Syntax is the set of rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences and phrases. It governs word order, agreement, and sentence structure, and it is distinct from semantics, which deals with meaning.

For example, "The dog bit the man" and "The man bit the dog" contain the same words but differ in meaning because of word order. Syntactic rules vary across languages, but all languages have structure. In psychology, the study of syntax is central to understanding language acquisition and comprehension, and damage to Broca's area in the brain is associated with syntactic deficits.

Key points

• Rules for combining words
• Governs word order and agreement
• Distinct from semantics
• Broca's area supports syntactic processing