Syntax
The word syntax is derived from a Greek word which means ordering together or arranging systematically. Syntax is the study of how words are arranged to form larger structures like phrases, clauses and sentences. It is a study of the rules according to which words are put together in larger strings to make meaningful units. According to Robert K. Hall, syntax is “the study of the combinations of such morphemes as are not bound on the levels of either inflection or derivation.”
Traditionally, syntax was believed
to cover only the formation of phrases, clauses and sentences by putting
together words (lexemes) which are either free morphemes or combinations of a
free morpheme and one or more bound morpheme/s which may be inflectional or
derivational. But Saussure and some later linguists have contended that the
structure of words can also be brought under syntax.
Sentence
A sentence is a structured string
of words which communicates a complete meaning.
There are some languages in the world which do not require such a string to be
structured i.e. arranged in a specific order according to the syntactic rules
of the language. But in English, a sentence must be structured. It means that
the words constituting it must follow a certain order in order to have a
meaning. If they are arranged in a different order, they may not have any
meaning or carry a different meaning.
The sentence, ‘The boy helped the
girl.’ is an acceptable sentence of English.
The sentence, ‘The girl helped the
boy.’ is also an acceptable sentence but due to the changed order of words, it
carries a different meaning.
But the string, ‘Helped the boy
girl the.’ is not an acceptable sentence because it communicates no meaning. It
is just a senseless string of words. It is therefore clear that in English, the
words constituting a sentence cannot be arranged in any random order. They must
be arranged in a given order laid down by the syntactical rules of the language
for the purpose of communicating the desired meaning.
A Phrase
A phrase is a group of words
(lexemes) arranged in an order laid down by the syntactical rules which
communicates a meaning but does not qualify to be accepted as a sentence. It
can only be a constituent of a sentence. The phrase is named after the class of
the word which heads it. A noun phrase is thus a phrase which has a noun as its
head. Similarly, a verb phrase, a prepositional phrase, an adjective phrase and
an adverb phrase have a verb, a preposition, an adjective and an adverb as
their head respectively.
Noun Phrase
A noun phrase is a phrase having a
noun as its head. It may consist of a noun or a pronoun only. Thus, John,
honesty, and he are noun phrases consisting of a single word which is a noun or
a pronoun.
A noun heading a noun phrase
may be preceded by an article. A man, an alligator, and the book are noun
phrases having man, alligator and book as their head.
The noun may be pre-modified by an
adjective, a noun, a present participle or a past participle as is clear from
the following examples.
A noble man
(adjective as modifier)
A mill worker
(noun as modifier)
An interesting story
(present participle as modifier)
A frustrated man
(past participle as modifier)
NP
↙ ↘
Art. NP
↓ ↙
↘
↓ Mod
N
↓ ↓
↓
A noble man
NP = Noun Phrase
Art. = Article Mod. = Modifier
N = Noun
It may also be post-modified by a
prepositional phrase, a present participle phrase, a past participle phrase or
even by an adjective clause.
The boy on the last
bench (post-modification by a prepositional phrase)
The boy sitting on the last
bench ((post-modification by a present participle phrase)
The boy seated on the last
bench (post-modification by a past participle phrase)
The boy who is sitting on
the last bench (post-modification by an adjective clause)
Prepositional Phrase
A prepositional phrase is a phrase
headed by a preposition which is placed initially.
On the last bench in
the above examples is a prepositional phrase.
A prepositional phrase, as we can
see, consists of a preposition followed by a noun phrase.
PP = preposition + NP
On the last bench
PP
↙↘
Preposition NP
On the
last bench
↓
↙ ↘
↓
Art. NP
↓
↓ ↙ ↘
↓
↓ Mod. N
↓
↓ ↓
↓
On
the last bench
PP = Prepositional
Phrase P= Preposition
NP = Noun Phrase Art. =
Article
Mod. = Modifier
N = Noun
Verb Phrase
A verb phrase is a phrase having a
verb as its head. The verb in the phrase occupies the initial position in the
phrase.
In the sentence ‘The parrot sat in
the tree.’, ‘sat in the tree’ is a verb phrase.
Sometimes, the verb is preceded by
an auxiliary. Some linguists treat the auxiliary as a separate element while
others treat it as a part of the verb phrase. If the auxiliary is treated
as a separate element, we have to analyse the sentence into three units instead
of two. But in the IC analysis, we treat it as a part of the verb phrase. So it
is combined with the verb phrase and the sentence is analysed into two
immediate constituents - the NP and the VP.
S
↙
↘
NP
VP
The
cat is
running after the rat.
↙ ↘
↙ ↘
Art
N
Aux. VP
↓
↓
↓ ↓
The
cat is running
after the rat.
↓
↓ ↓
↙ ↘
↓
↓ ↓
V
PP
↓
↓ ↓
↓
↓
↓
↓ ↓
running
after the rat
↓
↓ ↓
↓
↙ ↘
↓
↓ ↓
↓
P
NP
↓
↓ ↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓ ↓
↓
after the rat
↓
↓ ↓
↓
↓
↙↘
↓
↓ ↓
↓
↓
Art N
↓
↓ ↓
↓
↓
↓ ↓
↓
↓ ↓
↓
↓
↓ ↓
The cat
is
running after
the rat
S = Sentence
VP = Verb Phrase
PP = Prepositional Phrase P= Preposition
NP = Noun Phrase
Art. = Article Mod. =
Modifier N = Noun Aux. =
Auxiliary
Adjective phrase
An adjective phrase is a phrase
headed by an adjective.
In the NP ‘a very noble
man’, ‘very noble’ is an adjective phrase with the adjective noble as
the head and the adverb very as its modifier.
As we have seen, an adjective can
be modified by an adverb in an adjective phrase.
Very Noble
Adjective Phrase
↙
↘
Mod.
Adj. Mod. = Modifier
Adj. = Adjective
Adverb Phrase
An adverb phrase is a phrase having
an adverb as its head. In the sentence
He performed his duty very honestly
‘very honestly’ is an adverb
phrase. Honestly, which is an adverb, is its head. ‘Very’ is another adverb
which modifies the adverb ‘honestly’. We see that the head in an adverb phrase
may itself be modified by another adverb.
Very honestly
Adverb Phrase
↙
↘
very honestly
Recursion
Recursion means re-occurrence. A
structure of a particular class may contain another structure of the same class
as its part. For example, the prepositional phrase, ‘with a red turban’ in the
noun phrase ‘The boy with a red turban’ may be expanded by adding another
prepositional phrase, as in ‘The boy with a red turban on the first bench’.
Here, the prepositional phrase ‘on the first bench’ is embedded in the original
prepositional phrase to expand it into a larger prepositional phrase. So we
have a prepositional phrase within a prepositional phrase. This kind of
re-occurrence of a structure of a particular class within another structure of
the same class is called recursion. There is no restriction on the number of
such recursions. We can insert as many structures within a structure of the
same class as we like. For example, we may have a prepositional phrase like the
following:
The boy with a red turban between two girls on the first bench to the right of the teacher
We have here five prepositional
phrases in a single prepositional phrase.
The PP ‘on the first bench’ is embedded in the PP ‘with a red turban’,
the PP ‘to the right’ is embedded in the PP ‘on the first bench’,
and the PP ‘of the teacher’ is embedded in the PP ‘to the right’.
Again, the PP ‘between two girls’ is embedded in the PP ‘of the teacher’
PP
with a red turban between two girls on the
first bench to the right of the teacher
PP
↙ ↘
PP PP
with a red turban between two girls on the
first bench to the right of the teacher
↙ ↘
PP PP
between two girls on
the first bench to
the right of the teacher
↙
↘
PP PP
on the first bench to the right of the teacher
↙ ↘
PP
PP
to the right of
the teacher
Take
another example where we can see the recursion of a clause.
The man
/who met us in the street/ which was crowded with people/ who had come to see
the fair/ which is held in our village/ which is situated away from the city/
has been my teacher.
We can thus
go on expanding the sentence infinitely. The only risk we run is that of making
it too complicated and hard to understand.
Discontinuous (Non-contiguous) Constituents
Normally, the elements that
constitute syntactic unit in a sentence are contiguous (placed next to one
another). But occasionally, we may encounter constituents of a unit which are
separated by some other words which fall between them. This happens when the
verb is a phrasal verb consisting of a verb and a particle. In a phrasal verb,
the particle is a part of the verb. When the object is a noun, we can place the
particle before it or after it. If we place it after the noun which is the
object, it gets separated from the verb of which it is a part. The point to
note is that irrespective of whether the particle is contiguous or
non-contiguous, it has to be treated as a part of the verb.
I called up
my friend last evening.
I called
my friend up in the evening.
In both the sentences, the verb is
a phrasal verb, ‘called up’. ‘Called’ is the verb and ‘up’ is the particle. In
the first sentence, the particle is placed next to the verb and the two are
contiguous. But in the second sentence, the two parts of the verb are
non-contiguous as they have been separated by the object ‘my friend’. While
analysing both these sentences, we will consider the particle in the same way
i.e. as a part of the verb as is clear from the tree diagrams below.
Sentence - The teacher pulled
up the student.
S
↙ ↘
NP
VP
↙ ↘
↙ ↘
Art
N V
NP
↓ ↓
↙ ↘
↓ ↘
V
Part
Art. N
The teacher pulled up the student
F. 1 - Structure
before particle movement
S
↙ ↘
NP
VP
↙ ↘ ↙ ↘
Art.
N V
NP
↓
↓ ↓
↘ ↙ ↘
↓
↓ ↓
↓ Art
N Part.
The
teacher pulled ---
the student
up
↓
↑
→→→→→ →→→→→
F. 2 - Structure after particle movement
When the object is a noun or a noun
phrase, we can place the particle either before or after it.
The teacher pulled up the student.
The teacher pulled the student up.
But if the object is a pronoun, the
particle must be placed after the object. We must say
The teacher pulled him up.
We cannot say
The teacher pulled up him.
Framing
Yes/No Questions from
Declarative
Sentences (Statements)
A yes/no question is a question
that can be answered simply by saying yes or no.
For example, the question “Did he
help you? Can be answered by saying yes or no. It is a yes/no question.
To frame yes/no questions from
declarative sentences (statements), we have to move the auxiliary that
immediately follows the subject of the sentence to the left of the subject.
He is your
friend. Is
he your friend?
My friend is writing a novel.
------------------- Is my friend writing a novel?
Tomorrow I am going to Delhi.
-------------- Tomorrow am I going to Delhi?
The man who first enters the city
will be crowned the king. -------- Will the man who first enters the town be
crowned the king?
The last example exemplifies
another problem in framing yes/no questions from declarative sentences. If
there are more than one (two or three) auxiliaries, which of them will be
shifted to the left of the subject?
The answer is that the first
auxiliary which immediately follows the subject is the auxiliary that has to be
shifted. In the above case, the auxiliary ‘will’ comes immediately after the
subject.
Here are some more examples.
This should have been done much
earlier.
Should this have been done much
earlier?
He will have finished his work by
now.
Will he have finished his work by
now?
But there is another problem which
we have to face in some sentences. What should we do if there is no auxiliary?
In a case like this, we have to
introduce the auxiliary ‘do’ before the verb and then move it to the left of
the subject.
You know him well.
Do you know him well?
When we do so, the past tense
morpheme or the present tense third person singular morpheme in it has to be
transferred to the auxiliary ‘do’ introduced for the purpose.
My friend helped me with money.
Did my friend help me with money?
He knows English very well.
Does he know English very well?
In the first of these sentences,
the past tense morpheme in the verb ‘helped’ has been transferred to the
auxiliary ‘do’. In the second, the present tense third person singular morpheme
has been transferred to ‘do’.
Identification of the subject
Identifying the subject is another
problem.
The subject of a sentence is the
noun phrase with which the verb agrees in number and person.
My
friend and his wife both work in this company.
Here, the verb ‘work’ agrees with
‘My friend and his wife’ which when they are coordinated by ‘and’ become
plural.
Alternatively, the subject is the
noun phrase with which the subject pronoun of the tag question agrees in number,
person and gender.
My friend’s wife sings well,
doesn’t she?
In this sentence, the subject ‘she’
in the tag question agrees with ‘my friend’s wife’ in person, number and gender
(third person’ singular, feminine). So the subject is ‘my friend’s wife.
Negativisation
of Affirmative Sentences
In order to negativise an
affirmative declarative sentences, we have to insert the negative particle
‘not’ into the verb. But where should it be placed?
The answer is
1. The negative particle ‘not’ is
inserted immediately after the first auxiliary following the subject.
2. If an auxiliary is present after
the subject, insert the negative element after it.
My
friend is coming to see me tomorrow.
My
friend is not coming to see me tomorrow.
3. If there are more than one
auxiliaries, place the negative particle immediately after the first auxiliary
following the subject.
They
will have reached home.
They
will not have reached home.
4. If there is no auxiliary in the
verb phrase following the subject, introduce the auxiliary do and then place
the negative particle after it.
We
play football in the evening.
We
do not play football in the evening.
5. If the verb is in the past
simple tense, transfer the past tense morpheme to ‘do’ and the place the
negative particle after it.
They
played well yesterday.
They
did not play well yesterday.
If the sentence contains the adverb
‘ever’, the negative particle is attached to it. But this adverb is generally
not used in affirmative sentences. It is used only in negative statements or
questions.
Has he ever helped you?
He has never helped me.
Did he never tell you where
he lived?
No, he never told me where he
lived.
Structural Ambiguity
and Structural Analysis
Ambiguity can be the result of two
types of phenomena.
1. The use of an ambiguous word
which carries the potentiality of being interpreted in two ways.
The ambiguity in the following
sentence is the result of the use of the world mouse which can have two
meanings.
I saw a new type of mouse today.
The word ‘mouse’ used here may
refer to a rodent or to the device used for moving the cursor on the computer
screen and that is the cause of ambiguity. Ambiguity resulting from the use of
a word like this which can have two or more meanings is called lexical
ambiguity.
2. Another type of ambiguity is
structural ambiguity, a result of the structure of a sentence having the
potentiality of being interpreted in two or more ways. It may be possible to
analyse a sentence in two ways. And the different analytical approaches will
yield different semantic results.
Let us look at the sentence “Flying
planes can be dangerous.” which can have two structural interpretations.
If the word ‘flying’ is interpreted
as a participle modifying the noun planes, the meaning will be, “The planes that
fly can be dangerous.”
But if the word flying is
interpreted as a gerund and the planes as its object or modifier, the meaning
would be, “If you fly planes, it can be dangerous.” Or “The act of flying
planes can be dangerous.”
S
↙ ↘
NP
VP
↙ ↘
↙↘
Mod. N
Aux VP
↓ ↓
↓ ↓
↓ ↓
↓ ↓
↓ ↓
↓ ↙ ↘
↓ ↓
↓ V Adj.
Flying planes can
be dangerous
S
←←←←←→→→→→
↓
↓
NP
VP
←←←→→→
←←→→→→
↓
↓
↓
↓
Gerund Noun Aux
VP
↓
As post-modifier ↓
←←→→→→
↓
or object ↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
V Adj.
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
Flying
planes
can be dangerous
Let us have a look at another
sentence.
The mother of the girl and the boy
will come tomorrow.
(The mother) (of the girl and the
boy) will come tomorrow.
(The mother of the girl) and (the
boy) will come tomorrow.
If the noun mother is taken to be
post-modified by the prepositional phrase ‘of the girl and the boy’, we are
talking of one person who is coming. The mother is the mother of both the girl
and the boy. But if the post-modification is limited to the words ‘of the girl’
and ‘the boy’ is interpreted as a noun coordinated with the mother, two persons
will be coming – one is the mother of the girl and the other is the boy.
S
↙
↓ ↘
↙
↓ ↘
NP Aux
VP
↙
↘
↘
↘
NP
PP
↘ ↘
↙ ↘
↓
↘
↘
Art
N ↓
↘
↘
↙
↓ ↓
.
↘
↘
The mother
of the girl and the boy
will come
tomorrow
S
↙ ↓ ↘
↙ ↓
↘
NP
Aux VP
↙ ↓ ↘
↘
↘
↙ ↓
↘
↘
↘
NP
↓ NP
↘
↘
↓ ↓
↓ ↘
↘
The mother of the girl and the boy will come tomorrow
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