List of syntactic phenomena
Encyclopedia
A list of phenomena in syntax
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Syntax
In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing phrases and sentences in natural languages....
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- AnaphoraAnaphora (linguistics)In linguistics, anaphora is an instance of an expression referring to another. Usually, an anaphoric expression is represented by a pro-form or some other kind of deictic--for instance, a pronoun referring to its antecedent...
- AgreementAgreement (linguistics)In languages, agreement or concord is a form of cross-reference between different parts of a sentence or phrase. Agreement happens when a word changes form depending on the other words to which it relates....
- Antecedent-contained deletionAntecedent-contained deletionAntecedent-contained deletion is a phenomenon found in Verb phrase ellipsis contexts containing a quantifier. To understand the issue involved, it is necessary to understand how VP-elision works. Consider the following examples, where the expected, but missing, VP is represented with the symbol Δ....
- Differential Object MarkingDifferential object markingDifferential object marking is a linguistic phenomenon that is present in more than 300 languages; the term was coined by Georg Bossong. In languages where DOM is active, direct objects are divided in two different classes, depending on different meanings, and, in most DOM languages, only one of...
- CaseGrammatical caseIn grammar, the case of a noun or pronoun is an inflectional form that indicates its grammatical function in a phrase, clause, or sentence. For example, a pronoun may play the role of subject , of direct object , or of possessor...
- CliticCliticIn morphology and syntax, a clitic is a morpheme that is grammatically independent, but phonologically dependent on another word or phrase. It is pronounced like an affix, but works at the phrase level...
s - Control
- Dummy pronounDummy pronounA dummy pronoun is a type of pronoun used in non-pro-drop languages, such as English....
s - Ergative verbErgative verbIn linguistics, an ergative verb is a verb that can be either transitive or intransitive, and whose subject when intransitive corresponds to its direct object when transitive.-In English:...
- Existential clauseExistential clauseExistential clauses are clauses that indicate only an existence. In English, they are formed with the dummy subject construction with "there", e.g. "There are boys in the yard". Many languages do not require a dummy subject, e.g. Finnish, where the sentence Pihalla on poikia is literally "On the...
s - ExpletivesSyntactic expletiveSyntactic expletives are words that perform a syntactic role but contribute nothing to meaning. Expletive subjects are part of the grammar of many non-pro-drop languages such as English, whose clauses normally require overt provision of subject even when the subject can be pragmatically inferred...
- Heavy NP shiftHeavy NP shift"Heavy NP shift" is a grammatical phenomenon where a "heavy" noun phrase appears in a position to the right of its canonical position under certain circumstances...
- Inverse copula sentencesInverse copula- The unified theory of copular sentences :Copular sentences are sentences containing the copula. A copular sentence may contain a noun phrase, the copula and another phrase. A subfield of research which has been particularly studied is the case of the copula cooccurring with two noun phrases...
- Movement paradoxMovement paradoxA movement paradox is a grammatical phenomenon which, particularly according to proponents of lexical functional grammar, presents some problems for a transformational approach to syntax...
es - Parasitic gapParasitic gapIn grammar, a parasitic gap is a construction wherein the dropping of an argument is dependent on a co-varying argument having been fronted in a local context.-Discovery:...
s - Pro-dropPro-drop languageA pro-drop language is a language in which certain classes of pronouns may be omitted when they are in some sense pragmatically inferable...
- RaisingRaisingRaising may refer to:*Raising , a syntactic construction*Raising , a change in a vowel towards a closer articulation*Raising , a metalworking technique...
- Reciprocal (grammar)Reciprocal (grammar)A reciprocal is a linguistic structure that marks a particular kind of relationship between two noun phrases. In a reciprocal construction, each of the participants occupies both the role of agent and patient with respect to each other...
- Reflexive pronounReflexive pronounA reflexive pronoun is a pronoun that is preceded by the noun, adjective, adverb or pronoun to which it refers within the same clause. In generative grammar, a reflexive pronoun is an anaphor that must be bound by its antecedent...
s - Reflexive verbReflexive verbIn grammar, a reflexive verb is a verb whose semantic agent and patient are the same. For example, the English verb to perjure is reflexive, since one can only perjure oneself...
s - Unaccusative verbUnaccusative verbIn linguistics, an unaccusative verb is an intransitive verb whose subject is not a agent; that is, it does not actively initiate, or is not actively responsible for, the action of the verb. Unaccusative verbs thus contrast with unergative verbs...
s - Wh-movementWh-movementWh-movement is a syntactic phenomenon found in many languages around the world, in which interrogative words or phrases show a special word order. Unlike ordinary phrases, such wh-words appear at the beginning of an interrogative clause...