Title 3. SYNTAX - LESSON 1. SENTENCE STRUCTURE.docx ✅

A. LESSON 1: SENTENCE STRUCTURE I – CONSTITUENTS: 1. Structure: anything can be defined as “a structure” if - It is divisible into parts (constituents) - There are different kinds of categories of constituents - The constituents are arranged in a certain way (hierarchial structure) - Each constituent has a specific function. 2. Constituents: the parts divided from larger structures, represented by tree diagrams or phrase markers 3. Sentence structure: Sentence (S) OLD SAM SUNBATHED BESIDE A STREAM → This diagram does not show the hierarchial structure (relation) except the words appearing in the sentence and the order those words appear. Sentence (S) OLD SAM // SUNBATHED BESIDE A STREAM SUNBATHED // BESIDE A STREAM BESIDE // A STREAM ⇒ A sentence CONTAINs words & CONSISTs OF phrases 4. Phrases: 4.1. Definition: - A sequence of words that can be constituents in the sentence structure. - They function as immediate constituents of the sentence structure.
- Obligatory phrases & optional phrases. 4.2. Tests of phrases/constituents (How to identify a phrase in a sentence structure) 4.2.1. The omission test for constituents - Definition: If a string of words can be omitted from a sentence leaving another good sentence ⇒ that string is a phrase functioning as a constituent in the structure of the sentence. Nam smiled happily (grammatical) ⇒ Nam smiled (grammatical) → “Happily” is a constituent of that sentence. *Notes: Not all phrases are omissible. 4.2.2. The single-word test (replacement test) for constituents - Definition: If a string of words in a sentence can be replaced with a SINGLE WORD without changing the overall structure of the sentence, that string functions as a constituent of the sentence (a phrase) The old man smiled happily (grammatical) ⇒ He smiled (grammatical) → “The old man” is a constituent because it can be replaced by the pronoun “He” 4.2.3. The question-answer test for constituents - Definition: If a string of words in a sentence is the answer for “WH” questions (questions starting with the question words such as “What”, “Who”, “Where”, etc.), that string functions as a constituent of the sentence (a phrase) The old man smiled happily Question: Who smiled happily? ⇒ Answer: The old man → “The old man” is a constituent because it is the answer for the question “Who smiled happily?” 4.2.4. The movement test for constituents - Definition: If a string of words in a sentence can be possibly movable within a sentence, that string can function as a constituent of the sentence (a phrase) The old man smiled happily (grammatical) ⇒ Happily, the old man smiled (grammatical) → “Happily” is a constituent of that sentence because it can be moved to the beginning of the sentence.

Draw the basic phrase markers for the following phrases or sentences, take the preceding diagrams into careful consideration. a. People from the rural area b. No knowledge of semantics c. She opened the door suddenly. d. I bought a new pencil. II – FUNCTIONS: 1. Subject and predicate: Sentences are usually divided into two smaller parts E.g.1 Ducks paddle E.g.2. The ducks are paddling away ⇒ Two smaller parts of [1] are of the same categories, the same syntactic functions as [2] ⇒ Subject~Predicate division. - The question-answer test can be applied to sentences for identifying subject by turning a sentence into a question that can be answered by “YES” or “NO” E.g.3. Ducks are paddling + Question: ∙ Are ducks paddling? ⇒ Answer: Yes. ⇒ “Ducks” are the SUBJECT Subject (mention sth) Noun phrase (NP) Predicate (say sth about the subject) Verb phrase (VP) Sentence (S) Nam // smiled happily