Unit 5: SyntaxSyntax IntroductionStudy of the ability to effortlessly take words and combine them into meaningful sentences.Includes rule-governed ways in which words are combined to form larger constituents such as phrases and sentencesIncludes limited set of rules necessary for producing sentences in languagesIncludes the rules we use to combine phrasal and sentential constituents to derive a potentially unlimited number of new sentences.The red balloon flew over the tall skyscraper and landed over the big trees by the riverside beforepopping with a loud “bang.”The knowledge you unconsciously used for the above includes:Lexical categories in language (Noun, verb, adjective, etc)The phrasal categories in a language ( Noun phrase, verb phrase, etc.)Ways to combine phrasal categories to form sentencesLexical CategoriesFree morphemes, words, are stores in the mental lexicon. These words include info on thepart of speech Lexical Category that the word belongs to.Four Major Lexical Categories (most words fall into these)NounsVerbsAdjectivesAdverbsOpen Word ClassesLexical categories where new words can be freely added Noun, Verb, Adjective, AdverbCalled Content words – refer to concepts in the real worldMinor Lexical CategoriesConjunctions (and, but)Pronouns (I, you, he, she, it)Articles (the, that, a, an)Prepositions (on, at, before, above)Closed Word ClassesWord classes less likely to have additionsConjunctions, Pronouns, Articles, PrepositionsCalled function words – perform the important function of relating one word to anotherIdentifying Lexical Categories: Meaning is MisleadingGrammar ClassesRecognize & identify nouns, verbs, adjectives, & adverbs based on Meaning.Linguists & PhilosophersDemonstrate that some NOUNS are NOT identifiable by meaningExamples:AsiaJonathanBookUniversityRainEarthquakeHurricaneBeautyTruthRunEasy to identify proper nouns (Asia, Jonathan)Concrete objects, like BOOK, is also a nameUniversity (not a name of one specific place or building)Natural Occurrences are words of events, but are still nounsRain, Earthquake, Hurricane, etcAbstract qualities are nounsBeauty, truthActivities that are nounsRunLinguists identify nouns using criteriaMorphological frame in which a word can occurSyntactic frame in which the word can occurActual use of the word in a sentenceIdentifying Lexical Categories: Morphological and Syntactic FramesDetermine the lexical category Fits expected morphological frame Fits expected syntactic frameNounsPerson, place, thing, idea, eventMorphological FrameTry to pluralize it (book -> books)Not always sufficient (honesty can’t be pluralized and is a noun)Syntactic FrameIf words can follow after a, an, her, their, etcVerbsAction, state, occuranceMorphological FrameTry to add the past tense morpheme –ed (kick -> kicked)Try to add a progressive morpheme –ing (kick -> kicking)Syntactic FrameCan occur after an auxiliary or helping verb like can or will (can kick, will kick)Can occur in frame “Please ___.” (Please kick.)AdjectivesDescriptors & modifiers that attach to nounsMorphological FrameWhen 1 or 2 syllables, inflect with comparative –er or superlative –est (bluer, bluest)Bi-syllabic exception, 3 or more syllables, use more or most (more/most intelligent)Syntactic FrameCan occur in frame “very ___ noun.” (Very sweet apple.)AdverbsModifiers & qualifiers for verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, and phrasesMorphological FrameMost adverbs work if you add –ly (slowly, harshly, sweetly)Syntactic FrameCan occur within “verb very ___.” (ran very slowly, ran very fast)Words that can be in more than one categoryWords can fit into multiple categoriesDon’t determine lexical category in isolationTake into consideration the sentence and how the word is usedLine A: NounsLine B: VerbsLine A: AdjectivesLine B: Adverbs**Morphological frame is insufficient in distinguishing lexical categories.**Accurate determination of lexical category includes consideringMorphological FrameSyntactic FrameUse of the word in the sentencePrepositional PhraseConsist of prepositions (on, in, at, before, above, across, of, with, etc…) and a noun phrasePrecede nouns and pronouns and show relation to other