Syntax Final

  1. lexical verb
    Main verb in the sentence/clause

    This IS the cat that KILLED the rat that ATE the malt.
  2. finite verbs
    show tense and agreement – could be the first verb in a normal sentence. ex: She writes home every day (finite clause -- present tense verb)
  3. non-finite verbs
    • the same form (infinitive, present participle, or past participle) regardless of the subject or tense.
    • do not carry tense. Their main verb is either a to-infinitive [3], a bare infinitive [4], an -ed form [5], or an -ing form [6]:

    • [3] David loves [to play the piano]
    • [4] We made [David play the piano]
    • [5] [Written in 1864], it soon became a classic
    • [6] [Leaving home] can be very traumatic
  4. nominal clause
    play noun phrase (NP)-like roles in the larger sentence and contribute to the verb class of that larger sentence.
  5. that-clause
    • Nominal: I know that the sun is shining.
    • Noun Complement: The knowledge that the sun is shining makes me happy.
  6. if/whether clause
    • Nominal. He wondered whether the sun was shining.
    • Noun Complement: The question whether the sun was shining obsessed him.
  7. interrogative clause
    Nominal. They wondered what she was reading.
  8. infinitive clause
    • Nominal: For people to forget things is normal.
    • Adverbial: I rode the bus to get to school.
    • Noun Complement: The reason (for you) to ride that bus is obvious.
  9. present participle clause (=gerund clause)
    • Nominal: I like buying books.
    • Adverbial: I rode the bus (while) standing up.
  10. infinitive if/whether clause
    Nominal: She considered whether to buy that book.
  11. infinitive interrogative clause
    Nominal. He considered what to do next.
  12. adverbials
    can move to the front of the sentence, like non-clausal adverbials can.
  13. subordinate clause
    Adverbial: After she pulled the dandelions, he mowed the lawn.
  14. Past participle clause
    Adverbial: The bird sang a song (while) perched on a branch.
  15. Relative clause
    Give additional information about something without starting another sentence. Note: Their function is always adjectival. Clauses that start with 'that" can be either relative clauses or "that" clauses.
  16. restrictive vs. non restricitve
    restrictive has no commas and is required to be part of the sentence. Non restrictive has commas and is additional information to the sentence, not necessary.
  17. Identifying the role of the gap
    When you have a sentence with a CP, there is a word that you need to (fill in) to let it make sense. That word is going to be in a particular postion, whether it's subject or direct object. That is the role of the gap.
  18. Adjectival phrase
    Is a descriptive phrase. This is the cat that ate the rat. 'that ate the rat' is describing the cat, therefore it is adjectival. Note: all relative clauses are adjectival.
  19. Interrogative clause
    A clause that asks a question
  20. Transitive verb
    • Describes an action that is done to someone or something. It requires an object to complete verb- describes its' meaning. For transitive verbs, you can ask questions "who(m) or what"
    • Ex: Lee threw the basketball.
  21. Intransitive verb
    • Does not transfer the action to an object. It does not require the additon of an object to complete its' meaning. For intransitive verbs, you can ask the questions "where, when, how, or why."
    • Ex: The bus arrived late
  22. Ditransitive verb
    • A verb that takes or can take two objects: the direct object and the indirect object
    • Ex: the school board gave [the teachers IO][a raise DO].
  23. Complex transitive
    • A verb that requires both a direct object and another object (usually an object of a preposition) or a complement.
    • Ex: My grandpa calls [teenagers][blithering idiots].
  24. Copula
    • A verb that connects the subject to the complement. They are also called linking verbs. Linking verbs do not describe action.
    • Ex: That food smells nice. (smells connects the subject to the adjective that describes it)
  25. relative clause vs. complement cl
    • They read a book that is about vampires. (take out "that' and the sentence is incomplete. This is a relative clause)
    • The idea that tehy would read a book about vampires is silly. (take out "that" and you still have a full sentence. This is a complement clause)
  26. How do we create yes/no questions?
    • Answer a question:
    • yes/no + elaboration
    • yes/no + sentence
    • yes/no + subject +auxiliary

    • Did you enjoy yourself?
    • Yes, very much
    • Yes, I enjoyed myself
    • Yes, I did
  27. How do we create wh- questions?
    Start with an interogative word (where, what) + sentence with inverted auxiliary. Where are you going?
  28. How do we create tag questions?
    Sentence + opposite of negative or positive If it's contracted, it moves with the auxuliary. They can't do that, can they?
  29. How do we create imperative sentences?
    Begin with a verb. Do your homework. Finish your food.
  30. Case
    • The grammatical relationship of nouns and pronouns to other words in a sentence.
    • In English, nouns have only one case inflection: the possessive. The case of nouns other than the possessive is sometimes called the common case.
    • Old English had a more flexible wor dorder and thus needed more case distinctions to show the roles of the subject.
  31. What lexical categories assign case to NPs?
    pronouns: subjtive case- nominative, objective, possessive
  32. case assignments
    • assign case to their complements.
    • Verb- subject, direct object, indirect object
    • Preposition- object of the preposition.
  33. case assignment: I vs. me
    • standard: [Sam and I] bought a cake
    • vernacular: [Me and Sam] bought a cake. (to make up a rule, you can say tha the coordinator assigns obj. case)
    • polite- [Sam and I bought] a gift. (to make up a rule, you can say the coordinator assigns the subject or nominative case.)

    Vernacular is usually learned first by children. When they are corrected, they think "Sam and I' is always the correct version. This leads to hypercorrection. "Thanks for allowing Mary and I to join your group."
  34. Pro-drop
    • you can leave out the subject because there is an agreement on the verb telling which person it is. English requires it’s subject. Doesn’t mean that you have to drop, but you could drop.
    • Speakers don’t always do as the language requires, but there are still patterns.
    • In terms of speaking, English has pro-drop tendencies.
  35. How to explain the incorrect way to use can: "I can go tomorrow." vs. "He cans go tomorrow."
    • I can go tomorrow.
    • He cans go tomorrow.
    • The reversed "go'' agrees with the
    • subject, why does this not work?
    • Modals don’t show agreement. It’s not just 3rd person esque and we’re done, modals don’t show assessment or agreement.
  36. Subject verb agreement; collective nouns
    • nouns such as "team," "pants," or "family," are treated as singular words. In England, they are treated as plural.
    • The team has won the game. (correct in America)
    • The team have won the game. (correct in England)
  37. Subject varb agreement: quantifiers
    The quantity to time or money, etc. depends on the amount to show if you should treat it plural or singular.

    • "A number of students ARE walking to the theter." (students is the subject)
    • "The number of students at the movie theter IS astounding." (number is the subject)
  38. How the word "like" is used in the English language.
    • Verb: I like pizza.
    • Comparative: She is like a flower
    • Qualifier- approximate: She paid like a million dollars
    • Quotative: She was like, “that’s cool.”
    • Discourse marker, space filler, dammpener: Like I wasn’t like drunk.
    • Conjunction/ Complementizer- comparative: Nobody knows you like I do.
    • Noun: Her profile showed her likes and dislikes.
  39. What is generally assumed about the population that uses "like" frequently in their speech?
    • People generally assume people who use discourse marker
    • “like” are young, adolescents, teenagers.
Author
fluffy8voldy
ID
151872
Card Set
Syntax Final
Description
syntax final
Updated