Chapter 3: Syntax: Infinite Use of Finite Means

Complements

Consituent(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

Functional Categories

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

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 this type of phrase (CP) in the X-bar schema. It 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

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

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

X-bar 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(bar), and N

Auxiliaries

A verbal element, traditionally called a "helping verb," that co-occurs with, and qualifies, the main verb in a verb phrase with regards 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

Grammatical Relations

Any of several structural positions that a noun phrase may assume in a sentence, such as subject and direct object

Lexical Ambiguity

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

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

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

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

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

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