Understanding Syntax

Contents......Page 8
Acknowledgements......Page 12
Note to the instructor......Page 13
Note to the student......Page 14
List of abbreviations used in examples......Page 16
List of tables......Page 17
1.1.1 What is the study of syntax about?......Page 18
1.1.2 Language change......Page 24
1.2.1 Why not just use examples from English?......Page 28
1.2.2 How to read linguistic examples......Page 30
1.3.1 Word order......Page 36
1.3.2 Promotion and demotion processes......Page 39
1.3.3 All languages have structure......Page 41
Exercises......Page 43
2.1.1 How can we tell that words belong to different classes?......Page 49
2.1.2 Starting to identify nouns, adjectives and verbs......Page 50
2.1.3 An illustration: How do speakers of a language identify word classes?......Page 53
2.2.1 An introduction to verb classes......Page 56
2.2.2 Verbs and their grammatical categories......Page 58
2.3.1 Semantic roles for noun phrases......Page 63
2.3.2 Syntactic roles for noun phrases......Page 64
2.3.3 Nouns and their grammatical categories......Page 67
2.3.4 Nouns, definiteness and determiners......Page 70
2.4.1 Positions and functions of adjectives......Page 73
2.4.2 Adjectives and intensifiers......Page 74
2.4.4 Are adjectives essential?......Page 75
2.5.1 Adverbs and adjectives......Page 78
2.6.1 Identifying prepositions in English......Page 80
2.6.3 Grammatical categories for adpositions......Page 82
2.7 Conclusion......Page 83
Exercises......Page 84
3.1.1 Independent clauses......Page 90
3.1.2 Finiteness......Page 91
3.1.3 Main verbs and verbal auxiliaries......Page 93
3.1.4 Ways to express the grammatical categories for verbs......Page 95
3.1.5 Non-finite verbs......Page 97
3.1.6 Co-ordination of clauses......Page 100
3.2.1 Complement clauses......Page 101
3.2.2 Adjunct or adverbial clauses......Page 104
3.2.3 Identifying subordinate clauses......Page 105
3.2.4 Root and subordinate clauses: Some distinctions......Page 106
3.2.5 Some cross-linguistic variation in subordination......Page 109
3.2.6 Summary: Properties of subordinate clauses and root clauses......Page 110
3.3.1 The co-ordination strategy......Page 111
3.3.2 Nominalization......Page 112
3.3.3 Serial verbs......Page 113
Further reading......Page 116
Exercises......Page 117
4.1.1 What is a head?......Page 125
4.1.2 The influence of heads on their dependents......Page 126
4.1.4 More about dependents: Adjuncts and complements......Page 128
4.1.5 More about verb classes: Verbs and their complements......Page 131
4.1.6 Other heads and their complements......Page 133
4.1.7 Summary: The main properties of complements vs. adjuncts......Page 134
4.1.8 Is the noun phrase really a determiner phrase?......Page 135
4.1.9 Phrases within phrases......Page 136
4.2.1 Head-initial languages......Page 137
4.2.2 Head-final languages......Page 138
4.2.3 An exercise on head-initial and head-final constructions......Page 139
4.3.1 Definitions and illustrations: Syntactic relationships between heads and dependents......Page 140
4.3.2 Head preposition/postposition and its NP object......Page 141
4.3.3 The clause: A head verb and the arguments of the verb......Page 143
4.3.4 Head noun and dependent possessor NP......Page 145
4.3.5 Head noun and dependent AP......Page 146
4.3.6 An exercise on head-marking and dependent-marking......Page 147
4.3.7 Some typological distinctions between languages......Page 149
Further reading......Page 151
Exercises......Page 152
5.1.1 Evidence of structure in sentences......Page 158
5.1.2 Some syntactic tests for constituent structure......Page 160
5.1.3 Introduction to constituent structure trees......Page 165
5.2 Relationships within the tree......Page 170
5.3 Developing detailed tree diagrams and tests for constituent structure......Page 173
5.3.1 Verb classes and constituent structure tests......Page 174
5.3.2 The co-ordination test for constituency......Page 180
5.3.3 Do all languages have the same constituents?......Page 182
5.4 Summary......Page 183
Exercises......Page 184
6.1 Indicating grammatical relations in the clause......Page 189
6.2.1 Basic and marked orders......Page 190
6.2.2 Statistical patterns......Page 192
6.3.1 Ways of dividing core arguments......Page 194
6.3.2 Nominative/accusative systems......Page 196
6.3.3 Ergative/absolutive systems......Page 197
6.3.4 Split systems I......Page 199
6.4.1 What does verb agreement involve?......Page 201
6.4.2 Nominative/accusative agreement systems......Page 202
6.4.3 Ergative/absolutive agreement systems......Page 205
6.4.4 Split systems II......Page 206
6.5.2 Subjects: Typical cross-linguistic properties......Page 207
6.5.3 An examination of subjects in specific languages......Page 209
6.5.4 Objects......Page 216
6.6 Free word order: A case study......Page 218
Further reading......Page 221
Exercises......Page 222
7.1.1 The passive construction and transitive verbs......Page 228
7.1.2 The impersonal construction......Page 233
7.2.1 Basic facts......Page 234
7.2.2 Primary grammatical relations and grammatical pivots......Page 237
7.3 The applicative construction......Page 242
7.4 The causative construction......Page 246
Further reading......Page 250
Exercises......Page 251
8.1.1 Languages with wh-movement......Page 260
8.1.2 Languages with wh-in-situ wh-questions......Page 264
8.1.3 Multiple wh-questions......Page 266
8.2.1 Relative clauses in English......Page 268
8.2.2 Cross-linguistic variation in relative clauses......Page 271
8.3 Focus movements and scrambling......Page 276
8.4 Some conclusions......Page 278
Exercises......Page 279
9.1 Syntactic description: What questions to investigate......Page 288
9.2 A case study: Grammatical sketch of colloquial Welsh......Page 291
9.3 Some questions concerning syntax......Page 298
9.4 Last words: More syntax ahead......Page 301
Sources of data used in examples......Page 304
A......Page 308
C......Page 309
H......Page 310
P......Page 311
T......Page 312
References......Page 313
F......Page 321
R......Page 322
Z......Page 323
A......Page 324
C......Page 325
H......Page 326
O......Page 327
S......Page 328
Y......Page 329