Terms and Syntax

Question 1

modal auxiliaries

Answer 1

will
would
can
could
may
might
shall
should
must

Question 2

modality

Answer 2

how language is communicated on a physical plane

Question 3

morphology

Answer 3

the theoretical knowledge of the combination of meaningful pieces inside words.
EX: how the “s” end at in “cookies” is pronounced “zzz”.

Question 4

phonetics

Answer 4

the practical production of sound based on the understanding of morphology.
EX: a second language speaker understanding what the english “th” sounds like, but struggling to actually produce it.

Question 5

phonology

Answer 5

understanding how the physical units of language can be combined and how they change in different contexts.

Focuses on patterns and structures of the sounds.
EX: Phonemes, allophones, syllables, stress and intonation.

Question 6

syntax

Answer 6

knowing how words can or can’t be combined to make phrases and sentences.

While phonology looks at the patterns of sounds, syntax looks at the building blocks of words and sentences.

Question 7

semantics

Answer 7

The interpretation of meaning from the structure created by syntax.

Question 8

pragmatics

Answer 8

the interpretations of meaning from the social context and social expectations

Question 9

morpheme

Answer 9

The smallest unit of language that carries meaning as a systematic pairing of form, function, and meaning.

Question 10

what is the difference between a free and a bound morpheme?

Answer 10

A free morpheme can stand on its own, while a bound morpheme must be attached to other morphemes to form a word.
EX: Free morpheme - “cat”
Bound morpheme - affixes of all kinds

Question 11

what is the difference between morphologically simple and complex words?

Answer 11

Morphologically simple words have one morpheme, while complex words have more than one.

Question 12

affix

Answer 12

A type of morpheme that attaches to a word to modify it or add meaning

Question 13

what are the 5 types of affixes?

Answer 13

1. Prefix
2. Suffix
3. Circumfix
4. Infix
5. Simultaneous affix

Question 14

Where do the following affixes go in relation to the base of the word?
- prefix
- suffix
- circumfix
- infix
- simultaneous affix

Answer 14

Prefix: before the base
suffix: after the base
circumfix: around the base
infix: inside the base
simulateous affix: at the same time as the base (sign language)

Question 15

Base

Answer 15

The part of the word the affix attaches to.

Question 16

Root

Answer 16

The smallest possible base (often called the core of the word)

Question 17

Internal Change

Answer 17

Changing a part of the word in a seemingly irregular patter.
EX: Goose …. Geese / write …. wrote

Question 18

suppletion

Answer 18

A pattern that entirely replaces the form of a morpheme.
EX: go …. went

Question 19

Reduplication

Answer 19

Repeating part or all of a word as part of a morphological pattern

Question 20

Derivational Morphology

Answer 20

Morphology that changes the category or meaning of its base.
EX: Suffixes and Prefixes

Question 21

Inflectional Morphology

Answer 21

Expresses grammatical information but NEVER changes the category of the word

Question 22

Gives examples of English inflectional morphology

Answer 22

Nouns:
- number (singular vs plural)
- person (1st, 2nd, 3rd)
- case (only on pronouns)

Verbs:
- Agreement
- Tense

Adjectives:
- Comparative (-er)
- Superlative (-est)

Question 23

What is the role of the head?

Answer 23

The head of a phrase or compound determines the category of the phrase or word

Question 24

What is an endocentric compound

Answer 24

A compound that has a head

Question 25

What is an exocentric compound

Answer 25

A compound that has a "category head"

Question 26

What is a category head when talking about compounds?

Answer 26

A category head is a word in a compound that determines the category, but it does not describe the compound. EX: "sabretooth" - category head is "tooth", which makes the category a noun. - a sabretooth is a type of tiger, and "tooth" does not describe a tiger, but it does share a category with one.

Question 27

Dvanda

Answer 27

Compounds that are co-headed. EX: Secretary-treasurer / blue-green

Question 28

Intransitive verb

Answer 28

No complements No objects

Question 29

Transitive verb

Answer 29

Has one complement Has a direct object

Question 30

Ditransitive verb

Answer 30

Has two complements Has a direst object AND an indirect object

Question 31

Finite clause

Answer 31

Have two characteristics: 1. Have a verb that shows tense 2. Can stand alone as a main clause

Question 32

Nonfinite clause

Answer 32

Has two characteristics: 1. Does not show tense (verbs in the infinitive form) 2. Cannot stand alone as a main clause

Question 33

Phrase

Answer 33

A set of words that act together as a unit

Question 34

What are the 4 constituency tests?

Answer 34

1. Replacement test 2. Movement tests 3. Cleft test 4. Answers to questions test

Question 35

Explain how the replacement test works

Answer 35

Testing a constituency by seeing if it can be replaced by one word. NPs: Replaced with pronouns, like "it" or "they" VPs: Replaced with "do" or "do too" PPs: Replaced with "then" or "there" (this test works the least with prepositional phrases) APs: Replaced with other adjectives

Question 36

Explain how the movement test works

Answer 36

Some constituents can be moved to somewhere else in the sentence without changing the sentence's meaning or its grammaticality. Typically moved to the front of the sentence.

Question 37

Explain how the cleft test works

Answer 37

In a cleft test, the possible constituent and the rest of the sentence are divided from each other using "it is/was ___ that ___". EX: "The students saw A MOVIE AFTER CLASS" It was "a movie" that "the students saw after class" It was "after class" that "the students saw a movie" - both "a movie" and "after class" are constituents.

Question 38

Explain how the answer questions test works

Answer 38

It's usually grammatical for a constituent to stand alone as the answer to a question. EX: Rathna's brother baked "these delicious cookies" Q: What did Rathna's brother bake? A: These delicious cookies.

Question 39

What are the most commonly used complementizers in English and what type of embedded clause do they each introduce?

Answer 39

Declarative: "that" and "∅" Interrogative: "if" and "whether" Nonfinite: "for" and "∅"

Question 40

Explain Subject-Auxiliary inversion

Answer 40

Subject auxiliary inversion is when the first auxiliary in the main clause moves to BEFORE the subject to change the clause from a declarative to an interrogative. EX: [ the information [ that was shared ] will surprise them] becomes... Will [ the information [ that was shared ] _ surprise them?

Question 41

What is the difference between a main clause question and an embedded question?

Answer 41

A main clause question is when there is an exclamation mark at the end of the sentence, while an embedded question is introduced by a complementizer and does NOT have a question mark.

Question 42

What is a content question?

Answer 42

A content question asks about part of a sentence and requires a more complex answer than "yes" or "no".

Question 43

What are the content question words?

Answer 43

who what where when why which how

Question 44

Explain the process of building a linguistic tree

Answer 44

1. Label the category of each word 2. Identify the constituents 3. Identify if the verb is intransitive, transitive, or ditransitive 4. Identify the complements and adjuncts 5. Build the trees of each constituent first, then figure out how they work together 6. When building, attach complements to heads first, then adjuncts, then specifiers.