surface structure

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noun Linguistics.(in transformational-generative grammar)

a structural representation of the final syntactic form of a sentence, as it exists after the transformational component has modified a deep structure.Compare deep structure.

the string of words that is actually produced.

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Origin of surface structure

First recorded in 1960–65

Words nearby surface structure

surface of revolution, surface plate, surface-printing, surface-ripened, surface road, surface structure, surface tension, surface-tension theory of narcosis, surface-to-air, surface-to-surface, surface-to-underwater

How to use surface structure in a sentence

In front of this strange structure are two blank-faced, well-dressed models showing off the latest in European minimalism.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion|Nina Strochlic|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The more resources and education society becomes equipped with, the fewer stories like yours will surface.
Dear Leelah, We Will Fight On For You: A Letter to a Dead Trans Teen|Parker Molloy|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
One blames black Americans as a race; the other, racism as a social structure.
No Gods, No Cops, No Masters|James Poulos|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The most exciting and thrillingly unique artist to surface in 2014.
The 10 Best Albums of 2014: Taylor Swift, Sia, Run the Jewels, and More|Marlow Stern|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST

This is not because of bad leaders, or polarized politics, but because of a governing structure that is fatally flawed.
Red Tape Is Strangling Good Samaritans|Philip K. Howard|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
First a shower of shells dropping all along the lower ridges and out over the surface of the Bay.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
Some of those halls that Mr. Meadow Mouse mentioned ran right out beneath the surface of the garden.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole|Arthur Scott Bailey
It depends upon the fact that bile acids lower surface tension.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
But dwelling means a special kind of structure—a building occupied by man—a place to live in.
Assimilative Memory|Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
The building, a mosque-like structure of considerable size, was situated in the midst of a grove of mango trees.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy

British Dictionary definitions for surface structure

surface structure

noun

generative grammar a representation of a string of words or morphemes as they occur in a sentence, together with labels and brackets that represent syntactic structureCompare deep structure

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012