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English Syntactic Analysis

Code: 106293
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
English Studies OB 2
English and Catalan Studies OP 3
English and Catalan Studies OP 4
English and Spanish Studies OP 3
English and Spanish Studies OP 4
English and French Studies OB 4
English and Classics Studies OB 4

Contact lecturer

Name :
Montserrat Capdevila Batet
Email :
montserrat.capdevila@uab.cat

Teaching staff

Susagna Tubau Muntaña
Mireia Llinàs Grau

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

A level of English of C2 (Proficiency) of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment is required.  With C2 the student can straightforwardly understand practically everything s/he reads or hears, summarise information from different oral and written sources, reconstruct facts and arguments and present them in a coherent way, express himself/herself naturally and fluently, distinguishing subtle meaning nuances even in the most complex situations.

The English grammar notions covered in the first-year courses Gramàtica Anglesa I: de la paraula a l'oració (106279) and Gramàtica Anglesa II: l'oració (106280) are taken for granted.

Objectives

- Recognise the various existing grammatical categories and their features.

- Be able to analyse the structure of English simple sentences.

- Identify movement operations.

- Evaluate different analysis proposals with syntactic arguments.

 

Learning outcomes

  1. Locate specialised and academic information and select this according to its relevance.
  2. Gather and interpret relevant data to make critical judgements on aspects of English linguistics and its practical applications.
  3. Express oneself in English in writing and orally in an effective and correct manner, in an academic register and using appropriate terminology in relation to the study of phonetics and phonology, syntax, semantics and the history of the English language.
  4. Understand specialised academic texts on research in English linguistics at C2 level.
  5. Produce written and oral academic texts at higher-proficient-user level (C2) on the concepts and skills relevant to the study of English linguistics.
  6. Describe and analyse (synchronically and diachronically) the main phonetic, phonological, morphological, syntactic and semantic properties of English.
  7. Identify and understand different models for the linguistic analysis of English at phonetic-phonological, syntactic, semantic and historical levels.
  8. Make use of the knowledge acquired while respecting diversity of opinion and varieties of a language.
  9. Understand specialised academic texts on research in English linguistics at Mastery level (C2).
  10. Understand specialised academic texts on research in English linguistics at higher-proficient-user level C2.
  11. Understand specialised academic texts on research in English linguistics at advanced higher-proficient-user level (C2).

Contents

UNIT 1. Introduction: Core concepts and theoretical assumptions


UNIT 2. Morphosyntactic features and Merge


UNIT 3. Phrase structure and dependencies


UNIT 4. Functional categories and movement 1: Tense Phrase


UNIT 5. Functional categories and movement 2: Complementizer Phrase

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Lectures and group debate 47 1.88 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
In-class exercises and individual tutorials 50 2 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
Reading, study, exercices and use of Moodle 25 1 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

Directed activities:

Lectures with IT support and group debate.

 

Supervised activities:

Exercises.

Back-up tutorials to help in the realisation of exercises.

 

Autonomous activities:

Reading of manuals, textbooks and handouts.

Elaboration of study diagrams, summaries and texts.

Practical exercises (individual and in group).

Use of the Virtual Campus (Moodle).

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Midterm 1 35 7 0.28 2, 4, 10
Self-correction practical exercices 5 5 0.2 1, 3, 4, 7, 10, 11
Midterm 2 35 6 0.24 1, 3, 4, 7, 11
Assignment 25 10 0.4 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
  • This course is assessed through 2 partial exams (35% Test 1 and 35% Test 2), an assignment (25%), the self-correction exercises (5%)
  • The dates of tests and submissions are specified in the course calendar, published in Moodle at the beginning of the semester. Any change will be duly announced.
  • Students will obtain a Not assessed/Not submitted course grade unless they have submitted more than 30% of the assessment items.
  • In case of absence on the day of an exam (e.g. due to illness) students must provide a certificate to justify their absence to gain the right to re-assessment.
  • In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.


Review of assessment items:

On carrying out each assessment activity, lecturers will inform students (on Moodle) of the procedures to be followed for reviewing all grades awarded, and the date on which such a review will take place.


SINGLE ASSESSMENT:

This subject allows Single Assessment, which consists in the 3 following items:

1. Theoretical exam (1 hour and a half/40%)

2. Practical exam (1 hour and a half/40%)

3. Handing-in of an assignment previously done (20%)


Re-assessment:

Re-assessment for this course will involve a final summative test (date and time to be announced by the Faculty) which will cover all course content with the following conditions:

  • The student must have obtained a minimum course mark of 3.5/10.
  • The student must have taken/submitted all assessment items (This includes self-correction exercises).
  • The student must have been assessed in at least 2/3 of assessment items.

The same reassessment system will be applied both to continuous and single assessment.


ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE:

This subject entirely prohibits the use of AI technologies in all of its activities. Any submitted work that contains content generated using AI will be considered academic dishonesty; the corresponding grade will be awarded a zero, without the possibility of reassessment. In cases of greater infringement, more serious action may be taken.

VERY IMPORTANT: Total or partial plagiarism of any of the exercises will automatically be considered \"fail\" (0) for the plagiarised exercise. If plagiarism occurs for a second time, the entire course will be failed. PLAGIARISM is copying one or more sentences from unidentified sources, presenting it as original work (THIS INCLUDES COPYING PHRASES OR FRAGMENTS FROM THE INTERNET AND ADDING THEM WITHOUT MODIFICATION TO A TEXT WHICH IS PRESENTED AS ORIGINAL). Plagiarism is a serious offense. Students must learn to respect the intellectual property of others, identifying any source they may use, and take responsibility for the originality and authenticity of the texts they produce.

Those evaluation items which show irregularities (copy, non-authorised use of AI, etc...) cannot be reassessed.


EXCHANGE STUDENTS:

Exchange students who request to take an examination earlier must provide the lecturer with a written document from their home university justifying their request

Bibliography

Adger, David. 2003. Core Syntax. A Minimalist Approach. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Chomsky, Noam. 1957. Syntactic Structures. The Hague: Mouton.

Chomsky, Noam. 1965. Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Chomsky, Noam. 1981. Lectures on Government and Binding. Dordrecht: Foris.

Chomsky, Noam. 1986. Knowledge of Language. New York: Praeger Publications.

Chomsky, Noam. 1995. The Minimalist Program. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Edelstein, Elspeth. 2020. English Syntax: A Minimalist Account of Structure and Variation. Edinburgh:

Edinburgh University Press.

Koeneman, Olaf and Hedde Zeijlstra. 2017. Introducing Syntax. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Llinàs-Grau, Mireia and Mercè Coll-Alfonso. 2001. Telic verbs in early Catalan. Probus 13(1): 69-79.

Llinàs, Mireia, Capdevila, Montserrat, Dominguez, Joaquín, Moyer, Melissa, Pladevall, Elisabet, y Susagna Tubau. 2014. [SECOND EDITION]. Basic concepts for the analysis of English sentences. Bellaterra: Servei de Publicacions.

https://doi.org/10.1515/prbs.13.1.69

Radford, Andrew. 2004. English Syntax: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press.

Roberts, Ian (2023) Beginning Syntax. An Introduction to Syntactic Analysis,

Cambridge University Press.

Tubau, Susagna. En premsa/2026. Syntactic Analysis of English. Bellaterra: Servei de Publicacions

Software

Not applicable.

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 1 English first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 English first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 2 English first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 2 English first semester morning-mixed