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Syntax: A Generative Introduction

Syntax: A Generative Introduction

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  • Create Date：2021-07-13 06:52:08
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
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  • Author：Andrew Carnie
  • ISBN：1119569230
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Summary

The extensively updated fourth edition of the leading introductory textbook on theoretical syntax， including an all-new chapter and additional problem sets

Now in its fourth edition， Andrew Carnie's Syntax: A Generative Introduction remains the leading introduction to the rules， principles， and processes that determine the structure of sentences in language。 Comprehensive yet accessible， the text provides a well-balanced， student-friendly introduction to syntactic theory。 Topics include phrase structure， the lexicon， binding theory， case theory， movement， covert movement， locality conditions， ditransitives， verbal inflection and auxiliaries， ellipsis， control theory， non-configurational languages， and more。 Students are provided with numerous exercises and pedagogical features designed to strengthen comprehension， review learning objectives， test knowledge， and highlight major issues in the field。

The fourth edition features revised material throughout， including a new section on Chomsky's Merge and additional problem sets in every chapter， while new examples throughout the text broaden the appeal and relatability of the text to a more diverse set of students。 The optional The Syntax Workbook: A Companion to Carnie's Syntax has also been thoroughly revised and expanded to offer students the opportunity to practice the skills and concepts introduced in the primary text。 This classic textbook:

Presents authoritative and comprehensive coverage of basic， intermediate， and advanced topics Includes ample exercises and clear explanations using straightforward language Offers extensive online student and instructor resources， including problem sets， PowerPoint slides， an updated instructor's manual， author-created videos， online-only chapters， and other supplementary material Features a wealth of learning tools， including learning objectives， discussion questions， and problems of varying levels of difficulty In the new fourth edition， Syntax: A Generative Introduction remains an essential textbook for beginning syntacticians， perfect for undergraduate and graduate course in linguistics， grammar， language， and second language teaching。

Available as a set with The Syntax Workbook: A Companion to Carnie's Syntax， 2nd Edition

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Reviews

Joseph D'Aquisto ，

I had the pleasure of taking a course in Syntax taught by the the author himself Andrew Carnie in 2010 at University of Arizona。 The book was very helpful and it was great being able to have the author as the professor in order to explain any questions I had about the book。 Syntax is not an easy subject。 I studied hard and long， but did come out with an A。

Valeria ，

I study hispanic linguistics， I believe that this introduction is very useful， although， obviously， it is quite focus on English grammar。 Thus， in the last chapters， there are some concepts and examples that didn't help me to understand it。 Nonetheless， I true believe that it is and excellent introduction and textbook。 I study hispanic linguistics， I believe that this introduction is very useful， although， obviously， it is quite focus on English grammar。 Thus， in the last chapters， there are some concepts and examples that didn't help me to understand it。 Nonetheless， I true believe that it is and excellent introduction and textbook。 。。。more

Potato ，

Why does this book makes the binding theory harder than it should be。 You complicate things， man ¦|Why couldn't you just quit the chitchat and give me some various examples to understand。 Why does this book makes the binding theory harder than it should be。 You complicate things， man ¦|Why couldn't you just quit the chitchat and give me some various examples to understand。 。。。more

Freya Abbas ，

Syntax is one of my weak areas in linguistics and this book helped me a lot。 The explanations are clear， concise and to-the-point。 I compared this with a different syntax textbook and this book is far better。 The chapter summaries are also very useful for revising while studying。 There are plenty of practice questions and challenge problems。 It would be nice if some of these contained walk-throughs or answers for how to do them。 I recommend getting this book with the companion workbook， which ha Syntax is one of my weak areas in linguistics and this book helped me a lot。 The explanations are clear， concise and to-the-point。 I compared this with a different syntax textbook and this book is far better。 The chapter summaries are also very useful for revising while studying。 There are plenty of practice questions and challenge problems。 It would be nice if some of these contained walk-throughs or answers for how to do them。 I recommend getting this book with the companion workbook， which has easier questions but with answers。 You can get both the textbook and the workbook for free on LibGen。 。。。more

Aman ，

A concise， informative， and theoretical introduction to the theory of generative grammar， filled with loads of useful example sentences and trees。Something to note is that， as it progresses， it seems to contain some errors （e。g。 incorrect indexes， missing arrows in trees， etc。）。

Shaima ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 。

Antidanyar ，

Wonderful。 This is the best introduction to generative syntax//minimalism there is。 Content is， obviously， solid and interesting but I would like to appreciate the beginning of the book。 There is nothing more important than making future scientists （in any field） understand methodology， philosophy of science: how do we do it， why do we do it， why isn't it all a lie。 If you are a bored linguistics undergrad that hasn't had a syntax course yet， go for it。 This is a gem of lingustics textbooks。 （an Wonderful。 This is the best introduction to generative syntax//minimalism there is。 Content is， obviously， solid and interesting but I would like to appreciate the beginning of the book。 There is nothing more important than making future scientists （in any field） understand methodology， philosophy of science: how do we do it， why do we do it， why isn't it all a lie。 If you are a bored linguistics undergrad that hasn't had a syntax course yet， go for it。 This is a gem of lingustics textbooks。 （and one of the few textbooks out there that do not treat you like a dummy） 。。。more

Iamsaud ，

I like to read this book over and over as I am actually reading it again :）if you are interesting in understanding how languages' structure are， read it。 I like to read this book over and over as I am actually reading it again :）if you are interesting in understanding how languages' structure are， read it。 。。。more

Anastasia Greek mermaid ，

A student-friendly and complete textbook on Syntax， giving authentic example sentences and exercises as well as a humorous note to the subject。

Vincent ，

Oof， finally finished reading this book， and now I'm not sure what to say about it。 It's good。Sometimes （especially in the early parts of the book） it feels like they're going over everything a bit too slowly and deliberately， and your attention starts to wander， and then other times you're desperately trying to remember all the logical steps in an argument and to keep apart the various principles and rules， and the reasons why each of them was necessary。 But I think that's just the nature of th Oof， finally finished reading this book， and now I'm not sure what to say about it。 It's good。Sometimes （especially in the early parts of the book） it feels like they're going over everything a bit too slowly and deliberately， and your attention starts to wander， and then other times you're desperately trying to remember all the logical steps in an argument and to keep apart the various principles and rules， and the reasons why each of them was necessary。 But I think that's just the nature of the beast that is syntax。It's definitely worth reading the extra chapters that are available online that deal very quickly with some alternative approaches to generative syntax。 They don't get the chance to really shine， but it's nice to see what else is out there。 Bear in mind that you still won't have seen anywhere close to everything there is to the world of syntax。 There's nothing on lambda calculus， for example。 Nor does this offer any insight into alternatives to the view that there is a poverty of the stimulus and you need such a thing as universal grammar—something I was never fully convinced by。However， as a starting point to one of the most popular approaches to analyzing syntax: Principles & Parameters （and Minimalism）， it is certainly a good book， and it offers many suggestions for further reading all the way through。 。。。more

Peter Výboch ，

This is a very good book， ever so slightly dense， but that's mainly due to the nature of topics being discussed rather than the academic writer trap these kinds of books tend to fall into。 In the meat of the theory， Carnie employs a relatively fresh writing style， cracking jokes here and there while explaining even the wildest concepts in theory of syntax， starting pretty much from scratch and slowly building up on that。 But make no mistake， this book is by every measure a one worthy of academia This is a very good book， ever so slightly dense， but that's mainly due to the nature of topics being discussed rather than the academic writer trap these kinds of books tend to fall into。 In the meat of the theory， Carnie employs a relatively fresh writing style， cracking jokes here and there while explaining even the wildest concepts in theory of syntax， starting pretty much from scratch and slowly building up on that。 But make no mistake， this book is by every measure a one worthy of academia and whenever there is a need， it makes sure to be crystal clear， with formal definitions and all that， if that's not your cup of tea however， you can just skip the definition as Carnie will explain it in layman terms straight away。That being said， by no means would I recommend this book to a linguist or a syntactician， but if you have ever felt a need to deep dive into syntax without any previous experience， and you can arm your heart against a few blocks of dense text， this is a book for you！ 。。。more

AfraidOfMusic ，

A great introduction to Government & Binding theory with some Minimalism sprinkled on。 Fun read。

Ghada ，

An excellent must-read book for any linguistics student。 Helped me greatly to understand the nuts and bolts of constituency and xbar。

Felix Young ，

Hated every minute of it

Jared Collier ，

Solid overall presentation of Generative Syntax， ranging from basic principles to sophisticated generative-based analyses of language phenomena。

Ale ，

Iummato

Lily Tice ，

Syntax is such a tricky， tricky beast to learn， but this book made it worth it。 I'm so used to Sahara-dry linguistics textbooks and this was a delight （well， for a textbook）。 The chapters were broken down into manageable sections， each syntactic phenomenon was explained as clearly as could be reasonably expected （given how ridiculously nuancy syntactic theory is）， and most importantly， the examples were usually subtly hilarious。 I'm a big fan of using humor to cope with how mindnumbingly difficu Syntax is such a tricky， tricky beast to learn， but this book made it worth it。 I'm so used to Sahara-dry linguistics textbooks and this was a delight （well， for a textbook）。 The chapters were broken down into manageable sections， each syntactic phenomenon was explained as clearly as could be reasonably expected （given how ridiculously nuancy syntactic theory is）， and most importantly， the examples were usually subtly hilarious。 I'm a big fan of using humor to cope with how mindnumbingly difficult syntax is， because let's face it。。。 SYNTACTICIANS ARE HILARIOUS （promiscuous case， anyone？）。 Would definitely recommend for all your syntax needs。 。。。more

Meena ，

I love linguistics and books about linguistics， but this book just didn't cut it。 Syntax used to be my favourite branch of linguistics because I enjoyed drawing syntax trees。 This book had too much theory in it and not enough trees -- and that's just not my thing。。。 I just wished the author didn't constantly make assumptions that I had to "un-learn" in the following chapter。 Why am I learning things in the first place if I'm just going to unlearn them？！ I especially detested that I had to start I love linguistics and books about linguistics， but this book just didn't cut it。 Syntax used to be my favourite branch of linguistics because I enjoyed drawing syntax trees。 This book had too much theory in it and not enough trees -- and that's just not my thing。。。 I just wished the author didn't constantly make assumptions that I had to "un-learn" in the following chapter。 Why am I learning things in the first place if I'm just going to unlearn them？！ I especially detested that I had to start off with a simple flat tree -- it confused the hell outta me later on when X-bar theory was introduced。 I don't see how or why that is an efficient method of solidifying my knowledge and application skills in syntax。 It just didn't work with me。Taking a syntax course， I expected to be drawing more syntax trees （which is what I LOVE about syntax） than talking about theories。。。 oh， well。 Disappointed。 。。。more

AshlingFio ，

Clear statements for beginners like me。 Some assumptions are taken for granted， however。 And those theorists other than Chomsky should not be excluded。

Bahareh Sharifi ，

فکر می کنم اگر کسی در فهم دستور گشتاری چامسکی دچار مشکل باشد این کتاب کمک زیادی به او خواهد کرد。 کتاب به ساده ترین شکل ممکن به ببرسی مفاهیم و نظریات مرتبط با دستور گشتاری چامسکی پرداخته و مسائل پیچیده نظریه چامسکی را قابل فهم کرده است。 توصیه می کنم برای درک بهتر کتاب حتما بیشتر از یک بار مطالعه شود。 این کتاب در حال حاضر در دانشگاه آریزونای آمریکا تدریس می شود و خوشحالم که در دانشگاه های ایران هم این منبع به روز مورد استفاده قرار گرفته است。

Stanley ，

Finished the 3rd edition。 I don't understand why all the alternative approaches other than Chomskyan Minimalist Program have been excluded from the last few chapters。 Even though they are still provided through the publisher's website （for free）， it is so shameful that they are not printed on paper。 These less popular but still intuitive approaches still worth learning for those who， the writer friendly called， 'young syntacticians。'The omitted parts are substituted for still immature chapters o Finished the 3rd edition。 I don't understand why all the alternative approaches other than Chomskyan Minimalist Program have been excluded from the last few chapters。 Even though they are still provided through the publisher's website （for free）， it is so shameful that they are not printed on paper。 These less popular but still intuitive approaches still worth learning for those who， the writer friendly called， 'young syntacticians。'The omitted parts are substituted for still immature chapters on the so-called contemporary Minimalist Program。 Not only the last couple of chapters are not well-written （relative to the Part 2， which I might say the clearest accounts on what should be dealt with Syntax 101）， some of the arguments in the last chapters are somewhat contradictory。However， except for the unripened hurried approach to the Minimalist Program， the baseline GB matters are clearly spelt out， which I always recommend the textbook to anyone interested in syntax。For those who want to focus on more serious and recent studies in the Generative enterprise， please refer to Radford's book。 But for beginners， Carnie's textbook （this one） is out of question。 。。。more

Paz Alonso ，

exam in 2 weeks。 i can't even rate this。 exam in 2 weeks。 i can't even rate this。 。。。more

Yudhi ，

Amazing

Rebecca Lynne ，

Carnie puts forth linguistics in a very easy-to-read fashion with a lot of examples from "real life" languages。 He also has an exercise book that goes well with the text， though I did not purchase it。 The exercises and challenge sets at the end of each chapter are great， too， but he does not provide the answers。 Nice to be able to work on your knowledge of syntax， though！ Overall a very good text book， down to earth and easier to read than most other syntax options。 Carnie puts forth linguistics in a very easy-to-read fashion with a lot of examples from "real life" languages。 He also has an exercise book that goes well with the text， though I did not purchase it。 The exercises and challenge sets at the end of each chapter are great， too， but he does not provide the answers。 Nice to be able to work on your knowledge of syntax， though！ Overall a very good text book， down to earth and easier to read than most other syntax options。 。。。more

Abdelmjid Seghir ，

A very detailed introduction to syntax。 Although Carnie can be funny sometimes， the book can be boring and irritating， especially if you're not into syntax but have to take for a college course。 A very detailed introduction to syntax。 Although Carnie can be funny sometimes， the book can be boring and irritating， especially if you're not into syntax but have to take for a college course。 。。。more

Fadli Ubaidillah ，

It makes my life easier

Isabel ，

If you have the option to use another textbook， do so。I can't deny that concepts are explained very well， but the flow of the chapters leaves a lot to be desired。 You'll constantly be told to forget what you had just learned （i。e。 how to draw trees） in the previous chapter， and replace it with some new concept。 There are not enough examples which recap what you have learned previously with the new additions to the grammar structure。 Not user friendly。 If you have the option to use another textbook， do so。I can't deny that concepts are explained very well， but the flow of the chapters leaves a lot to be desired。 You'll constantly be told to forget what you had just learned （i。e。 how to draw trees） in the previous chapter， and replace it with some new concept。 There are not enough examples which recap what you have learned previously with the new additions to the grammar structure。 Not user friendly。 。。。more

محمد حسين ضاحي ，

This is a good introduction to syntax， especially in the framework initiated by Chomsky， and developed into today's Minimalist Program。From reading How to Study Linguistics: A Guide to Understanding Language。 Palgrave Study Guides。 I have come to learn that there are two broad approaches to syntax: the ‘formalist’ and the ‘functional’。 The formalist approach is represented in many theories， three of which are this book， namely， the P & P， LFG and HPSG。Besides learning much about the aforemention This is a good introduction to syntax， especially in the framework initiated by Chomsky， and developed into today's Minimalist Program。From reading How to Study Linguistics: A Guide to Understanding Language。 Palgrave Study Guides。 I have come to learn that there are two broad approaches to syntax: the ‘formalist’ and the ‘functional’。 The formalist approach is represented in many theories， three of which are this book， namely， the P & P， LFG and HPSG。Besides learning much about the aforementioned theories and especially learning the P & P theory， I admired the author's acknowledgement of the credit of and recommendation of Liliane Haegeman's Introduction to Government and Binding Theory， Elizabeth Cowper's A Concise Introduction to Syntactic Theory: The Government-Binding Approach and Andrew Radford's books， having myself read the first and benefited much from the latter's books。 He passed to the reader a useful advice from his teacher Ken Hale which is worth mentioning。 I quote here the author's words: theoretical syntax is best informed by cross-linguistic research; while at the same time， the accurate documentation of languages requires a sophisticated understanding of grammatical theory。 The book is divided into 5 parts， but I'd like to divide it otherwise into 3 parts: the first 15 chapters together， and the other two each on its own， where- using quotes from the book- The first fifteen chapters of this textbook are an introduction to syntactic theory from 。。。 the perspective of the Chomskyan Principles and Parameters （P&P） approach （and its descendant: Minimalism）。 。。。 and the 16th we look at two other popular formalisms: Lexical-Functional Grammar （LFG） and Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar （HPSG）。 These three theories belong to the formalist approach to syntax。 Carnie says: "LFG and HPSG are considered to be generative grammars， just like P&P。 Where all these theories differ is in the precise formulation of the rules and constraints。"Then he answers an important question: "Is there one correct theory or what is the best theory of all？" saying "choosing among formalisms 。。。 to a great degree comes down to a matter of the range of phenomena one wants to account for and one’s preferred means of formal expression。"Also， he advises that "most researchers do their work within only one formalism。 But this doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t be familiar with other formalisms too。 An important body of work is conducted in these formalisms， and their results are often directly relevant to work being done in Chomskyan P&P syntax。 Being able to interpret work done in these alternative approaches is a very useful skill （and unfortunately， one rarely taught to beginning syntacticians [like myself， the reviewer]）。 The results found in other approaches to syntax have often affected the development of P&P theory。" Yet from readings in fiqh "Islamic jurisprudence" I have come to know that you ought to start with one theory or one perspective until you gain full command of it， the you may go into studying another theory or perspective thus getting great insights into your topic （It's kind of doing a comparative study）。Also， one of the things I admired in the book， which I always I admire， is the recommendations or suggested readings section。 。。。more

Shiloh ，

Linguistics textbooks （and textbooks in general） are usually fairly dry and dense and difficult to understand。 However， this is one of the most engaging textbooks I've read， and Carnie seems to make a particular effort to be both clear and balanced in his presentation of material and competing theories。 I am so glad this is what my grad intro to syntax class used as a textbook， supplemented by other papers and excerpts。 Linguistics textbooks （and textbooks in general） are usually fairly dry and dense and difficult to understand。 However， this is one of the most engaging textbooks I've read， and Carnie seems to make a particular effort to be both clear and balanced in his presentation of material and competing theories。 I am so glad this is what my grad intro to syntax class used as a textbook， supplemented by other papers and excerpts。 。。。more

Aaron Wong ，

Too difficult to understand。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Syntax: A Generative Introduction

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Syntax: A Generative Introduction&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Syntax: A Generative Introduction&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0