Scribd
Upload
69 views26 pages

Syntax

Uploaded by

Võ Ngọc Trân
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
69 views26 pages

Syntax

Uploaded by

Võ Ngọc Trân
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/ 26

Group 4

Syntax
0
What is1syntax?
What is syntax?

- Syntax is the set of rules that controls the


arrangement of words and phrases in
sentences to create meaning.

- The term "syntax" comes from the Greek


word "σύνταξις" (sýntaxis), which means
"arrangement" or "organization." It refers to
how words and phrases are combined to form
meaningful sentences.
Why do we study syntax?

- Studying syntax helps us think more clearly,


allowing us to speak and write grammatically
while generating correct sentences.

- You use "generate grammatical sentences"


when talking about creating sentences that
follow grammar rules, often in language
learning or writing.
0
2 rule
Lexical
Lexical Rules
- Lexical rules guide how words are formed
and used in a language, covering the
structure, combination, and meaning of words.

- These rules ensure consistency in


vocabulary usage and help distinguish
different word classes, or lexical categories.

Example: Rules for adding prefixes (like


"un-") or suffixes (like "-ing") to create new
words
Lexical Category
- Lexical categories, also known as parts of
speech, classify words based on their function
and usage within a sentence.

- Common lexical categories include nouns,


verbs, adjectives, ....

Example:
Nouns: "cat," "dog"
Verbs: "run," "play"
Adjectives: "happy," "quick"
Conventional Symbols
- Conventional symbols represent specific
linguistic units or features in grammatical
structures, often used in linguistic notation.

- Examples include symbols like “N” for noun,


“V” for verb, and “Adj” for adjective. They help
simplify and standardize the representation of
language rules and structures.
Differences Between Particle
and Preposition
Particle Prepositio
n

A small word that combines with A word that shows the relationship
a verb to create a phrasal verb. between a noun (or pronoun) and
It often changes the meaning of other words in a sentence. It usually
the verb. indicates direction, location, or
time.

Example: In "give up," "up" is Example: In "The book is on


a particle. the table," "on" is a
preposition.
Differences Between Particle
and Preposition
Particle Prepositio
n

- Particles do not need an object - Prepositions require an object and


and often change the meaning usually indicate relationships of
of a verb, forming part of place, time, or manner.
phrasal verbs.
Phrasal Verbs

- A phrasal verb consists of two or more words,


usually a verb and a particle (which can be a
preposition or an adverb). These combinations
create a meaning that differs from the
individual words.

- For example, "give up" means to stop trying,


which isn't connected to the separate
meanings of "give" and "up."
0
Phrase 3
structure
rules
Phrase structure rules
Definiti These rules state that the structure of a phrase of a specific type will consist
on of one or more constituents in a particular order What for: They are used to
break down a natural language sentence into its constituent parts, also
known as syntactic categories, including both lexical categories (parts of
speech) and phrasal categories

Exampl Wǒ ài nǐ (Chineses) Je préfère le lait (French)


S-> NP VP S-> NP VP
e NP-> N NP-> N
N-> Wǒ N-> Je
VP-> V NP VP-> V NP
V-> ài V-> préfère
NP-> nǐ NP-> le lait
0
4Analysis
Syntactic
Syntactic Analysis
- If we write rules for the creation of well-
formed structures, we have to check that
those rules, when applied logically, won’t also
lead to ill-formed structures.

- We clearly need to be more careful in


forming the rule that underlies the structure of
prepositional phrase in English. We might have
more success with a rule stating that we put a
preposition before a noun phrase (not just a
noun)
0
5
Tree diagram
A tree diagram shows the structure of a
sentence, showing how words group
together to form phrases, and how
phrases combine to create sentences.
Tree diagram
What are tree diagrams used for?

- Visualizing Sentence Structure

- Identifying Parts

- Analyzing Ambiguity

- Understanding Relationships
0
6
Ambiguity
Ambiguity
- The state of being unclear or ambiguous

- A sentence has two or more meanings

Ex:
- The chicken is ready to eat. (Could mean the
chicken is ready to be eaten, or the chicken
itself is ready to eat something)

- They are hunting dogs. (Could mean they are


dogs used for hunting, or they are people
hunting for dogs)
There are two types of ambiguity

Lexical Structur
ambigui al
ty ambiguit
y
Lexical ambiguity
- A sentence contains a word or words that has
or have more than one meaning.

Ex:
"She gave me a ring.“
a. She gave me a piece of jewelry.
b. She gave me a phone call.

=> "ring" can mean either a piece of


jewelry or a phone call.
Lexical ambiguity

Ex:
"She saw the star.“
a. She saw a celebrity.
b. She saw a celestial object.

=> "star" can refer to either a famous


person or a star in space.
Structural ambiguity
- A sentence has different structures or the
same structure with different groups of
components.

Ex:
"Flying planes can be dangerous.“
a. It can be dangerous to fly planes
b. Planes that are flying can be dangerous

"I like banana and cherry“


a. I like banana and I like cherry too.
b. I like banana together with cherry.

=> Sytax: learning about structural ambiguity


Thanks

You might also like