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C H A P T E R 2
PHRASAL CATEGORIES
A "CONSTITUENT" IS A FUNDAMENTAL
CONCEPT IN LINGUISTICS AND GRAMMAR. IT
REFERS TO A GROUP OF WORDS THAT
FUNCTION AS A SINGLE UNIT WITHIN A
SENTENCE, AND THESE WORDS WORK
TOGETHER TO CONVEY A SPECIFIC MEANING
OR SERVE A PARTICULAR GRAMMATICAL ROLE.
HERE'S A MORE DETAILED EXPLANATION:
GROUP OF WORDS: A CONSTITUENT IS MADE
UP OF ONE OR MORE WORDS THAT APPEAR
TOGETHER IN A SENTENCE. THESE WORDS ARE
NOT RANDOMLY ARRANGED BUT ARE LINKED
IN A WAY THAT MAKES SENSE WITHIN THE
SENTENCE'S STRUCTURE.
SYNTACTIC UNIT: CONSTITUENTS ARE
4.Single Unit: A constituent functions as a single unit, which
means that if you were to replace it with another word or
phrase, it should still make grammatical and logical sense
within the sentence. This demonstrates that it has a distinct
grammatical and semantic identity.
Meaning or Role: Constituents serve a specific grammatical role
or convey a particular meaning in a sentence. For example, a
noun phrase (e.g., "the big red ball") is a constituent that
functions as a subject or object, conveying information about a
noun and its modifiers.
Syntactic Unit: Constituents are crucial for sentence structure. They
help us understand how words are organized in a sentence, which
is vital for syntax, the study of sentence structure in language.
Examples of Constituents:
•In the sentence "She ate a delicious pizza," "She" is a
constituent that functions as the subject.
•In the sentence "They went to the store," "to the store" is a
constituent that functions as a prepositional phrase.
•In the sentence "Running quickly," "Running" is a constituent
that functions as a verb phrase.
•Phrasal Categories: Phrases are groups of words that
work together to convey meaning in a sentence.
Understanding which words belong together in a
phrase is crucial in grammar. Here are some methods
to figure out these phrasal categories:
Cleft Construction: This is like a spotlight that emphasizes a certain part of a
sentence. For instance, consider the sentence, "The policeman met several
young students in the park last night." You can use cleft construction to
emphasize different parts:
•It was [the policeman] that met several young students in the park last
night.
•It was [several young students] that the policeman met in the park last
night.
•It was [in the park] that the policeman met several young students last
night.
•It was [last night] that the policeman met several young students in the
park.
You can't do this with parts that don't naturally group together:
•*It was [the policeman met] that several young students in the park last
night.
•*It was [several young students in] that the policeman met the park last
night.
•*It was [in the park last night] that the policeman met several young
students.
Cleft sentences are a type of sentence structure used to
emphasize or highlight a particular part of a sentence. They are
commonly used in English for various purposes, such as drawing
attention to a specific element or providing additional clarity.
Cleft sentences typically consist of two clauses: a main clause
and a subordinate (or relative) clause.
Here's an explanation of cleft sentences with examples:
Basic Structure of a Cleft Sentence:
•A cleft sentence consists of a main clause and a subordinate
clause.
•The main clause begins with "it" (or "this" in some cases)
followed by a form of the verb "to be" (usually "is," "was," "are,"
etc.).
•The subordinate clause provides additional information and
starts with "that," "who," "which," or another relative pronoun.
here are a few different types of cleft sentences:
1.It-cleft: The most common type, where "it" is used in the main
clause.
1.Example: "It was the weather that ruined our picnic."
2.Wh-cleft: In this type, a question word like "what," "who,"
"which," or "where" is used in the main clause.
1.Example: "What I need is a good night's sleep."
3.This-cleft: Instead of "it," "this" is used in the main clause.
1.Example: "This is where I want to live."
Constituent Questions and Stand-Alone Test: You can ask
questions with words like "who," "where," "when," or "how" to
identify constituents. If the answer makes sense as a complete
phrase, it's likely a constituent. For example:
•Q: Where did the policeman meet several young students? A: In
the park.
•Q: Who did the policeman meet in the park? A: Several young
students.
This test helps determine which groups of words naturally belong
together:
•Q: What did you put in your box? A: Old books. A: *Old books in
the box.
•Q: Where did you put the book? A: In the box. A: *Old books in
the box.
So, "old books" and "in the box" are constituents, and "put old
Distinguishing Particles and Prepositions:
•In English, some words like "up" can have different functions in
sentences. They can act as particles or prepositions depending on
how they are used.
Examples (55): a. John looked up the inside of the chimney. b. John
looked up the meaning of 'chanson'.
•In these examples, "up" is used after the verb "looked," but its role
differs in each sentence.
Applying the Wh-Question Test:
•We can use the wh-question test to determine whether "up" forms a
constituent (a natural grouping) with the words that follow it.
Example (56):
•Q: What did he look up?
•A: The inside of the chimney.
•In this case, "up" is considered part of the constituent "looked up
Example (57):
•Q: Where did he look?
•A: Up the inside of the chimney.
•Here, "up" is also part of the constituent, indicating that it forms a
natural phrase with "the inside of the chimney."
Example (58):
•Q: Up what did he look?
•A: The inside of the chimney.
•Again, "up" is part of the constituent "up the inside of the chimney."
in (55b), it isn't.
Contrasts in the Examples:
•The contrasts between these examples show that in (55a),
"up" forms a constituent with "the inside of the chimney." It is
part of the same phrase.
•However, in (55b), with "the meaning of 'chanson'," the wh-
question test indicates that "up" and "the meaning of
'chanson'" do not form a natural grouping or constituent.
So, by applying the wh-question test, we can differentiate
when a word like "up" acts as part of a phrase (a constituent)
and when it doesn't, which helps in understanding the
structure and function of words in a sentence. In (55a), "up" is
part of a larger phrase, but in (55b) it isn’t.
Constituent Questions and Stand-Alone Test: You can ask questions
with words like "who," "where," "when," or "how" to identify
constituents. If the answer makes sense as a complete phrase, it's
likely a constituent. For example:
•Q: Where did the policeman meet several young students? A: In
the park.
•Q: Who did the policeman meet in the park? A: Several young
students.
This test helps determine which groups of words naturally belong
together:
•Q: What did you put in your box? A: Old books. A: *Old books in
the box.
•Q: Where did you put the book? A: In the box. A: *Old books in the
box.
So, "old books" and "in the box" are constituents, and "put old books
in the box" is a larger constituent.
Substitution by a Pronoun: In English, we use pronouns like "he,"
"she," "it," etc., to refer back to something mentioned earlier in a
sentence. If a word or group of words can be replaced by a pronoun, it's
likely a constituent. For example:
•What do you think the man who is standing by the door is doing now?
•What do you think he is doing now?
In this case, "the man who is standing by the door" can be replaced by
"he," indicating that it's a constituent.
However, pronouns can't replace things that are not constituents:
•John asked me to put the clothes in the cupboard, and to annoy him I
really stuffed them there.
•John asked me to put the clothes in the cupboard, but I did so in the
suitcase.
Here, "there" refers to "in the cupboard" (a constituent), but "so" can't
replace "put the clothes" (not a constituent).
Coordination in Grammar:
Coordination is a grammatical concept where words, phrases, or
clauses are linked together to show that they have the same or
equal importance in a sentence. This linking is typically done
using conjunctions like "and," "or," "but," "nor," and "yet.”
he girls [played in the water] and [swam under the bridge].
•In this example, "played in the water" and "swam under the bridge"
are coordinated using "and." They are of the same type of
constituent (verb phrases) and share equal importance in the
sentence.
The children were neither [in their rooms] nor [on the porch].
•Here, "in their rooms" and "on the porch" are coordinated with
"neither...nor," indicating that they are both prepositional phrases
and are equally important in the negative statement.
She was [poor] but [quite happy].
•"Poor" and "quite happy" are coordinated using "but." They are
Using Coordination as a Test:
•Coordination can be a useful test to determine whether words or phrases
belong to the same constituent group. If they can be effectively coordinated
with a conjunction, they are likely the same type of constituent.
Contrast with Ungrammatical Coordination:
•Attempting to coordinate unlike constituents often results in
ungrammatical sentences, indicating that they do not form natural
groupings.
Examples of Ungrammatical Coordination (63): a. *Mary waited [for the
bus] and [to go home].
•In this case, "for the bus" (a prepositional phrase) and "to go home" (an
infinitive verb phrase) are unlike constituents and cannot be effectively
coordinated with "and."
b. *Lee went [to the store] and [crazy].
•"To the store" (a prepositional phrase) and "crazy" (an adjective) are
different types of constituents and cannot be coordinated using "and."
Phrase Structure Rules:
•Phrase structure rules, also known as PS rules, are
linguistic rules that specify how words or smaller units
combine to form larger phrases or sentences. These rules
are used to describe the structure of sentences in a
language.
NP: Noun Phrase:
•In linguistic analysis, a noun phrase (NP) is a phrase
that functions as a noun. It typically consists of one or
more words that provide information about a noun.
Formation of Noun Phrases (NP):
•Noun phrases can be formed by combining various
elements, including determiners (Det), adjectives (A),
nouns (N), prepositional phrases (PP), and relative
clauses (S).
The NP Rule (66):
•The provided rule for forming a noun phrase (NP) is as
follows: NP → (Det) A* N (PP/S).
• "NP" represents the noun phrase.
• "(Det)" indicates that a determiner (like "the" or
"my") is optional. You can have an NP without a
determiner.
• "A*" denotes that any number of adjectives
(descriptive words) can be included or none at all.
• "N" is the noun itself, and it is obligatory. Every NP
must have a noun.
• "(PP/S)" signifies that you can optionally have a
prepositional phrase (PP) or a modifying sentence
(S) after the noun. The slash indicates different
options for this position in the phrase.
Valid Noun Phrases (NP):
•A valid NP follows the NP rule (66) by including at least one
noun (N) and can optionally have a determiner (Det), adjectives
(A), and additional modifiers like prepositional phrases (PP) or
modifying sentences (S).
Exceptions:
•Not all combinations of words or elements will form valid NPs.
For example, combinations like "the whistle tune," "the easily
student," or "the my dog" are not valid NPs because they don't
follow the structure outlined in the NP rule.
Single Noun as NP:
•It's important to note that a single noun by itself can constitute
an NP. For example, "Mary," "you," or "students" can serve as
valid NPs even when they consist of only a pronoun or a single
noun.
Modifying Sentences (S) in Noun Phrases (NP):
•In linguistic analysis, modifying sentences (S) within noun phrases (NP)
refer to subordinate clauses that provide additional information about the
noun in the NP.
Structure of an NP with Modifying Sentences:
•An NP can include a modifying sentence (S) as one of its components. The
structure of such an NP can be described using the NP rule (66): NP → (Det)
A* N (PP/S).
Here, "S" represents the modifying sentence, which is a type of relative or
subordinate clause that adds descriptive or limiting information about the
noun.
Example:
•Consider the sentence: "The students who came from Seoul."
•In this sentence, "The students" is the NP.
•"Who came from Seoul" is the modifying sentence (S).
•The modifying sentence "who came from Seoul" provides additional details
about which students are being referred to. It tells us that they are the ones
who came from Seoul.
VP: Verb Phrase:
•In linguistic analysis, a verb phrase (VP) is a phrase that consists of a
verb and its associated elements, such as objects, complements, adverbs,
or other modifiers.
Structure of a VP:
•A VP typically consists of a verb (V) as its core element, and it can be
expanded with other optional elements such as noun phrases (NP),
prepositional phrases (PP), or subordinate clauses (S).
The VP Rule (71):
•The provided rule for forming a verb phrase (VP) is as follows: VP → V
(NP) (PP/S).
• "VP" represents the verb phrase.
• "V" is the verb itself, which is obligatory and serves as the head of
the VP.
• "(NP)" indicates that there can be an optional noun phrase following
the verb.
• "(PP/S)" signifies that there can be any number of prepositional
phrases (PP) or a modifying sentence (S) after the verb.
Examples of Verb Phrases (VP):
•The examples provided in (70) illustrate phrases that can fill in the
blank in the sentence "The student __."
• These phrases, such as "snored," "ran," "sang," "loved music," and
others, are all VPs.
• They are headed by a verb and may include optional elements like
noun phrases (NP) or prepositional phrases (PP).
Valid Verb Phrases (VP):
A valid VP follows the VP rule (71) by including at least one verb (V) and
can optionally have a noun phrase (NP) or additional modifiers like
prepositional phrases (PP) or modifying sentences (S).
Ungrammatical VPs:
•Combinations that do not adhere to the structure outlined in the VP
rule will result in ungrammatical VPs. Examples like "leave the meeting
sing," "the leave meeting," or "leave on time the meeting" are
ungrammatical VPs.
VPs in Sentence Structure (S):
•In English, a well-formed sentence (S) consists of both an NP (noun
phrase) and a (finite) VP (verb phrase). This can be represented as a
phrase structure rule (PS rule): S → NP VP.
Finite VP:
•It's important to note that the VP must be finite, meaning it should
be in present or past tense to form a grammatical sentence.
Examples of Finite VP in Sentences (73, 74, 75):
•Examples (73), (74), and (75) demonstrate how a finite VP is
essential in forming a grammatical sentence. In these examples, the
VP is represented by "wants to leave the meeting," "approved of
their leader," and "practice medicine."
VP Rule with Auxiliary Verbs (79):
•In addition to the basic VP structure outlined in the rule (71), we also
have auxiliary verbs (auxiliaries) that can be part of a VP. Auxiliary
verbs include words like "can," "will," "must," and so on.
•The rule (79) specifies that a VP can consist of an auxiliary verb
(V[AUX +]) followed by another VP.
• This rule acknowledges that auxiliary verbs are distinct from
regular verbs and can be part of a verb phrase.
Examples of VP with Auxiliary Verbs (78b):
•Examples like "can run," "will feel happy," and "must study English
syntax" are VPs that include auxiliary verbs.
•In these VPs, the parts after the auxiliary verbs ("run," "feel happy,"
"study English syntax") are themselves regular VPs.
VP Modification with Adverbs and Prepositional Phrases (Adv/PP) (81):
•Verb phrases can also be modified by adverbs (Adv) or prepositional phrases
(PP) that provide additional information about the action of the verb.
•The rule (81) specifies that a VP can be followed by an adverb (Adv) or a
prepositional phrase (PP).
• This allows for constructions like "read the book loudly" or "met his
students in the class."
Examples of VP Modification (80):
•Examples like "read the book loudly" and "met his students in the class"
demonstrate how adverbs and prepositional phrases modify the action
described by the verb.
Structure of Sentences (S) (76):
•English sentences (S) are composed of two main components: an NP (noun
phrase) and a VP (verb phrase). This structure aligns with the traditional
concepts of a sentence consisting of a subject and predicate or a noun and a
verb.
AP: Adjective Phrase:
•In linguistic analysis, an adjective phrase (AP) is a phrase that
functions as an adjective, providing descriptive information about a
noun or pronoun.
Common Environment for AP: Linking Verb Constructions (83):
•Adjective phrases (AP) are most commonly found in "linking verb"
constructions. These are sentences where a linking verb (e.g., "feels,"
"seems") connects the subject to a subject complement, which is often an
AP.
Examples of AP (84):
•Expressions like "happy," "uncomfortable," "terrified," "proud of her,"
and others can fill in the blank space in sentences like "John feels ___."
All these expressions include an adjective (A) and therefore form APs.
Structure of an AP (85):
•An AP is typically composed of an adjective (A) as its core
element, followed by optional elements like prepositional phrases
(PP), verb phrases (VP), or even sentences (S).
•The rule (85) describes the structure of an AP: AP → A
(PP/VP/S).
• It allows for adjectives to be modified or extended with
additional elements if necessary.
Examples of APs (86):
•Examples like "John sounded happy," "John felt proud that his
son won the game," and "John sounded happily" demonstrate the
use of APs in sentences.
•The presence of an adjective is key to forming an AP.
Contrasts in Sentences (87, 88):
•The use of APs can help explain contrasts in sentences. For
example:
• In (87a), "The monkeys seem [want to leave the
meeting]," the absence of an AP results in an
ungrammatical sentence.
• In (87b), "The monkeys seem [eager to leave the
meeting]," the presence of the AP "eager" makes the
sentence grammatical.
• Similarly, in (88a), "John seems [know about the
bananas]," the absence of an AP leads to an
ungrammatical sentence, while (88b), "John seems
[certain about the bananas]," with the AP "certain," is
grammatical.
•These examples illustrate that certain verbs, like "seem,"
AdvP: Adverb Phrase:
•An adverb phrase (AdvP) is a linguistic structure that consists of one
or more adverbs working together to modify verbs, adjectives, or other
adverbs. Adverbs typically provide information about the manner,
degree, frequency, or other aspects of an action or description.
Examples of AdvPs (89):
•Examples of adverb phrases include "soundly," "well," "clearly,"
"extremely," "very soundly," "almost certainly," and more.
•These phrases are often used to modify verbs, adjectives, and other
adverbs to provide additional information.
Structure of an AdvP (91):
•The structure of an adverb phrase is described by the rule (91): AdvP
→ (AdvP) Adv.
• It allows for one or more adverbs to form an adverb phrase.
• The presence of parentheses indicates that multiple adverbs can
be combined within the same AdvP.
Examples of AdvPs in Sentences (90):
•AdvPs can be used to modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs in
sentences, as demonstrated in examples like "He behaved very
well," "They worded the sentence very clearly," and "He treated her
very carefully."
PP: Preposition Phrase:
•A preposition phrase (PP) is a linguistic structure composed of a
preposition (P) and a noun phrase (NP). PPs are commonly used to
express relationships between elements in a sentence, such as
location, direction, time, or possession.
Examples of PPs (92):
•Examples of preposition phrases include "from Seoul," "in the box,"
"in the hotel," "into the soup," "with John and his dog," and "under
the table."
•PPs often provide additional context or detail about the action or
description in a sentence.
Structure of a PP (96):
•The structure of a preposition phrase is governed by the rule (96): PP → P
NP.
• A PP consists of a preposition (P) followed by a noun phrase (NP).
• The preposition specifies the relationship or connection between the
elements.
Examples of PPs in Sentences (93):
•PPs can appear in various environments to convey different spatial,
temporal, or other relationships, as shown in examples like "John came
from Seoul," "They put the book in the box," and "They stayed in the hotel."
Unique Uses of PPs (94):
•There are cases where only a PP is appropriate. For instance, in "The
squirrel ran straight," the intensifiers "straight" and "right" can only be
used with PPs, not with adjectival or adverbial phrases.
•This illustrates that certain adverbs are specifically associated with PPs.
The set of phrase structure rules given in (98) appears to be an
extension of a grammar that includes not only lexical categories
(words) but also phrases (groupings of words). This extension allows
for capturing more of the basic properties of a language compared
to a grammar with just lexical categories.
Let's break down the rules provided in (98):
a. S → NP VP: This rule defines a sentence (S) as consisting of a noun
phrase (NP) followed by a verb phrase (VP). This allows for the
creation of more complex sentences where subjects (NPs) are
connected to predicates (VPs).
b. NP → (Det) A* N (PP/S): This rule defines a noun phrase (NP) as
consisting of an optional determiner (Det), followed by zero or more
adjectives (A*), followed by a noun (N), and optionally followed by a
prepositional phrase (PP) or a sentence (S). This rule allows for the
creation of noun phrases with various modifiers and complements.
c. VP → V (NP) (PP/S/VP): This rule defines a verb phrase (VP)
as consisting of a verb (V), followed by an optional noun phrase
(NP), and optionally followed by a prepositional phrase (PP), a
sentence (S), or another verb phrase (VP). This rule allows for
the creation of verb phrases with different structures and levels
of complexity.
d. AP → A (PP/S): This rule defines an adjective phrase (AP) as
consisting of an adjective (A) followed by an optional
prepositional phrase (PP) or sentence (S). This rule allows for
the creation of adjective phrases with modifiers or
complements
AdvP → (AdvP) Adv: This rule defines an adverb phrase (AdvP)
as consisting of an optional adverb phrase (AdvP) followed by
an adverb (Adv). This rule allows for the creation of adverb
phrases with the possibility of nested adverb phrases. For
example, it can capture structures like "very quickly," where
"very" is an adverb modifying "quickly.”
f. PP → P NP: This rule defines a prepositional phrase (PP) as
consisting of a preposition (P) followed by a noun phrase (NP).
This is a common structure for prepositional phrases in
English. For example, in the sentence "on the table," "on" is the
preposition (P), and "the table" is the noun phrase (NP).
Phrase Structure Rules: The grammar in question has phrase structure rules
that define how sentences and phrases can be constructed. These rules
allow for recursive expansion, which means that they can be applied
repeatedly to generate an infinite number of sentences.
Tree Structure (Example 99): The text provides a tree structure (a parse tree)
as an example of how these rules can be applied. In this tree structure:
•An S (sentence) is composed of an NP (noun phrase) and a VP (verb
phrase).
•The NP consists of a determiner (Det), any number of adjectives (A*), an
obligatory noun (N), and any number of prepositional phrases (PP).
•The VP contains a verb (V), an optional noun phrase (NP), and optional
prepositional phrases (PP).
•The tree structure is depicted with various levels of categories, such as JJ
for adjectives, NN for nouns, VV for verbs, etc.
Lexical Entries (Example 100): The text provides some lexical entries for
different categories, such as determiners (Det), adjectives (A), nouns (N), and
and verbs (V). These lexical entries represent actual words that can be
inserted into the tree structure to create sentences.
Sentence Generation (Example 101): By inserting the provided
lexical elements into the appropriate pre-terminal nodes (places
with dots) in the tree structure (Example 99), the grammar can
generate various sentences. For example:
•"This handsome man chased a dog."
•"A man kicked that ball."
•"That tall woman chased a cat."
•"His friend kicked a ball."
Recursive Application of Rules (Example 102): The text explains that
the grammar allows for recursive application of phrase structure
rules. In this case, it demonstrates two rules:
•S → NP VP
•VP → V S These rules can be applied iteratively, one feeding into
the other. As a result, you can generate sentences like "John
believes Mary thinks Tom is honest," and this recursive application
can be extended indefinitely to produce an infinite number of
6.Auxiliary Verbs and Recursive Structures (Example 105): The text also
mentions the role of auxiliary verbs in forming recursive structures within
sentences. For instance, auxiliary verbs like "will" can combine with verb
phrases (VP) to create more complex structures, allowing for recursive
sentence expansion.
In summary, the provided phrase structure rules, when combined with lexical
entries and the possibility of recursive application, enable the generation of a
a wide variety of grammatical sentences, illustrating the power of phrase
structure grammars in capturing the structure and diversity of natural
language sentences.
Hierarchical Structures: Phrase structure rules allow sentences to
be broken down into hierarchical structures, where parts are
assembled into sub-structures of the whole. This hierarchical
representation is crucial for capturing the structure of sentences
in natural language.
For example, in the sentence "The cat chased the mouse,"
phrase structure rules can represent how "The cat" is the subject
(NP) and "chased the mouse" is the predicate (VP).
Structural Ambiguities: The passage illustrates how different
phrase structure rules can lead to different hierarchical tree
structures for sentences, like in example (107a) with the
sentence "The little boy hit the child with a toy." The structures
indicate what the phrase "with the toy" modifies, either the
whole verb phrase (VP) or just the noun (N) "child." This
demonstrates how phrase structure rules can represent
Different phrase structure rules help clarify structural
ambiguities in language. For instance, in the sentence "The
student saw the teacher with a telescope," the rules can
show whether "with a telescope" modifies "saw" or "the
teacher.”
Coordination Rule: The text introduces a coordination rule
(XP → XP+ Conj XP), which allows two identical phrase
categories (XP) to be coordinated to form the same
category (XP). This rule accounts for the grammaticality of
sentences like (111a) but not (111b), where different types
of phrases are coordinated.
Phrasal Verb vs. Prepositional Verb Constructions: The passage discusses
the difference between phrasal verb constructions (e.g., "call off") and
prepositional verb constructions (e.g., "rely on"). The difference is
represented in tree structures by introducing rules such as VP → V Part
NP and VP → V NP Part to handle phrasal verbs and prepositional verbs
differently.
Grammar rules distinguish between phrasal verbs and prepositional
verbs. For example, "She turned off the lights" uses a phrasal verb
("turned off"), while "She relies on her friend" uses a prepositional verb
("relies on").
Representation of Particle and Preposition: In the example, "John
suddenly got off the bus," "off" is treated as a preposition forming a
prepositional phrase (PP) with the following noun phrase (NP). In
contrast, in the sentence "John suddenly put off the customers," "off" is a
particle that doesn't form a constituent with the following NP. This
distinction is captured through different VP rules.
Particle vs. Preposition: The distinction between
particles and prepositions is evident in tree
structures. In "He picked up the book" (particle), "up"
does not form a constituent with "the book," whereas
in "She sat on the chair" (preposition), "on" forms a
prepositional phrase with "the chair."
In syntax, a complement is a grammatical element that typically follows a verb or other core lexical
element in a sentence and is required to complete the meaning of the verb. Complements provide
essential information about the action or state described by the verb. There are different types of
complements in syntax, including direct objects, indirect objects, and object complements.
Here are some examples of complements in sentences:
1.Direct Object Complement:
1. She ate an apple. (The direct object "an apple" is a complement of the verb "ate" and completes
the action.)
2. They painted the fence yellow. (The direct object "the fence" is a complement of the verb
"painted" and completes the action.)
2.Indirect Object Complement:
1. He gave his sister a book. (The indirect object "his sister" is a complement of the verb "gave,"
and "a book" is the direct object.)
2. They sent me a gift. (The indirect object "me" is a complement of the verb "sent," and "a gift" is
the direct object.)
3.Object Complement:
1. She considers him a genius. (The object complement "a genius" renames or describes the direct
object "him.")
2. They appointed her the leader. (The object complement "the leader" renames or describes the
direct object "her.")
Syntax phrasesxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (1).pptx

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Syntax phrasesxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (1).pptx

  • 1. C H A P T E R 2
  • 2. PHRASAL CATEGORIES A "CONSTITUENT" IS A FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPT IN LINGUISTICS AND GRAMMAR. IT REFERS TO A GROUP OF WORDS THAT FUNCTION AS A SINGLE UNIT WITHIN A SENTENCE, AND THESE WORDS WORK TOGETHER TO CONVEY A SPECIFIC MEANING OR SERVE A PARTICULAR GRAMMATICAL ROLE. HERE'S A MORE DETAILED EXPLANATION: GROUP OF WORDS: A CONSTITUENT IS MADE UP OF ONE OR MORE WORDS THAT APPEAR TOGETHER IN A SENTENCE. THESE WORDS ARE NOT RANDOMLY ARRANGED BUT ARE LINKED IN A WAY THAT MAKES SENSE WITHIN THE SENTENCE'S STRUCTURE. SYNTACTIC UNIT: CONSTITUENTS ARE
  • 3. 4.Single Unit: A constituent functions as a single unit, which means that if you were to replace it with another word or phrase, it should still make grammatical and logical sense within the sentence. This demonstrates that it has a distinct grammatical and semantic identity. Meaning or Role: Constituents serve a specific grammatical role or convey a particular meaning in a sentence. For example, a noun phrase (e.g., "the big red ball") is a constituent that functions as a subject or object, conveying information about a noun and its modifiers. Syntactic Unit: Constituents are crucial for sentence structure. They help us understand how words are organized in a sentence, which is vital for syntax, the study of sentence structure in language.
  • 4. Examples of Constituents: •In the sentence "She ate a delicious pizza," "She" is a constituent that functions as the subject. •In the sentence "They went to the store," "to the store" is a constituent that functions as a prepositional phrase. •In the sentence "Running quickly," "Running" is a constituent that functions as a verb phrase. •Phrasal Categories: Phrases are groups of words that work together to convey meaning in a sentence. Understanding which words belong together in a phrase is crucial in grammar. Here are some methods to figure out these phrasal categories:
  • 5. Cleft Construction: This is like a spotlight that emphasizes a certain part of a sentence. For instance, consider the sentence, "The policeman met several young students in the park last night." You can use cleft construction to emphasize different parts: •It was [the policeman] that met several young students in the park last night. •It was [several young students] that the policeman met in the park last night. •It was [in the park] that the policeman met several young students last night. •It was [last night] that the policeman met several young students in the park. You can't do this with parts that don't naturally group together: •*It was [the policeman met] that several young students in the park last night. •*It was [several young students in] that the policeman met the park last night. •*It was [in the park last night] that the policeman met several young students.
  • 6. Cleft sentences are a type of sentence structure used to emphasize or highlight a particular part of a sentence. They are commonly used in English for various purposes, such as drawing attention to a specific element or providing additional clarity. Cleft sentences typically consist of two clauses: a main clause and a subordinate (or relative) clause. Here's an explanation of cleft sentences with examples: Basic Structure of a Cleft Sentence: •A cleft sentence consists of a main clause and a subordinate clause. •The main clause begins with "it" (or "this" in some cases) followed by a form of the verb "to be" (usually "is," "was," "are," etc.). •The subordinate clause provides additional information and starts with "that," "who," "which," or another relative pronoun.
  • 7. here are a few different types of cleft sentences: 1.It-cleft: The most common type, where "it" is used in the main clause. 1.Example: "It was the weather that ruined our picnic." 2.Wh-cleft: In this type, a question word like "what," "who," "which," or "where" is used in the main clause. 1.Example: "What I need is a good night's sleep." 3.This-cleft: Instead of "it," "this" is used in the main clause. 1.Example: "This is where I want to live."
  • 8. Constituent Questions and Stand-Alone Test: You can ask questions with words like "who," "where," "when," or "how" to identify constituents. If the answer makes sense as a complete phrase, it's likely a constituent. For example: •Q: Where did the policeman meet several young students? A: In the park. •Q: Who did the policeman meet in the park? A: Several young students. This test helps determine which groups of words naturally belong together: •Q: What did you put in your box? A: Old books. A: *Old books in the box. •Q: Where did you put the book? A: In the box. A: *Old books in the box. So, "old books" and "in the box" are constituents, and "put old
  • 9. Distinguishing Particles and Prepositions: •In English, some words like "up" can have different functions in sentences. They can act as particles or prepositions depending on how they are used. Examples (55): a. John looked up the inside of the chimney. b. John looked up the meaning of 'chanson'. •In these examples, "up" is used after the verb "looked," but its role differs in each sentence. Applying the Wh-Question Test: •We can use the wh-question test to determine whether "up" forms a constituent (a natural grouping) with the words that follow it. Example (56): •Q: What did he look up? •A: The inside of the chimney. •In this case, "up" is considered part of the constituent "looked up
  • 10. Example (57): •Q: Where did he look? •A: Up the inside of the chimney. •Here, "up" is also part of the constituent, indicating that it forms a natural phrase with "the inside of the chimney." Example (58): •Q: Up what did he look? •A: The inside of the chimney. •Again, "up" is part of the constituent "up the inside of the chimney." in (55b), it isn't.
  • 11. Contrasts in the Examples: •The contrasts between these examples show that in (55a), "up" forms a constituent with "the inside of the chimney." It is part of the same phrase. •However, in (55b), with "the meaning of 'chanson'," the wh- question test indicates that "up" and "the meaning of 'chanson'" do not form a natural grouping or constituent. So, by applying the wh-question test, we can differentiate when a word like "up" acts as part of a phrase (a constituent) and when it doesn't, which helps in understanding the structure and function of words in a sentence. In (55a), "up" is part of a larger phrase, but in (55b) it isn’t.
  • 12. Constituent Questions and Stand-Alone Test: You can ask questions with words like "who," "where," "when," or "how" to identify constituents. If the answer makes sense as a complete phrase, it's likely a constituent. For example: •Q: Where did the policeman meet several young students? A: In the park. •Q: Who did the policeman meet in the park? A: Several young students. This test helps determine which groups of words naturally belong together: •Q: What did you put in your box? A: Old books. A: *Old books in the box. •Q: Where did you put the book? A: In the box. A: *Old books in the box. So, "old books" and "in the box" are constituents, and "put old books in the box" is a larger constituent.
  • 13. Substitution by a Pronoun: In English, we use pronouns like "he," "she," "it," etc., to refer back to something mentioned earlier in a sentence. If a word or group of words can be replaced by a pronoun, it's likely a constituent. For example: •What do you think the man who is standing by the door is doing now? •What do you think he is doing now? In this case, "the man who is standing by the door" can be replaced by "he," indicating that it's a constituent. However, pronouns can't replace things that are not constituents: •John asked me to put the clothes in the cupboard, and to annoy him I really stuffed them there. •John asked me to put the clothes in the cupboard, but I did so in the suitcase. Here, "there" refers to "in the cupboard" (a constituent), but "so" can't replace "put the clothes" (not a constituent).
  • 14. Coordination in Grammar: Coordination is a grammatical concept where words, phrases, or clauses are linked together to show that they have the same or equal importance in a sentence. This linking is typically done using conjunctions like "and," "or," "but," "nor," and "yet.” he girls [played in the water] and [swam under the bridge]. •In this example, "played in the water" and "swam under the bridge" are coordinated using "and." They are of the same type of constituent (verb phrases) and share equal importance in the sentence. The children were neither [in their rooms] nor [on the porch]. •Here, "in their rooms" and "on the porch" are coordinated with "neither...nor," indicating that they are both prepositional phrases and are equally important in the negative statement. She was [poor] but [quite happy]. •"Poor" and "quite happy" are coordinated using "but." They are
  • 15. Using Coordination as a Test: •Coordination can be a useful test to determine whether words or phrases belong to the same constituent group. If they can be effectively coordinated with a conjunction, they are likely the same type of constituent. Contrast with Ungrammatical Coordination: •Attempting to coordinate unlike constituents often results in ungrammatical sentences, indicating that they do not form natural groupings. Examples of Ungrammatical Coordination (63): a. *Mary waited [for the bus] and [to go home]. •In this case, "for the bus" (a prepositional phrase) and "to go home" (an infinitive verb phrase) are unlike constituents and cannot be effectively coordinated with "and." b. *Lee went [to the store] and [crazy]. •"To the store" (a prepositional phrase) and "crazy" (an adjective) are different types of constituents and cannot be coordinated using "and."
  • 16. Phrase Structure Rules: •Phrase structure rules, also known as PS rules, are linguistic rules that specify how words or smaller units combine to form larger phrases or sentences. These rules are used to describe the structure of sentences in a language. NP: Noun Phrase: •In linguistic analysis, a noun phrase (NP) is a phrase that functions as a noun. It typically consists of one or more words that provide information about a noun. Formation of Noun Phrases (NP): •Noun phrases can be formed by combining various elements, including determiners (Det), adjectives (A), nouns (N), prepositional phrases (PP), and relative clauses (S).
  • 17. The NP Rule (66): •The provided rule for forming a noun phrase (NP) is as follows: NP → (Det) A* N (PP/S). • "NP" represents the noun phrase. • "(Det)" indicates that a determiner (like "the" or "my") is optional. You can have an NP without a determiner. • "A*" denotes that any number of adjectives (descriptive words) can be included or none at all. • "N" is the noun itself, and it is obligatory. Every NP must have a noun. • "(PP/S)" signifies that you can optionally have a prepositional phrase (PP) or a modifying sentence (S) after the noun. The slash indicates different options for this position in the phrase.
  • 18. Valid Noun Phrases (NP): •A valid NP follows the NP rule (66) by including at least one noun (N) and can optionally have a determiner (Det), adjectives (A), and additional modifiers like prepositional phrases (PP) or modifying sentences (S). Exceptions: •Not all combinations of words or elements will form valid NPs. For example, combinations like "the whistle tune," "the easily student," or "the my dog" are not valid NPs because they don't follow the structure outlined in the NP rule. Single Noun as NP: •It's important to note that a single noun by itself can constitute an NP. For example, "Mary," "you," or "students" can serve as valid NPs even when they consist of only a pronoun or a single noun.
  • 19. Modifying Sentences (S) in Noun Phrases (NP): •In linguistic analysis, modifying sentences (S) within noun phrases (NP) refer to subordinate clauses that provide additional information about the noun in the NP. Structure of an NP with Modifying Sentences: •An NP can include a modifying sentence (S) as one of its components. The structure of such an NP can be described using the NP rule (66): NP → (Det) A* N (PP/S). Here, "S" represents the modifying sentence, which is a type of relative or subordinate clause that adds descriptive or limiting information about the noun. Example: •Consider the sentence: "The students who came from Seoul." •In this sentence, "The students" is the NP. •"Who came from Seoul" is the modifying sentence (S). •The modifying sentence "who came from Seoul" provides additional details about which students are being referred to. It tells us that they are the ones who came from Seoul.
  • 20. VP: Verb Phrase: •In linguistic analysis, a verb phrase (VP) is a phrase that consists of a verb and its associated elements, such as objects, complements, adverbs, or other modifiers. Structure of a VP: •A VP typically consists of a verb (V) as its core element, and it can be expanded with other optional elements such as noun phrases (NP), prepositional phrases (PP), or subordinate clauses (S). The VP Rule (71): •The provided rule for forming a verb phrase (VP) is as follows: VP → V (NP) (PP/S). • "VP" represents the verb phrase. • "V" is the verb itself, which is obligatory and serves as the head of the VP. • "(NP)" indicates that there can be an optional noun phrase following the verb. • "(PP/S)" signifies that there can be any number of prepositional phrases (PP) or a modifying sentence (S) after the verb.
  • 21. Examples of Verb Phrases (VP): •The examples provided in (70) illustrate phrases that can fill in the blank in the sentence "The student __." • These phrases, such as "snored," "ran," "sang," "loved music," and others, are all VPs. • They are headed by a verb and may include optional elements like noun phrases (NP) or prepositional phrases (PP). Valid Verb Phrases (VP): A valid VP follows the VP rule (71) by including at least one verb (V) and can optionally have a noun phrase (NP) or additional modifiers like prepositional phrases (PP) or modifying sentences (S). Ungrammatical VPs: •Combinations that do not adhere to the structure outlined in the VP rule will result in ungrammatical VPs. Examples like "leave the meeting sing," "the leave meeting," or "leave on time the meeting" are ungrammatical VPs.
  • 22. VPs in Sentence Structure (S): •In English, a well-formed sentence (S) consists of both an NP (noun phrase) and a (finite) VP (verb phrase). This can be represented as a phrase structure rule (PS rule): S → NP VP. Finite VP: •It's important to note that the VP must be finite, meaning it should be in present or past tense to form a grammatical sentence. Examples of Finite VP in Sentences (73, 74, 75): •Examples (73), (74), and (75) demonstrate how a finite VP is essential in forming a grammatical sentence. In these examples, the VP is represented by "wants to leave the meeting," "approved of their leader," and "practice medicine."
  • 23. VP Rule with Auxiliary Verbs (79): •In addition to the basic VP structure outlined in the rule (71), we also have auxiliary verbs (auxiliaries) that can be part of a VP. Auxiliary verbs include words like "can," "will," "must," and so on. •The rule (79) specifies that a VP can consist of an auxiliary verb (V[AUX +]) followed by another VP. • This rule acknowledges that auxiliary verbs are distinct from regular verbs and can be part of a verb phrase. Examples of VP with Auxiliary Verbs (78b): •Examples like "can run," "will feel happy," and "must study English syntax" are VPs that include auxiliary verbs. •In these VPs, the parts after the auxiliary verbs ("run," "feel happy," "study English syntax") are themselves regular VPs.
  • 24. VP Modification with Adverbs and Prepositional Phrases (Adv/PP) (81): •Verb phrases can also be modified by adverbs (Adv) or prepositional phrases (PP) that provide additional information about the action of the verb. •The rule (81) specifies that a VP can be followed by an adverb (Adv) or a prepositional phrase (PP). • This allows for constructions like "read the book loudly" or "met his students in the class." Examples of VP Modification (80): •Examples like "read the book loudly" and "met his students in the class" demonstrate how adverbs and prepositional phrases modify the action described by the verb. Structure of Sentences (S) (76): •English sentences (S) are composed of two main components: an NP (noun phrase) and a VP (verb phrase). This structure aligns with the traditional concepts of a sentence consisting of a subject and predicate or a noun and a verb.
  • 25. AP: Adjective Phrase: •In linguistic analysis, an adjective phrase (AP) is a phrase that functions as an adjective, providing descriptive information about a noun or pronoun. Common Environment for AP: Linking Verb Constructions (83): •Adjective phrases (AP) are most commonly found in "linking verb" constructions. These are sentences where a linking verb (e.g., "feels," "seems") connects the subject to a subject complement, which is often an AP. Examples of AP (84): •Expressions like "happy," "uncomfortable," "terrified," "proud of her," and others can fill in the blank space in sentences like "John feels ___." All these expressions include an adjective (A) and therefore form APs.
  • 26. Structure of an AP (85): •An AP is typically composed of an adjective (A) as its core element, followed by optional elements like prepositional phrases (PP), verb phrases (VP), or even sentences (S). •The rule (85) describes the structure of an AP: AP → A (PP/VP/S). • It allows for adjectives to be modified or extended with additional elements if necessary. Examples of APs (86): •Examples like "John sounded happy," "John felt proud that his son won the game," and "John sounded happily" demonstrate the use of APs in sentences. •The presence of an adjective is key to forming an AP.
  • 27. Contrasts in Sentences (87, 88): •The use of APs can help explain contrasts in sentences. For example: • In (87a), "The monkeys seem [want to leave the meeting]," the absence of an AP results in an ungrammatical sentence. • In (87b), "The monkeys seem [eager to leave the meeting]," the presence of the AP "eager" makes the sentence grammatical. • Similarly, in (88a), "John seems [know about the bananas]," the absence of an AP leads to an ungrammatical sentence, while (88b), "John seems [certain about the bananas]," with the AP "certain," is grammatical. •These examples illustrate that certain verbs, like "seem,"
  • 28. AdvP: Adverb Phrase: •An adverb phrase (AdvP) is a linguistic structure that consists of one or more adverbs working together to modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Adverbs typically provide information about the manner, degree, frequency, or other aspects of an action or description. Examples of AdvPs (89): •Examples of adverb phrases include "soundly," "well," "clearly," "extremely," "very soundly," "almost certainly," and more. •These phrases are often used to modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs to provide additional information. Structure of an AdvP (91): •The structure of an adverb phrase is described by the rule (91): AdvP → (AdvP) Adv. • It allows for one or more adverbs to form an adverb phrase. • The presence of parentheses indicates that multiple adverbs can be combined within the same AdvP.
  • 29. Examples of AdvPs in Sentences (90): •AdvPs can be used to modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs in sentences, as demonstrated in examples like "He behaved very well," "They worded the sentence very clearly," and "He treated her very carefully." PP: Preposition Phrase: •A preposition phrase (PP) is a linguistic structure composed of a preposition (P) and a noun phrase (NP). PPs are commonly used to express relationships between elements in a sentence, such as location, direction, time, or possession. Examples of PPs (92): •Examples of preposition phrases include "from Seoul," "in the box," "in the hotel," "into the soup," "with John and his dog," and "under the table." •PPs often provide additional context or detail about the action or description in a sentence.
  • 30. Structure of a PP (96): •The structure of a preposition phrase is governed by the rule (96): PP → P NP. • A PP consists of a preposition (P) followed by a noun phrase (NP). • The preposition specifies the relationship or connection between the elements. Examples of PPs in Sentences (93): •PPs can appear in various environments to convey different spatial, temporal, or other relationships, as shown in examples like "John came from Seoul," "They put the book in the box," and "They stayed in the hotel." Unique Uses of PPs (94): •There are cases where only a PP is appropriate. For instance, in "The squirrel ran straight," the intensifiers "straight" and "right" can only be used with PPs, not with adjectival or adverbial phrases. •This illustrates that certain adverbs are specifically associated with PPs.
  • 31. The set of phrase structure rules given in (98) appears to be an extension of a grammar that includes not only lexical categories (words) but also phrases (groupings of words). This extension allows for capturing more of the basic properties of a language compared to a grammar with just lexical categories. Let's break down the rules provided in (98): a. S → NP VP: This rule defines a sentence (S) as consisting of a noun phrase (NP) followed by a verb phrase (VP). This allows for the creation of more complex sentences where subjects (NPs) are connected to predicates (VPs). b. NP → (Det) A* N (PP/S): This rule defines a noun phrase (NP) as consisting of an optional determiner (Det), followed by zero or more adjectives (A*), followed by a noun (N), and optionally followed by a prepositional phrase (PP) or a sentence (S). This rule allows for the creation of noun phrases with various modifiers and complements.
  • 32. c. VP → V (NP) (PP/S/VP): This rule defines a verb phrase (VP) as consisting of a verb (V), followed by an optional noun phrase (NP), and optionally followed by a prepositional phrase (PP), a sentence (S), or another verb phrase (VP). This rule allows for the creation of verb phrases with different structures and levels of complexity. d. AP → A (PP/S): This rule defines an adjective phrase (AP) as consisting of an adjective (A) followed by an optional prepositional phrase (PP) or sentence (S). This rule allows for the creation of adjective phrases with modifiers or complements
  • 33. AdvP → (AdvP) Adv: This rule defines an adverb phrase (AdvP) as consisting of an optional adverb phrase (AdvP) followed by an adverb (Adv). This rule allows for the creation of adverb phrases with the possibility of nested adverb phrases. For example, it can capture structures like "very quickly," where "very" is an adverb modifying "quickly.” f. PP → P NP: This rule defines a prepositional phrase (PP) as consisting of a preposition (P) followed by a noun phrase (NP). This is a common structure for prepositional phrases in English. For example, in the sentence "on the table," "on" is the preposition (P), and "the table" is the noun phrase (NP).
  • 34. Phrase Structure Rules: The grammar in question has phrase structure rules that define how sentences and phrases can be constructed. These rules allow for recursive expansion, which means that they can be applied repeatedly to generate an infinite number of sentences. Tree Structure (Example 99): The text provides a tree structure (a parse tree) as an example of how these rules can be applied. In this tree structure: •An S (sentence) is composed of an NP (noun phrase) and a VP (verb phrase). •The NP consists of a determiner (Det), any number of adjectives (A*), an obligatory noun (N), and any number of prepositional phrases (PP). •The VP contains a verb (V), an optional noun phrase (NP), and optional prepositional phrases (PP). •The tree structure is depicted with various levels of categories, such as JJ for adjectives, NN for nouns, VV for verbs, etc. Lexical Entries (Example 100): The text provides some lexical entries for different categories, such as determiners (Det), adjectives (A), nouns (N), and and verbs (V). These lexical entries represent actual words that can be inserted into the tree structure to create sentences.
  • 35. Sentence Generation (Example 101): By inserting the provided lexical elements into the appropriate pre-terminal nodes (places with dots) in the tree structure (Example 99), the grammar can generate various sentences. For example: •"This handsome man chased a dog." •"A man kicked that ball." •"That tall woman chased a cat." •"His friend kicked a ball." Recursive Application of Rules (Example 102): The text explains that the grammar allows for recursive application of phrase structure rules. In this case, it demonstrates two rules: •S → NP VP •VP → V S These rules can be applied iteratively, one feeding into the other. As a result, you can generate sentences like "John believes Mary thinks Tom is honest," and this recursive application can be extended indefinitely to produce an infinite number of
  • 36. 6.Auxiliary Verbs and Recursive Structures (Example 105): The text also mentions the role of auxiliary verbs in forming recursive structures within sentences. For instance, auxiliary verbs like "will" can combine with verb phrases (VP) to create more complex structures, allowing for recursive sentence expansion. In summary, the provided phrase structure rules, when combined with lexical entries and the possibility of recursive application, enable the generation of a a wide variety of grammatical sentences, illustrating the power of phrase structure grammars in capturing the structure and diversity of natural language sentences.
  • 37. Hierarchical Structures: Phrase structure rules allow sentences to be broken down into hierarchical structures, where parts are assembled into sub-structures of the whole. This hierarchical representation is crucial for capturing the structure of sentences in natural language. For example, in the sentence "The cat chased the mouse," phrase structure rules can represent how "The cat" is the subject (NP) and "chased the mouse" is the predicate (VP). Structural Ambiguities: The passage illustrates how different phrase structure rules can lead to different hierarchical tree structures for sentences, like in example (107a) with the sentence "The little boy hit the child with a toy." The structures indicate what the phrase "with the toy" modifies, either the whole verb phrase (VP) or just the noun (N) "child." This demonstrates how phrase structure rules can represent
  • 38. Different phrase structure rules help clarify structural ambiguities in language. For instance, in the sentence "The student saw the teacher with a telescope," the rules can show whether "with a telescope" modifies "saw" or "the teacher.” Coordination Rule: The text introduces a coordination rule (XP → XP+ Conj XP), which allows two identical phrase categories (XP) to be coordinated to form the same category (XP). This rule accounts for the grammaticality of sentences like (111a) but not (111b), where different types of phrases are coordinated.
  • 39. Phrasal Verb vs. Prepositional Verb Constructions: The passage discusses the difference between phrasal verb constructions (e.g., "call off") and prepositional verb constructions (e.g., "rely on"). The difference is represented in tree structures by introducing rules such as VP → V Part NP and VP → V NP Part to handle phrasal verbs and prepositional verbs differently. Grammar rules distinguish between phrasal verbs and prepositional verbs. For example, "She turned off the lights" uses a phrasal verb ("turned off"), while "She relies on her friend" uses a prepositional verb ("relies on"). Representation of Particle and Preposition: In the example, "John suddenly got off the bus," "off" is treated as a preposition forming a prepositional phrase (PP) with the following noun phrase (NP). In contrast, in the sentence "John suddenly put off the customers," "off" is a particle that doesn't form a constituent with the following NP. This distinction is captured through different VP rules.
  • 40. Particle vs. Preposition: The distinction between particles and prepositions is evident in tree structures. In "He picked up the book" (particle), "up" does not form a constituent with "the book," whereas in "She sat on the chair" (preposition), "on" forms a prepositional phrase with "the chair."
  • 41. In syntax, a complement is a grammatical element that typically follows a verb or other core lexical element in a sentence and is required to complete the meaning of the verb. Complements provide essential information about the action or state described by the verb. There are different types of complements in syntax, including direct objects, indirect objects, and object complements. Here are some examples of complements in sentences: 1.Direct Object Complement: 1. She ate an apple. (The direct object "an apple" is a complement of the verb "ate" and completes the action.) 2. They painted the fence yellow. (The direct object "the fence" is a complement of the verb "painted" and completes the action.) 2.Indirect Object Complement: 1. He gave his sister a book. (The indirect object "his sister" is a complement of the verb "gave," and "a book" is the direct object.) 2. They sent me a gift. (The indirect object "me" is a complement of the verb "sent," and "a gift" is the direct object.) 3.Object Complement: 1. She considers him a genius. (The object complement "a genius" renames or describes the direct object "him.") 2. They appointed her the leader. (The object complement "the leader" renames or describes the direct object "her.")