mor and syn tier

[Kirsten Hodge]

I am currently working on a large collection of narratives by seven year
olds.  The professor I work for (Dennis Molfese) had decided we should
include the mor and syn tiers on the files.  I am having trouble finding a
good book of descriptive English grammar for which to base these on
(especially the syntax tier).  The CHILDES book I'm working out of (the 2nd
edition 1995) doesn't tell much about the syn tier and includes only a few
codes.  I've been making up my own codes, but I'm basing all the syntax on
my own knowledge (which is pretty good - I'm getting my master's in
linguistics) and the few grammar books that I've found (which are more
prescriptive that descriptive).  Has anyone out there worked with the mor
and/or syn tiers?  If so, what did you use for your grammar reference?
Much thanks,
Kirsten Schaper
Developmental Neuropsychology Lab
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL