Syntax refers to the rules that indicate how words and phrases can be combined to form sentences. Every language has intricate rules that guide the order in which words may be strung together to communicate meaning. English speakers have no difficulty recognizing that “TV down the turn” is not a meaningful sequence, whereas “Turn down the TV” is. To understand the effect of syntax in English, consider the changes in meaning caused by the different word orders in the following three utterances. “John kidnapped the boy”, “John, the kidnapped boy”, and “The boy kidnapped john”.
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