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Ionela Neagu English Syntax
Ionela Neagu English Syntax
BASIC CONCEPTS
EDITURA UNIVERSIT
Copyright 2009
All rights on the present edition are reserved to the publishing house
Tehnoredactare computerizat :
Lector dr. Ionela Neagu
Director editur :
Prof. dr. ing. erban Vasilescu
Adresa:
Editura Universit ii Petrol-Gaze din Ploie ti
Bd. Bucure ti 39, cod 100680
Ploie ti, Romnia
Tel. 0244-573171, Fax. 0244-575847
This book has grown out of the need to update the linguistic information that students in
Philology or Foreign Languages must be provided during the lectures on English
Syntax. I have taken into account the latest trends in this field, but I have tried to
introduce them gradually, always contrasting new approaches to traditional ones. That is
why learners will find issues related to Structuralist, Generative but also Minimalist
Grammar; or concepts that belong to Cognitivism and Functionalism. Theoretical
problems are thoroughly explained and exemplified all the time, followed by useful
activities that offer food for thought to the students.
I have also considered the demands that students will face during the Master Studies or
even Doctoral Schools and I hope I have managed to design an accessible course,
covering a wide range of key concepts and approaches in order to lay the foundation for
further specialised training.
The first volume focuses on the Syntax of the Simple Sentence and it will soon be
accompanied by a second volume dealing with the Syntax of the Complex Sentence and
a Workbook that will challenge students to in-depth study and discussion. I am aware
this is not an exhaustive study, but I hope you will find it an invaluable learning
resource.
The author
Petroleum and Gas University of Ploiesti
Foreign Languages Department
ionela.neagu06@yahoo.com
10
17
19
19
24
Noun Phrase
24
Adjectival Phrase
38
Prepositional Phrase
40
Adverb Phrase
43
Verb Phrase
47
50
Constituency tests
54
57
57
Constructions
66
Ditransitive constructions
67
Caused-Motion constructions
68
Resultative constructions
69
70
72
Chapter 4 Predication
75
75
Tense
76
Aspect
78
Modal Verbs
80
Passive Voice
83
Activo-passive constructions
85
87
89
Predication Types
95
Copulative Predication
95
98
Transitive Predication
101
109
V-Movement
110
113
115
NP-Movement
119
Sample Tests
128
Bibliography
137
Theoretical ideas in this field are changing rapidly under the impact of new
empirical evidence. Concepts and principles regarded in this book as
fundamental have already been challenged and eliminated or substantially
revised by now.
Structuralist analysis divides the parts of speech into: form class words (Nouns,
Pronouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs) and function words (Determiners,
Conjunctions). The central assumption underpinning syntactic analysis in
traditional grammar is that phrases and sentences are built up of a series of
constituents (i.e. syntactic units), each of which belongs to a specific
grammatical category and serves a specific grammatical function.
Activity. Are phrases and constituents similar concepts? Identify the phrases
and then the constituents in the following sentence:
The little boy crossed the street in a hurry.
Are all phrases in a sentence also constituents? Are all constituents in a sentence
phrases?
Further more, one can proceed to the morphological analysis of each form word
to separate inflectional or derivational morphemes from the root (stem or base).
The morphological and distributional criteria bring reliable evidence as to the
syntactic category to which a word belongs. Syntactic functions are discharged
by phrasal units generally referred to as sentence constituents: Subject, Predicate,
Complement, Object, Adverbial/Adjunct.
Classical Analytical Structuralism used to consider the Sentence (S) as a
hierarchical string of units, a binary construction dominating the NP and the VP.
Each part of a simple sentence can be expanded so that more complex sentence
patterns are produced.
Here is an example of a sentence represented in a tree diagram or phrase marker:
(2)
S
NP
VP
Vgp
AUX
NP
DET
NP
N
DET
Tense
Sally
(-ed)
show
the children
the
pictures
The Verb Phrase is the core of the structure realizing the function of predication.
The immediate constituents within the Verb Group must follow the logical order:
Tense, Mood and Modality, Aspect, Voice.
Activity. Identify the structure of the phrases in the following sentences and
draw tree diagrams:
1. My neighbours bought a car yesterday.
2. Mum has broken a plate.
3. The lion followed the path.
4. This smells wonderful.
5. The children are singing carols.
6. Your cousin must have missed the train.
!"
"
#$
10
Further refinement of this approach took place once Chomsky launched in 1981
the Government and Binding (GB) Model. The Government and Binding
Model assumes that grammar at large is common to all languages, making up a
Universal Grammar. The Universal Grammar represents the theory of the initial
state of the language faculty which, in Chomskyan tradition, seems to be
genetically determined and which undergoes multiple changes in a continuous
process of creative generation of structural descriptions, in order to reach the
current state, namely the grammar we use today, our I-language. Or to put it
better, our I-language (where I=1, i.e. only one language) as this language is
internal - representing human endowment, it is individual representing a
persons mind and it is also intensional covering all properties and relations
that help the speaker mould his thoughts.
The language model of GB looks as follows:
(3)
D-structure
Movement/ moveS-structure
Phonetic Form (PF)
rule
is the constituent that moves). Other rules like deletion, for instance,
is considered a
simple rule by which any item can move anywhere, since GB assumes the
existence of a system of constraints which will allow this movement to produce
correctly, imposing certain restrictions on the process.
Within GTG, the binary constituent structure of the sentence (S) used to be
considered an exocentric construction, i.e. a phrase without a head or centre,
11
being based on mutual dependency relations between the Subject NP and the
Predicate VP.
The GB frame has replaced the concept of Sentence as a result of the headedness
principle, according to which all phrases are headed. Lexical categories such as
nouns, verbs, adjectives or prepositions are the heads of the phrases they
represent. A head opts for certain lexical categories to combine with in order to
form a phrase depending on the properties of that head. The lexical category
selected by a head is called complement.
Specifiers precede the head and they are not subcategorized for. For instance, the
synthetic genitive, the determiners that precede a head noun or degree words that
precede an adjective head fall into the category of specifiers.
GB tries to capture the similarities between different categories of lexical phrases
by assigning the same structure to them. The X-bar Theory is based on two rules
that cover all lexical categories:
(4)
XP
Specifier X
X Complements
Basic X-bar (X) Structure
XP (X) maximal projection
Specifier
X intermediate projection
X - head
complement(s)
12
the intermediate X projection is mother to the two nodes below it which thus
become its daughters.
The X-bar Theory can be extended to sentences and clauses in which case the
Subject NP is said to occupy the specifier position, while the sentence becomes
an Inflection Phrase whose head I covers the tense and agreement features and
the subordinate clause is a Complementizer Phrase having the Complementizer
as its head. The complementizer subcategorises for its complement which can
take the form of a finite or non-finite Inflection Phrase. For example,
complementizers that or whether subcategorise for a finite complement, while for
requires a nonfinite complement.
The Sentence comes to be described as an endocentric Inflection Phrase (IP),
having as head the functional category of Inflection (I). Inflection, the head of
the sentence, is a verbal functional category. It represents a bundle of verbal and
nominal features: tense, agreement and mood features. Inflection (I) is
considered the head of the sentence because it governs the VP and it agrees with
the Subject Deep Phrase.
(5) She decorated the room.
IP maximal projection (I)
NP
VP (V)
Agr
She
-ed
[+sg]
decorated
NP
DET
the
N
N
room
13
In 1928, Hjelmslev stated that the head and its dependent term can be bound
either by agreement (concord) or by government, as follows:
if they are bound by agreement, like in those pictures, the dependent term
those shows its relation of dependence on the head-noun pictures by
obvious agreement in number which is an inherent category of the headnoun.
if they are bound by government, as in tell me, the dependent NP me is
marked for the Dative case to show its dependence on the verb, but the
category of case is not inherent in the head, as case is not a verbal
category.
14
(6)
c-command
c-commands
a)
iff,
and
dominates .
Later on linguists redefined this relation (sometimes even labeling it Mcommand) as reproduced below, noticing for instance that the Subject NP ccommands any NP in the VP due to the first maximal node above it, which is the
sentence node.
(7)
c-commands
dominates .
Any constituent c-commands both its sister constituent and all the other
I
I[+finite]
VP
V
V
called
15
NP
her mother
In the example above, we wonder whether the NP Mary c-commands the NP her
mother. The first requirement is fulfilled as NP Mary does not dominate NP her
mother because they belong to different branches. The first branching node
dominating NP Mary is IP which also dominates NP her mother, which proves
that NP Mary c-commands NP her mother. Another line of argument is that the
NP Mary c-commands its sister node I and all the other constituents dominated
by it.
The c-command relation is reciprocal in that it functions both ways between
sister nodes. For instance, we can say that the head V called and its sister
Complement her mother c-command each other.
Activity. Create your own examples according to the diagram below and identify
all c-command relations:
IP
I
NP
Spec N
N
I
Compl
VP
Spec
V
V
16
Compl
%$
"&
The shift from GB to the Minimalist Program (MP) is motivated by the same
tension between descriptive and explanatory adequacy which has always
motivated the reshaping of generative grammar.
Any theory of language must include a lexicon which informs the speaker about
all phonological, syntactic and semantic properties of certain lexical items. The Ilanguage is structured or generated by means of the lexicon and a computational
system. The operations of the computational system help ensure the accurate
form of all structural descriptions (SDs) that the speaker will possibly perform.
Activity. Account for the relationship between the following concepts:
competence
performance
finite means
infinite use
X-bar Theory proved the phrase structure rules to be superfluous. Thus, they
were eliminated so that UG should be feasible. Within the Principles and
Parameters Approach, transformational rules become universal principles that
can be applied on any expression. Language variation is determined by the
interaction of these principles with one another. That is why, for instance,
Chomsky considers command and government as fundamental concepts that
apply throughout the modules of language (Binding theory,
-Theory, Case
17
constructions. Rather, there are just general principles that interact to form these descriptive
artifacts. (Chomsky, 1995: 26)
NP
or just:
his
name
his
name
The new trees are considered by Chomsky as set-theoretic entities, as the Merge
operation always applies to two lexical items,
18
'
(
!
$ ) ( " *$ $
") +$
19
(1)
reach
[+ V]
categorial feature
[+ __NP]
[+ (achievement)]
contextual
semantic
features
The categorial feature specifies the syntactic category the lexical constituent
belongs to, in our case [+ V]. The strict subcategorisation feature identifies the
syntactic category of the obligatory component that the verb reach must select
in order to form a correct phrase. Thus the verb reach must always be followed
by an NP. Notice that within the strict subcategorisation frame, the syntactic
category of the constituent that can fill in the subject position is never mentioned.
The last two types of features represent the selectional restrictions of the lexical
item under study. Hence, the verb reach is an achievement verb (according to
Vendlers classification) representing the final act of an Animate subject NP
moving towards a destination. The contextual semantic features clearly resemble
and anticipate the theta grid of the verb reach that can be designed according to
the theory of semantic/thematic roles discussed in another chapter:
reach: <agent, goal>
Observe also the following examples:
(2) a. *These songs [remind me].1
b. * These songs [remind of my childhood].
c. * These songs [remind me vaguely].
d. * These songs [remind me to spend my childhood].
e. These songs [remind me of my childhood].
20
The only acceptable sentence is (2e) because it is the only one which fulfills the
condition that the verb to remind requires an NP and a PP as its complements due
to its internal, lexical properties. Some of the unacceptable examples in (2) can
become correct when used in the appropriate contexts:
(3) a. It is a wonderful period of my life of which these songs [remind me].
b. Here are some pictures from the childhood of which these songs
[remind me vaguely].
External contexts can once again turn the well-formed VP in (2e) into
unacceptable ones, as in the following examples:
(4) a. *Mother wanted [remind me of my childhood].
b. Mother wanted [to remind me of my childhood].
The sentence (4a) is unacceptable because the verb want must be followed by a
long infinitive/ to-infinitive as in (4b), not by a short infinitive.
Within the phrase2, there is one obligatory element which defines it and
determines its projection into a larger phrasal constituent. In lexical terms, such
an element can be a noun, verb, adjective or preposition; in structural terms, they
are called heads. The phrase that a lexical category takes or selects is called a
complement. As explained in the previous examples, the head verb remind must
be accompanied by an NP and a PP which are its complements. Here are other
examples:
(5) remind
V [ _ NP, PP[of] ]
tell
V [ _ NP, NP]
depend
V [ _ PP[on]]
die
V[_]
The phrase sometimes includes other words/phrases which precede the head and which are not
subcategorized for. These are called specifiers and comprise determiners, indefinite pronouns, synthetic
genitives and degree words.
21
V [ _ NP]
V [ _ NP]
V [ _ NP, NP]
22
(8) a. *Mary was writing a letter [to her aunt] [to her grandma].
b. Mary was writing a letter to her aunt [on Sunday] [at 8 oclock].
The examples in (8) prove that the two complements functioning as indirect
objects in (8a) cannot co-occur with the same verb head, whereas the two
modifiers functioning as adverbial phrases of time in (8b) can accompany the
same verb head.
The minimal phrase (verb + its complements) can be replaced by do the
same thing in order to avoid repetition in a complex sentence:
(9) a. The teacher drew a cat and the pupils did the same thing.
b. The teacher drew a cat on the blackboard and the pupils did the same
thing in their notebooks.
In (9b) one can notice the two optional modifiers that are different in the two
clauses: on the blackboard and in their notebooks.
Complements follow the lexical head, whereas modifiers follow the
complements. Moreover, modifiers can change their position within the
sentence, whereas complements cannot.
(10)
23
In (11a) the NP the letter functions as the complement of lexical heads such as
wrote/ read/ received, but it cannot follow the verb to tell (11c) which requires
only [+ ANIMATE] complements.
*$
"
) %
,$
(a) children
(b) the children
Taking into account that sentence (12) proved that the NP children may occur
without the definite article the, we can state that any NP needs a head-noun and
it can also be preceded by an optional determiner. In syntax, this statement can
be expressed by the following phrase-structure rule:
(14)
NP
(Det) N
24
The class of central determiners includes: the articles, the possessive and
demonstrative pronouns and several indefinite pronouns.
(15)
Except for the ordinal and cardinal numerals that may occur together functioning
as postdeterminers as in (18 (a)), it seems that no other two determiners of the
same type may co-occur in a NP:
(18)
25
(19)
PREDET
both
all
some of
each
of
none
of
-
DETERMINERS
CENTRAL
POSTDET
a
these
the
last fifty
his
first
those
your
a
whole
the
the
-
PREMODIFIERS
leather
famous
mothers
grocers
Janets
-
HEAD
NOUN
carpet
students
pages
jackets
leaders
blouses
mile
flat
(shop)
husband
court
POSTMODIFIERS
to read
who spoke yesterday
to the store
next door
martial
Activity. Check your comprehension by adding further items into the empty slots.
Account for your choice.
Syntactically, we can represent the structure of a sentence using the so-called tree
diagrams or Phrase-markers as we have done the previous chapter.
Phrase-markers are diagrams made up by connecting a set of nodes. The lines
that connect the nodes are called branches.
On a vertical axis, the nodes in a Phrase-marker are related by dominance. We
say that one node N1 dominates another N2 if N1 is represented higher up the
tree than N2. On a horizontal axis, the nodes in a Phrase-marker are related by
precedence. We say that one node N1 precedes another N2 if N1 occurs to the
left of N2.
Basically, these are the first principles that representatives of Transformational
Syntax found important as regards the representation of phrase-structures. New
principles have followed once they adopted other approaches to Syntax.
All nodes are labeled according to the dominance relation: from the S-node (the
Sentence) which immediately dominates a NP and a VP that in turn dominate
other phrases or only lexical categories (N, V, P, etc.) represented by the terminal
nodes, namely the lexical items (the words) that make up the sentence.
26
As this subchapter is restricted to the study of NPs, lets examine the structure of
several simple and complex NPs and the way they can be represented.
(20)
(a) a movie
(b) each star
NP
Det
a
NP
N
movie
Det
each
star
N
AP
Adj
an
exquisite vase
27
or:
N
NP
NP[+poss]
N[+poss]
[+poss]
NP
N [+poss]
N
Michael
s plane
Michaels plane
N[+poss]
AP
N
AP
N[+poss] A
A
A
the
N[+poss] A
28
N
N
PP
P
P
NP
Det N
N
29
N
N
PP
P
P
NP
Det N
N
In (25), colours is the head-noun, the Determiner is in specifiers position and the
possessive prepositional phrase is a complement in the NP, the sister of the head
noun.
Binding Theory
INDEFINITE ARTICLE
A. INDEFINITE
SPECIFIC
REFERENCE
1. Individualizing function
Eg.: They have a son and a
daughter.
30
ZERO ARTICLE
A. IMPLICIT REFERENCE
Eg.: Mother; Father;
Sunday/ Thursday;
(The) Summer was ending.
Measles is contagious.
(Pojarul este contagios.)
2.
[
Anaphoric reference
]
Explicit/
linguistic
reference
Eg.: He is sitting at the first
desk.
She was wearing the new
dress.
4.
[
Cataphoric reference
]
B. GENERIC
REFERENCE
1. Classifying function
Eg.: He is a teacher.
B. GENERIC REFERENCE
1. Classifying function
Eg.: Potatoes are vegetables.
Man is mortal.
B. GENERIC REFERENCE
1. Classifying function
Eg.: The horse is a useful
animal.
[all horses]
the rich, the people, the
French
Can you play the piano?
C. OTHER USES
1.
Deictic/
demonstrative
function
(the = this, that)
Eg.: I could not remember it
at the time.
2. Distributive function
(the = each)
Eg.: This material sells at 80p
the meter.
His popularity increases by
the day.
3. Idiomatic function
Eg.: in the morning/afternoon;
in the beginning; to throw the
book at someone (= to
punish); to be on the
bus/plane.
C. OTHER USES
1. Epiphoric reference
[ ]
Eg.: As I was passing down
the street, a flowerpot came
down with a crash.
2.
Cataphoric reference
Numerical function (a =
one)
Eg.: Ill come back in a day
or two.
They are of an age/ of a size.
5. Idiomatic function
Eg.: in a hurry; as a reward;
what a pity!; in a loud/ low
voice; What a cold day!
such a good day = so good a
day
31
C. OTHER USES
1. Epiphoric reference
Eg.: There were birds in the sky,
flowers in the grass
2.
Idiomatic function
In a sentence like: They would often call them the pronoun them cannot be
understood as referring to the same class of individuals as the subject they.
In binding terms, we can say that anaphors must be bound by antecedents
whereas pronominals must be free of their antecedents within their governingcategory (Chomsky) or local domain (Jacobs, 1995: 122).
Activity. Discuss the coreference relations in the following sentences:
1. Your parents teach you good things.
2. Your parents teach them good things.
3. Your parents teach yourself good things.
4. Your parents teach themselves good things.
5. Your parents want you to teach yourself good things.
6. Your parents want you to teach themselves good things.
32
Simple or complex NPs may function as the subject of a sentence. Notice that the
subject is assigned to the whole noun-phrase (which includes possible specifiers
and adjuncts), not only to the head-noun.
(29)
(a) You are nervous when you teach for the first time.
(b) One should think more and speak less.
(c) They say there will be a long autumn.
Generic Subjects may also be considered those NPs whose referents are sets or
classes of individuals due to the classifying function of the determiners that
accompany the head-noun:
(31)
33
On the one hand, expletive IT and THERE are inserted into the subject position
whenever the subject is moved from its usual location (further details are
included in the chapter on Transformations). Notice the examples (32) (b)-(e)
where the Deep-Subject NP, i.e. the logical subject of the sentence is introduced
by it or by there because it was moved after the verb. In such cases the Subject
can be expressed by a NP (32b), a THAT-Nominal Clause (32c), a gerundial
construction (32d) or it can occur in Cleft sentences (32e). These examples also
illustrate the cataphoric function of the pronoun IT to introduce and anticipate
items of information that come later in the utterance. That is why some linguists
still name it Introductory IT making the difference between Anticipatory IT and
Emphatic IT (as in (32e)).
Example (32a) is an instance of Impersonal Subject used with verbs expressing
natural phenomena, time, distance, temperature:
(33)
(a) It is summer.
(b) Its been a few years since we last went to the cinema.
(c) It is 2 kilometers to the next petrol station.
34
Subject Complement
The NP being assigned the role of Subject Complement or Predicative provides
information about the Subject-entity. As shown in the examples below, the
Predicative is part of a copulative predication. The Predicative is the complement
of a copula verb, such as: be, become, seem, pass and so on.
(34)
Object
The role of Object is assigned to a complement of the verb. The NP can have the
syntactic function of Direct Object or Indirect Object.
Direct Objects (DO/Od) always occur with transitive verbs:
(35)
erban, 1982:270)
distinguishes:
Affected object if the entity denoted by the DO is affected by the
process expressed by the verb:
(36)
35
Understood as the transfer of an entity from its owner to a different possessor, the
Dative Construction requires an Agent in the Subject position, a ditransitive verb,
a Direct Object to encode the affected/transferred entity and an Indirect Object to
encode the final destination or the individual who benefits from the transfer.
36
the sentence.
The prepositional Indirect Object can also follow intransitive verbs in complex
intransitive predications (see further details in Chapter 4):
(41)
Object Complement
The NP functioning as Object Complement (OC/Co) must be governed by a
transitive verb, so the Direct Object NP and the Object Complement NP are sister
complements:
(42)
37
)-$
Det + modifier + N
N
AP
A
A
the
new
technology
(a) The review is remarkable. deletion the review remarkable Tnoun modifier the remarkable review
38
(b) The trip was short. deletion the trip short T-noun modifier the
short trip
In order to derive APs having as head an adjective formed from a present
participle, we need initial sentences based on intransitive predications with verbs
in the progressive aspect:
(45)
T-relative
T-
relative, deletion his nose bleeding T-noun modifier his bleeding nose
In order to derive APs having as head an adjective formed from a past participle,
we need initial sentences based on transitive predications with verbs in the
simple aspect:
(46) Someone sold an item. T-passive An item was sold. deletion an
item sold T-noun modifier a sold item
There are adjectival phrases that post-modify a head noun:
(47)
N
N
AP
A
A
39
Within the Verb Phrase the Adjectival Phrase can function as the Predicative in a
copulative predication:
(48)
The Adjectival Phrase can also function as Object Complement following the
Direct Object of a transitive verb:
(49)
$*"
"
N
N
PP
P
P
NP
Det
N
N
the bank of
the
river
In (50) the Determiner is in Specifier position, while the PP of the river is the
complement in the NP. In (51) the Determiner is in Specifier position, the noun
40
head fish is followed by the PP from the river which is only a Modifier of the
head-noun. Notice in the diagram that modifiers are sisters of the N, whereas
complements are sisters of the head noun, i.e. N.
(51)
N
N
PP
P
NP
Det
N
N
the
Lszl Budai (1999: 340) identifies a few of the possible structures involving
Prepositional Phrases as Noun modifiers, namely:
NP + for + NP (indicating purpose): shelter for the poor, provision
for bleak days
NP + with + NP (possession): the boy with blue eyes, the lady with
a pink purse, a student with low self-esteem
NP + without + NP (lacking): a man without a woman, a king
without heirs
NP + in + NP (with nouns denoting articles of clothing): those
children in uniforms, those people in mourning clothes, a party in
pyjamas
Activity. Find similar structures of nouns postmodified by prepositional phrases.
41
PP
P
P
fond
of
NP
N
N
literature
Within the Verb Phrase the Prepositional Phrase can function as Subject
Complement/ Predicative in a copulative predication when the PP follows a
copula verb:
(53)
42
)#$ . %
43
As all of them are locative Adverb Phrases that describe the position of the entity
denoted by the head noun, we say that they function as modifiers or adjuncts of
the head noun and not as complements.
Activity. Make up Noun Phrases using the following adverbs as modifiers of the
head noun:
outside, ahead, back, before, underneath. Check your choice of using them as
pre- or post- modifiers with a dictionary.
Adverb Phrases as Verb Adjuncts
Adverb Phrases can accompany any type of predication due to their optional
nature functioning as different Adverbial Modifiers.
Adverbials of Place denote the location or the direction of the event expressed by
the verb:
(58)
Adverbials of Time provide details about the precise moment when the event
takes place:
(59)
44
(60)
Adverbials of Manner focus on the rhythm of the action expressed by the verb,
the way in which the action is performed:
(61)
There are other Adverb Phrases having a connective function at the level of the
paragraph that help the writer make the text cohesive. Such Adverb Phrases as:
45
firstly, however, moreover, thus, hence, overall, then, anyway are said to function
as conjuncts.
(63)
46
extremely disappointed
AP
Deg
A
A
extremely disappointed
Such an AP can easily be inserted within a NP, adjoined to N to modify the head
noun: an extremely disappointed clerk.
/$ . %
The Verb Phrase must be understood as the verb plus its complements and
adjuncts that follow the main verb in a sentence.
(66)
[S[NP Her great voice] [VP made Mary famous in the whole
world]].
47
NP
VP
Vgp
NP
AUX MV Det
[TENSE]
Sarah
(past)answered the
phone
The order of the Auxiliaries within the Verb Group must be: Modal/Tense
Perfective Aspect Progressive Aspect Passive followed by the lexical verb.
According to the X-Theory, the Verb Phrase is headed by V which selects
certain complements. Other optional phrases (i.e. adjuncts/modifiers) may also
accompany the VP.
(69)
DO
VP
V
V
NP
Det N
N
We have represented only the VP within the sentence (69) He noticed the
mistake. The diagram shows a VP headed by noticed with one NP complement.
Remember: Specifiers and Complements are only functional not categorial terms.
48
VP(V)
They
V
V
PP
NP in the morning
tell
her
The VP is headed by tell which selects the NP her as its sister complement,
accompanied by the PP in the morning as adjunct, sister of V and daughter of
V.
But are Auxiliaries Specifiers of VP or possible heads of VPs? The approach to
sentence as an Inflection Phrase has offered a possible solution to this issue
discussed in the following subchapter.
Van Valin and Lapolla (1997: 26) present the structure of the clause in universal
terms from a syntactico-semantic perspective suitable to account for the clause
structure in any language. They discuss the contrast between verb complements
and verb adjuncts in terms of the core of the clause (the predicate + its
arguments) and its periphery (non-arguments of the predicate). The predicate is
the nucleus of the clause. These distinctions constitute what they call the layered
structure of the clause (LSC).
49
+$
" 0
*"" *
"
$&"
Learners of English become acquainted with the concept of Inflection when they
start the study of English Morphology. Derivational Morphology teaches them
word-formation by means of derivational affixes, such as prefixes, infixes,
suffixes, whereas Inflectional Morphology introduces them to a new category of
affixes that carry grammatical information. These inflectional affixes form a
closed set and they represent concrete realizations (or formatives) of
grammatical categories such as Tense, Aspect, Agreement, Case, Comparison
and so on.
Here is a synthetic presentation of the categories and the formatives that realize
them as resulted from the study of Inflectional Morphology:
(71)
50
More recent approaches to syntax have decided to use the term Inflection as a
general label which covers both Auxiliary and the system of inflections that mark
all the other grammatical categories specified above. Notice that we have
mentioned the category of Auxiliary and not the class of Auxiliary verbs, as
linguists have brought evidence in favour of the idea that auxiliary verbs
(aspectual auxiliaries BE and HAVE) are also functional categories.
Two such pieces of evidence are provided by Cornilescu in Concepts of Modern
Grammar (1996: 195), as follows:
BE and HAVE select certain VP complements (BE + Present
Participle; HAVE + Past Participle)
BE and HAVE cannot relate to arguments (they cannot assign
thematic roles) except through the VP complement they select.
These features prove that the English aspectual auxiliaries BE and HAVE behave
like the Inflection, so they cannot be constituents of Inflection, but only different
functional categories.
Taking everything into account, a finite Inflection constituent is said to be an
Auxiliary, overtly or covertly inflected for both Tense and Agreement (a Modal
Auxiliary is optionally present), thereby becoming the head which selects the VP
as the obligatory complement. For further details, see also Radford (1988: 305306).
The Government and Binding Model replaces the concept of sentence as a result
of the headedness principle (i.e. all phrases are headed). The sentence comes to
be described as an endocentric inflection phrase (IP) having as head the
functional category of Inflection (I). Due to various instances of agreement or
substitution that mark the relation between the subject of a sentence and
Inflection, the subject is said to be the Specifier of Inflection.
51
Hence the representations (like (59)) based on the traditional Phrase Structure
Rules (PSRs) such as S
NP ^ VP; NP
replaced by representations (like (74)) that take into account new PSRs, namely:
(72)
IP
NP ^ I
I ^ VP
VP
Vgp
AUX
NP
MV
DET
TENSE
John (present)
wants
an
apple
VP (V)
N
John
V
T
-s
Agr
[+sg] wants
NP
DET N
an
N
apple
52
upon the binary branching bringing evidence from the phonological structure and
the morphological structure of natural languages. For instance, the lexeme
unjustifiable is structured starting from its root just to which the derivational
morpheme ify is attached deriving the verb justify; then another binary
branching is formed by the lexeme justify to which the suffix able is attached
deriving the adjective justifiable which in its turn is prefixed by un.
Binary branching has to be preserved also in the case of an infinitival phrase like
to leave. Consider the following examples:
(75)
The first two Complement Clauses between square brackets have a present tense
interpretation due to the present-tense features acquired when moving into the
Inflection node. In (c) the Complement Clause has a present tense value as well,
while the bracketed Infinitival Complement Clause in (d) clearly refers to a past
event. We can paraphrase (c) and (d) as below:
(76)
53
where the T-bar constituent is the intermediate projection of a tense auxiliary (T)
that merges with a verb phrase (VP).
(77)
T
T
VP
are
PRO
blaming
"
him
In order to identify a constituent, one can make use of several tests. Here are
some of the options:
Pro-form Test. If a string can be replaced with a pro-form, such as a
pronoun, than the string is a constituent. For instance, in the following
sentence:
(78)
54
(79)
Movement Test. If one can change the position of the string within the
same sentence, than the string is very likely to be a constituent.
(80)
Coordination Test. If one can coordinate two strings than both strings are
constituents.
(81)
55
56
!"
&
"
"$
Sentences can be analysed using phrase structure rules that allow us to represent
constituents in terms of lexical and phrasal syntactic categories, namely nouns,
verbs, adjectives, adverbs, NPs, VPs, APs, AdvPs.
Another dimension of the sentence analysis is focused upon when using the
notion of syntactic functions: Subject, Predicate, Object, Adverbial.
(1)
ball]]]
Or:
[S[Sbj the children][Pred broke [DO the window][PO with a ball]]]
We can also represent a sentence in terms of semantic roles/thematic
roles/theta roles. A thematic role denotes the underlying relationship between
the participants in the event expressed by the main verb.
(2)
In the above examples one can notice how in spite of the change in syntactic
functions that took place once the sentence is turned into the Passive voice, the
57
thematic roles assigned to each constituent remain the same. Thus, the children
which is the Active Subject turns into a Prepositional Object in the passive
sentence, but it is still the Agent who perform the action. As the window changes
from an Active Direct Object into a passive Subject, it still keeps the thematic
role of Patient, suffering the action initiated by the Agent.
Although we cannot make generalizations, the properties of thematic roles do
interact in regular ways with certain grammatical constructions. Chomsky (1965)
argues that although the Verb directly assigns theta-roles to its Internal
Arguments (i.e. its Complements), it is not the Verb but the whole Verb Phrase
that assigns a theta-role to its External Argument (i.e. the Subject).
Below there are several examples of argument-taking predicates:
(3)
Janet is crying.
The detective loaded his gun.
The nurse brought the patient the medicine.
That ride cost Mark his life.
The NPs functioning as Subjects in the above sentences Clark, the detective, the
nurse, that ride are the external arguments of the predicate, while the NPs that
immediately follow the verb making up the VP his gun, the patient, the medicine,
Mark, his life are the internal arguments of the verb. Each argument carries one
thematic role. However, grammatical functions are syntactic notions, whereas
thematic roles are semantic notions.
Bas Aarts (2008: 94) draws on the idea that an element in a sentence that does
not refer to a participant is not an argument. Among the expressions having
non-participant status, he identifies the impersonal it and existential there, as well
as all phrases or clauses that function as Adjuncts (i.e. for instance, time or
manner adverbials).
58
cry
[1<NP>]
(5)
load
[1<NP>, 2<NP>]
(6)
brought
[1<NP>, 2<NP>, 3<NP>]
(7)
cost
[1<NP>, 2<NP>, 3<NP>]
The argument structure identifies the arguments that the predicate takes and their
categorial status. The figures 13 show the position of each argument in the
order they appear in the sentence. The underlined argument represents the
external argument, namely those NPs functioning as the Subject of the clause.
Activity. Provide clear examples to support the truthfulness or falsity of the
following statements:
1. Each argument realises a grammatical function, but not all grammatical
functions are linked to argument positions.
2. Adjuncts are never arguments.
3. Arguments are the verbs complements.
4. External arguments help us to identify the type of verbs (transitive,
intransitive, ditransitive)
Here is an inventory of the most cited thematic roles taken over from Fillmores
theory on Case (The Case for Case, 1968):
59
In certain instances, the Agent does not really intend to perform the act. We can
notice the difference between the two examples above and we can test the
presence of volition or willingness by adding adverbials of manner such as:
deliberately, willingly, intentionally:
(9)
(10)
(11)
Blake (1994: 68) argues that the role Patient covers all of the following situations
(for which we provide further examples below), thus including what other
linguists call Theme (b):
60
(15)
(16)
(17)
(18)
61
(20)
(21)
(22)
Starting from the assumption that a head may directly -mark only one sister NP,
Cornilescu (1996: 180) notices that only verbs and prepositions may occur with
sister NPs which they assign -roles directly, whereas As and Ns relate to NPs
only by means of prepositions, so they indirectly -mark the respective NPs.
Consider the following examples:
(23)
Within the VP, the NP the train gets Accusative case marking, being assigned the
syntactic function of DO and the -role of Theme.
(24)
62
63
Thematic Hierarchy
(Agent(Experiencer(Goal/Source/Location(Theme)))))
She claims that arguments are -marked from the least prominent to the most
prominent, as the least prominent roles are the most dependent on the verb for
their interpretation.
Jackendoff (1990: 258) proposes another Thematic Hierarchy based on the
principle of ordering the -marked arguments from the least embedded to the
most deeply embedded, from left to right, as follows:
(29)
1. Actor
2. Patient or Beneficiary
3. Theme
4. Location, Source, Goal
Instrumental Prepositional Phrases are not included as they are always adjuncts.
The role of Agent is always related to Actor or to Patient.
64
In spite of linguists different views on thematic hierarchies, they all agree that
each argument of a predicate can be assigned a thematic role. By including the
thematic roles of the verbs arguments within the argument structures, we make
up the thematic structure of the predicate.
Here are a few examples based on the sentences ((4)-(7)) discussed in the
beginning of this chapter:
(30)
cry
[1<NP, Experiencer>]
(31)
load
[1<NP, Agent>, 2<NP, Patient>]
(32)
brought
[1<NP, Agent/Source>, 2<NP, Benefactive/Goal>, 3<NP, Theme>]
(33)
cost
[1<NP,Stimulus>, 2<NP,Patient/Experiencer>, 3<NP, Instrument>]
In this way thematic grids do not represent only sets of thematic roles, but they
also encode syntactic information about the coding of these roles.
Activity. Discuss the influence of the thematic hierarchy and of the aspectual
properties of verbs in assigning -roles in the following examples:
1a. Hes been writing a novel for 2 years.
1b. He wrote a novel last year.
2a. Hes been climbing the mountain for an hour.
2b. He reached the top.
3a. He swam to the buoy.
65
"
"
The lexicon and syntax are not considered separate units in this approach to
Grammar. As Goldberg (1995: 19) states:
() syntactic frames are directly associated with semantics, independently of the verbs
which may occur in them. [] To a large extent, verb meaning remains constant across
constructions; differences in the meaning of full expressions are in large part
attributable directly to the different constructions involved.
66
Ditransitive Constructions
Goldberg argues that volitionality must be a universal feature characterizing the
subject argument of all ditransitive verbs as well as willingness must characterize
their first object argument. The few exceptions when no volitionality or
willingness is required must be associated with the conventional systematic
metaphor causal events as transfers in which case the subject is the CAUSE that
made possible the transfer of an EFFECT to an AFFECTED entity.
Compare the following examples:
(34)
Martin
a book.
IO/Recipient DO/Theme
IO/aff.
a hand?
DO/eff.
DO/eff.
the door
a blow.
IO/Patient DO/effect
67
Object NPs are obviously affected by the action expressed by the verb, they
become Patients subjected to certain changes by a certain Causer.
Caused-Motion Constructions
Goldberg brings evidence in favour of the idea that there are complex transitive
constructions of the form (SVOObl) (where V is a nonstative verb; Obl is a
directional Preposition Phrase) which can be interpreted as X CAUSES Y TO
MOVE Z although the lexical items involved do not inherently encode this
meaning.
Here are further examples we have found suitable to account for her theory:
(35)
(a) The audience clapped the speaker out of the conference hall.
S/Cause
DO/Theme
OC/ Path
DO/Theme
OC/ Path
DO/Theme OC/Path
Compare also:
(36)
In the first sentence, the Direct Object NP old articles of furniture is assigned the
thematic role of Theme as the entity denoted by the NP changes its location
being moved to the balcony. Thus the Adverbial of Place onto the balcony is
assigned the role of Path. In the second example, the NP the balcony is a Direct
Object totally affected by the action performed, thus the NP carries the theta-role
Patient, while the Prepositional Phrase with old articles of furniture is only the
Instrument that helps the Agent fulfill the action.
68
(38)
(39)
(40)
Resultative Constructions
Generally considered under the form of transitive verbs followed by a Direct
Object and an Object Complement (OC/Co), resultative constructions involve a
change in state of a Patient as a result of the action expressed by the verb. There
are three subtypes depending on the form taken by the Object Complement:
69
The NP the ambulance functions as Subject, the verb hooted behaves like a
transitive verb here being followed by the NP its way functioning as Direct
Object. As regards the Prepositional Phrase out of the traffic jam we cannot state
yet whether it is a complement of the verb or a modifier of the NP way.
It is argued that the Prepositional phrase is a sister of the verb, rather than a
modifier of the NP way as an adverb may be introduced between the two
complements. The example belongs to Jackendoff (1990a: 212):
70
(45)
Path
Path
Goal
He was whistling his way to the park obviously means here: He was walking and
whistling at the same time.
Metaphorical Way Constructions involve careful, deliberate construction of a
Path towards the achievement/ attainment of a Goal, by breaking written or
unwritten laws. Verbs such as: bribe, bluff, wheedle, talk, trick, con, nose, sneak,
weasel, cajole, etc. help us analyse such constructions.
(47)
(a) Connie tricked her way past the security guards into the club.
S/Theme
DO/Path
Adv.of place/Path
Adv.of place/Goal
(b) He conned his way into the job using false diplomas.
S/Theme DO/Path Adv.of place/Goal Adv.of manner/Instrument
Similar examples might include:
(48)
71
%$
"+34 %$"
"
"#$
"#$ $
-government
-governs , iff
is a head,
-marks , and
is a sister to .
to be a sister to
requires that
VP
V
V
PP
NP
DET
P
N
NP
DET
read
the newspaper in
-governs
72
the
morning
properly governs .
grammatical formative or inflection, it means that the head L-marks its sister
complement:
(51)
L-marking
L-marks , iff is lexical and -governs .
The principle is helpful in that on the one hand, it identifies the argument of the
predicate which will be assigned a thematic role; on the other hand, the principle
helped Chomsky refine the definition of the notion of barrier as a maximal
projection which is not L-marked.
This also explains ungrammatical questions such as:
(52)
On the basis of such evidence, we find at Cornilescu (1996: 185) the Condition
on Extraction Domains:
(53)
governed.
Although the NP our hands is a Direct Object, it is not a properly governed
argument of the verb-head eat as it belongs to the PP before washing our hands
which is neither -governed nor L-marked by the V. The PP node functions as a
barrier which blocks movement.
73
74
PREDICATION
)$ %$ /$ .
" *
As we have already mentioned in the first chapters, the order of Auxiliaries in the
Verb Group is as follows:
(1)
1. Tense / Modal + infinitive
2. Perfective: [have + -en]
3. Progressive: [be + -ing]
4. Passive: [be + -en]
Here are a few examples:
(2)
(3)
(4)
Activity. Analyse the structure of the Verb group in the following sentences:
a. She is wasting her time.
b. Tim has broken the window.
c. Mary will have graduated by 2012.
d. The mistakes must have been identified very quickly.
e. It might be snowing in Italy.
75
Tense
Hans Reichenbachs (1947) tense theory is based upon three basic entities:
speech time (ST), reference time (RT) and event time (ET). Speech time is
always now. At the moment of utterance (ST) the speaker realizes, recalls or
predicts an event. The time at which the event occurred (ET) can be simultaneous
(ov.=overlap) or it may precede (bf.=before) or follow (af.=after) the time of
reference (RT) marked on the axis of orientation (present, past, future).
The diagram below represents our informal perspective on the English tenses
of the Indicative as they can be represented on the axes of orientation. Remember
that all Tenses are both Simple and Progressive.
FUTURE
PERFECT
FUTURE
IN THE PAST
FUTURE
TENSE
PRESENT
TENSE
PRESENT
PERFECT
PAST
TENSE
PAST
PERFECT
76
77
RT bf ST
ET ov RT = past, yesterday
Notice how the Present Perfect Simple accounts for a recently fulfilled event,
while the Past Simple denotes an action finished in a definite past moment.
(8)
a. The soldier lived in Germany for 2 months (during the war).
RT bf ST
ET ov RT = past
b. The soldier has lived in Germany for 2 months.
RT ov ST = present
ET bf RT
Besides the difference noticed in the RT (past in 8a vs present in 8b), the two
verb structures include the time adverbial for 2 months which helps us make the
distinction between an open (until present) and a closed (past) period of time.
More precisely, the Present Perfect will always express an event that lasts up to
the moment of speech (ST=now).
Aspect
Speakers of English can perceive, experience or express an event as complete or
in progress, anterior or posterior, iterative, dynamic or static. The English verb
has two aspects that help us describe the temporal shades of an event:
the Perfective aspect: [have + Past participle]
the Progressive aspect: [be + Present Participle]
However, when dealing with predication we must take into account the semantic
features relevant for aspectual distinctions summarized in the table below:
78
[+DURATIVE]
Limited duration
EVENT PREDICATIONS
[+COUNTABLE]
[+Sg.]: She is writing a letter.
[-Sg.]: They went to Paris twice.
Unlimited duration
STATE
PREDICATIONS
[-COUNTABLE]
They hate each other.
[- PERFECTIVE]
He has lived here all
his life.
[-HOM]
[+ GOAL]
He was playing a
Beethoven
sonata
when we entered.
[+PERFECTIVE]
He has been sleeping
for an hour.
[+ HOM]
[- GOAL]
They were writing
invitations when we
arrived.
[+
HOMOGENEOUS]
[- GOAL]
Tom has loved her
since childhood.
[+ DEFINITE]
[- DEFINITE]
[+ DEFINITE]
[+PERFECTIVE]
We know English.
[- DEFINITE]
He is kicking the ball.
Watch out, you are hurting me!
My head hurts!
recategorized
In 1976, Co eriu develops the concept of phase verbs as a means to express the
transition from one state into another, some change in the state of affairs. Thus he
distinguishes the following phases of an event: imminent/ ingressive, inceptive,
progressive, continuative, regressive, conclusive and egressive.
In English such aspectual distinctions can be either grammaticalized whenever a
verb is used in a certain Tense or lexicalized whenever certain verbs exhibit such
values in their inherent meaning. For example, Continuous Tenses express the
Imperfective Aspect of events, while in order to express the beginning of an
event we can use ingressive verbs such as begin or start. To emphasize the
79
duration of the event we can use durative or continuative verbs, such as resume
or continue. In order to focus on the end of the event, to express the conclusive
aspect, we can use egressive verbs such as stop or finish.
Many of these phase verbs behave like ergative verbs, making the transition from
their transitive form into an intransitive one without passivization:
The driver stopped the car. / The car stopped.
(9)
She resumed her career after raising her child for 2 years. / The meeting
resumed as if nothing had happened.
Activity. Provide instances of grammaticalized or lexicalized expressions of
Coserius aspectual distinctions.
Modal Verbs
The above discussions illustrate the fact that the form of the main verb is
determined by the auxiliary that precedes it. This means that auxiliary verbs
subcategorize for VPs.
Consider the following two examples and their tree diagrams:
(10)
N
John
I
I[+present] VP
[+ PERF]
has
V
V
bought
NP
Spec N
a
80
N
car
Spec N
Your
N
cousin
I[+Tense, pres]
[+ Agr.]
can
VP
Spec
not
V
V
VP
have
V
V
missed
NP
Spec. N
N
the
train
Remember that in semantics, the English modal system is divided into deontic
and epistemic. On the one hand, there are differences in meaning between the
two types, namely: the deontic modals communicate types of social information
such as permission, obligation, moral duty etc., while the epistemic modals
express different degrees of prediction (possibility, probability, certainty) as
regards the speakers knowledge about the world.
81
Activity. Identify the deontic and epistemic meanings of the modal verbs in the
following sentences:
a. He was angry and he would not go.
b. This experience must have taught him a lesson.
c. John may be walking in the park.
There are structural differences as well. Deontic modals take only [+ ANIMATE]
subjects, while epistemic modals allow both personal and impersonal subjects.
(12)
(13)
In the first example, the modal verb must has a deontic value expressing the
obligation of a [+ ANIMATE] subject to perform an action in a certain way. In
the second example, the modal verb must has an epistemic meaning, expressing
certainty as concerns an impersonal [- ANIMATE] subject, i.e. a natural
phenomenon which is taking place in London at the moment of speech.
Past time reference is realized by Past Tense forms or substitutes in the case of
deontic modals, while epistemic modals are followed by perfect infinitive forms
of the main verb in order to refer to past events.
(14)
82
Activity. Illustrate the structural differences of CAN, MAY, MUST and WILL in
their deontic and epistemic meanings.
Passive Voice
Within the Generative Transformational Approach, Passivization is interpreted as
the result of several transformational rules, namely:
(15)
a. movement applied on the active Subject = Subject Postposing/Demotion
b. movement applied on the active Object to fill the empty Subject position =
Object Preposing/Promotion
c. insertion of aux. BE and attachment of en to V;
d. insertion of the agentive preposition by in front of the newly formed
Object;
e. optional deletion of the Object of Agent.
83
According to the Government and Binding Principles, movement can occur only
in empty slots and in positions that will preserve the tree structure. For example,
a head can move only to an empty head position; a wh-phrase can move to a
specifier or non-argument position. Nothing can be moved to a Complement
position, since Complement positions are subcategorized for and filled at Deepstructure level.
GB Theory accounts for the Passive as an instance of A-movement or movement
to the Subject position, which is an Argument position. We introduce below a
model of representation for the Surface structure of a passive sentence under the
GB frame.
(16)
N
play
I
I[+past]
VP
wasi Spec
V
V
ti
VP[+pass]
V
PP
V[+pass] NP
praised
tk
P
P
by
NP
Spec N
all
N
critics
84
Radford (2003: 134) notices the resemblance between passive predicates and
unaccusatives in that they allow expletive structures such as: There was found no
evidence of any corruption. He supports the claim that the passive Subject
initially originates as the complement of the main verb receiving the thematic
role the verb assigns it and then moves to the specifier position as the preverbal
Subject of the passive construction: No evidence of any corruption was found.
Such an account would explain how a phrase functioning as Patient ends up in
Subject position, while its canonical position is after the main verb.
Activo-passive constructions
Ergative Verbs
(18)
(a)
(b)
(a)
(b)
Notice how ergative verbs allow us to move NPs functioning as DOs (the
concert, the ice) into Subject positions without passivization. However these
structures resemble Agentless passives inasmuch as the NPs functioning as
Subjects (the conductor, the sun) that have been assigned the thematic role of
Agent in the D-structure are deleted in the S-structure, i.e. in the ergative
construction.
85
As regards their meaning, ergative verbs express all kinds of changes suffered by
certain Patients, some of them related to movement, some others to culinary
processes, as exemplified below:
(19)
The child cracked the mirror with a toy. / The mirror cracked.
The storm sank the ship. / The ship sank.
The captain sailed the boat. / The boat sailed.
The player spun the ball. / The ball spun.
The cook filled the doughnuts with cream. / Her eyes filled with
tears.
Mother cooled the soup for the baby. / The soup cooled.
Middle constructions
Middle constructions are also considered activo-passive structures just like the
ergative verbs. Among the differences that must be identified between the two
categories we start by mentioning the fact that middle constructions always
require an affected Subject NP, an intransitive verb which has a transitive
counterpart and an Adverbial Modifier. Here are a few examples:
(20)
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
The above examples show us that the event or process expressed by the verb
affects the entity in the Subject position which most of the times is the Patient of
the action (as in (20) (a)-(d)), but it can be both the Patient and the Agent of the
86
action (as in (20) (e) and (f)) depending on the reading assigned to the verbs
semantics.
For a detailed discussion of the syntax of the middle constructions as compared
to the passive, the active and the ergative structures, see Viorica Lifari (2007).
The examples show that the entities denoted by the Subject NPs are in charge of
the actions, though they do not really perform it; they rather benefit from it.
These NPs are assigned the Benefactive theta-role. The real Agents are the DONPs: my cousin, the maid, his secretary, your driver.
The Passive patterns evince the following structure:
(23)
87
In (24) the Subject NPs carry the thematic roles of Benefactive, while the Agents
are represented by the Prepositional Phrases in the end of the sentences. The
difference in meaning between (24) and (25) is thus pointed out at the level of
thematic roles.
(25)
The GET Passive better expresses a detrimental meaning. In (25) the first two
Subject NPs are assigned the Experiencer theta-role, while the DO-NPs their
office and his wallet represent the Patients. In the last example, the Subject NP is
Patient because the entity suffers the action, the DO-NP the shot is the
Instrument, and the PO-NP the nurse represents the Agent.
Our analysis has been made in terms of Subject-NPs and Direct Object NPs
trying to emphasize the transitivity of the main verbs. However, when analyzing
complex sentences such as We had the maid clean the windows yesterday we
must deal with Main Clauses and Embedded Clauses, as follows:
(26)
Object
88
Local negation has scope over a lexeme or a phrase, while sentential negation
extends to the entire sentence.
In order to be considered negative, a sentence must express the opposite truth
value of its Affirmative counterpart.
(28)
If the first sentence is true, the second is false. If the first sentence is false, then
the second is true.
Whenever individual lexemes are attached negative derivational morphemes
(prefixes or suffixes) there is an instance of local negation:
(29)
89
Unlike never or not which overtly express negation, there are lexemes evincing
an inherent negative meaning:
(30)
door.
90
(32)
TP
PRN
He
T
T
did
NEGP
ADV
not
NEG
NEG
VP
Spec
V
V
NP
hear
the bell
91
IP
NP
Spec N
My
VP
I[+Tense, pres]
[+ Agr.]
has
brother
Spec
not
NP
read Spec
any
N
N
poems
Polarity items are those lexemes or phrases that due to their inherent meaning or
collocational instances strictly require either an affirmative or a negative context.
Thus, we must distinguish between Affirmative Polarity Items (APIs) and
Negative Polarity Items (NPIs). APIs occur only in the scope of some affirmative
elements, while NPIs select a negative environment.
Polarity items range from grammatical formatives (some, any, ever, until, yet,
either, little, unless, lest) or lexical items (to bother, to budge, to fathom, to
flinch, to mind) to idiomatic constructions (to bat an eye, to hurt a flea, to give a
damn, in weeks, in donkeys years etc.).
(34)
According to Quirk (1972) all sentential environments which require or allow the
use of Negative Polarity Items are [- assertive]. In fact, a sentence is
grammatically correct only if its assertivity corresponds to the [ assertive]
inherent feature of the polarity items. (Suggested reading on Polarity Reversal
Rule in Cornilescu, 1982: 15-18, 32-34)
92
(35)
(36)
Activity. Identify the negative polarity idioms. Use them in negative clauses to
see if their [ assertive] inherent marking matches the derivational, sentential
assertivity.
a fat chance; in the least; bat an eyelid; bark up the wrong tree; be all ears
The occurrence of Negative Polarity Items indicates various types of semantic
opposition and syntactic structure. Evidence can be brought from the negative
Deontic and Epistemic meanings of the modal verbs. When negated, a strong
Deontic meaning like obligation results either into a weaker negative meaning,
namely lack of necessity, or into an even stronger negative meaning, i.e.
interdiction:
(37)
A weak Epistemic meaning like possibility turns into a strong negative meaning,
namely impossibility, which conveys the speakers higher degree of certainty:
(38)
93
In the example above, the downward monotone quantifier few of licenses the use
of NPI ever.
Activity. Find examples of sentences based on negative polarity idioms that
follow the syntactic patterns below:
d. have + not
e. NP + not + verb
f. be + not
g. not + Vb
h. existential there constructions
i. modal verb
j. other patterns
Polarity is by no means a complex problem so identifying polarity items requires
large corpus studies in order to lead to Universal postulates.
94
$)
"*
"
#$
(40)
*$
$)
"
Structure:
95
96
(45) Martin and Denise are married. / The women and children were
separated from the men. / Grammar is similar to Mathematics.
97
" 4 "*
#$
#$
$)
"
Simple Intransitives
(46)
Unaccusative predicates are verbs that do not assign accusative case to the
complements that follow them. This feature distinguishes them from the
transitive verbs. Moreover, whereas in a transitive construction both the Subject
and the Complement are assigned thematic roles, unaccusative structures have a
non-thematic there subject, which is not a theta-marked argument of the verb
but a purely expletive one. Here are some examples:
(47)
The Subject NPs anticipated by there have the thematic role of Theme.
Generative Grammar explains the structure by analyzing the two transformations
that take place, namely: movement of Subject NP into the VP right after the main
98
verb and then insertion of the expletive there in the position left empty by the
moved Subject.
Activity. Try to explain the required inversion between verb and Subject NP
after expletive there in terms of Movement within the frame of Government
and Binding Syntax.
Unergative verbs differ from the unaccusatives in that their Subject NPs carry
the thematic role of Agent and they never follow the verb.
(48)
Another structural difference noticeable from the examples above is that unlike
unergative verbs, the unaccusatives cannot be used in the Progressive aspect.
99
experiencer:
(52)
relational:
(53)
The student was arguing with his teacher about his mark.
Down the shore you could bargain with the traders over the price of any
item.
John agreed with his parents about the change of itinerary.
Vintr. + IO + PO
(55)
100
(58)
In order to get on time to work she has to drive (her car) each and every
morning.
2.
3.
#$
$)
"
All transitives share the feature [_ NP]. This NP occupies the Complement
position, being governed by the transitive verb. The verb governor assigns
Accusative case to its governee.
(60)
Simple Transitives
Linguists make the difference between monotransitive verbs, i.e. those
transitive verbs that have only one argument functioning as DO, and ditransitive
101
Y TO GO TO
Z and produces the semantic structure X CAUSES Z TO HAVE Y. The double object syntax,
he argues, is then predictable from near-universal linking rules mapping the arguments of a verb
with the meaning X CAUSES Z TO HAVE Y into the ditransitive form. (Goldberg, 1995: 8)
The underlined NPs functioning as DOs are obviously affected by the action
denoted by the transitive verb. In the examples above the DOs are assigned the
thematic role of Patient. However there are verbs that denote actions performed
to the benefit of their arguments, as in:
(62)
102
Vtransitive + effected DO
frame.
landscape.
or hyponymic terms:
(66)
to sleep the sleep of the just, to dance the last dance, to laugh a bitter
103
8. Relational verbs:
a. reciprocal verbs which express symmetric relations between the subject and
the DO:
(70)
b. verbs of possession:
(71)
104
c. morphological causatives are transitive verbs that have been derived from
other lexical items by means of word-formation processes, such as:
- conversion:
(75)
105
- affixation:
(76)
There are also some transitive verbs that have developed a causative meaning, as
in:
(79)
f. ergative verbs are verbs that can function either as transitive or as intransitive
without any change in form and without passivization (to sink, to float, to dry, to
ring, to break):
(80)
Vtransitive
Vintransitive
She dropped her voice dramatically. Her voice dropped (in a whisper).
The heat steamed his glasses up.
106
10. Lexically complex transitive verbs are phrasal verbs (verb + particle)
followed by a direct object. The whole verb phrase can be subjected to particle
movement or not. The particle must accompany the verb or it may move after the
direct object sometimes changing the meaning of the VP. For instance,
considering the verb to run, one can notice that in the phrase run into somebody
with the meaning meet sb. by chance no particle movement is allowed, whereas
to knock sth. and kill it can be expressed either by run sth. over or by run over
sth. However the latter VP has a second interpretation, namely to read
something carefully.
(81)
Complex Transitives
Complex transitive predications have the following underlying syntactic frame as
it can be noticed in the analysis of the examples below:
(82) The weather conditions prevented the plane from landing.
[_ NP, PP]
I have already told the news to your new English teacher.
[_ NP, to/for NP]
1. Transitive verbs followed by Predicative Adjunct (OC) are called factitive
verbs (choose, elect, make, name, judge). Unlike causative verbs that make an
action take place, factitive verbs cause the direct object NP to pass into a
107
thinking.
Activity. Identify the type of predication and analyse the sentence constituents:
1. Her dream was to marry my son.
2. A gang of thieves broke in last night.
3. She passes for an experienced doctor.
4. The married couple has recently separated.
5. That possibility has never occurred to anyone.
6. She talks to her husband about her latest success.
108
/
6
D-structure
109
during derivation. This is syntactically realized by the empty element called trace
[t] which will remain in the initial position of the displaced item. The trace will
indicate the subcategorized position, hence the syntactic function and the
thematic role of the moved constituent, as in the following example:
(2)
Goal
/4
Linguists such as Koopman (1984), Chomsky (1986 b), Radford (1988) claim
that whenever there is an empty Inflection (I) in a Clause (so when there is no
Modal/Auxiliary), the finite verb originates in the VP, but is moved into the
empty I by V-MOVEMENT, acquiring the Tense and Agreement properties
associated with I, becoming an inflected verb-form:
(3)
110
V-MOVEMENT
(c) Matt [I drives] [VP ____ carefully].
Clear evidence in favour of this theory is offered by the case of the verbs
HAVE and BE which are always extracted from the VP to fill a finite empty I
position, where they acquire all relevant Tense-Agreement features:
(4)
(5)
N
priest
I
I[+finite]
must
VP
Spec
not
V
V
lie
Notice that the negative adverb is placed in the Specifier of the VP allowing the
modal auxiliary to move into the I-node to acquire its inflectional features.
111
In the case of aspectual auxiliaries, for instance, the particle not is directly
attached to the inflected forms of HAVE and BE which supports their movement
from the VP into the empty finite I. According to the pattern:
(7)
we can notice that the negative particle is inserted between the Inflection (here
the Modal Auxiliary will) and the VP. The inflected forms of BE and HAVE
clearly take over the same position as the Modal Auxiliary inasmuch as the
negative particle follows them closely:
(8)
The example above shows how the Aspectual Auxiliary be moves out of the VP
into I by V-MOVEMENT to acquire the necessary Tense-Agreement features.
(9)
The same transformation occurs in the case of the Aspectual Auxiliary have
which is inflected for Tense and Agreement, surfacing as the 3rd person singular
Present Tense form has.
For a more complex approach to V-MOVEMENT supported by a contrastive
analysis of examples from English, French and Romanian, we recommend
Alexandra Cornilescu (1996: 198-201).
112
$ 7 "8 $
"
The claim is that the Inflection (I) moves from the VP of the sentence into an
empty category [e] that precedes the sentence, as indicated schematically by the
following diagram:
(12)
S
C
e
NP
VP
He can
ride a bike
I-MOVEMENT
113
Whenever several rules are applicable one after another, we get a derivation of
the sentence under analysis. For instance, the derivation proposed for the Yes/No
Direct Question Is the baby crying? can be represented as follows:
(14)
(a)
(b)
(c)
To put it into words, there are two stages in the derivation starting from the Dstructure (14) (a) until the final derived structure, the S-structure (14) (c). Firstly,
we apply V-MOVEMENT on the D-structure, by which the Aspectual Auxiliary
be is moved into the empty Inflection position acquiring the Tense-Agreement
features. Secondly, we apply I-MOVEMENT so that the inflected form is moves
into the empty category that precedes the derived sentence (14) (b) providing the
interrogative form of the D-structure, under the form of the Yes/No direct
question Is the baby crying?.
114
6 %4
) 6 %4 8 $
"
Starting from embedded questions, the Government and Binding Theory states
that direct questions are also Complementizer Phrases whose Complementizer
position is empty in the Deep structure.
The head of the VP, namely the highest auxiliary moves into the Inflection
position and then into the Complementizer position to derive the correct word
order or Surface structure of a Yes/No question for instance.
Yes/No questions are used when the speaker is interested in the truthfulness or
falsity of a situation:
(15)
By asking Wh-questions the speaker is aware of the fact, however he/she requires
further information about certain items already mentioned in a sentence. As the
label states it, such questions begin with an interrogative wh-phrase, such as who,
what, which, when, where, why including how as well:
(16)
115
Besides such direct Wh-questions, there are also indirect/dependant Whquestions that make up the Complement of a verb like ask from the Main Clause:
(17)
Notice the difference in structure between (16) and (17). The D-structure of (16)
has obviously been affected by transformations, such as I-MOVEMENT and
Wh-MOVEMENT in order to derive the question, whereas in (17) operator
fronting cannot take place as the embedded/subordinate clause is introduced by
the Wh-phrase (here, what) which fills the Complementiser slot.
In order to represent direct Wh-questions in tree diagrams, we need a new node
Q (for question) to distinguish between declarative and interrogative sentences:
(18)
S
Q
S
COMP
I
NP
N
VP
I
N
What can
116
you
V
V
[t]
NP
sing [t]
The diagram illustrates the stages followed to derive the interrogative structure,
as follows:
Stage 1: modal operator/ Inflection fronting which shifts can around the
subject; the Inflection moves to the left into the empty Complementiser
position outside the Sentence;
Stage 2: Wh-MOVEMENT which extracts the Wh-phrase and moves it
into the leftmost empty slot Q, thereby leaving a trace within the sentence
S which indicates the subcategorized position, both the syntactic function
and the thematic role of the displaced constituent (according to the
Projection Principle).
Lets identify the traces [t] left by the moved items in the examples below:
(19)
(a)
[NP Her friends] will visit [NP her] [PP at the hospital].
Agent
(b)
Theme
Location
[NPi Whom] will [NP her friends] [I t] visit [NPi t] [PP at the
hospital]?
Theme
(c)
Agent
Location
[PPi Where] will [NP her friends] [I t] visit [NPi her] [PPi t]?
Location
Agent
Theme
As the -criterion states that all Arguments must have a theta-role, we might
easily think that sentences like (19) (b) and (c) are ill-formed. Hence, the need to
accept the existence of a D-structure like (19) (a) subjected to the respective Whmovements by which certain wh-phrases (here, whom and where) have been
extracted and preposed in a slot that precedes the Complementiser.
So we can state that sentences like (19) (b) and (c) derive from the following Dstructures (20) (a) and (b), respectively:
117
(20)
(a)
(b)
It is at this level that the appropriate thematic roles have been assigned and the
Wh-items will carry this information during and after their movement.
118
DO
V[PASS]
PO
(a)
(b)
S-demotion
(c)
DO
PO of Agent
V[PASS]
119
PO of Agent
Stage 4: The above derived structure (24) clearly shows that the NP a
camera functioning as Subject carries the thematic role of Theme. Thus,
120
according to the -grid of the verb bring, the NP Mary must become the
Agent of the initiated action. This will be done by inserting the passive
preposition BY in front of the new Object, providing the final derived
structure or the S-structure of the active sentence:
(26)
At this point, one may argue that by inserting another preposition like to, for
instance, in front of the NP Mary, we also get a grammatical S-structure:
(27)
121
(29)
(30)
(a)
(b)
(a)
(b)
(a)
(b)
Starting the derivation of example (28) (a) The postman rang the bell, we decide
to follow the same procedure as in the above (22) (Mary will bring a camera.).
In the first stage we need an empty NP Subject so we apply NP-movement to the
postman as shown below:
(31)
122
Agent
At this stage we notice that the verb allows us either to delete the Agent, thus
deriving the ergative clause (34) or to insert the passive Auxiliary BE which is
inflected with the Tense-Agreement features and attach EN to the main verb,
hence deriving the passive construction (35).
(34)
(35)
Middle structures are also activo-passive constructions like the ergative ones
presented in the previous subchapter.
In terms of transformations, a sentence like
(36) This cake cuts easily
originates in the D-structure:
(37)
123
At this stage one can decide whether to delete the Agent in order to derive the
middle construction or to insert the passive Auxiliary BE and attach EN to the
main verb and obtain the passive alternative.
Activity. Discuss the derivation of the following sentences, providing arguments
to support your analysis:
1. This ball rolls smoothly.
2. The play reads easily.
3. The child frightens too often.
4. This rule applies here.
5. She photographs very well.
124
) "
"
As the reader can notice along the presentation in this chapter, the evidence
brought in favour of such transformations makes use of several principles and
concepts that were determined in fact by other refined approaches that followed
the Transformational Approach to Grammar, as linguists tried to identify
universal rather than individual rules, universal principles governing the
application of transformations that derive further structures.
Here are only a few of the recurrent principles indirectly touched upon in this
book, as defined by Radford in his works (1988; 2003):
Generalised Structure Preserving Principle
All transformations are structure-preserving, and comprise either structurepreserving substitutions or structure-preserving adjunctions.
Extended Projection Principle
Lexical requirements (viz. categorial, subcategorisation, and thematic
properties) and structural requirements (viz. the requirement that a Clause
should have a Subject) must be uniformly satisfied at all syntactic levels.
(Radford, 1988:583)
A finite tense constituent T must be extended into a TP projection containing
a subject. (Radford, 2003: 42)
Trace Movement Principle
Any moved constituent X leaves behind at its extraction site a coiendexed
identical empty category [X e]. This empty category is known as a trace, and
the moved constituent is said to be the antecedent of the trace.
125
126
127
128
'
1. Make the difference between conjuncts and adjuncts.
2. Indicate the syntactic function of each word in the following sentences:
Youll get a surprise./ He got his shoes and socks wet./ He got himself into
trouble.
3. Exemplify and explain the complex object.
4. Analyse the structure of the verb phrase in:
a. go across to the bakers
129
1
1. Illustrate: a) affected object; b) effected object; c) cognate object
2. Explain and exemplify copulative predication, the equative type.
3. Analyse the predication and specify the syntactic function the clause
constituents in:
She was talking nervously on the phone to her aunt.
4. Make up sentences of your own using the verbs below. Discuss the
predications and comment upon the verbs behaviour in the Passive Voice.
let
resemble
fit
rumour
say
9
1. Illustrate: a) subject complement; b) object complement; c) indirect object
2. Explain and exemplify copulative predication, the attributive type.
3. Analyse the predication and specify the syntactic function of each
constituent in:
The storm sank the ship. The ship sank.
4. Turn into the Passive where possible:
a. They will carry out the survey next week.
b. Nicholas has always looked down on his parents.
c. The ministers looked into the matter carefully.
5. Explain and exemplify: existential there, locative there and expletive
there.
130
5
1. Turn into the Passive Voice where possible:
a. Marys friends talked her into applying for the scholarship.
b. The media could not pass over the Ministers resignation.
c. The manager did not approve of my plan.
2. Provide examples and draw the tree diagrams to account for the following
statements taken from Bas Aarts (2008):
a. The aspectual auxiliary acquires its inflectional present tense ending by
moving from the VP that dominates it into the I-node.
b. If a clause contains a modal verb or the infinitival marker to, these elements
are positioned under the I-node.
3. Explain and exemplify the following concepts: argument structure, anaphora,
unaccusative verbs.
4. Analyse the following predications in terms of cause-effect relationship and
classify them from [-VOLITION] to [+VOLITION] taking into account the types
of entities [RATIONAL] involved:
a. The wind dried the laundry.
b. The Prime Minister has cancelled the visit.
c. The truck loaded the garbage.
d. Jane scratched the mirror.
e. The lion attacked the hunter.
5. Discuss and exemplify question formation under the GB frame.
131
:
1. Analyse the following predications focusing upon the causative-inchoative
relationship:
a. He gripped the wheel until his knuckles whitened.
b. Snow has whitened the tops of the mountains.
2. Discuss the examples below in terms of their temporal and aspectual
dimension:
a. The financial crisis set back the modernization plans by several months.
b. You have reached the midpoint of your flight training.
c. The speaker went on as if nothing had happened.
d. Politicians must set about learning two or three foreign languages.
e. The wedding must proceed as planned.
3. Provide three examples of passive sentences with a non-Patient theta-role
syntactic subject.
4. Aarts (2008: 254) explains the term of Subsective Gradience as a grammatical
phenomenon which distinguishes typical examples belonging to certain
grammatical categories and less typical members as far as their distributional
properties are concerned. Discuss the typical and atypical features of the
following pairs:
a. NOUNS: book luggage;
d. PREPOSITIONS: in as
132
;
1. Identify the thematic roles of NPs in the following sentences:
a. Robert gave the door a coat of paint.
b. The burglar climbed from the office up a ladder onto the
roof.
133
<
1. Account for the use of much and many as Negative Polarity Items.
2. Identify the types of interrogative sentences and name some of their syntactic
properties:
a. Has he been running?
b. Whose signature was faked?
c. Nobody cares, do they?
d. So, you quite dislike your step-father!
Dislike him? I hate him!
e. Is he sleeping, reading or talking on the phone?
3. Analyse the predication in the following sentences:
a. This book reads well.
b. We put the cheese in the fridge.
c. Mary weighs 183 pounds.
d. Your mother is so fond of coffee.
4. Analyse the following constructions in Binding terms:
a. David threw himself onto the sofa.
b. Sally talked to John about himself.
c. Sally talked to John about him.
d. She helped herself with another slice of cake.
e. Maggie pointed at her in the mirror.
f. Maggie pointed at herself in the mirror.
134
=
1. Account for the difference between the following thematic roles:
a. Location Source;
b. Agent Experiencer;
c. Stimulus Percept.
2. Discuss the structure of the following Noun Phrases and draw the
corresponding tree diagrams:
a. direct exchanges between candidates
b. failure of institutions on Wall Street
c. quite rapidly changing decisions of the Government
d. some very clever remarks
3. Explain and exemplify the Trace Movement Principle.
4. Discuss the nature of ambiguity in the sentences below:
a. Mary may look tired when the guests will come.
b. Your novel must be very interesting.
c. Clark will run down the new road.
d. The criminals turned out 7 apartments each week.
5. Make up sentences according to the patterns:
a. subject + [MOD] + [PERF] + [PASS] + see
b. subject + [TENSE, present] + [PROG] + read + adjunct
c. subject + [TENSE, past] + [PERF] + catch + direct object + adjunct
135
>
1. Discuss the concept of Inflection in the following instances:
a. prayers
c. wrote
b. higher
2. Explain the principles that lie at the basis of the following transformations:
a. They offered some money to my uncle.
a. They offered my uncle some money.
b. Some people are smoking in the living room.
b. There are some people smoking in the living room.
c. The tide floated the raft.
c. The raft floated.
3. Analyse the predications and specify the type and the syntactic functions of the
internal arguments of the verbs in the following sentences:
a. Inflation threatens many peoples jobs.
b. They must have used a rope.
c. The guest-speaker provided further details on the topic.
d. Our neighbours refurnished the kitchen.
4. Read Chomskys statement below and try to answer the question:
We assume that the language (the generative procedure, the I-language) has two
components: a computational system and a lexicon. The first generates the form of SDs; the
second characterizes the lexical items that appear in them. (Chomsky, 1995: 20)
136
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139