Blackwell Reference Online

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At its most basic level, syntax can be defined as the branch of linguistics that studies how the words of a language can be combined to make larger units, such as phrases, clauses, and sentences. As such, syntax is deeply concerned with the relationship between the finite and the infinite. Most languages have a finite number of basic words, but those words can be put together to make an infinite number of sentences. Thus, one can buy a more or less complete dictionary of English, but it is unthinkable to buy a similar reference book that would list all the sentences of English. This is because there are rules and patterns that can be used in a dynamic way to create and understand new English sentences. Syntax is the study of these rules and patterns. For example, readers of this chapter will be aware of having encountered the English words this, loves, elephant , and eggplant , and they will find them listed in their dictionaries. However, they will not be aware of having encountered the English sentence in (1) before, and they will be unable to “look it up”: (1)  This elephant loves eggplant. Nevertheless, they will have no hesitancies about recognizing it as English, or about being able to understand it and use it appropriately. Moreover, they will feel very differently about (2), even though it is made up of the same familiar elements: (2)  *Loves elephant eggplant this. In ... log in or subscribe to read full text