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Phrasal structure and verb complementation Generative Grammar., The…
Phrasal structure and verb
complementation
Generative Grammar.
Introduction to generative grammar
This approach to syntax came into being over fifty years ago.
A fundamental tenet of generative grammar is
that not only do words occur in a linear order (or “string”)
But they also enter into hierarchical relationships with one another within coherent units known as “constituents”.
Constituents are the proper subparts of sentences.
Generative grammar inherited the notion of constituents from the approach to grammar which preceded it called “American Structural Linguistics”
Chomsky argued for the need to distinguish between
Deep (or underlying) structure
(D-structure
D-structure is the abstract level
In which all meaning resides, determining the structure of simple sentences, the lexical and phrasal categories to which words in the sentence belong
And the hierarchical relationships in which the words enter
Surface structure (S-structure)
S-structure is the actual linear order of words
Generative grammar is concerned exclusively with
The form of sentences, distinguishing between “grammatical” (or “acceptable”) and “meaningful”.
Constituents
Are the proper subparts of sentences
The study of syntax is the analysis of the constituent parts of a sentence:
Their form
The types of elements, the internal arrangement of elements, and the relation among elements within the constituent
Their (external) positioning in respect to other constituents
Their function.
Constituents may themselves be complex, containing other constituents.
Constituents can be identified by a number of different “constituency tests”
Constituency tests are based on
The principle that only entire constituents may be manipulated by syntactic operations.
They can be replaced (by pronominal forms), they can be moved, they can be conjoined, or
they can stand alone.
There are two basic relationships possible between the members of a constituent:
One-way dependency, or modifier-head
Mutual dependency, or governor-complement
Neither member of the constituent can be omitted and one cannot occur without the other; neither is more central.
A phrase structure grammar of english
Is a set of rules that will “generate” any possible (simple) sentence of English.
In reality, our grammar will be incomplete, partial, possibly wrong,
But it will be illustrative. We will not be overly
Noun phrase
The noun phrase (NP) can be expanded in many different ways
The other elements are all optional. The adjective (A) or adjective phrase (AP) precedes the N and the prepositional phrase (PP) follows the N
Adjective phrase
The adjective phrase (AP) can be expanded in several different ways
Adjective phrases are sets of words that serve to describe or qualify something.
Adverb phrase
Adverbial phrase has a modifying function within the sentence, and it is treated as a singular entity
Prepositional phrase
A prepositional phrase consists of the combination of a preposition with another element (noun, pronoun, gerund...) of the sentence.
The rule for PP is a recursive rule since PP (on the left) introduces a PP (on the right).
Conjunction
Conjunction of elements are with and,
but, or.
It is possible to conjoin two or more like constituents, either phrasal or lexical
categories
The combined category will be the same as the individual categories conjoined
Verb phrase
A verb phrase is the combination of a main verb and one or more auxiliary verbs. This group of words acts as a verb
Based on the type of complement a verb takes, a number of subcategories of verbs can be
identified:
Intransitive verb (intrans), e.g. arrive, cry, laugh, or swim
Transitive verb (trans) (also known as “monotransitive”), e.g. hit, eat, kill, or tie, with
the following subcategorization frame:
Ditransitive verb (ditrans), e.g. give, send, tell, lend, buy, offer, or show, with the following subcategorization frames:
Copula(tive) verb (cop), e.g. become, seem, appear, feel, be, grow, or look, and with the
following subcategorization frame:
Complex transitive verb (complex trans), with the following subcategorization frame:
Prepositional verb (prep), with the following subcategorization frame
Diprepositional verb (diprep), e.g. confer, talk, or consult, with the following subcategorization frame:
Review of phrase structure rules
The following are the phrase structure rules for English which we have established so far
We have identified the following grammatical functions:
The phrasal categories we have studied can serve the following functions:
The form of phrase structure rules
The rule may also be depicted in the form of a tree diagram:
The phrase structure rules also allow for choices. The optional choices are indicated
with parentheses:
In every phrase structure rule, there must be an initial symbol, a first left-hand symbol,
such as A above.
This rule states that if you choose B, you can’t choose C, but you must choose one – either B
or C, but not both.
Whether the mutually exclusive items are written on one line separated
Subject and predicate
. It is a tenet of both traditional and generative grammar that S consists of two constituents:
The subject (Su)
The predicate is defined as the comment, the action, or that which is said about the subject
The predicate (pred)
The subject is variously defined as the topic, the actor, or that which is spoken about.
We can formalize our recognition of the subject and predicate as key elements in the sentence in the following phrase structure rule
This rule reads that A is expanded as optionally B and obligatorily C
This gives us a formal definition of subject and predicate: the subject is the NP immediately dominated by S and the predicate is the VP immediately dominated by S.
JENNIFER FALCON RAFAELA
