The course introduces what syntacticians do, and why they do what they do. We will focus on basic tools and ingredients of a syntactic theory, focussing on issues such as why we use phrase structure, how we can diagnose structure, and what type of dependencies exist (movement and binding). When we explore these concepts, we will also consider the relationship between syntax and morphology. The course presupposes zero prior knowledge of syntax, but one needs to know the basic linguistic terminology, i.e., notions like noun, verb, determiner, pronoun, etc.