2. Constituency
2.1 What is a constituent?
A constituent: is a syntactic unit that combines with other constituents
according to a grammatical rule to yield a larger structure.
Constituents may be:
1. Words
John
laughed
loudly
it
asteroid
superior
2. Phrases (labeled brackets indicate constituent embedding)
[ NP The snake] [VP killed [ NP the rat ] ]
3. Clauses
[ S1 [ S2
[ S1
The snake killed the rat
] and [S3 it
I know [ S2 that the snake killed the rat]
swallowed it]
]
]
4. Sentences
[S John laughed]
[S1 [S2
[S1
The snake killed the rat
] and [S3 it
]
swallowed it]
]
I know [S2 that the snake killed the rat]
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2.2 Constituency tests
Clefting
A constituent can be focused as a cleft surrounded by it is/was ….. that:
Most of the silk we see in Britain comes from silkworms.
It is from silkworms that most of the silk we see in Britain comes.
Jane gave this book to Bill on Saturday
It was on Saturday that Jane gave this book to Bill
Jane gave this book to Bill on Saturday
It was to Bill that Jane gave this book on Saturday
Jane gave this book to Bill on Saturday
It was this book that Jane gave to Bill on Saturday
Jane gave this book to Bill on Saturday
It was Jane that gave this book to Bill on Saturday
Jane gave this book to Bill on Saturday
* It was Jane gave that this book to Bill on Saturday
Pseudo-clefting
A constituent may be focused as a pseudo-cleft using what
Jane gave this book to Bill on Saturday
What Jane did was give this book to Bill on Saturday.
What Jane gave to Bill was this book.
This book is what Jane gave to Bill on Saturday.
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Passivisation
A constituent with a patient role undergoes movement from the object position
to the subject position
Wild silk moths in countries like India and Japan also produce it.
It is also produced by wild silk moth in countries like India and Japan
People cultivate several species.
Several species are cultivated.
* Several are cultivated species
Pronominalisation
Under coordination constituents can often be substituted by a pronoun (‘proform’), such as:
 he/she/it etc. for people
 there for locations
 do so/it/that etc. for some VPs and sentences
a) Sara admires the math teacher and the children admire her too.
b) My brother and I drove for hours and we got scared by the heavy fog.
c) Mohammed was waiting at the campsite and Sara was waiting there too.
d) I love having my work done on time and Cecil does (so) too.
e) I think that Cecil forgot to take the medicine and Rita thinks so too
Fronting
Constituents may be fronted as a unit in English:
Tasar is produced in a humid and dense belt of tropical forest in India.
In a humid and dense belt of tropical forest in India, tasar is produced
Lola selected a doughnut filled with banana cream from the bakery
From the bakery, Lola selected a doughnut filled with banana cream.
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2.3 Phrase structure rules
In generative grammar, recursive rules generate constituents:
S → NP VP
VP → V NP
NP → Det N
“a sentence consists of a NP plus a VP”
“a transitive VP consists of a verb plus a NP ”
“a NP consists of a determiner plus a noun”
Phrase structure grammar is designed to allow constituents to be
embedded inside each other
Different constituent structures may give rise to different meanings:
John [VPsaw [NPa man with binoculars]]. John [VPsaw [NPa man] [PPwith binoculars]].
S
S
NP
John
VP
NP
V
NP
saw
a man with binoculars
John
VP
V
saw
NP
PP
a man with binoculars
Reading for this lecture:
Wekker&Haegeman (1985: 15-19)
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