cont.)
Apart form being modifiers, adjectives may function as heads in
structure of modification and their modifiers can be nouns, verbs,
adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases.
M H
Example(s): stone / cold (only certain noun can function as adj. modifiers. )

M H

}
freezing / cold

(verbs which function as adj. modifiers. )

M H
hard / to learn
3. Adjective as Head (cont.)

M H
icy / cold (adjectives which can function as adjective modifiers)

M H
unusually / smart (the most common adj. modifiers are adverbs)

H M
good / at tennis (prep. phrases are also among the most common modifiers of
adjectives.)
4. Adverb as Head
When adverbs function as heads in structure of modification, they
may be modified by intensifiers, other adverbs, nouns or noun phrases,
and prepositional phrases.
M H
Example(s): rather / quickly (intensifiers)

M H
unbelievably / well (adverbs)
4. Adverb as Head (cont.)

M H
inches / away (nouns)

M H
two minutes / before (noun phrases)

H M
outside / in the dark (prep. phrases)
5. Prepositional Phrase as Head
Prepositional phrase may function as heads whose modifiers can be
intensifiers, adverbs, or noun phrases.

M H
Example(s): a little / below average (intensifiers)

M H
definitely / out of control (adverbs)
5. Prepositional Phrase as Head (cont.)

M H
seconds / behind schedule (nouns)

M H
fifty miles / above the sea level (noun phrases)
6. Sentence as Head
When sentences appear as heads of structures of modification, they
may be modified by adverbs, phrases (prep. phrases, present
participial phrases, past participial phrases, or infinitival phrases), and
subordinate clauses.
M H
Example(s): Fortunately, / such occurrences are rather rare. (adverbs)

M H
According to the records, / the fellow has been in the prison five times.
(prep. phrase)
 6. Sentence as Head (cont.)
H M
He was in the garden, / watering the plants. (present participial phrase)

H M
Exhausted by the long trip, / Tom took a nap. (past participial phrase)

M H
To tell me the truth, / I don't want to travel by plane.
(infinitival phrase)

M H
While I was in the library, / Jim was playing tennis.
(subordinate clauses)
THE
STRUCTURE OF
PREDICATION
 A structure of predication consists of two
main components:
a subject (S) and a predicate (P).
The subject may be a word or a group of word
that tells who and
what about the subject whereas
the predicate is a verb or a verb with modifier,
direct object, indirect object or complement. The
predicate usually follows the subject.

SOCIAL MEDIA | QUARTERLY REPORT DECEMBER 2020

 S P
My sister / is in California.

But the reverse is also possible:

P S
Just south of Tokyo sprawls / the port city of Yokohama.
Each of the main components can be a single word:
S P
They / danced.

or a phrase:

S P
His cousin / studies at that college.
Subject

A subject can be a word or one of the three syntactic structures: a

structure of modification, a structure of complementation or a
structure of coordination.
However, the most common subjects in the structure of prediction
are nouns or noun-headed structures of modification.
S P
Martha / sang sweetly.

S P
That boy / is his nephew.
Subject (cont.)

Verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases may also

function as subjects.

Verb (Infinitive)
S P
To obey / is to follow a command or request.

Present participle
S P
Living with those people / is rather unpleasant.
Subject (cont.)

Adjective phrase
S P
Helpful to the blind / is what you should be.

Adverb
S P
Here / is too dark.

Prepositional phrase
S P
On the pavement / is where they are standing.
Predicate

A predicate can be a word alone or a verb with its modifier, or its

complement; that is, a predicate can be one of the following
syntactic structures: a structure of modification, a structure of
complementation, or a structure of coordination.

Example(s):

S P
1. The baby / smiles.
The verb smiles is one-word predicate.
Predicate (cont.)

Example(s):

S P
2. They / always laugh. (structure of modification)

The verb laugh is modified by the adverb always.

S P
3. Mary / eats ice-cream. (structure of complementation)

The noun ice-cream is the direct object of the verb eats.

Predicate (cont.)

Example(s):
S P
4. She / showed John the picture. (structure of complementation)

The noun John is the indirect object of the verbal element showed;
whereas the picture is the direct object.

S P
5. That boy / is my nephew. (structure of complementation)

The noun phrase my nephew is the subject complement of the verbal

element is.
Predicate (cont.)

Example(s):

S P
6. Mr. Smith / painted his house blue. (structure of complementation)

his house blue is the complement of the verbal element painted. The word blue is the
objective complement, referring to the direct object his house.

S P
7. Those girls/ either eat or sleep. (structure of coordination)

The first conjoin eat and the second conjoin sleep are combined
either... or...
English verbs can be classified according to seven features:
person, tense, aspect, voice, status, phase, and mode (Francis
1958: 330).
In the following discussion, we shall concentrate on the first five
as they are generally used in identifying verb forms.
Person
Tense
Aspect
Voice
Status
Person
Every English verb except the modal auxiliaries has two persons: common and third
singular.
Verb forms comprising the base form and the. Inflectional ending {-s} are in the third-
singular person, whereas all others are in the common person.

Person

Third-Singular Common

Linda wants to study French. Tom and Jerry plan to visit

Japan next week.
Tense
English verbs have two tenses: the present tense, or the common tense and the past
tense.
These two tenses are distinguished by inflectional endings.
The present tense form may be the base + zero allomorph of the present tense
morpheme or the base + inflectional ending {-s}.

The past tense form consists of the base + zero allomorph of the past tense
morpheme or the base + the inflectional ending {-ed}.

The past tense form of English irregular verbs does not have the inflectional ending
{-ed}; instead, it has a vowel change and sometimes both a vowel change and
a consonant change.
Tense (cont.)

Tense

Present Tense Past Tense

The children have breakfast Five years ago, the Smiths

at 7 o’clock. bought an apartment in
the suburbs.
Aspect
The two common aspects of English verbs are the progressive aspect and perfective
aspect.
The progressive aspect is formed by the auxiliary be + verb in present participle form.
The perfective aspect, however, is formed by the auxiliary have + verb in past
participle form.

Aspect

Progressive Aspect Perfective Aspect

Mary is typing her term We have worked hard for

paper. two weeks.
Voice
The two voices of English verbs are the active voice and the passive voice.
The passive voice is formed with the auxiliary be + verb in the past participle form.

Voice

Active Voice Passive Voice

The final coat of car wax

Sally and Mike applied the
was applied by Sally and
final coat of car wax.
Mike.
Status
English verbs have five statuses: the affirmative, the interrogative,
the negative, the negative-interrogative, and the imperative.
The interrogative status is indicated by a change in word order. In many cases, the
auxiliary do helps form the interrogative status.
The negative status is shown by the word not. The word not is added immediately after
the verb to be, the auxiliaries and after some modal auxiliaries.

Verb to be + not Auxiliary + not Modal auxiliary + not

Jim is not here. They do not work in They could not swim.
the afternoon.
Status (cont.)

The negative interrogative combines the negative not and interrogative with the use
of auxiliary do in the pattern of the interrogative form. The subject may occur before
not or after not.

Subject before not (more formal) Subject after not (less formal)

Was he not talking to you? Wasn’t he talking to you?

Status (cont.)
The imperative is used in giving a command and making a request. The subject of the
verb is understood but not generally expressed. The second person imperative has
the same form as the infinitive without to.

Let + noun/pronoun + infinitive without to

1st person imperative:

Let’s go to the concert tonight.

3rd person imperative:

Let John enter the room.
References Colorless green ideas sleep furiously. wikidoc. (n.d.).
Retrieved December 12, 2021, from
https://www.wikidoc.org/index.php/Colorless_
green_ideas_sleep_furiously.
Jotikasthira, P. (2014). Introduction to the English
Language : System and Structure. Bangkok:
Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University.
Nguyen, T.L.H. (n.d.). Syntax syllabus compiled and
edited by PDF. Scribd. Retrieved December 12,
2021, from https://www.scribd.com/document/
470974817/SYNTAX-SYLLABUS-Compiled-and-
edited-by-pdf.