We start our discussion of syntax and how we morph words into questions and stories. Grammar sometimes gets a bad reputation, but we're actually doing grammar all the time! And we're pretty good at it ...

We break down what roles different types of words and phrases play within a sentence. There are many theories of syntax and different ways to represent grammatical structures, but one of the simplest ...

Linguistic structures and syntax form the cornerstone of our understanding of human language, delineating the formal rules that govern sentence formation and meaning. This area of research ...

Syntactic researchers in the Department ask how syntactic patterns are shaped by and shape communicative practice, focusing on construction-based grammatical explanation, the origins of grammatical ...

Cognitive linguistics is a modern school of linguistic thought that originally began to emerge in the 1970s due to dissatisfaction with formal approaches to language. As I explain in my book, ...

People don’t always say what they mean or mean what they say. Imagine the problem this poses for Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant when you ask them to “play great new music.” Decoding these mysteries ...

The Greek term syntax means "arrange together." In written or spoken language, syntax refers to the grammatical rules that govern how we string words together in a ...

Rebecca Tollan, Ph.D., is an assistant professor with the Department of Linguistics and Cognitive Science at the University of Delaware. She received her Ph.D. and M.A. in linguistics from the ...