VL4

Question 1

A) kontaktstellung
B) Distanzstellung

Answer 1

A) English
Main clause/subordinate clause: will have been sold

B) German
Main clause: wird… verkauft worden sein (Splitted)
Subordinate clause: … verkauft worden sein wird

Question 2

Basic grammatical relations:

A) Subject
B) direct object
C) formal grammatical marking on word/phrase

Answer 2

A) English: position before the verb
German: morphologically marked by nominative case

B) English: position following the verb
German: morphologically marked by accusative case

C) English: less explicit
German: more explicit

Question 3

Basic grammatical relations:
A) syntactic form and semantic function
B) effort
C) verbs

Answer 3

A) English: loose fit (comfortable)
German: tight fit (uncomfortable, restricts you)

B) english: lower encoding effort for speaker, more decoding effort for listener
German: higher encoding effort, lower decoding effort

C) English: loose-fit verbs: „load junk into the car, load the car with junk.“
German: tight fit verbs (complex nominal prefix situation) „Kram ins Auto laden, das Auto mit Kram beladen)

Question 4

Basic grammatical relations: Passives
He was helped
Sie Halfen ihm

Answer 4

Formal dative accusative contrast

Question 5

Basic grammatical relations: Passives
She was awarded the prize
* sie wurde den Preis verliehen

Answer 5

Passive from (in) direct direct objects

Question 6

Basic grammatical relations: Passives
Can she be relied on?
*Kann sie sich auf verlassen warden?

Answer 6

Passives from prepositional objects

Question 7

Basic grammatical relations: Passives
Sorry, but this bed has been slept in!
*das Bett ist drin geschlafen worden.

Answer 7

Passive from SVA with implication of transitive SVO semantics

Question 8

Basic grammatical relations: passives
That’s got to be put an end to!
*Das hat ein Ende gesetzt zu werden!

Answer 8

Passives from lexical phrases

Question 9

Basic grammatical relations
We will never allow (such a thing to happen)

Answer 9

Monotransitive (SVO)

Question 10

Basic grammatical relations

They allowed (me) (to take notes)

Answer 10

distransitive (Svoo)

Question 11

Ambiguity

Answer 11

Competition between two precisely defined alternative analyses (two options)

Question 12

Vagueness

Answer 12

Underspecified form receiving appropriated reading in context (fuzzy)

Question 13

Problems from English and German

Answer 13

1. Some German sentences apparently can’t be used in the present tense, unless the present is used in a subordinate clause

Die Inflation hat sich alle 10 Jahre mehr als verdoppelt.
*Die Inflation verdoppelt sich alle 10 Jahre mehr als.
Ich weiß, dass sich die Inflation alle 10 Jahre mehr als verdoppelt.

2. Some English adjectives have very similar meanings, but completely different grammar

It is likely that Manchester will win the game. == Manchester is likely to win the game.

Question 14

Subject to object „raising“

Answer 14

More in English
Take elements out of subordinate and put it in main clause

I want you to come with me.
Wed like you to join us.

Question 15

Subject to subject raising

Answer 15

Es schein, dass die Studierenden an dem Thema nicht interessiert sind.
It seems that the sudents aren’t interested in this topic.

Question 16

Object to subject raising

Answer 16

A little bit in German, mainly in English

It’s good to know that.
Es ist gut, das zu wissen.

Question 17

The students don’t seem to be interested in this topic.

Answer 17

Subject to subject raising

Question 18

She’s pleasant to talk to.

Answer 18

Object to subject raising

Question 19

We don’t believe this to be the case.

Answer 19

Subject to object raising