A contrastive study of quantifiers in english and in vietnamese

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY

M.A. THESIS

A CONTRASTIVE STUDY OF QUANTIFIERS
IN ENGLISH AND IN VIETNAMESE
i chi u v
ng t trong ti ng nh v ti ng Vi t
VU THANH BINH

Field: English Language
Code: 8.22.02.01

Hanoi, 11/ 2020

1


MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY

M.A. THESIS

A CONTRASTIVE STUDY OF QUANTIFIERS
IN ENGLISH AND IN VIETNAMESE
i chi u v
ng t trong ti ng nh v ti ng Vi t
VU THANH BINH

Field: English Language

Code: 8.22.02.01
Supervisor: Dr. DANG NGOC HUONG

Hanoi, 11/ 2020
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CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY
I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report
entitled “A contrastive study of quantifiers in English and in Vietnamese”
submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in
English anguage. Except where the reference is indicated, no other person‘s work
has been used without due acknowledgement in the text of the thesis.

Hanoi, 2020

Vu Thanh Binh

Approved by
SUPERVISOR

(Signature and full name)
Date:……………………

3


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This thesis could not have been completed without the help and support from
a number of people.

First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Dang
Ngoc Huong, Dr, my supervisor, who has patiently and constantly supported me
through the stages of the study, and whose stimulating ideas, expertise, and
suggestions have inspired me greatly through my growth as an academic researcher.
My sincere acknowledgement also go to all my lecturers and officers of
Faculty of English, Hanoi Open University, who have facilitated me with the best
possible conditions during my whole course of studying.
Last but not least, I am greatly indebted to my family, my friends for the
sacrifice they have devoted to the fulfillment of this academic work.

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ABSTRACT
The title of my thesis is a study on A contrastive study of Quantifiers in
English and in Vietnamese. The reason that I choose this thesis is Through the
process of teaching English in mountainous areas to ethnic minority students, I see
that students in mountainous areas in general and ethnic minority students in
particular have many difficulties in using words in English, especially using the
right kind of words, stemming from that fact, I decided to do this topic to better
understand quantifiers and word denoting quality in order to better understand this
field and help students in upland areas understand and understand and use them
correctly.
The purpose of my study is to describe the semantic and syntactic features
of Quantifiers in English and in Vietnamese, and propose the implications for
teaching these ones at high school. To carry out this research, I use descriptive,
analytical and contrastive method. Hopefully, the finding of this study can, to some
extent, be suggested as a referential materials for Vietnamese students and teachers
in studying and teaching quantifiers. Finding the correct use of Word denoting
quality has important implications for ethnic minorities in using correct words in

English.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Certificate of originality

i

Acknowledgements

ii

Abstract

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

iv

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION

1

1.1 Rationale

1

1.2 Aims and objectives of the study

2

1.3. Research questions

3

1.4. Methods of the study

3

1.5. Scope of the study

4

1.6. Significance of the study

5

1.7. Structure of the study

5

Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

6

2.1 Previous studies

6

2.1.1 Related previous studies overseas

6

2.1.2 Related previous studies in Vietnam

9

2.2 Theoretical background

10

2.2.1 Concepts of syntax

10

2.2.1.1 Definition of syntax

10

2.2.1.2 Concept of sentence

16

2.2.1.3 Concepts of the phrase and classification of phrase

17

Phrase in English

17

Classification of phrase

18

2.2.2 Semantics-related issues

21

2.2.2.1 Definition of meaning

21

2.2.2.2 Types of meaning

23

1. Conceptual meaning

23

2. Connotative Meaning

24

3. Stylistic meaning

24
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4. Affective Meaning

25

5. Reflected Meaning

25

6. Collocative Meaning

25

7. Thematic Meaning

25

2.2.2.3 Concepts of reference

26

2.3 Quantifiers in English

27

2.4 Quantifiers in Vietnam

29

2.5 Summary

29

Chapter 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

30

3.1 Syntactic features of quantifying words in English

30

3.1. 1. Subject

30

3.1.2. Subject complement

32

3.1.3. Object

33

3.1.4. Adverb

35

3.1.5. Determiner

36

3.2. Semantic features of quantifying words in English

41

3.2.1. Expressing quantity

41

3.2.2. Inclusiveness words (Both/All)

44

3.2.3. The meaning of countable and uncountable nouns

46

3.2.3.1 Countable Nouns

46

3.2.3.2 Uncountable Nouns

47

3.2.3.3 Both Countable Nouns and Uncountable Nouns

48

3.2.4. Indicating the level.

49

3.2.5. Referential meaning.

54

3.2.6. Negative meaning.

58

3.2.7. The expressive meaning.

61

3.3 Summary

63

Chapter 4: CONCLUSION

64

4.1. Recapitulation

64

4.2. Concluding remarks

64

4.3. Limitation of the study

65

4.4. Recommendations and suggestions for further research

65

REFERENCES

66
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Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Rationale:
According to traditional grammar, English vocabulary is divided into kinds
of words such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, ... and word count is one of the
types of words in the category. Although in English documents such as grammar
books, dictionaries, etc., there are many ways to define the amount of words, but the
common understanding of English words like many, much, few, little ... is called
quantity, because these words denote the quantity of things. In English sentences
they usually come before nouns, modifying nouns, the term defining the number of
things that the noun denotes. From the point of view of structural grammar when
analyzing the composition of English nouns, word quantity acts as a qualifier for

quantity, for example: much water (nhi u n c a lot of money nhi u ti n
However, in addition to the task of being a determinant in English nouns, words like
much, a lot, a bit ... are also used in many different positions, taking on different
syntax functions in English sentences. written and spoken language, for example:
Thank you a lot or Last year I did not have much of a vacation.
Up to now, almost all grammar books and English study books detail the
meaning and usage of numerical words like many, few, a few; much, little, a little
and other numerical words; These words are often described in terms of nouns, but
in positions in the sentence, there are not many documents detailing the
classification and the meaning of their use. This fact raises the question of whether
to understand word quantity in English, based on form or semantics, or a
combination of the two.
As an English teacher in mountainous schools, I find it very difficult for
students to use English correctly, especially using the correct Quantifiers in English.
In order to help the students use the right quantifiers, I decided to make this thesis to
help the mountainous students understand and use the correct quantifiers.
For the above reasons, I have decided to explore English numerical words in terms
of syntax and semantics in relation to Vietnamese.
This study deals with quantification in English, the process by which a
speaker assigns a certain magnitude or quantity to an instance of a thing by means
of grammatical devices called quantifiers. It aims to tackle the problem of random
use of quantifiers made by foreign learners of English, by highlighting their specific
functions in the language.
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It hypothesis that each quantifier has a specific function in language, which is
different from the others. In doing so, it applies the three cognitive theories of
meaning to their analysis: categorization, configuration, and conceptualization. The
study has, therefore, reached three specific results. First, a quantifier has more than

one sense; the prototype, which is the main sense that comes to the mind of the
speaker, the periphery, the remaining senses, which form a network gathering
around the prototype. Second, quantifiers can be placed in general areas of
knowledge, called domains, in which they represent different aspects of it, and so
acquire different meanings. Third, when two or more quantifiers occur in the same
position, they represent distinct construal. Each member of the pair has a special
message to convey.
In fact, when teaching English in mountainous schools, I find it very difficult
for students to use English correctly, especially using the correct Quantifiers in
English. In order to help the students use the right quantifiers, I decided to make this
thesis to help the mountainous students understand and use the correct quantifiers.
1.2 Aims and objectives of the study:
Aim:
-To help learners of English master similarities and differences of quantifiers
in English and Vietnamese in terms of semantic and syntactic features effectively.
Specific Objectives:
-To identify the similarities of quantifiers in English and Vietnamese in
terms of semantic and syntactic perspective.
-To identify the differences of quantifiers in English and Vietnamese in
terms of semantic and syntactic perspective.
-To give some implications for both teacher teaching and student learning
quantifiers in English effectively.
1.3. Research questions: This study aims to answer the following research
questions:
- What are semantic and syntactic features of quantifiers in English?
- What are similarities and differences between the semantic and syntactic
features of quantifiers in English and Vietnamese?
- What implication is drawn for teaching and learning quantifiers?
1.4. Methods of the study:
* Research approach

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- To bring the effectiveness of the thesis, I have used a combination of
many different research methods such as:
The thesis is conducted with the method of combining the two research
approaches of descriptive research and contrastive research. Descriptive research is
applied to describe and demonstrate linguistics features of English containing
quantifiers with the Vietnamese equivalents. Examples and statistic tables of
classification of idioms will be presented. The contrastive research help us find out
the similarities and differences in terms of semantic features of English containing
quantifiers and the Vietnamese equivalents. Additionally, statistical and observation
methods are also applied to draw necessary findings.
* Research type
+ Descriptive — survey, content analysis, qualitative, narrative,
phenomenological, grounded theory, and case study)
+ Associational — correlational, causal-comparative.
+ Intervention — experimental, quasi-experimental, action research (sort of).
* Research methods:
- Qualitative method: This method will be based on the previous works of the
authors on the semantics of quantum words.
Qualitative approach to research is concerned with subjective assessment of
attitudes, opinions and behavior. Such an approach to research generates results
either in non-quantitative form or in the form which are not subjected to rigorous
quantitative analysis. Generally, the techniques of focus group interviews,
projective techniques and depth interviews are used
- Quantitative methods: This method will be based on the actual survey
results of the use of words in English and Vietnamese.
- Mixed methods approach: pragmatic knowledge claims, collection of both
quantitative and qualitative data sequentially.

- Contrastive approach: Contrast the meaning of the quantifiers in English
and Vietnamese.
1.5. Scope of the study:
As mentioned in the section Aims and Objectives of the study above, the
thesis aims to describe the syntactic and semantic features of English word quantity,
thereby finding out some similarities and differences between English word
quantity and their equivalent in Vietnamese. However, the thesis does not only
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study semantically English words. In other words, the thesis does not only examine
word quantity with the meaning of indicating the quantity of things (quantity);
Thesis researches word quantity both in form and meaning (meaning). That means
there are some words that look like words, but not just quantity. In this case such
words could be called quantifier word, for example in the sentence She does not
have much money left, the word much is the quantity of the word indicating
quantity; however, in the sentence I like apples very much, the word much looks
like word quantity, roughly called word quantity. Or, there are some nouns that
have only quantity, such as plenty, lot, number, majority, etc ... or some adjectives
with only quantity such as plentiful, abundant, much / more, little / less, etc. can
also be called is gradual. The thesis includes all the above mentioned cases,
including words with quantifier form according to the traditional grammatical point
of view and the words with quantitative meanings equal to the name of quantifier in
their research.
The study will be conducted on the two languages: English and Vietnamese,
the quantifiers are taken from the 200 sentences of dictionaries, grammar books,
from Literature works or novels.
Structure: Proposed organization of thesis.
Title page
The thesis describes the proper use of some quantifiers indicating

quantities in English and Vietnamese.
The thesis was delivered by the English department of Hanoi Open
University and suggested by the instructor.
Thesis statement
The semantics and syntactic features of quantifiers in English and their
Vietnamese equipvalents.
This statement can take the form of a hypothesis, research questions, project
statement, or goal statement
The thesis statement should capture the essence of your intended project and
also help to put boundaries around it
1.6. Significance of the study:
- Theoretical significance: This study provides a theoretical basis for the
study of semantic and syntactic features of quantitative terms, from the perspective
of quantifiers more broadly.
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- Practical significance: The research provides the usage of quantifiers in
English, helping learners to use quantifiers more effectively.
1.7. Structure of the study:
The thesis starts out with Introduction chapter where background for the
research should be established, that is, why it was done. It is vital to state clearly the
reasons for doing the research and the objectives of the thesis as well as the scope
and the significance of the research.
The literature review chapter is the place to summarize the results of others
who worked on the problem or on a similar problem. It is important to uncover all
important literature and summarize the theoretical background/preliminaries
employable as tools for conducting the research.
The Finding and Discussions chapter is the part describing what can be
learned during the research and interpreting the results.

The last chapter in a thesis is the Conclusions which restate the aims and
summarize how to conduct the research to the objectives

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Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Previous studies
2.1.1. Related previous studies overseas
Can we now say what quantifiers are? Perhaps. Generalized quantifier
theory, and the relational theory of determiner denotations which goes with it, offer
an answer. In a way, this tells us what quantifiers are in remarkably specific terms.
But the moral of section II is that it does not tell us all that much about how
quantifiers work. The examples there show us that to understand quantification in
natural language is to understand more than what quantifiers are; it is also
understand significant aspects of semantics, and the ways semantics interact with
syntax. Being a quantifier is a property with significant semantic and grammatical
implications. It is the specification of how many objects in a certain set of a
predicate is valid. Languages primarily employ two sorts of devices to indicate
quantity within a nominal. Many languages have a category of number (e.g. singular
vs. plural) and have a variety of quantifiers (e.g. several, few, all, every). Radden
and Dirven (2007:116) show that quantification or the notion of quantity refers to
the magnitude of an instance of a thing; it is the speaker‘s act of specifying the
quantity of an instance. A quantifier, as its name implies, expresses quantity.
Quantifiers can be a single word (e.g. little) or a phrase (e.g. a little) and are
used with nouns. They can be used with either a countable or an uncountable noun
to express amount or quantity. Laurent, etal (2005:1) claim that a cognitive
semantic approach to quantifiers serves to categorize and give meaning to
quantifiers.
Quantifiers project a representation of quantity, which influences how

information is perceived.
Schools of linguistics treated quantifiers in various ways. In traditional
grammar, quantifiers are treated as adjectives. For example, in a phrase like many
girls, many is an adjective, which describes the following noun girls. In structural
grammar, quantifiers are treated as modifiers. For example, in a phrase like many
girls, many is considered as a modifier of the noun girls. In transformational
generative grammar, quantifiers are treated as determiners. For example, in a phrase
13


like many girls, many is treated as a determiner of the noun girls. As a reaction to
these assumptions, in Cognitive Grammar, as it is mentioned in Taylor, (2002:353),
quantifiers are treated as grounding elements. They characterize the profiled
instances of a noun in terms of number or amount. Each quantifier has a special
semantic value that defines its usage range. Each quantifier has a distribution unique
to itself.
According to Nunan (1993:5), ―discourse can be defined as a stretch of
language consisting of several sentences which are perceived as being related in
some way‖. Those several sentences can build a conversation spoken form or a
text (written form). Academic discourse is one type of discourse that has become a
popular term in the development of linguistics and it is considered as something
standard. Academic discourse in terms of written forms can be essay writings,
journal articles, academic textbooks, or dissertations, etc. Students are expected to
reach the conventions of academic writing such as formality, clarity and
conciseness, etc. Therefore, academic discourse inspires researchers with much
attention to many aspects and it also motivates students to gain proficiency of the
English language, especially at higher education.

s cited in ― cademic Discourse

and Critical Consciousness‖, academic discourses are understood as the ways of
thinking and using language that prevail in the academy (Bizzell, 1992). In the
definition of academic discourse of Karen Bennett (2008:60), in the acamdemy may
be in research or higher educational environment. While Helsingin Yliopisto
(2012:12) in the one hand also defines academic discourse as using languaguage in
the world of academy, in the other hand he emphasizes academic discourse as the
way of ―enabling university to go about teaching students and doing research‖.
Hyland (2004:11 cited in Martha, 2012) points out his view of academic discourse
which comprises of not only strict forms but also pragmatic purposes.
ccording to Geeraert‘s metaphor 2006:2 Cognitive

inguistics is like a

group of islands that are closely joined together by a shared perspective. Cognitive
Linguistics is a broad movement within modern linguistics. It contains a variety of
approaches. Cognitive Linguistics began to arise in the 1970s, and has been active
since the 1980s. As stated in Nerlich and Clarke (2007:590-591), Cognitive
Linguistics emerged from its dissatisfaction with the twentieth-century linguistics,
14


especially Generative Linguistics. The term Cognitive Linguistics was first used by
George Lakoff, somewhere around 1975, but he was not the only one who was
dissatisfied with Generative Linguistics. In 1975, Charles Fillmore was working on
his theory of frame semantics, and Ronald Langacker was laying the foundations of
his Cognitive Grammar. Around 1972, Leonard Talmy introduced the principles of
Gestalt psychology into linguistic analysis. From 1980 onwards, Cognitive
Linguistics began to develop in the works of Lakoff (metaphorical categorization),
Johnson (image schemata), Langacker (Cognitive Grammar), Fauconnier and
Turner (mental spaces and blending, and Geeraerts (diachronic prototype

semantics). Cognitive Linguistics has two primary commitments that distinguishs it
from other movements in linguistics, as Evans (2011:71) clarifies first, Cognitive
linguists try to describe and model language in the light of other evidence from
other cognitive and brain sciences. Second, Cognitive linguists come around a
generalization commitment: a commitment to describe the nature and principles that
constitute linguistic knowledge as an outcome of general cognitive abilities.
Cognitive Linguistics focuses on general assumptions, such as the belief that
language is not autonomous and linguistic cognition is not separated from other
human cognition. Janda (2000: 5-6) defines language as a set of resources that are
available to language users for the symbolization of thought and for the
communication of these symbolizations. Furthermore, Cognitive Linguistics views
mind, meaning, and language as embodied. According to Taylor (2007:566-67)
Cognitive Linguistics highlights two distinctive features: first the emphasis on the
conceptual and experiential basis of semantics, and second Cognitive Linguistics
stands against to those theories which treat grammatical constructions as
meaningless.
Janda (ibid: 5-6 states that Cognitive inguistics‘ major role is to understand
how human cognition motivates language to be described in terms of abstract trends
rather than absolute rules. Human beings are not rule-guided algorithms, but
individuals with a free will who exercise in ways not entirely consistent and
predictable, but on the whole well-motivated patterns. In the field of meaning Janda
states that meaning has to come from somewhere, it does not just exist as a set of
symbols or in the words or in a set of logical rules, rather Cognitive Linguistics
15


claims that meaning is embodied. Meaning is grounded in the shared human
experience of bodily existence.
The goal of Cognitive Linguistics is not to find the similarity between
utterances and the world, but rather to explore the ways in which meaning is

motivated by human perceptual and conceptual capacities. An individual can
resolve what is perceptually and cognitively foregrounded and backgrounded in a
variety of ways. In Cognitive Linguistics, this phenomenon is called construal. It
has significant linguistic consequences.
Cognitive Linguistics treats language as a tool for organizing, processing and
conveying information. Cognitive Linguistics explains language creation, learning
and usage by referring to the concepts formed in the mind. It focuses on the
meaning that is embodied in experience and explained with reference to human
cognition. Linguistic abilities are tied to the general cognition abilities, and there is
no boundary between general knowledge and linguistic meaning.
Taylor (2002:9) mentions the editors of the monograph series Cognitive
Linguistics Research as follows: Cognitive Linguistics treats language as an integral
facet of cognition which reflects the interaction of social, cultural, psychological,
communicative and functional considerations, and which can only be understood in
the context of a realistic view of acquisition, cognitive development and mental
processing. Cognitive Linguistics is not just about psychology applied to language,
it is like any other linguistic study the same kinds of things- syntax, morphology,
phonology, word meaning, discourse structure.
This approach enables the linguist to go beyond the description and
formalization of the linguistic facts, and to arrive at a more bright perspective
explanation of the facts.
Cognitive Grammar is a specific approach to language within Cognitive
Linguistics. It adopts a symbolic view of language in which every linguistic element
has meaning; nothing is empty or dummy. The founder of Cognitive Grammar is
Ronald Langacker (1987,1991), and is still one of its practitioners. In the mid
1970s, he called his approach space grammar. He developed Cognitive Grammar
as a reaction against Chomsky‘s Generative Grammar.
However, in one of angacker‘s articles as cited in Geeraerts and Guyckens
16

(2007:421) he states that Cognitive Grammar was not derived from any other
theory, nor is it similar to any.
Taylor (2002:26-30) draws attention to some general assumptions of
Cognitive
2.1.2. Related previous studies in Vietnam
As a matter of fact, there have been a lot of studies on quantifiers have
attracted learners of English such as Mai Lan Huong and Nguyen Thanh Loan
(2011), g ph p ti ng nh, xb
ng, Many authors Ha Thi Nhu Hoa,
Nguyen Nhat Anh, Pham Thi Nhu Mai, Nguyen Bang Giang, Pham Thi Mai Anh,
Tran Thanh Tam (2019) Chinh ph c to n b ng ph p ti ng nh, xb
i h c
qu c gia H
i
Tran manh Tuong 20
g ph p ti ng nh can b n, xb
i h c qu c
gia H
i ai an Huong and ha Thanh Uyen 20
Gi i th ch ng ph p ti ng
nh, xb
ng.
After examining the studies mentioned above, it could be seen that so far
there found no studies engaged in the semantic and syntactic features of quantifiers
although many linguists, grammarians, compilers and researchers have dealt with
word denoting quantity in Vietnamese. Therefore, these materials have made a
suggestion about the subject quantifiers and words denoting quantity that still is
open subject.
2.2 Theoretical background

2.2.1 Concepts of syntax
2.2.1.1 Definition of syntax
As far as how syntax is defined, it is common knowledge that syntax is the
study of structure of language. In other words, its main targets are said to be the
study of the set of rules, principles, and processes that govern the structure of
sentences in a given language. To this end, the goal of many syntacticians is to
discover the syntactic rules common to all languages. They are to dictate how words
from different parts of speech are put together to convey a complete thought.
It is also said that syntax is a form of grammar and it is concerned
primarily with word order in a sentence and with the agreement of words when they
are used simultaneously. It is also true that every language has developeda specific
17


mechanism that is similar to syntax to make a boundless number of sentences. This
is a common feature that can be witnessed in all languages.
In the past, syntactic clues have sometimes been utilized in lexicography as
an aid to establishing polysemy. In theoretically oriented linguistic literature, too,
the claim had often been made that a difference in meaning (Dixon, 1985). In the
present work, however, a stronger claim has been tried to explore that a syntactic
similarity is likely to reflect a similarity in meaning, so that shared syntactic
patterns are likely to reflect shared semantic components. To the extent to which
this claim is validated, shared syntactic properties can be seen as evidence for
postulated semantic structures.
As has been discussed above, syntax refers to the rules that govern the ways
in which words combine to form phrases, clauses, and sentences. Therefore,
studying the syntactic features means studying the properties of words and their
relationships when they combine together in specific patterns of arrangement in a
sentence.
Syntax is the study of grammatical relationships between words and how

they are combined to form phrases and sentences. The word ‗syntax‘ has its roots in
the Greek word syntaxis, which means ‗arrangement‘. Syntacticians study patterns
of sentence formation in order to better understand universal principles (those that
apply to all languages) and those that apply to specific languages (language-specific
parameters).
So what is a sentence? There are several definitions in the literature;
however, they all agree on the following basic concepts. Sentences communicate
entire thoughts through combining words and morphemes into phrases. It is
important to understand that sentences are not merely strings of words arranged in
linear order, but that they are organized into phrases, some of which are contained,
or embedded, within others in a hierarchical order.
Sentence formation rules are language-specific. At a basic level, all
sentences consist of a subject and predicate. The subject can be overt or stated as in
‗Superman wore his red cape to the Commissioner‘s dinner‘. Pronominal subjects
can be covert or implied as in commands such as ‗ ook out!‘ for ‗You look out!‘, or
dropped as in (1).

18


Habl -o espa ol for Yo habl -o
speak-1p.s Spanish

espa ol

I speak-1p.s Spanish

I speak Spanish.
Language-specific rules also account for the way in which words may be
ordered in a sentence. Languages such as English, adhere to the subject-verb-object

(SVO) word order. This means that the subject will always precede the verb and the
object will always follow the verb. Languages such as Modern Persian have the
object preceding the verb (SOV).
(2) Mæn ketɒb

mi xun æm

I (a)book pres. read 1p.s
I am reading a book.
Constituents
sentence can be ‗simple,‘ meaning it is composed of a subject and predicate as an
independent clause.
(3) Superman loves his cape.
Compound sentences are composed of two simple sentences.
(4) Superman loved his cape so he decided to purchase another one.
Complex sentences are those in which a subordinate or dependent clause is
embedded within a main or independent clause.
(5) Lois pressured Superman to purchase a purple cape.
Even though sentences appear to be composed of linear strings of words,
they are actually combinations of constituents or syntactic units that are arranged in
a hierarchical order. Consider a syntactically ambiguous phrase such as ‗The new
shoes and socks were sitting by the front door‘. We can parse the subject as either
(6a) or (6b).
(6a) [the new shoes and socks] (both are new)
(6b) [the new shoes] and socks (only the shoes are new)
Constituents can be a single word, or a phrase built around a single word. We
use constituency tests to determine which words belong to which phrases.
Substitution tests constituency by replacing a group of words with one
word.
In (7) we see 2 constituents replaced with single words (a pronoun and an

adverb).

19


(7) All the fishermen are going to Italy.
They

are going there.

(8) shows that when a prepositional phrase (PP) on flight 10’ is embedded in
the noun phrase (NP) all the fishermen it must be considered a part of that NP
constituent since we cannot replace only the all the fisherman.
(8) All the fishermen on flight 101 are going to Italy.
* They on flight 101 are going to Italy.
They are going to Italy.
Movement of a group of words from one position in a sentence to another is
a second constituency test. (9) shows that the prepositional phrase (PP) in the
pantry can be fronted (moved to the head of thesentence).
(9) You can find the peanut butter in the pantry.
In the pantry you can find the peanut butter.
Other modifying phrases can also undergo movement.
(10) My cousin just returned from his vacation utterly rested and refreshed.
Utterly rested and refreshed, my cousin just returned from his vacation.
Deletion can be used to test constituency.
(12) Mary was hoping to see John at the football game tonight also.
Mary was hoping to, also.
Short answers to content questions can also be used as a constituency test.
(13) Superman decided to bring an orzo and cauliflower salad to the picnic.
Superman decided what? to bring an orzo and cauliflower salad to the picnic

Superman decided to bring what? an orzo and cauliflower salad to the picnic
Phrases and heads
Each constituent is minimally composed of a lexical item (a word belonging to a
lexical category), but can include all required lexical/functional items, along with
optional modifiers. The part of speech that is central in the phrase is referred to as
the ‗head‘. n XP can be so only if the head ‗X‘ is present. Thus an P must have a
noun as its head.
(14a) [NP Kittens]
As mentioned, phrases may include modifiers.
(14b) [NP [D the N kittens]] (14c) [NP [D the [AP furry] [N kittens [PP with long
whiskers] [CP who were sleeping [PP under the shed]]]]].

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Likewise, a verb phrase (VP) must contain a verb and only those elements
that are required, e.g. a NP object for a transitive verb, as well as optional
embellishments, e.g., adverbs.
(15a) [VP bought [NP a book]] (15b) [VP bought [NP a book [PP for her best friend]]]
Phrase Structure Rules
Any given language has its own phrase structure rules, which govern how syntactic
structures are formed. They show which words/phrases are required, those that are
optional, and they stipulate a word order. In (16) we see that the phrase structure
rules for NPs in English include the following:
(16) NP à (Det) (AP) N (PP) (CP)
Parentheses denote optionality.
Embeddedness
Embedding occurs when sentence A is found within a sentence B as a dependent or
subordinate clause. This is the case in 4c where the relative clause ‗ who were
sleeping under the shed‘ is attached to the P as a modifier. We say that this clause

is embedded in the NP since it is a constituent within the NP.
This is also the case when certain verbs select sentences as complements. Consider
(17) Harry decided that he really needed a motorcycle.
The verb ‗decided‘ has as its complement the sentence that he really needed
a motorcycle. This complement sentence is embedded since it is generated within
the VP. The ability to embed sentences within sentences gives us the ability for
infinite creativity.
Tree Structures
Tree structures provide a graphic representation of the hierarchical nature of
constituents and relationships between words. They show the deep (D) structure, the
application of movement rules, and the corresponding surface (S) structure. In
syntactic trees, the lexical category is represented by phrase (XP) as the dominating
node. A noun phrase will be an NP, a verb phrase, a VP, etc. These simple phrasal
nodes may dominate a single node (non-branching (18a)), two nodes (binary
branching (18b)), or three nodes (ternary branching (18c)). In each case, one of the
dominated nodes must share the part of speech of the dominating node.
Examples:

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Intermediate nodes are used to attach complements (19a), and final nodes
show that nothing more can be added to the phrase (19b).

Rules of Movement/Transformations
Many sentences you utter throughout the day undergo a change in the word order
that may or may not alter meaning. Note that (20a,b) have the same meaning
although in (20b), the PP in the morning has been fronted.
(20a) Harriet runs 10 miles in the morning before going to work.
(20b) In the morning, Harriet runs 10 miles before going to work.

Meaning is changed, however, when the auxiliary verb is in the declarative
sentence (21a) is raised above the subject in (21b), forming a yes/no question.
(21a) Peter is having
a
lot
of
difficulty
communicating.
(21b) Is Peter having a lot of difficulty communicating?
Rules of movement show that sentences can have two distinct structures,
the D-structure where all grammatical requirements are met, and S-structure, which
is the form that actually comes out of your mouth. Additional sentence types that
undergo transformations include Wh questions, in which a Wh word is raised above
the subject (22) and passives, in which the subject is either omitted or ‗demoted‘ to
a prepositional phrase at the end of the sentence, the object moves to subject
position, and the verb takes on a past participle form(23).
(22) D-structure: Maria has seen which movie?
S-structure: Which movie has Maria seen ___?
(23) Active: The gardener trimmed the trees.
Passive: The trees were trimmed by the gardener.
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Ambiguity
Syntactic ambiguity occurs when the meaning of a sentence is not clear due to
structural factors. Consider (24).
(24) The superhero captured the criminal with a large red net.
The obscurity here is due to the fact that the PP with a large red net could
modify the verb captured by specifying the item that was used to carry out the
action, or could describe which criminal was captured, i.e., the criminal ‗with the

large red net‘.
Ambiguity also occurs when a sentence is incorrectly analyzed. In (25), the
initial parsing assumes that is introducing the embedded sentence that her neighbor
met. However when the NP the lie is encountered, a re-analysis must take place
due to the semantic constraints of what may be selected as the object of the
verb met. One cannot meet a lie. A second reading will show that the relative
clause that her neighbor met modifies the NP the banker and that the kernel
sentence is ―Harriet told the banker a lie.‖
(25) Harriet told the banker that her neighbor met the lie.
Another source of syntactic ambiguity is misreading the role of an NP in
relation to local verbs. In (26), the NP the bookcase is initially understood to be the
object of the first verb dusting until the lower verb, fell is encountered. Since there
is no subject for fell, the sentence will be re-analyzed such that the bookcase will be
understood as being found in subject position of fell and dusting will be understood
to have a covert object.
(26) While Superman was dusting the bookcase fell over.
Studying syntax can be very rewarding if you master one step before moving
on to another. Work slowly and systematically and you will see how rewarding the
process can be.
2.2.1.2 Concept of sentence
So far, there have been numerous definitions of the sentence in English since
different grammarians look at the sentence from different perspectives. However,
the thesis follows the definition in the dictionary in which the sentence is said to be
a group of words that usually contains a subject and a verb and expresses a
complete idea; in writing the sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a
stop or question mark (Dictionary of Contemporary English, p.1587). In addition,
Quirk (1985) relates the structure of the simple sentence to that of the single
independent clause with central elements as subject (S), verb (V), object (O),
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complement (C) and adverbial (A). Also, according to Quirk, the constituents which
function as elements of clause structure are either phrases or subordinate clauses. As
a result, the five formal categories of phrase are defined as verb phrases (VP), noun
phrases (NP), adjective phrases (AdjP), adverb phrases (AdvP) and prepositional
phrases(PP) (p.56). Overall, the structure of the simple sentence in English could
belong to seven types as follows:
Type 1. SV(e.g.: The dog has died)
Type 2. SVO(e.g.: The dog ate the bone.)
Type 3. SVC(e.g.: The dog is dead.)
Type 4. SVA(e.g.: The dogisover there.)
Type 5. SVOO(e.g.: She bought him a dog.)
Type 6. SVOC (e.g.: He kept the dog clean.)
Type 7. SVOA (e.g.: He kept the dog carefully.)
2.2.1.3. Concepts of the phrase and classification of phrase
Phrases in English
According to ( Alexander 1998, 243 ), a phrase is a group of words acting as
a single part of speech and not containing both a subject and a verb. It is a part of a
sentence, and does not express a complete thought.
A phrase is a group of words that express a concept and is used as a unit
within a sentence. Eight common types of phrases are: noun, verb, gerund,
infinitive, appositive, participial, prepositional, and absolute. Take a look at our
selection of phrase examples below.
For example, the phrases in the first two sentences of this page are italicized.
In which the first sentence contains five phrases: ― of words‖, ― acting as a single
part of speech,‖ ― as a single part of speech,” and “ not containing both a subject
and a verb. ― Except for the phrase beginning with as, all the phrases are acting as
adjectives. The phrase beginning with as is adverbial.
According to ., a phrase is a group of
words without a Subject and a Verb, which makes sense, but not complete sense.

Examples:
- Lectures begin at nine
- They bought me a box of chocolates.
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- I’m feeling cold.
- They are behaving badly.
Classification of phrase
In English grammar, grammarians divide phrases into an array of categories
with specific names based on the type of word that begins or governs; noun phrase,
verb phrase, prepositional phrase, infinitive phrase, participle phrase, gerund
phrase, and absolute phrase, to name but a few. However, the definition of phase
should be clarified to understand the diversity of those terms.
Noun phrases are simply nouns with modifiers. Just as nouns can act as
subjects, objects, and prepositional objects, so can noun phrases. Similarly, noun
phrases can also work in a sentence as adjectives, participles, infinitives, and
prepositional or absolute phrases. The modifier can come before or after the noun.
A noun phrase consists of a noun and all its modifiers.
Here are examples:

The bewildered tourist was lost.






The lost puppy was a wet and stinky dog.
The flu clinic had seen many cases of infectious disease.

It was a story as old as time.
The sports car drove the long and winding road.
Saturday became a cool, wet afternoon.

A verb phrase is similar to what is considered a predicate in more traditional
grammars. Verb phrases generally are divided among two types: finite, of which the
head of the phrase is a finite verb; and nonfinite, where the head is a nonfinite verb,
such as an infinitive, participle or gerund.
A verb phrase consists of a verb and all its modifiers.
Here are examples:

He was waiting for the rain to stop.

She was upset when it didn't boil.

You have been sleeping for a long time.

You might enjoy a massage.

He was eager to eat dinner.
A gerund phrase is a phrase consisting of a gerund and any modifiers or
objects associated with it. A gerund is a noun made from a verb root plus ing (a

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