1) The document discusses the subject matter of English syntax, which are the set of rules that speakers follow when combining words into sentences. 2) Evidence for these rules comes from acceptability judgements based on what speakers have previously heard and the innate principles that guide these judgements. 3) Discovering the rules involves understanding the nature of invisible patterns that determine things like whether a noun is countable or uncountable.

1. UNIVERSIDADE LUTERANA DO BRASIL
OUTLINE
CHAPTER 1
THE FIELD OF ENGLISH SYNTAX
Airan Abdalla Costa
July 10th, 2010

2. The Subject Matter of English Syntax
 Syntax
What is the syntax of a language?
Set of rules that speakers of the language follow when they combine words into
sentences.
o Natural way: each language has its pattern.
 Evidence for rules of syntax
o Martha lives in the house that John sold to her. (English native thought)
o Martha John her to sold house in lives. (Japanese native thought in their
language: Japanese – translating word by word)
Acceptability judgements ◄ Rules
 We cannot watch some wrong sentence without judge it according
to our understanding in how we learned and listened to when
child…
o What I heard before
Acceptability judgements ◄ Previous heard sentences
o Record what I heard before
Acceptability judgements ◄ Record of previously heard sentences
o How many sentences did I hear before?
[ Acceptability judgements ◄ Record of previously heard sentences ]
▲
Previously heard sentences
 Discovering the rules
o Nature of the invisible rules (pattern and so on..)
 Advice = uncountable noun
 Furniture, corn = uncountable noun
 Bean = contable
 Suggestion = contable
 Too much advice
 Too much furniture
 Too much corn
 Many armchairs

3.  English Syntax as a Subfield of Linguistics
o The Development of Modern Linguistics (19th century)
 Indo-European family: origin of languages
 Historical changes and the relationships between the languages
 Each language deserved to be described in its own terms (not
based on Greek or Latin even more)
 1950: The Generative Grammar
 System of rules unconscious hidden inside our minds
Acceptability judgements ◄ Record of previously heard sentences ◄ Innate
principles