Language: Syntax

syntactic constituents

(a group of linguistic expressions that function as a syntactic unit within some larger expression; the smaller expressions out of which some larger phrasal expression was constructed in accordance with the phrase structure rules.) These reveal the syntactic structure of a sentence.

argument

MUST occur with another given phrase: They enjoyed the cake. (NOT: they enjoyed.) (object noun phrase must co-occur with the subject)

co-occurence

The concept that certain expressions allow or require certain other phrases to occur with it in a sentence. (arguments and adjuncts)

Syntax

a component of mental grammar that has to do with how sentences and other phrases can be constructed out of smaller phrases and words

lexical expressions

another term for words

adjunct

are allowed (but don't have to) co-occur with another expression. Charlie loves dogs. Charlie loves BIG dogs. (big is the adjunct)

subject

in English, the expression that is immediately to the left of a verb

phrasal expressions

multiple words put together

grammatical judgment

native speakers of a given language are uniquely qualified to make a _____ and decide if a string of words really is a sentence.

syntactic distribution

refers to the set of environments in which an expression can occur. If two expressions are interchangeable in all syntactic environments, they have the same ________.

syntactic category

sentence noun noun phrase adjective a group of expressions that have very similar syntactic properties. All expressions that belong to one of these have more or less the same syntactic distribution

morphosyntax

syntax and morphology considered jointly as a single component of grammar (exp. verb agreement: I like apples. She likeS apples. or possessive s: that is my mom's cup - not my mom cup.)

object

the expression that is immediately to the right of a verb

ambiguous words

those that can correspond to more than one distinct expression

word order

typical in english: subject - verb- object the linear order in which word can occur in some phrasal expression. (also the set of syntactic properties of expressions that dictates how they can be ordered with respect to other expressions.

syntactic properties

word order co-occurence properties of linguistic expressions that dictate how they can syntactically combine with other expressions