1、1新编简明英语语言学教程第二版 第 4 章 练习题 参考答案Chapter 4 Syntax1. What is syntax?Syntax is a branch of linguistics that studies how words are combined to form sentences and the rules that govern the formation of sentences.2. What is phrase structure rule?The grammatical mechanism that regulates the arrangement of el
2、ements (i.e. specifiers, heads, and complements) that make up a phrase is called a phrase structure rule. The phrase structural rule for NP, VP, AP, and PP can be written as follows:NP (Det) N (PP) .VP (Qual) V (NP) .AP (Deg) A (PP) .PP (Deg) P (NP) .We can formulate a single general phrasal structu
3、ral rule in which X stands for the head N, V, A or P.The XP rule: XP (specifier) X (complement)3. What is category? How to determine a words category?Category refers to a group of linguistic items which fulfill the same or similar functions in a particular language such as a sentence, a noun phrase
4、or a verb.To determine a words category, three criteria are usually employed, namely meaning, inflection and distribution. 若详细回答，则要加上：Word categories often bear some relationship with its meaning. The meanings associated with nouns and verbs can be elaborated in various ways. The property or attribu
5、te of the entities denoted by nouns can be elaborated by adjectives. For example, when we say that pretty lady, we are attributing the property pretty to the lady designated by the noun. Similarly, the properties and attributes of the actions, sensations and states designated by verbs can typically
6、be denoted by adverbs. For example, in Jenny left quietly the adverb quietly indicates the manner of Jennys leaving.The second criterion to determine a words category is inflection. Words of different categories take different inflections. Such nouns as boy and desk take the plural affix -s. Verbs s
7、uch as work and help take past tense affix -ed and progressive affix -ing. And 2adjectives like quiet and clever take comparative affix -er and superlative affix -est. Although inflection is very helpful in determining a words category, it does not always suffice. Some words do not take inflections.
8、 For example, nouns like moisture, fog, do not usually take plural suffix -s and adjectives like frequent, intelligent do not take comparative and superlative affixes -er and -est.The last and more reliable criterion of determining a words category is its distribution. That is what type of elements
9、can co-occur with a certain word. For example, nouns can typically appear with a determiner like the girl and a card, verbs with an auxiliary such as should stay and will go, and adjectives with a degree word such as very cool and too bright.A words distributional facts together with information abo
10、ut its meaning and inflectional capabilities help identify its syntactic category. 4. What is coordinate structure and what properties does it have?The structure formed by joining two or more elements of the same type with the help of a conjunction is called coordinate structures. It has (或写 Conjunc
11、tion exhibits) four important properties:1) There is no limit on the number of coordinated categories that can appear prior to the conjunction. 2) A category at any level (a head or an entire XP) can be coordinated.3) Coordinated categories must be of the same type.4) The category type of the coordi
12、nate phrase is identical to the category type of the elements being conjoined.5. What elements does a phrase contain and what role does each element play?A phrase usually contains the following elements: head, specifier and complement. Sometimes it also contains another kind of element termed modifi
13、er.The role each element can play:Head: Head is the word around which a phrase is formed.Specifier: Specifier has both special semantic and syntactic roles. Semantically, it helps to make more precise the meaning of the head. Syntactically, it typically marks a phrase boundary.Complement: Complement
14、s are themselves phrases and provide information about entities and locations whose existence is implied by the meaning of the head.Modifier: Modifiers specify optionally expressible properties of the heads.6. What is deep structure and what is surface structure?3There are two levels of syntactic st
15、ructure. The first, formed by the XP rule in accordance with the heads subcategorization properties, is called deep structure (or D-structure). The second, corresponding to the final syntactic form of the sentence which results from appropriate transformations, is called surface structure (or S-stru
16、cture).第 713 小题 大部分要求画树形图，这里省略。以下提供教程第一版 Chapter 4 Syntax 的练习题及参考答案。 （只作初步的的成分划分，未画树形图, 仅供参考）：1. Indicate the category of each word in the following sentences.a) The old lady suddenly left.Det A N Adv Vb) The car stopped at the end of the road.Det N V P Det N P Det Nc) The snow might have blocked th
17、e road.Det N Aux Infl V Det Nd) He never appears quite mature.Pron Qual V Deg A2. The following phrases include a head, a complement, and a specifier. Draw the appropriate tree structure for each.a) full of peopleXP(AP) head (full) A + complement (of people) PP b) a story about a sentimental girlXP(
18、NP) specifier (a) Det + head (story) N + complement (about a sentimental girl) PPc) often read detective storiesXP(VP) specifier (often) Qual + head (read) V + complement (detective stories) NPd) the argument against the proposalsXP(NP) specifier (the) Det + head (argument) N + complement (against t
19、he proposals) PPe) move towards the windowmove v.XP(VP) head (move) V + modifier ( towards the window) PP （此短语无 specifier）move n.XP(NP) head (move) N + complement (towards the window) PP （此短语无 specifier）3. Draw phrase structure trees for each of the following sentences. a) The jet landed.S NP (The j
20、et) + VP (landed)b) Marie became very ill.S NP (Marie) + VP (became very ill)c) What will you talk about?S NP (you) + Infl (will) + VP (talk about what)Move Infl to the left of the subject NP.Move the wh-phrase to the beginning of the sentence.d) The apple might hit the man.S NP (The apple) + Infl (
21、might) + VP (hit the man)e) He often reads detective stories.S NP (He) + VP (often reads detective stories)4. The following sentences contain modifiers of various types. For each sentence, first identify the modifier(s), then draw the tree structures.（斜体的为名词的修饰语，划底线的为动词的修饰语）a) A frightened passenger
22、 landed the crippled airplane.4b) A huge moon hung in the black sky.c) An unusual event occurred before the meeting.d) A quaint old house appeared on the grassy hill.5. The following sentences all contain conjoined categories. Draw a tree structure for each of the sentences. （划底线的为并列的范畴）a) Jim has w
23、ashed the dirty shirts and pants.b) Helen put on her clothes and went out.c) Mary is fond of literature but tired of statistics.d) The detective went out and the mysterious man came in.e) Crusoe knows that spring will come and the snow will melt.6. The following sentences all contain embedded clause
24、s that function as complements of a verb, an adjective, a preposition or a noun. Draw a tree structure for each sentence.a) You know that I hate war.b) He said that Tom asked whether the class was over.（此句有两个层面的 嵌入从句）c) Gerry cant believe the fact that Anna flunked the English exam.d) Chris was happ
25、y that his father bought him a Rolls-Royce.e) The children argued over whether bats had wings.7. Each of the following sentences contains a relative clause. Draw the deep structure and the surface structure trees for each of these sentences.a) The essay that he wrote was too long. b) The dog that he
26、 keeps bites.c) Herbert found the man she lovedd) The girl whom he often quarrels with majors in linguistics.8. The derivations of the following sentences involve the inversion transformation. Give the deep structure and the surface structure of each of these sentences. （斜体的为深层结构，普通字体的为表层结构）a) Would
27、 you come tomorrow?You would come tomorrow.b) Can you pass me the newspaper?You can pass me the newspaper.c) Should the student report the incident?The student should report the incident.d) What did you eat for lunch?You eat what for lunch.e) Who should this be reported to?This should be reported to whom.f) What was Helen bringing to the party?Helen was bringing what to the party.
