ABSTRACT
The basic concept behind the grammars o f the last chapter is that syntax consists o f a set o f sequential constraints on word combina tions. For example, the FSTN:
Det N Vi
expresses, amongst others, the restrictions that (i) a determiner is the sort o f word that may start a sentence and be immediately followed by a noun which, in turn, is followed by an intransitive verb, (ii) that a noun is the sort o f word that may be immediately preceded by a determiner and immediately followed by an in transitive verb, and (iii) that an intransitive verb may immediately succeed a noun preceded by a determiner and end a sentence. A string o f words is a sentence if each word simultaneously obeys these local restrictions.
