Post on 25-Dec-2014
description
Presented to: Madam Amna Shahid
Presented by:Ammara AhsanAyesha Amjad Najia Majid
Rashda Meraj
PHRASE STRUCTURE
byAmmara AhsanAyesha Amjad Najia Majid
Rashda Meraj
INTRODUCTION TO PHRASE STRUCTUREDEFINITIONA phrase is a group of words that does not have a subject or a verb.For example:Eating a peachUnder the teacher’s deskAfter seeing the Taj MahalTo buy a new phone
General ApproachUniversal Grammar (UG) / Language Instinct
DataNative speakers’ intuitions (acceptability judgments)
Resulting Theory of Grammar
Words, phrases, categories for words and phrases (e.g. nouns, verbs, noun phrases, verb phrases)(basic concepts any theory of grammar must have in order to capture the data)
Phrase structure (review)
1) Every word belongs to a lexical category2) Lexical categories forms heads of
phrases3) How phrases are formed is governed by
rules (= ‘phrase structure rules’)
Phrase structure rulesRules that determine…
what goes into a phrase (‘constituents’)
how the constituents are orderedConstituent: a word or group of words that
function as a unit and can make up larger grammatical units The component that determines the properties of the constituent is the head, and the constituent can be referred to as a phrase: e.g. noun phrase“noun phrases have a Det and a N” NP Det N
The main phrase structure rules
1. S NP VP
2. NP {Det N, Pro, PN}
3. VP V (NP) (PP) (Adv)
4. PP P NP
5. AP A (PP)
Phrase Structure Rules & tree
• NP (Det) N • PP P NP
The boy (NP)
The
NDet
boy
the boy in the yard
NP
The
NDet
boy
PP
in
NPP
the
Det N
yard
Prepositional phrase (PP)
In P from a boy in a bubble P NP
Phrase structure rule for PPs: PP P (NP)
Phrase structure tree
PP PP
P P NP
in from Det N PP
a boy P NP
in Det N
a bubble
Verb phrase (VP) “Verb phrases have a V, (sometimes) an
NP, and (sometimes) a PP” VP -> V (NP) (PP) sang ate the cake ate the cake hungrily sang a song in the shower fell into the pond slowly
Phrase structure rule for VPs: VP V (NP) (PP) (Adv)
Phrase structure tree
VP VP VP
V V NP V NP PP Adv
sang ate Det N sang Det N P NP badly
the cake a song in Det N
the shower
Thank You