Parsing in English

Symbols

S = Sentence
NP = Noun Phrase
VP = Verb Phrase
PP = Preposition Phrase
AP = Adjective Phrase
Det = Determiner (the, a, those)
N = Noun (person, place or thing)
V = Verb (action word)
Prep = Preposition (in, on, between, under, in front, behind)
Qual = Qualifier (a lot, almost)
Adj = Adjective (describes noun, colours, tall, skinny)
Deg = Degree (very, extremely, barely)

Rules

Starting: S
Non-terminating: S, NP, VP, PP, AP
Terminating: Det, N, V, Adj, Prep, Qual, Deg

[] optional
* can have more than one

S -> NP VP
NP -> [Det] [AP]* N [PP]
VP -> [Qual] V [NP]* [PP]
PP -> [Qual] Prep [NP]
AP -> [Deg] Adj [Prep]

1. Which of the following MUST appear in a sentence?
a) NP
b) VP
c) PP
d) AP

2. Which are valid NP?
a) Det N
b) Det Adj N
c) Det Deg Adj Deg Adj N
d) Det N Qual Prep
e) N
f) N Adj Deg Qual Prep
g) N Qual Prep

3. For all of the NP that are valid, provide English words to make a noun phrase. The first is done for you.
a) Det N ® the cat
b) Det Adj N
c) Det Deg Adj Deg Adj N
d) Det N Qual Prep
e) N
f) N Adj Deg Qual Prep
g) N Qual Prep

4. Which are valid VP? Provide English words to make the Verb phrase if they are valid.
a) Qual V N
b) V Det N
c) V Det N Det N
d) V Qual Prep Det N
e) Qual V Det Prep

5. Parse these sentences.

a) She left.
b) All animals eat.
c) The child arrived.
d) He likes books.
e) Joe swept the floor.
f) The teacher solved the problem.
g) The scientist discovered the answer.
h) She put the book on the shelf.
i) We study our lessons in the kitchen.
j) He put the muffler on the car.
k) The large green car hit the bus.
l) The house over the hill is a very large castle.
m) The tiny brown turtle ate the large tadpole near the rock.
n) The massive red car hit the big blue truck in the parking lot.
o) The cat in the hat by the mat ate a very large meal.
p)The tall boy by the tree devoured the slightly green sandwich on the bus on the way to school.