LING 101 Lecture outline M Mar 19 Today s topic: Movement rules Background reading: CL Ch 5, sec 3, Move The Ch 5 Appendix section on Using Move 1
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 Myke (10:10) 601 Melissa (11:15) 602 Mika (11:15) 603 2
1. Review: Building a syntax model Our goal is 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 Then, we can hypothesize that the characteristics of our model are like the characteristics of actual human mental grammar 3
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 (how to combine words into phrases) - the modifier structure (for extra phrases) - complement options (specific heads choose whether to have a complement, and what kind) 4
2. Extending our model of syntax again Is it surprising that this sentence is grammatical? (1)What might the puppy devour? 5
2. Extending our model of syntax again Is it surprising that this sentence is grammatical? (1) 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 6
3. Yes-no questions Consider these examples: (2a) Students will study the lessons. (2b) The students will study the lessons. (2c) The dedicated students in this class will study the lessons. What does it look like when those sentences are made into yes-no questions? 7
3. Yes-no questions What does it look like when those sentences are made into yes-no questions? (2a) Will [ students ] study the lessons? (2b) Will [ the students ] study the lessons? (2c) Will [ the dedicated students in this class ] study the lessons? The auxiliary moves to a position to the left of the subject What position is it moving to? 8
3. Yes-no questions Proposal: Every TP 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 9
3. Yes-no questions Inversion rule a movement rule for English (and some, but not all, other languages): When the matrix C is +Q, move T to the C position and attach it next to +Q. 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) 10
3. Yes-no questions Step 1: The deep-structure form of the sentence is constructed, using the X' schema as usual 11
3. Yes-no questions Step 2: The Inversion rule applies, moving the auxiliary to C and leaving a trace in T 12
3. 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: (3)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? 13
3. 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 14
2. Extending our model of syntax again Why is this sentence grammatical? (1) 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? Solution: Inversion rule - What is the position of what? 15
4. Wh questions Wh question is the technical term in linguistics for questions containing a question word such as what, who, where, when, which, how - Wh questions are sometimes also called information questions Our sentence is an example of a wh question: (1) What might the puppy devour? - How can we use the idea of movement to explain why this sentence is grammatical? 16
4. Wh questions (1) What might the puppy devour? The deep structure of the sentence: The puppy might devour what Inversion has applied; what else? 17
4. Wh questions (1) What might the puppy devour? The deep structure of the sentence: The puppy might devour what Inversion has applied; what else? Wh Movement rule for English (again, applies in certain other languages also): Move a wh phrase to the specifier position under CP. - A wh phrase is a (minimal) phrase containing a wh word 18
4. Wh questions Now we can draw a tree for our sentence - Remember: Movement rules do not change the structure of the rest of the sentence - Remember: a moved element leaves a trace 19
4. Wh questions The deep structure, before movement: 20
4. Wh questions The surface structure, after movement: 21
5. Questions with no auxiliary What happens when we form a question from a sentence where there is no modal auxiliary in T? Make a yes-no question from the following sentence: (4) Her brother likes cats. What does our model predict so far for a sentence like this? (Draw the deep structure and consider.) - What is in T? 22
5. Questions with no auxiliary The deep structure, before any transformational rules We need to get to Does her brother like cats?... 23
5. Questions with no auxiliary Do Insertion rule for English (certain other languages have something similar): Insert do into an empty T position. - Mandatory in matrix sentence if +Q (except for subject-wh questions like Who won? ; we won t consider this exceptional structure further) - Note that do absorbs the tense feature (+Pst or Pst), so the verb no longer shows tense morphology Try it in the tree you have just drawn 24
5. Questions with no auxiliary After Do Insertion has applied (See how the tense feature has been absorbed by do) 25
5. Questions with no auxiliary The surface structure, after Do Insertion and Inversion 26
5. Questions with no auxiliary To think about: Can Do Insertion apply in a sentence that is not +Q? - Can we ever see a do auxiliary in an ordinary statement? How does this affect the meaning of the statement? - What happens when we add negation to a sentence with and without a modal? 27
6. Movement in embedded sentences How do the Inversion and Wh Movement rules apply when there is an embedded sentence? Try these on your own and we ll check in next time. (5) The coach can report that the team will win ( Make a yes-no question) (6) The chef knows that the assistant made which cake ( Make a wh question) - Which auxiliary undergoes Inversion? - Which CP does the wh phrase move to? 28