syntactic constraint

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase 'syntactic constraint' is correct and can be used in written English.
You can use it to refer to a limitation imposed on the form of a construction in language, which can be helpful in understanding how language works or how meaning is expressed. For example, "The syntactic constraint of verb and object placement in English requires the verb to come before the object in a sentence."

✓ Grammatically correct

Science

Academia

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

3 human-written examples

This study concerns how the syntactic constraint in modification of the existential sentences influences the distribution of minimizers in different word order patterns.

Lingua Sinica

Chierchia argues that since scalar implicatures do not arise in downward-entailing contexts (contexts that license inference from a set to its subset), there is a clear syntactic constraint on their behaviour.

SEP

The present study extended this line of research by creating experimental materials that satisfied both the ORTHOGRAPHY CONSTRAINT and the SYNTACTIC CONSTRAINT, and examined whether the co-activation of word meanings may be modulated by different degrees of semantic relatedness between the associated meanings.

Lingua Sinica

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

57 human-written examples

A suitable encoding with syntactic constraints is designed and an appropriate fitness function is suggested to measure the goodness of the hierarchies.

Expert Systems with Applications

Syntactic constraints called wellformedness conditions (WFCs) are often imposed with the intention of reducing comprehension errors, but there is little supporting empirical evidence that they have the desired effect.

Journal of Visual Languages & Computing

However, the results suggested a whole-word representation when compounds are embedded in sentences; since the sentence context affects the access to compounds through syntactic constraints, whole-word representation is arguably at the lemma level as well (multiple-lemma representation).

Neuropsychologia

Lexical and syntactic constraints are central for defining the structural alternatives, and information associated with the prosody of the sentence as well as the discourse and visual context in which the sentence occurs reinforces some interpretations and fleshes out the meaning of the sentence.

Neurobiology of Language

This is required by the syntactic constraints of 可 kĕ.

Lingua Sinica

The distribution of minimizers is the result of weighing syntactic constraints and pragmatic effects.

Lingua Sinica

Due to the syntactic constraints in OV, predicative phrases cannot be accommodated.

Lingua Sinica

The grammar of the system allows syntactic constraints to be applied to identify only allowable paths.

EURASIP Journal on Image and Video Processing

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When discussing language rules, specify the level of "constraint": syntactic, semantic, or pragmatic.

Common error

Avoid using "syntactic constraint" when a more general term like "linguistic rule" or a more specific term like "morphological restriction" would be more appropriate. "Syntactic constraints" deal specifically with sentence structure, not all aspects of language.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "syntactic constraint" functions as a noun phrase. It identifies and describes a rule or limitation governing the structure of sentences. Ludwig AI identifies this as grammatically correct, with usage examples primarily from academic and scientific texts.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

Science

60%

Academia

30%

Encyclopedias

10%

Less common in

News & Media

0%

Formal & Business

0%

Wiki

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "syntactic constraint" is a noun phrase used in linguistics to define a rule or limitation governing sentence structures. As Ludwig AI confirms, the phrase is grammatically sound and commonly found in formal, scientific, and academic contexts. Usage examples from Ludwig demonstrate its application in linguistic studies and analyses. While not exceptionally common, understanding its meaning and proper usage is crucial when discussing grammatical rules and sentence structures.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

syntactic restriction

Focuses more explicitly on the idea of limiting syntactic possibilities.

grammatical limitation

Broader term encompassing all grammatical rules and restrictions, not just syntactic ones.

structural rule

Highlights the prescriptive nature of syntax, referring to the formal rules that govern sentence structure.

sentence structure limitation

Specifically refers to restrictions on how sentences can be formed.

rules of syntax

More general term referring to the set of rules governing sentence formation.

syntactic rule

A simpler way to say "syntactic constraint", less focused on the restrictive aspect.

grammatical constraint

Broader, can also include morphological or phonological aspects.

syntactic limitation

Synonymous, but less common, emphasizing the restriction aspect.

structural limitation

Focuses on the limitations to sentence structure, slightly broader.

linguistic constraint

The broadest term, encompassing phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic rules.

FAQs

How is "syntactic constraint" used in linguistics?

In linguistics, "syntactic constraint" refers to limitations or rules that govern the structure of sentences. For example, a "syntactic restriction" may dictate the order in which words can appear in a sentence.

What's the difference between a "syntactic constraint" and a semantic constraint?

A "syntactic constraint" governs sentence structure, while a semantic constraint relates to meaning. A sentence can be syntactically correct but semantically nonsensical, or vice versa. It can be hard to tell the differences between "grammatical constraint" and Semantic constraint.

Can you give an example of a "syntactic constraint" in English?

One example of a "syntactic constraint" in English is the subject-verb-object (SVO) word order in declarative sentences. Violating this order (e.g., "Apples eats John") results in a syntactically incorrect sentence, even if the meaning is clear.

What are some other terms related to "syntactic constraint"?

Related terms include "syntactic rule", "grammatical rule", "structural limitation", and "linguistic constraint". The best term depends on the specific aspect of language structure or limitation you want to emphasize. Some of these options include a "sentence structure limitation".