Syntax as the Grammar
of a Language
Some linguists have identified syntax with grammar. They
are of the opinion that syntax and grammar are synonymous and the syntactical
rules are nothing but the rules of the grammar of a language. However, it is
not possible to agree with them. Of course, syntactical rules are reflected in
the grammar of the concerned language. But grammar covers a much broader area
than syntax. We may say that syntax is a part of grammar but just one part. There
is an area in every language which is common to both. But at the same time,
there is a part of grammar which is not covered by syntax. Also there are
certain things which are exclusive to syntax and are not covered by grammar.
Syntax is the branch of linguistics which deals with the
linear ordering of elements (words, phrases and clauses) in the well-formed (acceptable)
sentences of a language. In the case of most of the languages, the order moves
from left to right but in some like Urdu, it moves from right to left. For
example, syntax tells us that in a declarative sentence of English, the subject
noun phrase must precede the verb and the object noun phrase must succeed it.
It specifies that the common order of elements in a well-formed declarative sentence of
English is NP + VP. In the VP, the verb may be followed by an NP which in some
cases may further be followed by a PP.
Grammar too is a set of rules that govern the structure
of well-formed sentences, clauses or phrases of a language. Any sentence,
clause or phrase that violates these rules is unacceptable.
The fact is that grammar has two components – A.
Syntax B. Morphology.
A. Syntax
Syntax deals with the sequential ordering of elements in
a sentence. As stated above, it tells us that
1.
In a well-formed declarative
sentence of English, the first element is an NP which is succeeded by a VP.
2.
The VP may consist of a verb
alone or one or more auxiliaries may precede the verb.
3.
The verb may or may not be
followed by an NP depending on whether the verb is a transitive one or an
intransitive one.
4.
If the verb is di-transitive,
it has to be followed by two NPs.
5.
The NP which precedes the VP
functions as the subject of the sentence and that which succeeds the verb
functions as the object.
6.
If there are two NPs after the
verb, the first one is the indirect object and the second one is the direct
object.
7.
The NP or NPs succeeding the
verb may further be followed by an adverb phrase or a PP or clause or even an
NP functioning as the adverbial which is optional in most of the structures but
is obligatory in one.
8.
It further tells us that to
transform a declarative sentence into a yes/no question, the auxiliary (the
first auxiliary if there are more than one) should be moved to the left of the
NP which is the subject. If there is no auxiliary, the auxiliary ‘do’ should be
introduced for the purpose of framing the question.
9.
To change an affirmative
declarative sentence into a negative one, the negative particle ‘not’ should be
placed after the auxiliary (the first auxiliary if there are more than one). If
there is no auxiliary, the auxiliary ‘do’ should be introduced and the negative
particle ‘not’ should be placed after it.
10.
In a wh- question, the
question word (which may be a pronoun, an adjective or an adverb) should be
placed initially in the sentence.
11. The auxiliary should be placed to the right of the QW and
to the left of the NP preceding the VP.
12.
If the question word is a
pronoun, and functions as the subject of the question, there is no need to introduce 'do' as an auxiliary. The verb itself follows it.
13.
If the QW is the subject, the
VP follows it immediately but if it is the object, an NP precedes the VP as the
subject.
14.
In an imperative sentence, the
NP that precedes the VP in a declarative sentence is omitted.
15.
An exclamatory sentence begins
with what or how. ‘What’ is followed by an NP and ‘how’ is followed by an
adjective or adverb.
16.
An optative sentence begins
with ‘May’.
17.
In a cleft sentence which
begins with the dummy subject ‘it, the verb ‘be’ (is, was or any other form of
this verb) can be followed by only one of the elements of the sentence.
B. Morphology
Morphology, the other component deals with the following things:
1. Derivation (obtaining larger
words by adding affixes (prefixes, suffixes, infixes or some other type) to
free morphemes (roots/bases) or stems (words which already have two morphemes
(one free and the other bound) and
2. Inflection which includes
I. Conjugation of verbs i.e.
forming the three forms of the verbs
II. Declension of nouns i.e.
changing singulars nouns into plurals, and changing masculine nouns into feminine
nouns
III. Declension of adjectives
and adverbs for degrees of comparison i.e. obtaining the comparative and
superlative degrees from the positive degree.
3. Morphology also lays down rules for other
aspects of the formation of well-formed sentences to
make them meaningful such as
I. the formation and use of tenses and active and
passive voice,
II. the use of the different degrees of adjectives and
adverbs.
4. Prescriptive grammar also places some
restrictions on the usage of some structures such as
I. The split
infinitive (Say, “The teacher advised the students always to speak the truth.” instead of saying, “The teacher
advised the students to always speak the truth.”) and
II. The dangling preposition (preposition as the last
word in a sentence as in “He is the I am
relying on.” Instead, they insist on saying, “He is the man on whom I am relying.”
Another important thing to remember
is that syntax can be used for some pragmatic purposes whereas grammar only
deals with the correct formation of sentences.
I. Syntax can be used as a literary device to add extra meaning to
sentences, whereas grammar adds no extra meaning.
Look at the following sentence:
“His long-held wish was to
walk slowly through the tortuous mountain paths that his grandfather had carved
out of the earth many years ago”.
It is a declarative sentence stating
the wish of the boy. But the length of the sentence also reflects the length of
the tortuous paths and the long time that the boy has been wishing to walk
them.
II. Syntax can be used for some literary
purposes while grammar just shows good form.
We must also remember that there are
some languages in which syntax (word order) is not as important as it is in
others. In languages like Latin and Sanskrit, morphology is used for certain
purposes for which syntax is used in English. For example, in English, the
subject must precede the verb and the object must succeed it. But in Latin, the
function of a noun as subject or object is signalled not by its place in the
sentence but by a morpheme added to the noun.
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