Introduction to English Linguistics

4: Grammar and Syntax

Grammar and Syntax

Grammar
The rules of language, comprising syntax and inflection

Syntax
The hierarchical structure of language
Grammar: Traditional Parts of Speech of English

▶ Noun
▶ Adjective
▶ Pronoun
▶ Verb
▶ Adverb
▶ Preposition
▶ Conjunction
▶ Interjection
▶ Article
▶ (Numeral)
▶ (Determiner)
Grammar: Traditional Parts of Speech of English

Lexical Words, Open Class

▶ Noun
▶ Noun
▶ Adjective
▶ Adjective
▶ Pronoun
▶ Non-auxiliary verb
▶ Verb
▶ Adverb
▶ Adverb
▶ Preposition Function Words, Closed Class
▶ Conjunction
▶ Article
▶ Interjection
▶ Pronoun
▶ Article
▶ Preposition
▶ (Numeral)
▶ Auxiliary verb
▶ (Determiner)
▶ Conjunction
Syntax: Hierarchy

Sentence

Clause

Phrase

Word
Syntax: Hierarchy

Sentence

Clause Phrase Structure

phrase

Phrase
(specifier) head (complement)

Word
Syntax: Hierarchy

Sentence
Phrase Structure
NP

Clause
Det N PP

a house P NP
Phrase
of N

Word cards
Syntax: Hierarchy

Sentence

Sentence Types
Clause ▶ Declarative
▶ Interrogative
▶ Imperative
Phrase
▶ (Exclamative)

Word
Subordination

she slammed the door.

When Claudia got home,
Subordination

I see
what you did there.
Coordination

Tristan likes Aubrey, but Aubrey likes books.

Traditional Elements of Syntax

Aishah often
. . . . . eats berries in the garden.
:::::: . . . . . . . . . . . . .

▶ Subject
▶ Predicate
▶ Predicator
▶ (Modifier)
..........
▶ Adverbial phrase
▶ Prepositional phrase
▶ (Complement)
:::::::::::
▶ Object
- Direct
- Indirect
Word Order in Present-Day English

headclause: SVO Jack eats carrots.

subclause: SVO I know [that Jack eats carrots].
I know [that Jack carrots eats].
adv + headclause: SVO Then Jack ate a carrot.
Then ate Jack a carrot.
adv + headclause: VS (only with Then came the aftershock.
certain intransitive verbs)
imperative: VO Eat your greens!
interrogative with be: VS Why was he here?
interrogative with aux.: vSV What have I done?
Word Order in Old English

headclause SVO God lufode Iācob.

headclause VSO Wæs hē Osrices sunu.
headclause SOV Þū þæt cwǣde.
subclause SOV Ic wāt [þæt þū mē gehȳrst].
adv + headclause VSO Ðā slōg se wind þone lēg on þæt
hūs.
adv + headclause SV Þā sēo fǣmne cwæð: …
adv + headcl. + pre. VSiO Þā cwæð s engel tō hyre: …
adv + headcl. + prep. ViOS Þā cw him hǣlend tō: …
prep + headclause VSO On þǣre tīde cwæð Petrus …
prep + headclause SVO On ðǣm dǣge hē gemētte āne ēa.
subclause sIoV Ic wāt [þæt hē inc ābolgen wyrð].
subclause iOVS Ic wāt [þæt ūs cymð se Mæssias].
imperative VSO Ne et ðū of þām trēowe!
Word Order in Middle English

headclause SVO Adam clepide alle thingis.

headclause VS And maad is euen and moru, the
thrid day.
subclause SVO And God saiȝ [that it were
good].
adv + headclause SVO Than Noe vndirstode that
wateres hadden cesyd vpon erthe.
adv + headclause VS Than came Hernyer the trautour.
imperative: VO Honour thi fader and thi moder.
interrogative: VS Where art thou?
Why comaundide God to ȝow,
that ȝe shulden not ete of ech
tree of paradis?
Word Order in Sum

▶ Old English
▶ Highly variable
▶ Headclauses default to SVO
▶ Subclauses concentrate their verbs at the end (SOV)
▶ Imperatives have VSO
▶ Middle English
▶ Less variable than OE, more variable than PDE
▶ Normally SVO
▶ Interrogative clauses do not use a dummy auxiliary
▶ Imperatives have VO
▶ Present-Day English
▶ Rigidly SVO in declarative statements
▶ Interrogatives and imperatives start with the (auxiliary) verb
▶ Imperatives have VO
Syntactic Schools

Generative (or Transformational) Grammar

A linguistic model postulating an innate set of syntactic rules from
which all linguistic utterances are generated, involving a transformation
from an underlying deep structure to the apparent surface structure.

[Deep Structure] → [Subsystem] → [Surface Structure]

Cognitive Grammar
Understands language as an abstract symbolic system directly rooted in
the same cognitive processes used for other thought processes and thus
not routed through a syntactic subsystem.
Generative Grammar
Phrase Structure Rules
Rules for parsing syntactic structures, defining the constitution of
phrases with a view to finding structural correspondences across
languages.

S → NP VP: A sentence consists of a noun phrase followed by a verb phrase.

NP → (Det) (A) N (PP): A noun phrase consists of a noun preceded by the

optional elements determiner and adjective and followed by the optional
element prepositional phrase.

NP Noun phrase AP Adjective phrase

VP Verb phrase PP Preposition phrase
AdvP Adverbial phrase Det Determiner
Deg Degree word Aux Auxiliary verb
Con Conjunction S Sentence
(Generative) Syntactic Constituents
(Cf. parts of speech.)

Label Description
N Noun
V Verb
A Adjective ▶ Lexical
P Preposition ▶ Can head a phrase
Adv Adverb
T Tense
C Complementizer
Det Determiner
▶ Nonlexical
Deg Degree word
Aux Auxiliary verb ▶ Cannot head a phrase
Con Conjunction

▶ Pronoun ≡ N without specifier or complement

▶ Possessive ≡ N
X-Bar Theory
Models all phrases as specifier-head structures by positing a projected
head, raising specifiers above the level of complements; see O’Grady.

Multiple Branching Schema X-Bar Schema

XP XP

(specifier) X′
(specifier) head (complement)
head (complement)
X-Bar Theory
Models all phrases as specifier-head structures by positing a projected
head, raising specifiers above the level of complements; see O’Grady.

Multiple Branching Schema X-Bar Schema

NP NP

Det N′
Det N PP
a N PP
a house P NP
house P′ NP
of N
P N′
cards
of N

cards
X-Bar Theory
Models all phrases as specifier-head structures by positing a projected
head, raising specifiers above the level of complements; see O’Grady.

Multiple Branching Schema X-Bar Schema

NP NP

Det N′
Det N PP
a N PP
a house P NP
house P NP
of N
of N
cards
cards

X′ level only required in phrases with both specifier and complement.

X-Bar Theory
Models all phrases as specifier-head structures by positing a projected
head, raising specifiers above the level of complements; see O’Grady.

Multiple Branching Schema X-Bar Schema

NP NP

Det N′
Det N PP
a N PP
a house P N
house P N
of cards
of cards

(You may also omit XP where it’s just a head, but I won’t here.)
X-Bar Phrase Structure

Full Schema Compact Schema

NP NP
Det N′ Det N
the N the law
law
X-Bar Phrase Structure

Full Schema Compact Schema

PP PP
P′ NP P NP
P Det N′ in Det N
in the N the rain
rain
X-Bar Phrase Structure

Full Schema Compact Schema

VP VP

V′ NP V NP
V Det N′ read Det N
read a N a book
book
X-Bar Phrase Structure (Full Schema)

NP

Det N′

the N PP

sound P′ NP

P Det N′

of the N

surf
X-Bar Phrase Structure (Compact Schema)

NP

Det N′

the N PP

sound P NP

of Det N

the surf
X-Bar Sentence Structure (Full Schema)
TP

NP T′

N′ T VP
N +pst V′ NP
You V NP N′

ate N′ N

N lunch

my
X-Bar Sentence Structure (Compact Schema)

TP

NP T′

N T VP
You +pst V NP

ate NP N

N lunch

my
X-Bar Auxiliary Structure (Full Schema)
TP

NP T′

N′ T VP

N did V′ NP

You V NP N′

eat N′ N

N lunch

my
X-Bar Auxiliary Structure (Compact Schema)

TP

NP T′

N T VP

You did V NP

eat NP N

N lunch

my
X-Bar Sentence Structure (Full Schema)
TP

NP T′

N′
T VP
N
-pst
V′ NP
We
V
Det N′
miss
the N PP

sound P′ NP

P Det N′

of the N

surf
X-Bar Sentence Structure (Compact Schema)
TP

NP T′

N
T VP
We
-pst
V NP

miss
Det N′

the N PP

sound P NP

of Det N

the surf
X-Bar Yes/No-Movement (Full Schema)

CP

C′ TP

V C NP T′
are +q N′ T VP
N -pst V′ NP
you V N′

t N

Tarzan
X-Bar Yes/No-Movement (Compact Schema)

CP

C′ TP

V C NP T′
are +q N T VP
you -pst V NP

t N

Tarzan
X-Bar Wh-Movement (Full Schema)
CP

AdvP C′

Adv′
C TP
Adv
V
where +q NP T′
is
NP N′ T VP

N′ N -pst V′ AdvP

N food V Adv′

my t Adv

t
X-Bar Wh-Movement (Compact Schema)

CP

AdvP C′

Adv
C TP
where
V
+q NP T′
is
NP N T V′

N food -pst V AdvP

my t Adv

t
P. S. Langeslag