Linguist Forum

Specializations => Morphosyntax => Topic started by: Jase on March 12, 2014, 12:23:57 AM

Title: Independent Study Help
Post by: Jase on March 12, 2014, 12:23:57 AM

Hi, everyone.

I've just begun my study of Syntax, working on my own through the textbook Syntax: A Generative Introduction (Third Edition) by Andrew Carnie. Because I don't have an answer key, I'd like to post some of my questions here to find out if I'm thinking about things correctly.

Thanks,
Jason

Title: Re: Independent Study Help
Post by: Jase on March 12, 2014, 12:29:18 AM

The first question I had was in regard to the adverbs in the phrase "very much too quickly." It seems like an absurd phrase to me, but it's not impossible. This is what I have:

[tree][AdvP [AdvP [AdvP [AdvP [Adv very]][Adv much]][Adv too]][Adv quickly]][/tree]

Is this reasonable given the basic level at which I'm working at this point in the textbook?

Title: Re: Independent Study Help
Post by: Corybobory on March 12, 2014, 02:43:12 AM

I'm afraid it's been far too long for me to be able to comment, I've blocked out syntax trees - but I just wanted to say that the Carnie book is awesome and I hope it's good for your self study :)  Good luck!

Title: Re: Independent Study Help
Post by: Daniel on March 13, 2014, 03:50:21 PM

Have you learned about "x-bar" structure yet?  If not, that is fine and looks like the right constituency to me. If so, then an Adv' is missing from each.

Title: Re: Independent Study Help
Post by: Jase on March 14, 2014, 08:17:52 AM

Quote from: djr33 on March 13, 2014, 03:50:21 PM

Have you learned about "x-bar" structure yet?  If not, that is fine and looks like the right constituency to me. If so, then an Adv' is missing from each.

Nope. I haven't learned it yet. It's coming up in the textbook, though. I'm in chapter four, dealing with terminology of tree structures and relationships between various parts of the tree.

Thanks for your answer. :)