CHAPTER 8

Syntax

LTG202 SU 2025
 01. 02. 03. 04.
CONTENT
Introduction to Syntactic Rules Components of Lexical Rules
Syntax and Generative Syntactic and Tree
Grammar Analysis Diagrams

05. 06.
Advanced Conclusion and
Syntactic Future
Operations Directions
 PowerPoint design

01
Introduction to
Syntax
Definition and Importance of Syntax

Historical Approaches to Syntax

Early approaches aimed to describe the linear structure of sentences
Origin and Meaning of accurately, focusing on the sequence of elements.
Syntax Modern analysis emphasizes the underlying rule system that governs the
The term “syntax” originates from
Greek, meaning “a putting linear structure, providing a deeper understanding of sentence formation.
together” or “arrangement.” It
focuses on the structure and
ordering of components within a
sentence.
Syntax is crucial for understanding
Interactive Activity: Ambiguity in Sentences
how sentences are formed and
Divide students into groups and provide them with sentences that have
interpreted, as seen in the structural ambiguity. Ask them to identify the different possible meanings
humorous example by Groucho and underlying structures.
Marx, which highlights structural Example: “I saw the man with the telescope.” (Did the man have the
ambiguity.
telescope, or did the speaker use the telescope to see the man?)
 PowerPoint design

02
Syntactic Rules and
Generative Grammar
Creating Well-Formed Structures
The “All and Only” Criterion
In syntactic analysis, the “all and only” criterion ensures that rules account for all grammatically correct phrases and
01 sentences, and only those.
Example: Informal rule “put a preposition before a noun” fails this criterion, as it generates ungrammatical phrases like
*near tree.

Refining Rules for Prepositional Phrases

02 A more accurate rule states that a prepositional phrase consists of a preposition followed by a noun phrase (not just a
noun).
This rule can produce well- formed structures like “near London,” “with me,” “near a tree,” and “with the dog.”

Interactive Activity: Creating Prepositional Phrases

Provide students with a list of prepositions and noun phrases. Ask them to create grammatically correct prepositional
03 phrases and explain why certain combinations are ungrammatical.
Example: Prepositions: near, with; Noun phrases: London, me, a tree, the dog. Students create phrases like “near a tree”
and explain why “with dog” is incorrect.
 PowerPoint design

03
Components of
Syntactic Analysis
 Syntactic Categories and Abbreviations

Interactive Activity: Building Sentences with

Basic Syntactic Categories Phrase Structure Rules Phrase Structure Rules
Syntactic categories (parts of speech) Phrase structure rules define how Provide students with basic phrase
include N (noun), Art (article), Adj (adjective), phrases are formed. For example, “a structure rules and ask them to create
and V (verb). sentence (S) rewrites as a noun phrase sentences by combining different
Phrases are also categorized, such as NP
(NP) and a verb phrase (VP).” constituents.
(noun phrase) and VP (verb phrase), which
help in analyzing sentence structure. These rules can generate a large Example: Rule: S → NP + VP; NP → Art +
Example: In the sentence “The big dog number of well- formed structures, N; VP → V + NP. Students create
barked,” NP = “The big dog” and VP =
reflecting the goal of having a finite set sentences like “The cat chased the
“barked.”
of rules for an infinite number of mouse” and explain the structure.
sentences.
 PowerPoint design

04
Lexical Rules and Tree
Diagrams
Lexical Rules for Specific Constituents

Specifying Words for Visualizing Structure with Tree Interactive Activity: Creating Tree
Constituents Diagrams Diagrams
Lexical rules specify which words can be Tree diagrams visually represent the Provide students with sentences
used for particular constituents. For hierarchical structure of phrases and
example, “a proper noun rewrites as John
and ask them to create tree
sentences.
or Mary.” They show different levels of analysis, such diagrams to represent the
These rules, combined with phrase as NP containing Art and N, and VP syntactic structure.
structure rules, help generate grammatical containing V and NP.
sentences. Example: Sentence: “The cat
Example: Tree diagram for “The big dog
Example: NP → Pro; Pro → John, Mary.
barked” illustrates the hierarchical slept.” Students draw a tree
Sentence: “John saw Mary.”
structure of NP and VP. diagram showing S, NP, Art, N,
VP, and V.
 PowerPoint design

05
Advanced Syntactic
Operations
Tense and Movement Rules

Incorporating Tense into Syntactic Analysis

All English verbs have the category of Tense (T). For example, “helped” is analyzed as T (past) + help.
Modal auxiliaries like “can,” “will,” and “should” are included in the T position for verbs like “will help.”

Movement Rule for Question Formation

The “Move T” operation transforms statements into questions by moving the T element.
Example: “Mary will help John” becomes “Will Mary help John?” through the movement of the T element.

Interactive Activity: Transforming Sentences

Provide students with statements and ask them to transform them into questions using the “Move T” rule.
Example: Statement: “John can see the movie.” Question: “Can John see the movie?” Students explain the
movement of the T element.
 PowerPoint design

06
Conclusion and
Future Directions
Summary of Key Concepts

Importance of Syntactic Analysis

Understanding syntax helps in analyzing sentence
structure, identifying grammatical errors, and
exploring the underlying rules of language.
It also serves as a foundation for further linguistic
analysis, such as semantics and pragmatics.

Interactive Activity: Group

Recap of Syntactic Analysis Discussion on Syntax
Syntax focuses on the structure and ordering of sentence Divide students into groups and ask them to discuss the
components. importance of syntax in everyday language use and its
Syntactic rules, phrase structure rules, and lexical rules applications in fields like linguistics, education, and artificial
intelligence.
work together to generate well- formed sentences.
Example: Groups share their insights on how syntax helps in
Tree diagrams provide a visual representation of the
understanding complex sentences and its role in language learning
hierarchical structure of phrases and sentences. and translation.
 PowerPoint design

THANK YOU!

LTG 2020 SU 2025