Introduction to Linguistics

Written to fulfill an Introduction to Linguistics assigment

Lecturer :

Miftah Nur Jannah, M.Pd.

Class : TBI-3A
Group 2

1. Citra Cahya Khaeista (204220017)

2. Dian Ayu Rahma (204220022)
3. Edi Kurniawan (204220024)

ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF TARBIYAH AND TEACHER TRAINING
STATE ISLAMIC INSTITUT OF PONOROGO
SEPTEMBER 2023
 PREFACE

We are grateful to the presence of Allah SWT who has bestowed His mercy,
blessings and favours so that our group was able to complete this paper well. Sholawat
and salam always be given to the Prophet Muhammad SAW who has guided us from
darkness to brightness. The purpose of writing this paper is to fulfil an Introduction to
Linguistics class assignment entitled morphology.
On this occasion, allow us to express our sincere thanks to Mrs. Miftah Nur
Jannah, M.Pd. as an Introduction to Linguistics lecturer who have helped and provided
motivation in completing this paper.
This paper has been prepared based on relevant references so that it can be
received as well as possible and can be useful for its readers. We realize that there are still
many shortcomings, therefore we will be happy to develop and improve criticism and
suggestions from our readers in the future.

Ponorogo, 16rd Oktober 2023

Group 2
 Tabel of Contents

PREFACE......................................................................................................................... 2

Tabel of Contents ............................................................................................................. 3

CHAPTER I...................................................................................................................... 4

A. Background ............................................................................................................ 4

B. Problem Formulations ........................................................................................... 4

C. Objectives .............................................................................................................. 5

CHAPTER II .................................................................................................................... 6

A. Syntax Definition................................................................................................... 6

B. Syntax Categories .................................................................................................. 7

A. Part of Speech .................................................................................................... 7

B. Phrase Class ..................................................................................................... 14

C. Clauses ............................................................................................................. 20

D. Sentence ........................................................................................................... 22

C. Sentence Structure Rules ..................................................................................... 25

CHAPTER III ................................................................................................................. 30

A. Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 30

BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................................... 31
 CHAPTER I
OPENING

A. Background

Syntax is the study of the rules that govern the ways in which words
combine to form phrases, clauses, and sentences. To study syntax is to study
the patterns and relationship of words, phrases and clauses. Syntax attempts
to uncover the underlying principles, or rules for constructing well-formed
sentences. Syntax considers both the form of sentence elements (noun
phrase) and their function (subject of the clause). In spoken language the
definition of word becomes very tricky. The part of linguistics that deals
with how words are put together into sentences is called syntax. Generally
this works (syntax) in the following way the learners study what the
linguistic system produces (grammatical sentences which have certain
meaning) and try to guess what it is that must be going on in the speakers’
head to enable them to do this.
Through this paper, we will delve deeper into syntax within the
linguistic context. We will discuss fundamental concepts in syntax, major
theories that have evolved over time, and how syntax influences our
understanding of language in various cultural and communicative contexts.
This paper aims to provide a comprehensive view of the vital role syntax
plays in linguistic science and how an understanding of syntax helps us
better comprehend the complex and dynamic phenomena of language

B. Problem Formulations

1. What is syntax ?
2. What are syntactic categories?
3. How is structure rules of syntax?

4
C. Objectives

1. To understand the definition of syntax

2. To understand syntax categories.
3. To understand how is structure rules of syntax

5
 CHAPTER II
DISCUSSION

A. Syntax Definition

1. Definition

Syntax is the grammatical structure of a sentence. Syntax is

the study of how words and morphemes join to produce longer units,
such as phrases and sentences, known as syntax (/sntaeks/ SIN-taks).
Word order, grammatical relationships, hierarchical sentence
structure (constituency), agreement, the nature of cross-linguistic
variation, and the relationship between form and meaning
(semantics) are some of the primary issues of syntax. There are
many different approaches to syntax, each with a unique set of
underlying premises and objectives.1
The study of syntax aims to comprehend how sentences are
constructed and how grammar is developed in various languages.
Syntax is frequently intuitive to a language's native speakers, but it
can be challenging to explain in words. Because the syntax of all
languages is extremely complicated, linguists must carefully
examine speech in order to understand the laws that govern speech.
The relationships between several words in a phrase are typically
shown in branching tree-like diagrams used to explain syntax in
linguistics. For students who are seeking to develop their literacy
and writing skills, knowing how to construct grammatically sound
sentences in English is crucial because it can help them write more
accurately and confidently.2

1 Luuk, Erkki (2015). "Syntax–Semantics Interface". In Wright, James D. (ed.). International Encyclopedia
of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (2nd ed.). Amsterdam: Elsevier. pp. 900–905.
2 Embick, David, et al. "A syntactic specialization for Broca's area." Proceedings of the National Academy of

Sciences 97.11 (2000): 6150-6154.

6
 The most basic feature of language and linguistics is syntax,
which is concerned with how words and phrases are arranged in
sentences to transmit meaning and improve communication. The
rules and guidelines that control how words and grammatical
components are integrated to create whole sentences are referred to
as syntax. It is essential in determining a language's sentence
structure, word order, grammatical relationships, and constituency.
Along with semantics and phonology, syntax is one of the
fundamental elements in the study of linguistics. Linguists can better
grasp how sentences are put together and how word order affects
meaning by using syntax. It also sheds light on how different
languages differ in terms of sentence construction and their
grammatical characteristics.

B. Syntax Categories

Syntactic category refers to a set of words and/or phrases in a

language that share a significant number of common characteristics
based on similar structure and sameness of distribution, and not on
meaning. Word classes, largely corresponding to traditional parts of
speech (e.g., noun, verb, preposition, etc.), are syntactic categories.
In phrase structure grammars, the phrasal categories (e.g., noun
phrase, verb phrase, prepositional phrase, etc.) are also syntactic
categories.

A. Part of Speech

Part of speech is basic elements that are called words. A

part of speech also known as a word class or grammatical
category, is a linguistic classification that categorizes words in
language based on their grammatical and syntactical functions

7
and roles within sentences. As a building is made by bricks;
language is made by words. A word is a speech sound or a
combination of sound having a particular meaning for an idea,
object or thought and has a spoken or written form.
There are eight parts of speech in the English grammar:
a. Noun
A noun is a word used for a place, person, or thing. Everthing
which has a name and we talk about it is a noun. Some
examples of noun are written below:
▪ People: Ali, boy, singer
▪ Animals: Cat, rabbit, elephant
▪ Places: City, park, street
▪ Objects: Pencil, book, phone
▪ Actions: Writing, listening, running
1. Types of Noun
There are many of noun depending upon some
aspects, namely:
a) Concrete Noun
Concrete nouns are the this which we can
see or touch physically. For example: book,
table, pen.
b) Abstract Noun
Abstract nouns are things you cannot see or
touch. Abstracts nouns do not have physical
existence. For example: love, time, beauty,
sadness, happiness.
c) Compound Noun
Compound nouns are made up of more than
one word. For example: ice cream,
sunglasess, mother-in-law.
d) Countable Noun

8
 A countable noun is a noun that can be
counted in numbers. For example: book, cat,
flower, person.
e) Uncountable Noun
A uncountable noun is a noun that cannot be
counted. For example: water, air, rice, sugar.

b. Pronoun
Pronoun is defined as a word that replaces a noun in a
sentence. Pronouns are categorized into many types, namely:
a) Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns use to replace for a name of
person. There are two kinds of personal pronoun:
Subjective pronoun (I, we, you, he she, it, and they).
For example: “I love watching TV”. Objective
pronouns (me, us, him, her, and them). For example:
“She gave him a present on his birthday.”
b) Possessive Pronouns
Possessive pronouns are the pronouns that
show ownership and possession in a
sentence. There are two kinds of possessive
pronoun: Strong possessive pronoun (his,
hers, its, theirs, yours, and ours). For
example: “I said that pen was mine.” The
weak possessive pronouns (your, my, her,
his, its, their, our). “I said that’s my pen.”
c) Demonstrative Pronouns
Demonstrative pronoun are the nouns that
take place of a noun that’s already been
mentioned in a sentence. Demonstrative

9
 pronoun are (these, those, such, this, that).
For example: “This car is very expensive.”
d) Indefinite Pronouns
Indefinite pronouns refer to particular thing
or person. We used them when an object does
not need to be specifically identified. There
are two types of indefinite pronouns:
Singular indefinite pronoun (everyone,
everybody, everything, anybody, another,
each, anything, either, other, one, neither, and
much). Plural indefinite (many, several, few,
others, and both).
e) Interrogative Pronouns
Interrogative pronouns are used to ask
questions. Interrogative pronouns are
(whose, what, whom, which, and who). For
example: “what is your name?”
f) Relative Pronouns
A relative pronoun is a pronoun that relates
the relative clause to another clause within a
sentence. Relative pronoun are (whom, who,
that, which, where, when). For example: “she
does not know which pack of pencil you
want.” That sentence is a relative clause, and
the relative pronoun ‘which” has linked it to
the main clause.
c. Verb
A verb is a word that describes an action or state of
something. There are types of verbs, namely:
a) Linking verb

10
 Linking verb is a verb that connect the
subject of a sentence to a noun or adjective.
They do not describe an action, but rather a
state of being. Linking verb that used are: (is,
am, are, was, were). For example: “she is
beautiful.”
b) Transitive Verbs
The verb in a sentence that has a direct object
is known as transitive verb. Direct object is
the thing that being acted upon by the verb.
For example “the batsman hit the ball hard.”
The example we can see that the verb “hit”
has a direct object “ball”.
c) Intransitive Verbs
Intransitive verb is the verb in sentence that
does not have a direct object. Intransitive
verbs describe actions that are complete
within themselves. They do not need a direct
object to complete their meaning. For
example: “the dog run down the street”
d) Reflexive Verb
A reflexive verb is a verb that takes a
reflexive pronoun as its direct object. A
reflexive pronoun is a pronoun that refers
back to the subject of the verb. Reflexive
verbs are used to describe actions that are
performed on oneself. For example: “the cat
cleans it self”, “she stays hom herself.”
e) Auxiliary Verbs
Auxiliary verbs, also known as helping verbs,
are verbs that are used with other verbs to

11
 form tenses, moods, and voices. They are not
used on their own, but rather in combination
with a main verb. Auxiliary verb are (do, be ,
have, will, would, shall, should, can, could,
may, might, must). For example: “I could go
to a park, but I should stay at home and study.
“
d. Adverb
An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective or
another adverb. It provides us with further information about
a verb, adjective, or another adverb. There are many different
kinds of adverbs, namely:
a) Adverbs of Manner
Adverb of manner describe how something is
done. For example: “The dog ran quickly
down the street.”
b) Adverbs of Time
Adverb of time describe when something
happens. For example: “We will go to the
movies tomorrow.”
c) Adverbs of Place
Adverb of place describe where something
happens. For example: “The cat is inside the
box.”
d) Adverbs of Frequency
Adverbs of frequency describe how often
something happens. For example: “She
always tell the truth.”3

3
Ahmad Imtiaz. English Grammar Part of Speech. (Ghazi University Dera Ghazi Khan, 2022).
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359843201_Parts_of_Speech_in_English_Grammar

12
e. Adjective

An adjective is defined a word which gives information about a

noun, pronoun, or a noun phrase. It gives additional information
about a noun or pronoun. It shows the quality, kind, or degree of a
noun. Look at the examples below.
▪ Boby gave me eight apples
▪ The mouse is little.
In the first example, the word eight is telling about the quantity of
apples. It is giving additional information about the apples, hence
is an adjective.
In the second example, the word little is telling us about the quality
of the mouse, that it is little, so it is an adjective too.
f. Preposition
Preposition are the words that put before nouns or pronouns.
There is nine preposition according to Eugene Ehrlich (at,
by, for, from, in, of, on, to, and with). For example: “I went
to the store bought some milk.” “I was very happy with my
grade.”
g. Conjucntion
Conjunction is a word that connect words, phrase, or clauses.
Conjunctions can be used to create simple or complex
sentences. There are three main types of conjunctions:
Coordinating conjunctions: Connect words, phrases, or
clauses of equal importance. The most common coordinating
conjunctions are for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.
Subordinating conjunctions: Introduce a subordinate
clause, which is a clause that cannot stand on its own as a
complete sentence. Some common subordinating
conjunctions are because, since, although, unless, even
though, after, before, until, while, and if.

13
 h. Interjections
An interjection is a word or phrase that expresses emotion or
feeling. Interjections are often used to express surprise,
excitement, joy, sadness, anger, or pain. They can also be
used to express commands, greetings, or farewells. For
example: “Good morning! It’s great to see you.” “ Yeahh!
We won!4

B. Phrase Class

1. Syntax Categories

Syntactic category refers to a set of words and/or

phrases in a language that share a significant number of
common characteristics based on similar structure and
sameness of distribution, and not on meaning. Word
classes, largely corresponding to traditional parts of speech
(e.g., noun, verb, preposition, etc.), are syntactic categories.
In phrase structure grammars, the phrasal categories (e.g.,
noun phrase, verb phrase, prepositional phrase, etc.) are
also syntactic categories. 5

A. Noun Phrase (NP)

A noun phrase is a group of words that function

together as a noun in a sentence. It typically includes a
noun and any associated determiners, adjectives, and
sometimes other elements like prepositional phrases that
modify or describe that noun. 6 Noun phrases can function
as subjects, objects, or complements within sentences and
play a crucial role in conveying information and
specifying the entities or objects being discussed. Noun
phrases can be quite simple or quite complex, depending
on the number and type of modifiers and additional
information included in the phrase. They are a
fundamental building block of sentences and help provide

4
: Shannon Mitchell, Leanne Baugh, Julie Kelly. Part of Speech. (British Columbia, 2007)
https://www.openschool.bc.ca/pdfs/wotr/Parts%20of%20Speech.pdf
5 “Glossary Of Linguistics Terms.” https://glossary.sil.org/term/syntactic-category. Diakses pada 8 Okt 2023
6 Stageberg, An Introductory, 185.

14
 context and detail to the objects or concepts being
discussed. A Noun phrase can be used as the subject of a
sentence as in (a); as direct object as in (b); as indirect
object as in (c); and many other ways as well:

➢ Most students enjoy bakso.

➢ He likes most students
➢ The Dean gave most students their books this
morning.7

A noun phrase is a grammatical structure in

language that consists of a noun and words that modify or
describe that noun. It typically includes the noun itself and
any associated determiners (such as articles like "a," "an,"
or "the"), adjectives, and sometimes other elements like
prepositional phrases. Noun phrases function as subjects,
objects, or complements within sentences and play a
crucial role in conveying information and specifying the
entities or objects being discussed. 8 Here are some
examples of noun phrases:

• The red car: In this noun phrase, "car" is the

noun, and "the" and "red" are the determiner
and adjective, respectively.

• A beautiful flower: In this noun phrase,

"flower" is the noun, and "a" and "beautiful" are
the determiner and adjective, respectively.

• My sister's cat: In this noun phrase, "cat" is the

noun, and "my sister's" is a possessive phrase
modifying the noun.

Noun phrases can be simple, consisting of just a noun and

a determiner, or more complex, including multiple
adjectives, prepositional phrases, or other modifiers. They
are essential for providing context and specificity in
language, allowing us to describe and refer to objects,
people, and concepts in a more precise and meaningful
way.

B. Verb Phrase (VP)

7Erlinda, Rita. "Linguistics for English language teaching: Sounds, words, and sentences." (2010), 136.
8Shkelqim Millaku, "The Noun Phrases," ANGLISTICUM. Journal of the Association-Institute for English
Language and American Studies 2, no. 6 (2016): 38-47.

15
 a group of words including a verb and its
complements, objects, or other modifiers that functions
syntactically as a verb. In English a verb phrase combines
with a noun or noun phrase acting as subject to form a
simple sentence. A verb phrase is a set of words that
represent themselves as verbs. A verb phrase consists of an
auxiliary, or helping, verb and a main verb.

The helping verb always precedes the main verb. A

helping verb includes forms of be, such as am, is, are, was,
were, being, and been; forms of have, such as has and had;
forms of do, such as does and did; forms of can, such as
could, will, would, and shall; and forms of should, such as
may, might, and must. Here's an example of a verb phrase
with a helping verb and a main verb9:

• Sentence: "She is singing a song."

• Verb phrase: "is singing"
• Helping verb: "is" (a form of be)
• Main verb: "singing"

In this example, the helping verb "is" preceding the main

verb "singing," which carries the main action of the
sentence.

• Sentence: “I always work hard to achieve my

goals.”
• Verb Phrase: “work hard”
• Adjective: “hard”
• Main verb: “work”

In this example, the main verb is “work” and adverb “hard”

modified the verb.

C. Adjective Phrase

An adjective phrase is a set of words that represent

themselves as adjectives. Adjective phrase is a group of
words that functions as an adjective in a sentence. It

9 ABDULLAH, ABDULLAH. "ENGLISH SYNTAX." (2023), 34.

16
 typically consists of an adjective along with any modifiers
or complements that provide more information about the
noun it is describing.10 Adjective phrases serve to add
detail, description, or qualification to nouns. Here are some
examples of adjective phrases:

1) The bright red car sped down the highway.

- In this sentence, "bright red" is an adjective phrase
that describes the noun "car."

2) She bought a dress made of silk.

"Made of silk" is an adjective phrase describing the
noun "dress."

3) The tall and elegant skyscraper dominated the

skyline.
- Here, "tall and elegant" is an adjective phrase
modifying the noun "skyscraper."

4) Very tall
- “Tall" is the main adjective "very" is the adverb that
the adjective "lovely" is describing.

In each of these examples, the adjective phrases provide

additional information about the nouns in the sentences,
making them more descriptive.

D. Adverb Phrase

Adverb phrase consists of one or more words. The

adverb is the head of the phrase and can appear alone or
it can be modified by other words. Adverbs are one of the
four major word classes, along with nouns, verbs and
adjectives.
In the examples the adverb phrases are in bold. The
other words that modify the adverb are underlined:
• Sentence: “The artist coloured the picture really
carefully.”
• Adverb Phrase: “really carefully”
• Adverb: “really”
• Main Adverb: “carefully”

10
Ibid, 36.

17
 the adverb "carefully" is modified by the adverb
"really,"

• Adverb phrases: types and meanings

An adverb phrase can consist of one adverb or an
adverb plus other word before it (premodification) or
after it (post modification). Adverb phrases have many
different meanings.

In the examples the adverb phrases are in bold. The

other words that modify the adverb are underlined.

Example Type Used to give

information about
We walked manner How something
very carefully happens
across the
floor.
Here is where place Where something
I was born. happens
That’s it.
Right there.
Dad got home time When something
very late. happens
This pill will duration How long something
take away the happens
pain
temporarily.
They almost frequency How often something
never invite happens
people to their
house these
days.
A: Want some focusing Something spesific
sugar in your
coffee?

B: Only half a
spoon, please.
That dog degree How much or to what
behaves degree something
incredibly happens
stupidly!
Unfortunately evaluative The speaker’s
for me, I can’t perspective or
speak Italian. reaction

18
 E. Preposition Phrase

Prepositional phrase is a group of words that consists of

a preposition, its object (which will be a noun or a pronoun),
and any words that modify the object. Prepositional phrase
is a group of words that begins with a preposition and
usually includes a noun or pronoun, which is called the
object of the preposition. Prepositional phrases serve to
provide more information about the relationship between
nouns, pronouns, or other elements within a sentence. The
preposition indicates the relationship between the object
of the preposition and the rest of the sentence. 11
Prepositional phrases always consist of a preposition (e.g.,
to, from, with, for, at, on, under, about, through) plus a noun
phrase:
• from Brazil
• with John and Bill
• for nothing

A prepositional phrase can be a constituent of a wide

range of expressions:
• go to the movie (verb phrase)
• a student from Brazil (noun phrase)
• angry with John and Bill (adjective phrase)
• separately from others (adverbial phrase)

Here are some examples of prepositional phrases:

1. In the morning, I like to go for a jogging.

- "In the morning" is a prepositional phrase functioning as
an adverbial phrase, indicating when the action of jogging
occurs.

2. The keys are on the kitchen counter.

- "On the kitchen counter" is a prepositional phrase
serving as an adjective phrase, describing the location of
the keys.

3. She drove to work with great enthusiasm.

- "With great enthusiasm" is a prepositional phrase acting
as an adverbial phrase, providing more information about
how she drove.

11 Ibid, 39.

19
 C. Clauses

Clauses are groups of words containing subjects and

predicates. The subject can be what and or who, whereas the
predicate is something inherent in the subject.12 The subject can
be a person, animal, or object abstract concept, while the
predicate can be a verb or auxiliary. The clauses are divided into
two, namely independent clause (can stand alone and not rely on
the other) and the dependent clause (depends on other,
involuntary).

1. Independent Clauses

An independent clauses is a clause that can stand

alone as a sentence. An independent clause is a group of
words that contains a subject and a predicate and
expresses a complete thought. It can stand alone as a
sentence. Independent clauses can be joined by using a
semicolon or by using a comma followed by a
coordinating conjunction (and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet,
etc.).

Examples of independent clauses include:

"I have enough money to buy an ice cream cone"

"My favorite flavor is chocolate"

"Let's go to the shop"

Multiple independent clauses can be combined to form

compound sentences. It is important to note that every complete
sentence must include at least one independent clause. There are
basically two ways to join independent clauses: Add a coordinating

12
Abdul Muis Ba’dulu, and Herman, Morfosintaksis (Jakarta: Rineka Cipta, 2010), 55.

20
 conjunction or use a colon or semicolon. Colon ( : ) and semicolons
( ; ) are both punctuation marks that can connect independent
clauses.

A colon is used to introduce something described at the

beginning of a sentence. Usually a colon introduces a list of nouns,
but it can also introduce a new independent clause. Think of the
colon as a punctuation mark meaning what follows, which is/are, or
thus.13 If use a semicolon, the two clauses must be closely related,
so closely related that the reader can easily understand why they are
connected by a semicolon.

Example :

“We have a new employee here : Our new staff is Jesica

Kumala Wongso”

“Mirna doesn’t really like coffee ; she has chronic stomach

acid”

2. Dependent Clauses

A dependent clause is a group of words that contains

a subject and a verb but does not express a complete
thought. It cannot stand alone as a sentence and needs to be
joined with an independent clause to form a complete
sentence. Dependent clauses can be marked by a dependent
marker word, such as "because," "when," "if," or a
subordinating conjunction, such as "although," "since,"
"while," etc. There are three types of dependent clauses:
adverb clauses, adjective clauses, and noun clauses. Adverb

13
"Independent and Dependent Clauses: Rules and Examples”
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/independent-and-dependent-clauses/. Diakses pada 8 Okt. 2023

21
 clauses modify verbs, adjective clauses modify nouns, and
noun clauses act as a noun.

Examples of dependent clauses include

"I’m going on holiday when I finish my work"

" I can’t focus on studying because I’am tired"

D. Sentence

Sentence is a combination of words put together to convey

an idea, a fact , a question, a thought, a request or a command.14
Parts of sentences the basic division of the sentence is in terms
of ;

1. Subject – A noun, noun phrase or pronoun that

performs the action mentioned in the sentence. This
mainly happens at the beginning of sentences.
2. Predicate – The rest of the sentence. It starts with a
verb.

Example : Dita called me yesterday

Subject : Dita

Predicate : Called me yesterday

The components of a sentence are the building

blocks that make up a complete thought. The main
components of a sentence are the subject, the verb, the
object and the complement.

1. The subject is the person, place, or thing that the sentence

is about.

14
“ Sentence- Meaning, Definition , Types and Examples.” https://byjus.com/english/sentence/.
Diakses pada 8 Okt. 2023

22
2. The verb is the action or state of being that the subject is
doing or experiencing.
3. The object is the receiver of the action.
4. The complement is the word or group of words that
completes the meaning of the subject and verb. Other
components of a sentence include the object, indirect
object, and modifier. The object is the noun or pronoun that
receives the action of the verb. The indirect object is the
noun or pronoun that receives the direct object. The
modifier is a word or group of words that describes or adds
more detail to another word in the sentence.

There are four types of sentences in English:

declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory.
Each type of sentence serves a different purpose and can be
used to convey different emotions or ideas.

1. Declarative sentences: These sentences make a statement or

provide information. They are the most common type of
sentence and end with a period. Examples; "The boy walked
home", "I love honey”.
2. Interrogative sentences: These sentences ask a question and
end with a question mark Examples include "Why does the
sun shine?" and "Do you like ice cream?
3. Imperative sentences: These sentences give a command or
make a request and end with a period or an exclamation
point. Examples include "Stop" and "Please close the door."
4. Exclamatory sentences: These sentences express strong
emotion and end with an exclamation point. Examples
include "What a beautiful day!" and "I can't believe it!"

23
 In addition to these four types of sentences, there are
also different sentence structures, such as simple,
compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences.

1. A simple sentence is a sentence that consists of only one

independent clause. It contains a subject and a predicate and
expresses a complete thought. A simple sentence can have
modifiers, compound subjects, and compound verbs, but it
contains only one independent clause.

Examples of simple sentences include:

"I am happy"

"She sings beautifully"

Simple sentences are important in writing because they can

help convey ideas clearly and concisely.

2. A compound sentence is a sentence that consists of at least

two independent clauses that are joined together by a
coordinating conjunction, such as "and," "but," "or," "nor,"
"for," "yet," or "so," or by a semicolon. The independent
clauses in a compound sentence are typically related to each
other and can stand alone as separate sentences. Compound
sentences are useful for combining related ideas and giving
writing a faster pace.

Examples of compound sentences include:

"I went to the store, and I bought some milk"

"She is studying for her exam, but he is watching TV"

3. A complex sentence is a sentence that contains one independent

clause and at least one dependent clause. The independent
clause can stand alone as a sentence, but the dependent clause

24
 cannot. Dependent clauses are introduced by subordinating
conjunctions, such as "because," "although," "when," or "if,"
and they modify the independent clause by providing additional
information. Complex sentences are useful for adding detail and
complexity to writing and can help convey more sophisticated
ideas.

Examples of complex sentences include :

"Although I was tired, I went to the gym"

"When the sun sets, the stars come out,"

4. A compound-complex sentence is a sentence that contains at

least two independent clauses and one or more dependent
clauses. It is a combination of a compound sentence and a
complex sentence. The independent clauses in a compound-
complex sentence are typically related to each other and can
stand alone as separate sentences, while the dependent clauses
modify the independent clauses by providing additional
information. Compound-complex sentences are useful for
combining related ideas and adding complexity to writing.

Examples of compound-complex sentences include:

"Although I was tired, I went to the gym, and I

worked out for an hour"

"She went to the store, but she forgot her wallet, so

she had to go back home"

C. Sentence Structure Rules

Sentence structure rules divide sentences into component

parts. These components are often represented as a tree structure

25
 (dendrogram). A component is any word or combination of
words dominated by a single node. Kridalalaksana has stated
that constituents are part of a construction.15
Based on its distribution in construction, constituencies can be
divided into three, such as: Direct electoral district is one of two
or more the constituencies that directly form the works; one
divided constituency is a single factor that appears among other
factors; and the final component is the result components at the
final stage of the composition process analysis.16

Example :

Jane bought a necklace blue.

There isn’t anything wrong with the words in this sentence, just
the order they are in.

First let’s figure out what kind of phrase a necklace blue is.

a is a determiner. necklace is a noun. blue is an adjective. This is

then a noun phrase Let’s use the abbreviation NP

What then, is the proper word order for a noun phrase?

Whereas a NNS may not know this, a native speaker would

understand that the adjective comes before the noun, and that the
determiner comes before any adjectives. Properly stated, the
phrase would be: a blue necklace.

So, we might come up with a rule like this: NP → a blue necklace

But, of course, that’s only for this sentence alone. We can make it

15
Kridalaksana, Linguistic Dictionary, 132
16
Ba’dulu etc., Morfosintaksis, 46.

26
a rule for all noun phrases by using the syntactic categories of the
words instead of the words themselves.

We get something like this:

NP → Det A N

If you try it out, you will find that this rule works for other noun
phrases.

First let’s figure out what kind of phrase a necklace blue is.

a is a determiner. necklace is a noun. blue is an adjective. This

is then a noun phrase Let’s use the abbreviation NP

What then, is the proper word order for a noun phrase?

Whereas a NNS may not know this, a native speaker would

understand that the adjective comes before the noun, and that
the determiner comes before any adjectives. Properly stated,
the phrase would be: a blue necklace.

So, we might come up with a rule like this: NP → a blue

necklace But, of course, that’s only for this sentence alone. We
can make it a rule for all noun phrases by using the syntactic
categories of the words instead of the words themselves.

We get something like this:

NP → Det A N

If you try it out, you will find that this rule works for other noun
phrases.
Rules that a language uses for combining words, and like we
have been trying to make just now, are called Phrase Structure
Rules, or PSRs for short PSRs are general rules that cover all
possible phrases of a certain type.
The verb phrase consists of the verb and the object with all
it's modifiers. We have already determined that the object, as

27
a whole, is a noun phrase. So, a generic rule for a verb phrase
can be written as:

VP → V NP
Example of other sentences. (structured with tree diagrams)
The nurse fed fed = V, the baby =
the baby. NP so VP → V NP
The professor
killed = V, Mr. Body =
killed Mr.
NP so VP → V NP
Body.
The nurse slept = V, but there is no
slept. object. Now what?
Remember that some verbs are transitive and some are
intransitive?
Now we need to show that Verb Phrases need a verb, but don’t
always need an object.
That is done with this form of PSR.

VP → V (NP)

The parentheses show that an object is a possible, but not

required, constituent. We call it an optional constituent.
Individual words can place some constraints on the
constituents of a phrase. PSRs must cover these various
requirements; PSRs must be able to cover both the required
and the optional constituents.
Phrase structure rules show how to combine words together
into phrases, and we can show the rules for combining phrases
into sentences using the same method.

A sentence would be represented as:

S → NP VP
Once the phrase structure rules are figured out, we can test
them by analyzing sentences to see if real sentences follow
the rules we’ve written.

We can analyze sentence structure the same way we analyzed

word structureby using Labeled Bracketing; with the same
lousy results.

28
 Or we can use tree diagrams. These are done very much like
the diagrams for word formation.
• S - Sentence
• NP - Noun Phrase
• VP - Verb Phrase
• Det - Determiner
• N - Noun
• V - Verb
• PP - Prepositional Phrase
• P - Preposition
• A - Adjective
• Adv - Adverb
• Deg - Adverb of Degree
• Pro - Pronoun
• Aux - Auxiliary Verb
• M – Modal

29
 CHAPTER III
CLOSING

A. Conclusion

Syntax is the grammatical structure of a sentence.

Syntax is the study of how words and morphemes join to
produce longer units, such as phrases and sentences, known
as syntax (/sntaeks/ SIN-taks). Word order, grammatical
relationships, hierarchical sentence structure (constituency),
agreement, the nature of cross-linguistic variation, and the
relationship between form and meaning (semantics) are
some of the primary issues of syntax. There are many
different approaches to syntax, each with a unique set of
underlying premises and objectives. The most basic feature
of language and linguistics is syntax, which is concerned
with how words and phrases are arranged in sentences to
transmit meaning and improve communication. The rules
and guidelines that control how words and grammatical
components are integrated to create whole sentences are
referred to as syntax. It is essential in determining a
language's sentence structure, word order, grammatical
relationships, and constituency

30
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Ba'dulu, A. M., & Herman. (2010). Morfosintaksis. 55.

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Glossary of Linguistcs Terms. (2). Retrieved October 8, 2023, from

https://glossary.sil.org/term/syntactic-category

Imtiaz, A. (2022). English Grammar Part of Speech. Retrieved from

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glish_Grammar

Independent and Dependent Clauses: Rules and Examples. (n.d.). Retrieved October 8,
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