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Syntax vs Structure - What's the difference?

syntax | structure |

As nouns the difference between syntax and structure

is that syntax is a set of rules that govern how words are combined to form phrases and sentences while structure is a cohesive whole built up of distinct parts.

As a verb structure is

to give structure to; to arrange.

syntax

English

(wikipedia syntax)

Noun

(syntaxes)
  • A set of rules that govern how words are combined to form phrases and sentences.
  • *
  •   The incorporation of a rule of V MOVEMENT into our description of English Syntax turns out to have fundamental theoretical implications for our overall Theory of Grammar: it means that we are no longer able to posit that the syntactic structure of a sentence can be described in terms of a single Phrase-marker representing its S-structure. For, the postulation of a rule of V-MOVEMENT means that we must recognise at least two different levels of structure in our Theory of Grammar — namely, a level of D-structure'' (formerly known as ‘Deep Structure?) which serves as input to the rule, and a separate level of ''S-structure which is formed by application of the rule.
  • (computing, countable) The formal rules of formulating the statements of a computer language.
  • (linguistics) The study of the structure of phrases, sentences and language.
  • Usage notes

    The joke plural syntices occasionally occurs in blogs (by false analogy with matrix etc.)

    Derived terms

    * morphosyntax * syntactic * syntactician

    See also

    * grammar * morphology ----

    structure

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A cohesive whole built up of distinct parts.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham)
  • , title=(The China Governess) , chapter=1 citation , passage=The original family who had begun to build a palace to rival Nonesuch had died out before they had put up little more than the gateway, so that the actual structure which had come down to posterity retained the secret magic of a promise rather than the overpowering splendour of a great architectural achievement.}}
    The birds had built an amazing structure out of sticks and various discarded items.
  • The underlying shape of a solid.
  • He studied the structure of her face.
  • The overall form or organization of something.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2012-03
  • , author= , title=Pixels or Perish , volume=100, issue=2, page=106 , magazine= citation , passage=Drawings and pictures are more than mere ornaments in scientific discourse. Blackboard sketches, geological maps, diagrams of molecular structure , astronomical photographs, MRI images, the many varieties of statistical charts and graphs: These pictorial devices are indispensable tools for presenting evidence, for explaining a theory, for telling a story.}}
    The structure of a sentence.
    The structure of the society was still a mystery.
  • A set of rules defining behaviour.
  • For some, the structure of school life was oppressive.
  • (computing)  Several pieces of data treated as a unit.
  • This structure contains both date and timezone information.
  • (fishing, uncountable)  Underwater terrain or objects (such as a dead tree or a submerged car) that tend to attract fish
  • There's lots of structure to be fished along the west shore of the lake; the impoundment submerged a town there when it was built.
  • A body, such as a political party, with a cohesive purpose or outlook.
  • The South African leader went off to consult with the structures .
  • (logic)  A set along with a collection of finitary functions and relations.
  • Synonyms

    * (cohesive whole built up of distinct parts) formation * (underlying shape of a solid) formation * (overall form or organization of something) makeup, configuration

    Derived terms

    * antistructure

    Verb

    (structur)
  • To give structure to; to arrange.
  • I'm trying to structure my time better so I'm not always late.
    I've structured the deal to limit the amount of money we can lose.