Syntactic relations: Difference between revisions

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'''Syntactic roles''' are the roles that constituents play inside a syntactic structure. The UNL<sup>arium</sup> framework follows the [[X-bar|X-bar approach]] and proposes four syntactic roles:
'''Syntactic roles''' are the roles that constituents play inside a syntactic structure. The UNL<sup>arium</sup> framework follows the [[Syntax|X-bar approach]] and proposes six main syntactic roles:


*'''HEAD'''  
*'''HEAD''' is the nucleus or the source of the whole syntactic structure, which is actually derived (or projected) out of it. In the UNL<sup>arium</sup> framework, there are 8 possible heads:
*'''COMP''' (i.e., complement)  
**'''N''' = nouns and nominals
*'''ADJT''' (i.e., adjunct)  
**'''J''' = adjectives and adjectivals
*'''SPEC''' (i.e., specifier)  
**'''V''' = full verbs and verbals
**'''A''' = adverbs and adverbials
**'''P''' = adpositions (prepositions, postpositions, circumpositions)
**'''I''' = auxiliary verbs
**'''D''' = determiners
**'''C''' = complementizers (conjunctions)
*'''COMP''' (i.e., complement) is an internal argument, i.e., a word, phrase or clause which is necessary to the head to complete its meaning (e.g., objects of transitive verbs);
*'''ADJT''' (i.e., adjunct) is a word, phrase or clause which modifies the head but which is not syntactically required by it (adjuncts are expected to be extranuclear, i.e., removing an adjunct would leave a grammatically well-formed sentence);
*'''SPEC''' (i.e., specifier) is an external argument, i.e., a word, phrase or clause which qualifies (determines) the head;
*'''XB''' (intermediate projection) is any of the intermediate structures projected out of the head; and
*'''XP''' (maximal projection) is the most comprehensive structure projected out of the head.


These general roles are further specified according to the eight possible syntactic heads as follows:


== HEAD ==
{{#tree:id=SYN|openlevels=0|root=Syntactic roles (SYN)|
The HEAD is the nucleus or the source of the whole syntactic structure, which is actually derived (projected) out of it.<br />
*adjunct (XA)
In the UNL<sup>arium</sup> framework, there are 8 different possible heads:
**adjunct to the head of an adjective phrase (JA)
*N = nouns, personal pronouns, demonstrative pronouns and indefinite pronouns
**adjunct to the head of an adverbial phrase (AA)
*V = verbs
**adjunct to the head of a complementizer phrase (CA)
*J = adjectives
**adjunct to the head of a determiner phrase (DA)
*A = adverbs<ref>In the X-bar theory, differently from the UNLarium approach, adverbs are subsumed by prepositions and are not considered to be an independent lexical category.</ref>
**adjunct to the head of an inflectional phrase (IA)
*P = prepositions
**adjunct to the head of a nominal phrase (NA)
*D = determiners: articles, demonstrative determiners, possessive determiners, quantifiers
**adjunct to the head of a prepositional phrase (PA)
*I = auxiliary verbs
**adjunct to the head of a verbal phrase (VA)
*C = conjunctions
*complement (XC)
**complement of the head of an adjective phrase (JC)
**complement of the head of an adverbial phrase (AC)
**complement of the head of a complementizer phrase (CC)
**complement of the head of a determiner phrase (DC)
**complement of the head of an inflectional phrase (IC)
**complement of the head of a nominal phrase (NC)
**complement of the head of a prepositional phrase (PC)
**complement of the head of a verbal phrase (VC)
*head (XH)
**head of an adverbial phrase (AH)
**head of an adjective phrase (JH)
**head of a complementizer phrase (CH)
**head of a determiner phrase (DH)
**head of an inflectional phrase (IH)
**head of a nominal phrase (NH)
**head of a prepositional phrase (PH)
**head of a verbal phrase (VH)
*specifier (XS)
**specifier of the head of an adjective phrase(JS)
**specifier of the head of an adverbial phrase (AS)
**specifier of the head of a complementizer phrase (CS)
**specifier of the head of a determiner phrase(DS)
**specifier of the head of an inflectional phrase (IS)
**specifier of the head of a nominal phrase (NS)
**specifier of the head of a prepositional phrase (PS)
**specifier of the head of a verbal phrase (VS)
*maximal projection (XP)
**adjective phrase (JP)
**adverbial phrase (AP)
**complementizer phrase (CP)
**determiner phrase (DP)
**inflectional phrase (IP)
**nominal phrase (NP)
**prepositional phrase (PP)
**verbal phrase (VP)
*intermediate projection (XB)
**adverbial phrase (AB)
**adjective phrase (JB)
**complementizer phrase (CB)
**determiner phrase (DB)
**inflectional phrase (IB)
**nominal phrase (NB)
**prepositional phrase (PB)
**verbal phrase (VB)
*trace (TRACE)
}}


== SPEC ==
= Examples =
SPEC (specifier) is an external argument, i.e., a word, phrase or clause which qualifies (determines) the head. They include:
*complement of the head of an adverbial phrase (AC): contrarily [to popular belief]
*articles: '''the''' (book), '''a''' (book), etc.
*specifier of the head of an adverbial phrase (AS): [nearly] always
*possessive determiners: '''my''' (book), '''your''' (book), etc.
*complement of the head of a complementizer phrase (CC): if [John comes]
*demonstrative determiners: '''this''' (book), '''that''' (book), etc.
*specifier of the head of a complementizer phrase (CS): [even] if
*quantifiers: '''no''' (answer), '''every''' (hour), etc.
*specifier of the head of a determiner phrase(DS): [almost] every
*intensifiers (emphasizers, amplifiers, downtoners): '''very''' (expensive), '''quite''' (well), '''nearly''' (under), etc.
*complement of the head of an inflectional phrase (IC): will [kiss Peter]
*specifier of the head of an inflectional phrase (IS): [Mary] will (kiss Peter)
*adjunct to the head of an adjective phrase (JA): beautiful [to see]
*complement of the head of an adjective phrase (JC): loyal [to the queen]
*specifier of the head of an adjective phrase(JS): [very] loyal
*adjunct to the head of a nominal phrase (NA): [beautiful] table
*complement of the head of a nominal phrase (NC): construction [of Babel]
*specifier of the head of a nominal phrase (NS): [the] construction
*complement of the head of a prepositional phrase (PC): under [the table]
*specifier of the head of a prepositional phrase (PS): [right] under
*adjunct to the head of a verbal phrase (VA): loved [desperately]
*complement of the head of a verbal phrase (VC): loved [Mary]
*specifier of the head of a verbal phrase (VS): [never] loved


== COMP ==
= Further information =
COMP (complement) is an internal argument, i.e., a word, phrase or clause which is necessary to the head to complete its meaning (e.g., objects of transitive verbs). They may be:
For further information on the syntax approach of the UNL<sup>arium</sup> refer to [[X-bar]].
*direct objects: (do) '''something''', (give) '''something'''
*indirect objects: (laugh at) '''something''', (give to) '''someone'''
*complement of deverbals (i.e., nouns deriving from verbs): (construction of) '''the city''', (arrival of) '''Peter'''
*complement of adjectives: (loyal) '''to the queen''', (interested) '''in Chemistry'''
*complement of adverbs: (contrarily) '''to popular belief''', (independently) '''from her'''
*complement of prepositions: (under) '''the table''', (after) '''today'''
*complement of conjunctions: (and) '''Peter''', (I don't know if) '''he'll come'''
 
== ADJT ==
ADJT (adjunct) is a word, phrase or clause which modifies the head but which is not syntactically required by it (adjuncts are expected to be extranuclear, i.e., removing an adjunct would leave a grammatically well-formed sentence):
*adjectives: '''beautiful''' (table)
*adverbs: (speak) '''slowly'''
*prepositional phrases: (table) '''of wood'''
 
== Examples ==
Consider, for instance, the examples below:
;Verbal Phrase (VP)
<blockquote>''Peter gave a new book to Mary yesterday in the school.''</blockquote>
:*"gave" is the HEAD (nucleus) of the whole VP (because the whole structure is derived from "gave")
:*"a new book" and "to Mary" are COMP (complements) of "gave" (because they are necessary to complete the meaning of "gave")<ref>The sentences "*Peter gave to Mary yesterday in the school" (i.e., without "a new book") and "*Peter gave a new book yesterday in the school" (without "to Mary") will not be well-formed in the sense that something would be missing.</ref>
:*"yesterday" and "in the school" are ADJT (adjuncts) of "gave" (because, although relevant, they are not necessary to complete the meaning of "gave")<ref>The sentence "Peter gave a new book to Mary", although less informative, would be still well-formed.</ref>
:*"Peter" is the SPEC (specifier) of "gave" (because it is the subject of "gave")
;Nominal Phrase (NP)
<blockquote>''a new book''</blockquote>
:*"book" is the HEAD (nucleus) of the whole NP (because the whole structure is derived from "book")
:*"new" is an ADJT (adjunct) to "book" (because it is not necessary to complete the meaning of "book")<ref>The phrase "a book" would be still meaningful.</ref>
:*"a" is the SPEC (specifier) of "book" (because it determines the reference of "book")
<blockquote>''the construction of Babel''</blockquote>
:*"construction" is the HEAD (nucleus) of the whole NP (because the whole structure is derived from "construction")
:*"of Babel" is a COMP (complement) of "construction" (because it is necessary to complete the meaning of "construction")<ref>The absence of the complement, in certain cases, does not mean that it does not exist. Sentences like "The construction failed" only makes sense when the complement of "construction", although elliptical, is known (from the context, for instance).</ref>
:*"the" is the SPEC (specifier) of "book" (because it determines the reference of "book")
;Adjective Phrase (JP)
<blockquote>''very beautiful''</blockquote>
:*"beautiful" is the HEAD (nucleus) of the whole JP (because the whole structure is derived from "beautiful")
:*"very" is the SPEC (specifier) of "beautiful" (because it intensifies the meaning of "beautiful")
<blockquote>''loyal to the King''</blockquote>
:*"loyal" is the HEAD (nucleus) of the whole JP (because the whole structure is derived from "loyal")
:*"to the King" is a COMP (complement) of "loyal" (because it is necessary to complete the meaning of "loyal")<ref>The absence of the complement, in certain cases, does not mean that it does not exist. Sentences like "He is loyal" only makes sense when the complement of "loyal", although elliptical, is known (from the context, for instance).</ref>
;Adverbial Phrase (AP)
<blockquote>''very sadly''</blockquote>
:*"sadly" is the HEAD (nucleus) of the whole AP (because the whole structure is derived from "sadly")
:*"very" is the SPEC (specifier) of "beautiful" (because it intensifies the meaning of "sadly")
<blockquote>''contrarily to popular belief''</blockquote>
:*"contrarily" is the HEAD (nucleus) of the whole AP (because the whole structure is derived from "contrarily")
:*"to popular belief" is a COMP (complement) of "contrarily" (because it is necessary to complete the meaning of "contrarily")
 
== Notes ==
<references />

Latest revision as of 13:15, 20 October 2025

Syntactic roles are the roles that constituents play inside a syntactic structure. The UNLarium framework follows the X-bar approach and proposes six main syntactic roles:

  • HEAD is the nucleus or the source of the whole syntactic structure, which is actually derived (or projected) out of it. In the UNLarium framework, there are 8 possible heads:
    • N = nouns and nominals
    • J = adjectives and adjectivals
    • V = full verbs and verbals
    • A = adverbs and adverbials
    • P = adpositions (prepositions, postpositions, circumpositions)
    • I = auxiliary verbs
    • D = determiners
    • C = complementizers (conjunctions)
  • COMP (i.e., complement) is an internal argument, i.e., a word, phrase or clause which is necessary to the head to complete its meaning (e.g., objects of transitive verbs);
  • ADJT (i.e., adjunct) is a word, phrase or clause which modifies the head but which is not syntactically required by it (adjuncts are expected to be extranuclear, i.e., removing an adjunct would leave a grammatically well-formed sentence);
  • SPEC (i.e., specifier) is an external argument, i.e., a word, phrase or clause which qualifies (determines) the head;
  • XB (intermediate projection) is any of the intermediate structures projected out of the head; and
  • XP (maximal projection) is the most comprehensive structure projected out of the head.

These general roles are further specified according to the eight possible syntactic heads as follows:

{{#tree:id=SYN|openlevels=0|root=Syntactic roles (SYN)|

  • adjunct (XA)
    • adjunct to the head of an adjective phrase (JA)
    • adjunct to the head of an adverbial phrase (AA)
    • adjunct to the head of a complementizer phrase (CA)
    • adjunct to the head of a determiner phrase (DA)
    • adjunct to the head of an inflectional phrase (IA)
    • adjunct to the head of a nominal phrase (NA)
    • adjunct to the head of a prepositional phrase (PA)
    • adjunct to the head of a verbal phrase (VA)
  • complement (XC)
    • complement of the head of an adjective phrase (JC)
    • complement of the head of an adverbial phrase (AC)
    • complement of the head of a complementizer phrase (CC)
    • complement of the head of a determiner phrase (DC)
    • complement of the head of an inflectional phrase (IC)
    • complement of the head of a nominal phrase (NC)
    • complement of the head of a prepositional phrase (PC)
    • complement of the head of a verbal phrase (VC)
  • head (XH)
    • head of an adverbial phrase (AH)
    • head of an adjective phrase (JH)
    • head of a complementizer phrase (CH)
    • head of a determiner phrase (DH)
    • head of an inflectional phrase (IH)
    • head of a nominal phrase (NH)
    • head of a prepositional phrase (PH)
    • head of a verbal phrase (VH)
  • specifier (XS)
    • specifier of the head of an adjective phrase(JS)
    • specifier of the head of an adverbial phrase (AS)
    • specifier of the head of a complementizer phrase (CS)
    • specifier of the head of a determiner phrase(DS)
    • specifier of the head of an inflectional phrase (IS)
    • specifier of the head of a nominal phrase (NS)
    • specifier of the head of a prepositional phrase (PS)
    • specifier of the head of a verbal phrase (VS)
  • maximal projection (XP)
    • adjective phrase (JP)
    • adverbial phrase (AP)
    • complementizer phrase (CP)
    • determiner phrase (DP)
    • inflectional phrase (IP)
    • nominal phrase (NP)
    • prepositional phrase (PP)
    • verbal phrase (VP)
  • intermediate projection (XB)
    • adverbial phrase (AB)
    • adjective phrase (JB)
    • complementizer phrase (CB)
    • determiner phrase (DB)
    • inflectional phrase (IB)
    • nominal phrase (NB)
    • prepositional phrase (PB)
    • verbal phrase (VB)
  • trace (TRACE)

}}

Examples

  • complement of the head of an adverbial phrase (AC): contrarily [to popular belief]
  • specifier of the head of an adverbial phrase (AS): [nearly] always
  • complement of the head of a complementizer phrase (CC): if [John comes]
  • specifier of the head of a complementizer phrase (CS): [even] if
  • specifier of the head of a determiner phrase(DS): [almost] every
  • complement of the head of an inflectional phrase (IC): will [kiss Peter]
  • specifier of the head of an inflectional phrase (IS): [Mary] will (kiss Peter)
  • adjunct to the head of an adjective phrase (JA): beautiful [to see]
  • complement of the head of an adjective phrase (JC): loyal [to the queen]
  • specifier of the head of an adjective phrase(JS): [very] loyal
  • adjunct to the head of a nominal phrase (NA): [beautiful] table
  • complement of the head of a nominal phrase (NC): construction [of Babel]
  • specifier of the head of a nominal phrase (NS): [the] construction
  • complement of the head of a prepositional phrase (PC): under [the table]
  • specifier of the head of a prepositional phrase (PS): [right] under
  • adjunct to the head of a verbal phrase (VA): loved [desperately]
  • complement of the head of a verbal phrase (VC): loved [Mary]
  • specifier of the head of a verbal phrase (VS): [never] loved

Further information

For further information on the syntax approach of the UNLarium refer to X-bar.

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