Scribd
Upload
139 views19 pages

Word Order and The Phrase Structure Rules of The Subject of A Sentence

This document discusses the phrase structure rules of English sentences. It explains that English relies heavily on word order to convey grammatical relationships due to its limited inflectional morphology. The three main properties of English sentences are linearity, categorality, and hierarchy. Linearity refers to word order and syntax. Categorality means that words group together into categories. Hierarchy means that smaller categories combine to form larger ones. The document then outlines the phrase structure rules for noun phrases, adjective phrases, and prepositional phrases.

Uploaded by

Jayare
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
139 views19 pages

Word Order and The Phrase Structure Rules of The Subject of A Sentence

This document discusses the phrase structure rules of English sentences. It explains that English relies heavily on word order to convey grammatical relationships due to its limited inflectional morphology. The three main properties of English sentences are linearity, categorality, and hierarchy. Linearity refers to word order and syntax. Categorality means that words group together into categories. Hierarchy means that smaller categories combine to form larger ones. The document then outlines the phrase structure rules for noun phrases, adjective phrases, and prepositional phrases.

Uploaded by

Jayare
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 19

Word Order and the

Phrase Structure Rules of


the Subject of a Sentence
Making sense of English

• English makes use of morphemes (e.g. inflections and


function words) and word order as grammatical resources
• Inflectional morphemes are very limited (only 8), so English
uses word order to signal grammatical relations
• Phrase structure (PS) rules – rules of English word order that
show how a sentence can be broken down into categories
and their constituent parts
• Needed for your understanding of grammar and professional
knowledge base as an English teacher
Properties of English sentences:
Linearity, categorality, hierarchy
Linearity (word order/syntax)

• English relies on word order to signal grammatical relations (e.g.


distinguishing subjects and objects) because it has lost its
original system of inflections
• English is an SVO language

• I speak English. Je parle français. (Yo) hablo español.


• Close the door!
Linearity

• Amanda: (I) saw Rachel yesterday. I bought her flowers, and we


had a chat.
• Isabel: (It) clearly did her a lot of good.
• She arrived while I was sleeping.
• Inakyat ko ang puno ng mangga.
• Cross-linguistic differences may pose difficulties for ELLs
Linearity

• Michelle: I have just watched the UP vs Ateneo finals.


• Eve: That I would never watch.
• I have not seen that.
• That I have not seen.
• Pauline: I love coffee.
• Jenifer: What about tea?
• Pauline: Tea I don’t like.
Categorality (going together → categories)
Hierarchy (smaller categories form larger
categories)
S
• Emmylou Harris sings country music.
• S → SUBJ PRED SUBJ PRED
S
1. S → smnS sm S
{
SUBJ PRED } surely SUBJ PRED
PS rules are recursive.
immediate constituent analysis Emmylou Harris sings country music.
Noun Phrases (NPs)
2. SUBJ → NP (e.g. Emmylou Harris)
3. NP → { (det3) (APn) N (-pl) (PrepP)
pro }
• det – tells you which noun is being talked about; up to 3
• the singer / the other singers / all the other singers
• poss NP – Their neighbor’s house has finally been painted.
• APn (e.g. all the other famous singers)
• N is obligatory (head of NP); those in parentheses are optional
• –pl (e.g. all the other famous singers)
• PrepP (e.g. all the other famous singers of today)
3. NP → { (det3) (APn) N (-pl) (PrepP)
pro }
• rice
• book
• Emmylou
• all his other memories
• a clear sky
• books
• a man of honor
• the famous city of New York
• all the old books
3. NP → { (det3) (APn) N (-pl) (PrepP)
pro }
• All the other famous singers of today
S

SUBJ PRED

NP

det det det AP N -pl PrepP

all the other famous singer of today are wealthy


3. NP → { (det3) (APn) N (-pl) (PrepP)
pro }
Diagram the following:
• all his other memories
• a clear sky
• a man of honor
• the famous city of New York
• all the old books
3. NP → { (det3) (APn) N (-pl) (PrepP)
pro }
• all the other famous singers of today = they (They are wealthy.)
• the city of New York = it
• a man of honor = he S

SUBJ PRED

NP

pro
a stone wall
the horse stable they are wealthy
Adjective Phrases (APs)
n
4. AP → (ADV ) ADJ (PrepP)
4. AP → (ADVn) ADJ (PrepP)

• his quietly confident demeanor


• his permanently sullen expression
• an extremely valuable collection
• the otherwise preferable course of action
• his internationally famous daughter very, very
• their recently aggressive behavior interesting news
• her sometimes harsh criticisms really very nice
clothes
4. AP → (ADVn) ADJ (PrepP)

• APn (e.g. very amusing, almost hilarious jokes)


• very amusing, almost always hilarious jokes

• PrepP (e.g. My good-for-nothing cousins)


Prepositional Phrases (PrepPs)
5. PrepP → prep NP
5. PrepP → prep NP
S

SUBJ PRED

NP

det det det ADJ N -pl PrepP

prep NP are wealthy


all the other famous singer
N
of today
HOME DELIGHT!

•Do Exercises 1, 2, and 3.


•Better if encoded and printed out
(8.5” x 11”, Arial 11).

You might also like