surface structure

noun, Linguistics, (in transformational-generative grammar)
1.
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.
2.
the string of words that is actually produced.
Origin
1960-65
Examples from the web for surface structure
  • How active a catalyst is depends strongly on its morphology and surface structure.
British Dictionary definitions for surface structure

surface structure

noun
1.
(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 structure Compare deep structure