 Hello, welcome to another introductory e-lecture about basic concepts in syntax. In previous e-lectures we already discussed the notion of grammar in general and the central syntactic functions in present-day English. This e-lecture concentrates on the formal level of syntax. Our central goal is thus to define sentences and their constituents, that is the shape and the internal structure of the units in sentences as well as the sentence itself. In particular, we will associate word classes with each word. We will also look at the phrases that are associated with the words in a sentence. We will deal with the clauses within sentences and we will look at the sentence itself. So these are our main goals. Let us illustrate this formal analysis on the basis of an example first. Here is a sentence. The cat hit the mouse and the mouse was very sad. Let us now perform a formal analysis from word classes to the sentence itself. Now, first of all, let us look at the word classes and some of you may know this already, that for example, the is a determiner, cat is a noun, hit is a verb, here we have another determiner, mouse is a noun, then we have a conjunction and we have another determiner, mouse we already know is a noun. The was in this particular context is a copular verb, verb, very is an intensifier, int and sad is an adjective. So this is some sort of preliminary analysis, which we will come back to later on. Then we have the phrasal level and you may know already that a determiner and a noun, here we have three examples that these constitute a so-called noun phrase. So here we have three noun phrases. Well, and then at the end, we have an adjectival phrase consisting of our intensifier and the adjective. And you may have heard about this before that the verb plus the noun phrase, well, the result is a verb phrase. Well, and then in our sentence, we have, of course, two clauses. So let's select the clauses here. This is the first clause, the cat hit the mouse, and then we have a second clause, the mouse was very sad. So let's write down clause two here and clause one here. Well, and the whole construction is, of course, a sentence. So these are the levels of analysis. Let us now look at these categories in detail and let's start with the largest unit with a sentence. It is usually assumed that the sentence is the highest ranking unit of syntax. However, it is often difficult to determine the boundaries of sentences, particularly in speech. Furthermore, there are constructions that can hardly be referred to as standard sentences. For this reason, a distinction between two types of sentences can be drawn, a distinction between major sentences and minor sentences. Here you have two examples, a major sentence, a cat has hit a mouse, and a minor sentence, Merry Christmas. Well, and as we illustrate it in another e-lecture about sentences, we have three criteria that can distinguish major and minor sentences. For example, the substitution test. In a major sentence, we can easily substitute, let's say, a cat by a dog. Whereas in Merry Christmas, well, hardly anything can be substituted. Or we can transform a major sentence into a passive sentence, such as a mouse has been hit by a dog or something like that, if I take the second one. But Merry Christmas cannot be transformed. And clearly, there is no subject predicate structure in a minor sentence. So again, this third criterion doesn't apply. So minor sentences are restricted in many ways. Major sentences, by contrast, have a fully developed structure. And major sentences constitute the focus of any syntactic analysis. Minor sentences only play a marginal role. There are four types of major sentences in English. Declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory. Let us provide one example per type using a small set of words and phrases, which I have over here. A declarative sentence would be something like, a cat has hit a mouse. So clearly, a subject verb, object structure. In an interrogative sentence, the operator, the auxiliary verb, has to proceed and we have, has a cat hit a mouse. In imperative sentences, the verb occurs in the initial position. There's no overt subject. So something like hit a mouse would already be a sufficient imperative sentence. We could also, of course, add an overt subject such as hit a mouse cat, in which case, of course, this determiner shouldn't be there. And finally, an exclamatory sentence is almost identical with a declarative sentence only. The only difference is that we have a WH element in the initial position leading to this exclamation. So what a cat has hit a mouse and there, of course, we need an exclamation mark. So these are our four sentence types. And all these sentences consist of one clause only. And if you have sentences that consist of one clause, you call them simple sentences. However, sentences may also have more than one clause. Here are two examples. The cat hit the mouse and the mouse was very sad. When the cat hit the mouse, the mouse was very sad. In the first sentence, we have two clauses that can stand on their own. They are connected by AND. Such a sentence with two independent clauses is referred to as a compound sentence. In the second example, we also have two clauses. However, in this case, only clause two can stand on its own. The mouse was very sad. Clause one, by contrast, is dependent on clause one or it is subordinate to it. Such a sentence with two clauses in such a subordinate relationship is referred to as a complex sentence. Thus, in compound sentences, we have several main clauses, whereas in complex sentences, we have one main clause and one or more subordinate clauses. Below the level of clauses, we can define phrases or phrasal categories, such as the cat, the mouse, very sad. The phrases are here represented in these rectangles. Since their definition depends on the word classes associated with each word, let us perform a word class analysis first. Again, here is our sentence. Now members of the Indo-European group of languages have been analysed in terms of such categories, word classes or parts of speech, since classical antiquity. The central principle of this classification is a so-called paradigmatic one. All words that can occur in the same syntactic context belong to the same paradigm, and thus share the same word class. So, let's illustrate this. Let's take a sentence, so we're taking the first part, and create a syntactic context. And now we can associate words with this context that can be inserted here, that can all be inserted into this position. So, here are some words, and we can, of course, insert the cat into this position. We can insert man into this position. We can insert book into this position. The book hit the mouse. And even under some conditions, we can insert the one hit the mouse. And as you know, this context here is the context which defines nouns. So here we have the context for nouns. Let's take another example. Now, here we have a different context, the cat hit. And in this case, we could, of course, introduce that mouse, or we could use the mouse, a mouse. And quite interestingly, we could also use one mouse. So this shows that one can be associated with two word classes, with nouns in our first case, and with the so-called determiner position, determiner, which is abbreviated as DET, debt in our second example. There are two views about the taxonomy of word classes. The traditional view and the structuralist view, which I have already applied here. So let's go back one step, and let's first of all look at the traditional view. According to the traditional view, syntactic categories or word classes can be grouped into two general sets, into close class elements which are limited in number. For example, prepositions, articles, pronouns, conjunctions, auxiliary as well. And to some extent, numerals, this is a little bit dangerous to call them unlimited because you can count from one to an infinite number. But if you consider elements such as sum and any, well, then they're limited in number. Well, in the second class we have are the so-called open class elements, which are theoretically unlimited in number, nouns, verbs, adjectives, and of course, adverbs. So this is the traditional approach, which most of you are probably familiar with from their old school days. The structuralist view goes back to American structuralism and defines word classes in a more general way, and thus allows more general approaches towards syntactic categories. It basically defines the same open class elements. So we still have nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. So this is almost identical. But then some classes were redefined. For example, nouns now subsume also the class of personal pronouns because they can occur in the same slot. And then we have a class, which is now referred to as determiners, which subsumes all those elements that can precede nouns. So you can have something like a cat, the cat, my cat, this cat. You could also have numerals in here, one cat, some cat. So determiners are now a new class belonging to the close class elements. Pronouns are not really considered anymore. Conjunctions are still similar. And then we have a new class referred to as infill or inflectional elements, which subsumes all those parts of a sentence that are responsible for the definition of the inflectional aspects of verbs. Some languages express those by means of auxiliary verbs. Others integrate them in the verb itself. One of the final class, which is new, is the class of complementizers, which now subsumes elements such as who and that. And is also, of course, a close class. Pronouns and numerals are not associated or are not given a special class anymore. Let's now turn our attention to phrases or phrasal categories. Phrases are syntactic units that consist of one or more words. They're intermediate constituents between words on the one hand and clauses and sentences on the other. Phrases consist of heads and modifiers. Now if a modifier stands in front of the head, it is called a pre-modifier. If it follows the head, it is referred to as post-modifier. So that's just some terminology. Now the head is the central or obligatory element which determines the type and distributional properties of the phrase. Modifiers are something that adds something to the head. Modifiers add something to the meaning of the head. And as I said, pre-modifiers precede and post-modifiers follow the head. The words of a phrase form a single syntactic unit which can be moved around and substituted by another word or phrase. So let's take our example. If you take, for example, the cat, then you clearly have cat as a head and the determiner V is the modifier. Well, the whole unit can be moved around. We can, for example, transform it into a passive sentence. The mouse is hit by the cat. So this is one test. Another test is the substitution test. We can substitute phrases by other elements. For example, in this case, by it or she, depending on what sort of cat you have. OK? So phrases can be replaced by other elements. Phrases can be moved around. These are important tests. Phrases are formed out of the main word classes, adjectives, adverbs, noun and verbs, and in addition to these prepositions. So here we have the major types. For example, we have the adjectival phrase, very sad with sad as the head or fond of her with fond as the head. In the first case, we have a pre-modifier. In the second case, we have a post-modifier. You could also have something like very fond of her, in which case you would have a pre-modifier and a post-modifier. Well, very carefully or sadly enough are adverb phrases. And the same principle applies. You can have pre-modifiers and post-modifiers or both. In a noun phrase, of course, the noun is the head. The mouse or cats on the mat. In both cases, we have heads. In one case, again, pre-modifier. In the other, we have a post-modifier. You could also have the strong cats on the mat, in which case you would have a pre-modifier and a post-modifier. In a prepositional phrase, you have the preposition as the head. It determines the prepositional content. In some languages, it even determines the case. So this is why prepositions are heads within prepositional phrases. Just over the bridge is a prepositional phrase with a pre-modifier and a post-modifier. And note that in this case, of course, the bridge is a noun phrase. Again, so you already see that phrases can be nested. The same applies to on the mat. And our last example is a verb phrase where the verb constitutes the head and the noun phrase again is part of the verb phrase. So again, we have a nested construction. So phrases can be nested. And here I have some examples. Now, first of all, let's take the noun phrase, the mouse. Let's now integrate an adjectival phrase within the noun phrase, the very sad mouse, note that the heads are marked in red. Our next example is a prepositional phrase, which occurs as a post-modifier of the noun phrase. And the prepositional phrase itself contains another noun phrase. And our last example, well, here we have added another adjectival phrase to the noun phrase, which is part of the prepositional phrase, which is part of the overall noun phrase. Let us finally take our declarative sentence and analyze all formal aspects within it. So here is our sentence, the cat hit the mouse, and the mouse was very sad. And obviously it is a declarative sentence. Within this sentence, we have two clauses. The clauses are independent. They are two main clauses. For this reason, we have a declarative compound sentence. The syntactic categories within it, so this is the simple categorical analysis, our determiner noun verb, determiner noun, then we have a conjunction, which links the two clauses. We have a determiner, a noun, a verb, and an intensifier, and finally an adjective. Well, and in terms of a phrasal analysis, we have three noun phrases, one adjectival phrase, on the basic level, if you wish. And we have, of course, in each clause, one verb phrase. In the first clause, the verb phrase contains a noun phrase. In the second clause, it contains an adjectival phrase. So we have a compound declarative sentence with two main clauses, several phrases, and several word classes. Well, it's simple, isn't it? Well, this e-lecture was just an overview. In further e-lectures, we will look at selected aspects in more detail. For example, we will deepen the phrasal analysis and look at more examples that illustrate the definition and the analysis on a clause level. So, see you again in one of these e-lectures. Until then, thanks for your attention.