Syntax WS

Part I. Parts of Speech

Exercise 1. Underline the words that are within the lexical class (i.e., the part of speech)
of each box. Then provide an example of your own.
Example. VERB: We walked under the tree. EXAMPLE: jog

1. Noun Example

I rode the bus yesterday. cat

2. Verb Example

I took my time at the bank. drove

3. Adjective Example

The old and yellowed pages fell out of the textbook. orange, cute

4. Preposition Example

We built our tree house in the tree. on, around, by

5. Determiner Example

I couldn’t understand that lecture. that, a, our, their

6. Auxiliary Example

We could think of no other option. would, should

7. Pronoun Example

I gave them the keys. Her, me, us

Exercise 2. Label the lexical class of each word in the following sentences.
Example: We walked in the park.
we walked in the park
N V Prep Det N
A. That man wears sweaters with stripes.
That man wears sweaters with stripes

Det N V N Prep N

B. My friend eats a small snack in the park at lunch.

My friend eats a small snack in the park at lunch

Det N V Det Adj N Prep Det N Prep N

C. The customer handed the cashier her money.

The customer handed the cashier her money

Det N V Det N Det N

Part II. Syntax

Exercise 1. As we go through the following chart, fill in the blanks as necessary and
provide examples of each type of phrase.

Phrases Examples

a. DP: Determiner phrase

Contains a determiner (e.g., the, a, our, his, etc.) and a
noun phrase a pink flamingo,

Ex/ ‘the school’, ‘her green cat’

b. NP: Noun Phrase

Contains a noun and is always part of a DP
Can be modified by adjective phrases
old tree, science
Ex/ ‘spoiled milk’, ‘extremely fast squirrel’
 c. AP: Adjective Phrase
Contains an adjective and is always nested within an
NP
Can be modified by an adverb talented, extremely small

Ex/ ‘happy’, ‘really excited’

d. PP: Preposition Phrase

Contains a preposition and a DP
near that cute mouse, for my health
Ex/ ‘into the car’, ‘with my dog’

e. VP: Verb Phrase

Contains a verb and optionally a DP (as a direct object
or indirect object)
Can also be modified by a PP
write a play
Ex/ ‘catch the ball’, ‘sing in the shower’ plant a succulent in the garden

e. IP: Inflectional Phrase

The ‘sentence’ level
Contains an inflectional unit (tense or auxiliary), a
subject (DP), and a predicate (VP) We hopped around the yard.
I worked on the syntax assignment.
Ex/ ‘She saw [PST] the llama’, ‘I shouldn’t [AUX] eat that
pie’

Exercise II. Given the following phrase structure rules, draw an appropriate syntactic
tree.
A. Determiner Phrase (DP): DP→ (Det) (PP) (NP)
Example. The bus
 1. Our car 2. Those trees

Adjective Phrase (AP) AP → (Adv) A

Example. The extremely careful artist 2. My really smart friend

Prepositional Phrase (PP) PP→ P (DP)

Example. Some of my friends 1. Three of our books

2. On the road 4. Beside a turtle

B. Verb Phrases (VP) → V (NP) (PP) (CP)

Example. Sing the song 1. Type the notes

 2. Ride the train 3. Take your time

D. Inflectional Phrases (IP) IP →I VP

 Example. Could go to the store 1. Would swim in the pool

Tensed Inflectional Phrase (IP) IP→I VP

Example. The teacher knows 1. The children stayed

Exercise III. Complements vs. Adjuncts

• Complements: necessary as part of a phrase (e.g., ‘saw the tree’)

• Adjuncts: add additional information (e.g., ‘saw the tree in the park’)

Underline the adjuncts and circle the complements in the following phrases.

1. the use of computers in schools

2. my really smart friend plays soccer after school

3. called my mom in the morning