Syntax

Group 2
M1341003 許郁筠
M1341012 蘇亭之
M1341013 陳劭孟
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
5-1 Categories and structure

5-2 Complement options

5-3 Move

5-4 Universal Grammar and parametric variation

5-5 Some additional structures

 Words vs Sentences

The study of words

Morphology
(rule: combining morphemes)

��
The analysis of sentence structure
Syntax
(rule: ordering words in a sentence)
 Intro to Syntax
✦ Importance

● Syntax helps one understand how sentences

are formed and interpreted.

✦ Sentence acceptability?

● Sentences are grammatical if acceptable language

patterns are formed.

Grammatical vs Ungrammatical

❖ Definition

● A sentence is grammatical if native speakers

judge it to be possible in their language.

❖ Exercises:

1) Where are my dragons?

2) How do you like them apples?

 Recursion

● Definition: Reapplying operations to create infinitely complex

sentences.
○ Examples:
■ Simple: 'A book.'
■ Complex: 'A book on the table near the bookcase.'
 5-1
Categories and structure
Syntax Components
5.1.1 key elements

01. Words categories 02. Tree diagrams 03. Operations

❏ noun ❏ sentence structures ❏ merge

❏ verb
❏ adjective ❏ move
❏ adverb
❏ pronoun
❏ preposition
❏ conjunction
❏ interjection
❏ determiner
 However,……
➢ Some items belong to more than one categories.

Take “near” for example.

a) The child stood near the fence.

b) The runners neared the finish line.

c) The end is nearer than you might think.

 Determining Word Categories
➔ Criteria

01. Meaning: Does the word name an entity, action, attribute?

02. Inflection: Does the word accept suffixes like -ing?

03. Distribution: What elements can the word co-occur with?

Meaning: Roles of categories
Nouns Verbs
● definition ● definition
○ entities (i.e. people and objects) ○ actions, sensation, and states
● example ● example
○ Comb refers to an object when ○ Comb refers to an action when
used as a noun. used as a verb.

Adjectives Adverbs
● definition ● definition
○ properties or attributes of nouns ○ properties and attributes of actions,
● example sensations, or states
○ That tall building — the adjective tall ● example
attributes a property to building. ○ Janet left early — the adverb early
specifies the time of leaving.
Exceptions
- Complexity & Word Overlap
For example:
● Some nouns do not name entities directly.
○ e.g., difficulty, truth, likelihood
● Some nouns can express action-like meanings.
○ e.g., push in give someone a push
● Some words may blur category boundaries.
○ e.g., fond is an adjective, but like is a verb

- MEANING -
 Inflection

✿ But… Inflection doesn’t always provide the information

needed to determine a words category. (e.g., intelligenter; bravery)
 e
reliabl

Distribution
It’s possible to categorize unfamiliar words through distributional and inflectional clues.

Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe. excerpt from <Jabberwocky>
5.1.2 Phrase Structure: Larger units

🔎 Def: Sentences are hierarchical, not linear.

X-ba
tem r
Key Components plat
e

● Heads

● Specifiers

● Complements
 Heads

● Necessary nucleus of phrases

● N (nouns), V (verbs), A (adjectives), P (prepositions)

○ e.g., N–picture; V–arrive; A–certain; P–in

 Specifiers

🔎 Def: Optional modifiers at the phrase’s edge, with no single semantic functions
 Intro to Complements

● Definition: Complements are always phrases that provide information about

entities and locations implied by the head of a phrase.
○ Example 1: Protect implies "something that is protected" (protect the
environment).
○ Example 2: In implies "a location" (in the house).
○ Example 3: Map implies "an area that is depicted" (a map of Canada).
● Purpose: Complements add essential meaning to the head word and help
complete the phrase.
Abbreviated
Representations
● Simplified Trees for Head and Complement Only:
○ VP Example: eat candy
■ Head: eat, Complement: candy
○ AP Example: fond of candy
■ Head: fond, Complement: of candy
○ NP Example: maps of Canada
■ Head: maps, Complement: of Canada
Building Sentences: The TP structure

T (Tense) VP (Verb Phrase) NP (Noun Phrase)

The head of the TP The complement The specifier (subject of
the sentence)

● Modern syntax treats sentences as Tense Phrases (TPs).

● This analysis aligns sentences with the X' Schema, which gives all phrases
a uniform structure.
 Anatomy of a TP
● The structure of a TP
○ Specifier (Subject NP) → Head (T) → Complement (VP).
● Example:
○ “She found the book.”
■ Specifier: She
■ Head (Tense): +Pst (Past)
■ Complement: found the book
● The T-head dictates the tense of the verb.
Tense & Verb Agreement

● The tense feature in T determines the verb form.

○ +Pst (Past) requires a verb in past tense (e.g., found).
○ Non-past forms (e.g., find) are incompatible with past T.
● This ensures that every sentence is marked as past or non-past.

- TP -
Consistency with X' Schema
● X' Schema defines the structure of all phrases.
○ Specifier → Head → Complement
● Treating sentences as TPs
○ Ensures consistency with this structure
○ Simplifies the analysis of syntactic components
● Significance: more uniform and systematic syntax analysis

- TP -
 TP Structure with Modals
(condt)

● The tree structure for a sentence like "The hikers will find
the shortcut":
○ The T-head contains the modal auxiliary will.
○ The modal positions itself between the subject (specifier)
and the VP (complement).
● The T-head’s position is reserved for tense or modals in syntax.
● Explanation of Nodes:
○ NP (Specifier): "The hikers."
○ T (Head): "will."
○ VP (Complement): "find the shortcut."

- TP -
 Role of Modal Auxiliaries in TPs

● Modals (e.g., can, may, will, must) are treated as part of T in syntax.
● Characteristics:
○ Non-past tense inherently (e.g., "*He can work yesterday" is
ungrammatical).
○ Some modals (e.g., could, would) can express:
■ Past contexts: "He could swim when he was three."
■ Non-past contexts: "He could swim tomorrow."
● Unlike other verbs, modals don't need an explicit ±Pst feature in T.
 What is Merge?

MERGE is like building with Lego blocks:

● What it does: Combines words, morphemes (smallest units of meaning), and
features (like tense or question markers) into a tree structure.
● Example:
○ Start with words: The Leafs will win.
○ MERGE combines them into a grammatical structure:
■ The Leafs (subject) + will win (predicate).
Constituency vs Dependency
Aspect Constituency Grammar Dependency Grammar

Focus Phrases and hierarchical Word-to-word relationships

structure

Structure Syntax tree (phrases as Arrows showing dependencies

units)

Example The cat = Noun Phrase sat → cat (subject link)

Sentence

Applications Useful for analyzing Used in computational linguistics

sentence parts (e.g., NLP)
 Syntactic Tests - intro
Q. What is
constituen
cy?
roups of
A. It refers to g
ction as a
01) The substitution test words that fun
single unit in a
sentence.

02) The movement test

03) The coordination test

📋 To determine whether a string of words forms a syntactic unit

 The Substitution Test
● Definition
○ Evidence for syntactic units by replacing them with a single element like
they, do so, there, etc.
● Example 1: NP Substitution
○ "[NP The children] will [VP stop at the corner]. They always do so."
○ Analysis:
■ The children → they (NP is a syntactic unit).
■ stop at the corner → do so (VP is a syntactic unit).
● Example 2: PP Substitution
○ "The children stopped [PP at the corner] and we stopped there too."
○ Analysis:
■ at the corner → there (PP is a syntactic unit).
● Key Observation:
○ Non-constituents cannot be replaced (e.g., children stopped).
 The Movement Test

● Definition:
○ Evidence for syntactic units by moving them as a single unit within a
sentence.
● Example:
○ "They stopped [PP at the corner]." → "[PP At the corner], they stopped."
● Analysis:
○ at the corner can move to the front, showing it's a constituent.
● Non-Constituent Example:
○ "At the, they stopped corner" (ungrammatical as at the is not a syntactic
unit).
● Key Point:
○ Only constituents can be displaced without disrupting grammaticality.
 The Coordination Test
● Definition:
○ A group of words forms a constituent if it can be coordinated with
another constituent using conjunctions (and, or, but).
● Example:
○ "The children will [VP stop at the corner] and [VP look both ways]."
● Analysis:
○ Two VPs coordinated, showing stop at the corner is a VP constituent.
● Key Insight:
○ Coordination works only with constituents of the same type.
 Comparing Syntactic Tests

Strengths Weaknesses

limited to specific substitutable

Substitution quick to confirm constituents
word

requires sensitivity to
Movement versatile
grammatical word order

not always applicable to all

Coordination effective for parallel structure
sentence types
 5-2
Complement options
Examples of complement
(12) a. devour with an NP complement:
The child devoured [ NP the sandwich].
b. devour without an NP complement:
*The child devoured.

Subcategorization
Subcategorization is about the rules that determine what kinds of
words or phrases must come after a specific word.
Subcategorization examples

1. verb: eat
I eat [an apple].
subcategorization: optional noun phrase (NP)
2. verb: devour
I devour [the cake].
subcategorization: required noun phrase (NP)
3. verb: sleep
I sleep.
subcategorization: no complements allowed
5.2.1 Complement options for verbs
5.2.1 Complement options for verbs

When a verb’s complement options include an

transitive
NP, as in the case of devour, give, and buy.
Verbs that don’t have an NP complement, such
intransitive
as vanish, arrive, and dash.
 5.2.1 Complement options for verbs

(13) After getting home, they ate (a snack).

→ The verb eat belongs to these two subcategories, Ø and NP, in table 5.5.
The verb put requires both an NP complement and a PP complement.
(14) a. put with an NP complement and a PP complement:
The librarian put [ NP the book] [ PP on the shelf].
b. put without an NP complement:
*The librarian put [ PP on the shelf].
c. put without a PP complement:
*The librarian put [ NP the book].
5.2.2 Complement options for other categories
5.2.2 Complement options for other categories
5.2.2 Complement options for other categories
5.2.3 Complement clauses
Languages allow sentential phrases (or ‘clauses’) to function as
complements.
(16) [The fans hope [that the team won]].
complement clause

● Word that, whether, and if are known

as complementizers (Cs).
● CP = complementizer phrase

FIGURE 5.14 The internal structure of a CP

5.2.3 Complement clauses

When a CP occurs in a sentence such as (16),

it serves as complement of the verb hope.

FIGURE 5.15 The structure of a sentence with an

embedded CP
5.2.3 Complement clauses
Table 5.9 provides examples of some verbs that are often found with a CP
complement.
5-3
Move
5.3.1 Yes-no questions

● yes-no questions → the expected response is usually yes or no

(18) a. Should those guys leave?

b. Can we meet at the library?

● A defining feature of yes-no questions is that the auxiliary verb

occurs at the beginning of the sentence.
5.3.1 Yes-no questions

The formation of question structures requires the use of an operation

that we can call Move.
5.3.1 Yes-no questions
TPs occur within a larger CP ‘shell’, in which the C position carries
information about whether the sentence is a statement or a question.

+Q: a question
- Q: a statement

FIGURE 5.16 A TP inside a CP shell,

with the C carrying the +Q feature
5.3.1 Yes-no questions
In languages like English, where there is no such morpheme, the
feature must attract another element to its position.

FIGURE 5.17 The T moves to the C

position
5.3.1 Yes-no questions
Should retains its T label even though it is moved into the C position
(it changes its address, not its name).

FIGURE 5.17 The T moves to the C

position
5.3.1 Yes-no questions

The Move operation used for yes-no questions is often informally

called Inversion.
(21) Inversion
Move T to the C position.
5.3.1 Yes-no questions

Assuming that no more than one word can occur in a head position, we
predict that Inversion should not be able to apply in the embedded
clause since there is nowhere for the moved auxiliary verb to land.
5.3.1 Yes-no questions

The acceptability of Inversion improves quite dramatically when there

is no complementizer in the C position.
5.3.2 Wh questions

wh questions：the presence of a question word beginning with wh

(25) a. [ NP Which languages] can Jerry speak?
b. [ NP What] will they talk about?
5.3.2 Wh questions

(26) a. Jerry can speak [ NP which languages]

b. They will talk about [ NP what]

Wh Movement
5.3.2 Wh questions - A landing site for wh words
(28) Wh Movement
Move a wh phrase to the specifier position under CP.

a. which languages
functioning as complement of
speak

FIGURE 5.19 Steps for forming the

sentence “Which languages can Jerry
speak?”
5.3.2 Wh questions - A landing site for wh words
(28) Wh Movement
Move a wh phrase to the specifier position under CP.

b. Inversion: T moves to the C

position

FIGURE 5.19 Steps for forming the

sentence “Which languages can Jerry
speak?”
5.3.2 Wh questions - A landing site for wh words
(28) Wh Movement
Move a wh phrase to the specifier position under CP.

c. Wh Movement: the wh
phrase moves to the specifier
position in CP

FIGURE 5.19 Steps for forming the

sentence “Which languages can Jerry
speak?”
5.3.2 Wh questions - A landing site for wh words
Here’s a second example, “What will they talk about?”

a. The structure produced by

the Merge operation

FIGURE 5.20 Formation of the sentence

“What will they talk about?”
5.3.2 Wh questions - A landing site for wh words
Here’s a second example, “What will they talk about?”

b. Inversion and Wh Movement

FIGURE 5.20 Formation of the sentence

“What will they talk about?”
5.3.2 Wh questions - A landing site for wh words

the wh word as the complement of a verb

the wh word as the subject
or preposition
(26) a. Jerry can speak which languages.
(29) Who will walk the dog?
(26) b. They will talk about what.
5.3.2 Wh questions - A landing site for wh words
For the sake of generality, we assume that it subsequently moves to the
specifier position in CP, even though the actual order of the words in the
sentence does not change as a result of this movement.

FIGURE 5.21 Movement of a subject

wh phrase
5.3.3 Deep structure and surface structure
deep structure = D-structure Example:
surface structure = S-structure ● Deep structure: She will go.
● Move operation: Move will to the front.
● Surface structure: Will she go?

(transformational) generative grammar

FIGURE 5.22 Structure-building

operations
 5-4
Universal Grammar and
parametric variation
 Universal Grammar and parametric variation
● Universal Grammar:
1. Categories- noun, verb,....
2. Operations- Merge, Move Shared by all languages
3. Principles- general constraints
● Room for variation- languages can differ with certain parametrics(particular phenomenon)
● Ex. Head-initial(English)/ Head-final(Japanese)
● Ex. Wh- words Move(XP CP)
● Ex. Verb raising
 Example of head-final language
● Japanese (OV language) TP structure:
Ex. リンゴを食べる (ringo-o tabe-ru)
 Example of Wh- words Move
● English: Wh- words move from NP to the specifier position of CP (the sister of C’).
● Chinese: Wh- words stay in original position (not moving).
Ex. Chinese: Ni mai le shenme (what)?--- Wh- words don’t move.
Ex. English: What did you (t) buy_?--- Wh- words move to the specifier position in CP.
 5.4.1 Verb Raising
● Ex.1- grammatical process of English
1. Paul always works.〔adverb is the specifier(left) of VP〕
2. Paul works always.(X)
● Ex.2- grammatical process of French
1. Paul travaillé toujours.〔adverb(not a specifier of VP) follows verb〕
2. Paul toujours travaillé.(X)
(always) (works)
 Example of verb raising in French
● In French, tense feature (+-Pst) in T category (T’) will attract V to T position (under T).
Ex. Move V to T position:
 Verb Raising- Inversion
● Ex.1- inversion of auxiliary verb in English
1. Will you (t) stay for supper?〔move auxiliary verb(under T-t) to C position(sister of +Q)〕
● Ex.2- inversion of non-auxiliary verb in English
1. Stay you (t) for supper?(X)〔move non-auxiliary verb(t) to C position〕
● Ex.3- inversion of auxiliary and non-auxiliary verb in French(subject is a pronoun)
1. As-tu (t) essaye? 〔move auxiliary verb to C position〕
(have you) (tired)

2. Vois-tu (t) le livre?〔move non-auxiliary verb(t) to C position〕

(see you) (the book)
 Example of inversion in French
● Vois-tu le livre?(implement order)
1. The V raises to T.(tense feature will attract V to T position)
2. The T complex moves to C (sister of +Q).
 Example of verb raising in English
● Modal(under T) and non-modal(head of a VP complement) auxiliaries:
1. The students should(T) have(V) finished the project(VP complement).
2. The children could(T) be(V) playing in the yard(VP complement).
 Example of verb raising in English
● Only the modal auxiliary can undergo Inversion process ● In Inversion
process, the
1. (CP)Should (TP)the students (t) have finished the project?
priority of modal
(modal aux. moves to the C position) aux. is higher than
non-modal one in
2. (CP)Have (TP)the students should (t) finished the project?(X)
implement order.
(non-modal aux. moves to the C position)
● If there is no modal aux., the non-modal aux. can undergo Inversion process
1. (CP)Have (TP)the students (t) finished the project?
(non-modal aux. moves to the C position)
 Inversion process in English
● The implement order of Inversion in English
1. Verb raising- move auxiliary from V to T(sister of +-Pst).
2. Inversion- move T complex(involves V and tense feature) to C(sister of +Q).
Conclusion of verb raising parameter

1. Any type of verb raises to T position.(French)

2. Only auxiliary verbs raise to T position.(English)
 5-5
Some additional structures
5.5.1 Modifiers
● Denote properties of heads.
1. AP(adjective phrases) commonly serve as modifiers of Ns(noun).
2. AdvP(adverb phrases) commonly serve as modifiers of Vs(verb).
Ex. A (AP)good friend of the family.
Ex. Read the instructions (AdvP)very carefully.
3. The modifiers occur in an intermediate position.
The position of modifiers
1. Lower than the specifier(a).
2. Higher than the complement(PP & NP).
5.5.2 Relative clauses
● CPs can serve as modifiers- relative clause(the sister of N)
1. The friend (CP)who Leslie visited _ lives in Saskatchewan.
2. The choice (CP)which most people prefer_.
● Relative clause structures resemble wh- questions:
1. They can begin with a wh- word.(relative pronoun- who/which)
2. There is an empty position within the sentence.(wh- word has been moved)
Example of wh- movement in relative clause
1. The wh- word(direct object) stays in original position.(right after the transitive verb)
2. The wh- word moves to the specifier position within the CP.

● Specifier of CP is the sister of

C’.(space for landing wh- word)
● +Rel feature indicates the CP is a
relative clause.(the head of CP)
Example of wh- movement in relative clause
● Sue met some people (CP)who live in Alberta.
1. The wh- word stays in original position.(subject position- sister of T’)
2. The wh- word moves to the specifier position within the CP.

● Even though there is a wh- movement, the

actual order of the words in the sentence
doesn’t change.
 5.5.3 Passives
● Active sentence type (the subject denotes the agent of the action)
1. A thief (who does the action) stole the painting.
● Passive sentence type (the subject denotes the theme of the action)
1. The painting (who receives the action) was stolen (by a thief- original subject).
● Passive construction:
1. The subject (agent) of an active clause isn’t expressed in most of passive ones in English.
2. The direct object (theme) in active clause functions as subject in passive clause.
Example of passive sentence
● Deep structure of a passive sentence:
1. The aux. be is treated as a V (takes a VP complement).
2. Agent is not presented in this structure (subject position is empty)
3. There is a direct object (theme) that can move (NP movement) to subject
position (sister of T’).
Example of passive sentence- NP movement
1. The theme (NP) of the sentence stays in original position.(right after transitive verb)
2. Move NP into the specifier position (subject position) in TP.
 5.5.4 VP-internal subjects
1. Subject of active sentence also originate inside the VP (specifier position).
2. It moves to the TP (specifier position).(NP movement)
 VP-internal subjects: there is/are sentences
● The subject position (specifier position of TP/sister of T’) is occupied by “there” and force
the subject (children) to remain in its original position (the specifier position of the VP).
1. (TP)There are (VP)children playing in the yard.
Example of VP-internal subjects in Welsh
● The verbs come before the subject.(verb raising of Welsh)
1. This can be formed if subjects originate inside VP.
2. Leave the subject where it is but raise the verb to the T position.
Ex. Gwelodd Sion ddraig.
Ex. John saw a dragon.
Example of VP-internal subjects in Welsh
1. The verb (head of VP) and the subject NP (specifier of VP) in their original position.
2. The verb raises to T (sister of tense feature) while the subject NP stay put.
 Example of VP-internal subjects in Welsh
● The verbs should have to stay inside the VP in cases where the T position is already filled.
1. T position is occupied by the auxiliary verb.(no space for verb raising)
2. The main verb stays inside the VP.(the head position of VP)
Ex. Gwneath (occupied T position) Sion (main subject) gwelodd (main verb) ddraig.
Did John saw dragon.
Conclusion of VP-internal subjects
● The subjects are no longer just specifier of TP.
● The deep structure could be reconsidered.
● The instructor will decide whether the way of drawing tree structures should be revised.
● The VP-internal subjects analysis should be considered for now.
Thank you for listening.