Formal syntax Syntax of a phrase

• A phrase typically contains two or more words that are linked formally and semantically, but lack the subject-predicate relation.

• A formal pattern of a phrase is a structure that demonstrates linkage of words that is acceptable in a particular language. This structure is filled with individual units with various meanings. E.g. A + N: Eng. Latin language, clean board, unknown land; N + A: Latin lingua latina, tabula rasa, terra incognita.

• According to their form, phrases can be coordinate and subordinate. In coordinate phrases, the syntactic status of words is equal; they are joined by a coordinate conjunction, e.g. Engl. brad and butter, black and white, either read or write, both here and there. In subordinate phrases, the linked units do not have an equal status: one of them (the head word) dominates over the other (the subordinate word). According to the head word, subordinate phrases are subdivided into:

nominal phrases, where the head is a noun, e.g. A + N: Ukr. червоне яблуко, Eng. red apple; Num + N: Ukr. одне яблуко, Eng. one apple;

adjectival phrases, where the head is an adjective, e.g. Adv + A: Ukr. дуже великий, Eng. very big;

numerical phrases, where the head word is a numeral, e.g. Adv + Num: Ukr. приблизно десять, Eng. approximately ten;

verbal phrases, where the head word is a verb, e.g. Adv + V: Ukr. швидко бігти; V + Adv: Eng. to run quickly;

adverbial phrases, where the head word is an adverb, e.g. Adv1 + Adv2: Ukr. дуже добре, Eng. very well;

prepositional phrases, where the head word is a preposition, e.g. Prep + N: Ukr. біля будинку, Eng. near the house;

interjectional phrases, where the head word is an interjection, e.g. Int + Prep + N: Ukr. Тьфу на тебе!

• Types of subordinate relations. In languages, subordinate relations are manifested through various means, which include agreement, enclosure, government, adjoining, isafate, and incorporation. The first four types of subordinate relations can be found in Ukrainian, Russian, English, and many other Indo-European languages. The last two types of syntactic relations are demonstrated by languages that belong to other families.

1. Agreement, or concord, takes place when a particular form of the head word requires a corresponding form of the subordinate. E.g. in a nominative phrase, the adjective must agree with the noun in number, case, and gender: Ukr. гарної дівчини, гарних дівчат, гарного хлопця, гарних хлопців; мамина сукня, маминої сукні.

2. Enclosure occurs when extra elements are included between the head word and the subordinate word, e.g. Engl. a pen – a black pen, to understand – to better understand; Russ. на скорости – на большой скорости, в лесу – в темном лесу.

3. Government is a type of syntactic linkage whereby the head word requires that the subordinate word be in a particular form. E.g. in a verbal phrase, the verb requires a particular case of the noun. E.g. Ukr. писати листа (OBJECTIVE), пишатися успіхами (ABLATIVE), жити в селі (LOCATIVE). In a prepositional phrase, the preposition as well requires a particular case of the noun: Latin cum poeta (ABLATIVE) ‘with a poet’, ad poetam (ACCUSAIVE) ‘to a poet’. Government also occurs in noun phrases, e.g. Eng. mother’s (GENITIVE) dress, Ukr. сукня мами (GENITIVE).

4. Adjoining is linking two words only semantically, without any formal means to demonstrate this link, e.g. the relation between a verb and an adverb: Ukr. швидко бігти, Eng. to run quickly.

5. Isafate / aiz feit/ is a particular relation characteristic of Turkish languages. It can also be found in Persian and Arabic. Isafate is a link between two nouns in a possessive construction; one of the words is the head word denoting the possessed, and another is the subordinate word denoting in the possessor. Semantically, this link resembles agreement and government (мамина сукня, сукня мами; Казанський ітститутут, інститут Казані). However, in isafatic constructions the formal notation of dependence (an affix denoting that something is possessed by the 3^rd person) is attached to the head word instead of the subordinate word. E.g. Tatar Казан интститут-ы ‘Kazan institute-its / Казань інститут-її’.

6. Incorporation is typical of Paleo-Siberian (Paleo-Asian) languages, and languages of American Indians. In these languages, stems with the attached affixes make up both phrases and sentences that form a morphological unity. Since this unity can be disintegrated lexically and semantically, it is not equivalent to a word. However, this unity is not equivalent to a phrase or sentence either, because its form resembles that of a word. E.g. Chukot мытрелгитекупрэн ыск ивыск ычетгъе ‘to go very quickly to make a net’. The morphemic structure includes root morphemes and affixes:

мыт-рэ-лги-тэ-купрэ-н -ы-ск ычет-гъе

тэ-купрэ-н is a stem derived from the verb тэкупрэн ык ‘to make a net’; the verb is derived via adding the affixes тэ- -н to the noun stem купрэ-н;

-ск ив- is a suffix that means ‘to go with some purpose’;

-лги- is a prefix that means ‘very’;

-скычет- is a suffix that means ‘quickness of the action’;

-рэ- and –гъе are affixes (a prefix and suffix) that denote a future action;

-мыт- is a syntactic suffix that denotes the 1^st person, plural.