Slide 1What do we call these groups of words within a sentence?Syntactic constituentsTests for constituencyTests for constituencyExample: “Happy linguists make a diagram”Constituents and TreesConstituents and TreesConstituents and TreesConstituents and TreesConstituents and TreesWhat are PSRs?What are PSRs?What do constituents & people have in common?HeadednessHeadednessHeadednessHeadednessExpanding PhrasesExpanding PhrasesRecursionBack to tree formationsSlide 23Slide 24Slide 25Q: mention two of the syntactic constituents we mentioned in class last time.For each constituent, make an example in a sentence.What do we call these groups of words within a sentence?SYNTACTIC CONSTITUENTS:syntactic units that function as a part of a larger unit (like a phrase or sentence)SYNTACTIC CONSTITUENTS:syntactic units that function as a part of a larger unit (like a phrase or sentence)19Syntactic constituentsA few important types of constituents:• Noun Phrases (NPs)• Verb Phrases (VPs)• Prepositional Phrases (PPs)20Tests for constituency1. SUBSTITUTION: Can it be replaced as a unit without changing the meaning of the sentence?2. MOVEMENT: Can it be moved as a unit without changing the meaning of the sentence? 3. COORDINATION: Can you use a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or) to join it with a similar unit?4. INDEPENDENCE: Can it stand alone as an answer to a question? 1Warning:Sometimes one or two of these tests won’t work, so you might need to try all of them to see if one works!Tests for constituency2Example: “Happy linguists make a diagram” Let’s take the NP “happy linguists”1. SUBSTITUTION: Can it be replaced as a unit without changing the meaning of the sentence?2. MOVEMENT: Can it be moved as a unit without changing the meaning of the sentence? 3. COORDINATION: Can you use a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or) to join it with a similar unit?4. INDEPENDENCE: Can it stand alone as an answer to a question? 1Constituents and TreesNPNPc) blogs.logos.com3•Each constituent gets its own NODE on the syntactic tree.Constituents and Trees4Constituents:SNP VP What sentence could this be?Constituents and Trees5Constituents and Trees6Constituents and Trees7Phrase-Structure Rules (PSRs): formal statements that show the composition and structure of phrases and sentences•S→ NP VP“Sentence consists of a Noun Phrase followed by a Verb Phrase.”What are PSRs?8Phrase-Structure Rules (PSRs): formal statements that show the composition and structure of phrases and sentences•S→ NP VP•NP→ Det. N•VP → V NPWhat are PSRs?9What do constituents & people have in common?•What do all of these NPs have in common?•That’s the main element of the phrase—aka the HEAD of the phrase. 10•Aside from the head, the other elements may be optional. •Parentheses mean an element is optional.NP → (Det) (A) N (PP) Headedness11•So every constituent has a head. •Find the heads of the constituents (NP, VP, PP) in this sentence:The boy with the chocolate moustache smiled happily.Headedness12•Find the heads of the constituents (NP, VP, PP) in this sentence:The boy with the chocolate moustache smiled happily.Headedness13Now describe this picture with a sentence using only these PSRs:S -> NP VPNP -> NVP -> VHeadedness14Expanding Phrases•Notice that we can keep making a phrase more and more complex by adding elements within elements.–NP -> N–NP -> Det A N–NP -> Det A N PP–PP -> P NP15•What do we call the property of language that allows us to repeatedly expand phrases? Expanding PhrasesRecursionThis ability is (argued to be) a fundamental property of the syntax of human language.16Context: Colleen invites friends to breakfast…Recursion17Back to tree formations•The boy likes a girlboythegirlaDetNP VPVSPhrase-structuretreenonterminalsymbols= constituentsterminal symbols = wordsNPDetlikesPractice drawing trees(if you see a constituent that we did not mention, try to come up with one!) 1) The man2) The man fell slowly3) The cat is falling slowly 4) A nice idea for a gift5) The pig laughed at the Latin data.6) That pigeon on the bench ate the doughnuts.7) I shot an elephant in my pajamas8) I shot an elephant in my