Practical Grammar: Difference between revisions
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* [[https://www.english-linguistics.de/grammarparadise/wiki/index.php/Words Words]] | * [[https://www.english-linguistics.de/grammarparadise/wiki/index.php/Words Words]] | ||
* [[https://www.english-linguistics.de/grammarparadise/wiki/index.php/Phrases Phrases]] | * [[https://www.english-linguistics.de/grammarparadise/wiki/index.php/Phrases Phrases]] | ||
=== Sentences === | === Sentences === | ||
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(Based on Radford (1988), Chapter 2) | (Based on Radford (1988), Chapter 2) | ||
= | ===Only phrasal constituents (i.e. whole phrases) can undergo Preposing=== | ||
(1) I cant stand your elder sister . | (1) I cant stand your elder sister . | ||
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e. * <span style="color:#0000ff">Your</span> I can’t stand <span style="color:#ff0000">elder sister</span> . | e. * <span style="color:#0000ff">Your</span> I can’t stand <span style="color:#ff0000">elder sister</span> . | ||
= | =Pronouns= | ||
== | ===Pronouns replace NPs=== | ||
(6) | (6) | ||
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c. SPEAKER B: *I can't stand <span style="color:#0000ff">[</span> <span style="color:#0000ff">NP</span> <span style="color:#0000ff">the</span> <span style="color:#ff0000">[</span> <span style="color:#ff0000">N</span> <span style="color:#ff0000">him]</span> <span style="color:#0000ff">who wrote that unbelievably boring</span> <span style="color:#ff0000">[</span> <span style="color:#0000ff">N</span> <span style="color:##0000ff">book]</span> <span style="color:#0000ff">on</span><span style="color:#0000ff">Transformational Grammar]</span> | c. SPEAKER B: *I can't stand <span style="color:#0000ff">[</span> <span style="color:#0000ff">NP</span> <span style="color:#0000ff">the</span> <span style="color:#ff0000">[</span> <span style="color:#ff0000">N</span> <span style="color:#ff0000">him]</span> <span style="color:#0000ff">who wrote that unbelievably boring</span> <span style="color:#ff0000">[</span> <span style="color:#0000ff">N</span> <span style="color:##0000ff">book]</span> <span style="color:#0000ff">on</span><span style="color:#0000ff">Transformational Grammar]</span> | ||
== | ===''there'' replaces PPs=== | ||
(8) | (8) | ||
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b. SPEAKER B: No, I have never been <span style="color:#0000ff">[</span> <span style="color:#0000ff">PP</span> <span style="color:#0000ff">there]</span> . | b. SPEAKER B: No, I have never been <span style="color:#0000ff">[</span> <span style="color:#0000ff">PP</span> <span style="color:#0000ff">there]</span> . | ||
== | ===''do so'' replaces VPs=== | ||
(9) Lilly <span style="color:#0000ff">[</span> <span style="color:#0000ff">VP</span> <span style="color:#0000ff">went home early]</span> . | (9) Lilly <span style="color:#0000ff">[</span> <span style="color:#0000ff">VP</span> <span style="color:#0000ff">went home early]</span> . | ||
Latest revision as of 08:51, 16 October 2025
Review
If you need a review on parts of speech and phrases, then follow these links:
Sentences
(1) John [disappeared].
(2) the bottle [broke].
(3) Martha [stayed at the hospital].
(4) Fred [talks about Chicago].
(5) Robert [went to the hospital].
(6) Alice [moved into the room].
(7) Joe [saw Fred].
(8) Alice [broke the bottle].
(9) we [moved it into the room].
(10) Fred [took Alice to the hospital].
(11) John [sent Martha a check].
(12) we [gave Fred a wastebasket].
Syntactic Categories
S, NP, N, VP, V, PP, P, AP, A, D
Evidence for Syntactic Constituents
(Based on Radford (1988), Chapter 2)
Only phrasal constituents (i.e. whole phrases) can undergo Preposing
(1) I cant stand your elder sister .
(2)
a. Your elder sister I can’t stand.
b. * Your elder I can’t stand sister .
c. * Elder sister I can’t stand your .
d. * Sister I can’t stand your elder .
e. * Your I can’t stand elder sister .
Pronouns
Pronouns replace NPs
(6)
a. SPEAKER A: What do you think of [ NP the [ N guy] who wrote that unbelievably boring book onTransformational Grammar]?
b. SPEAKER B: I can't stand [ NP him] .
c. SPEAKER B: *I can't stand [ NP the [ N him] who wrote that unbelievably boring [ N book] onTransformational Grammar]
there replaces PPs
(8)
a. SPEAKER A: Have you ever been [ PP to Paris] ?
b. SPEAKER B: No, I have never been [ PP there] .
do so replaces VPs
(9) Lilly [ VP went home early] .
(10)
a. Sandy [ VP did so] , too.
b. Sandy will [ VP do so] , too.
c. Sandy might [ VP do so] , too.
Phrase Structure Rules
A phrase structure rule is well formed, if it is of one of the following forms
C0 -> C1
C0 -> C1 C2
C0 -> C1 C2 C3
and each C is one of the categories listed above.
The S rule
S -> NP VP
Exercise 1 Find constituents
Determine the constituency of the bracketed expressions in the following sentences. Use only the following syntactic categories: S, NP, N, VP, V, PP, P, AP, A, D.
(1) the bottle [broke].
(2) Joe [saw Fred].
(3) Alice [broke the bottle].
(4) Martha [stayed at the hospital].
(5) Fred [took Alice to the hospital].
(6) John [sent Martha a check].
Exercise 2 Draw trees
Using only the syntactic categories listed above,
a. draw plausible phrase structure trees for the odd-numbered sentences. Assume that the bracketed expressions are VPs.
Draw the trees with the program at the following website:
Example: to draw a tree for sentence (12) above, paste the following line into the textfield of jsSyntaxTree:
[S [NP [N We]] [VP [V gave] [NP [N Fred]] [NP [D a] [N wastebasket]]]]
Download each tree by clicking on it.
b. Write the phrase structure rules needed to license the trees you drew.