Today
What is syntax?
Grammaticality
Ambiguity
Phrase structure
Readings: 6.1 – 6.2
Syntax
The study of the structure of phrases/
sentences and the rules governing how
words are combined to form
phrases/sentences
These rules are acquired at a very young
age and internalized.
Ambiguity
The property of having two or more
meanings.
Lexical ambiguity
Structural ambiguity
Lexical ambiguity
Headlines:
PROSTITUTES APPEAL TO POPE
IRAQI HEAD SEEKS ARMS
SOVIET VIRGIN LANDS SHORT OF GOAL AGAIN
CHILD’S STOOL IS GREAT FOR USE IN GARDEN
Lexical ambiguity: when a word has more than
one meaning
Structural ambiguity
“I once shot an elephant in my pajamas.”
“Tonight’s program will discuss sex with Dr.
Ruth Westheimer.”
“We will not sell gasoline to anyone in a
glass container.”
“This mixing bowl is designed to please any
cook with a round bottom for efficient
beating.”
Structural ambiguity
Ambiguity resulting from the structure of
the phrase or sentence
e.g., discuss [sex with Dr. Ruth Westheimer]
[discuss sex] [with Dr. Ruth Westheimer]
e.g., a large [man’s hat]
[a large man’s] hat
Phrase structure
1) Every word belongs to a lexical category
2) Lexical categories forms heads (“main
words”) of phrases which can function as
a unit
3) How phrases are formed is governed by
rules (= ‘phrase structure rules’)
Lexical categories
Nouns (N): Laura, peanut, house
Verbs (V): eat, see, sleep, dive
Adjectives (Adj): big, lazy, colorless
Determiners (Det): the, a, those, every
Prepositions (P): in, of, over, with
Adverbs (Adv.): quickly, often
A word’s lexical category determines what kind of
phrasal category it can form
Phrases
Built up from lexical categories (their
heads)
May consist of one or more words
They function as a unit
These units come together to form
sentences
Types of phrases
Noun phrase (NP)
John
the boy
a book about a boy
a big picture of the boy in a bubble
A friend that I’ve known for a long time
Types of phrases
Verb phrase (VP)
fall
fell slowly
fell (slowly) into the pond
buy the book
*buy slowly the book
buy the book with a credit card
Types of phrases
Prepositional phrase (PP):
in
with a smile
of my little teeth
between a rock and a hard place
at the store by my house
