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Explain the main way to identify phrase structure? There are many ways to identify the phrase structure. Here below is the 4 main ways.
1. The substitution test
According to the substitution test, any word combination of the English sentence that can be replaced by a single word without changing the grammaticality of the sentence is called a phrase.
Example:
– That woman is very kind
– Mary is very kind
The phrase “That woman” can be replaced by “Mary” to make a new sentence sharing grammaticality which is why we can conclude that “that woman” in a phrase
2. Movement criterion
According to movement criterion, any word combination of the English sentence that can be moved to another position in the sentence without changing the meaning of the sentence is called a phrase.
Example:
– I met him on district for the first time in 2000
– In 2000 on the district I met him for the first time
Although the position of the adverb, a place in the above sentences hanve changed, their meaning remains the same so we can conclude that “in 2000” and “on district” are phrases.
3. The conjoining criterion
According to the coinjoining criterion, any word combination of the English sentence that can be conjoined with the similar one without changing the grammaticality of the sentence is called a phrase.
Example:
– Those old women do exercise every morning | Those old men and those women do exercise every morning
– You can find this book at the national library | You can find this book at the national library or our university’s library
“Those women” and “our university’s library” can be combined with a similar sequence to make a new sentence without changing the grammaticality of the sentence. So they can be determined as phrases.
4. Anaphora criterion
According to this, and preceding word combination (antecedent) that can be replaced by pro-word is called a phrase
Example:
– That poorly dressed boy lives in my neighbourhood’s house. He is a very good boy
“that poorly dressed boy” can be replaced by “he” which why we can come to conclusion that it is a phrase