CALT Syntax and Sentence Structure 5

Question 1

In transformational grammar, what is the deep structure of a sentence?

Accepted Answer

The abstract underlying representation that captures basic grammatical relations

Answer

Deep structure represents the abstract level of syntactic organization that underlies the surface form and captures core semantic relationships.

Question 2

Which construction is an example of right-branching syntax?

Accepted Answer

The man saw the dog that chased the cat that caught the mouse.

Answer

Right-branching structures embed successive clauses to the right and are generally easier to process than center-embedded structures.

Question 3

What does the term 'argument structure' refer to in syntax?

Accepted Answer

The number and type of noun phrase arguments a verb requires

Answer

Argument structure specifies how many participants a predicate requires (its arity) and what semantic roles those participants bear.

Question 4

A child produces: 'Him goed to school.' Which two syntactic errors are present?

Accepted Answer

Incorrect pronoun case and irregular past tense overgeneralization

Answer

The child uses objective case 'him' instead of nominative 'he' and overgeneralizes the regular past tense -ed to the irregular verb 'go.'

Question 5

What is a 'center-embedded' clause, and why is it difficult to process?

Accepted Answer

A relative clause inserted within the main clause, creating nested dependencies

Answer

Center-embedded clauses interrupt the main clause mid-sentence, overloading working memory because verb arguments must be held across the embedded material.

CALT - Certified Academic Language Therapist Practice Test

CALT - Certified Academic Language Therapist Practice Test

CALT Syntax and Sentence Structure 5