syntax, bas aarts

8/12/2019 Syntax, Bas Aarts

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English Syntax

& Argumentation

Bas Aarts

Part I

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Function and Form

Function

Subject and Predicate

Ex. [The cat] [devoured [the rat]]

[The rat] [devoured [the cat]]

Subject of a sentence as the constituent that on the one hand tells us who

performs the action denoted by the verb (i.e. who is the Agent! and on

the other hand tells us who or what the sentence is about. So to "nd out

what is the Subject of a particular sentence we can as# $%ho or what

carried out the action denoted by the verb&' and also $%ho or what is this

sentence about&' he answers to these )uestions will pinpoint the Subject.

he second brac#eted units in the sentences in (* and (+ are devoured

the rat and devoured the cat! respectively. hese constituents tell us more

about the Subject of the sentence! namely what it was engaged in doing

(or! to be more precise! what its referent was engaged in doing.

%e will use the term Predicate for the unit in a sentence whose function is

to specify what the Subject is engaged in doing.

Ex. The police arrested the bank robber.

Subect !redicate

,eferents of Subjects need not always be doing something.

Ex. "y brother #ears a green overcoat .

%hat these sentence shows is that Subjects can also precede stative

Predicates. he Predicates we have encountered up to now! by contrast!

were dynamic.

Subjects can be elements that are meaningless! and cannot therefore be

said to tell us what the sentences of which they are the Subject are about.

Ex. -t is raining in England. -t was hot. here were three lions in the cage.

he element it in the examples is often called #eather it ! because it is

used in expressions which tell us about the weather. -t is also called

nonre$erential it .



Existential there because is used in propositions that have to do with

existence. Existential there should be #ept apart from locative there

which! as the name implies! speci"es a loca/

tion! as in0 - saw the cat a minute ago. here it is

2onreferential it and existential there are said to be meaningless becauseall they seem to be doing in the sentences in which they occur is "ll the

Subject slot.

%e will refer to groups of words such as the cat% that stupid #aiter% the girl

#ith the red hair etc. as 2oun Phrases (2Ps.

he generalisation we can now ma#e is to say that Subjects are usually

2oun Phrases.

hey are used to ma#e a statement! the Subject is the "rst 2P we come

across.

Subjects are obligatory. hey determine the form of the verb in such cases

as0

Ex. She never #rites home. ames al#ays sulks. This book saddens me.

Such Subjects do not denote the spea#er or the hearer (i.e. a third person

is not me or you! but someone (or something else.

Any Subject other than a third person singular Subject ta#es what is called

the base form of the verb! i.e. a form of the verb that has no endings.

-n sentences which are used to as# )uestions with $yes' or $no' as an answer! the

Subject changes position0 the verb is then in the initial slot of the sentence andthe Subject is in the second slot. %e can identify the Subject of a sentence by

adding a so/called tag )uestion to it.

Ex. his teacher is a genius! isn't she&

A tag )uestion must contain a pronoun that identi"es the Subject of the sentence

it is tagged onto.

he six tests we have just loo#ed at are all distributional tests.

Example0 "y brother #ears a green overcoat.

"y brother is the Subject of this sentence for the following reasons0

(i his constituent is a 2oun Phrase.

(ii -t is the "rst 2P in the sentence.

(iii -t is obligatory0 3wears a green overcoat is not a possible sentence.

(iv 4y brother is a third person singular phrase and for that reason agrees with

the verb wear!

witness the /s ending.

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(v -n a )uestion my brother swaps places with an inserted verb does0 5oes my

brother wear a green

overcoat& (- will have more to say on the insertion of do in the next chapter.

(vi -f we add a tag )uestion to (6! we must include a pronoun (in this case he!

and this pronoun

refers bac# to my brother0 4y brother wears a green overcoat! doesn't he&

Predicator

Ex. [The cat] [devoured the rat]. ' [The cat]( Subect% [devoured the rat] 7

Predicate

Predicators - are pivotal elements which specify what we could call the bare/bone content of the sentences in which they occur! that is! the main action orprocess denoted by the verb. Predicates are saying something of something else.

Ex. [devoured] 7 Predicator

5irect 8bject

Ex. )is girl$riend bought this computer. That silly $ool broke the teapot. *ur linguistics lecturer took this photograph.

-n semantic terms 5irect 8bjects are said to be constituents that refer to entitiesthat undergothe activity or process denoted by the verb.

-n the same way that Subjects typically play an agentive (i.e. instigator role!5irect 8bjects have a Patient role.

Syntactic de"nition of 58s! i.e. in terms of their structural properties0

58s are often 2oun Phrases. heir usual position is after the main verb. 5irect8bjects have a strong relationship with the verb that precedes them.

A verb that re)uires a 5irect 8bject to complement its meaning is a transitiveverb.

-f we turn an active sentence into a passive sentence! the 5irect 8bject of theactive sentence becomes the Subject of the passive sentence. he Subject of theactive sentence ends up in a phrase introduced by the word by .

Ex. "y sister $ound this book. This book #as $ound by my sister .

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5irect 8bjects function as 9omplements to verbs.

-ndirect 8bject

Ex. +e gave the boys the ,-s. The publisher sent her a revie# copy o$ the book .

he typical role of the -ndirect 8bjects is :oal;,eceiver or <ene"ciary.=erbs that ta#e a 5irect 8bject and an -ndirect 8bject are called ditransitiveverbs.Syntactic characteristics0

/ hey are usually 2oun Phrases and they cannot occur without a following

5irect 8bject. Ex. '+e gave the boys

/ -ndirect 8bjects always precede 5irect 8bjects. Ex. +e gave the boys the ,-s.

/ -ndirect 8bjects can become the Subjects of passive sentences.Ex. The boys #ere given the ,-s by us.

he Subjects of the active sentences again end up in a by/phrase. he 5irect8bjects stay in place.Ex. The ,-s #ere given to the boys by us.

he -ndirect 8bjects have ended up in phrases beginning with to0 to the boys% toher% to the student and to us. he generalisation is that if we passivise the 5irect8bject of a sentence which also contains an -ndirect 8bject! then the -ndirect8bject ends up in a tophrase.

Adjunct

Ex. The bus stopped suddenly. Shakespeare #rote his plays a long time ago. They #ent to the theatre in /ondon. )e hates maths because he can0t understand it .

he italicised strings of words in these sentences have the function of telling usabout the how! when! where or why of the situations expressed by the respectivesentences are called Adjuncts.

%e can test to see if a particular sentence contains an Adjunct by as#ing how&!when&! where& or why& >or example! if we want to #now what is the Adjunct in

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the 1st example we as# $how did the bus stop&' he answer is $suddenly'! and thisphrase therefore functions as an Adjunct.Similarly! we can as# $%hen did Sha#espeare write his plays&' he answer is $along time ago'.Adjuncts are always optional and express peripheral information.

Adjuncts can be $stac#ed'! which means that more than one of them can appearin a sentence.Ex. /ast year 1 sa# this 2lm several times.

Adjuncts are mobile! as the following examples show0

3reedily Andre ate all the biscuits. Andre greedily ate all the biscuits. Andre ate all the biscuits greedily.

2otice! though! that the position between the main verb and 5irect 8bject is

excluded0 3 Andre ate greedily all the biscuits.

Form: Words, Word Classes and Phrases

he 2otion $%ord'

8pen class words! i.e. a class of words that is constantly enlarged as time goesby! and a closed class! i.e. a class of words that is static! in that no new membersare added to it.

%ord classes (also called parts of speech0

/ noun/ determiner/ adjective/ verb/ preposition/ adverb/ conjunction

/ interjection

2ouns and 5eterminers

raditionally nouns are de"ned as words that denote people! animals! things orplaces.

A problem with the notional de"nition of nouns is that it leaves a great number of words unaccounted for! which could also be said to belong to the class of nouns!

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but which do not denote people! animals! things or places. hese include wordsthat denote abstract ideas or concepts (e.g. death% sincerity% success! emotionalstates (ex. happiness% love! bodily sensations (ex. di44iness% pain and a host ofothers.

he best approach is to characterise nouns using formal and distributionalcriteria.Ex. alliance% $atherhood% abolition% #ildness% studentship% etc.

5i@erent words can have similar endings! or suxes i.e. ance% hood% ion% ness%ship!and some ta#e an irregular plural ending (e.g. child 5 children% ox 5 oxen etc.

Plural and genitive endings are typical of nouns.

5eterminers specify more precisely the meaning of the nouns they precede.5eterminers0

the6athis6thesethat6those#hich#hose2ouns can also be preceded by adjectives i.e. words that in some way )ualify thenouns they precede.

here are subclasses within the class of nouns0

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Common nouns are ordinary! everyday nouns.

Proper nouns are names of people! places and even objects. hey do notnormally ta#e a preceding determiner or modifying element. Proper nouns areexamples of what are called ,eferring Expressions. his is because when theyare uttered in a particular context! they uni)uely refer to oneindividual (or place or object in the world of discourse.

Numerals are not typical nouns. hey ta#e plural endings in certain! restricted!circumstancesEx. The group divided into t#os and threes.

Pronouns are words that function as word substitutes.

Ex. The exhibition #as a success. 1t ran $or six months. he pronoun it refers bac# to the exhibition! i.e. a determiner C noun se)uence.

Noun Phrases are strings of words whose central element is a noun.

Ex. the hatsthe blue hatsthe blue hats on the shelf -n each of these strings of words! the central element is the noun hat. -t is thehead of the phrase. Heads function as the central elements of phrases. Ex. [7!)ats] have al#ays been $ashionable.

%e can expand the 2P hats0

Ex. These hats have al#ays been $ashionable.

)ats that you buy in )arrods have al#ays been $ashionable.

Adjectives

>ormal characteristics0 in the examples above the suxes $ul% less and Dive aretypical adjectival axes! among others! as is the pre"x un. he adjectives greenand impertinent! however! ma#e clear that not all adjectives have such endings.

4ost adjectives are gradable! i.e. they can be preceded by words such as very!extremely! less! etc. (cf. very help$ul% extremely nasty% less interesting! whichindicate the extent to which the adjective applies to the word it combines with.Exceptions are adjectives denoting material (ex. #ooden! cf.'a very #ooden 8oor ! nationality (ex. 9ussian% c$. 'a very 9ussian book ! and afew others.

Adjectives can also ta#e comparative and superlative endings. he comparativeform of an adjective indicates the greater extent to which the normal form of theadjective! called the absolute form! applies! while the superlative form indicatesthe maximal extent (cf . big5bigger5biggest .

Suppletion is when grammatically related bear no physical resemblance to eachother! while this is the norm for other words related in the same way.



2ot all gradable adjectives are able to form comparative and superlative formswith /er and /est. Some adjectives form comparatives and superlativesanalytically. %hat this means is that there is no single word/form for thecomparative and superlative. -nstead! the words more and most are used.

Adjectives with two or more syllables ta#e analytical comparative and superlativeforms.

5istributional characteristics of adjectives0

Adjectives typically occupy two positions in English0the attributive position or the predicative position. %hen an adjective precedes anoun in a 2oun Phrase! it is said to occur in attributive position. -t then suppliesmore information about the character! nature or state of the noun.

%hen an adjective follows a so/called linking verb or copula it is said to occur inpredicative position. here is only a small set of lin#ing verbs in English.

Ex. appear% be% become% $eel% look% remain% seem% smell% sound. She is cra4y .

Adjectives function as the Feads of Adjective Phrases (APs.

Ex. happy extremely happy

happy to be here extremely happy to be here

An AP can consist of only a Fead! or of a Fead preceded by a modifying word! orof a Fead followed by what we have called a 9omplement! or a combination ofthe last two possibilities.

Adjective Phrases can occur within 2oun Phrases. Ex. the happy actor . his stringis an 2P since its central element! its Fead! is a noun (namely actor . )appy is anadjective! but it is also an Adjective Phrase o be precise! it is an AP whichconsists of only an adjective! which modi"es the noun actor .

Ex. G2P the GAP extremely happy H actor H

=erbs

Ex. Every day our )ead o$ -epartment devours three pi44as. The builders #orked $or many days.

he inIections –s and –ed encode grammatical properties.

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Any word that can ta#e a tense inIection is a verb.

=erb endings do not only signal tense! but they also signal * rd person singularending of the present tense. he form of the verb other than the third personsingular is often referred to as the base form. he verb $be0 is an exception to thegeneral pattern in that in the present tense singular it has special forms for allthree persons.

A verb that carries tense is called a "nite verb! whereas a verb that doesn't carrytense is a non"nite verb.

Main or lexical er!s are verbs which can stand on their own in a sentence!without another verbpreceding or following. =erbs that cannot occur independently! but insteadfunction as $helping verbs'! are called auxiliar" er!s! or simply auxiliaries.

Ex. eremy is laughing.

he main verb in this sentence is the ing form of the verb laugh. -t is precededby the auxiliary is (the third person singular form of be. An auxiliary helps amain verb to the extent that it adds more speci"c meaning to it.

Auxiliary verbs! by de"nition! are helping verbs! and must therefore accompanyanother verb! namely a main verb. 5epending on the context! the verb be functions as a main verb or as an auxiliary verb.

Subdivision in the class of auxiliaries D they can be subdivided into four groups0modal auxiliaries% aspectual auxiliaries% the passive auxiliary be and the dummy

auxiliary do.

4odal auxiliaries0 will;would! can;could! may;might! must! shall;should! ought to

Aspectual auxiliaries0 be! have.Ex. These students are al#ays complaining

he passive auxiliary0 be Ex. This doughnut #as eaten by our )ead o$-epartment.

he dummy auxiliary0 do Ex. -o you like eating doughnuts:

4odals contain one of the following elements of meaning0ability! permission! possibility! obligation! necessity! intention or prediction.

hey are always "nite (i.e. they carry tense and they do not ta#e typical verbendings such as the*rd person singular present tense /s ending or the past tense ed ending.

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Aspectual auxiliaries / encode aspect! a concept which refers to the way themeaning of the main verb is viewed in time. he main categories of aspect inEnglish are progressive and perfective aspect.

Let's contrast a sentence containing a past tense form with a sentencecontaining a perfective auxiliary.

Ex. a. Shelley broke t#o #ine glasses last #eek. b. Shelley has broken t#o #ine glasses.

he past tense in a. is used simply to record the fact when Shelley bro#e twowine glasses! whereas the perfective form is used to indicate that Shelley bro#etwo wine glasses )uite recently! and that this event is still relevant (the pieces of glass might still be lying on the Ioor. <ecause there is only one verb in thissentence! has cannot be an auxiliary. -t is therefore a main verb. So have! li#e be!can function as an auxiliary verb or as a main verb.

Passie auxiliar" D occurs when we have a pair consisting of an active andpassive sentence.

Ex. Billy #recked the garden shed. ; The garden shed #as #recked by Billy .

he 5irect 8bject of the 1st sentence (the garden shed is in Subject position inthend sentence and the Subject of the 1st sentence appears in a phrase introducedby by in the nd sentence.

he passive auxiliary verb be is always followed by a main verb ending in /ed

which we will label the past participle form of the verb.

#umm" auxiliar" do D if we want to form the negative counterpart of asentence that does notcontain an auxiliary verb! that we cannot simply add not. %e need to insert aform of the verbdo.

Ex. on does not6doesn0t cycle to #ork every day .

/ he process of inserting do is called do-support in the linguisticliterature.-n forming negative sentences it is not necessary if the sentence in

)uestion alreadycontains an auxiliary verb.

/ 5o is also used to form the interrogative versions of sentences that do notcontain an auxiliary verb.

Ex. -oes on cycle to #ork every day:

%e "rst insert do before the main verb and then we invert this verbwith the Subject. his

inversion process is called Su!ject$auxiliar" inersion.

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/ he *rd use of the dummy auxiliary is in contexts where auxiliaries get$stranded'.

Ex. 5oes Mon cycle to wor# every day& Fe does. Mon cycles all the way to wor# every day! and so does im.

Fere! in the strings Fe does and so does im the auxiliary occurswithout its main verb.

his property has rather opa)uely been referred to as code.

/ here is a fourth use of the dummy auxiliary! and that is in so/calledemphatic contexts. -magine a situation in which someone has just deniedthe truth of the sentence ohn cycles to #ork every day . -f we areconvinced that this statement is true we might respond by saying on-*ES cycle to #ork every day

Fere the capital letters indicate the heavy stress with which the auxiliaryis pronounced.

33 +hat distinguishes auxiliaries $rom main verbs is that they can

1. carry the negative enclitic particle not. invert with the Subject*. manifest code+. carry emphatic stress 7 2-9E properties

-o has constantly been referred to as a dumm" element. he reason is that it doesn't really by itself carry any meaning! but is

inserted simply to aid main verbs in forming negative or interrogativesentences! and also to allow code and emphasis.

33 Auxiliaries combine. Ex. The company has been taxed three times this year .

(in this ex.! the perfective auxiliary have combines with the passiveAuxiliary

33 Always the "rst auxiliary that carries tense (and is therefore "nite.

All the other verbs are non"nite.

N%N-FINI&' (')* F%)MS come in + types0

to dance to-infinitive ex0 1 #anted him to dance.dance bare infinitive ex0 1 sa# him dance.dancing present participle ex0 )e is dancing.danced past participle ex0 )e has o$ten danced.

/ he to/element of the to/in"nitive is called the in2nitival particle.

/ Each auxiliary verb determines the form of the verb that follows it.

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/ he passive auxiliary determines the ed ending on the past participletaxed./ here is a strict order of auxiliary verbs / the modal auxiliary comes "rstand is followed by

the perfective! progressive and passive auxiliaries! though these neednot all be present // he negative particle not always follows the "rstauxiliary verb.

=erb Phrases

As with nouns in 2oun Phrases and adjectives in Adjective Phrases! verbsare able to head a =erb Phrase (=P.Ex. The library has recalled these books.

=erb Phrases contain elements other than verbs.

he library G=P recalled these booksH. he =P here contains an 2P (thesebooks which functions as 58.

Prepositions

at% behind% beside% by% $or% in% like% o$% on% through% under% #ith% #ithout !

etc.

Prepositions can be simple! i.e. consisting of only one word! as in the listabove! or complex! i.e. consisting of more than one word as in by meanso$% in $ront o$% in spite o$% etc.

hey combine with 2oun Phrases to form Prepositional Phrases (PPs.

Ex. GPP #ith G2P thedogHH!GPP on G2P her bicycleHH!GPP through G2P the glassHH! etc.

he 2P in these examples is called a Prepositional 8bject or Prepositional9omplement.Prepositions often denote a relationship of some sort between two entities.

Adverbs

Adverbs modify verbs! adjectives or other adverbs.

Ex. *ur colleague $rom !aris merrily marks student essays in his bath. The teachers are extremely unimpressed by his e<orts.

*ur ne# pro$essor #orks very hard.

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he ending ly is a typical adverb ending.8ther adverb endings are #ards% #ise% #ays (ex. home#ards% clock#ise%side#ays

Some adverbs also ta#e comparative and superlative forms.

Ader! su!classes:

9ircumstantial adverbs / o$ten% glee$ully% intentionally% reluctantly hey can specify fre)uency and manner.

5egree adverbs / extremely% extraordinarily% less% more% pretty%

=uite% too% very hey specify the degree to which theadjective they modify applies.

Sentence adverbs / ho#ever% probably% perhaps hey have a lin#ing function! or modify wholesentences.

hese groups of adverbs also di@er syntactically0

-egree adverbs cannot themselves be modi"ed (cf. 3very extremely !

while circumstantial and sentence adverbs can (cf. very o$ten% =uiteintentionally% very probably .Sentence adverbs are syntactically detached from the sentences theymodify! unli#e circumstantial and degree adverbs.

Adverbs function as the Feads of Adverb Phrases (AdvP.4any AdvPs consist of a Fead only.

9onjunctions

9onjunctions belong to a closed class of words that have a lin#ingfunction.

here are two types of conjunctions0/ coordinating conjunctions (ex. and% or% but

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/ subordinating conjunctions (ex. that% i$% #hether% $or> because% although%#hen! etc.

Coordinatin+ conjunctions

(1 bought G2P G2P a computer H and G2P a keyboardHH

(These articles #ere GAP GAP oldH and GAP uselessHH

()e is GAP GAP pretty stupidH but GAP =uite eager HH

(She G=P G=P likes teaH but G=P hates co<eeHH

(The books are GPP GPP on the tableH or GPP in the cupboardHH

()e killed the 8y GAdvP G#il$ully H and GAdvP =uite mercilessly HH

GS GS They arrived at ?@ a.m.H and GS they le$t at p.m.HH

GS GS +e #ill not o<er this student a placeH but GS #e can recommend a ,ollege

that #illHH

9oordinating conjunctions are also called simply coordinators. he units that are being coordinated we will call conjoins. wo coordinated phrases form a new phrase of the same type as the twoconstituent conjoins.

%e also spea# of coordination in cases where more than two items are beingstrung together! for example in the se)uence beer% #ine and #hisky .

Fe thin#s Gthat we will agreeH- wonder Gif it will ever changeH%e don't #now Gwhether he will comeH

- am hoping Gfor Felen to arrive todayHShe left the course! Gbecause she didn't li#e living in a big cityH4y teachers are very strict! Galthough they are also very supportiveH

hey are going to meet her! Gwhen she arrivesH

Su!ordinatin+ conjunctions

hey are mostly short single words! but there is also a small group ofsubordinating conjunctions that consist of more than one word! e.g. as i$% as long

as% in order that% so that ! etc.

Subordinating conjunctions (or subordinators are elements that introducesubordinate clauses! which we de"ne provisionally as sentences withinsentences.

Subordinators lin# units of une)ual syntactic status.

he clause introduced by that completes the meaning of the verb thin# and istherefore its 5irect 8bject.

he clauses introduced by i$% #hether and $or also introduce 5irect 8bject9lauses.

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Because% although and #hen supply circumstantial information about whatprecedes0 hey specify a reason! a contrast of some sort! and $time when'! respectively.

hese clauses therefore function as Adjuncts.

<ecause that! if! whether and for introduce 9omplement clauses we will refer tothem as complementisers.

-nterjections

-nterjections are expressions of emotion! physical state! agreement!disagreement and such li#e.

ah% erh% hmm% no% oh% ouch% phe#% shit% yes% yuck% etc.

More on Form: Clauses and Sentences

9lauses and 9lause Fierarchies

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%e will say that the string of words collectively forms a sentence! which containstwo clauses0

/ matrix clause! which is coextensive with (i.e. it contains the same

elements as the overall sentence/ su!ordinate clause! namely that ate believed the story . That is a

complementiser.

Finite and non-nite clauses

>inite clauses! then! are clauses that contain a "nite (tensed main verb! whilenon"nite clauses contain a non/"nite (untensed main verb.

hat/clauses are a fre)uently occurring type of "nite subordinate clause. -f/clauses are always "nite.Ex. 1 don0t kno# [i$ he is happy or sad].

7on2nite clauses

Li#e "nite subordinate clauses! non"nite subordinate clauses can also beintroduced by a complementiser! ex. 1 don0t kno# [#hether to laugh or cry at his

okes].

%e need to add to the list of non"nite clause types a "fth type which is ratherspecial in that it does not contain a verb. Ex. 4artin considers Gim a creepH. hebrac#eted clauses have been called er!less clauses or Small Clause (S9.Small 9lauses are clauses that lac# an overt verb! but can be said to contain animplicit verb be.Paraphrased /N 4artin considers Gim to be a creepH.

he ,an# Scale

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Every sentence can be analysed at four distinct form levels0the word/level! phrase/level! clause/level and the sentence/level.

Ex. Tim thought that ate believed the story.

Ex. Tim thought that ate believed that 3reg is a liar .

Sentence ypes

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8n the basis of their syntactic properties we distinguishdeclarative! interrogative! imperative and exclamative sentences.

/ Declarative Sentences

he Subject comes "rst in the sentence! followed by the Predicator! which in turnis followed by an -ndirect 8bject (if there is one and a 5irect 8bject (again! ifpresent.

Ex. Cou haven0t closed the door .

Although declarative sentences are usually used to ma#e statements! it is notalways the case.

>or example! if the spea#er loo#s sternly from the addressee to the door! andthen utters the example above! the addressee is li#ely to interpret this as anorder to close the door. Fere too tone of voice ma#es all the di@erence.

/ Interrogative Sentences

hey are used to as# )uestions.

Ces6no interrogatives elicit either $yes' or $no' as answers. hey display inversion of the Subject with an auxiliary verb.

+hinterrogatives potentially elicit an in"nite range of answers. hey are characterised by the initial )uestion words starting with the letters wh. hese are called %h/words. )o# is also considered a %h/word.

Alternative interrogatives0 the possible answers to such interrogatives are givenin the way the )uestion is as#ed.

9hetorical interrogatives are interrogative sentences that are not used to as#

)uestions at all.Ex. )o# many times do 1 have to tell you not to lick your plate

/ -mperative Sentences

Ex. :o home.4ind your own business.Shut up.

hey do not normally contain Subjects and their verb is in the base form.

Sometimes imperatives do not receive the default directive interpretation.Ex. Take care o$ yoursel$ .

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/ Exclamative Sentences

hey are formed with an initial %h/word0Ex. +hat a load o$ nonsense he talksD )o# absolutely disgrace$ul he looksD

)o# is standardly also regarded as a %h/word.

Exclamatives di@er from interrogatives in that in the former the %h/word usuallyfunctions as a modifying element inside a phrase (2P and AP respectively in thesentences above! whereas in the latter the %h/word is usually an 2P.

2<. he notions statement! )uestion! directive and exclamation! by contrast! arepragmatic notions. Pragmatics is the study of the meaning of linguisticexpressions in context.

-nstances of phrases0

he >unctionD>orm -nterface

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here are levels of analysis0"rst we examined the functions of the constituent parts of sentences. hen weinvestigated form! i.e. how the di@erent elements in sentences combine intolarger units.

/ Function. / refers to Subjects! 5irect 8bjects! Adjuncts! etc./ Form. / refers to words! word classes (noun! adjective! verb! etc.!

phrases (2P! AP! =P!etc.! clauses (matrix clause! subordinate clause or

sentences.

>unctionD>orm ,elationships

>or present purposes it is important to see that in language too there is a lac# ofa one/to/one relationship between the various forms we encounter and thefunctions they perform.

he converse also holds0 a particular function may be performed by di@erentforms.

his is why we need to distinguish between function and form.

REALISATIOS O! T"E S#$%E&T

• 's (unctioning as Sub)ect

1 G2P he hedgehogH ate the cream ca#e. G2P A ratH bit my toe.* G2P his shoeH hurts me.+ G2P AcademicsH never lie.

• ''s (unctioning as Sub)ect

(6 GPP Onder the stairsH was a safe area to be during the war.(? GPP 8utside the fridgeH is not a good place to #eep mil#.(BGPP After SaturdayH would be a good time to go away for a few days.

• A' (unctioning as Sub)ect (J GAP ,estlessH is what - would call him.

• Adv' (unctioning as Sub)ect (1K GAdvP 9autiouslyH is how - would suggest you do it.

1



2otice that where the Subject clause has no Subject of its own! one is usuallyimplied and can easily be inferred. >or example! in (1J the implied Subject ofthe brac#eted clause is someone0or someone to be a good teacher is more diFcult than people think .

Sentence (B below is an example of a sentence that contains a bare in"nitiveclause as Subject. hese are )uite rare! and used informally. (D(*6

• $are infinitive clauses (unctioning as Sub)ect

GParty the night awayH is a nice thing to do.

• -ing participle clauses (unctioning as Sub)ect

,it+ a Sub)ect o( t+eir o,n

GPete brea#ing the rulesH is unacceptable. GStudents wal#ing on the roof H poses a safety ris#.

5amien fooling aroundH embarrasses his friends.:eorge buying all those boo#sH will cost his father a fortune.

,it+out a Sub)ect o( t+eir o,n

:oing on holidayH always creates tensions.,unning a businessH is hard wor#.Swimming in this la#eH will ma#e you ill.,efusing to help the needyH is sel"sh.

• Small &lauses (unctioning as Sub)ect

Ghe #itchen free of coc#roachesH is a welcome prospect.

REALISATIO O! T"E 'REDI&ATE 0 'REDI&ATOR

*



Predicate in a sentence consists of everything but the Subject.

Ex. Eric lost his keys yesterday .

hus! in the ex. Eric is the Subject and lost his keys yesterday is the Predicate.-nside the Predicate we distinguish the Predicator (the verb lose! the 5irect8bject (the 2P his keys and an Adjunct (the 2oun Phrase yesterday .

Predicates 7 =erb Phrases R Predicators 7 main verbs.

REALISATIOS O! T"E DIRE&T O$%E&T

5irect 8bjects are usually constituents which refer to an entity that can be said

to undergo the action denoted by the verb. hey typically have the semantic role

of Patient.

uestion0 $%ho or what is a@ected by the action denoted by the verb&'

5irect 8bjects can be realised by0 / 2oun Phrases

/ Prepositional Phrases!

/ "nite clauses and non"nite clauses.

• 's (unctioning as Direct Ob)ect

(* Sarah admires G2P the PresidentH.

(*J ,alph enjoys G2P her companyH.

(+1 2ina described G2P the eventH.

• ''s (unctioning as Direct Ob)ect

(+ - don't #now! but the council rejected GPP behind the churchH.

(+* - prefer GPP before EasterH.

Li#e PPs as Subjects! PPs as 5irect 8bjects tend to be locative phrases or phrases

specifying a time span.

• !inite clauses (unctioning as Direct Ob)ect

+



/ T+at-clauses (unctioning as Direct Ob)ect

(++ he government believes Gthat the voters are stupidH.

(+6 She admits Gthat she ignored the red lightH.

(+? 4aggie doubts Gthat her boyfriend will ever changeH.

(+B %e regret Gthat we appointed youH.

/ !inite *+-clauses (unctioning as Direct Ob)ect

(+ Fe #nows Gwhat she meansH.

(+J Fe explained Gwho would be in charge of the investigationH.

(6K - don't remember Gwhy Paul said thatH.

(61 hey "nally decided Gwhere they will send their child to school H.

• onfinite clauses (unctioning as Direct Ob)ect

/ to/in"nitive clauses!/ bare in"nitive clauses/ /ing participle clauses/ /ed participle clauses/ Small 9lauses.

/ To-infinitive clauses (unctioning as Direct Ob)ect


(6 Ann considers GFelen to be an excellent directorH.

(6* hey believe Gthe tabloid newspapers to contain nothing but smutH.

(6+ he company expects Gits employees to dress smartlyH.

(66 She imagined Gthe others to want promotionH.


(6? :ary wants Gto leaveH.

(6B %e hope Gto see you soonH.

(6 hey expect Gto leave the country within twenty/four hoursH.

(6J She proposed Gto open a restaurant in LondonH.

,it+out a Sub)ect o( t+eir o,n. introduced b/ a *+-,ord

(?K Fe forgot Gwhat to say to the examinersH.

(?1 he dentist couldn't decide Gwho to see nextH.

(? hey told their family Gwhen to come overH.

(?* ou should #now Ghow to do arithmetic without a calculatorH.

6



/ $are infinitive clauses (unctioning as Direct Ob)ect (always

contain a Subject

(?6 %e saw Gthe sun riseH.

(?? ,ic# could hear Ghis tutor rage with angerH.

(?B She made Gher boyfriend cryH.

he verbs that ta#e bare in"nitive clauses as 58 are mostly verbs of perception

(see% hear and so/called causative verbs! i.e. verbs that denote a process of

causation (make% let .

/ -ing participle clauses (unctioning as Direct Ob)ect


(?J - heard GMamie singing in the bathH.

(BK he witness saw Gsomeone running awayH.


(B* She abhors Geating meat H.(B+ %illy intended Gregistering for the examsH.

(B6 ,ay regrets Gbuying a sportscarH.

/ /ed participle clauses (unctioning as Direct Ob)ect (always contain a

Subject

(B She watched Gthe ship mooredH.

(BJ - need Gmy watch repairedH.

(K hey found Gthe front door loc#edH.

/ Small clauses (unctioning as Direct Ob)ect

(1 4artin considers Gim a creepH. ( Larry judges Gthe Fead of 5epartment a

geniusH.

(* Phil deems GFenry foolishH. (+ Tatie thin#s Gus cleverH.

REALISATIOS O! AD%#&TS

Adjuncts are constituents that tell you more about the how! when! where or whyof the activity or situation expressed by the sentences they occur in. >or

?



example! in - left London on Saturday the PP on Saturday is an Adjunct! because

it tells you when - left London.

Adjuncts can be0 / Adverb Phrases

/ Prepositional Phrases

/ 2oun Phrases / "nite clauses / non"nite clauses / Small 9lauses.

• Adv's (unctioning as Ad)unct

(JK Fe cleaned the house GAdvP )uite cheerfullyH. /N manner(J1 GAdvP 8ciallyH! the company denied all responsibility.(J Fe GAdvP urgentlyH needed to see a doctor.

(J* hey GrepeatedlyH had their car stolen. /N J1 D J* expresses viewpoint!degree R fre)uency

hey can express manner! viewpoint! degree R fre)uency.

• ''s (unctioning as Ad)unct

(J+ 8tto coo#ed his evening meal GPP in a rushH.(J6 %e met GPP outside ParisH.(J? >ran# cut the bread GPP with a pen#nifeH.(JB hey always drin# sherry GPP before dinnerH.

hey can express manner! location! instrument and time.

• 's (unctioning as Ad)unct

(J Felen discovered the -talian restaurant G2P yesterdayH(JJ he crisis began G2P last yearH.(1KK Fe resigned G2P the month before lastH.(1K1 Fe wants me to do it G2P this secondH.

2Ps as Adjunct usually specify $time when'.

&lauses (unctioning as Ad)unct

here is a wide variety of meanings that such clauses can express.

/ time (introduced by as soon as% be$ore% since% till% until% #hen%

#henever% #hile% #hilst%among others!

/ reason (introduced by because% as or since!/ condition (introduced by i$% even i$ or unless!/ result (introduced by so or so that !

B



/ purpose (introduced by so that or in order that .

• !inite clauses (unctioning as Ad)unct

(1K hey will be coo#ing the meal! Gwhen we arriveH.(1K* G%hile >rancis was watching tvH! Paul was peeling the potatoes.(1K+ :ay doesn't li#e 4ar#! Gbecause he gives her the creepsH.(1K6 GSince he never used his cardH! the library cancelled his membership.(1K? %e'll go to Paris! Gif you promise not to smo#eH.(1KB GOnless you objectH! -'ll smo#e a cigar.(1K ell 2elly to hurry up! Gso that we can go out H.(1KJ GSo she doesn't have to carry around her spectaclesH! Emily wears contact

lenses.(11K She'll give the money to a charity! Gin order that they will spend it on a good

causeH.(111 G-n order that his son might ta#e over the shopH! Mac# retired.

3 Some subordinators can introduce Adjunct clauses of more than one semantictype. 9onsider the sentences below! both of which contain an Adjunct clauseintroduced by since0

(11 9harlie has never been bac#! Gsince he last visited us in the springH.(11* %e didn't as# 2eil to come! Gsince Mane doesn't li#e himH.

-n (11 the clause introduced by since is a temporal Adjunct clause. -n (11*! by

contrast! the since/clause gives the reason why 2eil wasn't as#ed to come.

<ac# to non"nite Adjunct clauses /N All types of non"nite clause can function as

Adjunct0

/ to/in"nitive clauses/ bare in"nitive clauses/ /ing participle clauses/ /ed participle clauses/ Small 9lauses.

hey can express0 time! reason! purpose! etc.

• onfinite clauses (unctioning as Ad)unct

/ To-infinitive clauses (unctioning as Ad)unct


(11+ %e need some music! G for us to enjoy the eveningH.(116 G>or 4arie to pass her driving test H! she will need to ta#e many more

lessons.(11? 9atherine will need to wor# harder! G for her to reach her life's ambitionH.(11B G>or ,ic# and ,achel to appreciate oystersH! they will need to overcome their

revulsion for eating raw "sh.




(11 Alex replaced the loc# on the door! Gin order to ma#e the house more

secureH.(11J GSo as to move about more easilyH! ,obert bought himself a car.

(1K ou will need to travel to the Onited States! Gto hear him lectureH.(11 Go produce an essay every two wee#sH! you will have to wor# very hard.

/ $are infinitive clauses (unctioning as Ad)unct

8nly bare in"nitive clauses introduced by rather than or sooner than can function

as Adjunct. hey have no Subject.

(1 G,ather than sell the paintingH! -#e preferred to destroy it.(1* ,ay wants to travel by train! Gsooner than IyH.

/ -ing participle clauses (unctioning as Ad)unct


(1+ Ghe streets being completely desertedH! Mac#ie preferred to ta#e a cab.(16 Sally stared out of the window! Gher thoughts drifting away dreamilyH.(1? GFis dog scampering beside himH! Leonard wal#ed home.(1B Fenry sent the manuscript of his novel to a publisher! Ghis wife having

persuaded him that it was a good piece of wor#H.


(1 G%or#ing on his essay lateH! om was )uic#ly becoming tired.(1J <ob tal#ed to his girlfriend on the phone! Gwatching tv at the same timeH.(1*K GStanding on a tableH! 5awn addressed the crowd.(1*1 :us got o@ the train! Gbuttoning up his coatH.

/ -ed participle clauses (unctioning as Ad)unct


(1* Ghe attac# avertedH! the people of the town could come out of hiding.(1** %e were all excited! Gthe plan accepted by the governmentH.(1*+ Ghe trees chopped downH! the par# loo#ed miserable.(1*6 She went home! Gall the wor# completedH.


(1*? G5isgusted by what he had witnessedH! >ran# left the party.(1*B 4eg joined Amnesty -nternational! Gconvinced that this would bene"t

political prisonersH.(1* G>ormulated clearlyH! this statement will cause no problems.

(1*J She died in her car! Gsu@ocated by exhaust fumesH.

J



/ Small clauses (unctioning as Ad)unct

(1+K Fe is from a wealthy bac#ground! Ghis father a businessmanH.

(1+1 Ghe doctor illH! we had no/one to loo# after my sister.(1+ She went bac# to her homeland! Gher mind free of hateH.(1+* Ghe police unrepentantH! we too# them to court.

Part II

'la!oration

Predicates, Ar+uments and &hematic )oles

Predicates and Arguments

Ex. The crocodile devoured a doughnut .

his sentence consists of a Subject (the crocodile! a Predicator (devoured and a

5irect 8bject (a doughnut . <oth the Subject and 5irect 8bject are realised by

2oun Phrases! whereas the Predicator is realised by a verb.

%e will refer to elements that re)uire the speci"cation of the participants in the

proposition expressed as predicates (ex. devour ! and we will refer to the

participants themselves as arguments(the crocodile% a doughnut .

*K



Examples of sentences containing argument/ta#ing predicates. he predicates are in bold type and the arguments are in italics0

(+ )enry smiled.(6 The police inesti+ated the allegation.(? Sara +ae [!ete][a parcel ].(B "elany !et [Brian][a pound][that he #ould lose the game o$ s=uash].

Sentence (+ is a predicate that ta#es only one argument. %e will call such

predicates one/place predicates (or monadic predicates.

(6 is li#e (1 above0 the predicate investigate re)uires the presence of two

arguments. -t is a two/place predicate (or dyadic predicate.

-n (? the verb send ta#es three arguments! and is called a three/place predicate

(or triadic predicate.

Sentences li#e (B are very exceptional in EnglishU a verb li#e bet can be said to

ta#e four arguments0 three 2oun Phrase arguments ("elany% Brian% a pound ! and

one clausal argument (that he #ould lose the game o$ s=uash.

-n each case of the cases above we refer to the arguments inside =P (i.e. followingthe verb as internal arguments and to the Subject argument as the externalargument. -t is important to see that the semantic notions one/place predicate!two/place predicate and three/place predicate correspond to the syntactic notionsintransitive verb! transitive verb and ditransitive verb.

2otice that when - use Predicate as a functional term it is written with a capitalletter $P'. %hen - use it as a semantic term it is written with a lower/case letter $p'.Secondly! do not confuse the terms predicate and Predicator0 the "rst is asemantic label! as we have just seen! while the secondis again a functional label.

hematic ,oles

hematic roles0/ Agent / the $doer'! or instigator of the action denoted by the predicate/ 'atient / the $undergoer' of the action or event denoted by the predicate/ T+eme / the entity that is moved by the action or event denoted by the

predicate/ Experiencer / the living entity that experiences the action or event denoted by

the predicate/ 1oal / the location or entity in the direction of which something 4oves/ $ene(active / the entity that bene"ts from the action or event denoted by the

predicate

/ Source / the location or entity from which something moves

*1



/ Instrument / the medium by which the action or event denoted by the

predicate is carried out/ Locative /the speci"cation of the place where the action or event denoted

by the predicate is

(i GFis motherH sent G5avidH Ga letterH.

(ii G5avidH smelled Gthe freshly ba#ed breadH.

(iii G%eH put Gthe cheeseH Gin the fridgeH.

(iv G>ran#H threw GhimselfH Gonto the sofaH.

(v G:regH comes Gfrom %alesH.

-n (i the Subject 2oun Phrase carries the role of Agent! as do the Subjects in (iii and(iv. he role of 5avid in (ii is that of Experiencer. Sentence (v illustrates that it is byno means always easy to determine the thematic role of a particular phrase0 what t/

role do we assign to the 2P :reg& 2one of the roles on our list is )uite appropriate.%ecan adopt two possible solutions to this problem. Either we say that :reg carries oneof the t/roles on our list! though marginally so! say heme! or we invent a new rolealtogether! say

opic.

%e have yet to discuss the roles of the non/Subject phrases in the exercise.-n (i 5avid is the :oal of the act of sending. he 2Ps the letter in (i! the cheese in (iiiand himself in (iv are hemes. hey could also be said to be Patients! and it is forexactly this reason that you will often "nd the heme and Patient /roles lumpedtogether in textboo#s. -n the fridge and on the sofa are :oals (or perhaps Locative inthe case of in the fridge! while from %ales in (v clearly carries the role of Source.

here only remains one case! and that is the 2P the freshly ba#ed bread in (ii. he important thing is to be aware that this 2P carries a thematic role.

hree Levels of 5escription

9ross/9ategorial :eneralisations0 V/bar Syntax

Feads! 9omplements and Speci"ers

*



All phrases have something in common! namely the fact that they must minimallycontain a Fead. -n the brac#eted phrases in the sentences below the Feads are shownin bold type0

(1 he defendants denied the charge0 they claim that they did G=P not destro" thegardenH( She proposed G2P an anal"sis of the sentenceH(* Ma#e is GAP so 0ond of co@eeH(+ hey are GPP )uite in agreementH(6 4y sister cycles GAvP much 0aster than meH

&omplement / as a general term to denote any constituent whose presence isre)uired by another element

he close bond between Fead and 9omplement in this tree diagram0

he elements that immediately precede the Feads! such as not% an% so and =uite in(1D(6! unli#e 9omple/ments! seem to relate not so much to the Fead! but to the Fead and 9omplementta#en together.

hey precede the Fead and specify the Fead/9omplement se)uence and we will referto them as Speci"ers (abbreviated as $Spec'.

333

333 -n the 2P an analysis o$ the sentence we want to account for the fact that the5eterminer an bears a relationship to the Fead noun and PP ta#en together.Speci"er and 9omplement positions are optional.

Specifiers / appear only if the meaning of the phrase re)uires it. >or example!in the case of

=Ps! a Speci"er not appears only if we want to express a negative=P.

&omplements / appear only if the Fead of a phrase re)uires their presence.

**



Adjuncts

Ex. he defendants denied the charge0 they claim that they did G=P not destroy thegarden deliberatelyH

*+



-n this sentence the AdvP deliberately modi"es the se)uence destroy the garden! andis positioned after the Fead destroy and its 9omplement the garden. his AdvPfunctions as an Adjunct in that it tells us how the defendants destroyed the garden.

Op to now we have used the term Adjunct in a somewhat restricted sense to refer tothe grammatical function of a constituent that speci"es the $how'! $when'! $where' or$why' of the situation expressed by a sentence.

Onder this de"nition the AdvP deliberately in The de$endants denied the chargeG theyclaim that they did [H! not destroy the garden deliberately] clearly )uali"es as anAdjunct. %e will now widen the notion of Adjunct! in such a way that not only =Ps cancontain them! but other phrase types as well. 9onsider the strings below0

( G2P an analysis of the sentence with tree diagramsH(J GAP so fond of co@ee after dinnerH(*K GPP )uite in agreement about thisH(*1 GAdvP much faster than me by farH

9onsider next (*?D(*J0

(*? G2P a silly analysis of the sentenceH

*6



(*B GAP so terribly fond of co@eeH(* GPP )uite unhesitatingly in agreementH(*J GAdvP clearly faster than meH

Adjuncts are often Adverb Phrases! but can be of any category.

hey are adjoined either to the right or to the left of single bar categories and have amodifying function.

9omplements! as we have seen! are always sisters of Feads.

There are a number o$ important points to bear in mind about AdunctsG

>irst! they can be stac#ed i.e. several of them can appear in any one phrase.Fere are two examples of phrases containing multiple pre/Fead Adjuncts0

(++ he defendants denied the charge0 they claim that they did G=P not unthin#inglydeliberately destroy the gardenH(+6 G2P a silly! preposterous analysis of the sentenceH

-n (+? and (+B we have phrases that contain both a pre/Fead and a post/FeadAdjunct0

(+? GAP so devotedly fond of co@ee after dinnerH(+B GPP )uite unhesitatingly in agreement with each otherH

he property of being stac#able di@erentiates Adjuncts on the one hand from9omplements and Speci"ers on the other0 while phrases can in principle contain anunlimited number of Adjuncts (though they can become stylistically clumsy! lexicalFeads! ex. verbs! are restricted in the number of 9omplements they can ta#e (rarelymore than three! while Speci"ers are generally not recursive (cf. 3he my dog.

he bond between Adjuncts and their associated Feads is less close than thatbetween the Fead and its 9omplements.

*?



&omplements are sisters o( t+eir "eads. ,+ile Ad)uncts are sisters o( t+esingle bar level abovet+e "ead2

9omplements must be adjacent to their Feads.

otice t+at t+e labels Specifier. Ad)unct. "ead and &omplement are(unctional notions. and t+at o( t+ese (our onl/ t+e "ead is al,a/sobligator/2

'ex. a silly analysis o$ the sentence #ith tree diagrams

he most important element is the Fead analysis! and there are various additionalwords that relate indi@erent ways to this Fead0 some have a modifying function (ex. silly% #ith treediagrams! others have a complementing function (ex. o$ the sentence.-n other words! the example above is structured. 4oreover! it is structuredhierarchically0

*B



he reason for this is that if an element! e.g. a verb! ta#es a Subject expression! nosubcategory of verbs isestablished for it.

External arguments do appear in the frames that specify the argument;thematicstructure of lexical items. -n these frames all arguments are listed! together with thethematic roles that are assigned to them.

Subordinate 9lauses

,lauses $unctioning as -irect *bect% Subect and Adunct

(1 im thought that Tate believed the story.

(1* She wanted her brother to ba#e a ca#e.

<oth sentences contain subordinate clauses which function as 5irect 8bjects of theverbs think and #ant ! respectively. 2ote that the subordinate clause in (1 is "niteand introduced by the complementiser that .

he subordinate clause in (1* is non"nite and not introduced by a subordinatingconjunction.

3ex. - will repair it Gwhen - returnH.3the subordinate clause is positioned after the 5irect 8bject! and that its function isAdjunct.

,lauses $unctioning as ,omplements #ithin !hrases

2ot only verbs can ta#e clausal complements! other lexical Feads can too.

(K he article was about G2P their realisation that all is lost H(1 - am GAP so ea+er to #ork #ith youH( Fe is uncertain GPP a!out #hat you said to meH

he Feads in each case are in bold! the 9omplements are in italics. he clausal9omplements in each case are subordinate clauses. -n the 2P and AP they give moreinformation about the content of their associated Fead. -n the PP the clause identi"esthe nature of the uncertainty mentioned in the sentence.

,lauses $unctioning as Aduncts #ithin !hrases

9lausal Adjuncts are also found in 2Ps. hey are called relative clauses! and can beintroduced by a %h/word or by that .

*J



(? 5o you remember G2P that summer! which was so sunnyH&(B 5o you remember G2P that summer which was so sunnyH&( -'m worried about G2P the watch that was stolenH! not the one on the table.

-magine (? being uttered in a situation where the interlocutors #now whichparticular summer is being referred to! say last year's summer. -n this case therelative clause does not add further information that contributes to identifying thesummer in )uestion. %e call it a nonrestrictive relative clause. 2ote the comma! whichmar#s the relative clause o@ intonationally! i.e. there is a pause after the wordsummer.+e #ill treat both restrictive and nonrestrictive relative clauses $unctionally as

Aduncts Ii.e. they are adoined to 70J. Thus% IKLJ represents the 7! in both IKJ andIKMJ% #hile IN@J represents the 7! in IKOJ.

Part III

Moement

=erb 4ovement0 Aspectual Auxiliaries

-n the previous chapter we argued that modal auxiliaries are not positioned in =P! butin $-'.

(1 4y brother will not ba#e a ca#e.( 4y brother will perhaps not ba#e a ca#e.

-n (1 the modal auxiliary will is positioned before the negative element not! which weargued to be in the Speci"er position of =P. As there are no further slots to the left ofthe Speci"er in =P! we concluded that the modal must be outside =P.

4odals are always "nite! and that the $-'/node is therefore a natural location for them!given the fact that itcontains the tense feature.

Ex. * Fe has bro#en the mirror. + - am dreaming.

-n (* the last two constituents are the verb bro#en (the non"nite past participle formof the main verbbrea# and the 2oun Phrase the mirror! which functions as a 5irect 8bject.2ow! we #now that a main verb C 58 form a =/bar (='! and that this =' is a sister of aSpeci"er. the Speci"er node and =' are dominated by =P.

Aspectuals can be positioned inside =P! namely when there is also a modal in thesentence! but we also have evidence that aspectuals can be positioned outside =P!namely when there is a sentence adverb and;or negative element present! but nomodal verb. -n order to account for this situation we posit movement of the aspectualsfrom =P to $-'! but only if there is not already a modal verb present in $-' to bloc# it.

+K



2P/4ovement0 Passive

(+ hese lorries produce "lthy fumes.(6 >ilthy fumes are produced by these lorries.

-n contrast with active sentences! passive sentences contain the passive auxiliary be!a past participle and an optional PP introduced by by.

-f we consider (+ and (6 from the point of view of thematic roles! we observe thatthe 2P these lorries carries an agentive role both in (+ and (6. he 2P "lthy fumescarries the role of Patient (or heme if you prefer in both sentences.

Linguists have suggested that in order to capture the strong thematic anitiesbetween active and passive sentences we might view passive sentences as being theresult of movement! in such a way that the Subject of a passive sentence derives fromthe position immediately following the main verb. %e can indicate the position thatthe Subject of (6 derives from with a $W'.

(B his student must #rite two essays.( his student has #ritten two essays.(J his student is #riting two essays.(*K wo essays #ere #ritten by this student.

-n (B the main verb is preceded by the modal verb must. -n ( and (J it ispreceded by an aspectual auxiliary (have and be! respectively! while in (*K (thepassive version of his student wrote two essays! the main verb is preceded by theplural past tense form of the passive auxiliary be. 2otice that in each case the form ofthe main verb is determined by the auxiliary that precedes it.

&ombinations o( auxiliaries are also possible0

(*1 his student must have written two esssays.modal auxiliary P per$ective auxiliary P main verb

+1



(* his student must be writing two essays. modal auxiliary P progressive auxiliary P main verb

(** his student has been writing two essays. per$ective auxiliary P progressive auxiliary P main verb

(*+ wo essays must have been being written by this student. modal auxiliary P per$ective auxiliary P progressive auxiliary P passive auxiliaryP main verb

he auxiliary C main verb se)uence always occurs in the following order0

(*6 3modal4 3per(ective4 3progressive4 3passive4 main verb

he main verb is always obligatory. he auxiliaries are optional. 2otice that if we dohave a se)uence of auxiliaries! it is possible to $s#ip' one of the brac#eted auxiliaryslots shown in (*6! as (* shows. Fere we have a modal auxiliary immediatelyfollowed by a progressive auxiliary. here is no perfective auxiliary. -n (*+! allauxiliary slots given in (*6 are "lled. %e can only select one auxiliary of a particulartype! so it is not possible for an English sentence to contain two modal verbs! or twoprogressive auxiliaries.

Auxiliaries share a property with transitive and ditransitive verbs0

a transitive verb re)uires a following 5irect 8bject! while a ditransitive verb re)uiresan -8 and a 58. ransitive verbs subcategorise for a 58! and ditransitive verbssubcategorise for an -8 and a 58. -n the same way! auxiliary verbs subcategorise for=Ps.

he Structure of Sentences 9ontaining 8ne or 4ore Auxiliaries

Auxiliary verbs ta#e =P/9omplements.

hey determine the form of the verb that heads the =P/9omplement. hus! perfectiveand passive auxiliaries are always followed by a =P headed by an 5ed form! modalauxiliaries are always followed by a =P headed by a verb in the base form! andprogressive auxiliaries are always followed by a =P headed

by an ing form. he sentences in (B?D(BJ illustrate this0

+



(B? his artist has painted two portraits. per(ective auxiliar/ 5 a 6' +eaded b/ a main verb in –ed

(BB his artist will have painted two portraits. modal auxiliar/ 5 a 6' +eaded b/ a per(ective auxiliar/ 5 a 6' +eadedb/ a main verb

(B his artist will have been painting two portraits. modal auxiliar/ 5 a 6' +eaded b/ a per(ective auxiliar/ 5 a 6' +eadedb/ a passive auxiliar/ 5a 6'

+eaded b/ a main verb

(BJ wo portraits will have been being painted by this artist. modal auxiliar/ 5 a 6' +eaded b/ a per(ective auxiliar/ 5 a 6' +eadedb/ a progressive auxiliar/5 a

6' +eaded b/ a passive auxiliar/ 5 a6' +eaded b/ a main verb

Part I(

Ar+umentation

Economy of 5escription0 Linguistically Signi"cant :eneralisations

and 8ccam's ,aQor

Linguisticall/ Significant 1eneralisations 3LS1s4 / are generalisations that aresigni"cant to the extent that

they express regularpatternings observed in a particular

language or across severallanguages.

(1J Tate came to see me. W 1t #as ate #ho came to see me.(K - met her in Philadelphia. W 1t #as in !hiladelphia that 1 met her.

(1 - made her wor#. W '1t #as #ork that 1 made her.( - made her happy. W '1t #as happy that 1 made her.

+*



he second sentences in each case are called cle0t sentences.

hey ta#e the following form0

It 1 0orm o0 be 1 0ocus 2italicised in the sentences a!oe3 1 /ho4that555

6(6 om li#es piQQas.(? om is fond of piQQas.(B 3om is fond piQQas.( 3om's fondness piQQas.

hese sentences allow us to ma#e the generalisation that 2Ps can complement verbsor prepositions ((6 and (?! but they cannot complement adjectives and nouns

((B and (.

G/2H is the one feature that verbs and prepositions have in common.

8ccam's ,aQor

he Principle of 8ccam's ,aQor is intended to say was that in describing something weshould cut out (hence the raQor! presumably unnecessary assumptions! categories!terminology! and what have you.

-n the next two sections we will loo# at two further examples in which 8ccam's raQorplays a role0

• 6erb–preposition constructions 3'+rasal verbs4

(J =alerie sent a memo out.

(*K =alerie sent out a memo.(*1 =alerie went out.

2otice that in (J and (*K there is a 5irect 8bject 2P (a memo which can bepositioned before orafter out. (An exception are pronouns! which must always occur before out! cf.3Halerie sent out it . -n (*1 there is no 58. %e can thus spea# of transitive and intransitive Phrasal =erbs.

>urther examples of phrasal verbs are hand in% heat up% look up% thro# a#ay% sendback% s#itch on6o< (transitive! and break do#n% cool do#n% $ool around (all

intransitive.

++



Phrasal =erbs with Prepositional =erbs are verbs that ta#e a Prepositional Phrase as a9omplement0

(* Fe agreed #ith his sister .(** She loo#ed through the #indo#.

An important di@erence with Phrasal =erbs is that the 2P cannot occur before thepreposition0

(*+ 3Fe agreed his sister with.(*6 3She loo#ed the window through.

8ther examples of Prepositional =erbs are approve of 2P! believe in 2P! complainabout 2P! decide on 2P! lean against 2P! loo# after 2P! object to 2P! rely on 2P! waitfor 2P.

!hrasal verb ( verb P particle

Phrasal =erbs can also function as Feads of Prepositional Phrases Iin the bank% up theroad% etc.J.

he simplest assumption we can ma#e which is in harmony with the data is that!because they loo# li#e prepositions! the $particle' elements in Phrasal =erbs in fact areprepositions.

$,egular' prepositions are always followed by a 2oun Phrase 9omplement! whereas$particle' elements in Phrasal =erbs seem to be autonomous elements can occur indi@erent positions in sentences

he prepositions we "nd in so/called Phrasal =erbs are then simply to be regarded as

intransitive prepositions! heading an intransitive PP (i.e. a PP in which the prepositionis not followedby a 2oun Phrase 9omplement.%e can now analyse sentences involving Phrasal =erbs as below0

(*? =alerie G=P G= sentH G2P a memoH GPP outHH.(*B =alerie G=P G= sentH W GPP outH G2P a memoHH.(* =alerie G=P G= wentH GPP outHH.

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syntax, bas aarts

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