AN INTRODUCTION TO

SYNTAX

By
Anmol Arzoo
 ORIGIN OF SYNTAX
The word syntax has been derived from Greek
word  suntaxis, where
 sun mean- ‘together’
 tassein mean ‘arrange’.
Sun+tassein =arrange together
 DEFINITION OF SYNTAX
 In linguistics,"syntax" refers to the rules that
govern the ways in which words combine to
form phrases, clauses, and sentences. The term is
also used to mean the study of the syntactic
properties of a language.
 Syntax is the arrangement of words and phrases in
a sentence.
CONSTITUENT OF A SENTENCE

constituent definition:
Constituents in grammar define the structural
pieces of a sentence, phrase, or clause.
Every sentence (and every phrase and clause) has
constituents. That is to say, every sentence is made
up of parts of other things that work together to
make the sentence meaningful.
 SENTENCE STRUCTURE
 Sentences often start with a subject, followed by a predicate
(or just a verb in the simplest sentences) and contain an
object or a complement (or both), which shows, for example,
what's being acted upon. Take the sentence “Hannan slowly
ran the race in wild, multicolored flip-flops." The sentence
follows a subject-verb-object pattern (“Hannan ran the
race"). Adverbs and adjectives take their places in front of
what they're modifying ("slowly ran"; "wild, multicolored
flip-flops"). The object ("the race") follows the verb "ran",
and the prepositional phrase ("in wild, multicolored flip-
flops") starts with the preposition "in".
TYPES OF SENTENCE
STRUCTURES
Types of sentences and their syntax modes
include;
 simple sentences,
 compound sentences,
 complex sentences,
 compound-complex sentences.
 TYPES OF SENTENCES
 Simple sentence: Subject-verb
structure
("The girl ran.")
 Compound sentence: Subject-verb-object-
conjunction-subject-verb
structure
("The girl ran the marathon, and her cousin did,
too.")
 COMPLEX SENTENCE:
 A sentencethat include dependent clauses
Dependent clause-subject-verb-object structure:
"Although they were tired after the marathon, the
cousins decided to go to a celebration at the park."
 COMPOUND-COMPLEX
SENTENCE:
compound-complex sentences have both types
included. compound+complex
Four clauses, dependent and independent
structures
"Although they weren't fond of crowds, this was
different, they decided, because of the common
goal that had brought everyone together."
 NOUN PHRASE
 A noun phrase consists of a noun and all its modifiers.
 Here are examples:

 The bewildered tourist was lost.

 The lost puppy was a wet and stinky dog.

 The flu clinic had seen many cases of infectious disease.

 It was a story as old as time.

 The sports car drove the long and winding road.

 VERB PHRASE
 A verb phrase consists of a verb and all its
modifiers.
 Here are examples:
 He was waiting for the rain to stop.
 She was upset when it didn't boil.
 You have been sleeping for a long time.
 You might enjoy a massage.
 He was eager to eat dinner.
 GERUND PHRASES

 A gerund phrase is simply a noun phrase that starts

with a gerund.
 Examples include:
 Taking my dog for a walk is fun.
 Walking in the rain can be difficult.
 Strolling along a beach at sunset is romantic.
 Getting a promotion is exciting.
 Signing autographs takes time.