Handout2 - 2015

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Constituent structure I. Syntactic processes -structure-dependent John will get a prize. ⇒ Will John get a prize? II. Constituent structure 1. Jack must seem incredibly stupid to that girl. 2. Jack has bought the book. 3. Old people will die. 4. The boy was angry. III. The representation of constituent structure 1. tree-diagrams (labelled, partial) - dominance - immediate dominance - constituency (constituent) - immediate constituency (immediate constituent) - mothers, daughters, sisters - 'no crossing branches' constraint - no discontinuous constituents 2. labelled bracketing IV. Phrase structure rules (PS rules) 1. S → ............................. NP → ............................. VP → .................................... AP → .................................... PP → .................................... 2. S → ....................................... S → .................................... general phrase structure rule: S → .....................................

Syntax: Handout 2

Syntax: Handout 2

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3. NP → .................................... NP → .................................. NP → ................................... general phrase structure rule: NP → ................................... V. Distribution of phrasal categories - Jack

- angry

- die

- the boy

- awfully angry

- buy the book

- old people

- angry about the girl

- seem incredibly stupid to that girl

VI. Co-ordination 1. The boy and his parents were awfully angry. 2. Jack and his friends bought some books. 3. Jack bought the book and gave it to the girl. 4. Old people will die and go to Heaven. VII. Ambiguity 1. Mary might seem keen on the boat. 2. The police will shoot terrorists with rifles. 3. John will run down the new road. Exercise Convert the sentences in (1) - (4) into tree diagrams. 1. His mother might get angry. 2. The President rejected their proposal. 3. The weather will change extremely suddenly. 4. Little boys have bought presents for their teachers.