UNIT 5: Phrasal

Categories
1 CONTENT
Let’s Start
UNIT 5. PHRASAL CATEGORIES
1. On defining and establishing phrase structure
1.1. Semantic coherence
1.2. Constituency tests
2. The structure of the phrase
2.1. Possible constituents: their form, function and relation
2.1.1. Heads, complements and modifiers
2.1.2. Syntagmatic vs. paradigmatic relationships
3. Endocentric vs. exocentric phrases
4. The analysis of phrasal patterns
5.1 On defining and establishing phrase
structure.
SENTENCE CLAUSE
✗ A stretch of talk or ✗ A group of words
writing preceded or with a subject and a
followed by a pause predicate which is
or full-stop. included in a
✗ Highest unit of sentence.
grammatical
description

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✗ Definiton of Phrase.
✗ Any group of words that is
grammatically equivalent to a
single word and which does not
have its own subject and
predicate.

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5.1 On defining and establishing phrase structure Tests:
A) Semantic coherence.
B) Syntactic tests for constituency:
Ability to stand alone (answer to a wh-question)
Substitution by a pro-form (replacement test).
Coordination with a formally and functionally similar sequence.
Mobility within the sentence. (Movement test)
Focus of a cleft construction (Movement test): IT BE X RELATIVE
CLAUSE.
Examples:
1. She bought her mother a very nice present
2. Muriel saw the man in the service station

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 She bought her mother a very nice present
A) Sematic coherence Yes
B) Tests:
• Stand-alone: NO How did she buy her mother a present? *very nice
• Movement (fronting) test: Can we front it? NO *Very nice she bought her mother
a present
• Replacement test: Can it be substituted by a Proform? NO *She bought her
mother a so present
• Coordination test: Can it be coordinated with another sequence equivalent in form
and function?  YES She bought her mother a very nice and expensive present
• Can it be the focus in a Cleft construction?  NO *It was very nice that she bought
her mother a present
It only passes 2/6 tests so it is not a constituent in this sentence.
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 Muriel saw the man in the service station
A) Semantically coherent Yes
B) Tests:
• Stand-alone: YES Who did Muriel see at the service station?- the man
• Replacement / Substitution:  YES Muriel saw him in the service
station
• Coordination: YES Muriel saw The man and the woman in the service
station
• Mobility (fronting)YES The man Muriel saw in the service station
• Cleft: YES It was the man that Muriel saw at the service station

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✗ Ambiguity:
Muriel saw[the man] [in the service station]
Muriel saw [the man in the service station]
A) Semantically coherent Yes
B) Tests:
• Stand-alone: YES, Who did Muriel see?- the man in the service
• Replacement / Substitution:  YES, Muriel saw him
• Coordination: YES, Muriel saw the man in the service station and the
woman in the park.
• Mobility (fronting)YES, the man in the service station Muriel saw
• Cleft: YES, It was the man in the service station that Muriel saw
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✗ It is been proved that this sentence implies
ambiguity.
✗ This ambiguity is called structural ambiguity since
it has nothing to do with the meaning of the words
but with the organisation of the constituents in the
sentence
✗ This is quite common in language.

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2 CONTENT
Let’s Start
UNIT 5. PHRASAL CATEGORIES
1. On defining and establishing phrase structure
1.1. Semantic coherence
1.2. Constituency tests
2. The structure of the phrase
2.1. Possible constituents: their form, function and relation
2.1.1. Heads, complements and modifiers
2.1.2. Syntagmatic vs. paradigmatic relationships
3. Endocentric vs. exocentric phrases
4. The analysis of phrasal patterns
 2. the structure of the phrase.
A)Possible constituents: HEAD (Complements) (Modifiers)
B) Types: NP, VP, AP, AdvP, PP.
C) Tests to differentiate complements (a student of Physics) and
modifiers (a student with long hair):
1. Semantic difference: intrinsic information (complements) vs. extra-
circumstantial information (modifiers).
1)What’s a student? Someone who studies
2. Complements can be paraphrased by a clausal construction in which it
functions as verbal complement, modifiers do not:
2a) He studies Physics. Vs. 2b)*He studies long hair.

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2.1 HEADS, Complements and modifiers
3. In case of co-occurrence, complements must be closer to
their head than modifiers:
3a) The student of physics with long hair.
3b) *The student with long hair of physics.

4. Heads in a phrase can take only one complement, whereas

the head can be accompanied by more than one modifier:
4a) *The student of Physics of Chemistry.
4b) The student with long hair with short arms.
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2.1 HEADS, Complements and modifiers
5. Complements and modifiers can not be coordinated among them
5c), whereas two complements or two or more modifiers can.
5a) A student of Physics and of Chemistry.
5b) A student with long hair and with short arms.
5c) *A student of Physics and with long hair.

6. As regards Extraposition, modifiers can be extraposed from their

heads more freely than complements:
6a) A student came to see me yesterday with long hair.
6b) *A student came to see me yesterday of Physics.

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 2.2 SYNTACTIC VS.PRAGMATIC RELATIONSHIPS
D) Syntactic vs. Paradigmatic relationships:

✗ Syntactic relationships: those established among the

members of a phrase within the phrase: a boy vs. *a boys.

✗ Paradigmatic relationships: Those established among

the members of a lexical category: a, the, this, that, my, etc.

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3 CONTENT
Let’s Start
UNIT 5. PHRASAL CATEGORIES
1. On defining and establishing phrase structure
1.1. Semantic coherence
1.2. Constituency tests
2. The structure of the phrase
2.1. Possible constituents: their form, function and relation
2.1.1. Heads, complements and modifiers
2.1.2. Syntagmatic vs. paradigmatic relationships
3. Endocentric vs. exocentric phrases
4. The analysis of sentences
ENDOCENTRIC VS EXOCENTRIC PHRASES
This distinction is based on the question of equivalence to
the head of the phrase. If the phrase can be reduced to its
head, it is an ENDOCENTRIC phrase.
An uncentered or headless construction is EXOCENTRIC.
If we consider the reducibility of the constructions in
7a) Purple heather grows in Scotland.
Heather grows there
We find that while both purple heather and in Scotland are
reducible, only the former reduces to the head of the
phrase.
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4. The analysis of sentences
Steps:
✗ 1. Main Verb
✗ 2. Constituents
✗ 3. Analyse the constituents

[[[That [beautiful] girl]][[visited] [me] [yesterday]]]

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Thanks!
Any questions?
You can find me at:
alicia.infante@dfing.uhu.es
arrizaba@uhu.es

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