Prof. dr Slavica Perović
SYNTAX
MINI TEST I
1. Give a comprehensive definition of syntax.
2. What are the main characteristics of traditional approach in syntax (at least four or five of
them).
3. Define the following branching tree disgram as deep/surface structure. Underline the correct
answer.
S’
S’
Q
S
Comp
[+Wh]
Pred P
NP
Pro
VP
Aux
V
He
has
studied
NP
what
4. Produce some of Bloomfield's classifications and descriptions.
5. Use the given words to make a sentence. Describe the process. How do you know what can go
with what? How do you know which word orders are possible?
At, Charles, dressing, himself, moment, quickly, this, was
Prof. dr Slavica Perović
SYNTAX
Based on and adapted from: Biljana Mišić Ilić. 2008. Syntax for EFL Students, Niš, Univerzitet u
Nišu.
Syntax: Fundamentals
Introduction and overview:
In this, rather lengthy chapter we deal with the preliminaries of syntax, which should serve as the
foundation for further work. We examine basic syntactic notions, modes of description and
classification, and some tools for syntactic analysis.
What do we do when we perform a syntactic analysis?
1. The first step is to determine the relevant component parts of a sentence (or any other
syntactic unit).
2. The next step is to describe these parts grammatically
The first step means that we break down the sentence (or a syntactic unit) into its
constituents.
For instance, in the sentence
(1) Hopefully, every student will learn the procedure.
we can determine the following components parts, the constituents: hopefully, every student, will
learn, the procedure.
The second step means that we assign some grammatical label to each constituent, stating
what type of constituent it is (i.e. its form or category) and what grammatical function it has.
For instance, we label the identified constituents according to their form and sentence
function as follows:
hopefully
– adverb by form, sentence modifier by function
every student – noun phrase by form, subject by function
will learn
– verb phrase by form, predicator by function
the procedure – noun phrase by form, direct object by function
Let’s now perform the syntactic analysis of the following sentence:
(2) When I arrived in London, I thought I knew English.
Modes of syntactic description
In syntactic description, we describe syntactic units in terms of their FORM, FUNCTION and
POSITION, so these can be considered the modes of structural description.
FORM
Another term, sometimes used for this, is category. This actually refers to the
grammatical shape of the unit that we analyze. According to their form, we distinguish two
major types:
a/ single words
b/ word groups (phrases, clauses, sentences)
Single words can be broadly divided into two major classes, according to morphological,
syntactic and semantic criteria. These are:

Form classes (Also known as lexical words, content words, open classes…). These
include nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs.

Structure classes (grammatical words, function words, closed sets…) These include
pronouns, prepositions, auxiliaries and modals, conjunctions, numerals.
Diagram 1 gives the summary of form types.
FORM
SINGLE
WORDS
Lexical words
(form classes)
Grammatical
words
(structure classes
WORD
GROUPS
Phrases
Clauses
Sentences
FUNCTION
The term function can be broadly understood as the grammatical job that a particular unit
has within a larger unit. Function therefore means ‘syntactic’ function. For instance, in the
sentence Girls enjoy chocolate, the nouns girls and chocolate have the function of the subject
and direct object of the sentence, respectively.
POSITION
The term position usually refers to the position a linguistic unit can take within another
unit. Thus, it is common to talk of elements occurring in initial, medial or final positions within
the higher-order unit, or about pre- and post-positions in relation to a specific unit. For example,
a time modifier can occur either in the initial (3a) or final (3b) position in a sentence:
(3) a. Yesterday they had an enormous dinner.
b. They had an enormous dinner yesterday.
Syntactic units
The hierarchy of linguistic units would look like this1:
1
The status of a linguistic unit is disputable for the units given in brackets and depend on a particular linguistic
theory or discipline.









(Distinctive features)
Phoneme
Morpheme
Word
Phrase
Clause
Sentence
(Paragraph)
(Text/discourse)
In this book we are going to focus only on the linguistic units which are relevant for
syntax – syntactic units, which include:
 Phrases
 Clauses
 Sentences
Phrases
A phrase can be considered the lowest syntactic unit. It can be defined as a syntactic unit
that contains more than one word and lacks the subject-predicate relationship.2 The phrase
contains one word which is more important than the others (headword) and some other singleword or word group elements that specify, modify or complete the headword in various ways.
They can be placed in front (specifiers, premodifiers) or after the headword (postmodifiers,
complements). The type of the phrase is determined by the type of the headword, so there are
the following types of phrases:
 Noun phrase (NP)
 Verb phrase (VP)
 Adjective phrase (AdjP)
 Adverb(ial) phrase (AdvP)
 Prepositional phrase (PP)
Noun Phrase (NP)
A noun phrase is a syntactic unit which consists of a noun and all the words and
word groups that cluster around the noun and add to its meaning.
For example, the structure of the noun phrase the lively little painting of Paris which I bought
last year can be represented as:
Specifier Prenominal
modifiers
The
lively little
2
Head
Postnominal modifiers
noun
painting of Paris which I bought last year
It should be noted that in recent theories it has been recognized that some phrases can actually consist of a single
word. For instance, the word group the second-year students of English is clearly the noun phrase with the headword
students, but the single noun Students or the personal pronoun They can also be considered minimal noun phrases,
since they can be used in a sentence in the same way as the larger noun phrase. Moreover, the term ‘phrase’ in
Transformational Generative Grammar has a broader meaning and refers to any kind of syntactic unit in the
analysis.
The only obligatory element in a noun phrase is the head noun, which means that a noun
phrase minimally consists of a noun.
Verb Phrase (VP)
A verb phrase is a syntactic unit which consists of a verb and all the words and word
groups that cluster around the verb and add to its meaning, functioning as auxiliaries,
modifiers and complements.
The structure of the verb phrase has never written a letter to his aunt when he lived in Rome can
be represented like this:
Auxiliary
Premodifier
Verb
head
Complement(s)
Postmodifier
Direct object
Indirect object
has
never
written
а letter
to his aunt
when he lived in Rome
Adjective Phrase (AdjP)
An adjective phrase is a syntactic unit which consists of an adjective and all the words
and word groups that cluster around the adjective and add to its meaning.
Look at the structure of the adjective phrase quite fond of chocolate:
Premodifier
quite
Adjective head
fond
Complement (of the adjective)
of chocolate
Adverb Phrase (AdvP)
An adverb phrase (also called adverbial phrase) is a syntactic unit which consists of an
adverb and all the words and word groups that cluster around the adverb and add to its
meaning.
The structure of an adverb phrase is rather simple, as can be seen from the following two
examples:
Premodifier
very
unexpectedly
Adverb head
well
reluctantly
Prepositional Phrase (PP)
A prepositional phrase is a syntactic unit which consists of a preposition and a
word/word group that completes its meaning.
Premodifier
right
Preposition head
into
Object of the preposition
the centre
Clauses
The term ‘clause’3 in various grammar books and grammar theories is used to refer to
different things, so it is always a good idea to check what particular authors really mean by it.
Most commonly, a clause is defined as a syntactic unit which has a subject-predicate
relationship and is part of a larger unit. Usually it is viewed as a linguistic unit smaller than a
sentence and larger than a phrase.
In the following sentence we can identify three clauses – one is the main clause and two are
subordinate.
I think
that you will succeed
if you try hard.
main clause
subordinate clause
subordinate clause
Subordinate clauses can be further classified into various syntactic and semantic types.
According to their function in a sentence clauses can be divided into:
a/ Nominal clauses
b/ Adjectival (relative) clauses
c/ Adverbial clauses
Finally, we should note that clauses can be classified according to the type of the verb and we
distinguish:
a/ finite clauses
I don’t know where I should go.
b/ non-finite clauses
I don’t know where to go.
The best thing is to tell the truth.
It is impossible for him to tell the truth.
c/ verbless clauses
You can start reading, when ready.
Too proud to join the group, she remained an outsider.
Sentences
For our syntax course we are going to consider a sentence the largest syntactic unit and use
the following working definition: a sentence is string of constituents characterized by the
subject-predicate relationship.
Sentence, utterance, proposition
According to their inner structure or level of complexity, sentences can be:

Simple
Simple sentences have one subject-predicate relationship.
NOTE: In some theories and grammar books such sentences are called clauses.
3
The word derives via Old French from the Latin clausula, the close of a sentence.
A cute little puppy stayed in front of my door all night.

Complex
Complex sentences have one main and at least one subordinate clause.
A cute little puppy that probably got lost stayed in front of my door all night because it
felt safe there.
The underlined clauses are subordinate.

Compound
Compound sentences have at least two independent clauses (they make up the structure
of coordination).
Some grammarians also distinguish a special type which they call complex-compound
sentences and these consist of one main clause and at least one subordinate and one coordinated
clause.
A cute little puppy that probably got lost stayed in front of my door all night because it
felt safe there, but I didn’t notice it before morning and I fed it then.
A cute little puppy stayed in front of my door all night and I fed him in the morning.
According to their function in discourse, sentences can be functionally classified into:




declarative sentences (expressing statements)
They study English.
interrogative sentences (expressing questions)
What do they study?
imperative sentences (expressing commands or requests)
Go and study!
exclamative (exclamatory) sentences (express exclamations)
How nice!
Basic syntactic structures
We are going to adopt a more specific classification and identify four basic syntactic structures,
i.e. four basic types of syntactic interrelationships. They are:
1. The structure of PREDICATION
2. The structure of MODIFICATION
3. The structure of COMPLEMENTATION
4. The structure of COORDINATION
Structure of predication
The structure of predication is the relationship which exists between the subject and the
predicate of the sentence.
S+V
a/ Sam is sleeping.
b/ Sam and Pat are walking down the street.
Structure of modification
The structure of modification is such a relationship which means that there is the
structural dependence of one grammatical unit upon another; one element is considered ‘more
important’ than the others. This element is known as the head, or headword of the structure of
the modification.
premodifier(s) + Head + postmodifier(s)
Structure of complementation
The complementation traditionally refers to the relationship which exists between the
verb and the words and word groups that complete the meaning of the action specified by the
verb. Since in most languages these complements come after the verb, the structure can be
represented as follows:
Verb + complement(s)
Constituent structure and constituency tests
Constituent structure
The term constituent structure is sometimes used parallelly with the terms syntactic structure
and phrase structure to refer to the components of a syntactic unit and their relationships. We
present a series of tests for identifying strings of words inside a sentence as units or constituents.
These tests are called constituency tests or phrase structure tests, and are used as diagnostic
tools in a syntactic analysis.
(The student) (bought a laptop)
Substitution
Substitution means that we try to substitute a group of words by a single word. If we can
do that, and preserve grammaticality (but not necessarily the meaning!), it means that this
particular group of words is indeed a constituent.
(The student) (bought a laptop).
(John)
(slept).
Substitution with pro-forms
A special case of substitution is when the sequence of words in question is substituted by
a pro-form (a pronoun or a word with a similar function).
The student bought a laptop.
She bought that.
Mr Heathcliff little imagined how my heart warmed towards him when I beheld his black
eyes withdraw so suspiciously under their brows as I announced my name.
Mr Heathcliff little imagined that.
Sometimes this kind of test is called anaphora, since we can create such a context where the
particular constituent will be used as antecedent and the pro-form will follow.
Movement
Movement here means that if we can move a group of words to another position in the
sentence, and retain both the grammaticality and the meaning, then the group of words is
question is a constituent. The term ‘move’ should be taken rather loosely, since it actually means
that we paraphrase the sentence in such a way that the group of words is question appears in a
different position, relying on our knowledge of English.
In (18a) and (18b) we try to prove that the word group for his sister is also a constituent, by two
different movement/paraphrase options.
(18) John bought a pink bike for his sister last year.
(18a) For his sister, John bought a pink bike last year.
(18b) It was for his sister that John bought a pink bike last year.
In (18a) the prepositional phrase, functioning as an indirect object is moved to the front,
separated by a comma, specifying a special reference. In (18b) we have the so-called ‘cleft’sentence – a special emphatic construction which can be used to stress some sentence
constituents. What would happen if we assumed that, for instance, the sequence for his sister last
year is a sentence constituent? We could move it in the same way, but definitely we would have
to separate the parts for his sister and last year by a comma, or in speech, to pronounce the with a
small pause – try to read aloud (18c) and (18d). This proves that it is not one constituent, but
two.
(18c) For his sister, last year, John bought a pink bike.
(18d) It was for his sister, last year, that John bought a pink bike.
Finally, in (19), (19a), (19b) and (20), we try to prove by movement tests (passive paraphrase
and clefting4) that a pink bike, and John are also constituents.
(19) A pink bike was bought by John for his sister last year.
(19a) It was a pink bike that John bought for his sister last year. (19b) What John
bought for his sister last year was a pink bike.
(20) It was John who bought a pink bike for his sister last year.
Passive paraphrase and placing a time/place adverbial sentence-initially are two very
useful tests to prove or check whether particular constituents are direct objects or adverbial
modifiers. Look at these two:
(21)
(22)
4
She left him last week.
She left him last apples.
Clefting, or cleft-sentence, is a term referring to a special emphatic construction in English, which breaks the
regular order of sentence constituents to give prominence, focus to one of them. The form is it + be + focus element
+ the rest of the sentence.
Two different movement tests work as positive and negative evidence.
(21a) Last week she left him.
(21b) * Last week was left him by her.
(Numbers refer to the original numbers in the book)
Coordination
Another useful constituency test is coordination – if a word group can be coordinated
with a similar structure, it is a constituent. In (23), (24) and (25) we coordinate a word group
similar to the one whose constituency we are checking. The coordination is given in brackets,
and the word group we want to check is underlined.
(23) The little rabbit (and the big squirrel) ran down the hill.
(24) The little rabbit ran down the hill (and passed the river bank).
(25) The little rabbit ran down the hill (and by the river bank).
Syntactic functions:
 subject (S)
John is your friend.
The guy who phoned me last night is your friend, isn’t he?
What you told me last month proved to be true.
 subject(ive) complement, complement of the subject (SC, Cs)
(= imenski deo predikata)
The guy is your friend.
The guy seems intelligent.
 direct object (DO, Od)
I know that you love books.
You love books.
 indirect object (IO, Oi)
Give me the book.
Send this note to all the students.
 object(ive) complement , complement of the object (OC, Co)
(= dopuna objekta, objekatska dopuna)
They consider her beautiful.
The team appointed him captain.
 object of the preposition (OP)
They are in the classroom.
 predicate
They travelled all over the world.
 predicator, verb (V)
They travelled all over the world
 adverbial (modifier), adjunct5 (A, AM) (= priloška odredba)
They are in the classroom.
Cross the street carefully.
 premodifier, postmodifier (Mod)6
The students who don’t have the homework will not get the bonus.
A pretty white kitten, fluffy and cuddly.
 sentence modifier, sentence adverbial (SM)
When you finish the classes, give me a ring.
Frankly speaking, I don’t think he has any chance with her.
 complement of a noun (Cn)
Your decision to study English proved wise.
Students hate the idea that they should have tests every week.
 complement of an adjective (Cadj)
I’m delighted to see you!
We’re afraid that someone might break into the house while we’re away.
 retained object (RO)
They were given dozens of books.
Dozens of books were given to them.
It should be stressed that all these functions can be realized by single words, but also by
word groups, such as phrases and clauses, as can be seen from the examples.
The following functions are almost always performed by single words. (Complex words
are syntactically considered single words, not word groups!)
 Head (of a phrase) (= upravna reč)
Noun head (NH):
a lovely girl behind the window
Verb head (VH):
usually goes home late
Adjective head (AdjH):
so glad to see you
Adverb head (AdvH):
rather soon
Preposition head (PrepH):
in the garden, in front of the house
 Specifier (determiner in an NP)
5
The term adverbial complement is also used by some authors for obligatory adjuncts (Wekker and Haegeman
1985). Quirk et al. (1985: 475-563) make the distinction between syntactically different types of adverbial modifiers
and consider adjuncts to be major sentence elements, whereas subjuncts are not so important for the sentence
structure and disjuncts and conjuncts are peripheral to the sentence structure.
6
The Serbian term used for prenominal modifiers is atribut.
my lovely daughters
a student of English
 Connector (coordinating conjunction in the structure of coordination, they can be single or
correlative conjunctions)
apples and oranges
either teachers or students
not only attend the classes but also do all the homework
 Subordinator (subordinating conjunction in subordinate clauses)
I’ll help you if you tell me how.
I don’t know what you want.