identifying grammatical constituents
TRANSCRIPT
Identifying Constituents
Using substitution & movement tests to identify constituents
Constituents
• A constituent is a word or group of words that function as a unit and can make up larger grammatical units.
• Native speakers have intuitive knowledge about the categories and functions of constituents.
The iggly trazed wombly through the harlish gloop.
Phrasal Categories
“My brother met me at the train station.”
• my brother: NP
• at the station: PP
• met me at the station: VP
Phrasal Categories
Each type of phrase has a HEAD plus other constituents.
NP – Noun Phrase
VP – Verb Phrase
PrepP – Prepositional Phrase
AP – Adjective Phrase
Constituency Tests
Two common constituency tests are
SUBSTITUTION and MOVEMENT
Substitution Test
• Douglas married the Italian woman.
• The Italian woman was a lawyer.
• The judge sided with the Italian woman’s client.
• The judge sided with the Italian woman’s client.
• Everyone thought the Italian woman was brilliant.
Pronouns can substitute for NPs that appear in different positions in a sentence.
Substitution Test
Leonardo spotted a mermaid with his binoculars.
• A pronoun can replace the larger constituent:
Leonardo spotted her.
• or it can replace the the smaller constituent:
Leonardo spotted her with his binoculars.
*Leonardo spotted the her with his binoculars.
Substitution Test
In the same way that pronouns replace NPs, pro-verbs replace VPs.
• Sam fell down the stairs and John fell down the stairs too.
• Sam fell down the stairs and John did too.
• I like anchovies, and she likes anchovies too.
• I like anchovies and she does too.
• * I like anchovies and she does anchovies too.
Substitution Test
We also have ‘pro-forms’ that can substitute for PrepPs:
• I got to work at 9 o’clock too.
• I got to work then too.
Remember, pro-forms substitute for whole phrases, not just words:
• * I got to work at then too.
• I’ve been to Paris.
• I’ve been there (not *to there).
Movement Test
Movement test: A constituent can be moved to the front of a sentence:
• The chef cooked those fried green tomatoes.
• Those fried green tomatoes the chef cooked.
• I got to work at 9 o’clock.
• At 9 o’clock I got to work.
Movement Test
Movement tests can also highlight AMBIGUITY.
• Leonardo spotted the mermaid with the binoculars.
• The mermaid Leonardo spotted with the binoculars.
• The mermaid with the binoculars Leonardo spotted.
• *The mermaid with Leonardo spotted the binoculars.