Questions tagged [syntax-trees]
Graphical representations of hierarchical analyses of grammatical relations. Requests to make syntax trees are off-topic.
202
questions
2
votes
0answers
14 views
Difference between primary and secundary predicates(/argument small clauses) and their (overt) 'heads', and transition/ambiguity between the two
What is the exact difference between primary and secundary predicates?
From what I understood, primary predicates are verbal and have a predicate head (usually a copula - he was a mine worker). ...
1
vote
0answers
18 views
Why is “addressing” discontinuity/nonprojectivity important?
I was reading about dependency grammars on Wikipedia, and then, following up on the term "(non-)projectivity", was lead to the page about discontinuity. Now, the concept is quite easy to ...
1
vote
1answer
32 views
Meaning of superscript numbering in phrase structure trees
In some recent studies, I stumbled upon some seemingly conventional notation that I do not understand.
In syntax structure trees, I often encounter superscript notations in various forms: $T^0$, $...
1
vote
0answers
41 views
How to determine structure of answer for a wh- question
Consider a wh-question (in english language) such as "Who closed the door?". Personally, I can determine that an answer will look like "NP closed the door.", where NP would be a ...
2
votes
1answer
59 views
Wh-movement Question
For wh-movements, I always think of what the sentence would have looked like if it wasn't a question (e.g. for sentence "which promise did he not keep?", I would think that the original ...
1
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0answers
27 views
Help with syntax tree generation with movements [closed]
This is my attempt at the sentence "Which compound appears to have been created with the recently found chemical element yesterday?" , but I'm not sure if it's correct:
Is the wh-movement ...
1
vote
0answers
57 views
Is there a way to convert a syntax tree back to text?
I'm looking for a reference \ algorithm \ tool that can convert a syntax tree to text.
The intention is to parse a sentence, apply some rules on the tree, and generate the output from the modified ...
1
vote
0answers
27 views
What notable works are there that try to express the structures of linguistics by modelling them with Artificial Neural Networks (ANN)?
I know of a few works in Phonology and 1 recent work in Semantics but I will not list these here since what I would really be looking for in an answer would be a survey paper or a comprehensive list.
...
0
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0answers
22 views
Question about what can be put in the head of a CP (complementizer phrase)
I'd like to know which of the following words "then, no, when, is, has" becomes the head of a CP and which doesn't?
I know that "wh" becomes a +Q and No is declarative, however ...
1
vote
1answer
96 views
Best book for introduction to Syntax, with exercises
I am new to the field of linguistics and I was looking for some books in order to learn syntax.
I put my eyes on two main textbooks:
Basic English Syntax with Exercises, by Mark Newson (I was ...
0
votes
1answer
59 views
What is the more natural parsing, the one that leads to the preferred reading of the sentence
I have those rules:
and those two possible parse trees:
I am asked for the next question:
What is the more natural parsing, the one that leads to the preferred reading of the sentence?
Can anyone ...
0
votes
0answers
38 views
Sentence to AST structures?
How can we distinguish the meaning from POS,words,form..or any other information.. f.e.
the cube is **in** the box
the sign splits a rule **in** two parts
in the first case the meaning is ...
1
vote
0answers
52 views
Tree Structures: Sentence breaks and TP vs. S as tree structure head
I am currently working on my Linguistics homework and I have to draw a tree diagram of the sentences:
(1) Peter thinks Susan asked if she needs to resign.
(2) Johnny said he wants to study French.
The ...
3
votes
1answer
133 views
When does do-support apply in wh-questions?
For reference, I'm working off of Carnie's Syntax (2002). In the book's framework, T → C movement is triggered by a [+Q] feature in C. In the case we have an auxiliary verb, it can raise to T and then ...
4
votes
2answers
144 views
NP or DP for “that book”
When referring to phrases such as "that book", would it be considered a DP or a NP? I think it should be considered as a DP but I am not sure how to prove it using our given data. Some data ...
3
votes
0answers
248 views
How to write a syntax tree for 'should have been'? [closed]
the sentence is "Will they decide if you should have been promoted?". The T' and AuxP are already taken up by 'have' and 'been, where does should go?
3
votes
1answer
83 views
How order of the syntax tree is formally/strictly proven?
An example from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete_syntax_tree : tree of "John hit the ball." .
The tree branches are joined in this order:
{John {hit {the ball}}}.
Ie, "the" ...
2
votes
1answer
67 views
How does one write out possessive pronouns under DP
Would for example "their" be divided into they and 's under the DP theory when writing out a tree?
0
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0answers
35 views
How do I know if ECM happens in a foreign language?
I have learned about ECM and how it works within the English language, but I don't understand it thoroughly. How would we be able to decide whether a language has ECM?
0
votes
0answers
31 views
After movement, do theta roles stay the same after wh-movement and verb raising?
The example sentence is "Which purse has Lena bought?" which stems from the statement "Lena has bought which purse". Do the theta roles that bought assigns stay the same after the ...
1
vote
1answer
72 views
Help with syntax analysis
Good day to everyone! Could somebody explain me why in the following sentence "that he was disappointed" is S (subject)?
(It)-S (must be confessed)-V (that he was disappointed)-S.
-3
votes
1answer
96 views
How to draw the tree diagram for this sentence? [closed]
Here is the sentence "That toy, I think they gave to the dog". Should "gave to the dog" be considered as VP and "to the dog" as PP?
4
votes
1answer
190 views
Is “of the kitten” in “the paw of the kitten” a complement to the NP or an adjunct to the DP?
I'm drawing a tree for "the paw of the kitten" (from chapter 7 of Andrew Carnie's Syntax: A Generative Introduction). This chapter is "extending X-bar theory", so please keep that ...
1
vote
2answers
613 views
A question about C-command
Does "John" c-command "himself" in this sentence? "Mary talked to John about himself."
1
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2answers
172 views
What is the position of the subject in a Greek sentence, whose word order is VSO?
The following is a Greek sentence
Σε ποιόν φίλο νομίζεις ότι μιλάει ο άντρας;
To which friend think.2SG that speak.3SG the man
Its counterpart in ...
1
vote
0answers
55 views
How to solve this syntax question [closed]
Hello guys could anyone help me in solving these questions in syntax
the sentence ; John's discussion of the riots in the meeting suddenly put all physics students right into huge turmoil.
ps; I ...
1
vote
1answer
74 views
Is the following sentence a CP? Does it contain another CP?
Lies, do you think that she tells you?
Is this sentence grammatical?
Is the whole sentence a CP, in which lies is the CP Specifier and do is the head C?
If yes, is that the C head of a second CP in ...
1
vote
1answer
148 views
How is the ungrammaticality of the following sentence explained?
Maria asked I read which book
This sentence is ungrammatical.
Is this because an IP I read cannot be a complement or sister to a V asked
Is there a CP in this ungrammatical sentence?
0
votes
1answer
136 views
What is the position of 'that' in the relative clause of this sentence?
Researchers report they have engineered an enzyme that can convert 90% of that same plastic back to its pristine starting materials.
Does that originate in spec TP and move to spec CP like in this ...
1
vote
1answer
150 views
Difference between PRO and OP
What's the difference between PRO and OP? For example, on p. 142, the book "The Syntax of Chinese" presents the following tree (which is an analysis of indirect passives in Chinese):
In this ...
1
vote
0answers
22 views
Why should we assign the head to a word as early as possible in shift-reduce dependency parsing?
This is about dependency parsing. The operation set of a shift-reduce parser was changed so that an arc is added as early as possible. It's claimed that "the longer a word has to wait to get assigned ...
1
vote
1answer
60 views
What is the specifier in an IP where the complement of the verb is fronted?
In the sentence (IP)
The book, I think that I gave you
in which the object (complement of the verb of the CP "that I gave you") is fronted, is this fronted object the specifier of the whole IP? ...
3
votes
2answers
112 views
Compositional Semantics of relative clauses
How do relative pronouns (which, who, invisible which= WH) fit into a sentences compositionality? Given that relative clauses modify Noun Phrases, I'd expect them to be of type <et,<et>> ...
1
vote
2answers
143 views
Syntax trees associated with Prepositional Phrases as subject
Whenever we have a Prepositional Phrase as a subject, how should the dependency relations hold?
Specifically, consider the following sentence:
Before Wednesday does not work for me.
One dependency ...
1
vote
2answers
450 views
What is non-headed phrase?
I know most of the phrases in English are headed phrases, like noun is the head of NP. But what is non-headed phrase?
0
votes
1answer
40 views
What is the syntactic status of subordinate clauses such as “what can be…”?
I am not clear about the syntactic analysis of the what-clauses in bold in the following b-sentences:
(1a) These words are weak determiners.
(1b) These words are what can be called weak determiners.
...
0
votes
1answer
63 views
How to provide evidence that my hypothesis is correct (the same structure but the constituents are different), syntactic structures, constituency
How can I provide evidence supporting the hypothesis, that is, prove by means of constituency tests that my hypothesis is correct?
The sentences:
(1) Jeff lost the watch with the big numbers
(2) Jeff ...
1
vote
1answer
114 views
How to draw the NP “so little” in “He said so little” in a tree diagram?
He said so little.
includes the NP so little, which doesn't include any noun.
In the X-bar theory style tree diagram, how do you go about describing the NP? Do you have N' below the NP? Do you have ...
0
votes
0answers
58 views
What advantages might the Reed-Kellogg diagramming method provide over other diagramming methods?
What advantages might the Reed-Kellogg diagramming method provide over other diagramming methods, and is the R-K diagramming method English specific?
5
votes
2answers
936 views
What is the difference in a constituent and a phrase?
From Wikipedia:
In syntactic analysis, a constituent is a word or a group of words
that functions as a single unit within a hierarchical structure.
A phrase is a sequence of one or more ...
2
votes
0answers
333 views
Tree diagrams in CGEL
I have a question about this tree diagram in The Cambridge Grammar of The English Language (by Huddleston and Pullum):
Please see the tree diagram in the red box of the nominal preposterous salary ...
1
vote
1answer
84 views
Trying to add labels/descriptions and boxes to syntax tree in LaTeX [closed]
I'm trying to add descriptions to certain nodes in a Syntax tree. I'm using qtree, but I can't seem to find a way to do this. I'm also trying to box some, but not all of the nodes in the tree. Here's ...
1
vote
2answers
84 views
Does the relative clause (which suggests…) here function as an adjunct of the whole clause in front of it?
The high notes returned to his compositions towards the end of his life, which suggests he was hearing the works that were taking shape in his imagination.
I'm not sure how to write up the syntax ...
2
votes
1answer
126 views
In X Bar Theory where can “ne” and “pas” be found?
I have read past papers on French negation and it says that it is accepted that the NegP in French is null, and "pas" is specifier to NegP. So what would "ne" be then? I haven't been able to find ...
6
votes
1answer
328 views
V to T movement in German
Consider the the embedded clause "du Schach gespielt hast" in this sentence
Ich glaube dass du Schach gespielt hast.
I think that you chess played have
‘I think that you have ...
0
votes
0answers
47 views
Sentence with two PPs, without recursive embedding of either in the other
I'm having some difficulty with finding an example of an English sentence which includes two consecutive prepositional phrases without embedding. Would "We ran off into the sunset" qualify?
2
votes
0answers
117 views
Struggling With Split Projections In My X Bar Tree Diagram
I am trying to complete this linguistics question but I am a bit stuck. I'm not sure if I'm using the AgrNomO projections correctly. I have attached the tree diagram, and here is the question:
Draw ...
1
vote
2answers
262 views
Should I conjoin two AdjP or two Adj inside one AdjP?
In an NP like "stronger but smaller storm", when drawing a tree, how do I know if I should conjoin two AdjP or two Adj inside one AdjP?
I'm working in the framework of Carnie's book (3rd edition).
...
2
votes
0answers
58 views
“Kim wants John to stop” — does a VP in this example contain another VP?
I'm trying to draw the syntax tree for the TP "Kim wants John to stop" (in the setting of Carnie's first three chapters).
I guess it contains the NP "Kim" and the VP "wants John to stop". The VP ...
1
vote
1answer
646 views
Confusion about the CP and TP rule in Carnie
In the NP "the book that lies on the table", there is a CP ("that lies on the table"). Carnie has the following rule for CP:s:
CP-> (C) TP
and the following rule for TP:
TP -> {NP/CP} (T) VP
So ...
