Bài giảng Tiếng Anh - Syntax 2 - Trương Văn Ánh

Nội dung text: Bài giảng Tiếng Anh - Syntax 2 - Trương Văn Ánh

1. SYNTAX Mr. Trương Văn Ánh 1
2. SENTENCE STRUCTURE: CONSTITUENTS I. STRUCTURE A sequence of words is considered as a syntactic structure when: a. It is divisible into parts (called constituents) b. There are different kinds of parts. (different categories of constituents) c. The constituents are arranged in a specifiable way. d. Each constituent has a certain specifiable function in the structure of the sequence of words as a whole.
3. II. ESTABLISHING CONSTITUENTS There are five tests to identify constituents in a sentence. 1. OMISSION TEST: If a sequence of words can be omitted from a sentence leaving another good sentence, this is a good indication that the sequence is a phrase functioning as a constituent in the structure of the sentence. EXAMPLE: I have studied English in this evening class for three months.
4. In this evening class is a constituent in this sentence because if this group of words is omitted from the sentence, it still leaves a full sentence: I have studied English for three months. So in this evening class is a phrase.
5. 2. REPLACEMENT TEST If a sequence of words in a sentence can be replaced with a single word without changing the overall structure of the sentence, then that sequence functions as a constituent of the sentence and is therefore a phrase. EXAMPLE: I consider this beautiful girl as my friend. This beautiful girl is a phrase because when this sequence of words is replaced by the word her the overall structure does not changed: I consider her as my friend.
6. 3. QUESTTION TEST Answers to WH-question (that is, questions that contain one of the question words who, which, what, why, where, when, whose, and how) are phrases. EXAMPLE: We elected the intelligent boy our monitor. The intelligent boy is a phrase because this group of words can be used to answer the question who did we elect as our monitor?
7. 4. MOVEMENT TEST The movement of a sequence of words in forming a construction indicates that the sequence is a phrase. EXAMPLE: I will come back in ten minutes. In ten minutes is a phrase because it can move to the front of the sentence but still leave the overall sentence: In ten minutes I will come back.
8. 5. SENSE TEST Any sequence of words which can be filled in blank “what does mean?” is a phrase. EXAMPLE: I usually come to the beautiful landscape. The beautiful landscape is a phrase because it is reasonable to make the question: “What does the beautiful landscape mean?”
9. SENTENCE STRUCTURE: FUNCTIONS I. SUBJECT AND PREDICATE At first, a sentence can be divided into two constituents, the first of which is said to function as subject, and the second as predicate. EXAMPLE: [The ducks] [are paddling away]. Subject Predicate
10. II. NOUN PHRASE AND VERB PHRASE The subject of the sentence is a noun phrase (NP) immediately dominated by a sentence. And a predicate is a verb phrase (VP) immediately dominated by a sentence. The NP and the VP together form a sentence (S) EXAMPLE: [The pianist] [has rejected the chiropodist] This sentence can be showed in a tree diagram or a phrase marker as following:
11. III. DEPENDENCY AND FUNCTION When two constituent nodes are immediately dominated by the same single node, they are said to be sisters. The sisters are said to have the functions in respect of each other. The single node is called to be mother of the two constituents. EXAMPLE: [The pianist] [has rejected the chiropodist]
12. 1. MODIFIER AND HEAD In a phrase if any word or group of words can be omitted leaving other well-form phrase, the word or the group of words functions as a modifier. EXAMPLE: The NP their rather dubious jokes is showed in its following tree diagram:
13. In this tree diagram, there are three sister relations of modification. · Their and PHRASE-b (rather dubious joke) · PHRASE-c (rather dubious) and jokes · Rather and dubious In PHRASE-c rather is dependent on dubious because if dubious were omitted, we have an ill- formed string *their rather jokes. In contrast, rather can be omitted and the omission still leave a perfectly good phrase their dubious jokes.
14. This is a one-way function or dependency. In this case rather has a function of modifier in respect of its sister dubious. The same thing happens to PHRASE-b in which PHRASE-c has a function of modifier in respect of its sister. Jokes, and PHRASE-a in which their has a function of modifier in respect of its sister PHRASE-b rather dubious jokes. In a phrase containing a modifier, the element that is modified forms the essential center of the phrase and is said to be the head of the phrase.
15. So in the example above, dubious functions as a head of rather, jokes as a head of rather dubious, and rather dubious jokes as a head of their. These are the relation between modifiers and heads.
16. 2. HEAD AND COMPLEMENT In a structure when the presence of one element determines the presence of another and vice versa, there is a two-way dependence in this structure. EXAMPLE: Old Sam sunbathed beside a stream. In this sentence, the prepositional phrase beside a stream includes the preposition beside and the noun phrase a stream.
17. If we omit beside or a stream we are left ill- formed sentences: * Old Sam sunbathed a stream and * Old Sam sunbathed beside. So the relation between beside and a stream is two-way dependence. In this relation, beside functions as head in respect of a stream, and a stream functions as complement in respect of beside. So in the two-way dependences complements typically follow their heads in English.
18. The relation between a subject and a predicate is also a two- way dependence. EXAMPLE: He slept.
19. Good luck!