Syntax

LINGUISTICS 1
What is
syntax?
the part of linguistics
that studies sentence
structure
 Word order
1 2 Agreement

Complements
3 4 Hierarchical
structure
| Word Order
Word order refers to
the way words are
arranged in a
sentence.
 Word Order

want these I books.

 Standard word
order

• the most common sentence pattern in

English
• the subject comes before the verb

That book was heavy.

Inverted word
order

• the main verb or an auxiliary verb comes

before the subject
• the most common use of inverted word order
in English is in forming direct questions

Have you heard the noise?

Can you lift the book?
Aside from the auxiliary and modals,
use the appropriate form of do

Do you want me to put

the book away?
A question that begins with a
question-forming word like why,
when, where, or how cannot be
answered with a yes or no

Why did the book fall?

Did the book fall?
Information
Questions
Most information questions follow the same
rules of inverted word order as yes-or-no
questions.

When can I read the book?

What does the book

discuss?
When who or what functions as the
subject in a question, use standard
word order.

Who dropped the book?

What was the problem?

When a question has more than one
auxiliary verb, put the subject after the
first auxiliary verb.

Would you have replaced the

book?
The same rules apply to emphatic
exclamations

Was that book heavy!

Did she enjoy that book!

Negatives
never
hardly ever
use
seldom
inverted
rarely word order
not only
nor
 Example

I have never Never have I

seen a more seen a more
exciting exciting
movie. movie.
 Example

She is not only a Not only is she a

talented artist talented artist,
but also an but she is also
excellent an excellent
musician. musician.
 With indirect
questions, use
standard word
order.
She asked how did I
drop the book.

She asked how I

dropped the book.
End of
presentation.
Thank you.