Generativna 2

1. The NP rule NP (D)N' does not fit X-bar theory. Explain why? NP (D)N does not fit X-bar theory because
one of the basic principles of X-bar theory is that all non-head materials must be phrasal. The determiner is not actually
inside the NP. It heads its own phrasal projection.

2. Explain the ungrammaticality of: *the that book; *the mans standing over there hat; *the buildings the
roof = *the that book determiners are heads; there can only be one of them in an NP; *the mans standing there hat
the s marker appears after the entire possessor NP and it attaches to the whole phrase the man standing over there
not just to the head man. This means that s is not a suffix, instead it seems to be a small word indicating possession;;
*the buildings the roof s is in complementary distribution with (i.e., cannot co-occur with) determiners (cf.
the roof of the building). Unlike the of-genitive, the s-genitive does not allow both the nouns to have a determiner.s and
determiners are in complementary distribution.

3.What is the category of s (buildings) and which position does it occupy? Buildings Determiners like the
and s are different tokens of the same type. Assuming that s is a determiner, and assuming the DP hypothesis holds
true, we can now account for the positioning of the s relative to the possessor. The s occupies the head D position, and
the possessor appears in its specifier.

4. What are: simple sentence, embedded clause, main or root clause? Give examples. The simple sentence is
the most obvious kind of clause, i.e. a subject (usually a DP that has the property indicated by the predicate; this is what
the clause is about) and a predicate phrase (a group of words that assign a property to the subject). It is always a CP in
our system. E.g. The girl writes.; Embedded clauses are clauses inside of another clause e.g. (John said (Mary to
leave)).; The clause containing the embedded clause is called the main, matrix or root clause, and it is not dominated by
anything. E.g. John said Mary to leave.

5. Is He said the main clause in He said that she danced? If not, why not? He said is not a constituent. The main
clause is everything under the root TP node (it includes subordinate clause as well). The main clause is He said that she
danced.

6. What are: complement, adjunct and specifier clauses? Give examples. Complement clause is an embedded
clause in a complement position. e.g. Mary said [that John loves apples]; Adjunct clause is an embedded clause in an
adjunct position. Relative clauses are one example of adjunct clauses. e.g [The man [I saw getting into cab]] robbed the
bank.; Specifier clause is an embedded clause in a specifier position and it serve as the subject of a sentence. e.g.
[[People selling their stocks] caused crash of 1929.]

7. Explain the distinction between finite and non-finite clauses. Give examples. Finite or tensed clauses have
predicates that are tensed. E.g. I said [that Mary signed my yearbook]. Non-finite or tenseless clauses are clauses
without a tensed verb. E.g. I want [Mary to sign my yearbook].

8. List five tests for distinguishing finite from non-finite clauses. agreement and tense morphology on the verb;
the case on the subject of the noun; one test is to see if the subject is obligatory; look at the complementizer (for vs.
that and if); look at different kinds of T elements (auxiliaries and modals vs. auxiliary to)..

9. Explain the ungr. of: *Ive never seen you ate apples; *Ive never seen him eats apples. 1. non-finite clauses
do not allow past tense morphology (the ate form of the verb eat), 2. The same effect is seen if you change the person
of the subject in the embedded clause. Third person subjects trigger the -s ending. This is allowed only in finite clauses,
but the given sentence is also the non-finite clause.

10. Explain the ungr: of: Ive never seen they eat apples; *I think that eats apples. 1. non-finite clauses have
the subject in the accusative form, not in the nominative; 2. finite clauses have an obligatory subject

11. Explain the ungr. of: *That he to eat apples is a real surprise; *I want him will eat apples. 1. the T in finite
cl. cannot be the auxiliary to, but modals and auxiliaries. 2. the only auxili. allowed in non-finite cl. is to.

12. What is the feature of T in finite cl.? The feature of T in finite cl. is some tense feature, like [+- past] or [+-
future].

13. The CP rule CP (C)TP does not fit X-bar theory. Explain why? It does not fit the X-bar theory because the
head is always obligatory.

14. What is a difference between English and Irish in forming yes/no questions? In English, to form a yes/no
question you either insert some form of the verb do before the subject, or you invert the subject and auxiliary (subject-
aux inversion). In Irish, yes/no question is formed with a special particle Ar that precedes the verb.

15. What is a question complementizer in English yes/no questions? In English, the question complementizer is
null (has no phonological content) but it must be realized or pronounced someway.

16. What is the way to satisfy the requirement that the null complementizer must be realized? The way
English satisfies this requirement is by moving T into the C head. This results in the correct order, where the auxiliary (in
T) now appears before the subject.
17. Why is it impossible to have subject-auxiliary inversion in Irish yes/no questions? Yes/no questions are
formed with a complementizer particle that precedes the verb. Irish indicates yes/no questions with a special particle Ar
(or its allomorph An)

18. Explain the ungrammaticality of *She asked if had he run a race. The subject-aux inversion is completely
disallowed when if is present. If occupies the [+Q] complementizer, so no subject-aux inversion is required (or allowed).

19. What is if in She asked if he had run a race? if is an overt [+Q] complementizer.

20. Which argument is used to prove that every clause (even a simple statement) is a CP? You can only conjoin
identical categories. If sentence showing subject-aux inversion use a null complementizer and if you can conjoin that
question with a non-question (such as a statement), then that statement must also include a (null) complementizer and
CP. A CP can only be conjoined with another CP the argument that every clause is a CP.

21. The TP rule TP NP (T) VP does not fit X-bar theory. Explain why? The problem here is that the element that
we have designated as the head of the phrase (T) is apparently optional. In X-bar theory, heads are the only obligatory
element.

22. Is there a T in clauses without auxiliaries? There is T it is a tense inflection on the verb.

23. Explain the ungrammaticality of *he is walks/walkings funny? Tense inflection on a verb is in complementary
distribution with auxiliaries (you never get both of them at the same time).

24. What may occupy the T head position? An auxiliary or a tense inflectional ending may occupy the T-head
position.

25. List two differences between auxiliaries and inflectional. Auxiliaries appear on the left of verbs, and
inflectional suffixes (like -ed, and -s) appear on the right. Auxiliaries but not suffixes undergo subject-aux inversion.
Auxiliaries are independent words and can stand alone. By contrast, suffixes like s and ed have to be attached to a
verb.

26. What are T-affix lowering and T C and what are their motivations? T-affix lowering is the lowering of
inflectional suffixes to attach to their verb. T to C movement (T C) is the movement of the T in the C position in order
to pronounce [+Q]. Both of these movements have morphophonological motivations. Auxiliaries move to [+Q] to
pronounce it, inflectional endings lower to V since they are verbal suffixes.

27. What are subcategorization restrictions and selectional restrictions? Give example. V[DP__] (intransitive)
Leave;
V[DP ___ DP] (transitive type 1) Hit;
V[DP_{DP/CP}](transitive type 2) ask;
V[DP ___ DP DP](ditrnsitive type 1) spare;
V[DP ___ DP PP] (type 2) put;
V[DP_{DP/PP}](type 3) give;
V[DP_DP{DP/CP/PP}](type 4)tell;
Selectional restrictions: semantic restrictions on arguments: My comb hates raisonettes.
28. What are thematic relations? Line nine thematic relations. Thematic relations are particular semantic terms
that are used to describe the role that the argument plays with respect to the predicate; used as a means of encoding
selectional restrictions. These are: agent, experiencer, theme, goal, recipient, source, location, instrument, and
beneficiary.

29. What are: agent, experiencer, theme, goal, recipient? Give examples. The initiator or doer of an action is
called the agent. E.g. Ryan hit John.; Arguments that feel or perceive events are called experiencers. E.g. Leah likes
cookies.; Entities that undergo actions, are moved, experienced or perceived are called themes. E.g. The arrow hit Ben.;
The entity towards which motion takes place is called a goal. E.g. Doug went to Chicago.;
Recipient is a special kind of goal, they can only occur with verbs that denote a change of possession. E.g. Mary gave
Jessica the book.

30. What are: source, location, instrument, beneficiary, proposition? Give examples. Source is the entity from
which a motion takes place. Bob gave Steve the syntax assignment.; The place where the action occurs is called the
location. E.g. Were all at school.; The object with which an action is performed is called the instrument. E.g. Chris
hacked the computer apart with an axe.; The one for whose benefit an event took place is called the beneficiary. E.g. He
bought these flowers for Aaron.; Proposition is the thematic relations assigned to clauses. She cooked Matt dinner.

31. What are theta roles? Theta roles are bundles of thematic relations that cluster on one argument. In Jason gave
the books to Anna., Jason gets two thematic relations (agent and source), but only one theta role (the one that contains
the agent and source thematic relations).

32. Explain the ungr. of: *He placed a book; *He placed on the table; *Placed a book on the table. Place is a
ditransitive verb and requires three arguments, a subject that must be an agent, (the placer), a direct object, which
represents the theme (the thing being placed), and an indirect object, which represents a location or goal (the the thing
on which the theme is being placed). Any variation from this results in ungrammaticality. The first sentence lacks the
location/goal, the second a direct object/theme, and the third, the agent, and therefore they are ungrammatical.
33. Explain the ungr. of: *He placed a book a key on the table; *He placed a book the table. The verb place
requires three arguments: agent, theme and goal, and in this sentence we have four arguments.; The second sentence
shows us that the goal argument of the verb place must be a PP.

34. Represent the theta grids of the predicates:to place/love/rain/belikely?rain-weather V; theta grid empty

love
Experiencer Theme
DP DP

i j
To place
SOURCE/AGENT Theme GOAL
DP DP PP

i j k
Be likely
PREPOSITION
CP

35. Explain the distinction between external and internal theta roles. The external theta rule is the one assigned
to the subject and is usually indicated by underlying the name of the theta role in the theta grid. The internal theta role
is the one assigned to the object and indirect object.

36. The theta grid contains a specifier (subject) and complements (DO and IO)and does not contain
adjuncts.

37. What does not appear in theta grids and why? Adjuncts are never arguments, and they never appear in theta
grids.

38. X-bar rules overgenerate. Explain. That the X-bar rules overgenerate means that they produce ungrammatical
sentences. Those sentences will be thrown out by our constraint. The constraint we are going to use is called the Theta
Criterion.

39. What is Theta Criterion and what does it require? Theta Criterion is a constraint that eliminates ungrammatical
sentences. It ensures that there is a strict match between the number and types of arguments in a sentence and the
theta grid. This constraint requires that there is a strict one-to-one match between argument DPs and theta roles.

40. Give a precise formulation of Theta Criterion. a) Each argument is assigned one and only one theta role.; b)
Each theta role is assigned to one and only one argument.

41. Explain the ungr. of: *Mary loves, *Mary loves John Kevin. 1. This sentence lacks a theme argument. The
theme theta role is not assigned to an argument. This violates the second condition of the theta criterion and there is not
a one-to-one matching of the theta roles to the arguments in this sentence. Since the theta criterion is violated, the
sentence is filtered out (marked as ungrammatical). 2. This sentence has too many arguments. The argument Kevin
doesnt get a theta role. There are only two theta roles to be assigned, but there are three arguments. This violates the
first part
of the theta criterion and the theta criterion filters out this sentence as ungrammatical.

42. What are the components of the part of mind devoted to language according to Chomsky? They are the
computational component and the lexicon.

43. What are the computational component and the lexicon, and what are their roles? The computational
component contains all the rules and constraints; this part of the mind does the work of building sentences and filtering
out any ill-formed ones. The computational component cant work in a vacuum. It needs access to information about
theta roles and the like. Chomsky claims that this information is stored in the lexicon, which is your mental dictionary or
list of words (and their properties). It is the place for theta grids to be stored, and it contains all the irregular and
memorized parts of language.

44. What is the lexicon and what is contained in it? Chomsky claims that this information is stored in the
lexicon, which is your mental dictionary or list of words (and their properties). The obvious place to store information
about particular words (or more properly lexical items) is in the lexicon.
The lexicon contains all the irregular and memorized parts of language, including the argument structure (theta grid) of
predicates.
45. List five elements that must be contained in a lexical entry. 1. the meaning of word, 2. the syntactic category
of the word (N, V, A, P, T, C etc.); 3. the pronunciation of the word; 4. exceptional information of all kinds (such as
morphological irregularities); 5. the theta grid (argument structure).

46. Give precise formulation of the Projection Principle. The Projection Principle: Lexical information (like theta
roles) is syntactically represented at all levels.

47. What is a characteristic of the weather verbs? Weather verbs dont seem to assign any theta roles. E.g. It
rained. The theta grid for weather verbs is empty.

48. What are expletive or pleonastic pronouns? Give an example. Expletive or pleonastic pronouns are pronouns
(usually it or there) without a theta role which of course is a violation of the theta criterion; it is usually found in subject
position. E.g. It is likely that Bill likes chocolate.

49. Where do expletives appear? Expletive pronouns usually appear in subject position. When it appears in other
positions, it usually bears a theta role: I love it. (it is a theme) Expletives seem to appear where there is no theta
marked DP (or CP) that fills the subject position.

50. What is EPP and what does it require? The Extended Projection Principle (EPP): All clauses must have subjects.
Lexical information is syntactically represented. The EPP works like the theta criterion, it is a constraint on the output of
the X-bar rules. It requires that every sentence have a subject.

51. Give a precise formulation of the EPP. EPP: All clauses must have subjects (i.e. the specifier of TP must be filled
by a DP or CP)

52. How can we account for the fact that the theta criterion is not violated in clauses with expletives? One
way of doing this is by claiming that expletives are not generated by the X-bar rules. Instead they are inserted by a
special expletive insertion rule: Insert an expletive pronoun into the specifier of TP.

53. Give a precise formulation of Expletive Insertion Rule. Insert an expletive pronoun into the specifier of TP.

54. When does the Expletive Insertion Rule apply? This rule applies when there is no other subject. If there is no
theta marked subject and no expletive subject, then the EPP will filter the sentence out. The way in which we get around
the theta criteria is by ordering the expletive insertion rule after the theta criterion has applied.

55. Which tenses, aspects and voices are distinguished in english?

Past tense: the event time happened before the assertion time-John danced

Present tense: the event time is the same as the assertion time-he likes ice cream

Future tense: the event time is going to happen after the assertion time-He will eat dinner.

Perfect aspect- happens when the time of the event occurs before the rference time.

Progressive aspect-indicates an event that is ongoing in relation to the reference time

Active voice-allows identification of the agent-the subject of the sentence

Passive voice- the theme appears in subject position and agent appears after a preposition or is omitted entirely.

56. What is required for expressing perfect progressive and passive in English?

The soup had been being eaten when it got spoiled. The fact that the sentence is in the perfect aspect is indicated by
a combination of the verb had and participle form (-en) of the next verb (been). The fact that the sentence also bears
the progressive is indicated by the next be auxiliary (been) and the fact that the following verb is a gerund.

57. Give an example with a past perfect progressive and indicate the pattern.

They had been flying for eight hours before they... S +had been+present participle

58. What is a fixed order of auxiliaries if four auxiliaries are used in a single sentence?

Tense>perfect>progressive>passive>main verbs

59. What is mood and how is it usually expressed in English?

Mood refers to the speakers perspective on the event; whether it is : Possibility, probability, necessity or obligation.
Mood is expressed through modal auxiliary verbs, although it can also be expressed through other means including
adjectives, other auxiliaries or verbs, or adverbs.

60. List English modals. Are dare and need modal verbs according to their syntax?
Modals: can, could, may, might, would, shall, should, must, ought; some people characterize dare, need and has as
modals but they are not; because they require an infinite complement, and have the syntax of main verbs.

61. List three distributional properties of modals.

They always precede all other auxiliaries, they must precede negation, they can never take agreement inflection like the
third person suffix.

62. List all bes, haves and dos and indicate their meaning and their subcategory.

Name Meaning subcategory

Becop Copula (identity/property) main verb

Beprog Progressive auxiliary

Bepass Passive auxiliary

Haveposs
Possession main verb
Haveperf
Perfect auxiliary
Domain
Accomplishment/performance main verb
Doaux
Supports tense before negation auxiliary

63. Explain ungrammaticality of *Has John a bowl? And *Did John his homework in Am.E

The main verb uses of do and have cannot invert.

64. Explain ungrammaticality of *John has not any cat and John did not his homework.

Only auxiliary verbs and modals can appear before the word not. Main verbs like play and ate cannot appear before
negation. *The verbs above behave as main verbs

65. List distributional properties of auxiliaries that distinguish them from modals.

Unlike modals, auxiliaries take inflectional endings, they can be negated with not; they follow modals, the infinitive
marker to and to a greater or lesser degree other auxiliaries too.

66. Explain * He musts, *I not should eat, *I must can eat, *I have should eat,

Modals do not take verbal inflectional endings.(musts) they do not follow not nor other modals, auxiliaries or the
infinitive marker to.

67. How many modals may appear in a sentence, and what is a fixed position of a modal.

There can only be one modal and it must be first in the string of verbal inflection.

68. What is the category of modals?

The category of modals is T.. this is consistent with the fact that there is only one T node in any given clause.

69. Modal verbs are in complementary distribution with tense elements. Explain.

Modal verbs require that the verbs below them must not bear any tense morphology, therefore, features that describe
the class of structures that modals can take as complements are introduced.

The features are [FORM bare], [FORM participle], [FORM gerund], [FORM preterite], [FORM present]

70. Modals are distinct from auxiliaries in some ways but similar to them in others. Specify.

Auxiliaries like be and have take inflectional suffixes. They can be negated by not; They can follow modals, the infinitive
marker to and other auxiliaries too. While modals like can and should do not take verbal inflectional endings, they do
not follow not, nor follow other modals, or auxiliaries, or the infinitive marker to. Where have and be can combine with
other auxiliaries, it appears that you can have only one modal and it must be first in string of verbal inflection.

71. Auxiliaries are similar to verbs in some ways, but different from them in others. Specify

Main verbs like ate cannot undergo subject-auxiliary inversion, but auxiliaries can. Auxiliaries can appear before the word
not and main verbs like play and ate cannot appear before negation. Auxiliaries like be and have take inflectional suffixes
just like verbs.
72.

73. Specify the grid for should (the complement of 0past should have a specific form feature)

Should
VP
[FORM bare]

74. What is in T head position in sentences without modals or will?

We can find in T head position present tense and past tense equivalents to will, which do not have phonological content,
that is, they are totally silent.

75. Specify the grid for 0 past. (The complement of 0 past should have a specific form feature)

0 past.
VP
[FORM preterite]

76. Explain the ungrammaticality of * The cat had have eaten, and The cat had musten eat.

Have perf. Can precede a main verb, progressive auxiliary and passive auxiliary. However, it cannot precede another
perfect auxiliary or a modal.

77. Specify the grid for have perf. (The complement of have perf. Should have specific feature).

Have perf.

VP

[-PERFECT, FORM
participle]

78. Explain *The cat was being eating, *The cat was having eaten, *The cat was musting eat.

Beprog can take a main verb as a complement or a passive as a complement, but it disallows another progressive, a
perfect or a modal.

79. Specify the grid for beprog (the complement of beprog should have a specific feature)

Beprog VP[-PERFECT,-PROGRESSIVE, FORM gerund]

80. Explain *It was been eaten, *It was been being eating, *It was have eaten, *It was musten eat.

Bepass can only be followed by a main verb and not by another passive, a progressive, a perfect, or a modal.

81. Specify the grid for bepass (the complement of bepass should have a specific feature)

Bepass VP[-PERFECT,-PROGRESSIVE,-PASSIVE,FORM participle]

82. What is do-support? When is it used, and how are these uses of do referred to?

When we have negation (not), the past tense inflection appears on the auxiliary did, not on the verb (which appears in
its bare form). This is called do-support. We'll refer to this usage as doneg (and of course its inflected forms didneg, and
doesneg)

83. Explain the ungrammaticality of *John must not do have eaten,*John must do not have eaten.

Doneg is always followed by a negator not, which in turn is always followed by a verb, which is always in its bare form. It
is never preceded by negation and seems to be in complementary distribution with modals

84. Specify the grid for doneg and not in negative clauses (the complement of doneg and not)

Doneg NegP

Not VP[FORM bare]

85. Specify the grid for doemph in emphatic contexts (the complement of doemph)
Doemph VP[FORM bare]

86. Give an example of a clause with a modal, a perfect, a progressive and a passive.

The prisoner must have been being interrogated when the supervisor walked into the room and saw what was going on
and put a stop to it.

87. Explain ungrammaticality of *I think (for) him to like it, *I think if he likes it.
- Certain verbs require that the clause that functions as their complement has particular properties. The verb
think in English requires that the clause that follows it be finite (*I think (for) him to like it I think that he likes it). The
same applies to the second sentence the verb think in English requires that the clause that follows it be finite and not a
question (*I think if he likes it)

88. Explain ungrammaticality of *I ordered if he leave. Give corresponding grammatical sentence.

- The verb order can take either a finite or non-finite complement clause, but like think, it can't take a question.
- CORRESPONDING GRAMMATICAL SENTENCE: I ordered that he leave.

89. Explain ungrammaticality of *I inquired that he like it, *I inquire he likes it, *I inquire him to like it.
- Unlike verbs think and order, the verb inquire can only take an interrogative complement clause. I inquire if
he likes it.

90. Give features of all English complementizers and say what these features indicate.
- the feature [+-Q] corresponds to whether or not the complementizer introduces an embedded question.
- the feature [+-finite] refers to whether or not the embedded clause is finite or non-finite.

91. What kind of clauses may follow think, order, inquire. Give also theta grids of these verbs.
- think
Agent CP
DP [-Q, + FINITE]

This grid requires that the external argument of think is a DP bearing the theta role with an agent thematic relation, and
that the complement be a CP that is not an interrogative and is a finite clause.

- Order
Agent CP
DP [-Q]

Order requires that the complement clause not be a question but is indifferent to whether the clause if finite or not. This
grid then allows either finite or non-finite embedded clauses as long as they arent [+Q].

- Inquire
Agent CP
DP [-Q, +FINITE]

The primary condition on inquire is that the embedded clause be [+Q] and that the complement CP for inquire be
[+FINITE].

92. Explain the ungrammaticality of *She thinks that he to eat. Give corresponding grammatical sentence.
- the complementizer that this C cannot have a TP headed by the infinitive marker to. So, that can appear with
a progressive be auxiliary, a perfect auxiliary, a modal auxiliary like should, a future auxiliary like will, a tensed verb and
a passive be auxiliary, but not to.
- CORRESPONDING GRAMMATICAL SENTENCE: She thinks that he is eating/has eaten/should eat/ will eat/eats.

93. What type of TP does that select? Specify the grid for that.
- that
TP
[-INFINITIVE]

This grid will ensure that that will always take a TP that isnt to.

94. Explain ungrammaticality of *a books, *a John, *a he. Specify the grid for the determiner a.
- *a books only determiner the can take plural complement.
- *a John - English the and a cant appear with most proper names (examples like the Smiths are an exception).
- *a he determiner a also cant appear with pronouns.
 - theta grid for A:
NP [-PLURAL, -PROPER, -PRONOUN]

95. Explain the ungrammaticality of *the John, *the he. Specify the grid for the determiner THE.
- *the John - English the and a cant appear with most proper names (examples like the Smiths are an
exception).
- *the he - determiner THE also cant appear with pronouns.
- THETA GRID FOR THE:
NP [-PROPER, -PRONOUN]

96. What are null determiners? Why do they appear? Specify their features and the grid.
- Pronouns, proper names, and plurals must have determiners but silent ones. If these already have null
determiners, then the absence of another determiner is expected. One possible version of this hypothesis is that these
null determiners are specified as follows:

a) [+ PROPER]
NP [+ PROPER, -PRONOUN]

b) [+PRONOUN]
NP [-PROPER, +PRONOUN]

c) [+PLURAL]
NP [+PLURAL, -PROPER, -
PRONOUN]

97. Explain ungrammaticality of *many dog, *many waters. Specify the grid for the Q many.
- the quantifier many can appear with (plural) count nouns and much appears with miss nouns. The reverse is
ungrammatical.

- GRID FOR MANY:

NP [+COUNT, +PLURAL, -PROPER, -PRONOUN]

98. Explain ungrammaticality of *much dog, *much waters. Specify grid for the Q much.
- quantifier much appears with mass nouns. The reverse is ungrammatical.
- GRID FOR MUCH:
NP [-COUNT, -PLURAL, -PROPER, -PRONOUN]

99. Specify the grid for the quantifier all and give an example containing this quantifier.
- GRID FOR ALL:
DP

- Example all the boys (?)

- (Tree)

Generativna 2

1. English She kissed him would be expressed in Irish as:...........(use English words)
Kissed Mary him.

2. English I often eat apples would be expressed in French as:..........(you may use English words)
- I eat often of the apples

3. X-bar theory undergenerates. Explain.

- X-bar theory undergenerates because it does not produce all the possible grammatical sentences in a
language.
4. What are transormational rules? Give two examples.
- Chomsky observed that a phrase structure grammar cannot generate all the sentences of a language. He
proposed that what was needed was a set of rules that change the structure generated by phrase stucture
rules. These are called transofrmational rules. Two different kinds of transformations: movement rules and
insertion rules.

5. Represent the model of grammar.

6. What is the Base?

- X-bar theory and the lexicon conspire together to generate trees. This conspiracy is called the base.

7. What is D-structure?
- The result of the generated trees by the base is called D-structure.

8. What is S-structure?
- The output of a transformational rule is called the S-structure. The S-structure is filtered by the EPP, which
ensures that the sentence has a subject.

9. List two different kinds of transformations and explain the function of these transformations.
- Two kinds: movement rules and insertion rules
Movement rules move things around in the sentence. Insertion rules put something new into the sentence.

10. What is head-to-head movement?

- The head-to-head movement is the movement that moves one head into another.

11. List two ways in which the power of transformational rules may be restricted?
- (i) rules must have a motivation
- (ii) you cannot write a rule that will create a violation of an output constraint

12. What is V--->T?

- The verb bearing the tense inflection ends up in the T (tense) node. By contrast the main verb doesnt bear
tense inflection, so it doesnt raise into the T node.

13. Give an informal statement of V---->T movement.

- V--->T movement moves the head V to the head T.

14. What is the Verb movement parameter?

- All verbs raise (French) or only auxiliaries raise (English)

15. How is the Verb movement parameter set in French, and how in English?
- In French language, all verbs raise while in English only auxiliaries raise.

16. Explain the difference in word order in Vata: we have rice eaten and we ear rice
- The underlying word order of Vata is SOV. In the sentence with the overt auxiliary, the verb appears to the
far right. When there is no auxiliary, the verb appears in the structural slot otherwise occupied by the
auxiliary. This alternation can be attributed to V-->T movement.
 17. What is the motivation for V--->T movement?
- The motivation for the verb to move is intuitive: the need for the verb to get its inflection. This seems to
correlate with the fact that in many languages there are positional alternations where auxiliaries and tensed
verbs alternate and are in complementary distribution.

18. How is the difference between English and French with respect to the position of adverb explained?

- We can account for the fact that English and French consistently differ in the relative placement of adverbs
and negation with respect to tensed verbs. We derived this difference by appealing to a parameter that either
has the verb raise to T, or not.

19. How is VSO derived?

- The failure of X-bar theory to account for 9 percent of the words languages is a significant one! However,
the theory of transformations gives us an easy out to this problem. If we assume that VSO languages are
underlying SVO (at D-structure), then transformation rule applies that derives the initial order.

20. English She is kissing him would be expressed in Irish as:(use English words)
- Is Mary ing-kiss him.

21. What is evidence for V-->T movement in Irish?

- As in French and Vata cases, with respect to a certain position (in Irish the initial position), auxiliaries and
main verbs are in complementary distributions. This is evidence for V-->T movement.

22. In which position are Irish subjects generated?

- External arguments are not generated in the specifier of TP, like we have been assuming. Instead, they are
underlying generated lower in the tree. In Irish sentence, T (in the form of either an auxiliary or a raised
tensed verb) seems to precede its specifier (the subject)

23. What is the VP-internal subject hypothesis?

- VP-internal subject hypothesis says that subjects are generated in the specifier of a VP.

24. What is T--->C?

- T--->C movement is the movement in which the subject auxiliary inversion occurs.

25. What is a question complementizer in English yes/no questions?

- English yes/no question doesnt have an overt (pronounced) question complementizer. Instead, English has a
null complementizer.
26. Explain the ungrammaticality of *I asked whether have you kissed him.

Subject-auxiliary inversion (TC) is in strict complementary distribution with overt question complementizers (e.g.
whether), i.e. they cannot occur in the same clause as the case is here.

27. What is the motivation for TC?

English has a special null question complementizer 0 [+Q]. Because it is phonologically null, the difference between a
statement and a question is encoded in something we cannot hear. Therefore English employs a mechanism that gives
phonological content to that 0[+Q] by moving T to it.

28. Explain the ungrammaticality of *Kissed you him?

This is ungrammatical because in English main verbs do not invert in questions, like in French- Mangez-vous des
pommes? Eat you the apples?

29. What is do-support?

Do support is the phenomenon where we insert a dummy (contentless) auxiliary to fill T, and this dummy can undergo
TC movement. Where there is no other option for supporting inflectional affixes, insert the dummy verb do into T.

30. When do we apply insertion transformations?

Insertion transformations are the last resort, we apply them when we absolutely have to and when no movement
transformation can apply.

31. What are operations of last resort?

Operations which you apply when you absolutely have to and when no movement transformation can apply. (do support)

32. What kind of sentences require do support?

Questions and negative sentences.

33. List three tests for determining if a language has VT or affix lowering.

34. Explain the ungrammaticality of *I want Bradley (that left).

The agent role must be assigned to an argument within the clause that contains leave; here the theta role is assigned
to a DP that is outside the clause.

35.What is the locality constraint on theta role assignment?

Theta roles are assigned within the projection of the head that assigns them (i.e., the VP or other predicate).

36. What is the argument of the predicate is likely in John is likely to leave?

The argument is the embedded clause.

37. What assigns the theta role to John in John is likely to leave?

The predicate of the embedded clause (to leave)

38. Is John is likely to leave a violation of the locality condition on theta role assignment?

There is nothing about John that is likely, instead it is what John is doing (his leaving) that is likely. The sentence is a
clear violation of the locality condition on theta role assignment in its surface form because the theta role to John is
assigned outside the projection to leave.

39. When does the assignment of theta roles happen?

The assignment appears before all transformations.

40. In which position is the subject John generated at D-structure, and where does it move?

The subject DP John is generated in the specifier of the embedded VP where it is assigned the agent theta role, & moves
by a transformation to the specifier of the main clause TP.

41. What is DP movement?

DP movement is a transformation that moves the DP to the specifier of the main clause TP

42. Why is the subject movement in John is likely to leave frequently called raising?

Because we are raising the DP from the lower clause to the higher.

43. What forces the presence of it in It is likely that John will leave?

The presence of it is forced by the Extended Projection Principle (EPP) the requirement that there is a subject in every
sentence.

44. What is the motivation for DP movement in John is likely to leave?

The absence of a subject is the trigger for DP movement.

45. What happens with the agent theta role when the verb gets the passive en suffix?

Whenever the en suffix is present, there is no DP. The en absorbs (or is itself assigned) the agent role.

46. In which position is the theme argument generated in the passive, and does it stay there?

It is generated in object position, but then is moved to subject position.

47. What is the motivation for the movement of the theme argument in passives?

EPP

48 what is the D-str.posit. of John in John is considered to be foolish? How do you know?

When consider is made into a passive, John is the subject of the lower clause to be foolish. We know because John is
never theta-marked by the verb consider.

49. What is abstract Case?

In the system all nouns get a case-we just dont see it overtly in pronounced morphology. This is called abstract Case.
(Abstract Case normally has a capital C to distinguish it from morphological case.) Case is a general property of
Language. It is the licensing that a DP requires: Nominative is found on subjects (specifier of finite T). Accusative is
found on objects (complement to V).

50. How is nominative assigned?

Nominative Case is assigned in the specifier of finite T.

51. How is accusative assigned?

Accusative Case is assigned as a sister to the verb.

52. How is prepositional case assigned?

Prepositional case is assigned by prepositions to their complement DP.

53. What is the motivation for DP movement?

Case serves as our motivation for DP movement.

54. What is the Case Filter?

All DPs must be marked with a Case. If a DP doesnt get Case the derivation will crash. DP can get Case only in specific
positions and if it isnt in one of those positions, it must move to get Case.

55. What is Case feature checking?

One standard way of implementing the Case Filter is by using a mechanism known as feature checking. This is based on
a notion taken from phonology, the idea is that words are composed of atomic features. A word like he is composed of
features representing its person, its number, its gender, etc.

56. Represent the tree configuration in which the nominative case feature is checked.

TP
/ \
DP T
He / \
[NOM] pres
[NOM]
checking

57. Represent the tree configuration in which the accusative case feature is checked.

VP
|
V
/ \
V DP
loves him
[ACC] [ACC]
Checking
58. Explain the ungrammaticality of *Patrick is likely that left.

Raising is not possible with a finite clause.

59. Explain the ungrammaticality of *It is likely Patrick to leave.

An expletive wont suffice with a non-finite embedded clause.

60. Explain the ungrammaticality of *Patrick to leave is likely.

Non-finite clause cannot satisfy the EPP.

61. Explain the ungrammaticality of *She was kissed him.

Only active transitive verbs can assign accusative Case while passive verbs cannot.

62. What is Burzios Generalization?

Burzio proposed a principle that links the external theta role to accusative Case assignment (now commonly called as
Burzios Generalization: A predicate that has no external theta role cannot assign accusative case.)

63. From which and to which position does the DP move in passives, and why?

A DP moves to get the Case from its Caseless theta position to the nominative Case-assigning specifier of TP. The DP
moves for 2 reasons: first to satisfy the EPP, and to get the Case.

64. What are unaccusative verbs? Example.

There is a set of verbs in many languages that are inherently passive. These are called unaccusative verbs (ergative
verbs) and they have only internal argument and they do not assign accusative Case. (Stacy arrived at the palace.)

65. What is the difference between predicates in John Danced and John arrived.

The first is a regular intransitive (unergative) where John bears and external agent theta role. The second one has no
external theta role, John is a theme that originates in the object position of the sentence; John is then raised to subject
position to satisfy the Case Filter, just like a passive.
66. Explain the assignment of Case in SVO language and in VSO language. What is the difference?

The difference between SVO languages like English and VSO languages is in where nominative Case is assigned. In SVO
languages, nominative Case is assigned in the specifier of finite T. In VSO languages, nominative Case is assigned when
the DP is immediately c-commanded by finite T (which allows it to remain inside VP).

67. What are the contexts where DPs dont get Case in their D-structure positions?

Raising and passive environments.

68. Explain the assignment of Case in raising structures.

DPs are assigned nominative Case only in the specifier of finite T. (Non-finite T does not have a [NOM] feature, whereas
finite T does.) The DP cannot get nominative Case in the specifier of the embedded clause, therefore the DP is not
getting Case, so the sentence violates the Case Filter. When the DP moves to the specifier of the finite main clause T, it
can receive Case in that position, so the sentence is grammatical.

69. Explain the assignment of Case in passive structures.

Only active transitive verbs can assign accusative Case, while passive verbs cannot. Be pass cannot assign accusative Case
to its complement. Since the participle is [-ACC], there is now no case for the DP, so it must move to satisfy the Case
Filter. There is no DP in the specifier of the finite T. There is a Case position open so the theme DP can move to the
specifier of TP.

70. Where do wh-phrases move in wh-questions?

In wh-questions wh-phrases move to the position of the specifier of CP.

71. What is motivation for wh-movement?

Motivation of wh-movement is a feature that triggers wh-movement, and it is called [+WH] feature.

72. Where does a [+WH] feature reside in wh-questions?

It resides in the C of a wh-sentence.

73. Give the exact formulation of wh-movement.

Wh-movement: Move a wh-phrase to the specifier of CP to check a [+WH] feature in C.

74. List all transformation that apply in derivation of the question: Whom did John kiss?

John and whom both get their theta roles in these D-structure positions. Whom also gets Case in this base position.
There is DP movement of John to the specifier of TP to check the [NOM] feature, there is insertion of do to support he
past tense and we get T to C movement to fill the null [+Q] complementizer Wh-movement applies to check the [+WH]
feature.

75. List all transformation that apply in derivation of the question: Who was kissed?

Who is the only argument in the sentence and it starts out as a complement to the verb. Becuase this is passive
construction, the participle kissed cannot check accusative Case. DP moves to the specifier of TP to check nominative
Case. Once is its checked, it can move on to the specifier of CP for wh-feature checking. The aux. also undergoes T to C
movement for the [+Q] feature.

76. Give an example of vacuous movement transformation, and explain.

Who was kissed? DP moves on to the specifier of CP for wh-feature checking (A). The aux. also undergoes T to C
movement for the [+Q] feature (B). These two movements are vacuous in that who and was are in the order who was
both before movements (A) and (B) and after them. However, the feature-checking requirements force us to claim that
both movements occur anyway.

77. List all transformation that apply in derivation of: Whom do you think Jim kissed.

Whom is theta marked by the verb kiss, and gets its internal theme theta role in in the object position of that verb. The
present tense feature on the higher T requires do-support. The [+Q] feature on the C triggers T to C movement. The DP
Jim moves from the specifier of the embedded VP to the specifier of the embedded TP for EPP and Case reasons. The DP
you does the same in the higher clause. Finally we have wh-movement, moving to specifier of the embedded CP the on
the higher CP to check that Cs [+WH] feature.

78. List all transformation that apply in derivation of: I wonder who Jim kissed.

The DP's all get their theta roles in these D-structures positions. Who gets its Case in its base position. Agent DP's (I and
Jim) move to their respective specifiers of TP to get Case. Then we have movement of the Wh-phrase and it only goes to
the specifier of the embedded CP because embedded CP is [+WH] while main clause CP is [-WH]

79. Explain the ungrammaticality of *I wonder what has he done.

When wh-question is embedded, the subject does not invert with the aux. In embedded clauses there is no C [+Q +WH]
theta grids simply can't contain C [+Q]

80. Explain the ungrammaticality of * Who do you wanna kiss the puppy?

Wanna-contraction is impossible when the subject is wh-questioned. The trace intervenes between the to and the verb.
It blocks the strict adjacency between the verb and the to, thus blocking contraction.

81. Explain the distinction: He made the claim that she kissed him. I know the man that she kissed.

Not all clauses that modify nouns are relative clauses. There is small set of nouns known as factives (claim, fact etc.)
that take CPs as complements rather than adjuncts.

82. How are wh-relative clauses formed?

Relative clauses involve special kind of wh-movement, where a CP with a wh-element in it modifies noun.

83. What category is the relative clause attached to?

Relative clauses are attached to VP.

84. Is the theta criterion violated in: I bought the book you recommended? Explain.

Book in this sentence gets a theme role from buy, but it also appear to get at theme theta role from recommend. On the
surface it appears that this is violation of the theta criterion. We have a single noun getting 2 theta roles from 2 different
verbs. This problem is solved with DP element called and operator. The presence of the operator solves our theta
criterion problem: 2 theta roles are being assigned and two different DPs get them. One goes to the head noun book,
the other to the operator Op.

85. What occupies the Specifier CP position in: I bought the book you recommended? Explain

Specifier CP position in this sentence occupies operator that is silent. It is necessary because it solves the problem of
theta criterion.

86. What occupies the Specifier CP position in: I bought the book that you recommended? Explain

In the relative clause with that we have a null wh-word that moves into specifier of the CP headed by that. There is
evidence such movement occurs in older varieties of English and Bavarian German.

87. Explain the contrast: Who do you think kissed John? * Who do you think that kissed John?

In English , wh-movement of objects seems to be free ( with or without complementizer present) but that is not the case
with subjects. Wh-movement from subjects position is only possible when there is no overt complementizer. This
phenomenon is called the that-trace

88. Explain the ungrammaticality of * What did Bill make the claim that he read in the book.

Movement out of a CP that is dominated by a DP is ungrammatical and this phenomenon is known as the complex DP
island. You can only move about within the confines of the islands. You cannot move out of an island, but you can move
arounf within it. DPs are islands.

89. What is the Complex DP constraint?

The Complex DP Constraint: *whi [ [DP ti ] ]

90. Explain the ungrammaticality of *Which cake did you see the man who baked.

We can explain the ungrammaticality of this sentence with the Complex DP Constraint *whi [ [DP ti ] ]

91. What is wh-island?

Wh-island is phenomenon which claims that once you move a wh-phrase into a specifier of a CP, then that CP becomes
an island for further extraction. Movement out of this wh-island results in ungrammaticality.

92. Explain the ungrammaticality of * How do you wonder what John bought.

When you try to move one wh-phrase to the embedded specifier, and the other to the main CP specifier, you get
ungrammatical sentence. It seems there is constraint of moving both of them.

93. What is subject condition?

The Subject Condition: *whi [TP[CP ti ] T ]

94. Explain the ungrammaticality of *Who was that they would arrest a certainty.

The sentence That the police would arrest several rioters is a certainty. has a CP in its subject position. When you try to
wh-move the wh-equivalent to several rioters, the sentence becomes ungrammatical.

95. What is the Coordinate Structure Constraint?

Coordinate Structure Constraint: *whi [XP [XP ti ] conj [XP ]]

Or *whi [XP [XP ] conj [XP ti ]]

Or *whi [XP [XP ] conj ti]

Or *whi [XP ti conj [XP ]]

96. Explain the ungrammaticality of *Who did you like Mary and?

When we have two DPs conjoined, wh-moving of either of these DPs results in ungrammaticality.

97. List four contexts out of which wh-movement cannot occur.

We have four environments out of which wh-movement cannot occur: complex DPs, subjects, CPs with a wh-word in
their specifier and conjuncts in coordination structures.