MA English Syntax Terms 3
MA English Syntax Terms 3
MA English Syntax Terms 3
Topics/terminology #3
PLUS:
word order, inversion (Subject-Auxiliary Inversion - SAI, Subject-Verb Inversion, negative inversion,
conditional inversion, inversion with ellipsis), SVO language, configurational/non-configurational
language, constituent analysis, tree diagrams (phrase structure trees), (labelled) bracketing, (syntactic)
categories vs. (grammatical) functions (= sentence elements), word-level categories (word classes),
phrasal/phrase-level categories, NP/VP/AP/AdvP/PP, clause, sentence, simple sentence, complex
sentence, subordination, coordination, main/matrix clause, subordinate clause (subclause),
complement vs. adjunct, operator, lexical content (open-class) words, grammatical function (closed-
class) words, nouns (common vs. proper, count vs. non-count), VP-adverbs vs. S-adverbs, modal vs.
non-modal (aspectual) auxiliaries (PERF have, PROG be, PASS be – aspects and voice), do: dummy
operator, main verbs (=full/lexical) (transitive (mono-, di-, complex-), intransitive, copular; stative vs.
dynamic), multi-word verbs (phrasal vs. prepositional vs. phrasal-prepositional), finite vs. non-finite
forms, types of pronoun: personal/reflexive/possessive (central pronouns); reciprocal; relative;
interrogative; demonstrative; indefinite (positive (universal, assertive, nonassertive), negative), case
(nominative, accusative), gender (masculine, feminine, neuter (nonpersonal)), determiners (pre-,
central, post-)
tense, aspect, voice, main/matrix clause, subordinate(d) clause (subclause), verb forms: finite vs. non-
finite (finite = inflected/tensed), subordinating conj. (= complementizer): finite/non-finite;
interrogative/non-interrog. (that, whether, if, for), empty subject (PRO), formal (finite/non-finite;
interrogative/non-interrog.) and functional (content (nominal, adverbial), relative, comparative)
divisions of clauses, relative clauses (restrictive/defining, supplementary (non-restrictive/non-defining,
sentential), headed/proper vs. headless/fused, wh-/that-/zero relative), preposing, postposing, subject-
verb inversion, subject-operator inversion, (short) passive, existential, extraposition, cleft, pseudo-
cleft, (left) dislocation, raising, long wh-movement, active causative, passive causative, dummy
subjects (it and there)
Sample questions
2. Explain why sentences like There are two books on the shelf are problematic wrt the identification
of the subject.
3. Compare She laughed at the clown and She laughed at 10 o’clock. How is the status of the PP
different in the two cases? How is this related to what Huddleston calls the licensing condition?
4. Compare the perfect and passive constructions. What do they have in common?
5. Compare the imperative, infinitival and subjunctive constructions. What do they have in common?
6. Compare the meaning and the grammar of the word hair in He pulled out a white hair and He has
white hair.
7. Discuss the grammatical status/behaviour of jury in The jury haven’t yet reached a decision.
9. What does SAI stand for? Give an example. List at least three grammatical constructions when SAI
is used.
10. What do nonsense texts like Jabberwocky illustrate about syntactic structure and morphosyntactic
categories?
11. Compare the syntactic behaviour of have ’possess’ in typically BrE and typically AmE structures
like the following.
12. Describe the auxiliary verb system of English (types, major characteristics, examples).
13. What is the operator? Which element is it in the clause? What functions does it have?
14. What kind of dummy (= expletive/pleonastic) elements are there in English? Under what
circumstances do they appear in sentence structure?
15. Compare the syntactic category and behaviour of be in the following examples. What are the
differences? What is constant?
16. Specify the syntactic category of the italicised nonsense word in the following sentences. Explain
your choice.
18. Use the following words to make a well-formed sentence. Explain the order of the determiners.
20. Assuming that the following sentences are ill-formed (and hence can be used only for humorous
effect, for example), say why they are ill-formed.
21. Consider the multi-word verb look after. Is it a phrasal verb or a prepositional verb? Support your
choice with arguments from its syntactic behaviour.
22. Form a future perfect progressive passive construction with the verb do. Specify the subcategories
of the verbal elements in it. What tense is it in? Which elements are aspectual? Which element
determines the voice of the construction?
23. Which type(s) of relative clauses does Huddleston refer to as supplementary? Why?
24. Specify the subcategory of the underlined words on the basis of the following sentences.
a. *I’ve got two news for you: a good one and a bad one
b. The police are blocking off the street where the accident occurred
c. *He told that he was hungry
d. *Doctors treat ill people with medication
e. *He asked that could we meet on Friday (* = ill-formed/ungrammatical)
25. Form as many cleft and pseudo-cleft sentences as you can from I read the daily paper in the toilet
every morning.
26. Identify the constructions in the following examples. In some cases several constructions are
combined.
27. Find the subclauses in the following sentences and determine their formal and functional
characteristics.
28. Find the subclauses in the following sentences and indicate whether they are interrogative (INT),
finite (FIN), have a non-overt subject (PRO). Then, specify their function. The first one has been
done for you.
29. Give an example for a NP which contains a headed non-finite relative clause. Discuss the status of
the subject in the relative clause.
30. Compare what the interrogative pronoun and what the relative pronoun. How is the use of the
latter restricted?