The Structure of Sentences

Group 1Ahmad Zaki

Mubarak(1502972)

Novia Tri Febriani(1503203)

Outline Introduction The structure of words How do we know sentences have structure? Constituency tests Three additional tests Nested constituents Representing structure Points to remember

The structure of words The part which make up words are

morphemes. The morpheme is the smallest unit of

meaning in the structure of language

Ex: windows

2 morphemes undeniable government

window + -s

Bound vs Free Morphemes

Free morphemes:Those morphemes which can stand

alone as words

- Has function as stem/root/base

ex: black, pet, floor, door, etc.

Bound Morphemes:Those morphemes which can’t stand

alone (dependent)

- Classified as affixes, where:

Affixes

Prefixes

Infixes Suffixes

Inflection vs Derivation Inflectional morphemes:

bound morphemes which don’t change the meaning of the stem or the category, - ----Always suffixesEx: - Bag (noun) Bags (noun)- Walk (verb) Walked (verb)- A child (noun) A child’s memory

(noun)

Derivational morphemes:bound morphemes which generally

combine with the base and change the meaning or and the part of speech class of words.

Ex:Run (verb) Runner (noun)Dog (noun) Dogged (verb)Nation (noun) National (adj)

Compounding `words that built from more than one free

morpheme

Ex:Breakfast (noun) break (verb) + fast (adj)Earring, bathtub, birthday, etc.

Cran-morphemes roots which can never occur independently.Ex:Cranberry

Constituents: String of words which function as a

group at some level.

Ex:They ate a gigantic burger with extra meat for breakfast.

How do we know sentences have structures

To decide whether a particular string is a constituent or not.

There are four tests: 1. Substitution 2. Unit of sense/ sentence fragment 3. Movement 4. Co-ordination

“The seven days of existence food-rejection therapy included near-drowning in a soup-filled Jacuzzi”

Constituency tests

1. Substitution replacing the string investigating by a

single word. Words that naturally as replacement is pronoun, substitution test for verb, or a word.Ex: The seven days of existence food-rejection therapy included this.

- A man with dark glasses is following us.- We watched a movie about cheese-making

last week

2. Unit of sense/sentence fragmentBy making question-answer sequenced

based on the original sentence (using one of those wh-question words. Ex:

Question:What did you say the food-rejection

therapy included?Answer:Near-drowning in a soup-filled Jacuzzi

That is my brother The keys are on table.

Who is that?Where are the keys?

3. Movementmove the constituents investigated in a sentence(move items into other positions in order to emphasize the message).

Types of movement:- Fronting, a device whereby we shunt elements

to the first position in the sentence.Ex: Near-drowning in a soup-filled Jacuzzi, the seven days of existence food- rejection therapy included

I’ve always enjoyed fishing with my dad.Fishing with my dad, I’ve always enjoyed.

- Cleftingshifting elements around in a sentence

(usually builds a new structure). “It was /is… that … “

Ex:It was near-drowning in a soup-filled Jacuzzi that the seven days of existence food-rejection therapy included

They put the bodies in the basementIt is in the basement that they put the bodies.

4. Co-ordination co-ordinate the sequences of words/phrases using linking items, like and, but, and or.

two constraints on co-ordination:- only those strings that make up constituents can

be conjoined- only constituents of the same category can be

conjoined Ex:Her friends from Peru went to the movies.Rani and her friends from Peru went to the movies.

The girl who wore pink dress passed your house yesterday.

1. She passed your house yesterday.2. When did the girl who wore pink dress pass

your house?3. It was your house that the girl who wore pink

dress passed yesterday.4. The girl who wore pink dress and white scarf

passed your house yesterday.