Chapter 3

grammatical relations

Any of several structural positions that a noun phrase may assume in a sentence. See subject and direct object.

subcategorization

See C-selection.

structure dependent

(1) A principle of Universal Grammar that states that the application of transformational rules is determined by phrase structure properties, as opposed to structureless sequences of words or specific sentences; (2) the way children construct rules using their knowledge of syntactic structure irrespective of the specific words in the structure or their meaning.

complementizers (Comp)

A category of words, including that, if, whether, that introduce an embedded sentence: for example, his belief that sheepdogs can swim, or, I wonder whether sheepdogs can swim. The head of a complementizer phrase (CP) in the Xbar schema. The complementizer has the effect of turning a sentence into a complement.

tree diagram

A graphical representation of the linear and hierarchical structure of a phrase or sentence. See phrase structure tree.

node

A labeled branch point in a phrase structure tree; part of the graphical depiction of a transition network represented as a circle, pairs of which are connected by arcs. See arc, phrase structure tree, and transition network.

adjunct

A phrasal category that is sister to X-bar.

declarative

A sentence that asserts that a particular situation exists. See interrogative

embedded sentence

A sentence that occurs within a sentence in a phrase structure tree: for example, sheepdogs cannot read in Everyone knows that sheepdogs cannot read.

constituents

A syntactic unit in a phrase structure tree: for example, the girl is a noun phrase constituent in the sentence The boy loves the girl.

phrase structure tree

A tree diagram with syntactic categories at each node that reveals both the linear and hierarchical structure of phrases and sentences.

X-bar (X) schema

A universal schema specifying that the internal organization of all phrasal categories (i.e., NP, PP, VP, TP(S), AP, AdvP, CP) can be broken down into three levels: for example, NP, N, and N.

intransitive verb

A verb that must not have (does not C-select for) a direct object NP complement: for example, sleep and rise.

auxiliaries

A verbal element, traditionally called a "helping verb," that co-occurs with, and qualifies, the main verb in a verb phrase with regard to such properties as tense: for example, have, be, and will.

modal

An auxiliary verb other than be, have, and do, such as can, could, will, would, or must.

yes-no questions

An interrogative sentence that asks for confirmation of a situation: for example, Is the boy asleep?

complements

Constituent(s) in a phrase other than the head that complete(s) the meaning of the phrase and which is C-selected by the verb. The right sister to the head in the X-bar schema. In the verb phrase found a puppy, the noun phrase a puppy is a complement of the verb found.

immediately dominate

If a node labeled A is directly above a node labeled B in a phrase structure tree, then A immediately dominates B.

sisters

In a phrase structure tree, two categories that are directly under the same node: for example, V and the direct object NP are sisters inside the verb phrase.

dominate

In a phrase structure tree, when a continuous downward path can be traced from a node labeled A to a node labeled B, then A dominates B.

lexical ambiguity

Multiple meanings of sentences due to words that have multiple meanings: for example, He blew up the pictures of his ex-girlfriend.

recursive

Rules with symbols like S and VP that occur on both the left and right side of some of the rules. See linguistic competence.

constituent structure tree

See phrase structure tree.

head

The central word of a phrase whose lexical category defines the type of phrase: for example, the noun men is the head of the noun phrase three fat men; the verb wrote is the head of the verb phrase wrote a letter to his mother; the adjective red is the head of the adjective phrase very bright red or red with rage.

S-selection

The classifying of verbs and other lexical items in terms of the semantic category of the head and complements that they accept, for example, the verb assassinate S-selects for a human subject and a prestigious, human NP complement.

C-selection

The classifying of verbs and other lexical items in terms of the syntactic category of the complements that they accept (C stands for categorial), sometimes called subcategorization: for example, the verb find C-selects, or is subcategorized for, a noun phrase complement. See transitive verb.

subject

The grammatical relation of a noun phrase to a S(entence) when it appears immediately below that S (TP) in a phrase structure tree: for example, the zebra in The zebra has stripes.

direct object

The grammatical relation of a noun phrase when it appears immediately below the verb phrase (VP) and next to the verb in deep structure; the noun phrase complement of a transitive verb: for example, the puppy in The boy found the puppy.

constituent structure

The hierarchically arranged syntactic units such as noun phrase and verb phrase that underlie every sentence. Also constituent structure tree, phrase structure tree.

structural ambiguity

The phenomenon in which the same sequence of words has two or more meanings accounted for by different phrase structure analyses: for example, He saw a boy with a telescope.

syntax

The rules of sentence formation; the component of the mental grammar that represents speakers' knowledge of the structure of phrases and sentences.

specifiers

The sister of X in the X-bar schema: for example, a determiner in an NP. It is a modifier of the head+complement and is often optional.

functional categories

The syntactic categories of Determiner, T(ense), Comp. These categories are not lexical or phrasal categories. See lexical category and phrasal category.

verb phrase (VP)

The syntactic category of expressions that contain a verb as its head along with its complements such as noun phrases and prepositional phrases: for example, gave the book to the child.)

determiner (Det)

The syntactic category, also functional category, of words and expressions, which when combined with a noun form a noun phrase. Includes the articles the and a, demonstratives such as this and that and quantifiers such as each and every.

prepositional phrase (PP)

The syntactic category, also phrasal category, consisting of a prepositional head and a noun phrase complement: for example, with a key, into the battle, and over the top.

noun phrase (NP)

The syntactic category, also phrasal category, of expressions containing some form of a noun or pronoun as its head, and which functions as the subject or as various objects in a sentence.

ambiguous

The terms used to describe a word, phrase, or sentence with multiple meanings.

generate

To specify precisely, concisely, and in all particulars: for example, syntactic rules generate the different kinds of sentence structures of a language.

demonstratives

Words such as this, that, those, and these that function syntactically as articles but are semantically dependent on the situational context, which is needed to determine the referents of the noun phrases in which they occur.