In this chapter, we will discover how we can combine words into larger units, such as sentences. The study of sentences (and other multi-word units, like phrases and clauses) is called syntax. When you’ve completed this chapter, you will be able to:
- determine which words in a sentence are part of the same constituent
- distinguish different types of phrases and clauses
- represent sentences as tree diagrams
- identify structural ambiguity
- write rules describing the structure of phrases and clauses
- identify the valency patterns of a given verb