Syntax

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Chapter 4: Syntax: the sentence patterns of language

Important concepts (these are the concepts you should know after the lectures on Syntax):

Syntax; grammatical and ungrammatical arrangements of words; structural ambiguity; hierarchial structure in syntax; tree diagrams/phrase structure trees/phrase structure diagrams; constituent structure; syntactic categories; substitutability; phrases: noun phrases, verb phrases, prepositional phrases, postpositional phrases, etc.; phrasal categories and lexical categories and subcategories; relations of dominance (constituents) and precedence (linear order); recursiveness, creativity; phrase structure rules; generating syntactic structures; generative grammar; lexicon; lexical insertion; subcategorisation; sentence relatedness; transformational rules; deep structure; surface structure; structure dependency of transformational rules; long distance relationships; subject-verb agreement; active and passive sentences; topicalisation.

1. Peter is chasing Jane.
2. Jane is chasing Peter.
3. I looked up his number in the phone book.
4. I looked his number up in the phone book.
5. My neighbour's dog bit me.
6. I was bitten by my neighbour's dog.
7. *Neighbour's dog my me bit.
8. *I made.
9. The man left quietly.
10. *Who is the quietly man?
11. I wanted to leave.
12. I wanted you to leave.
13. I tried to leave.
14. *I tried you to leave.
15. Paris is the capital of New Zealand.
16. Wellington is the capital of New Zealand.
17. Is Wellington the capital of New Zealand?
18. Is Paris the capital of New Zealand?
19. old men and women
20. a.
    
    
    b.
    
    
21. Mary hired Bill.
22. Bill hired Mary.
23. Bill was hired by Mary.
24. The child found a puppy.
25. 
    
26. She found a puppy.
27. The extremely fat man who lives in the house next to mine found a puppy.
28. The child cried.
29. with the puppy
30. I played with the puppy.

Japanese

31. kuruma de (ikimasu)
    car      by (go)
    '(go) by car'
32. 
    
33. The boy saw the man with the telescope.
34. a.
     
    b.
    
35. the child in the picture on the cover of the book on the table
    
36. 
    
37. 
    
38. NP —> Det N
39. S —> NP VP
    VP —> V NP
    VP —> V NP PP
    NP —> Det N PP
    PP —> P NP
40. VP —> V NP (PP)
41. NP —> Det N (PP)
42. 
    
43. VP —> V (NP) (PP)
44. S —> NP VP
    NP —> Det N
    VP —> V (NP) (PP)
    PP —> P NP
45. 
    
46. 
    
47. 
    
48. 
    
49. 
    
50. 
    

Japanese

51. 
    
52. PostpP —> NP Post

Toqabaqita (Solomon Islands)

53. 
    
54. NP —> N Det
55. 1. Happy people laugh often.
    2. The very angry man in the boat shouted.
    3. The woman put the bottle on the table quite carefully.
    4. The teacher believes that the student knows the answer.
    5. That the student knew the answer disturbed the teacher.
    6. The teacher believes the story.
    7. The truth disturbed the teacher.
    8. She knows the answer.
56. NP —> (Det) (AdjP) N (PP)
57. VP —> V (NP) (PP) (AdvP)
58. NP —> that S
59. NP —> Pronoun
60. I know that Jane thinks that Bill likes beer.
61. 
    
62. I know that you think that Joan believes that Harry claims that Jane thinks that Bill likes beer.
63. The woman made a table.
64. The woman made a table out of the boxes.
65. *The woman made slowly.
66. *The woman made out of the boxes.
67. I went.
68. *I went the baby.
69. The kitten is white.
70. Snow is white.
71. Kittens are cute.
72. I respect his belief.
73. I respect his belief in human dignity.
74. I respect his belief that people should be equal.
75. I put the food on the table.
76. They wanted me to leave.
77. They forced me to leave.
78. They wanted to leave.
79. *They forced to leave.
80. They tried to leave.
81. *They tried me to leave.
82. They believe that Judy is smart.
83. They say that Judy is smart.
84. They believe Judy to be smart.
85. *They say Judy to be smart.
86. The girl smiled at the boy.
87. The woman wrote with a pen.
88. I looked up his number in the phone book.
89. I looked his number up in the phone book.
90. I'll wash the car tomorrow.
91. Tomorrow I'll wash the car.
92. He said that he was busy.
93. He said he was busy.
94. She broke the window.
95. The window was broken by her.
96. She is happy.
97. Is she happy?
98. She will be happy.
99. Will she be happy?
100. 
     
101. 
     
102. = (57) VP —> V (NP) (PP) (AdvP)
103. The astronomer saw a new star with her telescope.
104. With her telescope the astronomer saw a new star.
105. The boy saw the man with the telescope.
106. With the telescope the boy saw the man.
107. I know that he is ill.
108. I know he is ill.
109. That he is ill worries me.
110. *He is ill worries me.
111. 
     
112. Is the girl sleeping?
113. The girl who is sleeping is dreaming.
114. Is the girl who is sleeping dreaming?
115. *Is the girl who sleeping is dreaming?
116. 
     
117. 
     
118. 
     
119. 
     
120. The guys seem cool.
121. The guy seems cool.
122. The guys we met at the party at George's place last week seem cool.
123. The guy we met at the party at George's place last week seems cool.
124. 
     
125. The guy we met at the party at George's place last week, which went on until well past midnight, seems cool.
126. Karen said that the local member of Parliament wanted to appoint an assistant.
127. Karen said that the local member of Parliament wanted to appoint who?
128. Who did Karen say that the local member of Parliament wanted to appoint?
129. Who did Karen say that the local member of Parliament wanted the press secretary to try to convince the treasurer to get the committee to appoint?
130. Karen visited her friend that married her sister.
131. Karen visited her friend that married who?
132. *Who did Karen visit her friend that married?
133. Jane insulted Bill.
134. Bill was insulted by Jane.
135. 
     
136. 
     
137. I'll wash the car tomorrow.
138. Tomorrow I'll wash the car.