Syntax
Generative Syntax
Generative Syntax was developed by Noam Chomsky in 1957 and has been elaborated both by Chomsky himself and by other linguists in the following decades. As a result of these various elaborations and changes different frameworks of generative syntax exist.
In this section of the syntax module we will introduce you to Government & Binding Theory, a framework of generative syntax that has been introduced by Chomsky in 1981. We will mainly concentrate on the assumptions linked to X-Bar Theory, which is one of the sub-theories formulated in Government & Binding and concerned with the representation of sentences as hierarchical structures in the form of tree diagrams.
For more detailed information on other sub-theories of Government & Binding, or for other frameworks of Generative Syntax please consult the module Syntactic Theory in the Selected Subfields section.
X-Bar Theory and Constituent Structure
Functional Categories: DP, IP, and CP
Exercises on Generative Syntax
- Basic terminology 1
- Basic terminology 2
- Basic terminology 3
- The structure of VPs
- Ambiguous VPs
- The structure of NPs
- Ambiguous NPs
- The structure of APs
- The structure of PPs
- Movement test: Exercise
- Proformt test: Exercise
- Coordination test: Exercise
- Intrusion test: Exercise
- Sentence fragment test: Exercise
- Omission test: Exercise
- VP-deletion: Exercise
- Syntactic tests 1
- Syntactic tests 2
- Explain ungrammaticality
- The structure of DPs
- Properties of D: Exercise
- Ambiguous DPs
- The structure of IPs
- Properties of INFL: Exercise
- The structure of CPs
- Properties of COMP: Exercise
- Assign category labels 1
- Assign category labels 2
- Complete Tree Diagrams: IPs
- Complete Tree Diagrams: CPs
- Movement 1
- Movement 2