Introduction to Linguistics

SENTENCE
STRUCTUR
E
Jeff Darrel P. Mendoza
Introduction to Linguistics

Syntax is the study of the

rules on how words or
other elements of
sentence structure are
combined to form
grammatical sentences.
SENTENCE STRUCTURE

What are the

constituents of
a sentence?
CONSTITUENTS
Definition

a group of words
that act together to
form a unit
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Definition

"My dog Aristotle bit the

postal carrier on the ankle,"
the constituent parts are the
subject, made up of a Noun
Phrase, and the predicate, a
Verb Phrase.
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Definition

• NP is made up of a noun and

its modifiers. Modifiers that
come before the noun include
articles, possessive
nouns, possessive pronouns
and adjectives
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Definition

• A Verb Phrase (VP) is

made up of a verb and its
dependents (objects,
complements, and
modifiers).
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Definition

The constituent
structure of sentences
is identified using tests
for constituents.
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Definition

REPLACEMENT TEST

Example:

The students saw their friends after

class.
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Definition

REPLACEMENT TEST
Example:

The students saw their friends after

class.

The students saw them after class.

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Definition

REPLACEMENT TEST
Example:

The students saw their

friends after class.

The students saw their

friends then.
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Definition

REPLACEMENT TEST
Example:

The students saw their friends

after class.

They saw their friends after

class.
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Definition

REPLACEMENT TEST
Example:

The students saw
their friends after class.

*The they friends after class.

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Definition

REPLACEMENT TEST
•Noun Phrases can be replaced with
Pronouns (it, them, they).
•Some Preposition Phrases (but not all) can
be replaced with then or there.
•Adjective Phrases can be replaced with
something that you know to be an
adjective, such as happy.
•Synonyms
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Definition

MOVEMENT TEST
Example:

Nimra bought a top from that

strange little shop.
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Definition

MOVEMENT TEST
Example:

Nimra bought a top from that

strange little shop.

From that strange little

shop Nimra bought a top.
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Definition

MOVEMENT TEST
Example:

Nimra bought a top from that

strange little shop.

*From that strange, Nimra

bought a top little shop.
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Definition

CLEFT TEST
 A cleft is a kind of
sentence that has the
form:
It was ____ that …
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Definition

CLEFT TEST
Example:
The students saw their friends after
class.

It was their friends that the students

saw after class.
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Definition

CLEFT TEST
Example:
Rhea’s sister baked these delicious
cookies.
It was these delicious cookies that
Rhea’s sister baked.
It was Rhea’s sister that baked these
delicious cookies.
CONSTITUENTS
Definition

CLEFT TEST
Example:
Rhea’s sister baked these delicious cookies.
*It was sister baked that Rhea’s these
delicious cookies.
*It was these delicious that Rhea’s sister
baked cookies.
*It was cookies that Rhea’s sister baked
these delicious.
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Definition

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
If a string of words is a
constituent, it’s usually
grammatical for it to stand alone
as the answer to a question based
on the sentence.
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Definition

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
Rhea’s sister baked these delicious
cookies.
What did Rhea’s sister bake? These
delicious cookies.
Who baked these delicious
cookies? Rhea’s sister.
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Definition

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
Again, if a string of words is not
a constituent, then it is unlikely
to be grammatical as the answer
to a question. In fact, it’s difficult
to even form the right kind of
question:
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Definition

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
What did Rhea’s sister bake
cookies? *these delicious

Who of Rhea’s these delicious

cookies? *sister baked
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Definition

REMEMBER
Not every constituent will pass every
test, but if you’ve found that it passes
two of the four tests, then you can be
confident that the string is actually a
constituent. When you’re drawing
trees, use these tests as a check every
time you draw a mother node.
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Definition

REFERENCES
https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pu
b/essentialsoflinguistics/chapter/8-4-
constituents/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constituent_(l
inguistics)#:~:text=In%20syntactic
%20analysis%2C%20a
%20constituent,identified%20using
%20tests%20for%20constituents.