Questions tagged [syntactic-analysis]

Parsing or syntactic analysis is the process of analysing a string of symbols, conforming to the rules of a formal grammar.

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Other <object> <qualifer> ambiguity? [migrated]

I see two possible interpretations of a phrase like English and other languages in which I'm not fluent First, "other" could imply that the qualifier applies only to the unenumerated ...
qelxiros's user avatar
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3 answers
206 views

The problem with "there"

It is natural, now, to think of there being connected with a sign, also what I should like to call the sense of the sign. It's the first sentence of the paragraph. There wasn't a context about some ...
Sayber73's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
90 views

I would like to understand a sentence in 'The Catcher in the Rye' [closed]

I am having trouble following correctly this part of the book as to its logic it refers to. M'boy, if I felt any better, I'd have to send for the doctor... At first, it says under condition that if ...
PROCESIONES CELESTES's user avatar
3 votes
0 answers
86 views

What happens when a sentence and an aside require different sentence structures?

How do you handle when an aside -- a parenthetical or a dashed aside -- doesn't fit with what follows, but since the aside is the "closest" thing, the original thing doesn't fit either. ...
Deane's user avatar
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1 answer
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There is a soldier on the hill whom he sees with binoculars

Give your first, immediate interpretation of... There is a soldier on the hill whom he sees with binoculars. What springs to mind? Are these to be rephrased in the same way? Is the punctuation ...
sanya6's user avatar
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0 answers
66 views

Why is 'a' used between smooth and gloss? [duplicate]

I am reading a book (A Promised Land) and there is a sentence that I don't understand: I still like writing things out in longhand, finding that a computer gives even my roughest drafts too smooth a ...
merrona's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
74 views

Comma before a moved verb

I can't seem to find a definitive answer for this, and my colleague and I are disagreeing on it: Your next obsession, found. Your next obsession found. It was an advertisement, as in something like ...
humble.rebel's user avatar
14 votes
2 answers
4k views

'I think IT unlikely that our team can win'. <--Is IT the object?

We think it unlikely that our inexperienced team can win a single > game this season. Is "it" the direct object? If it is, what is the function of the noun clause "that our ...
cookie234's user avatar
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2 answers
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Is "Put together" a phrasal verb?

She put all the flowers together in one big bunch. Is "put together" a phrasal verb in this sentence? Or is "together" an adverb?
darkhealer's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
79 views

What's the linguistic difference between "exit only" and "only exit"? [closed]

For example, if a lane were to be marked "exit only", this would indicate that the lane is only for exiting. On the other hand, if a lane were to be marked "only exit", this would ...
Caleb Koch's user avatar
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1 answer
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How Relative Pronouns Work [closed]

A relative pronoun is called "both a conjunction and a pronoun". There are other definitions, but the horribly superficial ones like "connects two sentences" are enough. Why doesn'...
Kadir's user avatar
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Is the highlighted phrase an absolute phrase modifying the main clause or simply an non restrictive appositive?

But no one in Brega had a clear idea of what was happening on the battlefield, not even the few fighters fidgeting by a new barricade outside the refinery’s front gate Source-: https://www.newyorker....
rahul sehrawat's user avatar
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1 answer
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Why does this sentence "feel" wrong

I saw this sentence. It "feels" wrong, but I can't put my finger on why. Thanks for being part of the family and to help build a network. I feel that it should be: Thanks for being part ...
theblitz's user avatar
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1 answer
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The impediment generates that in relation to which it is an impediment . <-- analysis?

Can someone help me analyze the grammar of the following sentence? In a paradoxical logic, the impediment generates that in relation to which it is an impediment. I'm very confused by "that in ...
bww z's user avatar
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How to write the tree diagram for the following ambiguous sentence: "The design has large squares and circles."?

What is the tree diagram for the following ambiguous sentence? The design has large squares and circles.
smile for life's user avatar
3 votes
4 answers
340 views

Is "There danced a man in the hall" a grammatical alternative to "A man danced in the hall"? What verbs are possible here? [duplicate]

Does the following sentence sound grammatical to you? There danced a man in the hall With the meaning: A man danced in the hall. And compare it with There died a man in the hall Which one sounds ...
Koray Nedim Özdemir's user avatar
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0 answers
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Square Feet versus Square Foot [duplicate]

The sentence is The project would construct a 2000 square (foot/feet) kitchen.' I put 'The project would construct a 2000 square feet kitchen.' My senior reviewer changed feet to foot. Why? If I ...
Barnaby Briggs's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
121 views

'as he had lived'

In the clause 'He died as he had lived', what is the grammatical function of 'as he had lived'? I know it modifies 'died', and I know 'as' can be used.
Evangelos Aktoudianakis's user avatar
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1 answer
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What is the technical grammatical difference between these two sentences?

. . . and is one preferred over the other? I believe he sent these contacts an email earlier this week. I believe he sent an email to these contacts earlier this week. I feel the second is ...
John Chase's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
204 views

Parsing "…including a problem…, in a characteristically diffident aside, he noted his own 'fleeting vain attempts' to resolve it"

Prologue to a book which I was reading ends with this verbatim copy-pasted text: A book should be dedicated to someone living, so that the dedication can give pleasure. I have dedicated this book to ...
Prem's user avatar
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The bicycle is a vehicle but the bicycle in this room is just a decoration

Can the definite article have two different meanings in front of identical words in one sentence? As in The bicycle is a vehicle but the bicycle in this room is just a decoration. Or perhaps this ...
Quirkier's user avatar
-3 votes
1 answer
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John goes to the cinema with Kate and (with) Ann

What's the difference between general public's interpretations of these: John goes to the cinema with Kate and Ann. John goes to the cinema with Kate and with Ann.
Quirkier's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
130 views

Is Wikipedia's example of parallelism incorrect?

As of this writing, Wikipedia's article about parallelism in grammar includes these examples: Lacking parallelism: The dog ran across the yard, jumped over the fence, and sprinted away. Parallel: ...
MWB's user avatar
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What is the term for this? [duplicate]

I keep coming across "quotes" on the internet that say things like "psychology says, if a person blah blah" I'm wondering what the term would be when someone 'mislabels' a field of ...
Aaron Ramsden's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
85 views

What is the grammatical name for “the countless flashes of red from swords and spears”? [closed]

What is the grammatical name and function for this string? the countless flashes of red from swords and spears
Lil Boo's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
957 views

What is the grammatical role of the last line of Gray's 'Elegy'?

The last line of Thomas Gray's poem 'Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard' is 'The bosom of his Father and his God." Here rests his head upon the lap of Earth A youth to Fortune and to Fame ...
EulerSpoiler's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
109 views

Grammar of “In Meditations, Aurelius wrote about ways to live a Stoic life, asserting that humans should aim to live a virtuous life to be happy”

Below: a photo of a learner's textbook exercise page with a reading passage about a Stoic Roman emperor, with punctuation issues – and a question about punctuation, with rejoinders. "A" (the ...
Mr.Brian's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
202 views

"when would be..." autocorrection

I have just been autocorrected as follows: I wrote: "Please let me know when would be a good time to..." Correction: "Please let me know when a good time would be to..." I suppose ...
Karl's user avatar
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benefitting patients with X/ benefits patients with X [duplicate]

I am struggling with analysing the sentence 'Y happens, benefitting patients with X'. I can see that 'Y benefits patients with X' uses the present tense simple form of the verb. But in the first ...
Billy's user avatar
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8 votes
9 answers
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Not sure if "combined 90 men’s years experience" is right usage as opposed to "combined 90 man years worth of experience"

I received a copy from a client with the following phrase: "Our current team boasts of a combined 90 man years worth of experience in the field of XYZ". While on its own it sounds ...
Bhakti Birmole's user avatar
-2 votes
5 answers
213 views

Can you tell me the difference between the bare infinitive and the base form of a verb?

I heard my teacher stating that the base form of a verb is not an infinitive itself, but it is used to construct one of the two forms of infinitives. Edit note This question has been linked to a ...
Stim Roe's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
114 views

Do I need to add "in" before "an English-speaking country" in this sentence?

1 All my life, I have dreamed of living somewhere overseas, potentially an English-speaking country. 2 All my life, I have dreamed of living somewhere overseas, potentially in an English-speaking ...
No name's user avatar
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2 votes
0 answers
32 views

What is the grammatical structure of “making such an endeavour unjustified”? [duplicate]

The focus on the exterior of a building alone will lead to the increase in construction cost, making such an endeavour unjustified. I want to know about the grammatical structure of this part: making ...
Reza's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
92 views

"He fought in World War II as an infantryman" - does 'as' change 'fought' into a linking verb?

Can an as-headed prepositional phrase turn an action verb into a linking verb? Consider the following examples: With the fall of the Roman Empire, cities were abandoned as centers of administration. [...
Matthew Rips's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
68 views

Can a single adjective be an appositive for the clause?

He made no comment and there was a long and unhappy pause during which the cab leapt forward a foot or so, only to pause and pant again, frustrated. I thought 'frustrated' explained the atmosphere of ...
Smartpig's user avatar
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0 votes
4 answers
113 views

How should this English sentence be parsed linguistically?

On p173 of Section "Subjective Truth and the Problem of Relativism" of The Big Questions by Solomon: Rationality is tying our knowledge and our lives together in the most coherent and ...
Tim's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
106 views

Is "went off in search of her hedgehog" a VP, and can it be broken down further?

I am new to linguistics and am currently learning how to figure out phrase markers for sentences. I am unsure about this sentence: She went off in search for her hedgehog. I know that "she" ...
lingheng's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
82 views

Why is the infinitive marker banned in this active voice but required in its passive voice?

More precisely, "to" is banned in the active form: The headmaster makes us honor our teachers but required in the passive (with no agent stated): We are made to honor our teachers I can just ...
Puzzled's user avatar
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5 votes
2 answers
1k views

We know how expensive we are

We know how expensive we are. I cannot for the life of me decide if this is supposed to be interpreted as a complement clause or an embedded question or what. My thought process so far is that it ...
RM Translations's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
107 views

"Greenland may not be as "green" as the name suggests". Is the second "as" a comparative conjunction although there is no object after "suggest"?

In the sentence below, Greenland may not be as "green" as the name suggests. The verb "suggest" should preceed an object as it is a transitive verb, but in the sentence, there is ...
HanJe Bae's user avatar
5 votes
4 answers
690 views

How did grammarians determine that the Present Continuous is an aspect?

The three variants of the present tense are: [X] sits (Simple) [X] does sit (Emphatic) [X] is sitting (Continuous [also called Progressive]) This is something that I was taught in school at such an ...
Quack E. Duck's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
43 views

lo + adjective/adverb + que + clause in Spanish VS the adjective (superlative) + (that) + clause in English

Recently I learned a Spanish grammar "lo+adjective/adverb+que+clause" to translate"how ..." (indicative) of English. But I found the structure unusual because "lo+adjective&...
Atle's user avatar
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12 votes
2 answers
687 views

Has the conception of prepositions broadened?

When I studied linguistics 40-some years ago, it was understood that PP → Prep NP But I’ve discovered sources that suggest that the class of prepositions is (now?) understood much more broadly. ...
PaulTanenbaum's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
56 views

Meaning and structure of "The vision to do today what is needed for tomorrow." [closed]

I would like to know the structure of the sentence and also meaning. Is the vision subject? What in the sentence is what? The vision to do today what is needed for tomorrow. Can I understand.. like ...
Oskarin's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
98 views

I was trying to describe a recipe to my friend that I'd had a go of

Is this dialectal use: And I thought I've got a nice kitchen now maybe I should learn to cook. And I'm learning, it's going quite well. I don't always know the right words for things. I couldn't ...
tes389's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
20 views

Can I do these kind of questions? “Who is your brother and where is he?” [duplicate]

Can we join two questions in one using and? Or do we need to separate both questions ?
Jessica Hernandez Aquino's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
68 views

Is referencing a real instance of a noun the primary function of determiners as a word class?

In almost every case where a determiner/article is used, the noun phrase references an instance of the noun, either imagined or existing. Generally, the opposite is true; noun phrases without ...
Ubu English's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
83 views

Does seating sit or stand?

A new Wikipedia page (Theatre of Nero, July 2023) includes The first structure . . can thus be identified with the cavea of the theatre, where the tiers of seats for the audience stood . . . ...
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0 votes
1 answer
51 views

How do you understand the sentence's structure?

Chinese athletes had a disappointing 2018-19 season, with the country's only gold medal coming courtesy Sui Wenjing and Han Cong in the pairs competition at the World Figure Skating Championships. ...
Thomas Peng's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
133 views

What is the real-time elimination of improbable meanings called in the linguistic literature?

He brought some food to eat on the road. He found some beer to drink in the fridge. Is it only reality and sanity that keep us from taking the beer example to mean he would be squashed in the fridge ...
TimR's user avatar
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