Tree bears WORDS…?

Hi, there! 

Wow! It has been a while since the last time I updated this blog…
Miss you all so much!!! 

Actually, it has been so busy lately especially in the last few weeks.
In February, my group (PPRMT5) was holding a BIG (Bina Insan Guru), specifically a bench marking in Sekolah Menengah Sains Kuching, which is located in Batu Kawa, Kuching.

Alright, talking about tree bears words, have you ever heard about this??? ;)

I bet, everyone knows tree bears fruits. But, I don't think everyone knows there’s also a tree that bears words…

Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you a tree unlike others which can bear words:
...the TREE DIAGRAM!!! 

It does not need sun light, water or even soil. In addition, it does not have leaves, it only has branches. All it needs is the understanding of sentence structure which also people always called as syntax. What is ‘syntax’? I guess, those who learn English formally will somehow accidentally hear, or being taught about this little thing.

So, what is ‘syntax’ actually???

Basically, syntax is the rules by which signs are combined to make statements. If you consider the words of a language to be its signs, then its syntax is the rules which put signs together to make statements, ask questions, and produce other utterances. 

Syntax incorporates the grammar of phrases, clauses, and sentences. Producing and uttering sentences is an important part of how we make sense of our world. We articulate the meaning of our experience in words; in the process of articulate, we make (or discover) the meaning of the experience.

In short and simple, syntax is the study of sentence structure.

Anyway, what is the relation between tree diagram and the syntax?

Actually, a tree diagram is used to show or to study the sentence analysis of a sentence structure.  Below is an example of a tree diagram:

From the example, the sentence is ‘John lost his pants’. In the first stage or in other word, basically a sentence can be broken down into two basic parts, namely Noun Phrase (NP) and Verb Phrase (VP). 'John' is the NP, while 'lost his pants' is the VP. 

After that, the sentence will be further broken down into smaller unit such as Nouns (N), Determiners (Det), Preposition (P) and other word classes. So, this is basically what I learned under the topic Syntax. Actually, this is not my first time learning sentence analysis, but I did learn it formerly in my Malay subject.

Studying sentence structure is not really difficult to me, just that some of the word classes are confusing, depending on the context of the sentence. But, once we mastered the word classes, doing sentence analysis is just like at the fingertips, which is as easy as ABC.  

This time, for our English activity, we are assigned to produce a worksheet with two sentences for analysis using tree diagrams and its suggested answers. At first, I keep changing my sentences due to some word classes’ confusion. Until night, I still did not manage to complete even one single sentence structure analysis. At the end I surrender, I just do whatever I have on my mind and after that I sent my draft. Below are the sentences that I  analysed for my worksheet: 

My sister wears the new purple blouse that she received from her fiancee at the party yesterday.

Acer Aspire 2920 is a branded invention which the community believes is one of the most efficient and expensive laptop nowadays.

Looking at the sentences, both are quite long. But I think it is never mind because the longer the sentences, the more word classes we learn throughout the sentence. For my worksheet, each sentence analysis comprises of 50 marks. So, all together is 100 marks. To test the worksheet, I have asked one of my classmates to complete the worksheet in the specified time given. Alhamdulillah, she was able to answer almost all correct. 

In my point of view, the used of tree diagram in learning syntax is very beneficial especially in helping students to build strong foundation in English. By doing the tree diagram during sentence analysis, students are able to master the word classes faster and easier. When they analyse sentences, simultaneously they think and write of the word classes related.

For me, tree diagram is a helpful way to strengthen the basic in English. Tree diagram gives me revision for each word classes and oftentimes it is quite challenging when we try our best to complete the sentence analysis and even sometimes it makes us rack our brain just to find out what is the exact word classes for a particular word.