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CAS LX 522 Syntax I

CAS LX 522 Syntax I. Week 9.5. Relative clauses. Finishing up from last week…. Last week, we covered wh -movement in questions like: What i did Bill buy t i ? and What i did Mary think Bill bought t i ?

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CAS LX 522 Syntax I

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  1. CAS LX 522Syntax I Week 9.5. Relative clauses

  2. Finishing up from last week… • Last week, we covered wh-movement in questions like: • Whati did Bill buy ti? • and • Whati did Mary think Bill bought ti? • And we looked at conditions on wh-movement, including Subjacency (you can’t move out of two bounding nodes in a single step) and the ECP (the trace of wh-movement must be licensed).

  3. Relative clauses • Another place where we see wh-movement, besides in explicit questions (either in the main clause or embedded) is in relative clauses. • The book which I read • The woman who(m) I met • These consist of a head noun (book, woman) and then what appears to be a wh-question that further specifies the referent of the head noun.

  4. DP Relative clauses D SS D NP • The structure of a relative clause is like this. • A [+Q, +WH] CP is adjoined inside the NP. the N N CP N DPi C book which C TP [+WH][+Q] Mary read ti

  5. Op • In addition to being able to say • The book which Mary read • We can also say • The book that Mary read • and • The book Mary read • And they all mean the same thing. So we expect that they would all have basically the same structure—so where is the wh-word?

  6. Op • The secret to these last two kinds of relative clauses is Op, the silent wh-word. • That is, the book which Mary read and the book Mary read are really exactly the same except that in one case you pronounce the wh-word, and in the other, you don’t. • the book [CP whichi Mary read ti ] • the book [CPOpi Mary read ti ]

  7. Op • It is also possible to pronounce that with Op, giving us: • the book [CPOpi that [TP Mary read ti ]] • Why can’t we pronounce that with which? • *the book [CP whichi that [TP Mary read ti ]]

  8. Op • The Doubly-Filled COMP filter applies here too—you can’t pronounce both a wh-word and C at the same time. Thus: • the book [CPOpi [TP Mary read ti ]] • the book [CPOpi that [TP Mary read ti ]] • the book [CPwhichi [TP Mary read ti ]] • *the book [CPwhichi that [TP Mary read ti ]]

  9. Op • Skeptical of Op? Is there really wh-movement of Op, a silent wh-phrase? • I read the book [CP whichi [TP Mary said [CP that [TP Bill bought ti ]]]]. • *I read the book [CP whichi[TP Mary wonders [CP who [TP bought ti]]]]. • I read the book [CPOpi (that) [TP Mary said [CP that [TP Bill bought ti ]]]]. • *I read the book [CPOpi (that) [TP Mary wonders [CP who [TP bought ti]]]].

  10. Op • So if we have a silent wh-phrase, why can’t we ask questions with it? • Wherei did Mary buy that book ti ? • Wheni did Mary buy that book ti ? • Whyi did Mary buy that book ti ? • Howi did Mary buy that book ti ? • *Opi did Mary buy that book ti ? • See why?

  11. Op • Recoverability condition:The content of a null category must be recoverable. • the place [Opi (that) Mary bought that book ti ] • the day [Opi (that) Mary bought that book ti ] • the reason [Opi (that) Mary bought that book ti ] • the way [Opi (that) Mary bought that book ti ] • In each case, we can tell what the wh-phrase is by looking at the head noun.

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