Advanced Syntax

1. Revision Advanced Syntax

2. Movements leave behind a phonologically null trace in all their extraction sites Trace Theory

3. Motivation • Structural Preservation • Movements don’t alter structure • The Projection Principle • Structures are founded on lexical properties • So movements don’t alter lexical properties Trace Theory

4. Evidence • Wanna contraction • Who1 do you want to meet t1 (wanna) • Who1 do you want t1 to smile (*wanna) • Doubling • ci alo visto ci? (Italian dialect) • whom has-he seen whom • “who has he seen?” • Resumptive Pronouns • My brother, he likes to sing Trace Theory

5. 1) In which of the following would we expect ‘wanna’ contraction to be possible? • A) I don’t want John to leave • B) where do you want to go? • C) who do you want to help you? • D) John, I don’t want to win Trace Theory

6. Unconstrained movement is too powerful •  the need for constraints • Constraints • A-over-A principle • An XP cannot move out of an XP • Not empirically accurate • Island constraints • Wh-Island constraint • Complex DP Island • Sentential Subject Island • Coordinate Structure Island • What explains Islands? Constraints

7. Constraints • Subjacency • Reduced Islands down to one constraint • Only one bounding node can be crossed by a single movement • Bounding nodes = IP and DP • Long distance movement can be achieved by a series of short movements • [IP He1 seems [IP t1 to have been believed [IP t1 to [VP t1 know Bill]]]] Constraints

8. Constraints • Head Movement Constraint • A head can only move to the nearest head position • More restrictive than subjacency • But both restrict the length of movements Constraints

9. Constraints • Relativised Minimality • An element of type X can only move to the nearest type X position Constraints

10. 2) Which of the following structures involves a violation of Subjacency: • A) [CP wh1 [IP ... [CP t1 [IP ... [CP t1 [IP ... t1 ]]]]]] • B) [CP wh1 [IP ... [CP t1 [IP ... [DP ... t1 ]]]]] • C) [CP [IP DP1... [CP [IP t1... [VP t1 ]]]]] • D) [CP wh1 [IP t1... [CP [IP t1... [VP t1 ]]]]] Constraints

11. We distinguish • Morphological case • The form a nominal element takes • Abstract Case • A property that a nominal has because it occupies a certain position • This may or may not effect its morphological case • Case theory is about Abstract Case Case theory

12. Case is assigned by certain ‘governors’ to certain positions • Finite I governs nominative Case and assigns it to its specifier • P governs accusative Case and assigns it to its complement • Agentive V governs accusative Case and assigns it to the specifier of its complement (the object) • Complementiser for governs accusative Case and assigns it to the specifier of its complement (the subject) Case theory

13. Case theory

14. The Case Filter • All overt DPs must sit in Case positions • * the observation John (of John) • * very fond John (of John) • * tried [John to leave] (tried [to leave]) • Nouns, adjectives and non-finite inflection do not assign Case • Exceptional Verbs • Assign Case to the subject of their infinitival arguments • I believe [him to be rich] Case theory

15. Case and Movement • A DP in a Caseless position has to move to a Case position in order to satisfy the Case Filter • * it was seen Mary • Mary1 was seen t1 • It seems [John is rich] • * it seems [John to be rich] • John1 seems [ t1 to be rich] • Therefore Case Theory applies to S-structure, not to D-structure Case theory

16. 3) Concerning the DP John in the following • I expect John to behave • A) it gets accusative Case from the verb expect • B) it gets accusative Case from the inflection • C) it gets nominative Case from the inflection • D) it is in a Caseless position Case theory

17. The double object construction • Two abstract verbs • Agentive • Goal • Two Case assigners • Only agent moves • Verb moves to support both abstract verbs • So is in front of both objects Double Objects and datives

18. Dative Construction • One abstract verb, one preposition • Two Case assigners • Only the agent moves • Verb moves to support abstract verb • Ends up in front of two internal arguments Double Objects and datives

19. Some claim that one of these constructions derives from the other • Most probably the double object derives from the dative • But the two constructions have slightly different semantic properties • The goal of the DO must be a recipient • *I sent London a letter (I sent a letter to London) • The goal of the dative cannot be an inaliable possessor • *I gave a new engine to the car (I gave the car a new engine) Double Objects and datives

20. 4) Where does the theme in the dative construction get its Case from? • A) the preposition to • B) the abstract ‘goal’ verb • C) the abstract ‘agentive’ verb • D) the finite inflection Double Objects and datives

21. Prepositional verbs take a PP argument in complement position • The preposition assigns Case to its object • The verb moves to support the abstract verb Prepositional and phrasal verbs

22. The preposition may optionally incorporate into the verb • The verb and preposition move to support the abstract verb • The preposition cannot assign Case to its complement • So this must move to the specifier of VP • The abstract verb assigns it Case • This is why prepositional verbs can passivise • The chimney was looked up Prepositional and phrasal verbs

23. A phrasal verb takes a PP complement and has a theme in specifier position • The verb moves to support the abstract verb • The preposition is stranded • The abstract verb assigns Case to the theme Prepositional and phrasal verbs

24. The preposition can optionally incorporate into the verb • They move to support the abstract verb • The preposition is in front of the theme • He looked up the word • The theme still gets Case from the abstract verb Prepositional and phrasal verbs

25. 5) Which of the following involves a phrasal verb • A) the bed was slept in • B) the police looked into the matter • C) the customers were put right off • D) he went right into the house Prepositional and phrasal verbs

26. Clausal arguments of verbs occupy the theme position • Specifier of the contentful verb • Clausal arguments are mostly CPs • Finite clauses • Infinitives with for complementisers • Control clauses (with PRO subjects) Clausal Arguments

27. Exceptional clauses have no CP but are just IPs • CP is a barrier to Case assignment • So only exceptional clauses allow their subjects to be Case marked from outside • The accusative Case is assigned by the abstract verb associated with the exceptional verb Clausal Arguments

28. Raising clauses are like exceptional clauses But as there is no abstract verb to assign Case, the subject has to raise Clausal Arguments

29. 6) In which of the following is the embedded clause not a CP? • A) he tried [to leave] • B) it seems [he left] • C) [for him to leave] would be nice • D) he seems [to have left] Clausal Arguments

30. Tense in English is a null morpheme of the category ‘v’ (little v) • It always follows I • He may -pres smile • Verb moves to support tense • Him to -anaphoric smile • Verb moves to support tense • He –ed -past smile • Verb moves to support tense and inflection Tense and negation

31. Negation (not) is best analysed as an adverbial rather than a head • It has a range of positions within the little v part of sentence structure • Above VP and below I • He may (not) have (not) been (not) seen • It has no effect on auxiliary selection • He has seen Bill • He has not seen Bill Tense and negation

32. Two restrictions on negation • It cannot precede I • It cannot follow V • Therefore in the presence of negation, the verb cannot move to I as negation must be between them • In this case, do is inserted to support I • * he smile1-ed not t1 • * he not smile1-ed t1 • He did not smile Tense and negation

33. 7) In which of the following will the tense morpheme be supported by the inserted auxiliary have? • A) he may - -en go • B) him to - -ing go • C) he –ed - go • D) we - - go Tense and negation

34. VP adverbials adjoin to VP and so are closer to the verb than sentential adverbials • Sentential adverbials adjoin to the phrase headed by tense (little vP) or to I’ and so are further from the verb • He will certainly quickly hide the evidence • * he will quickly certainly hide the evidence Adverbials

35. Although VP adverbials adjoin to VP, they are forced to adjoin to I’ when the verb moves to I • Adverbials cannot immediately follow the verb • VP adverbials prefer to be adjoined to VP Adverbials

36. 8) In which of the following is the adverbial not adjoined to I’? • A) he really should see a doctor • B) she quickly drank the coffee • C) they certainly saw the accident • D) he is obviously going to phone the police Adverbials

37. There are four types of gerund • Acc-ing him writing a letter • PRO-ing PRO writing a letter • Poss-ing his writing a letter • Ing-of his writing of the letter • We analysed only the last two The gerund

38. ‘-ing’ nominalises verbs by • Taking a VP complement • Projecting an NP • It is a bound morpheme, so the verb moves to support it • Which type of VP it takes as its complement determines which type of gerund we get The gerund

39. -ing-of • -ing takes the content VP as its complement • There is no agentive verb to assign the theme Case • So of is inserted • Any determiner is possible • A possessor is possible with a possessive determiner The gerund

40. Poss-ing • -ing takes the full thematic VP as a complement • So there is an agentive verb • And an agent • The theme gets Case from the agentive verb • So no of insertion • The agent needs Case • So no other determiner than the possessive is possible The gerund

41. 9) which gerund can be modified by an adjective? • A) poss-ing • B) acc-ing • C) ing-of • D) PRO-ing The gerund

42. Three movements make use of the front of the clause • Topicalisation • These paintings1, I really like t1 • Focus fronting • (it was) JOHN1 I saw t1 • Negative fronting • Nothing1 could I see t1 Left periphery

43. Topicalisaton • Adjoins the topic to the highest possible clausal projection • CP in main clauses • Not CP in embedded clauses • Adjunction is recursive • So there can be more than one topic Left periphery

44. Focus fronting • Focus is moved to specifier of a functional projection between C and IP • There can only be one focus • This projection must be like IP as it is the complement of the complementiser • But it isn’t IP as its complement is IP Left periphery

45. Negative fronting • The fronted negative moves to the same position as the focus • But this makes the clause negative • So there must be a head of iP for the negative to agree with • So the auxiliary inverts Left periphery

46. 10) In a main clause with both a topic and a fronted focus, what will their order be? • A) the topic will precede the focus • B) the focus will precede the topic • C) they can be placed in any order • D) the sentence will be ungrammatical as they occupy the same position Left periphery

47. Pronouns • Binding theory • Principle A • An anaphor must be bound in its smallest binding domain • John1 likes himself1 • * Mary1 likes himself2 • * John1’s mother likes himself1 • * John1 thinks Mary likes himself1 • Anaphor e.g. Himself • Bound = coindexed with and c-commanded by something • C-command = an element c-commands its sister and everything inside its sister • Binding domain = a category with a subject

48. Pronouns • Binding theory • Principle B • A pronominal must be free in its smallest binding domain • * John1 likes him1 • Mary1 likes him2 • John1’s mother likes him1 • John1 thinks Mary likes him1 • Pronominal = Him • Free = not bound

49. Pronouns • Reflexivity • Principle A • A reflexive marked verb must be reflexive • * Mary likes himself • Principle B • A reflexive verb must be reflexive marked • * John1 likes him1 • Reflexive marking = morphologically marked by reflexive morpheme • E.g. -self • Reflexive verb = a verb with two or more arguments referring to the same thing • E.g. He shaved himself

50. 11) According to Binding theory, which of the following sentences is ungrammatical because the anaphor is not bound? • A) * John1 thinks Mary likes himself1 • B) * John1 saw Mary’s picture of himself1 • C) * John1 saw him1 • D) * John1’s mother saw himself1 Pronouns