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