Syntax Flashcards
1
Q
Universal Grammar
A
hypothesized system of categories, operations + principles shared by all languages
2
Q
Lexicon
A
mental dictionary provide list of words along with info on pronunciation, category + meaning
3
Q
Computational system
A
combining + arranging words in right way
4
Q
Merge
A
combines elements to create phrases + sentence
5
Q
Move
A
transports element to a new position within the sentence
6
Q
Syntactic categories
A
Type of meaning, affixes they take, structures they can occur
7
Q
Categories of Words
A
- Noun, verb, adjective, preposition, adverb=lexical categories
- Functional categories: determiner (det), auxiliary verb (aux): modal/non modal, conjunction (con), degree word (deg), harder to define + paraphrase
- Some items can belong to more than 1 lexical category (comb)
8
Q
Degree Word
A
too, so, very, more, quite
specifier of A or P
9
Q
Aux
A
modal: will, would, can, could, may, must, should
non modal: be, have, do
10
Q
Conjuntion
A
and, or, but
11
Q
Qualifier
A
specifier of V
never, perhaps, often, always
12
Q
Distribution
A
- Type of elements (functional categories) with which can co-occur
- Nouns can appear with determiner (a car), verb with auxiliary (has gone), adjectives with degree (very rich)
13
Q
Phrase Structure
A
- The doctor arrived quickly/those students ride bicycles
- The doctor/those students=subject
- Arrived quickly/ride bicycles=predicate
14
Q
transitive vs. intransitive
A
transitive: takes direct object (devour)
intransitive: no direct object (arrive)
15
Q
The Blueprint
A
Head to complement to specifier
- All phrases have 2 level structure (X, X’, XP)
- All phrases contain a head (X)
- If there is a complement, it is attached at intermediate X’ level, as sister of head
- If there is a specifier, attached to XP level
16
Q
Heads
A
•obligatory nucleus (nous, verbs, adjectives + preposition), may form phrase by itself
17
Q
Specifiers
A
- determiner for N, qualifier for V, degree for A/P
- mark phrase boundary, occur at beginning in English
- make meaning more precise
18
Q
Complements
A
- provide info about entities + locations implied by meaning of head
- in=head [the house]=complement naming location
- possible to have phrases with just head + compliment=bottom heavy structures
19
Q
Merge Operation
A
- combine words in manner compatible with X’ schema
* det (the) + N’ (house) = NP (the house) + preposition (in) = P’ + PP (in the house)
20
Q
Sentences
A
- largest unit of syntactic analysis
- subject (NP) + VP linked together by I/Infl that indicates tense
- +Pst must contain verb marked for past tense
- IP consists of a subject and a predicate, and of inflectional material that constitutes the ‘glue’ that holds the subject and predicate together
21
Q
Constituent
A
syntactic units
22
Q
Substitution test
A
phrases can be replaced by they, it/do so
•The children stopped at the corner if they see us do so
•The children stopped at the corner + we stopped there too
23
Q
Movement Test
A
can be moved as single unit
They stopped at the corner= at the corner, they stopped
24
Q
Coordination Test
A
if it can be joined to another group by a conjunction (and, or, but)
•The children stopped at the corner, but didn’t look both ways
25
Coordinate structures
patterns built around a conjunction
26
Complement Options
* Info about complements included in entry in lexicon
| * Subcategorization: info about word’s complement options
27
Complement Options for Verbs
* Word can belong to more than 1 subcategory
| * Some heads can take more than 1 complement the librarian put [NP the book] [PP on the shelf]
28
Complement Options for Other Categories
* Subcategorization ensures particular heads can appear in tree structures only if there is an appropriate type of complement
* Sick with cafeteria food/sick of cafeteria food
29
Complement Clauses
* Allow sentence-like constructions/clauses to function as complements
* Complement clause: smaller [that/whether/if the team will win]
* No limit on # of embedded clauses that can occur in a sentence
30
Matrix clause
bigger [the coach knows [that/whether/if the team will win]]
31
Complement clause
smaller [that/whether/if the team will win]
32
Yes-No Questions
* Move transports auxiliary verb in the I position to left of subject
* The guy should go-should the guy go?
* There is only 1 type of auxiliary verbs, those left of subject just undergoes extra process of move
33
A Landing Site for I
* IPs occur within larger CPs
* CP: shell that forms outer layer structure around an IP, can contain overt complementizer (that/whether)
* C position contains info about whether sentence is statement/question (+Q)
34
Inversion
move I to C
| -Does not apply if nowhere for moved auxiliary verb to land, only one word can be in C position
35
Inversion
* Move does not change categories/eliminate any part of structure created by Merge
* Trace: marked by t, records fact that moved element comes from head position within IP
36
Deep Structure
formed by Merge operation
37
Surface Structure
second level, final syntactic form, results from applying whatever other operations are appropriate for sentence
38
Derivation
process whereby syntactic structure is formed
| entire ‘journey’ from the Lexicon through Merge/Project to D-structure, through Move to S-structure
39
Do Insertion
into sentences that don’t already have an auxiliary verb, making effects of inversion visible
interrogative do into empty I position
40
Wh Movement
* Attracted to Q feature which triggers second Move operation
* Languages can jerry speak which-which languages can Jerry speak
41
Wh Movement
Move a wh phrase to the specifier position under CP
•Cannot eliminate any part of previously formed structure
•Wh phrase remain as trace
42
Verb Raising
* Move V to I (French)
* Paul travaille toujours
* French can form question by moving auxiliary leftward + allows inversion of non auxiliary Vs
43
Verb Raising in English
* To have/be
* The children should have waited
* Modal auxiliary verb moves to the C position: [CP should [IP the children t have waited]
44
Verb Raising in English
* Non-modal auxiliary can undergo Inversion when no modal auxiliary
* The dog is sleeping-is the dog sleeping?
* auxiliary must have to the I position then it can undergo inversion
* Verb raising: a) any type of verb raises in French b) only auxiliary verbs raise in English
45
Modifiers
* Words + phrases that denote properties of heads
* APs modifiers of Ns, AdvPs modify Vs
* Attach at the XP level of phrase structure as sisters of X’
* Adj on left of head, adv. On right
* Modifier after head will normally occur to right of complement
46
Relative Clauses
provides info about N to its left
•The car [CP which Leslie bought_] was a lemon
•can begin with wh word/which (relative pronoun)
47
Relative Clauses
* empty position within sentence from which wh has been moved
* attached at XP level, +Rel feature in C position indicates
* Wh movement rule triggered buy +Rel
48
Wh Deletion
* Must delete wh word when relative clause contains wh + that
* Can even delete when that isn’t present
* Can’t delete if wh word corresponds to subject of relative clause
49
Passives
* A thief stole the painting (active)
* The painting was stolen (by the thief).
* Involve major reduction in importance of agent
* NP Movement: Move NP into subject position
50
Coordinate Structure Constraint
Wh-words cannot be extracted from a coordinate structure.
51
competence vs. performance
internal knowledge of grammar is referred to as our competence
use of it is performance
52
Pied Piping
Some pied-piping is optional, e.g. whether a preposition moves along with a wh complement or not
53
Wh-island Constraint
cannot extract a wh-word from an embedded sentence that has a wh word in its specifier of CP
54
by-phrase
agent
| hangs off of V’
