Linguistics 4 Midterm Exam
Functions: subject, predicate, head, modifier, complement
Categories: major/lexical categories: noun, verb, adjective, adverb
minor/grammatical categories: determiner, preposition, conjunction
phrasal categories: NP, VP, AP, AdvP, PP
Rules for phrase-structure:
S -> NP + Aux + VP
NP -> (Det) N’
N’ -> (AP) N(‘) (PP)
VP -> V + NP + PP
PP -> P + NP
Tests for constituency:
- Substitution: constituents can be replaced by one word, usually a pronoun (incl. do so,
one), question word, or then, there, etc.
There was a power failure there last night.
Due to the power failure, Sam stayed at home. His parents did so, too.
- Coordination: words like and, but, and or are used to connect constituents.
There was a power failure and a traffic jam in New York last night.
- Movement: constituents can be moved together (fronted or clefted). Clefting builds a new
structure: “It is/was… that”
Last night there was a power failure in New York.
It was last night that there was a power failure in New York.
A phrase-structure tree consists of nodes which can dominate each other (immediate
domination = direct domination with one line). Their relationships are marked by titles as
mother / sister / daughter node.
C-command = the sister of the node which branches.
Specifier = the highest position. Often sister to the head. In NP’s, it’s the determiner.
Modifier = not necessary to complete meaning. Modifiers are sister to N’ in NP’s.
Complement = in all phrases except NP and AP, the complement is necessary to complete
meaning. When there’s a complement in an NP, it has to be of a noun which derives from a
verb (like student, argument). Complements are sisters to bars. Complements are sisters to
the head in NP’s.
X-bar theory = all syntactic phrases are structured according to the same principles. Also,
the head X of an XP is written as Xo.
IP-sentence = Inflection Phrase. When a sentence is inflected in tense. The “I” position is
only for auxiliaries, not lexical verbs. If there’s no auxiliary, you just fill in the tense, person,
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Functions: subject, predicate, head, modifier, complement
Categories: major/lexical categories: noun, verb, adjective, adverb
minor/grammatical categories: determiner, preposition, conjunction
phrasal categories: NP, VP, AP, AdvP, PP
Rules for phrase-structure:
S -> NP + Aux + VP
NP -> (Det) N’
N’ -> (AP) N(‘) (PP)
VP -> V + NP + PP
PP -> P + NP
Tests for constituency:
- Substitution: constituents can be replaced by one word, usually a pronoun (incl. do so,
one), question word, or then, there, etc.
There was a power failure there last night.
Due to the power failure, Sam stayed at home. His parents did so, too.
- Coordination: words like and, but, and or are used to connect constituents.
There was a power failure and a traffic jam in New York last night.
- Movement: constituents can be moved together (fronted or clefted). Clefting builds a new
structure: “It is/was… that”
Last night there was a power failure in New York.
It was last night that there was a power failure in New York.
A phrase-structure tree consists of nodes which can dominate each other (immediate
domination = direct domination with one line). Their relationships are marked by titles as
mother / sister / daughter node.
C-command = the sister of the node which branches.
Specifier = the highest position. Often sister to the head. In NP’s, it’s the determiner.
Modifier = not necessary to complete meaning. Modifiers are sister to N’ in NP’s.
Complement = in all phrases except NP and AP, the complement is necessary to complete
meaning. When there’s a complement in an NP, it has to be of a noun which derives from a
verb (like student, argument). Complements are sisters to bars. Complements are sisters to
the head in NP’s.
X-bar theory = all syntactic phrases are structured according to the same principles. Also,
the head X of an XP is written as Xo.
IP-sentence = Inflection Phrase. When a sentence is inflected in tense. The “I” position is
only for auxiliaries, not lexical verbs. If there’s no auxiliary, you just fill in the tense, person,
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