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Chapter 4 Syntax

Quiz

Web resources

For students:

  • There are few academic periodicals that are dedicated solely to syntax. The appropriately named journal Syntax, published by Wiley-Blackwell, is one of the exceptions but it looks at the phenomenon from a very particular theoretical and technical point of view. Other journals that regularly publish articles about syntax, from a broader range of perspectives, are: the Journal of Linguistics(Cambridge University Press), Language (the Linguistic Society of America); and Linguistic Typology(De Gruyter), focusing on variation across languages.
  • The World Atlas of Language Structures Online, published by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, is a sizable database with discussions –as well as pretty maps! – of a variety of linguistic phenomena. The content is generally quite accessible. The following chapters are especially relevant here:
    • Chapters 49, 98 and 99 on case;
    • Chapters 65, 66, 67, 68 and 69 on tense and aspect;
    • Chapters 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75 and 76 on modality and imperatives;
    • Chapters 81, 82, 83 and 84 on the order of grammatical relations in clauses;
    • Chapter 85 on PPs;
    • Chapters 86, 87, 88, 89 and 90 on the order of nouns and their modifiers in NPs;
    • Chapter 91 on AdjPs;
    • Chapters 92, 93 and 116 about interrogatives;
    • Chapter 107 about passives;
    • Chapters 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127 and 128 about subordinate clauses.

For teachers:

Seminar exercises:

Question 1

The square brackets in the examples below surround something that really is a phrase. Use a different test for each of them to show that they are indeed phrases and name the type of phrase (i.e. noun phrase, verb phrase, adpositional phrase, adjectival phrase or adverbial phrase).

  1. The girl stood [outside the station].
  2. Portia gave a book to [her aunt].
  3. The delays made them [very angry].

For (i), we can, for instance, use substitution. We can replace outside the station by a single word: the girl stood there. The phrase is an adpositional phrase (PP), headed by the adposition outside.

For (ii), we can, for instance, use movement. We can front her aunt and still have a well-formed clause: it is her aunt that Portia gave a book to. The phrase is a noun phrase (NP), headed by the noun aunt.

For (iii), we can, for instance, use coordination. Very angry is a combination of the adverb very and the adjective angry. We can add, with and, a similar structure to it and still have a well-formed clause: the delays made them very angry and extremely disappointed. The phrase is an adjectival phrase (AdjP), headed by the adjective angry.

Question 2

Name the type of all of the bracketed phrases in the examples below.

  1. The President has said [this] [repeatedly].
  2. [That man] sounds [friendly].
  3. My [elderly] grandmother visited her relatives [in [the country]].
  4. [Who] [arrived] yesterday?
  5. The robbers tied [her] up [here].
  1. this = NP; repeatedly = AdvP
  2. that man = NP; friendly = AdjP
  3. elderly = AdjP; in the country = PP; the country = NP
  4. who = NP; arrived = VP
  5. her = NP; here = AdvP

Question 3

Determine the entire phrase structure of the following clauses, using square brackets. You can –but do not have to!– add labels for the phrase type.

  1. Someone counted one, two, three.
  2. You can find the answers to these questions in your textbook.
  3. I am fond of chocolate biscuits.
  4. The woman worked for a private company.
  5. The boy gradually changed into a python.

With phrase labels

  1. [NP Someone NP] [VP counted VP] [NP one NP], [NP two NP], [NP three NP].
  2. [NP You NP] [VP can find VP] [NP the answers [PP to [NP these questions NP] PP] NP] [PP in [NP your textbook NP] PP].
  3. [NP I NP] [VP am VP] [AdjP fond [PP of [NP chocolate biscuits NP] PP] AdjP].
  4. [NP The woman NP] [VP worked VP] [PP for [NP a [AdjP private AdjP] company NP] PP].
  5. [NP The boy NP] [AdvP gradually AdvP] [VP changed VP] [PP into [NP a python NP] PP].

Without phrase labels

  1. [Someone] [counted] [one], [two], [three].
  2. [You] [can find] [the answers [to [these questions]]] [in [your textbook]].
  3. [I] [am] [fond [of [chocolate biscuits]]].
  4. [The woman] [worked] [for [a [private] company]].
  5. [The boy] [gradually] [changed] [into [a python]].

Question 4

Russian is a language where nouns take different endings depending on their grammatical relation. In the following example, the names for these cases have all been replaced by XXX. What would the names for the case ending -a, -u and -e be and why?

  1. Vanj-a            dal         knig-u             Maš-e.

    2. John-XXX      gave     book-XXX      Mary-XXX
    ‘John gave Mary the book.’

-a would be NOM(inative) because Vanja ‘John’ is the subject of the clause
-u would be ACC(usative) because knigu ‘the book’ is the direct object of the clause
-e would be DAT(ive) because Maš-e is the indirect object of the clause

Question 5

Determine the semantic role of each bracketed phrase (i.e. agent, patient, experiencer, recipient, beneficiary, time, location, instrument or possessor).

  1. My dad is leaving [for Belgium] tomorrow.
  2. [The window] broke into pieces.
  3. [The man] tasted the flavor of cigarettes on her lips.
  4. [This stone] broke the window.
  5. Will [you] taste the soup to see if it is still OK?
  6. Buy [your husband] a pair of golden chopsticks for his birthday!
  7. [The professor of geography] remembered the difference in size between the countries.
  8. They will paint the walls a dark shade of red [next year].
  9. The introduction of neural networks improved [our results] dramatically.
  10. Why do [hands] have five fingers?
  1. location (and, more specifically, goal)
  2. patient
  3. experiencer
  4. instrument
  5. agent
  6. beneficiary
  7. experiencer
  8. time
  9. patient
  10. possessor

Question 6

What is the order of S(ubject), (direct) O(bject) and V(erb) in the following four languages?

  1. Guugu Yimiddir (Australia)

    2. Billyngun   gudaa        dhuurrngay
    Billy           dog            pushed
    ‘Billy pushed the dog.’

  2. Tamazight (Northern Africa)

    3. adyawy     umazan     tabratt      
    carry          messenger        letter
    ‘The messenger will take the letter.’

  3. Hixkaryana (Brazil)   

    4. toto   yonoye      kamar       
    man           ate                      jaguar
    ‘The jaguar ate the man.’

  4. Nadëb (Brazil)

    5. tóóh                    dabkad     awuh
    wild pig meat     uncle         eat
    ‘Uncle is eating wild-pig meat.’

(i) SOV; (ii) VSO; (iii) OVS; and (iv) OSV

Question 7

Determine the grammatical relation of each bracketed phrase (i.e. subject, direct object, indirect object, subject complement, object complement or oblique).

  1. [She] felt [a real failure].
  2. [The pies] have been eaten [by the children].
  3. [Diallo] is [tall].
  4. Jenny dubbed [her teacher] [a coward].
  5. He wiped [the table] [of crumbs].
  6. Svetlana put the plate [on the sofa] [deliberately].
  7. Janine passed [her daughter] [an apple].
  8. [They] were rendered [speechless] by the verdict of history.
  9. Bao presented [the winner of the race] [with an award].
  10. The weather in the Lake District can change [rapidly] [in Winter].
  1. [She] = subject; [a real failure] = subject complement
  2. [The pies] = subject; [by the children] = oblique
  3. [Diallo] = subject; [tall] = subject complement
  4. [her teacher] = direct object; [a coward] = object complement
  5. [the table] = direct object; [of crumbs] = oblique
  6. [on the sofa] = oblique; [deliberately] = oblique
  7. [her daughter] = indirect object; [an apple] = direct object
  8. [They] = subject; [speechless] = subject complement
  9. [the winner of the race] = direct object; [with an award] = oblique
  10. [rapidly] = oblique; [in Winter] = oblique

Question 8

Read the paragraph below (adapted from Brigitte Wayman’s 2020 Flash Fiction English) and answer the following questions.

Someone is shaking my shoulder. “Shall we get in the water?” he asks. I turn over groggily. I had fallen asleep. “How long was I sleeping?” I pull off my straw hat and sunglasses. I notice my dry mouth as I stand up unsteadily. My boyfriend balances me and then begins looking through his bag. “Not too long. Maybe 45 minutes,” he answers. He finds the bottle of sparkling water that we had packed. I take a few swigs and put the cap back on. “You’re a little pink. Want some more sunscreen?” I shake my head. It will just come off in the water anyway. “Let’s go swimming first.”

Wayman, Brigitte. (2020) Flash Fiction English. Self-published. Kindle Edition.

  1. Does this paragraph contain an exclamative clause? If so, provide an example.
  2. Does this paragraph contain an imperative clause? If so, provide an example.
  3. Does this paragraph contain a finite relative clause? If so, provide an example.
  4. Does this paragraph contain a non-finite adverbial clause? If so, provide an example.
  1. No, there is no exclamative here.
  2. Yes, there is an imperative here, e.g. let’s go swimming first.
  3. Yes, there is a finite relative clause here, e.g. the bottle of sparkling water [that we had packed]
  4. No, there is no non-finite adverbial clause here.

Exam questions:

Question 1

Read the first two paragraphs of Michael Rosen’s article Dear Gavin Williamson, could you tell parents what a fronted adverbial is?in The Guardian 23/01/2021 (starting with how are you getting on with fronted adverbials? and ending with … that “grammar” is either right or wrong) and answer the following questions.

  1. Name the phrase type for each non-embedded phrase in the clause perhaps, as a parent, you are in the same shoes?
  2. Determine the entire phrase structure, using square brackets, of the clause it is a package of outdated, rigid, misleading, prescriptive, disputed terms. You do not need to identify the phrase types.
  3. What is the semantic role of each bold phrase in its clause (i.e. I, me, I, you and after the Bew report of 2011)?
  4. What is the grammatical relation of each underlined phrase in its clause (i.e. with fronted adverbials, them, in the same shoes, children and thanks to your predecessors)?
  5. Do these paragraphs contain any of the following: an interrogative main clause, an imperative main clause, an exclamative main clause, a finite complement clause or a non-finite relative clause? Provide an example for each type that occurs in the text.

For any of these questions, students may also be asked to explain their answers.

  1. perhaps = AdvP,

    2. as a parent = PP
    you = NP
    are = VP
    in the same shoes = PP

  2. (ii)     [it][is][a package [of [[outdated,][rigid,][misleading,][prescriptive,][disputed] terms]]].
  3. (iii)    first I = agent

    4. me = recipient
    second I = experiencer
    you = experiencer
    after the Bew report of 2011 = time

  4. (iv)    with fronted adverbials = oblique

    5. them = direct object
    in the same shoes = subject complement
    children = subject
    thanks to your predecessors = oblique

  5. (v)     an interrogative – yes, e.g. how are you getting on with fronted adverbials?;

    6. an imperative – no;
    an exclamative – no;
    a finite complement clause – yes, e.g. they don’t know [why their children need to know them]
    a non-finite relative clause – yes, e.g. parents [telling me that they don’t know what these are and they don’t know why their children need to know them]

Alternatively:

Question 1

Consider the highlighted phrases in the following clauses.

  1. Nick gave me a letter.
  2. Nick saved me some cake.
  1. Me in clause (a) and me in clause (b) are typically analysed as having the same grammatical relation but a different semantic role. Which ones in particular?
  2. Some linguists regard one of the cases of me as a worse example of this grammatical relation than the other one. Which one would that be and why? (Tip: consider the tests for this grammatical relation!)
  1. Me in (a) and me in (b) are both indirect objects but me in (a) is a recipient and me in (b) a beneficiary.
  2. Me in (b) is a worse example of indirect objects. Passivization is generally considered the test to identify objects. However, unlike me in (a), me in (b) cannot really become the subject of a corresponding passive: I was given a letter by Nick is perfectly well-formed but ?*I was saved some cake by Nick is quite awkward.

Alternatively:

Question 2

Consider the highlighted phrases in the following clauses.

  1. The farmer loaded all the hay on her truck.
  2. Graham spied on us.
  3. The student ran into his lecturer on the bus.

Some linguists use a different term for each of these.

  1. Which one would be the “adpositional adjunct” and why?
  2. Which one would be the “the adpositional object” and why?
  3. Which one would be “the adpositional non-object argument” and why?

On her truck is the adpositional non-object argument. The reason is that, unlike objects, it cannot become the subject of a passive clause (*A truck was loaded all the hay on by the farmer) but that it is still an entity that is obligatory, i.e. X loads Y on Z, hence an argument.
On us is the adpositional object. The reason is that, like direct and indirect objects and unlike the other highlighted phrases here, on us can become the subject of a corresponding passive clause: we were spied on by Graham.
On the bus is the adpositional adjunct. The reason is that it is not obligatory with running into: it just provides extra information, hence an adjunct.