The Syntax Subject - Essay Example

Writing X-bar syntax and the complement / adjunct distinction  Customer Tutor’s Name Customer’s Name Customer’s Grade Course 18th October 2010 Abstract This paper analyses major concepts of the English syntax and how to present this in a structure or an x bar tree/structure. The sentence or phrase takes the form depending on the few starting words; that is, whether the sentence starts with a verb, pronoun, noun, preposition or adjective. However, there are some problems which emerge in some sentences in the trial to draw up a structure. Introduction Classification of grammar and syntax has evolved from the traditional methods to the current X bar syntax. This evolution has helped in adding some additional levels to the hierarchy of the phrasal structure rules and replacement of the traditional forms of the phrasal structural rules. This has led to the development of X bar theory which is a component of the linguistic theory attempting to identify some features of syntax which are common to all languages. The theory notes that there exist some certain similarities in the structure of all phrases and their categories in all languages. In this theory, the letter X is used in signifying the arbitrary lexical category and denotes the head in the tree of the phrase. This is a replacement of the noun phrases, verb phrases and even the adjectival and prepositional phrases/bars. This theory follows the normal English structure or syntax and the combination of subject, noun and a verb plus modifiers, complements, conjunctions, adverbs and adjectives. The X theory has the X as the head and combines with complement in the formation of X bar and adjunct combines with the X bar in the formation of another X bar. Finally, the X bar combine with a specifier in the formation of a top level form of the phrase with the phrase gaining a new denotation of XP. Some of the rules in the formation of the X bar are: XP as the specifier becoming a X phrase; X bar as adjunct where the X bar can consist the X bar and the adjunct; and X bar as complement. These rules apply in the sentence construction where a sentence can have the subject, the verb, adverbs, qualifiers of the nouns and even the pronouns replacing the noun. All these help in coming up with a tree which is a better way of showing parts of a sentence in one representation and in understanding of the roles played by various words in a sentence; for example, this… becoming a complement. Question one: Sentence 1: They filmed the play by the prisoners in the prison yard This phrase is a pronoun phrase and so the kind of bar it will take would be a pro form X bar syntax which can be represented by a noun phrase X bar. In this sentence, there is a combination of pronouns, verbs, complements, and determinants. In this case: They is a pronoun which represents a noun and so makes the X bar syntax a noun phrase with they being the Head. Filmed is the verb or the doing word in the sentence while the play by the prisoners in the prison yard is a complement. Therefore, the sentence can be presented in an X bar syntax tree as follows: Sentence two: The announcement of the news on local radio astounded us This sentence starts with a determinant then verb, and so, it takes the style of verb phrase, and so, the head of the syntax structure would be the verb. This sentence has combined the determinants, verbs, nouns and complements. The is the determinant of the sentence, and happens to start off the whole sentence. Announcement is our verb and defines the head and the name of the x bar while news is our object or the noun being referred to by the verb. Of the is complements of the noun news while the rest of the sentence, that is, on local radio astounded us modifies the whole sentence. Its structure would look like: A verb phrase x bar structure/tree Sentence three: The owners of big cars without children should pay tax This sentence has all major elements of a English sentence or phrase with nouns, verbs and subjects. The sentence starts with a noun and then a conjunction which introduces a complement or an adjective a noun. This sentence follows a typical noun phrase syntax structure or the x bar grammar structure. Owners is a noun and this gives it the definition of the particular sentence/phrase when grouping it in the English structure. Big is the adjective which says more of the noun cars, and without children is a complement of owners. Should modifies the verb pay while the last word in the sentence tax is a noun. Question two Sentence one: A strangely dynamic specialist in ethics from Mudgee should have been talking to us yesterday This sentence is an adjunct and this has been prompted by the use of the word strangely in from of the word dynamic and specialists. This differs with complement which is supposed to just say a little more than the basic meaning of the noun or the verb. The specialist is dynamic but the addition of the word strangely makes it modified and so an adjunct. The rest of the phrase follows the normal rules of a phrase or a sentence with subject, noun and verb being part of the sentence. However, its whole meaning has been altered by the inclusion of the modifier strangely which makes the specialist not only a dynamic specialists but also does so in a strange way. In this, the kind of rule that would be changed is the assumption that the rest of the sentence follows exactly with the first part of the sentence and an elaboration of the first part. All the other part not analysed can be assumed to be an adjective and prepositions that just help elaborate the first part. An adjunct sentence x bar structure Second sentence: That dangerous guy next blown up my elderly aunt’s car This sentence is a normal complement sentence with the word dangerous being the complement word of the noun guy. The following sentence x bar structure shows the complement form of the sentence structure. The part which is most crucial for analysis and so all the other parts are seems as explaining more about the dangerous guy. Third sentence: the award of contracts to the consultants amused the VC This sentence as well starts with a determinant followed by the noun, and so, this sentence would have the head as the noun making it a noun phrase as the syntax structure or the x bar syntax tree. This sentence compares with the first one and the only difference is that the arrangement of major parts of a sentence do not follow each other the same. This sentence has the determinant, noun complements and the verb, so as to make the full sentence be in a way that it can be represented in the syntax structure. The is the determinant and starts the whole sentence, while the noun awards follows and this gives the title of the x bar tree. Question Three Sentence one: He is extremely fond and rightfully proud of his mother In the analysis of this sentence and trying to put it in the English structure, the problem which would emerge is in categorizing it as a noun phrase or as a pronoun phrase. There is no reference of the proper noun and there are two usages of the pronoun, and so, there would be difficult in deciding the noun or the proper noun to be picked for the head. Mother is also a noun, and it too poses the problem of whether it would be the one to be picked in the naming of the structure or it is the son who is only introduced by the pronouns. In this sentence, there are no verbs or the doing word, and so, it does not follow the recommended English sentence structure and may not be used for the analysis of English in the x bar structure form. In this case, proud can be interpreted more as an adverb than a verb. Sentence two: The one of the dog in a snowsuit Again, this sentence as well does not present a right head to be used and in the naming of the structure. This sentence starts with a determinant, and one can not be used as a head and neither can of the be used for the head. Therefore, the only one which can perhaps be used as the head is the word dog, and is placed too much inside the sentence. The reference of the sentence is not known and so it means that its noun and verbs are in another sentence. For example, in a question like ‘Which picture would you like?’ Sentence three: He will move the desk into the front room and the table into the kitchen In the analysis of this sentence and in coming up with a structure of this, the difficult part in the separation of the verb at the start of the sentence with the pronoun which is identifying the sentence structure. Therefore in the construction of this sentence, there would be an early introduction of the verb phrase together with the Noun phrase, and this would be hard because the two are supposed to be distinct. For example, moving is a verb and He being a pronoun is making the structure be a noun verb, and therefore, the will move would be integrated into the NP as both a complement and a verb Conclusion The paper analysis major rules of the English language in writing and how to analyze the rules using the x bar syntax grammar. This analysis is seen to take many dimensions of the language and follows as simple sentence structure which has a noun, a verb and a subject. However, in the combination of more than one sentence to form a phrase, some other forms of English words are introduced, and these are like the modifiers as adjuncts, complements, conjunctions, adverbs, adjectives among others. These make the phrase or the sentence complete without problems interpreting it in the way it is supposed to be interpreted. In the formation of x bar grammars structure, one must identify whether the sentence or phrase would take a noun form, verb form, or even the adjective and adverb forms. These are decided by how the sentence starts and the kind of words which are introduced at the start of the phrase. If the first few words have a noun; either a proper noun or a pronoun, them the sentence would take a noun form. But when the sentence starts with a verb, then, the sentence or phrase would take the verb form in the English syntax structure. However, not all sentences resent itself easily when being put in a x bar or the English syntax structure, but some presents problems in doing so. A sentence or a phrase could be having both verb and noun at the very start of the sentence or phrase, and since the two cannot be mixed easily, it becomes hard to separate the two during the drawing up of the tree or the x bar tree. Therefore, there is need for a sentence to have a clear line which it follows if at all it has to be presented well in the structure. Reference Kroeger Paul (2005). Analyzing grammar: An introduction. UK: Cambridge University Press Read More