QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY

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COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION

MODULE 7

SYNTAX

Module Overview :This module focuses on the domain of Linguistics that

primarily deal with the arrangement of words in sentences, clauses and
phrases—or the relationship of the component part of the sentence.

Objectives :

At the end of the module, the students are expected to :

1.Link and apply or the set of grammatical rules governing such syntactical
word‐order;
2.Demonstrate the skill in usage and syntax;
3.Determine the ways in which words and clauses are ordered and
connected to form meaningful and correct sentences

What is SYNTAX ?

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In linguistics, "syntax" refers to the rules that govern the ways in which words
combine to form phrases, clauses, and sentences. The term "syntax" comes from the Greek,
meaning "arrange together." The term is also used to mean the study of the syntactic
properties of a language

It is a domain of Linguistics that elucidate the arrangement of words in sentences,

clauses, and phrases, and the study of the formation of sentences and the relationship of
their component parts.

In English, the main device for showing this relationship is word order; for example,
"The boy loves his dog" follows standard subject-verb-object word order, and switching the
order of such a sentence would change the meaning or make the sentence meaningless.
Word order is much more flexible in languages such as Latin, in which word endings
indicate the case of a noun or adjective; such inflections make it unnecessary to rely on
word order to indicate a word's function in the sentence.

The word syntax was first used in 1605, from Gk. syntaxis "a putting together or
in order, or arrangement. It is the way in which words and clauses are ordered and
connected so as to form sentences; or the set of grammatical rules governing such word‐
order.
Syntax is a major determinant of literary style: while simple English sentences
usually have the structure ‘subject‐verb‐object’ (e.g. Jane strangled the cat), poets often
distort this syntax through inversion, while prose writers can exploit elaborate syntactic
structures such as the periodic sentence.

Other aspects of syntax include such sentence transformations as negative-

positive, interrogative- declarative, coordination, subordination, passive- active etc.
Syntax revolves around words. More specifically it focuses on how words are arranged in
a sentence. Words can be arranged regularly or irregularly for a variety of reasons to fulfill
a purpose.

Examining syntax can reveal a lot about the writer, such as skill, culture and
meaning. Syntax can be used to convey a simple message or to convey something deeper
and more poetic.

Function of Syntax
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Syntax refers to sentence structure. It is basically how words are arranged in a

sentence and how a writer has created a pattern with the words. Syntax shows a writer's
style by showing how he creates patterns of words.

Types of Syntax

Regular or normal syntax consists of a sentence with a basic pattern of a

subject, verb and object. This pattern is often fixed in normal syntax, meaning that the
order of words in a sentence must be subject, verb, object. A simple example: The girl
held a puppy.

Another type of syntax is irregular syntax, in which writers place words in

varying order to create emphasis or to explore further meaning in their words. An
example of irregular syntax from the Thomas Hardy poem "The Man He Killed": "Yes;
quaint and curious war is!"

EARLY HISTORY OF SYNTAX

Works on grammar were being written long before modern syntax came about; the
Aṣṭādhyāyī of Pāṇini is often cited as an example of a premodern work that approaches the
sophistication of a modern syntactic theory. [1] In the West, the school of thought that came
to be known as "traditional grammar" began with the work of Dionysius Thrax.

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COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION

GENERATIVE GRAMMAR

The hypothesis of generative grammar is that language is a structure of the human

mind. The goal of generative grammar is to make a complete model of this inner language
(known as i-language).

This model could be used to describe all human language and to predict the
grammaticality of any given utterance (that is, to predict whether the utterance would
sound correct to native speakers of the language). This approach to language was
pioneered by Noam Chomsky. Most generative theories (although not all of them) assume
that syntax is based upon the constituent structure of sentences. Generative grammars
are among the theories that focus primarily on the form of a sentence, rather than its
communicative function.

CATEGORIAL GRAMMAR

Categorial grammar is an approach that attributes the syntactic structure not to

rules of grammar, but to the properties of the syntactic categories themselves. For example,
rather than asserting that sentences are constructed by a rule that combines a noun
phrase (NP) and a verb phrase (VP) (e.g. the phrase structure rule S → NP VP), in categorial
grammar, such principles are embedded in the category of the head word itself. So the
syntactic category for an intransitive verb is a complex formula representing the fact that
the verb acts as a functor which requires an NP as an input and produces a sentence level
structure as an output.

SYNTAX - ENGLISH SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Sentence types: One way to categorize sentences is by the clauses they contain.

Here are the 4 sentence types:

+
Simple: Contains a single, independent clause.

o I don't like dogs.

o Our school basketball team lost their last game of the season 75-68.

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o The old hotel opposite the bus station in the center of the town is

probably going to be knocked down at the end of next year.

• Compound: Contains two independent clauses that are joined by
a coordinating conjunction. The most common coordinating conjunctions are:
and, or, but, so.)
I don't like dogs, and my sister doesn't like cats.
+
o You can write on paper, or you can use a computer.
o A tree fell onto the school roof in a storm, but none of the students was
injured.

• Complex: Contains an independent clause plus one dependent clause.

(A dependent clause starts with a subordinating conjunction. Examples: that,
because, although, where, which, since.)
o I don't like dogs that bark at me when I go past.
o You can write on paper, although a computer is better.
+
o None of the students were injured when the tree fell through the school
roof.

Note: A dependent clause standing alone without an independent clause is

called a fragment sentence
• Compound-complex: Contains 3 or more clauses (of which at least two are
independent and one is dependent).
o I don't like dogs, and my sister doesn't like cats because they make her
sneeze. +
o A tree fell unto the school roof in a storm, but none of the students was
injured
although many of them were in classrooms at the top of the building.

ERRONEOUS sentences': To write a correct sentence, you need to have a good

understanding
+
of what a sentence is. Students who don't have this understanding, or don't take care,
often

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include problem sentences in their writing. Native English speakers are just as likely
to
write problem sentences as ESL students. There are three main types of problem
sentence:
• Run-on sentences: These are two sentences that the writer has not separated
with an
end punctuation mark, or has not joined with a conjunctionI went to Paris in
the
vacation it is the most beautiful place I have ever visited.

1.It's never too late to learn to swim you never know when you may

fall from a boat.

2.If you're going to the shops can you buy me some eggs and

flour I want to make a cake.

3.I like our new math teacher, she always explains the work

very clearly.

Sentence fragments:

Fragment sentences are unfinished sentences, i.e. they don't contain a

complete idea. A common fragment sentence in student writing is a
dependent clause standing alone without an independent clause.
I don't think I'm going to get a good grade. Because I didn't study.
She got angry and shouted at the teacher. Which wasn't a very good idea. +
He watched TV for an hour and then went to bed. After falling asleep
on the sofa.
If your 'sentence' is a dependent clause, or it doesn't contain both a subject
and a predicate, then it is not a proper sentence. You can often detect
fragments if
you read your writing backwards sentence by sentence.
• Rambling sentences: A rambling sentence is a sentence made up of many
clauses,

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• often connected by a coordinating conjunction such as and, or, so.

1.Although the blue whale has been protected for over 30 years and its numbers
are increasing, especially in the North Pacific, where whale hunting has been banned,
it is still at risk of extinction as its habitat is being polluted by waste

2.From oil tankers and its main food, the plankton, is being killed off by harmful rays
from the sun, which can penetrate the earth's atmosphere because there is a huge
hole
in the ozone layer over Antarctica.

A rambling sentence is quite easy to spot. You have almost certainly written one
if your sentence contains more than 3 or 4 conjunctions. If you read the sentence
aloud
and run out of breath before reaching the end of it, you have written a rambling
sentence.
If your sentence stretches over many lines of writing, you have certainly written a
rambling sentence and most probably a run-on sentence too.

Unlike run-ons or fragments, rambling sentences are not wrong, but they

are tiresome for the reader and one of the signs of a poor writer. You should avoid
them.

Rules in SV agreement

1. Subjects and verbs must agree in number. This is the cornerstone rule that forms the
background of the concept.

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The dog growls when he is angry.

The dogs growl when they are angry.

2. Subordinate clauses that come between the subject and verb don't affect their
agreement.

The dog, who is chewing on my jeans, is usually very good.

3. Prepositional phrases between the subject and verb usually do not affect agreement.

The colors of the rainbow are beautiful.

4. When sentences start with "there" or "here," the subject will always be placed after the
verb. Some care needs to be taken to identify each part correctly.

There is a problem with the balance sheet.

Here are the papers you requested.

5. Subjects don't always come before verbs in questions. Make sure you accurately
identify the subject before deciding on the proper verb form to use.

Where are the pieces of this puzzle?

6. If two subjects are joined by "and," they typically require a plural verb form.

The cow and the pig are jumping over the moon.

7. The verb is singular if the two subjects separated by "and" refer to the same person or
thing as a whole.

Red beans and rice is my mom's favorite dish.

8. If one of the words "each," "every," or "no" comes before the subject, the verb is
singular.

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No smoking or drinking is allowed.

Every man and woman is required to check in.

9. If the subjects are both singular and are connected by the words "or," "nor,"
"neither/nor," "either/or," or "not only/but also," the verb is singular.

Either Jessica or Christian is to blame for the accident.

10. The only time the object of the preposition decides plural or singular verb forms is
when noun and pronoun subjects like "some," "half," "none," "more," or "all" are
followed by a prepositional phrase. Then the object of the preposition determines the
form of the verb.

All of the chicken is gone.

All of the chickens are gone.

11. The singular verb form is usually reserved for units of measurement or time.

Four quarts of oil was required to get the car running.

12. If the subjects are both plural and are connected by the words "or," "nor,"
"neither/nor," "either/or," or "not only/but also," the verb is plural.

Not only dogs but also cats are available at the animal shelter.

13. If one subject is singular and the other is plural, and the words are connected by the
words "or," "nor," "neither/nor," "either/or," or "not only/but also," use the verb form of
the subject that is nearest the verb.

Either the bears or the lion has escaped from the zoo.
Neither the lion nor the bears have escaped from the zoo.

14. Indefinite pronouns typically take singular verbs (with some exceptions).

Everybody wants to be loved.

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COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION

15. The exceptions to the above rule include the pronouns "few," "many," "several,"
"both," "all," and "some." These always take the plural form.

Few were left alive after the flood.

16. If two infinitives are separated by "and," they take the plural form of the verb.

To walk and to chew gum require great skill.

17. When gerunds are used as the subject of a sentence, they take the singular form of
the verb. However, when they are linked by "and," they take the plural form.

Standing in the water was a bad idea.

Swimming in the ocean and playing drums are my hobbies.

18. A collective noun, such as "team" or "staff," can be either singular or plural
depending upon the rest of the sentence. Typically, they take the singular form, as the
collective noun is treated as a cohesive single unit. Example :The herd is stampeding.

19. Titles of books, movies, novels, and other similar works are treated as singular and
take a singular verb.

The Burbs is a movie starring Tom Hanks.

20. Final rule: Remember, only the subject affects the verb! Nothing else matters.

Jacob, who owns sixteen houses, is on his way to becoming a billionaire.

END OF MODULE

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COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION

WORKSHEET on SYNTAX

Name : ___________________________________

A. Encircle the correct answer.

1.Most of the book (is, are) exciting.

2.Some of the books (is, are) out of print.
3.One of the books (is, are) boring.
4.None of the books (is, are) interesting.
5.A number of employees (was, were) absent last week because of the snowstorm.
6.There (is, are) two cars in the driveway.
7.There (isn’t, aren’t) any milk in the fridge.
8.There (has been, have been) construction on that street for as long as I can
remember.
9.Why (is, are) there a line at the bank on a Tuesday morning?
Sears (is, are) the store where we bought our fridge.
10.The local news (begins, begin) at eleven.
11.Economics (was, were) her most difficult subject.
12.Measles (was, were) once a common disease.
13.Fifty miles (is, are) too far to travel for a daily commute.
14.One hundred minus twenty-five (is, are) seventy-five.
15.The police (has arrived, have arrived) at the scene of the crime.
16.Brazilian Portuguese (is, are) her native dialect.
17.Many Japanese (is, are) fascinated by American popular culture.
18.The young (has, have) their whole lives ahead of them.
19.Few ( is, are ) invited.
20. Everybody ( feels, feels ) happy with the menu of the day.

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B. Identify whether the following are run-on, Rambling, Fragment, or Correct

Sentence.

1.The little boy's toy car was yellow, his sister had a red and white toy truck.

2.I heard the doorbell ring, so I put down my book and went to answer it, but when I
got there, I didn’t see anyone, so I went back to my book, and once again the bell rang,
but this time when I got there I found a beautiful basket of flowers.

3. While lifting the heavy boxes, I hurt my back.

4. She won the spelling contest, she will go to the regional level next month.

5.I,too, believed much.

6. Organizations that promise students a scholarship if they pay an extraordinarily

high application fee are most likely scams.

7. The student fell asleep in class everyone thought this was rude behavior.

8. I was happy to walk down the aisle as a bridesmaid in my sister’s wedding, but I
was very embarrassed when I stumbled in the middle of the ceremony, for when I
recovered, I looked up and saw my sister and I thought she was going to faint.

9. I like the history class because the material is explained so well.

10. He hasn't been playing football since 5 years.

C. Draw this diagram and craft 2 samples.

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 QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino

COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION

VISION MISSION
The leading center for academic and technological excellence Develop competent and morally upright professionals and generate
and prime catalyst for a progressive and sustainable Quirino appropriate knowledge and technologies to meet the needs of Quirino
Province and Southern Cagayan Valley. Province and Southern Cagayan Valley.

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