Linguistique - Structures Syntaxiques

a group of words put together in a meaningful way

expression, syntagme

(grammar) a group of words that contains a subject and a verb and functions as a unit within a sentence

proposition

a group of words that forms a statement, question, exclamation, or instruction, usually containing a verb

phrase

(grammar) the person, place, thing, or idea that performs the action or is being described in a sentence

sujet

(grammar) a noun or noun phrase that is affected by the action of the verb, or is followed by a preposition

objet

a type of clause that asserts the existence of something or someone, typically introduced by a verb or verb phrase expressing existence or occurrence

clause existentielle, proposition existentielle

the arrangement of words in a sentence, indicating the sequence in which the subject, verb, and other constituents appear

ordre des mots, structure de la phrase

a fundamental component of a sentence that contains the verb and provides information about the subject, including actions, states, or descriptions

prédicat, composant prédicatif

a type of clause that lacks a main verb and functions as a single unit, typically consisting of a subject and a non-finite verb or adjective

petite clause, clause nominale

a word or phrase that describes or provides additional information about another word or phrase, typically modifying a noun

attribut, caractéristique

a graphical representation of the syntactic structure of a sentence or a string of words in a formal language, illustrating how the components of the sentence are organized hierarchically according to the rules of a given grammar

arbre de syntaxe, arbre de dérivation

a formal framework in linguistics that describes the structure of sentences by using rules to generate hierarchical structures called phrases, capturing the relationships between words and phrases within a language

grammaire de structure de phrases, grammaire phrase structure

a structure composed of a determiner and a noun phrase, serving to specify the reference of the noun phrase

groupe déterminatif, phrase déterminante

the main or central word in a phrase that determines the grammatical category and syntactic behavior of the entire phrase

mot-clé, mot principal

a group of words that function together as a single unit within a sentence, typically forming a phrase or a clause

constituant, élément

(grammar) a group of words including a subject and a verb expressing a complete thought

proposition indépendante

(grammar) a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase that receives the action of the verb of a sentence

objet direct

(grammar) any of the noun phrases in a clause that complete the meaning of the predicate

argument

a type of subordinate clause that introduces a condition or hypothetical situation, expressing the consequence that would follow if the condition is met

proposition if, clause conditionnelle

(grammar) a group of words containing a subject and a verb that is not a sentence on its own but adds information to an independent clause

proposition subordonnée

(grammar) a type of subordinate clause that provides additional information about a noun or pronoun in a sentence

proposition relative

a group of words that begins with a preposition and typically includes a noun or pronoun, called the object of the preposition

groupe prépositionnel, syntagme prépositionnel

a group of words that functions as an adverb, modifying a verb, adjective, or adverb, and typically provides information about time, place, manner, or degree

phrase adverbiale, locution adverbiale

a group of words that functions as an adjective, modifying a noun or pronoun, and typically consists of an adjective and any accompanying words or modifiers

groupe adjectival, phrase adjectivale

(grammar) an independent clause followed by one or more dependent clauses or phrases

phrase complexe

(grammar) a word, phrase, or clause that is necessary to complete the meaning of a predication

complément

(grammar) a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun that refers to a person or object for or to whom the action of the verb is done

objet indirect

a syntactic unit that consists of a verb and its associated components, such as objects, adverbs, or complements, and functions as the predicate of a sentence or clause

groupe verbal, syntagme verbal

a group of words that functions as an adverb and includes a preposition and its object, providing additional information about the verb, adjective, or adverb in the sentence

groupe de mots adverbial prépositionnel, phrase prépositionnelle adverbiale

a dependent clause that functions as a noun in a sentence, typically serving as the subject or object of a verb or as the object of a preposition

subordonnée nominale, proposition nominale

a group of words centered around a noun that functions as a subject, object, or complement in a sentence, typically consisting of the noun itself along with any accompanying determiners, modifiers, or adjectives

groupe nominal, syntagme nominal

a type of subordinate clause that uses an infinitive verb form as its main element and can function as a noun clause, adjective clause, or adverb clause in a sentence

clauses infinitives, propositions infinitives

a type of clause that contains a finite verb, which indicates tense, mood, and agreement with the subject, and can function as a complete sentence on its own

proposition finie, clause finie

a type of clause that includes a gerund, which is a verb form ending in "-ing" that functions as a noun, and it can act as a subject, object, or complement in a sentence

clause gérondive, proposition gérondive

a grammatical role or syntactic function that a word or phrase can take in different clauses within a sentence, often in a pivot construction

pivot syntaxique, pivot grammatical

a syntactic operation that allows constituents to be displaced from their base position to another position in a sentence, often resulting in changes in word order or phrase structure

règle de mouvement, règle de déplacements

a grammatical construction in which two negative elements are used within the same sentence, often resulting in a positive meaning

double négation

a word or phrase that provides additional information or clarification to another element in a sentence, often specifying, describing, or limiting its meaning

modificateur, complément

(grammar) a short question added to the end of a statement that is formed form the same statement

question tag, question de tag

a type of question structure in which the speaker presents two alternative choices or possibilities, typically using the same verb or adjective in both options, to inquire about the truth or preference of the statement

question A-ou-B, question A-non-A

a sentence structure where the pitch contour of the speaker's voice rises at the end, typically transforming a statement into a question-like intonation pattern, often used for seeking confirmation or expressing uncertainty

déclarative montante, phrase déclarative ascendante

a sentence structure used to inquire about information or seek confirmation, typically involving a verb-subject inversion and a question intonation pattern, and can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no"

question fermée, question oui-non

a type of question that repeats or echoes part of a previous statement or question as a way of seeking clarification or emphasis

question écho, répétition interrogative

a grammatical construction that describes or attributes a property to the subject of a sentence

expression prédicative, construction prédicative

the relationship between a predicate and its associated arguments, describing how they are semantically and syntactically connected within a sentence

structure prédicat-argument, structure des relations prédicatives

a syntactic process where a wh-word moves from its original position to the beginning of a sentence or a clause for the purpose of forming a question or a relative clause

mouvement wh, déplacement wh

a syntactic construction where the preposition is separated from its complement and placed at the end of a sentence or clause

stranding de préposition, préposition isolée

the structural arrangement of constituents within a sentence, where a constituent can branch into multiple sub-constituents, indicating a hierarchical relationship and the presence of multiple levels of syntactic structure

ramification, branchement

a syntactic construction where a preposition or a wh-word, along with its associated noun or phrase, is moved to the front of a sentence, creating a more marked or emphasized structure

pied-piping, construction de pied-piping

a phrase that consists of an adposition and its complement, which can be a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase, and functions to indicate spatial, temporal, or other relationships between elements in a sentence

phrase prépositionnelle, expression prépositionnelle

a syntactic structure that represents the inflectional properties of a word or phrase, including features such as tense, number, gender, and case, and is often associated with the functional category of a head word in a sentence

phrase inflectionnelle, groupe inflectionnel

a type of syntactic construction in which a gap or empty position occurs in a sentence, typically within a relative clause, and is licensed by a distant antecedent outside that clause

écart parasitaire, écart de parasitisme

a linguistic concept that refers to the variation in languages regarding the directionality of phrase structure, determining whether heads typically precede or follow their dependents within a sentence

paramètre de directionnalité des têtes, paramètre de tête-direction

a syntactic position in a sentence that is not overtly realized by a word or phrase, but is necessary for grammatical structure and interpretation

catégorie vide, catégorie nulle

a dependent clause that functions as an adjective, modifying a noun or pronoun by providing additional information or describing its attributes

proposition adjectivale, subordonnée adjectivale

a change in normal word order, especially putting a verb before its subject

inversion

a syntactic construction in which the negative particle and the subject of a sentence are inverted, often occurring in certain types of negated questions or sentences with negative adverbial expressions at the beginning

inversion négative, inversion du sujet négatif

the number and types of arguments that a verb can take in a sentence, determining the syntactic and semantic relationships between the verb and its arguments

valence, valeur de liaison

a type of clause in which some elements, usually the verb or other parts of the clause, are omitted, but their meaning is understood from the context

clause elliptique, proposition elliptique

a syntactic construction in which a question or a clause is reduced to a wh-phrase or a wh-word, leaving the rest of the sentence or the antecedent of the wh-phrase unpronounced but recoverable from the context

sluicing (dans le contexte grammatical), réduction wh

a syntactic phenomenon that involves reversing the order of the subject and auxiliary verb in a sentence, typically occurring in interrogative sentences, negation, and certain other sentence structures

inversion sujet-auxiliaire, inversion du sujet et de l'auxiliaire