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Lecture 1: REVISION & INTRODUCTION INTO THE SYNTAX OF COMPLEX

CLAUSES
Spring term, 2013 - 2014

A. Domain of Inquiry: syntax of complex clauses
Sentences (Ss) which contain one single predicate =simple sentences (1a)
Sentences (clauses):
a. Root (unembedded) clauses [independent clauses] (1a)
b. Embedded / subordinate / complement clauses =a constituent of another clause
- the combination of a main/matrix clause which selects a certain complement/subordinate
clause =complex clause (1b, c, d) (based on subordination)
vs. compound clause two (or more) independent sentences linked by coordination

(1) a. They study syntax. root/independent sentence

b. They know a student [who studies syntax.]
c. It seems [that they are studying syntax this term].
d. John knows [that Mary loves syntax more than him]

main/matrix embedded/subordinate/complement
clause clause

- embedded clause =a subordinate clause which functions as an argument of predicates in the
main clause (thus a complement clause can function as subject or object)

The domain of complement clauses includes that-complements (finite) (2a), infinitive clauses
(2b) and ing-complements (gerunds and participial constructions) (2c) (non-finite)

(2) a. He considered that it was a mistake./ b. He considered it to be a mistake./ c. He considered
accepting our offer.
Clauses in English: (i) Finite clauses
(ii) Non-finite clauses
(3) It is a good thing [to have a friend].

+tense - tense
+agr - agr
=FINITE =NON-FINITE

B. Topics of the course & Structure
1. Revision and Introduction
2. The Syntax of Negative Sentences
3. Coordination
4. That Complements (classification, distribution, syntactic functions; the Subjunctive in
That Complements, Sequence of Tenses)
5. Infinitive Complements
6. ING Complements (Gerunds & Participles)
7. Revision

mid-term (written)
final exam (oral or written)
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C. REVISION of important concepts (connected to the syntax of simple sentences in
English)

C.1.1.SYNTAX =the domain of linguistics which is concerned with the ways in which words
can be combined together to form phrases and sentences.
Q: What kind of principles determine the ways in which we can combine words together?
Generative linguistics Principles and parameters (Chomsky 1981)
Principles = language-invariant statements
= apply cross-linguistically
e.g. The Projection Principle =the lexical specification of the items stored in the lexicon is
projected to the other levels (i.e., in syntax)
(4) a. John is cutting the bread.
b. *John is cutting.

Parameters = language-variant statements
= account for cross-linguistic variation
e.g. null subject parameter /pro drop parameter
(5) a. John is not Marys boyfriend.
b. *Is not Marys boyfriend.
(6) a. Ion nu e iubitul Mariei.
b. Nu e iubitul Mariei.

UG = Universal Grammar - a system of principles which are properties of all human languages
and a set of parameters whose value is set by experience and which
may vary from one language to another.

The grammar of one particular language represents a finite number of principles and a
particular choice of the finite array of parameter values

C.1.2. The Lexicon =repository of individual items & their (semantic & syntactic) properties
Ns, Vs, Adjs, Advs, Ps (i.e., lexical categories)
but The Lexicon also contains functional categories (words that have no descriptive content
(no semantics) and fulfill a specific function)
>>The Lexicon (of any language) consists of two compartments:
a) a mental/conceptual compartment contains substantive elements, i.e., elements that
have meaning (have descriptive/lexical content) >>lexical categories (N/V/Adj/Adv/P)
b) a grammatical compartment contains functional categories, words/elements which
lack descriptive content and which are determined by UG; functional categories encode
abstract grammatical meaning

Functional categories Examples
Determiners the, a, this, that +possessives (my, his, yours) +
quantifying determiners (all, some)
INFLECTION (=umbrella term for Tense (-ed),
Agreement (-s), Aspect, Mood
- ed mark of Tense (Past) in Engl.
- s mark of Agreement (present, 3
rd
pers) +Tense
(present)
- ing mark of Progressive Aspect
-en mark of Perfect Aspect
- should, will, may, etc. Mood markers
Degree (Deg) more, most, -er, -est
Complementizers (Comp) that, whether, for

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- unlike lexical categories, which, due to their descriptive content, can impose semantic and
categorial restrictions on their complements (eg read a book/journal/newspaper vs. *read a
cucumber/a mosquito/a shoe), functional categories select one unique type of complement
(which is not their argument): Inflection always selects a VP as complement, Determiner always
selects a NP as complement, a Complementizer (subordinating element) selects another sentence
(an IP) as its complement >>there is a very restrictive relation between a functional element and
its complement
- some functional categories may be affixal (bound morphemes): eg. ed, -ing, -en, -s; others
free morphemes/words (auxiliaries in Engl., articles in Engl (vs. Rom.), demonstratives)

C.2. What are sentences made of?
Important ideas:
(i) Words are the ultimate constituents of a sentence
(ii) Words belong to well-defined categories (N, V, ADJ, ADV, P, etc.)
(iii) These categories are defined by morphological and syntactic properties

BUT: {[My] [sister]} bought {[this] [dress]} {[in] [London]}.
=the words of a sentence form larger cohesive units, called constituents or phrases
[my brother
N
] [bought
V
[this book]
NP
]

head >NP head >VP

Phrases =projections round a head; endocentric; have hierarchical organization; the immediate
constituents of a sentence; they have semantic cohesion (+constituency tests)
Heads =the essential element in a phrase (the one which cannot be missing)
=transmit their set of properties to the whole projection.
bought [this book]

head complement

Phrases project according to a given format: X-bar Theory
XP (Specifier) X YP (Complement)
NP (interesting) book (of linguistics)
VP students like syntax
students hate syntax
often read books
rarely attend classes
AP (quite) interesting --
(very) fond of rock music

The head =obligatory; the specifier and the complement are generally optional, but this depends
on the properties/requirements of the head.
What about sentences? Ss are more complex phrases >The whole sentence has a phrase
structure of the same kind as the phrases it is made of.
Sentences are endocentric constructions round a head
Q: What is the head of a sentence?
(7) a. *John speak fluent J apanese. / John speakS fluent Japanese.

A: INFLECTION is the head of any sentence > Ss are Inflection Phrases (IPs)

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IP
Spec I
=SUBJECT
I VP
=HEAD =PREDICATE

Inflection =umbrella term for all the functional categories of the verb: Tense, Agreement,
Aspect, Mood; it locates in time the event denoted by the verb (T) and it links the subject and the
predicate of the sentence (Agr)

Functionally, Inflection projects according to X-bar. It thus has
(i) a complement =(always) VP
(ii) licenses a Specifier position =the canonical subject position (Spec, IP), the position where
the subject receives case (Nominative) in English
Inflection hosts:
(i) bound morphemes : /z/, /d/, -ing, -en
(ii) free morphemes: modal verbs, auxiliaries (have, be, do)
SO,
(i) in spite of the difference between bound and free morphemes, they are outside VP
(ii) they carry tense/agreement/aspect information
(iii) they are hosted by Inflection

C.2.1. Modals vs. Aspectual Auxiliaries
- both share the NICE properties (Negation, Interrogative, Coda, Emphasis)
But have+ be modals (+do):
- have + be - have present & past tense forms (>can combine with Tense morphemes): has/had;
is/was/were
- have non-finite forms (to have/to have had; to be; to have been)
- modal Vs - lack non-finite forms completely (*to can; *to may; * to have might)
- often carry tense information in themselves >are inherently tensed (can could;
may-might; will would; shall should, etc.)

modal auxiliaries are generated under I; have & be are base-generated below Inflection,
under VP; they reach Inflection as a result of movement. They move to Inflection to merge with
Tense and Agreement markers/ to check their T and Agr features

IP
Spec I
They
I VP
may leave


IP !! when have or be co-occur with a modal,
Spec I the modal is the first one in the string >>the
They aspectual auxiliaries remain uninflected, since the
I VP I node is already occupied by the modal >>they
may have left have no place to move to.
be leaving
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IP IP

Spec I Spec I

I VP I VP
V VP has/ V VP
have/ eaten/ is t eaten
be eating /eating

>>In English, auxiliaries and modals occur under Inflection (modals are generated there,
aspectual auxiliaries reach Infl via movement (V-to-I)).
!! BUT -s and - ed also occur under Inflection
John must have left. John leaves tomorrow.
must +VP V +s
I > V V > I
If both s and the modal occupy I, why do they appear in different positions in the
sentence?
The The Stranded Affix Filter (Avram, 2006): an affix must be attached to a host, it cannot
remain stranded >>the stranded affixes -ed or -s must merge with a free morpheme/word

Q: How do we do that? >2 options
Option A: Verb Raising (the verb raises to provide a host for the inflectional affix in Infl.)
IP
Spec I
She I VP
-s V
V DP
teach syntax

Problems with Option A: in Ss which contain sentence-medial adverbs (always, often, never,
etc.), these adverbs always precede lexical verbs (7a) (i.e., they are generated (adjoined) to the
left of the VP), but always follow auxiliaries, cf. (7b, c)):
(7) a. She always teaches syntax.
b. She will always teach syntax.
c. She has already told us about IP.

IP
Spec I
she I VP
-s
AdvP VP
always V
V DP
teach syntax

- assuming that the verb raises to the Inflection node in (7a) (past the adverb), we would get the
ungrammatical S: *She teaches always syntax. >>lexical verbs do not raise/move in English,
they remain in their VP shell >>Option A is out

Option B: Affix Hopping/Affix Lowering (the affix lowers to the verb to seek/find its host)
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IP
Spec I
She I VP
-s V
V DP
teach syntax

- assuming that the affix lowers from Infl to the verb (past the adverb in SpecVP), we get the
grammatical S: She always teaches syntax. >>in Ss with no auxiliaries, the affix lowers to the
verb >>Option B is correct
IP
Spec I
she I VP
-s
AdvP VP
always V
V DP
teach syntax

! N.B.: In sentences which have their own auxiliaries (have, be or modals), there is no need
for affix lowering, because the auxiliaries have & be will raise to the inflection node (V to I)
and thus provide a host for the affix (see the discussion on V-to-I movement); modals provide
the necessary host
IP
She I
I VP
-s
AdvP VP
already
V VP
have told >>She has (have + s) already told us.


IP
She I

I VP
may -s
AdvP VP
always teach >>She may (may + - s) always teach
remember! Modals are inherently tensed!
So:








1) In (Modern) English, only auxiliary verbs (have/be) move to inflection (V
(aux)
-to -I); lexical
verbs do not move to I, they remain inside their VP shell (because English inflection is weak)
[!! Things havent always been like that: in older variants (Elisabethan English), lexical verbs
used to be able to move out of their VP shell, as in modern Romanian or French: Speakst thou
the truth?/ Know'st thou the youth that spoke to me?
Spui adevarul? / Il stii pe acest tanar? ]
2) Lexical verbs have semantic content and event structure, so they assign theta-roles to their
arguments auxiliaries have abstract content and no event structure, so they do not assign theta-
roles
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C.2.2. Embedded clauses and (Interrogative) Simple Sentences in English
C.2.2.1. in interrogative Ss, there is SAI (Subject Auxiliary Inversion) >>the auxiliary verb
or the modal raises past the subject.
!! Only aspectual auxiliaries (have, be), modals or do (whenever it is inserted under Infl.)
can undergo SAI, never lexical verbs ( further proof that lexical Vs in English do not
raise/move):
(8) a. Will she leave for Cyprus?/May I go now? / Should John come early tomorrow?
b. Has she been here before? Is she teaching literature?/Do they like syntax?
c. *Leaves she for Cyprus?/ *Like they syntax?

CP
C
C IP
will
Spec I I
she
I VP
t leave for Cyprus

I-to-C movement =whatever material is under I moves to C (in questions)
- modals (& do), which appear directly in I, move to C (I-to-C)
- aspectual auxiliaries (have & be) move first to I (V-to-I) and then (in questions) to C (I-to-C)

C.2.2.2. Examples of embedded clauses:
(9) I pointed out to the Little Prince [that baobabs were not little bushes]:
that
Comp
+Su
Nom
+V
finite
+
(10) I didnt know/wondered [whether I had made any mistakes]:
whether
Comp
+Su
Nom
+V
finite
+.
(11) I would prefer [for you to leave tomorrow]:
for
Comp
+Su
Acc
+V
inf
- all the examples above: introduced by a complementizer, i.e., a functional element C; C is the
head of its own projection CP; C always selects an IP complement (i.e., a sentence, the
subordinate clause) >>subordinate clauses are CPs.

VP
V
V CP
said C
wondered C IP
that [John was home]
whether

!!N.B: SAI not allowed in embedded sentences
(12) She asked [whether John should come]/ *She asked [whether should John come early] >
proof that both raised auxiliaries and complementizers occupy the same position (since they are
in complementary distribution) >>interrogative Ss and embedded clauses are CP projections