Syntax

Syntax
Definition: a set of rules that govern how words are combined to form longer strings of meaning meaning like sentences.

Building Blocks
Morphemes combine into Words combine into Phrases combine into Clauses combine into Sentences What are the rules in a language for using these building blocks?

There are over 200 definitions of the term sentence. Two of the most commonly used apply to written sentences : 1. Has a subject (noun/noun phrase) and a predicate (something that is said about the subject) 2. By punctuation: begins with a capital letter, ends with a full stop (.?!) Spoken language makes it more difficult to define sentence.

Sentences

Phrases
Three examples of types of phrases; 1. Noun phrases = a noun and its modifiers 2. Verb phrases = a verb and its modifiers 3. Prepositional phrases = a preposition, its object and modifiers

Noun Phrases
Act as a subject in a sentence The cute little boy threw John the ball.

boy + the cute little

Act as a direct object in a sentence

The cute little boy threw John the ball.

ball + the

Act as an indirect object in a sentence

The cute little boy threw John the ball. John

Verb Phrases
Is made up of the verb and its modifiers.
Joan walked quickly and quietly. walked + quickly and quietly

Clauses
Definition: a group of two or more words which include its own subject and predicate within the expression, but as a whole form only a part of a complete sentence

Types of Clauses
Independent clauses are simple sentences Eg. Sarah patted the dog.
Sarah (subject) + patted (verb) + dog (object)

Dependent Clauses cannot stand alone Eg. When Sarah patted the dog, . . .

Concordance Rules
(Also known as agreement) Units within a sentence must match each other Eg. Number: plural subject noun requires plural person verb

Short-Hand Symbols
Syntactic Categories
Subject = S, Verb = V, Object = O NP = Noun Phrase, VP = Verb Phrase, PP = Prepositional Phrase, etc. S+V S+V+O NP+VP+PP Etc.

Displaying Sentence Structure

Line Analysis Bracket Analysis Chinese Box Diagramming Diagramming Tree Diagram Analysis Phrase Marker Structure

Line Analysis

Bracket Analysis

Chinese Box Diagram

Compound Sentence

Diagramming

Tree Diagram Analysis

Phrase Marker Analysis (P-marker)