Final Flashcards
Asymmetric c-command (Definition)
when one node c-commands another, but the reverse is not possible. I.e. a node X c-commands Y but Y does not C-command X because the two nodes are not sisters
Complement (Definition)
a complement is the first argument that an element selects and merges with, therefore presenting as the sister of the head
the θ-criterion
a rule that states a requirement for a 1-to-1 correspondence between DPs in a sentence and the assigned θ-roles. For every θ-role there is exactly one DP that receives it and every DP is received by only one θ-role.
Projection (definition)
two elements that merge with produce an element that reflects the properties of the head of the previous two. The features from only the head project up and onto the resulting (dominating) node
Wh-movement (definition)
an operation that takes place in questions (which in English typically begin with wh) where the wh-element moves to Spec-CP as a part of the derivation
Non-finite clause (definition)
a non-finite clause is a clause without tense or agreements. they are usually an embedded clause. the subjects of non-finite clauses typically behave differently than subjects of finite clauses.
The Binary Branching Hypothesis
constraint on merge that states only two elements can be merged at a time
The Extension condition
constraint on merge that states two elements can be merged at their roots only
Move (definition)
take a syntactic object that is a constituent of an existing structure and merge it with the entire structure
Merge (definition)
take two syntactic objects X and Y, and join them together at their roots to form a new syntactic object
Why do auxiliaries move to T in English, while main verbs stay in situ (i.e. unmoved)
we need a uFeature in order for move to take place. It makes the most sense to place the uFeature on T, with interpretable counterparts on all the auxiliaries, so only the top one will have to move and T will be identified as the head and will project (T will have a [uAux])
Complementizer (definition)
english embedded clauses optionally start with the word that which forms a constituent together with the following clause
Matrix clause (definition)
the clause than an embedded clause is embedded in
Examples of complimentizers
that, if, whether
Examples of auxiliaries
may, can, will, have, should, would, must
What undergoes wh-movement?
it only applies to a specific set of constituents, called wh-expressions because most of them begin with wh (what, when, where, which, why, how)
The main properties of D that need to be accounted for
complementary distribution of various types of D
combination of D with a complex consituent
number agreement between D and N
cross-linguistic variation in the order of D and N
semantics of familiarity, quantification, proximinity
Hierarchy of Projections
Clausal: T > (Neg) > (Perf) > (Prog) > (Pass) > v > V
Nominal: D > N
wh-expressions
sentences used to pose open-ended questions, which usually start with wh
embedded questions
a clause with a Q feature that is a part of a whole sentence (cannot stand alone)
complementary distribution
one element that is in complementary distribution with another occurs in the same position as another and therefore cannot occur together
in situ
when something stays in its original position
superiority
the element closest is chosen for movement
V2
a word order present in other languages (e.g. German) in which the finite verb is always the second element
What is the selectional behavior of the adjectives proud, afraid, and tired? How would you analyze this in terms of our theory of c-selection in terms of uninterpretable category features? What problems might arise, and how would we solve them?
These words appear to take PP complements. The problem with this is that this would predict that the adjectives required a PP compliment, but with any imaginable P, yet we see that Ps other than “of” are no good. We can deal with this by saying that these adjectives are actually selecting DP complements, not PP.
Explain the motivation for a movement analysis of English wh-questions.
In a wh-question such as, “Which friends will you invite”, the phrase “Which friends” has a special dual status. It is the direct object, getting the theta role from the verb invite, but it also identifies the sentence as a question and indicates what information is sought by the question. These two roles are associated with two distinct positions within the sentence structure. Therefore the phrase “Which friends” would need to appear twice within the tree structure to account for the two roles that it plays within this sentence.
When a single syntactic constituent is associated with two different positions and is pronounced in a position that is displaced from where it would occur in related but someone different sentences, it is precisely what movement is for. WE can say that “Which friends” is Merged as the complement of V, where it gets its theta role. Then it moves to Spec-CP, allowing the [uwh] on C to be checked.
Explain how the restriction Affect Closest works, what operations it applies to, and what motivated us to propose it in the first place.
This restriction states any syntactic operation involving a particular feature looking to interact with another feature of a particular type has to interact with the closest feature of that type. We define closeness in terms of asymmetric c-command. This was motivated to expand Move Closest, based on the observation that Agree is also restricted such that an element looking to Agree for a certain feature is required to do so with the closest thing with an appropriate matching feature. Affect Closest also explains the superiority effects in wh-movement that were explained by Move Closest.
In our theory, we use the same kind of feature to implement both c-selection and movement. Explain how this works and why it makes sense for both operations to have the same featural basis.
C-selection is satisfied by Merge and is implemented in terms of uninterpretable category features. The selecting predicate bears such a uFeature, which forces it to be Merged with a phrase having the relevant category. uFeatures have to be checked in the course of the derivation, and checking requires sisterhood. SInce Merge takes two things and creates a new structure where the two things are sisters, it is naturally driven in this way, deriving c-selection. MOvement can also be said to be triggered by a uFeature that must be checked by getting an element with a matching interpretable feature in a sisterhood relationship. Movement accomplishes this by taking an item with such a feature that is already in the tree structure and Merging it with the element bearing the uF at the root. In other words, movement amounts to a special type of Merge. Both Merge and Move build up the structure, determining together which elements will end up where in the structure. therefore, it is reasonable to have c-selection and movement be implemented such that they are driven by the same type of feature.
Explain what an unaccusative clause is, how we analyzed it, and how it is similar to and different from a passive clause
An unaccusative clause is a particular type of intransitive, where the sole argument corresponds thematically to the object of a transitive and thus starts out as the complement of V, but then moves to Spec-TP and appears as the subject. Our analysis of unaccusatives is that they involve a v which doesn’t have a [uD] feature and also doesn’t have an accusatory case [case: ACC] feature. Thus, it does not c-select and AGENT and also doesn’t assign accusative case to whatever is in Comp-V. The T in such structures still has its [uD, case: nom] features. Since the only DP around is the one in the complement of the verb, it is what gets moved up to Spec-TP, and since it has an unvalued case, it gets valued via agree with T.
Passive clauses are similar because they lack an AGENT and have what would be the object of a transitive show up in the subject position in Spec-TP, getting a nominative case and triggering null agreement on T.
They differ in many ways: passives involve a form a be as an auxiliary, with the main verb in the past participle form, and can optionally have the AGENT specified in a special phrase with the preposition by. Only certain verbs can be unaccusative, but basically every transitive can be passivized in English.
