Understanding Sentence Structure: A Guide to Constituent Analysis

This guide explains the function of each constituent in a sentence tree diagram. Let's break down an example:

Sentence: The woman that my mother's uncle married claimed that she could speak French.

Here's how we can analyze its structure:

S (Sentence): This represents the entire sentence, 'The woman that my mother's uncle married claimed that she could speak French.' It's the main structure we are analyzing.* NP (The woman): This is the subject of the sentence. It's a noun phrase that identifies who is performing the action.* S (Subordinate Clause): This is the clause 'that my mother's uncle married,' which modifies 'The woman.' It provides additional information about the subject. * NP (that): This acts as a placeholder subject within the subordinate clause. * NP (my mother's uncle): This noun phrase identifies who performed the action of marrying in the subordinate clause. * VP (claimed): This is the main verb phrase of the sentence. It indicates the action performed by the subject.* VP (that she could speak French): This is a subordinate verb phrase that acts as the complement to the main verb 'claimed.' It explains what was claimed. * V (could): This verb indicates the possibility or ability to perform the action of speaking French. * VP (speak French): This verb phrase describes the specific action that 'she' could do. * ADJP (French): This adjective phrase modifies the verb 'speak' and specifies the language being spoken. * NP (she): This pronoun serves as the subject of the verb phrase 'speak French.'

Important Note: This analysis illustrates the syntactic structure of the sentence using constituent analysis. The exact interpretation of these constituents can change depending on the context and intended meaning of the entire sentence.

Understanding Sentence Structure: A Guide to Constituent Analysis