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Phrase Structure Rules

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479 views

Phrase Structure Rules

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api-266902206
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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It describes the sentence-level and sub-sentence-level structures of the

language. Phrase structure rules provide us with a parsing device to make


explicit three important basic properties of sentence grammar. (Jacobs,
1!"
1. # $ (sm"% #& '
$ #()J P*+, '
-he arrow means that # (sentence" is expanded (or rewritten" in one of
two wa.s, which is indicated b. the use of the curl. brackets to the right of
the arrow.
# is expanded to include one or more optional sentence modi/ers sm-
the parentheses indicate the optionalit. of this constituent- and an obligator.
sentence core, represented here as S.
Sm (sentence modi/ers" words like perhaps, maybe, yes, and no.
n- (sm" s.mbol has the superscript n which allow us to generate an.
number of sentence modi/ers.
-he capital letters used for the S to the left of the arrow and the S to the
right indicate that if S is expanded as (smS", the S should be viewed as the
main constituent and the (sm", which is in the lower case as the modi/er.
In the second instance, S is expanded in rule 1 as the traditional sub0ect
(#()J" 12, predicate (P*+,".
3. #& #()J P*+,
*ule 3 simpl. makes explicit the fact that S is also expanded as sub0ect
and predicate in those case where (sm" has been selected.
THE INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF NOUNS PHRASES
-he third phrase structure rule rewrites #()J as 2P (or 2oun Phrase"4
5. #()J 2P

-he fourth rule rewrites 2P in two 6uite di7erent wa.s4
8. 2P $ (det"9 (1P" 2 (-pl" (PrepP" '
$ pro '
In the second instance, 2P can be rewritten as a pronoun4 I, you, he, she.
PHRASE STRUCTURE
RULES
:ptionall., it can be expanded4
1s a noun with a plural in;ections4 books, children
1s a noun with up to three determiners4 all his other mone.
1s a noun with a preceding ad0ective phrase4 a ver. blue sk.
1s a noun with a following prepositional phrase4 a man of honor
-he determiner slot itself consists of three subcategories4
Predeterminers (words like all and both"
<ore determiners (articles like a and the, demonstratives like this and
that, and possessives like m. and his"
Postdeterminers (6uanti/ers like three and comparative reference
terms like other"
2oun Phrases function in one of three wa.s in +nglish4 as sub0ects, as
ob0ects and as predicate.
*ule ! allows us to expand an. optional ad0ective phrase (1P" that ma. have
selected as part of our expansion of 2P in rule 84
!. 1P (intens"% 1,J% (PrepP"
-he term intens stands for the optional but potentiall. multiple intensi/ers
that can precede an ad0ective to specif. the degree or extent to which the
ad0ective applies. #ometimes the same intensi/er is repeated, which referred
to as reduplication and sometimes di7erent intensi/ers are selected4
ver., ver. interesting news reall. ver. nice clothes
intens intens 1,J 2 intens intens 1,J 2
*ule ! also indicates that multiple descriptive ad0ectives can occur before
head nouns (e.g. the big old yellow bus)
*ule = simpl. expands prepositional phrase as prepositions followed b. noun
phrases4
=. PrepP Prep 2P
#ince 2P (noun phrase" has alread. been expanded in rule 8, we would go
back and reappl. our earlier rule for 2P expansion whenever we have a
prepositional phrase. >ith the addition of rule ?, we begin to expand the
P*+, (predicate" constituent4
?. P*+, 1(@ AP (1dvl"%
-his means that the predicate of an. +nglish sentence obligator. consists of
an auxiliar. constituent (1(@" followed b. a verb phrase (AP". In addition,
an. number of optional adverbials ma. occur in sentence-/nal position.
THE INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF ADVERBIALS
*ule B provides us with three s.ntactic possibilities for each sentence-/nal
adverbial generated b. rule ?4
B. $1dvl <C'
1dvl $1dvl P '
$PrepP '
1n example of each structural possibilit. follows4
1dvl <C4 -he bo.s left before their father could !d the"#
1dvl P 4 -he bo.s work $er% &uic'l%#
PrepP 4 -he bo.s eat lunch i! the cit%#
<url. brackets indicate that for each adverbial gaenerated, one, but onl.
one, of the three choices must be selected- an adverbial clause (1dvl <C"D an
1dverbial phrase (1dvl P"D or a prepositional phrase (PrepP"
1n adverbial clause can be expanded to include an adverbial subordinator
(adv sub" followed b. a new sentence (#"4

. 1dvl <C adv sub #
1E. 1dvl P (intens"% 1,A
-his rule means that an adverbial phrase contains an obligator. adverb,
1,A, optionall. preceded b. one or more intensi/ers, intens. 1n intensi/er
occurs not onl. before ad0ectives but also before adverbs.

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