Final answer:
The syntactic structure of a language is a set of rules that governs the arrangement of words into sentences, and is part of a broader system of grammar.
Step-by-step explanation:
The syntactic structure of a language refers to the rules and principles that govern the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in that language. This structure is a part of the larger grammar system, which also includes morphology, the study of word formation. The syntax dictates how different types of words (such as nouns and verbs) and parts of speech (like subjects and predicates) interact to convey clear and comprehensible meaning. A language's lexicon, or vocabulary, combined with these syntactic rules, allows for the effective communication of both concrete and abstract ideas. For example, English grammar has a syntactic rule that typically places the subject before the verb and the object after the verb, as in the simple sentence "The cat (subject) sat (verb) on the mat (object)."