High School

Use constituency tests to identify the syntactic constituents in each of the following sentences. Focus on phrasal expressions rather than individual words. If different tests yield inconsistent results, use your best judgment to decide constituency.

a. Sandy shot the soldier.
b. Leslie said it rained.
c. The girl persuaded Polly to come along.
d. Sally mailed a card to Polly.
e. Polly saw Bob with Sally.
f. Sally put the book on the desk in her study.

Answer :

Final answer:

The sentences are broken down into their syntactic constituents. These are phrases or groups of words that can maintain meaningful coherence independently. If the constituency tests yield inconsistent outcomes, one's understanding of syntax should guide the decision.

Explanation:

The task is to use the constituency tests to divide sentences into their syntactic constituents. The constituents of a sentence are the phrases or groups of words that can stand alone and maintain coherent meaning. Using our example sentences:

  • a. Sandy shot the soldier breaks down into '[Sandy] [shot the soldier]'
  • b. Leslie said it rained breaks down into '[Leslie] [said] [it rained]'
  • c. The girl persuaded Polly to come along breaks down into '[The girl] [persuaded Polly to come along]'
  • d. Sally mailed a card to Polly breaks down into '[Sally] [mailed a card] [to Polly]'
  • e. Polly saw Bob with Sally breaks down into '[Polly] [saw] [Bob with Sally]'
  • f. Sally put the book on the desk in her study breaks down into '[Sally] [put the book] [on the desk] [in her study]'

Remember that the results from constituency tests might not always be consistent, and then you need to use your understanding of syntax to decide on constituents.

Learn more about Constituency Tests here:

https://brainly.com/question/33961716

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