File 5: Syntax

Question 1

Syntax

Answer 1

A component of mental grammar that deals with constructing phrasal expressions out of smaller expressions. Also a name for the sub-field of linguists that studies how expressions can combine to form larger expressions.

Question 2

Adjective

Answer 2

The name of a lexical category and a syntactic category. Morphologically, consists of words to which the comparative suffix -er or the suffix -ness can be added. Syntactically, the category consists of those expressions that can be noun adjuncts or occur in between a determiner and a noun.

Question 3

Adjunct

Answer 3

A linguistic expression whose occurrence in a sentence is optional; also called modifier.

Question 4

Adverb

Answer 4

The name of a lexical category and a syntactic category that consists of expressions such as quickly, well, furiously, etc. Syntactically, adverbs can be verb phrase adjuncts.

Question 5

Agreement

Answer 5

The phenomenon by which certain expressions in a sentence must be inflectionally marked for the same person, number, gender, etc.

Question 6

Ambiguity

Answer 6

The phenomenon by which a single linguistic form can be the form of more than one distinct linguistic expression. The form that is shared by more than one expression is said to be ambiguous.

Question 7

Complement

Answer 7

A non-subjective argument of some expression.

Question 8

Count Noun

Answer 8

In simple terms, a noun that can be counted and pluralized.

Question 9

Co-Occurrence

Answer 9

The set of syntactic properties that determines which expressions may or have to co-occur with some other expressions in a sentence.

Question 10

Determiner

Answer 10

The name of a lexical category and a syntactic category that consists of expressions such as the, a, this, etc. Syntactically, consists of those expressions that when combined with an expression of category noun to their right result in an expression of category noun phrase.

Question 11

Ditransitive Verb

Answer 11

The name of syntactic category that consists of those expressions that if combined with two expressions of category noun phrase to their right result in a verb phrase. A verb that needs two noun phrase complements.

Question 12

Grammatical

Answer 12

A term used to describe a sentence that is accordance with the descriptive grammatical rules of some language, especially syntactic rules. When some phrasal expression is constructed in accordance with the syntactic rules of a language, we say it is grammatical or syntactically well-formed.

Question 13

Grammatically Judgment

Answer 13

An instance of a native speaker of some language deciding whether some string of words corresponds to a syntactically well-formed or grammatical phrasal expression in their native language.

Question 14

Homophony

Answer 14

The phenomenon by which two or more distinct morphemes or nonphrasal linguistic expressions happen to have the same form, i.e., sound the same.

Question 15

Intransitive Verb

Answer 15

The name for the set of lexical expressions whose syntactic category is verb phrase.

Question 16

Lexical Ambiguity

Answer 16

The phenomenon where a single word is the form of two or more distinct linguistic expressions that differ in meaning or syntactic properties.

Question 17

Lexical Entry

Answer 17

A representation of a lexical expression and its linguistic properties within a descriptive grammar of some language. A collection of lexical entries constitutes the lexicon. A lexical entry has the form f -> X, where f is the form of some particular lexical expression, and X is its syntactic category.

Question 18

Lexical Expression

Answer 18

A linguistic expression that has to be listed in the mental lexicon, e.g., single-word expressions and idioms.

Question 19

Lexicon

Answer 19

A mental repository of linguistic information about words and other lexical expressions, including their form and meaning and their morphological and syntactic properties.

Question 20

Linguistic Expression

Answer 20

A piece of language with a form, a meaning, and syntactic properties.

Question 21

Mass Noun

Answer 21

A noun that cannot be counted and cannot normally be pluralized.

Question 22

Morphosyntax

Answer 22

The name for syntax and morphology considered jointly as a single component of grammar.

Question 23

Noun

Answer 23

The name of a lexical category and a syntactic category. Morhologically, consists of words to which the plural suffix -s or the suffix -like can be added. Syntactically, consists of expressions that can combine with determiners to their left the resulting expression being of category noun phrase.

Question 24

Noun Phrase

Answer 24

The name of syntactic category that consists of proper names, pronouns, and all other expressions with the same syntactic distribution.

Question 25

Object

Answer 25

A noun phrase that usually occurs immediately to the right of the verb in English. A noun phrase complement.

Question 26

Phrasal Expression

Answer 26

A linguistic expression that results from the syntactic combination of smaller expressions. A multi-word linguistic expression. A sentence is a special kind of phrasal expression.

Question 27

Phrase Structure Rule

Answer 27

A recipe for syntactically combining expressions of certain syntactic categories. Along with the lexicon, phrase structure rules are part of a descriptive grammar of some language. Phrase structure rules have the general form X -> Y1.....Yn where X is syntactic category and Y1 ..Yn is a sequence of syntactic categories. The categories to the right of the arrow Y1...Yn correspond to the immediate syntactic constituents of the expression whose category is X.

Question 28

Phrase Structure Tree

Answer 28

A visual representation of how phrases are constructed within a descriptive grammar, given the lexicon and the phrase structure rules.

Question 29

Preposition

Answer 29

The name of a lexical category and a syntactic category that consists of expressions such as of, in, for, with, etc. Syntactically, this category consists of those expressions that when combined with an expression of category noun phrase to their right result in an expression of category prepositional phrase.

Question 30

Prepositional Phrase

Answer 30

The name of a syntactic category that consists of those expressions that contain a preposition and a noun phrase. Can be verb phrases or noun adjuncts.

Question 31

Pro-form

Answer 31

A word that can replace a syntactic constituent.

Question 32

Sentence

Answer 32

A syntactic category that consists of all phrasal expressions that can grammatically occur in Sally thinks that ________.

Question 33

Sentential Complement Verb

Answer 33

The name of a syntactic category that consists of those expressions that if combined with a sentence to their right result in a verb phrase; a verb that needs a sentence as its complement.

Question 34

Structural Ambiguity

Answer 34

The phenomenon where a single string of words is the form of more than one district phrasal expression.

Question 35

Substitution

Answer 35

In syntax, a constituency test that involves replacing a constituent with a single word, such as pro-form.

Question 36

Syntactic Category

Answer 36

A group of expressions that have very similar syntactic properties. All expressions that belong to the same syntactic category have more or less the same syntactic distribution.

Question 37

Syntax

Answer 37

A component of mental grammar that deals with constructing phrasal expressions out of smaller expressions.

Question 38

Verb Phrase

Answer 38

The name of a syntactic category that consists of all expressions that, if combined with a noun phrase to their left, result in a sentence.

Question 39

Verb Phrase Adjunct

Answer 39

A kind of adjunct that combines with an expression of syntactic category verb phrase with the resulting expression also being of category verb phrase.

Question 40

Word Order

Answer 40

The linear order in which words can occur in some phrasal phrasal expression.