De nition of Syntax

• Syntax is the study of the rules governing the way words are combined to form
sentences in a language.
• *garden the
Syntax: The analysis of sentence structure • *Children are
• *Work in
• This class: what syntactic structure is and what the rules that determine
syntactic structure are like.

Syntax Syntax & meaning

Properties of syntactic knowledge: • Non-sense sentences with clear syntax
• Humans can understand & produce an in nite number of sentences they ➡ Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
never heard before ➡I gave the question a scuba-diving egg.
➡ *Furiously sleep ideas green colorless.
• Our grammar can understand and produce long sentences
• Determine the grammatical relations in a sentence • Sentences are composed of discrete units that are combined by rules. These
rules explain how speakers can store in nite knowledge in a nite space-
brain.
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 Generative Grammar Generative Grammar
• Noam Chomsky 1950’s: Syntactic Structures,(1956)/ Aspects of • Finite rules Vs. in nite number of well-formed sentences
the Theory of Syntax (1966) • Productivity of language
• Generative = a very explicit system of rules specifying what • Phrase structure rules
• Transformational rules
combinations of basic elements result in well-formed sentences.
• De nes the syntactic structure of a language.

Phrase Structure Rules

Phrase structure rules
• Some words seem to belong together: • If we look at phrases, some patterns emerge:
• {The crazy man} {is jumping off the bridge} Det N
• the instructor = NP
• Groups of words that belong together are called constituents Det N
• a friend = NP
• The component that determines the properties of the constituent is the head,
Det N
and the constituent can be referred to as a phrase: e.g. noun phrase • some homework = NP
Det N
• two classes = NP
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 Phrase Structure Rules Phrase Structure Rules
• some more patterns: • and yet more patterns:
V Det N Prep Det N
• call the instructor= VP • with the instructor= PP
V Det N Prep Det N
• meet a friend = VP • from a friend = PP
V Det N Prep Det N
• do some homework = VP • with some homework = PP
V Det N Prep Det N
• skip two classes = VP • after two classes = PP

Phrase Structure Rules Lexical Rules

• Rules for determining the structure of phrases
• Generate a lot of sentences from a small number of rules. • We need lexical rules to specify which words can be used when we rewrite
• The structure of a phrase will consist of one or more constituents in a certain constituents such as N.
order. • PN {Mary, George}
• What does a NP consist of? • N {girl, boy, dog}
• “noun phrases have a Det and a N” • Art
NP Det N • Pro
 The main phrase structure rules
Phrase Structure Rules
• V Det N V Det N V Det N 1. S → NP VP
run a marathon eat the food read the book
2. NP → {Det N, Pro, PN}
• V Prep Det N V Prep Det N
3. VP → V (NP) (PP) (Adv)
go to the store talk with a teacher
V Det N Prep Det N 4. PP → P NP

take your sister to the library

• “Verb phrases have a V, (sometimes) an NP, and (sometimes) a PP”
• VP -> V (NP) (PP)

Phrase Structure Rules & tree diagrams Phrase Structure Rules

VP V (NP) (PP)
S NP VP

NP (Det) N
PP P NP
The old tree swayed in the wind The children put the toy in the box

Back to Generative Grammar

• How super cially different sentences are closely related?

• How super cially similar sentences are different?
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 Deep and surface structure
Deep and surface structure
• How super cially different sentences are closely related?
• Charlie broke the window.
• The deep structure is an abstract level of structural organization in which all • The window was broken by Charlie

the elements determining structural interpretation are represented. • Was the window broken by Charlie?

• Sentences that have alternative interpretations

➢ Difference in their surface structure = difference in syntactic forms
• Sentences that have different surface forms but have the same underlying meaning.
➢ BUT they have the same ‘deep’ or underlying structure
• Surface structure= how the sentence is actually represented

Structural Ambiguity (1)

Structural ambiguity
• How super cially similar sentences are different? (multiple meanings)
• Same surface structure but different deep structure
• The boy saw the man with a telescope
• The question is: What is the scope of "with the telescope"? Does it modify
only "the man" or does it modify "saw the man"?
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Structural Ambiguity (2)