ENGL461
Syntactic Theory I
Instructor: Io-Kei Joaquim KUONG
Why can't words be put together randomly to form sentences?
What are the rules involved?
What are the constraints in forming sentences and phrases?
Why are there changes in the word order when we ask a question
in English?
How does the syntax of English differ from that of
French, Japanese or Chinese?
Course description:
 This course provides an accessible introduction to the major
issues in current syntactic theory.
 Students will learn descriptive and analytical tools in the
explanation of syntactic phenomena.
 Major topics include: constituency, structure of phrases and
clauses, argument structure, subcategorization, the lexicon,
word order, movement, passivization, question formation,
finiteness, and embedded clauses.
 Data will be drawn from English, as well as other languages.
Assessment:
Homework assignments
Midterm
Final Exam
Prerequisite:
Any course from the Linguistics Group in year 3 level
or permission of instructor
Textbook:
Culicover, P. (2009). Natural language syntax. Oxford University Press.
OR
Carnie, A. (2011). Modern syntax: A coursebook. Cambridge University Press.