LING 101 • Lecture outline
W Oct 14
Today’s topics:
• Clauses as complements
• Movement rules
Background reading:
• CL Ch 5, §2.3, “Complement clauses” (review)
• CL Ch 5, §3.1–3.3, “Move”
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0. Course information
• HW #7 is due
- Please put it in the pile on the table in the front
that is labeled with your TA’s name and
recitation number
Iyad
Emily
Yuka
Grant
(10:10)
(10:10)
(11:15)
(11:15)
— 601
— 602
— 603
— 604
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1. Review: Building a syntax model
• We want to build a model of the syntax component
of mental grammar that can:
- Produce sentences that native speakers find
grammatical, and not produce sentences that
native speakers find ungrammatical
- Make the right predictions about which words in
a sentence form constituents
• Review: How are constituency tests related to
syntax trees? See examples on the lecture outline
supplement (posted after class)
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1. Review: Building a syntax model
• What do we do when we find sentences for which
our model is making the wrong prediction?
- Add or change some aspect of our model in
order to make the predictions better
• So far, our syntax model (for English) contains:
- the X' schema
- the modifier structure
- complement options (chosen by specific heads)
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2. A new structure...
• Our X' schema as developed thus far can’t handle
sentences like the following:
(1) The coach thinks [ that the team should win ]
(2) The coach knows [ if the team should win ]
(3) The coach wonders [ whether the team should win ]
• What kind of structure can we see inside the
brackets (especially if we ignore the underlined word)?
- Are the structures inside the brackets
constituents?
- What relationship do they have to the V?
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2. Clauses as complements
(1) The coach thinks [ that the team should win ]
(2) The coach knows [ if the team should win ]
(3) The coach wonders [ whether the team should win ]
• These are cases where a whole clause (sentence) is
the complement of a verb — that is, we have an
embedded sentence
• There is often a word like that, if, whether that
introduces an embedded sentence — these words
belong to the word category known as
complementizer (C)
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2. Clauses as complements
• A C heads a CP phrase — this is the syntactic
representation of an embedded sentence
- A C takes an IP (a sentence) as its complement
to form a C'
- (We’ll talk about specifiers for CP soon)
• English also has a null or zero C
- Can you think of an example of a sentence
with a null C?
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3. An example to try
• Can you draw a tree for this sentence?
(4) The journalist told the spy that the mayor was angry.
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3. An example to try
(4)
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4. Summary: What kind of structure should
we draw when there is a CP?
• For this class, we will propose that every time a verb
occurs with a CP, that CP is a complement (never a
modifier)
- This means we may need to use the three-branch
V' (double complement) structure if we have
[V NP CP] or [V PP CP] in our VP
- Check your understanding:
Why can’t the NP or PP in these examples be
analyzed as a modifier?
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5. Extending our model of syntax again
• Why is this sentence grammatical?
(5)What might the puppy devour?
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5. Extending our model of syntax again
• Why is this sentence grammatical?
(5) What might the puppy devour?
- Is there an NP complement in the VP as required
by devour?
- Why is the auxiliary might on the left side of the
subject NP?
- What is the position of what?
• An approach that addresses all these factors: the
syntactic transformation known as Move
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6. Yes-no questions
• Consider these examples:
(6a) Students will study their lessons.
(6b) The students will study their lessons.
(6c) The dedicated students in this class will study their
lessons.
• What does it look like when those sentences are
made into yes-no questions?
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6. Yes-no questions
• What does it look like when those sentences are
made into yes-no questions?
(6a) Will [ students ] __ study their lessons?
(6b) Will [ the students ] __ study their lessons?
(6c) Will [ the dedicated students in this class ] __ study
their lessons?
• The auxiliary moves to a position to the left of the
subject
→ What position is it moving to?
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6. Yes-no questions
• Proposal: Every IP is inside a CP (this is supported,
among other things, by facts about languages other than
English)
• The C of a main clause (matrix clause) contains
information about whether or not the sentence is
a question
- For a question, the matrix C contains the symbol
+Q
- For a non-question, the matrix C does not
contain this symbol
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6. Yes-no questions
• Inversion rule — a movement rule for English (and
some, but not all, other languages):
When the matrix C is +Q, the element in the I
position must move to C.
• About movement rules
- A movement operation does not change any
other part of the structure of the sentence
- A moved element leaves a trace (t) in its original
position
- A moved element retains its original category
label (under the one it moves into)
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6. Yes-no questions
• Step 1: The deep-structure form of the sentence is
constructed, using the X' schema
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6. Yes-no questions
• Step 2: The Inversion rule applies, moving the
auxiliary to C and leaving a trace in I
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6. Yes-no questions
• Can we find evidence to support the proposal that
the fronted auxiliary has moved to C?
• Consider: Does this proposal explain why it is only
the matrix auxiliary that moves?
→ Compare an embedded question:
(7)We know whether Pat will succeed.
- What is the structure of the embedded CP?
- Can we explain why the auxiliary doesn’t move
into the embedded C position?
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6. Yes-no questions
• If the C position is where the fronted auxiliary moves to,
we can explain why the auxiliary doesn’t move in an
embedded question: C is already occupied
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