SYNTAX MID-TERM II

What is syntax ?
- Syntax is often equated with the study of sentence structure, eventhough the things we analyze
may not always be complete sentences.
- Syntax concerns the way that words are arranged into larger units.
- The basic unit – word
- The largest unit – sentence
Section 1. Word classes

Major classes Minor classes

- Noun, verbs, adjectives and adverbs
→ have a great many members – a hundred
thousand nouns
- Tend to have referential meanings
(vật/người có ý nghĩa rõ ràng)
E.g. horse
= open classes
→ receptive (lĩnh hội) to new members
E.g. to receive (V); reception (n); receptive (adj)
- Pronouns, numerals, determiners,
prepositions, conjunctions and so on
→ have few members
- Articles:a, an, the
- Prepositions: 70
- Coordinating conjunctions: 7
- Tend not to have referential meanings
→ their meanings are not easily specified by
means of a neat definiton
= closed classes
→ not receptive to new members

English major classes/open classes (have double – track classification)

- Nouns
English form classes (by form) - Verbs
- Adjectives
- Adverbs
- Nominals (danh ngữ)
English positional classes (by position) - Verbals (động ngữ)
- Adjectivals (tính ngữ)
- Adverbials (trạng ngữ)

I. NOUNS
- Nouns are indentified by two aspects of form: their inflectional morphemes and their derivational
morphemes.
- Nouns are indentified by:

2 nouns inflectional morphemes/suffixes - Plural {-S1}: book-s; box-es

Noun – forming derivational morphemes
→ adj, V, n, bound bases + noun – forming
derivational suffixes = nouns
- Possessive {-S2}: man’s
E.g.
- Accept (V) → accept-ance (n)
- Happy (adj) → happi-ness (n)
- Book (n) → book-let (n)
- Dent (V,n) → dent-ist (n)

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 II. VERBS are indentified by:

4 verbs inflectional morphemes/suffixes E.g.

- Verb 3rd: person singular present tense morpheme - {-S3}: walk-s; mix-es
- Verb present participle morpheme (V-ing) - {-ing1}: play-ing; typ-ing
- Verb past simple morpheme (V2) - {-D1}: play-ed; drank
- Verb past participle morpheme (V3) - {-D2}: wor-ed; drunk; shown
Verb – forming derivational morphemes E.g.
→ adj, n, bound bases + derivational affixes = verbs - ac-knowledge
- bath-e
- rip-en
- en-large
- sanc-tify

Interesting story Very interesting

V + -ing → adjective Rather interesting
Quite interesting
→ {-ing3}: the derivational class – changing adj – forming → Degree adverbs → true adjective
morpheme/suffix
Melting snow Very melting
V + -ing → present participle
→ {-ing1}: the flectional verb present participle
morpheme/suffix

The printed statement → {-D2}: the infectional verb past participle morpheme
A devoted mother → {-D3}: the derivational class – changing adjective – forming morpheme

III. ADJECTIVES are identified by:

2 adjectives inflectional suffixes E.g.

- The adjective comparative morpheme
- The adjective superlative morpheme
Adjective – forming derivational suffixes
→ n, V, bound bases + derivational suffixes = adjectives
- {-er1}: small-er; saf(e)-er
- {-est1}: small-est; saf(e)-est
E.g.
- Athlete (n) → athlet-ic (adj)
- Child (n) → child-ish (adj)

IV. ADVERBS are indentified by:

2 adverbs inflectional morphemes E.g.

- Adverb comparative morpheme - {-er1}: fast-er; hard-er
- Adverb superlative morpheme - {-est1}: fast-est; hard-est
Adverb – forming derivational morpheme E.g.
→ adj + derivational suffix (-ly) = adverbs - Quick-ly; beautiful-ly

Quickly → {-ly1}: the derivational class –

→ bổ nghĩa cho một động từ đứng trước hoặc sau nó changing adverb – forming suffix
Lovely → {-ly2}: the derivational class –

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→ bổ nghĩa cho một danh từ đứng sau nó changing adjective – forming suffix

V. NOMINALS have six positions:

Subject of a verb (Subj) - Upstairs is the safest hiding place.

- To err is human, to forgive is divine.
Subjective complement (sC) - This book is hers.
- My favourite pastime is swimming.
→ “hers & swimming” identifies “this book & my favourite pastime”
- The box smells funny.
→ “funny” describes “the box”
Direct object of a verb (dO) - Would you like something sweet ?
- I hate telling lies.
Indirect object of a verb (iO) - She gave whomever she met different offers.
- She gave nobody a hand shake.
Objective complement (oC) - You’ve made me what I am.
- They named the little dog Neky.
Object of a preposition (pO) - He is interested in nothing.
- The elevator has been used for many years.

Section 2. TYPES of PHRASES, CLAUSES and SENTENCES

I. PHRASES
- A phrase is a group of words which forms a grammatical unit. It consits of a head word and all
the words clustering around the head word.
E.g. [[A very big black dog] (1) sleeping soundly in [a corner of the room] (2)]
(3)
- Phares have five main kinds:
+ Noun phrase (NP)
+ Verb phrase (VP)
+ Adjective phrase (AP)
+ Adverb phrase (AdvP)
+ Prepositional phrase (PP)
a) NOUN PHRASES (NP)

(S/Q/D) + Head word (N) + modifiers of N

Specifiers - Ordinals: 1st , 2nd …
- Cardinals: 1, 2…
Qualifiers - General class of objects: nice…
Determiners - General classes:
+ Wh – determiners
+ Articles
+ Demonstratives
+ Quantifying determiners
+ Possessives

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 FUNCTIONS EXAMPLES
M
- Premodifier - The town hall clock
- Postmodifier - The newspaper, daily Tuoi Tre
- Adjectival modifier - The high heel shoes were broken
- Adverbial modifier - That day something unusual happened
S - The beautiful flowers are sent to the mothers
O
- Od - I have just bought a new dress.
- Oi - I bought my best friend a new shirt.
- Op - I put the pen on the oval table.
C
- Cs - She was the best student.
- Co - We voted him the committee chairman.

b) VERB PHRASE (VP)

- Head word (V) + other words and word groups
+ Auxiliaries
+ Modifiers
+ Complements
 Subjective complements (Cs)
 Direct object (Od)
 Indirect object (Oi)
 Objective complement (Co)
- Verb phrases can come in a variety of shapes

V alone Ann cried

V + NP Ann made a cake
V + NP + PP Ann put the pen on the table
V + AP Ann is happy
V + AP + PP Ann seems friendly to us
V + NP + NP Ann sent her friend a letter
V+Q Ann’s complaints were many

- Verb phrase has two types:

+ Finite VP
 Has tense
 Is verb of the clause
 Agrees with the subject
E.g. I have been waiting for long time.
+ Non – finite VP
 Infinitive phrase
 Present participle phrase
 Past participle phrase
 Gerund
E.g. To live is to struggle (S – Cs)

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 - Non – finite verb phrase consists:

HEAD WORD FUNCTIONS E.g.

1. Infinitive Infinitive S To live is to struggle
phrase
Cs I want to stay with you
Adjectival M That day was the day to remember
Adverbial M I learn English to get a good job

2. Gerund Gerund S Swimming is my hobby

→ acts like a Od I like swimming
noun
Oi I gave swimming all my time
Op Before swimming, don’t eat too much
Cs My hobby is swimming
Co I consider living this way being in prison

3. Present Present Adjectival M The boy sitting near the windows is my

participle participle brother
phrase → acts like a
verb or
adjective
Adverbial M She arrived smilling happily

4. Past Past participle Adjectival M The child punished by his father runs away
participle from home
phrase
Adverbial M Delayed by the weather, the train arrived two
hours late

c) ADJECTIVE PHRASE (AP)

- Degree’ words (very, somewhat…) + Head word (Adj)

HEAD WORD FUNCTIONS E.g.

Adjective Noun M She is a very beautiful girl
Cs She is very beautiful
Co I found her very helpful

d) ADVERBIAL PHRASE (AdvP)

- Degree’ words (very, somewhat…) + Head word (Adv)

HEAD WORD FUNCTION E.g.

Adverb Verb M He was received rather less
enthusiastically

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 e) PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE (PP)
- Head word (Prep) + a noun phrase (object of preposition)

HEAD WORD FUNCTIONS E.g.

Preposition S On the beach is better than at home
Cs Our happy time is after dinner
Po The view from above the shore is magnificent
Adjectival M The boy near the door is my brother
Adverbial M She is living near the school
Complement of Adj I am terribly bad at mathematics

II. CLAUSES
- A clause is a group of words which has subject verb combination. It has a complete meaning by
itself.
E.g. He plays cricket regularly.

Independent - A complete sentence E.g. You may sit.

by itself S V
- Doesn’t need any other
clause for its existance
Dependent - Subject verb E.g. wherever you like
combination S V
- No complete thought
- Dependent on
independent clause

DEPENDENT CLAUSE
- Noun clause: is a group of words which has subject and verb, acts as a noun.
E.g. I fear that I will fail.
That you have come pleases me.
→ mũi tên ngược
- Adjective clause: is a group of words which has subject and verb, acts as an adjective and
describes noun.
E.g. The umbrella which has a broken handles is mine.
He met a girl whose eyes were blue.
→ mũi tên ngược
- Adverb clause (modifiers verb, adjective or adverb): is a group of words which has subject and
verb, acts as an adverb.
E.g. They rested when the evening came.
I will give you a map so that you can find a way.
→ mũi tên xuôi

SUBORDINATORS
Mệnh đề danh từ That, Wh- (why, where, when, who, what)
How... (how often, how many, how much)
If/whether

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Mệnh đề tính từ Who, [whose + noun], that, which, when, where

Mệnh đề trạng ngữ Clause of time When, whenerver, since, while, as, as soon as, until,
till, before, after
Clause of place Where, whenever
Clause of condition If, unless, as long as, supposing that, provided that
Clause of purpose In order to, so that, in order that
Clause of reason Because, since, as, in that
Clause of constract Although, (even) though, while, whereas
Clause of manner As, as if, as though
Clause of result So…that, such…that
Clause of degree According to as, according to how

III. SENTENCES
a) Subject/Predicate
- A sentence is a sequence of words whose first word starts with a capital letter and whose last
word is followed by an end punctuation mark (period/full stop, question mark or exclamation
mark).
- All sentences are about something or someone. The something or someone that the sentence is
about called the subject of the sentence.
- The predicate contains information about someone or something that is the subject.
- The simple subject is always a noun/pronoun and the simple predicate is always a verb.
E.g. John often comes late to class.
My friend and I both have a dog named Spot.
b) Sentence types
- A way to categorize sentences is by the clauses they contain.
- A clause is a part of a sentence containing a subject and a predicate.
- There are the 4 sentence types.

Simple sentences (câu đơn)
Compound sentences (câu ghép)
Complex sentences (câu phức)
Compound – Complex sentences
(câu phức – phép)
Contains a single, independent E.g. I don’t like dog.
clause.
Contains two independent clauses E.g. I don’t like dogs, and my
that are joined by a coordinating sister doesn’t like cats.
conjunction.
The most common coordinating
conjunctions are: and, or, but, so...
Contains an independent clauses E.g. Although he is sick, he
plus one dependent clause. still goes to school.
A dependent clause starts with a
subordinating conjunction (that,
because, although...)
Contains 3 or more clauses (of E.g. I don’t like dogs, and my
which at least two are independent sister doesn’t like cats

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 and one is dependent) because they make her
sneeze.

- Sentences can also be categorized according to their function.

- Independent clauses are also called main clauses. Denpendent clauses are also called
subordinate clauses.
IV. BASIC CLAUSE TYPES IN ACTIVE FORMS
a) INTENSIVE VERB (Vint)
- Vint requires Subjective Complement (Cs) or Obligatory Adjuncts (Ad) to complete the meaning
of subject or Vint.
- Formally, Vint comprises the verb be and linking verbs (look, sound, taste, seem, become,
remain...)
E.g. Minh looks very young. → Type 1: S + Vint + Cs
[ S Vint Cs ]
Mary was in the library at 9 a.m yesterday with John.
[ S Vint Ad (A1) ] (A2) (A3)
Mary was at home. → Type 2: S + Vint + Ad
[ S Vint Ad ]
b) TRANSITIVE VERB (Vt)
- Vt requires objects.
- Mono – transitive Verb (Vtmono): requires only Od.
E.g. He likes classical music. → Type 3: S + Vtmono + Od
[ S Vtmono Od ]
- Di – transitive Verb (Vtdi): requires not only Od but also Oi to complete the meaning of Vtdi.
E.g. He gave a book to Mary. → Type 4: S + Vtdi + Od + Oi
[ S Vtdi Od Oi ]
- Complex - transitive Verb (Vtcomp): requires not only Od but also Co or Ad to complete of
Od or Vtcomp.
E.g. Mary made John a monitor. → Type 5: S + Vtcomp + Od + Co
[ S Vtcomp Od Co ]
He put the book on the table. → Type 6: S + Vtcomp + Od + Ad
[ S Vtcomp Od Ad ]
c) INTRANSITIVE VERB (Vi)
- Vi can make sense by it self with or without the verb – complementation.
E.g. The bird flew away. → Type 7: S + Vi
[ S Vi ]
The sun rose.
[ S Vi ]

V. BASIC CLAUSE TYPES IN PASSIVE FORMS

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- Among the 7 patterns, there are 4 patterns of Vt can be transformed into the passive.
- Type 8: S + Vptmono + Ag
E.g. The teacher punished Bill. → Bill was punished by the teacher.
[ S Vtmono Od ] [S Vptmono Ag ]
- Type 9: S + Vptdi + Oi + Ag
E.g. My dad bought this shirt to me. → This shirt was bought to me by my dad.
[ S Vtdi Od Oi ] [ S Vptdi Oi Ag ]
Or S + Vptdi + Od + Ag: I was bought a shirt by my dad.
[S Vptdi Od Ag ]
- Type 10: S + Vptcomp + Od + Cs
E.g. I named my dog Black. → My dog was named Black.
[S Vtcomp Od Co ] [ S Vptcomp Cs ]
- Type 11: S + Vptcomp + Ad
E.g. He put the key on the table. → The key was put on the table.
[ S Vtcomp Od Ad ] [ S Vptcomp Ad ]

VI. DISJUNCT, FILLER AND INTERJECTION IN ENGLISH

- Disjunct, filler and interjection are normally used initially in a sentence. There is also a comma
between them in written language and a pause or hesitation in speech.
a) DISJUNCT (bổ ngữ, phụ ngữ)
As for meaning, is used to denote (biểu thị) the whole sentence.
E.g. Generally speaking, he is right !
→ Disj
b) FILLER (từ lấp đầy)
In terms of meaning, a filler is apparently (hầu như) meaningless.
E.g. Well, he is intelligent !
→ Filler
c) INTERJECTION (thán từ)
With regard to meaning, interjection is a short sound, word or phrase spoken suddenly to express
an emotion.
E.g. Oh, he is right !
→ Int
VII. ANALYZE SYNTACTIC STRUCTURE OF THE FOLLOWING TRANSFORMATIONAL
SENTENCES
a) W-H QUESTIONS
E.g. Where shall we go now ?
[ (Ap) Aux S Vi (At)]
b) CLEFT SENTENCES (câu chẻ)
E.g. It ‘s easy for me to solve the problem.
[Sf Vint Cs Sr ]
→ “to solve the problem” is a VP and it can be a subject → To solve the problem is easy to me.
c) EXISTENTIAL SENTENCES (câu mang tính tồn tại)

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 E.g. A man is coming. → There is a man coming.
[ S Aux Vi ] [ Wi Aux S Vi ]
d) IMPERATIVE SENTENCES (câu mệnh lệnh)
E.g. Be careful !
[(S) Vint Cs ]
e) EXCLAMATORY SENTENCES (câu cảm thán)
E.g. How beautiful the house is !
[ Cs S Vint]
f) COMPARATIVE SENTENCES (câu so sánh)
E.g. Mary is taller than Jane.
[ S Vint Cs ]
g) INVERTED SENTENCES (2 periods) (câu đảo ngữ)
E.g. Not only did I telephone her but I wrote a letter to her.
[ Wi Aux S Vtmono Od Wi S Vtdiprep Od Oi ]
→ nếu “her” ở trước “a letter” thì không có prep
h) IRREGULAR SENTENCES (câu bất qui tắc)
- Elliptical sentences (câu hình thái ngắn gọn)
E.g. A:‘Do you like music ?’
B: ‘Yes, I do.’ (I like music)
[Wpos S Aux (S Vtmono Od)]
- Interjections
E.g. Ah, that ’s perfect.
[ Int S Vint Cs ]
- Irregular sentences
[ How/What about + NP/-ing clause] → không theo nguyên tắc câu hỏi: W-h Q + Aux + S + Vo ?
E.g. How about going to the supermarket ?
[ Wq Vi ] Ap
i) FORMULOE
E.g. “Good morning !” (formal)
“ Hi” (familiar)
[S Vtdi (Od) Oi]
j) NON – SENTENCE
E.g. Your name ? (= What’s your name ? [Clould you] tell me your name ?)
The door ! (= Shut the door ! Watch the door ! Open the door !)

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 Section 3: TREES DIAGRAMS
UP SIDE DOWN TREES

Sentence (+Infl)

Phrases

(Phrases) Syntatic

Categories

Words

- Example with brackets: [The children] [put [the toys] [in [the box]]].
I. Draw the tree structure of phrases
- Example – Phrase Tree (1)
Play with the toy → VP
VP

V PP

P NP

Det N

play with the toy

- AMBIGUOUS phrases
NP

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 N → Compound noun

Det Adj N N

a fat ladies man

→ A man who gives women a lot of attention is fat.

NP

NP

Det Adj N N

a fat ladies man

→ A man who like larger ladies.
II. Draw tree structure of sentences
- Example – Sentence Tree (2)
He / likes the toy.
S

NP VP

Pronoun (N) V NP

Det N

He likes the toy

The children / like the toy.
S

NP VP

Det N V NP

Det N

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 The children like the toy

The children / like the toy in the box.

S

NP VP

Det N V NP PP

Det N P NP

Det N

The children like the toy in the box

- AMBIGUOUS sentences
S

NP VP

V NP PP

N Det N P NP

Jane hid the letter from Dan

→ Jane didn’t want Dan to see the letter.
S

NP VP

V NP

N Det N PP

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 P NP

Jane hid the letter from Dan

→ Jane hid the letter that Dan wrote.
PRACTISE EXERCISES
NP

Det N PP

P NP

Det N

The success of the program

NP

Det N PP

P NP

A film about pollution

S

NP VP

N Adv V NP

Det N

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 Maria never ate a brownie
S

NP VP

Det N Aux V

That shelf will fall

S

NP VP

Det N V

The glass broke

NP VP

N V NP

Adj N Conj N

He likes raw vegetables and meat

→ He likes raw vegetables and raw meat.
S

NP VP

N V NP NP

Adj N Conj N

He likes raw vegetables and meat

→ He likes raw vegetables and meat.

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