Questions tagged [phrase-structure]
Phrase structure is a widespread approach to the analysis and exploration of sentence structure.
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questions
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“but” usage (redundancy of “but”)
We all know that "but" is used to replace "except" or indicate that the first clause is contrastive to the second in a way, or the logic these two sentences bear is somewhat contradictory. But, I see ...
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0answers
33 views
Where does supplementation fit in?
As far as I can see, the structure of supplementary constructions like
Karen, being ill, was unable to go
or
John – her father – was unable to walk her down the aisle
or maybe
a washer-dryer
...
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0answers
31 views
Noun Phrase/absolute clause distinction
What is the difference between a supplemental noun phrase and a absolute clause? In these examples and in general. Is it just the non-finite nature of the second example ?
He won at his favourite ...
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0answers
68 views
Phrase structure trees for serial verb constructions
I have not found an example of a phrase structure tree for a serial verb construction like let’s go [and] see a movie
The serialized verbs go and see would have to be sister nodes, I think, but I am ...
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0answers
91 views
Phrase structure trees for different languages
I am trying to get to the bottom of the difference between (1) and (2) below, and how the intended meanings would be reflected in a phrase structure tree:
(1) If you think that $100 is too little you ...
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2answers
61 views
Term For A Prepositional Phrase With A Verb?
I know this is an adjectival prepositional phrase:
I like the girl next to him.
And I know this is an adverbial prepositional phrase:
I went to the store.
But what is the term for this? It's a ...
2
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0answers
119 views
Drawing trees for DP's and Sentences
I'm reading Adger's book Core Syntax and am having trouble with one of the sentences in the last exercise in the Functional Categories chapter. The task is to draw and annotate the tree (bar level and ...
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1answer
71 views
Terminology for chained, nested adjective anatomy
For the moment I am just considering adjectives and adverbs as the same sort of thing, basically modifiers for the noun or verb. I will probably only focus on nouns here for simplicity.
Some examples ...
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3answers
125 views
How Nesting Verbs Works (and if it is Even Possible)
Wondering the different ways you can nest verbs, and what is technically allowed from a mental perspective, not necessarily from a grammatical perspective b/c I imagine it would vary significantly ...
2
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1answer
124 views
How VSO or SOV languages deal with nouns with lots of adjectives
With x V y structure, you divide the (potentially) long nouns/adjective phrases into parts separated by the verb, so mentally you can group everything pretty quickly. But if it is V x y, or even x y V,...
2
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1answer
77 views
Does a generative grammar of the English language exist?
Is there some database on the internet that contains generative grammar of the English language / or any natural language?
I know there are many artificial languages like EBNF those can be formalized ...
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0answers
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Phraseology definition
What's difference between free-phrase and fixed phrase?
Because for some linguist differentiate phraseme (fixed phrase) into 3 part, vollidiomatizität, teilidiomatizität und nichtidiomatizität.
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61 views
Can determiner/noun pairs not be noun phrases?
The following phrase tree from phrase on Wikipedia has "house at the end on the street" as a noun phrase on the constituency side:
Why wouldn't "The house" be a noun phrase in the same way as "the ...
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1answer
43 views
Infinitive clauses referring to an adjective before a noun [closed]
We know that infinitive clauses can sometimes refer to adjectives before nouns. I feel with what adjectives they can do that, but I don't have any reason for it.
Examples;
You can buy the best ...
2
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0answers
79 views
Which friend did he find to study with?
The question is about what happens to phrases during the time of making them questions.
We know that the following sentence is a normal English sentence which is correct grammatically.
He found a ...
2
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0answers
43 views
Are there any languages that distinguish the thematic roles of theme and patient?
Theme and Patient are often described as distinct thematic roles. My understanding is that Themes undergo an action but does not change their state, while Patients undergo an action and do change ...
4
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1answer
184 views
Linking surface and deep structure
The sentences in (1) contain the same words, but differ in word order. Nevertheless, the sentences have very similar, if not identical, meanings.
(1a) I am home today.
(1b) Today, I am home.
...
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0answers
49 views
A sort/type/kind of N. Which is the head?
Let's take the example 'A kiwi is [a type of bird]'.
Page 109 of this book https://faculty.mu.edu.sa/public/uploads/1367260110.5528Understanding%20Syntax.pdf sais that the head of a phrase:
A. Has ...
2
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1answer
39 views
Reference work needed for Phrase Markers in English
I need a thorough online site or downloadable text that goes into detail about English phrase markers as in this example from Beth Levin's Verb Alternations book "This alternation involves verbs found ...
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1answer
71 views
Constituent borders
Let us imagine there to exist, for instance, a DP. We always observe the only head D on the left or the right of the phrase (depending upon the direction of branching). But every constituent naturally ...
2
votes
3answers
134 views
Evolution in number of words from Greek to Latin to modern languages
I once read somewhere that Greek used, say, three or four words to express an idea; Latin used five or six words to express the same idea; and nowadays we use eight to ten words to express the same ...
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0answers
63 views
How do I decline a noun phrase?
First, let me say that I'm bad at grammar. Everything I know about grammar I've learned because I want to make my own languages.
Second, I've created an ergative-absolutive language (I'm learning as ...
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1answer
662 views
How do noun-noun compounds fit into a noun phrase in syntax?
I have a question regarding attributive nouns, or noun-noun compounds, and how they are integrated into syntactic rules for NP formation. Typically, the rule given in textbooks for forming a NP is the ...
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1answer
3k views
What kind of phrase is “until recently”?
I learned about prepositions:
they establish a relation with two words
the preposition is followed by an object
-the object of a prepositional phrase is made by a noun phrase
However, I don't know ...
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0answers
76 views
Is “down at the bar” an adjective phrase or adverb phrase?
There are three parts of speeches attributed to "down" in the dictionary: adjective, adverb and verb.
I understand , that at the bar is a sub phrase and a prepositional phrase.
I don't know the rules ...
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1answer
778 views
How are to-infinitive clauses treated in x-bar syntax trees?
For example:
The man refused to send any letters to that place.
This is what I have so far from the Syntax Tree Generator.
What should replace the X there?
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1answer
2k views
Difference between Type 0 and Type 1 in the Chomsky hierarchy
i am the beginner in linguistics and i have little problem with understanding Chomsky hierarchy. So i have grammar like this:
P = {K -> KL,aK->abK,...}
In my opinion, it is not third or second ...
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0answers
44 views
How should “at some time” be tagged in Universal Dependencies framework?
I want to tag a sentence
Jones was unemployed at some time before he graduated.
with UD tags. I'm not sure how to tag at some time.
Stanford parser suggests the reading:
case (time-6, at-4)
...
5
votes
2answers
579 views
X Bar Phrase Structure Question
I'm running into a bit of trouble constructing a tree for the following Lakota sentence:
Wičháša ki hokšíla ki hená mathó wã wãyákapi ki slolyé
man the boy the those bear a see ...
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1answer
819 views
How can PSG describe the vertical dimension of sentence structure? [closed]
PSG (phrase structure grammar) describes the horizontal dimension of sentence structure with strings, sequences of sentence parts, in a way we are all familiar with. We know that nominal expressions, ...
2
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3answers
2k views
The function of prepositional phrases
I'm looking at the function of prepositional phrases within a sentence, and particularly in this example as a part of a verb phrase. The example I have is:
I remember the precise moment, crouching ...
1
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2answers
100 views
What's a good source of information about how the structure of english sentences has evolved over time?
There is a lot of information about the evolution of English vocabulary since Anglo-Saxon times, but I am looking for examples of how English sentence construction has changed over time.
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1answer
732 views
Constituency grammar or Phrase Structure Grammar?
In most of the literature I have encountered thus far, the terms "constituency grammar" and "phrase structure grammar" seem to be used interchangeably.
Is either one of the two more acceptable or ...
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0answers
242 views
Did Chomsky originate the term “rewrite rule”?
The earliest mention of the term "rewrite rule" that I am able to find - in the context of phrase structure grammars - is in Chomsky's "Syntactic Structures" (1957).
Did he originate the term?
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vote
1answer
363 views
I'm having trouble with my syntax tree and wanted some help for a project! [closed]
I have to include null complementizers if they exist as well as any mission NP covert subjects.
This is my sentence:
The woods, always a menace even in the past, had triumphed in the end.
i've been ...
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0answers
199 views
Identifying core arguments, constituents? [closed]
In the sentence, 'It was raining' what are the core arguments?
I think [It] is a core argument and [was raining] is another. This would mean that it is a NP and was raining is a VP. But if this is ...
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0answers
583 views
What is the difference between predicate-argument structure and case structure
Predicate's arguments are just case slots, aren't they? So predicate-argument structure and case structure are just the same thing?
2
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1answer
294 views
Evidence for/against Lexical integrity principle
Some (mostly lexicalist) theories of syntax assume that there's a 1-to-1 relationship between the words in a sentence and the nodes in its syntax tree. It seems pretty obvious to me. Is there ...
0
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2answers
469 views
What heads can an adverbial phrase have?
What heads can an adverbial phrase have?
Consider the following examples:
I'll go to bed [soon]_AdvP.
I'll go to bed [in an hour]_AdvP.
I'll go to bed [when I've finished my book]_AdvP.
...
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0answers
35 views
Is there a resource where I can see the logical form of an English sentence?
There are plenty of resources to generate trees from natural language, but none to generate logical forms. Or maybe you know of some great resources to those ends?
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0answers
44 views
Researching extraposition in a syntactic treebank
I'm writing a paper on extraposition in English (and other right-branching discontinuities). I have found a lot of interesting theory on this but the instructions say that if possible concrete corpus ...
2
votes
1answer
42k views
Drawing tree diagrams of ambiguous sentences generated by a CFG
Suppose I have the following CFG rules:
S -> NP VP
NP -> (D) NOM
VP -> V (NP) (NP)
NOM -> N
NOM -> NOM PP
VP -> VP PP
PP -> P NP
X -> X+ CONJ X
How should I draw the tree ...
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3answers
222 views
Is there a paradigmatic formalism for dependency grammars?
When looking on the web, wikipedia for example, at the concept of
constituent, it is associated with the concept of phrase structure,
and rather quickly with context-free languages (as the ...
3
votes
1answer
234 views
NPs as adverbials; how to parse them?
NPs can function as adverbials as in the following sentences:
I ran a mile.
I am 5 feet tall.
One way to confirm this is by substituting the NPs with adverbs, e.g. "I ran fast" and "I am very tall". ...
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6answers
5k views
Why is constituency needed, since dependency gets the job done more easily and economically?
I do dependency grammar (DG), and my personal view is that dependency gets the job done more efficiently than constituency by far. The average constituency parse (= phrase structure parse) contains ...
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1answer
100 views
Is it [Dr. [No]] or [[Dr.] No], or something else?
The question focuses on how we should structure expressions with a form of address, such as Mr., Frau, etc., or a title, such as Dr., Prof., etc., and a proper name, such as Smith, Yamada, etc. In ...
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1answer
453 views
Basic questions on X Bar
When formulating a answer to this question - please note I only have a basic high school level of English.
I watched a video on X-Bar theory. I am just trying to get a basic understanding.
What does ...
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votes
2answers
1k views
Is the set of lexical rules, or phrase structure rules finite?
I'm trying to write a program that generates valid English sentences, but without specifying what structure the sentence takes.
I want that to be determined by starting at a simple sentence S (NP VP?...
3
votes
2answers
257 views
Are phrase structure grammar and/or dependency grammar legitimate theories for describing the cognitive structure of syntax?
My hunch is (like always) there are people in both groups, but what was the original purpose of the theories? Are they mainly linguistic tools for describing various syntactic phenomena, rather than ...
2
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1answer
382 views
Why are phrase structure rules always inconsistent?
I've noticed that phrase structure rules have been very inconsistent over my studies. I've seen NP = (det)(adj)N ; NP = (det)N(PP); these definitions seem to change with context. Is it just because ...
