ABSTRACT

The formal syntactic approach to English grammar (indeed to the study of all languages) involves the algebraic modelling of patterns of sentence structure as revealed by scientific investigation. These investigations involve data from both actual language use and native speaker judgments of sentential well-formedness. To take a trivially simple example, observe the existence of subsentential units of structure. A declarative English sentence minimally can consist of a noun and a verb as in Example 15.1a. The noun takes the grammatical function of the subject and the verb the predicate. However, we are also allowed to have more complex units in the subject position (Example 15.1b-e). Similarly, we can have more complex items functioning as the predicates as in (Example 15.1f-h). The kinds of items that function as subjects, noun phrases (NPs), can also function as the direct objects in the complex predicates. Example 15.1

Gaius danced.

The consul danced.

The consul from Pompeii danced.

The consul who Caesar despised danced.

The fat consul from Pompeii who Caesar despised danced.

Gaius hated the consul.

Gaius hated the consul with all his soul.

Gaius always hated the consul with all his soul.