AN OUTLINE

OF
ENGLISH SYNTAX
Compiled by: Nguyen Thi Xuan Thuy

QNU,2022
 MY TEAM

Trương Thị Hoàng Vy Huỳnh Thị Như Nguyệt Phan Thị Hồng Nhung

Yes- No Inversion Deep and Surface structure Wh - Movement

 TRANSFORMATION
There are 3 parts in this post
⚬YES-NO INVERSION
⚬DEEP STRUCTURE AND SURFACE STRUCTURE
⚬WH-MOVEMENT

Trương Thị Hoàng Vy

• How is an analysis diagram made for a question where
the auxiliary comes before the subject and the Wh-word
begins the sentence?
• To answer this question we need to get to know the
concept of transformation and deal with two
transformational rules accommodating the changes in
English sentences: inversion in Yes-no questions and Wh-
movement.
 YES-NO INVERSION

⚬Yes-no inversion deals with the Yes-no question whose

expected response is usually Yes or No.
⚬In a inverted question, the subject and the first verb phrase
are inverted when that verb is either a modal or an auxiliary
verb or with the verb be.

Trương Thị Hoàng Vy

 Example: Is Mary eating a salad?

⚬Making the tree-diagram analysis for this question requires

two steps.
⚬In the first step, the usual PS rules are used to form a
structure in which the Aux occupies its normal position within
the VP as follows.
 S

NP VP

NP
AUX

N V DET N
Mary is eating a salad.
Trương Thị Hoàng Vy
⚬The second step requires transformation, which is a special rule
that can move an element from one position to another.
⚬When inversion is applied to the above example, we have the
new one below.

Is Mary [t]_ eating a salad?

[t] means trace indicating the remain after something is moved.

Trương Thị Hoàng Vy

 s

NP
VP

AUX NP

N V DET N

Is Mary is[t] eating a salad.

Trương Thị Hoàng Vy
 • The train has got a buffer
s

NP VP

AUX NP

DET N v DET N

Has The train has

[t] got a buffet
Trương Thị Hoàng Vy
What is the transformation rule?
The transformation rule is a rule syntax that moves
an element from a position in the phrase structure
tree to another.

Trương Thị Hoàng Vy

 DEEP STRUCTURE AND SURFACE
STRUCTURE

DEEP STRUCTURE SURFACE STRUCTURE

Huỳnh Thị Như Nguyệt

⚬DEEP STRUCTURE: The first which reserts from
insertion of lexical items into tree structure generated
phrase structure rules.

Huỳnh Thị Như Nguyệt

 S

NP VP

Det N Aux V

The Students Will Arrive

The students will arrive

 ⚬SURFACE STRUCTURE: Surface structure is actual form
of a sentence. It is forms of sentences resulted form
modification or transformation.

⚬Surface structure is a form of language that is based on deep

structure.

Will the students [t] arrive?

⚬The relationship among deep structure, surface structure, PS rule and
transformation can be summarized as follows.
Ps rule

DEEP STRUCTURE

Transformation

SURFACE STRUCTURE
 You saw a frog DS

You saw what

You did see what DI

Did you see what AI

What did you see WF

SS
What did you see
 ⚬D-structure for multiword combinations

⚬How can we represent the structural properties of the combinations?

Prepositional verbs such as look at would have the verb and its
prepositional phrase as sisters under the V-bar. The at is less closely
attached grammatically to the verb preceding it than to the object
following it. Some prepositional verbs require a direct object as well as a
prepositional phrase. If there is a wh-word in the prepositional phrase, the
whole prepositional phrase can be fronted for a question, instead of just
the noun phrase object

Huỳnh Thị Như Nguyệt

 V'

V PP

P N

Look at me

Huỳnh Thị Như Nguyệt

⚬The verb selects the kind of prepositional phrase it requires. This is shown by
the sister relation between the V and the PP. Prepositional verb combinations
such as congratulate NP on have the object NP as an additional sister under the
V-bar.

⚬In much the same way, intransitive phrasal verbs, such as get up, would
have the V and the particle (PRT) as sisters:
 V'

V PRT

Get up
Huỳnh Thị Như Nguyệt
⚬Transitive phrasal verbs have D-structure in which the
particle precedes the object. The verb and the particle
form a V-bar, which in turn forms a higher V-bar with
the object.

Huỳnh Thị Như Nguyệt

 VP

V' NP

V PRT Det N

Write down the answer

 WH - MOVEMENT
Structurally, there are two major types of questions: yes-no questions, discussed
above, and Wh-question. Wh- questions are so named because they contain questions
words begin with Wh (except for How). The Wh-question word is normally at the
beginning of the clause and may be part of a question phrase. In contrast to the Yes-no
questions, which ask about an entire proposition, wh questions ask about a part of
proposition, requesting the information about an argument of a predicate or about
semantic domain like time, place and manner.

Phan Thị Hồng Nhung

⚬The following list show some of these semantic domains along with wh words and phrases
used to ask for information about them:
⚬TIME: when, at what time, on which day, etc.
⚬PLACE: where, at what place, in which town, to which country, etc.
⚬PERSON: who, by whom, whose house, etc.
⚬NONHUMAN: what, which, with what, etc.
⚬MANNER: in what way, in which way, by what means, etc.
⚬REASON: why, for what/ which reason, etc.
⚬QUANTITY: how much, how long, how many, how clever, etc.

Phan Thị Hồng Nhung

 As we see, to form a question, an operator is needed. In the example below

What can the students understand?

The modal verb can functions as the operator, so operator fronting shift can
around the subject. However, another movement is needed. The next step is for
the wh -word to be moved to the position before the complementizer slot in an
operation known as wh-movement. The result is the following questions:
What can the studens [T] understand [T]?

Phan Thị Hồng Nhung

 In the constituent structure tree, we will attach the wh word to the highest S-bar
S’
node like this.

Q S’

NP Comp S
VP

Pro NP V‘
Aux

DET N V NP

What can The student [T] understand [T]

Phan Thị Hồng Nhung
Other wh - questions can be formed from this sentence in the same way. Forexample, in
the question

Whose book would the students [t] like [t]

Phan Thị Hồng Nhung

 S’

Q S’

NP Comp S

N N NP VP

V‘
DET N Aux
V NP

The student would

[T] like Which [T] book

Phan Thị Hồng Nhung

 .
In the two examples above, the position empty has been the object position. If
location is questions, the prepositional phrase is affected instead. In the D-structure of the
location question there is a wh-phrase that is the object of the preposition. Look at the
following example.
The child can sit on what?
The operator is fronted in the usual way.
Can the child [t] sit on what?
Notice that here we have two options for a wh- movement. One option is to move
just the wh- noun phrase.
What can the child [t] sit on [t] ?
The second option is to move to the front the whole prepositional phrase containing the
wh- noun phrase.
On what can the child [t] sit [t] ?
THE ANALYSIS OF COMPLEX AND COMPOUND SENTENCES

1. The Analysis of Complex sentences

1.1. The analysis of Complex Sentences with nominal clauses
The sentences with a nominal clause as the subject has the constituent structure
below. In the diagram, the triangle shown for the embedded clause saves us from
having to specify details of the internal structure of the clause.
 S

S’ VP

Comp S V NP A

Det N

That I came home late yesterday makes my mother angry

Huỳnh Thị Như Nguyệt

In the sentences, the embedded clause is the subject argument of its container
clause. We have made one innovation in the two trees shown above, the
introduction of the S’, despite the fact that I came home late yesterday is a clause
and therefor an S, the sequence inside it, I came home late yesterday, also looks
like an S. To distinguish them, the full clause form with its complementizer is
shown as S’ (called S-bar). The complementizer is in the slot marked COMP.

Huỳnh Thị Như Nguyệt

 S

NP
VP

Det N V S’

Comp S

My sister said that she was fine

Huỳnh Thị Như Nguyệt
 S

NP VP

Det N V S’

COMP S

My doctor recommends that I should eat less fat and salt

Huỳnh Thị Như Nguyệt

 EXERCIES 8:

a. The reporter said that an accident injured a woman.

b. The police were happy that the criminal had surrendered.

 S

NP VP

Det N V S’

Comp S

The reporter said that an accident injured a woman

 S

NP VP

Det N V A S’

Comp S

The police were happy that the criminal had surrendered.

 1.2. The analysis of Complex Sentences with adverbial clauses

Look at the following example.

The little boys went to school although it rained heavily

The sequence although it rained heavily is a clause and therefore an S; the sequence

inside it, it rained heavily, also looks like an S. Thus, we will show the full clause form
(with its subordinator in the COMP slot) as S’ (S-bar). At the same time, we also show an
S-bar for the main clause.

Phan Thị Hồng Nhung

 Adverbial clause in final position

NP VP

Det N’ V PP S’

A N P N

The little boy went to shool althought it rained heavily

Phan Thị Hồng Nhung
 S

NP VP

Det A N V PP S’

P N Comp S

NP VP

Pro V Adv

The little boy went to shool althought it rained heavily

Phan Thị Hồng Nhung
 The whole S-bar in the adverbial clause is attached to the verb phrase in our
constituent structure tree. However, the subordinate S-bar is shifted so that it precedes
the main clause, we will attach it to the main clause S-bar. Look at the following diagram.

Adverbial clause in initial position S

S’ S

Although it rained heavily, the little boy went to school

Phan Thị Hồng Nhung
 S

S’ S

Comp S NP VP

NP VP Det A N V PP

Pro V Adv P N

Although it rained heavily the little boy went to school

Phan Thị Hồng Nhung
 1.3. The analysis of Complex Sentences with adjective clauses

- Look at the following example.

The little boy likes the schoolbag which is made of leather

The object noun phrase consists of the determiner the plus an N-bar containing

the head noun schoolbag and a whole clause beginning with the relative pronoun
which. As mentioned in chapter of clauses (chapter 5), the relative clause (adjective
clause) has the function of post modifier of the noun; therefore, it will be attached to
the noun before it to form the NP bar. In other words, the adjective clause is the sister
constituent of the head nouns schoolbag, and they are both daughters of the N’ in X’P
rule.
Phan Thị Hồng Nhung
 S

NP VP

Det N’ V NP

A N Det N’

N S

The little boy likes the schoolbag which is made of leather

Phan Thị Hồng Nhung
 S

VP VP

Det A N V NP

Det N S

NP VP

Pro Aux V PP

P NP
N

The little boy likes the schoolbag which is made leather

Phan Thị Hồng Nhung
9. The following sentences involve the rules of wh-movement and inversion. Give the
deep structure and the surface structure for each of these sentences

a/ Who should the director all? Surface structure

The director should all who Deep Structure

Phan Thị Hồng Nhung

S’ .

S’

NP VP
Det N Aux V’

V NP

The director should

[T]
T all who
[T]
Phan Thị Hồng Nhung
 b. What is John eating? Surface structure
John is eating what Deep Structure

S’

S’ .

S’

NP VP

N Aux V’

V NP

John [T]
is eating what
[T] Phan Thị Hồng Nhung
2. The analysis of Compound Sentences
Compound sentences are a combination of two or more independent clauses joined together by
a coordinating conjunction.
Remembering the acronym FANBOYS is an easy way to remember the coordinating
conjunctions we can use to join independent clauses.

FANBOYS
for so

and yet
nor but or

Trương Thị Hoàng Vy

For example: It rained heavily, but the little boy still
. went to school.
The sentence consists of two clauses, each of which can stand alone. They are linked
together by the contrast conjunction but.

S conj S

It rained heavily, but the little boy still went to school

Trương Thị Hoàng Vy
 .
S

S Conj S

NP VP NP VP

Pro V Adv Det A N Adv V PP

P N

It rained heavily, but the little boy still went to school.

However, according to Roderick A. Jacobs, intuitively, the conjunction seems
more closely linked with the clause following it than with the preceding clause.
Its position is similar to that of a complementizer , as the following constituent
structure indicates.
S
.
S S’

Conj S

It rained heavily, but the little boy still went to school

Trương Thị Hoàng Vy

 S .

S S’

Conj S

NP VP NP VP

Pro V Adv Det A N Adv V PP

P N

It rained heavily, but the little boy still went to school

Exercises 5: Draw a tree diagram of a coordinated sentence.
.
Theodora is a saint but she has no patience.

S Conj S

NP VP NP VP

N V NP N V NP

Det N Det N

Theodora is a saint but she has no patience.

Trương Thị Hoàng Vy

Thank you for your
listening