Syntax

Here we’ll talk more about syntax, discussing sentence structure in English.

If you’d like to dig deeper into these concepts, check out Chapter 6 of How English Works.

 

 

Sentence Structure

Sentence structure is more than just a linear string.

We can see this when we think of how questions are formed.

 

To transform a sentence into a question, the words need to change order.

Sometimes, that change will look simple, with just the first two words changing order:

Syntax will change my life → Will syntax change my life?

 

But other times, it’s not just a simple swap:

The syntax book was dog-eared from heavy use →
* Syntax the book was dog-eared from heavy use?

That doesn’t work. Instead, we need to move another word:

The syntax book was dog-eared from heavy use →
Was the syntax book dog-eared from heavy use?

 

To be able to describe patterns like this, we need to talk about parts of speech (done!) and hierarchical structure.

In this class, we’ll use “trees” to model sentence structure.

Since this is intro level, we’ll stick to simple sentences.

 

To create these trees, we’ll come up with some “Syntax Rules” that describe what is possible in terms of sentence structure.

Let’s start with just a few.

We’ll talk about the rules themselves first, and then apply them to actual sentences.

 

 

Our First Syntax Rules!

S → NP VP
NP → N
NP → D N
VP → V

S: Sentence 
D: Determiner
VP: Verb Phrase 
N: Noun (incl. pronouns)
NP: Noun Phrase   V: Verb
The arrow (→) indicates what the Sentence/Phrase can branch into.

 

All of our sentence trees are going to start with S.

According to our rules, S has to branch into NP and VP – there are no other options!

 

NP has two options: NP → N or NP → D N

That means our tree can develop in two different ways, depending on the sentence we’re modeling

 

VP only has one option: VP → V

So, with our current set of rules, these are the only two possible trees we can draw.

How does that relate to actual sentences?

 

This tree represents a sentence that only consists of a noun (N) and a verb (V)

For example:

 

This tree represents a sentence that only consists of a determiner (D), a noun (N), and a verb (V)

For example:

 

Trying drawing trees for these sentences:

The dog ran

Guests arrived

 

 

The dog ran

Guests arrived

 

 

Let’s add a few more rules…

VP → V NP
VP → V NP NP
VP → VP PP
PP → P NP

PP: Prepositional Phrase 
P: Preposition

 

All our rules, now

S → NP VP
NP → N
NP → D N
VP → V
VP → V NP
VP → V NP NP
VP → VP PP
PP → P NP

As you work, keep the rules handy – they’re your toolkit for drawing trees

 

 

Let’s do a little more practice

I learned Urdu
The player threw the ball
He gave the mouse a cookie
Shakira danced on TV
The cow jumped over the moon

 

 

I learned Urdu

The player threw the ball

He gave the mouse a cookie

Shakira danced on TV

The cow jumped over the moon

 

 

And just one more…

VP → Aux VP

Aux: Auxiliary verb

 

 

Our Syntax Rules

S → NP VP
NP → N
NP → D N
VP → V
VP → V NP
VP → V NP NP
VP → VP PP
PP → P NP
VP → Aux VP

 

 

Let’s try a couple more sentences

The birds are singing
Grandma has made a stew

 

 

The birds are singing

Grandma has made a stew

 

We’ll keep practicing in our Zoom class!

 

 

A Note on Tense and Auxiliaries

In syntax trees, tense should be separated from the verb – it should exist on its own “node”

• In our baby syntax, we will only give it its own “node” if it’s on an auxiliary (Aux); if it’s on the verb, leave it on the verb

Why does this matter?

• We only mark tense once per phrase in English
• It will matter for transformations! (see below)

 

 

Transformations (aka Movement)

In syntax, “regular” declarative sentences are the default, but they can be transformed to become more complex structures

In this transformation, part of the sentence is moved

 

Let’s start with yes/no questions.

How do you make “He is swimming” into a yes/no question?

 

He is swimming → Is he swimming?

 

In our syntax tree, we’ll represent that by moving the auxiliary verb (Aux) to the front:

First, draw the tree for the underlying sentence

 

Then, move the auxiliary verb

Reading along the bottom, we get the correct order: Is he swimming?

 

Let’s try with another question:

Is Grandma making stew?

 

 

 

Wh- questions have the same auxiliary movement
PLUS movement of the “Wh-” word (who, what, etc.)

 

Let’s try the question: What is Grandma making?

Again, we’ll start with the underlying sentence but this time, “what” will take the place of the object:

Grandma is making what

And then we move the auxiliary

 

And then we ALSO move the “Wh-” word (“what”)

Then, reading across the bottom, we get the right word order: What is Grandma making?

 

We also see movement in:

Negation – insertion of not

• Example: He laughed → He did not laugh
  The past tense “moves” off laugh, and attaches to an inserted ‘do’

Passive constructions

• Example: Mia kicked the ball → the ball was kicked by Mia

(and Yoda-speak)

 

 

Why does this matter?

Syntactical analysis allows us to compare languages and describe differences in grammar.

Examples:

• Adjective phrases:
  Adj + N (English, etc.) versus N + Adj (Spanish, etc.)
• PRO-drop:
  “Filled” pronouns (English, etc.) versus “silent/dropped” pronouns (Spanish, Arabic, etc.) – “She reads a book” versus “Lee un libro”
• Head direction:
  Languages differ in what part of the phrase comes first

 

It also allows us to see patterns of development in child speech and learner language.

For example, learners may have acquired one type of the “movement” in questions, but not both:

• “What Grandma is making?” versus
  “What is Grandma making?”

In “What Grandma is making”, we see “Wh-” movement, but not  Auxiliary verb movement

 

And it helps us describe the rules of stigmatized language varieties and show that they are systematic too:

• “He explained to me” (“explain” req. prepositional phrase)
  versus
  “he explained me” (“explain” can take a direct object)
• Cookie Monster be eating cookies”
  Here, “be” functions as an auxiliary verb indicating habitual action

 

 

Up next

Next week, we’ll be working on the first exam! In the meantime, look through your homework and let me know if you have any questions.