Syntax (Part 2)

A brief overview of lexical categories, phrase structure rules, and syntactic tree structures.

[@SuperiorSince1994]

For real, you made it sound so easy! My professor at the Uni made me believe this is just a bunch of nonsense, and now I myself am solving what once seemed impossible! Thank you!

[@pinkypromise_]

Same! my uni teacher is an adorable grandpa but he talks so fast I cannot catch a thing!

[@iamtasin]

same here. my uni teachers don't actually know how to teach. pity :')

[@feetho1760]

funny how can some uni teachers make the simplest stuff like 1+1=2 sound like its =45464645654165

[@mehrdadtaheri9409]

Fucking

[@anitrawinder7637]

OMG!!!!!!!! I can't believe in just a few videos you've helped me understand something I've been struggling with for weeks!!! Why aren't you my teacher!!! I hope they bottle and sell you because I'm first in line. Thank you sooooo much!!

[@MandeeraPremaratne]

Ikrrr

[@khadijahermim5320]

Thank you for your explanation ❤

[@susanwafula201]

Woooww,,, that's outstanding teacher,,,your lessons are cool and engaging,, you've had me understand the whole part of it,,I can now disambiguate the meanings,,,woow

[@louthefrogqueen]

You are so awesome! This helped me learn so much by seeing it simply, something that seemed complicated now seems so easy! Thank you! You don't know how happy this has made me

[@adrianoldchannel2494]

Louisa S true words

[@oarabilejongani9736]

Seconded. I am studying linguistics via correspondence and this saved my life! He makes it sooo easy and I am enjoying my studies.Please don't stop posting Evan!

[@letras_traducao5376]

this one the best teacher i ever seen

[@englishcool247]

Exactly...I saw other videos that were way confusing ....he first explained what things are......then he got into it

[@ayoomotola9319]

@@oarabilejongani9736 So have you killed the mouse in your pyjamas?

[@suzitaa3292]

You are literally a life saviour! Last year I watched your videos and got A in my exam and here I'm again. your hard work is appreciated!

[@xPixelDreams]

I'm a French student majoring in English and this series of videos helped me greatly with my English linguistics revisions. Thank you so much

[@ياصاحبالزمان-م1ق1ه]

how can i developed my language 😔

[@dianaabtan8435]

​@@ياصاحبالزمان-م1ق1هpractice as much as u can

[@vishaelahi9348]

Watching it 7 years after being uploaded. Thanks for saving me from the ocean of confusion.. Thank you.!

[@theleagueofshadows100]

I realize i'm years late to this party but i'm glad that I found this awesome explanation of the tree at all!! Thank You so freaking much for taking the time to so this man, that's huge for people like me who are just starting out with this stuff. You made understanding this somewhat confusing stuff super easy to grasp so thank you man!!

[@gina1114]

You're not late dear. I am 60 years old. I learned and remember English class where I grew up. Which was blessed, I know. I went to an English paroquial High School. People nowadays aren't taught proper English language so the older you are the better your chances are that you were taught to speak proper English! I am of the opinion that it is sadly a dying language. This video and the man, David-Wynn Miller who is no longer with us left us with a profound description of proper syntax language which is a most profound legacy. He is not with us anymore but I feel blessed to have seen what he is about and it you watch his video, you will learn what a person with his ability can accomplish. That is if we the people get enlightened. Applied knowledge is power. Knowledge in and of itself isn't. Do you understand what I am saying? I pray that you do! Itso powerful It can actually stop a war. Be sure to watch David-Wynn Miller's video, because if we follow his truth we empower ourselves and the more who do the more powerful we become. There is strength in numbers in more ways than one. I hope you are able to get something out of thisand pray that you ca. May God bless you and yours and keep you in truth and light because the smallest amount of light can illuminate darkness! In Jesus' holy name I pray Amen, amen amen. Amen = So be it! Sincerely Gina

[@oliviarobinson5694]

you are a true hero. thank you endlessly

[@fatumaal-amin3589]

nice😍😍😍😆😎😋😻👅👄👫👰👨‍👩‍👧‍👦🤙

[@aqibhussain6789]

Nice and good

[@pavelandonov3345]

Your channel has guided me through so many exams. I am forever grateful and always recommend you to others struggling with the material.

[@Saljauri]

Dear Evan, Hope all is fine with you. I am majoring in translation studies at one of the universities in Iran. I just wanted to thank you for all ofthe hard work you put into your teachings! I am so glad I found your youtube channel! Regards, A genuinely thankful student of yours.

[@ley2861]

I'm watching this two hours before my exam and it's AMAZING how i can finally understand it THANK YOU SIR

[@ezraojamong1571]

Hi

[@ukhengchingmarma5320]

Your lectures are making my graduate life much easier than expected

[@knowledgemadecommon9364]

My college professor uses your videos so every single lesson as primary material, I hope you are being compensated for this also you are an excellent educator!

[@7248sakura]

I'm a Korean student studying English. Your video is sooooo beneficial and makes me understand without difficulty. Besides, your voice is good to hear!

[@marygracerazo4043]

wow this is so amazing ..easy to learn well discussed.. no confusion at all..thanks with this

[@zubairahmed659]

thank you very much sir I am a student of Linguistics but I have never saw a teacher like you.

[@tranhpicture]

Hi. I have a question. How about "where I work" in the sentence "This is the company where I work". Is it an adverbial phrase? Does it have the same function as Adverb in the VP? Thank you so much and have a nice day!

[@evanashworth490]

Hello! Unfortunately, the very basic tree structures I'm providing in this video aren't well equipped to address sentences like the one you mention. That said, I suppose I would call the "where I work" phrase an adjectival phrase, as it describes/modifies "company".

[@karenu.1853]

Hello from 🇵🇦 Panama! I am currently studing English Linguistic Structures at the university. Your video has really been useful to me. Thank you and regards. 🙏

[@salwaell5227]

Thank you very much! Thank God there are still people like you who made me love English even more.

[@سكرعمانيه]

you are great... I really understand the syntax from you..✌👏

[@aliksa3442]

me too 👍👍💞

[@timbreak5888]

Thkyou for such an awesome lecture. I was stuck while studying for mid term exam and didnt know what to do. Then I hopelessly searched on the youtube and gosh!!! found this video. Please keep uploading and thank you again!!

[@SunilKumar-jj8bf]

I never thought this was so easy. I skipped this topic when preparing for the class test but I had to learn it for the semester exams and I came across your video and it is as simple as it is. And by the way, the last example was great, couldn't stop laughing. Thank you so much. Really appreciate it and hope you keep spreading the knowledge.

[@muhammedalsadiq9018]

These teachers in youtube are the true hero , now I figure it out ,Thank you so much

[@santiagonahuel8845]

You're the best teacher of english in the world

[@geordiescarce6412]

Hey Evan, thanks for making these videos! Just one question: How come, in the first interpretation, 'in my pyjamas' is part of the VP, not the NP? Would it not make sense if the NP was 'I... in my pyjamas', and the VP was 'killed a mouse'? (For reference, in the first interpretation you are in your pyjamas when you kill the mouse, as opposed to killing a mouse that was in your pyjamas.)

[@evanashworth490]

Hello! In the first sense of the meaning, in which I am wearing the pajamas when I killed the mouse, the PP "in my pajamas" must be connected to the verb phrase because it's saying something about how the act of killing the mouse took place (that I was wearing the pajamas when I killed the mouse), or as I tried to say in the video, it means the same as "I killed a mouse pajamas-ly". However, in the other meaning of that sentence (that the mouse was in my pajamas when it was killed), the PP "in my pajamas" must be connected to the noun phrase "a mouse" because I'm saying something about the mouse itself: where it was located when it was killed. I hope that helps!

[@geordiescarce6412]

@@evanashworth490 Thanks!

[@adailytalkwithadriel164]

Actually I'm a First Year Student And It's Hard for me To Understand my Professor Evertime She Discussed This Topic, Your teaching Is Sovery Good 🥰

[@bennyisacjimo9061]

My teacher told us to study this and after just starting to study it, I couldn't understand anything but with your explanation am sure 100% is going to be my score. Thanks a million!

[@muzafferozturk4007]

I can not tell stress enough how helpful this video was. I have my mid-term exams tomorrow and I just learned probably a 40-50 point part. Thank you thank you thank you.....

[@saedsaed5078]

Tree diagrams represent syntactic meaningful groups in slow motion. Adult students are now aware of all the syntactic structures that were manufactured blindly in their minds during their childhood.( University lecturer in English and linguistics)

[@ciandaten-pow5504]

don't stop posting plz.

[@aedoaa902]

the part one made it sooo easy for me to understand syntax !! i have a test tommrow and and i was so scared TBH from syntax but now i'll def do good

[@jasperbesonia1904]

you're singlehandedly saving me in every English subject

[@noidentity2743]

Why i don't have a teacher like you,,,these looked really complicated like i'm solving a math problem. My uni teacher said that these are easy and i'm just stupid, 😐 i have final exams next month and i'm really doing good now Thank you so so so so much ❤️

[@nimraarshad31]

Thank you sir, I'm not a native English speaker or listener ,i hardly understand English speakers. But your speech is clear 🙃 it's easy to get.. Thank you ❤

[@carabara5566]

very well explained i was worried how i am gonna explain syntax in one lecture but after seeing your video i feel relieved thank you so much

[@katanajulius3696]

Woooow... In this way now I can confidently say that Syntax is easy because you have taught it in Simplicity..... Blessings Sir.🙏🙏👍

[@afeniakinola2217]

thanks man, gonna surprise my lecturer next week with this. #helpful

[@VeronicaThomas-rt2ix]

The first day i was given an assignment to draw the tree diagram i was stressed, but after watching your videos i realized that not difficult. Thank you i now understand how to draw the tree diagram thank you very much 🙏

[@darkhorse21xx]

Just wondering if it might be more advantageous to refer to the diagram as a root structure rather than a tree structure, where one begins with the Trunk (Sentence) and then works downwards towards the roots (foundation) of the sentence?

[@evanashworth490]

Haha, yes, "tree structure" is a funny term because they are more like inverted trees, so calling it a "root structure" might be more accurate; however "root" has its own meaning in linguistics, so I suspect this is why the term "root structure" (referring to tree structures) is not widely used.

[@darkhorse21xx]

@@evanashworth490 Thanks for your reply. I have much to learn about syntax but I find it strangely fascinating. I will keep my eyes open for the references to root.

[@Astitouu07]

Watching your videos in 2024 from Morocco 😁 you made it look so easy. Thank you!

[@rutansai]

thank you sir 😭😭😭 youre my savior. it sounds like exaggerating by u saved my life twice 😭😭😭 you're way better than my lecturer 🥺

[@tenhodito2572]

Hi There. I'm Brazilian and I use to teach english down here. Your explanation is amazing, teacher. Thanks for it. I'm gonna check all your videos.

[@dmanakell]

English learner here. I'm probably a B2 and still have some flaws in grammar and punctuation. Is there a way to clarify what the sentence about killing a moue really means? Can I add a comma or something? What if I find this sentence out of context and don't know what the person who said it really meant?

[@LenaJamal-um6wy]

Indeed, this explanation is wonderful. You are a great teacher

[@bigoldpp9542]

I've been learning through Cali Poly Uni's online "syntactic tree diagram", it teaches you how to do this exact stuff but in the most complicated ways possible, thank you so fucking much, pardon my French but you've saved me several headaches in just two videos. Edit: With the help of your videos I passed through that test/quiz thing with flying colors, thank you again, I finally feel like I have an understanding of this stuff.

[@oualaeferhane1685]

U made my life much more easier, I love u man

[@arleneeugenio9229]

Ang natutunan ko sa bidyong ito patungkol sa pagtatalakay sa sintaks o palaugnayan ay kung paano niya detalyadong sinuri at hinimay ang mga halimbawang pangungusap. May mga pangungusap na may kalabuan dahil maaaring ito ay nagtataglay ng dalawang kahulugan. May posibilidad na maiba ang organisasyon ng istruktura ng isang pangungusap batay sa ibig ipakahulugan nito.

[@hafsaali5428]

Gosh! Your explanation is such credible and amazing thank you so much ❤️

[@DaniSiegel700]

9 years later youre still helping us students out 😭💖 My exam is tomorrow tysmmm !!

[@jessalynramirez3487]

I LOVE THE WAY YOU DISCUSS THE TOPIC.. 😍 NOW I TOTALLY UNDERSTOOD WHAT SYNTAX IS

[@OldUSArmy]

Ex Army guy, here. Maaan, thank you for your great work! I really appreciate your content!

[@ngochong5812]

thank you so much. You know , I'm an English learner,.. my teacher didn't express clearly about it.. so I'm very hapy when i see your video.. its very helpful ! Hope you will give more helpful video. Thank you

[@cakalays]

each of these lectures is a gem. thank you for sharing.

[@bannymishi8623]

Thank you sir

[@sweetenerdaintysugar]

Mr. Ashworth, I need your help. How to convert this "This power imbalance is reflected in the language used to discuss behavioral difficulties in schools." into three diagram? Please help me.

[@evanashworth490]

Unfortunately, the tree diagrams I discuss in my "syntax" videos are not equipped to deal with complex sentences like the one you posted--they are only useful for basic, simple sentences in the active voice. Sorry that I cannot be of more help!

[@sweetenerdaintysugar]

@@evanashworth490 its okay mr. Ashworth I figured it out already. However your video really really help me and my friends.

[@moritzreitinger6060]

Honestly, thanks to you I finally got it! Thank you so much!!!

[@an_ugly_girl]

Thank you Thank you so much I have seen lots of videos on you tube but didn't get a single video qith good understanding, all are just non sense videos. Now i have understood everything, I can write it in my exam❤

[@shahdkullab5588]

I have a question that I am so curious to know its answer , does native English speakers have to study these things at university when they major in English or they already know theses things since there native language is English and do they face difficulties learning them ?!

[@evanashworth490]

Hi Shahd. This is a great question. I would argue that all native speakers of any language essentially "acquire" the phrase structure rules for the language(s) to which they are exposed rather than explicitly "learn" them. That is, for example, most English speakers probably have never heard of a "determiner" before, but they do know that determiners precede adjectives, which precede nouns. Of course, learning about these sorts of "rules" helps to make that knowledge conscious, but these rules are acquired when we acquire a first language and learned when we learn a second language. I hope that helps!

[@ghada6539]

Thank you so much sir , u are much better than my University Prof. 🙏🏻 From 🇸🇦

[@hotsaut9218]

This is a very helpful lecture for my semantics class. Thanks Dr Nimer

[@bibillyhills9489]

He makes it look so easy. A great teacher indeed. Thanksssss!

[@cindyubieta3904]

Thanks for teaching me! My Linguistic Teacher sent me some PDF's to read but I didn't understand anything!!! Now, It's clear thanks to you!!!!!

[@englishliteraturewithmissm2162]

Can you explain me that if any sentence also has apostrophe for example We looked through my grandmother's old album. Then what is the tree diagram of this sentence.

[@evanashworth490]

With the very simple tree structures I'm using for these videos, "Grandmother's old album" would be a noun phrase, with "grandmother's" as an adjective, "old" as an adjective and "album" as a noun. I hope that helps!

[@Hannah-vh2fm]

Thank you sir for this video. Im taking introduction to linguistics and i cant understand my teacher. But your lecture is clearer. 😊

[@huyle5011]

That’s peculiar. My teacher taught me that drawing the tree diagram from the bottom to top would be easier. I also think that drawing from bottom to top is easier as well. Because you start from analyzing words, phrases, then sentence.

[@emansamiroransa650]

Thank you for your help ❤️ I'm from Egypt and I can't pass my exams without watching your videos

[@nelgameel4279]

THANK YOU! I was pulling my hair out trying to wrap my head around the Syntax tree. Greetings from Egypt 😃

[@chjameelgohar5571]

You are helping me in giving the second biggest exam in my country. I am going to apply as a lecturer.

[@alwaleed1808]

You are good person 👍🏼👍🏼 , this video it's very helpful ❤

[@Kimprendo]

Hey Evan, thanks for this video! This helped me so much. My professor is terrible at explaining things and the book is so dense. You went through this step by step and this concept that I thought was sooo hard is finally understood! Keep making vids!! Thank you from a college student!

[@wstnli725]

Excellent classes, Mr Ashworth! Shouldn't you write DP, instead of NP in all cases, for it's a compulsory rule nowadays in modern Syntax? Then, if there's no D, it would be represented by an empty O, with this slash / (like empty in Maths.) Am I okay? BTW, wishing to reach your videos on X bar rules and wh-movements.

[@evanashworth490]

Hello! That may be the case, because I must confess that I am not up to date on the most current theories on tree structures in formal linguistics--the tree structures I am using here are the simplest and the ones most often used in introductory linguistics textbooks.

[@wstnli725]

@@evanashworth490 Thanks a lot!

[@増井秀明-x1c]

hello. thank you for your easy to understand explanation. could you tell me the reason why you divided this tree diagram(about 7 min) into three??

[@kevserozdemir9346]

And is ‘my’ in ‘my pjamas’ a possessive pronoun or possessive adjective?

[@sanae8275]

Thank you soooooooooooo much!!! U have no idea how much you've helped me!!! Keep up the great work!

[@graceleon5296]

This was so well explained..a MUST SEE for all.

[@usmansadiq4254]

Yes

[@Elsa-wg6tj]

BRILLIANT! Thank you! Appreciate how simple something soo complex can be! :) God bless

[@emblackbird]

Thanks so much for making these videos! My linguistics professor is cool but in the time of corona we have no classes/video instructions and I was left to learn this material via her PDFs only. That did not work out. Your video helped me understand this material right away. You break everything down very clearly, thank you!

[@mariamkinen8036]

This is the first time that the phrases inside phrases gets clear. So . My is a determiner. The is. These I didn't know...N everything after a verb is a verb phrase. Thanks a lot

[@ries3133]

I have a question sir. Whose theory that you use for potraying a sentence with tree diagram ?

[@evanashworth490]

Hi Ries. Ultimately, I suppose it was Chomsky's idea, since these tree diagrams emerged from formal linguistic theory.

[@JNYC-gb1pp]

Is there a software where you can practise tree structures? In college our professor gave us a CD with software on it that enabled us to complete grammar trees - though i've since lost it and forgot what it was called.

[@evanashworth490]

I have heard of such software, but there are likely multiple independent creators of this kind of thing around the world. You might want to reach out your teacher and ask them! Best of luck!

[@amineelhachimi2527]

It took a mouse life for me to understand ambiguity. Thank you endlessly 😍

[@carolinekongai3490]

You are amazing...thankyou and God bless the work of your hands

[@hudajavedawan7513]

Can't thank you enough for your help. Now i am able to draw tree diagrams 😍

[@amosasenarathna2201]

thank you so much . i thought drawing tree diagrams are difficult and weird but after watching this got a clear a idea

[@monta2max]

Question coach Evan. Would the BE ( verb) go in the verb section Ex he is going to school

[@evanashworth490]

Yes, it would! :)

[@nawresdoss7263]

I really like this video 👌💜 "She killed the man with the tie" is also a good example (killing the man wearing a tie or using the tie)

[@evanashworth490]

Yes, that's a great example!

[@thiophiluskipruto1999]

Syntax is sounding easy now. Thank you so much

[@lambandwolf1]

Thank you so much you're saving our finals 💜

[@DanielleMoops]

My professor made this seem so, so, so complicated. And you stream in and show it with ease. Thank you so very, very much.

[@ezraojamong1571]

Great explanation,,,i had difficulty in drawing tree diagram,, but now I have a good mastery of the same

[@lisstudy3708]

You helped me so much sir! Now I'm confident to do my exam

[@sinalompange708]

Thank you so much Sir , you made me to understand the tree diagram better .You are the best teacher,I just wish you could be my teacher

[@onyewuchiarthur]

I'm having an exam tomorrow on syntax and I don't know anything on it cuz Lecturer is unserious but going through your video have made me in understand everything❤

[@QuyNguyen-ix6km]

great explanation, I'm now a sophomore in English language, and quite confused with it. Thanks to your video, I can easily get it.

[@ahmedalahmed6817]

Thank you so much I have exam tomorrow u help me thank you

[@نهالحميدرشيد]

شرح يبرد القلب thanks 🤍

[@mrsmudassir8821]

Pronunciation and accent is Good and easy to understand.Thanks

[@bilgeakbal]

Hello from Turkey , and the video was really beneficial . Thank you so much :) :) :)

[@danicaaloba454]

You just helped to have courage to go through my exams!

[@cheikhsarr7892]

I have missed the class but from you it seems I were there.tomorrow I,ll explain it to others students😀😀thank you sir

[@amerali3172]

It's very useful, but I think if you write the full sentence on the board before explaining, it will be more interesting. Thanks

[@kshipra7053]

It's one day before my English Exam and my text book was incoherent to me. You totally saved my butt. THANK YOU..