Morphology and Syntax Practice 1

Lesson 9A

The top of the tree So the tree for any sentence (S) should start

like this:

This means that every sentence is made up of a noun phrase and a verb phrase

S

VPNP

The bottom of the tree What we need to do is to connect:

the structure

at the top

of the tree

TO

the words of

the sentence

at the bottom

of the tree

the hairy dog walks quickly in the park

S

VPNP

Det A N V Adv P Det N

Connecting top and bottom

You need to start at the bottom of the tree and build more phrases on to the categories. These phrases could be:

Noun phrases Adverb phrases Prepositional phrases Adjective phrases

What a complete tree looks like

a sentence

divides into a noun phrase ……………….. and a verb phrase

these attach to

phrases or

and categories categories

attach to words the hairy dog walks quickly in the park

S

VPNP

Det A N V Adv P Det N

AP AdvP NP

PP

How to analyse the syntactic structure of a simple sentence

It’s a bit like decorating a Christmas tree:

Write S NP + VP at the top Write the words of the sentence at the bottom Write the categories above the words Where necessary put the categories into phrase

structures (NP, Adv,P, AP, PP) Attach the phrase structures to the main NP and

VP

Ambiguous sentencesThese sentences look the same but they

have a different meaning

The man hit the intruder with a stick The man hit the intruder with a wooden leg

They should have a different syntactic

structure. Where is the difference going to be

Disambiguating

With a wooden leg and with a stick are

both prepositional expressions

BUT …… with a wooden leg is about the intruder

so it is attached to the noun with a stick is about how he hit the

intruder so it is attached to the verb

Romeo/Juliet loves Juliet/Romeo

Juliet loves Romeo

Romeo Juliet

N N

NP

V

NP

S

VP

3. He loves carrots

He loves carrots

PRO N

NP

V

NP

S

VP

4. The lamb followed Mary

The lamb followed Mary

Det N

NP

V

NP

S

VP

N

6. The cat killed the mouse

The cat killed the mouse

Det N

NP

V

NP

S

VP

N Det

7. Jack killed the giant

Jack killed the giant

N

NP

V

NP

S

VP

N Det

8. She solved the mystery

She solved the mystery

N

NP

V

NP

S

VP

PRO Det

5. Beavers build dams

Beavers build dams

N

NP

V

NP

S

VP

N

9. The witnesses helped her

The witnesses helped her

PRO

NP

V

NP

S

VP

DET N

10. Alice followed the rabbit

Alice followed the rabbit

N

NP

V

NP

S

VP

N Det.

10. Alice followed the white rabbit

Alice followed the white rabbit

N

NP

V

NP

S

VP

N Det. A.

AP.

12. Alice slowly followed the white rabbit

Alice slowly followed the white rabbit

N

NP

V

NP

S

VP

N Det. A.

AP.

Asv

Adv.P

13. He gave her a kiss

He gave her a kiss

NP

PRO

NP

S

VP

PRODet. N.V

NP.

14. She rewarded him with a kiss

She rewarded him with a kiss

NP

PRO

S

VP

PRO P. Det.V N.

14. She rewarded him with a kiss

She rewarded him with a kiss

NP

PRO

NP

S

VP

PRO P. Det.V

NP.

N.

PP

14. She rewarded him with a kiss

She rewarded him with a kiss

NP

PRO

NP

S

VP

PRO P. Det.V

NP.

N.

PP

15. She paid the money to the cashier

She paid the money to the cashier

NP

Det.

S

VP

PRO P. Det.V N.N

15. She paid the money to the cashier

She paid the money to the cashier

NP

Det.

NP

S

VP

PRO P. Det.V

NP.

N.

PP

N

15. She paid the money to the cashier

She paid the money to the cashier

NP

Det.

NP

S

VP

PRO P. Det.V

NP.

N.

PP

N

16. The porter called George a taxi

The porter called George a taxi

NP

V.

S

VP

Det Det.N N.N

16. The porter called George a taxi

The porter called George a taxi

NP

V.

NP

S

VP

Det Det.N

NP.

N.N

16. The porter called George a taxi

The porter called George a taxi

NP

V.

NP

S

VP

Det Det.N

NP.

N.N

17. The medicine made her ill

The medicine made her ill

NP

V.

S

VP

DetA.N N

17. The medicine made her ill

The medicine made her ill

NP

V.

AP

S

VP

DetA.N

NP.

N

17. The medicine made her ill

The medicine made her ill

NP

V.

AP

S

VP

DetA.N

NP.

N

18. Those unhappy students failed the final exam

Those unhappy students failed the final exam

NP

V.

NP

S

VP

DetN.N

AP.

AA

AP

Det..

18. Those unhappy students failed the final exam

Those unhappy students failed the final exam

NP

V.

NP

S

VP

DetN.N

AP.

AA

AP

Det..

18. Those unhappy students failed the final exam

Those unhappy students failed the final exam

NP

V.

S

VP

DetN.N AA Det..

19. The dog bit the old man on the nose

The dog bit the old man on the nose

NP

A.

PP

S

VP

DetN.Det

NP.

DetN V P.N.

AP.

NP.

20. The woman on the bus told me the story of her life

The woman on the bus told me the story of her life

NP

N.

NP

S

VP

Det

PP.

Det

NP.

AN P N.Pro.

PP.

NP.

V. Det.. P N

NP.NP.

AP.

NP

21. He saw the girl in the green park

He saw the girl in the green park

P V N P Det A NDet

NPVP

S

NP

PP

NP

AP

22. He saw the girl in the green dress

He saw the girl in the green dress

P V N P Det A NDet

NPVP

S

NP

PP

NP

AP

NP