week 12a. more wh-movement, subjacency, and relative clauses cas lx 522 syntax i

Week 12a. More Week 12a. More whwh--movement,movement,

Subjacency, and relative Subjacency, and relative clausesclauses

CAS LX 522CAS LX 522Syntax ISyntax I

Three kinds of Three kinds of movementmovement

A-movementA-movement: Movement to SpecIP : Movement to SpecIP (subjects, passive objects, subject (subjects, passive objects, subject raising).raising). A-movement A-movement endsends in a Case location. in a Case location.

Operator MovementOperator Movement: Movement to : Movement to SpecCP and other things we’ll talk SpecCP and other things we’ll talk about later. A.k.a. “about later. A.k.a. “AA-movement-movement”” Operator movement Operator movement startsstarts in a Case location. in a Case location.

So A-movement precedes operator movement.So A-movement precedes operator movement.

Head MovementHead Movement: Movement of a head : Movement of a head to the next higher head.to the next higher head.

Structural UniformityStructural Uniformity The different elements of the structure are each The different elements of the structure are each

responsible for a certain element of the responsible for a certain element of the meaning.meaning. C is responsible for the C is responsible for the clause typeclause type (or (or illocutionary illocutionary

forceforce) of the clause. It marks clauses as declaratives ) of the clause. It marks clauses as declaratives or as questions (or as imperatives, or as exclamatives).or as questions (or as imperatives, or as exclamatives).

I is responsible for I is responsible for tense interpretationtense interpretation (and also (and also subject agreement).subject agreement).

vv is responsible for external is responsible for external -role assignment-role assignment (Agent (Agent for sure, others like “Beneficiary” perhaps [for sure, others like “Beneficiary” perhaps [winwin]],, or or even simply marking as a verb [even simply marking as a verb [seemseem])?])?

D is responsible for definitenessD is responsible for definiteness (at least) ( (at least) (aa vs. vs. thethe)) N, V, A, P are responsible for lexical contentN, V, A, P are responsible for lexical content..

Structural uniformityStructural uniformity

As a consequence of structural As a consequence of structural uniformity:uniformity:

All All whwh-questions have a [+WH, +Q] C.-questions have a [+WH, +Q] C. Subject Subject whwh-questions: Who left?-questions: Who left? Object Object whwh-questions: What did Pat buy?-questions: What did Pat buy?

All All finitefinite embedded clauses have a CP. embedded clauses have a CP. I heard [I heard [CPCP that [ that [IPIP Tracy left]]. Tracy left]].

I heard [I heard [CPCP Ø [ Ø [IPIP Tracy left]]. Tracy left]].

*Economy of structure*Economy of structure The alternative view (adopted by Radford at The alternative view (adopted by Radford at

various points) is to say that you only have a various points) is to say that you only have a CP when you have overt evidence for one.CP when you have overt evidence for one. Radford views subject Radford views subject whwh-questions such as -questions such as Who Who

left?left? as being IPs. as being IPs. Radford also views embedded that-less clauses as Radford also views embedded that-less clauses as

being IPs (being IPs (I heard [I heard [IPIP John left] John left]).). Here, we will adopt the more mainstream and Here, we will adopt the more mainstream and

I think simpler view that structure and I think simpler view that structure and function are in a 1-1 relation.function are in a 1-1 relation. One exception: Main clause declaratives have been One exception: Main clause declaratives have been

presumed to be IPs here, not CPs. We could have presumed to be IPs here, not CPs. We could have been stricter.been stricter.

What will they bake?What will they bake?

Who left?Who left?

I and V are adjacent, I and V are adjacent, dodo-support unnecessary.-support unnecessary.

Note: Vm c-commands tm

here. Vm excludes tm

and any node that dominates Vm dominates tm too.

The category of The category of whwh--phrasesphrases

What kind of phrase is a What kind of phrase is a whwh-phrase?-phrase? It depends on the structural role it plays; It depends on the structural role it plays;

essentially, a essentially, a whwh-phrase is like a “pronoun” -phrase is like a “pronoun” with a [+wh] feature (but it need not be a with a [+wh] feature (but it need not be a “noun”, it’s a more general “pro-form”)“noun”, it’s a more general “pro-form”) WhatWhat in in What did Pat buy?What did Pat buy? is a DP. Because is a DP. Because the the

lamplamp is a DP in is a DP in Pat bought the lampPat bought the lamp. . Which bookWhich book is a DP, with is a DP, with whichwhich being a D. being a D.

WhenWhen in in When did Pat leave?When did Pat leave? is an AP. Because is an AP. Because yesterdayyesterday is an AP in is an AP in Pat left yesterdayPat left yesterday. (Although . (Although note that it could also have been answered note that it could also have been answered Pat left Pat left on Tuesdayon Tuesday—we still take —we still take whenwhen to be an adverb) to be an adverb)

HowHow in in How did Pat leave?How did Pat leave? is an AP. Because is an AP. Because hurriedlyhurriedly is an AP in is an AP in Pat left hurriedlyPat left hurriedly..


Suppose Suppose we wanted we wanted to ask to ask howhow Pat ate the Pat ate the sandwich…sandwich…

quickly

thesandwich

tk

AP

vP

V DP

VP

I

I

IP

DPi

Pat

[+Past]

v

vP

DP

v

v

Vk

ti

eat


We attach We attach howhow in the in the tree where tree where adverbs go; adverbs go; howhow is a is a whwh--adverb…adverb…

how

thesandwich

tk

AP

vP

V DP

VP

I

I

IP

DPi

Pat

[+Past]

v

vP

DP

v

v

Vk

ti

eat

CP

C[+WH,+Q]


And then And then howhow moves to moves to SpecCP like SpecCP like in any other in any other whwh-question.-question.

tj

thesandwich

tk

AP

vP

V DP

VP

I

I

IP

DPi

Pat

tm

v

vP

DP

v

v

Vk

ti

eat

C

C

[+WH][+Q]

CP

APjhow

CIm

[+Past]


Or, if we are Or, if we are wondering wondering which which student ate student ate the the sandwich…sandwich…

thesandwich

tkV DP

VP

I

I

IP

DPi

[+Past]v

vP

DP

v

v

Vk

ti

eat

CP

C[+WH,+Q]

NPDwhich student


Or, if we are Or, if we are wondering wondering which which student ate student ate the the sandwich…sandwich…

thesandwich

tkV DP

VP

I

I

IP

DPi

tmv

vP

DP

v

v

Vk

ti

eat

CP

NPDwhich student

C

C

[+WH][+Q]

CIm

[+Past]DPti


Or, if we Or, if we are are wondering wondering whose dog whose dog ate the ate the sandwich…sandwich…

thesandwich

tkV DP

VP

I

I

IP

DPi

tmv

vP

DP

v

v

Vk

ti

eat

CP

C

C

[+WH][+Q]

CIm

[+Past]DPti

D’s

D

dogNP

DPwho

Long-distance Long-distance whwh--movementmovement

You can ask a question about something in You can ask a question about something in an embedded clause too…an embedded clause too…

I said [that John ate a sandwich].I said [that John ate a sandwich]. WhatWhatii did I say [that John ate did I say [that John ate ttii]?]? Mary wondered [whatMary wondered [whatii I said [that John ate I said [that John ate

ttii]].]]. Note that Note that whatwhat gets its gets its -role from -role from ateate.. Note that the Note that the main clausemain clause C is the question C is the question

([+Q, +WH])—the ([+Q, +WH])—the embedded clauseembedded clause C here is a C here is a [-Q] CP.[-Q] CP.

WhWh-movement that escapes its clause like this is -movement that escapes its clause like this is sometimes called “sometimes called “long-distance long-distance whwh-movement-movement”.”.

CNP-islandsCNP-islands

There are certain things that seem to “trap” There are certain things that seem to “trap” whwh--elements, though.elements, though.

WhatWhatii did John claim [that Mary bought did John claim [that Mary bought ttii]?]?

John believesJohn believes[[DPDP the claim [that Mary bought cheese]]. the claim [that Mary bought cheese]].

*What*Whatii does John believe does John believe[[DPDP the claim [that Mary bought the claim [that Mary bought ttii]]?]]? The claim that…The claim that… is a DP. is a DP. WhatWhat starts starts insideinside. A . A

“complex noun phrase” island.“complex noun phrase” island.

WhWh-islands-islands Another thing that seems to “trap” a Another thing that seems to “trap” a whwh-phrase is -phrase is

another another whwh-question. (Called -question. (Called whwh-islands-islands))

Who bought a cheeseburger at Burger King?Who bought a cheeseburger at Burger King?

John wondered John wondered [[who bought who bought a cheeseburger a cheeseburger at at BKBK]]..

*What*Whatii did John wonder did John wonder [[who bought who bought ttii at BK at BK]]??

*Who*Whoii did John wonder did John wonder [[whatwhatjj ttii bought bought ttjj at BK at BK]]??

Successive-cyclicSuccessive-cyclicwhwh-movement-movement

To reconcile the fact that To reconcile the fact that whwh-movement can be “long -movement can be “long distance” with the fact that distance” with the fact that whwh-movement can be -movement can be trapped by islands, we suppose that:trapped by islands, we suppose that: WhWh-movement proceeds to the nearest SpecCP, and then moves -movement proceeds to the nearest SpecCP, and then moves

the next SpecCP—it cannot “skip” a CP, that’s moving too far. the next SpecCP—it cannot “skip” a CP, that’s moving too far. But a series of such movements can But a series of such movements can appearappear to be “long to be “long distance”.distance”.

Islands cause a situation where Islands cause a situation where whwh-movement needs to move -movement needs to move “too far”“too far”

What did you hear that they bought?What did you hear that they bought? CC[+Q][+Q] you I hear [that they bought what] you I hear [that they bought what]

CC[+Q][+Q] you I hear [what you I hear [whatii that they bought that they bought ttii]]

whatwhatii C C[+Q][+Q]+I+Ijj you you ttjj hear [ hear [ttii’ that they bought ’ that they bought ttii]]

Successive-Successive-cyclic cyclic

movementmovement The The whwh--

phrase moves phrase moves first to the first to the intermediate intermediate SpecCP, and SpecCP, and from there to from there to the main the main clause clause SpecCP.SpecCP.

What did you hear that they bought?

Successive cyclic?Successive cyclic? McCloskey (2000). Quantifier float and McCloskey (2000). Quantifier float and whwh--

movement in an Irish English. movement in an Irish English. Linguistic InquiryLinguistic Inquiry 31(1):57-84. 31(1):57-84. Cf. Cf. exactlyexactly..

What all did you get for Christmas?What all did you get for Christmas? What did you get all for Christmas?What did you get all for Christmas? All the students have left.All the students have left. The students have all left.The students have all left. I don’t remember [I don’t remember [CPCP what I said all]. what I said all]. What all did he say (that) he wanted?What all did he say (that) he wanted? What did he say (that) he wanted all?What did he say (that) he wanted all? What did he say all (that) he wanted?What did he say all (that) he wanted?

WhWh--islandsislands

Now, suppose Now, suppose we have an we have an embedded embedded whwh--question.question. You wondered You wondered

what they what they bought.bought.

And try to And try to question the question the subject.subject.


Too far—Too far— WhWh-movement-movement

can’t go past thecan’t go past themiddle CP withoutmiddle CP without“stopping off”“stopping off”

*Who did you wonder what bought?*Who did you wonder what bought?


SubjacencySubjacency. . Operator movement Operator movement cannot cross more cannot cross more than one than one bounding bounding nodenode..

IPIP is a bounding is a bounding node (in English).node (in English).

CNP-islandsCNP-islands

We can treat complex NP islands in We can treat complex NP islands in pretty much the same way—what makes pretty much the same way—what makes them ungrammatical is trying to move them ungrammatical is trying to move past more than one bounding node.past more than one bounding node.

*What*Whatii did Mary believe did Mary believe[[DPDP the claim that John bought the claim that John bought ttii ]]??

CNP?CNP?

DP is also a DP is also a bounding bounding

node.node.

*Who did they eat’s *Who did they eat’s lunch?lunch?

We can’t We can’t move just move just whowho. The . The entire entire phrase phrase whose whose lunchlunch must must be be pied-pied-pipedpiped along with along with whowho..

tkV DP

VP

I

I

IP

DPi

tmv

vP

DP

v

v

Vk

ti

eat

CP

C

C

[+WH][+Q]

CIm

[+Past]DP

ti

D’s

D

lunchNP

DP

who

they

*

Bounding nodesBounding nodesand Subjacencyand Subjacency

In English In English IPIP and and DPDP are bounding are bounding nodes.nodes. In other languages this varies. We won’t In other languages this varies. We won’t

explore the evidence here, but Italian explore the evidence here, but Italian and Spanish seem to have and Spanish seem to have CPCP and DP as and DP as bounding nodes.bounding nodes.

SubjacencySubjacency: : WhWh-movement can -movement can cross only one bounding node at a cross only one bounding node at a time.time. Derives the CNP-island and Derives the CNP-island and whwh-island -island

constraints.constraints.

Relative clausesRelative clauses

Another place where we see Another place where we see whwh--movement, besides in explicit movement, besides in explicit questions (either in the main clause questions (either in the main clause or embedded) is in or embedded) is in relative clausesrelative clauses..

The book which I readThe book which I read The woman who(m) I metThe woman who(m) I met These consist of a These consist of a head nounhead noun ( (bookbook, ,

womanwoman) and then what appears to be ) and then what appears to be a a whwh-question that further specifies -question that further specifies the referent of the head noun.the referent of the head noun.

Relative clausesRelative clauses

Relative clauses serve to Relative clauses serve to modifymodify the the head noun.head noun.

Kind of like adjectives, or PP Kind of like adjectives, or PP modifiers.modifiers. The unhappy students.The unhappy students. The students from Vancouver.The students from Vancouver. The students who solved the problem.The students who solved the problem.

So where would you put them?So where would you put them?

Relative Relative clausesclauses

The structure of a The structure of a relative clause is relative clause is like this.like this.

A [+Q, +WH] CP is A [+Q, +WH] CP is adjoined to the NP, adjoined to the NP, like an adjective, or like an adjective, or a PP modifier.a PP modifier.

The meaning is The meaning is essentially “the essentially “the man with the man with the property of being property of being the answer to ‘Who the answer to ‘Who did I meet?” ’did I meet?” ’

C[+WH][+Q]

C

CP

IP

I met ti

man

NPDthe

DP

NP

DPi

who(m)

QuirksQuirks

The “question” inside a relative clause The “question” inside a relative clause has a couple of odd properties, not shared has a couple of odd properties, not shared with regular main clause or embedded with regular main clause or embedded questions.questions.

*The problem what I solved.*The problem what I solved. The problem which I solved.The problem which I solved. The problem which I will solve.The problem which I will solve. The problem I solved.The problem I solved. The problem that I solved.The problem that I solved.

Which/that/ØWhich/that/Ø

In addition to being able to sayIn addition to being able to say The book which Mary readThe book which Mary read

We can also sayWe can also say The book that Mary readThe book that Mary read

andand The book Mary readThe book Mary read

And they all mean the same thing. So we And they all mean the same thing. So we expect that they would all have basically expect that they would all have basically the same structure (they all have a the same structure (they all have a question adjoined in the NP)—question adjoined in the NP)—so where is so where is the the whwh-word in the last two?-word in the last two?

OpOp

The secret to these last two kinds of The secret to these last two kinds of relative clauses is relative clauses is OpOp, the silent , the silent whwh-word-word..

That is, That is, the book which Mary readthe book which Mary read and and the book Mary readthe book Mary read are really exactly the are really exactly the same except that in one case you same except that in one case you pronounce the pronounce the whwh-word, and in the other, -word, and in the other, you don’t.you don’t.

the book [the book [CPCP which whichii Mary read Mary read ttii ] ]

the book [the book [CPCP OpOpii Mary read Mary read ttii ] ]

OpOp

It is also possible to pronounce It is also possible to pronounce thatthat with with OpOp, giving us:, giving us:

the book [the book [CPCP OpOpii that [ that [TPTP Mary read Mary read ttii ]] ]]

Why can’t we pronounce Why can’t we pronounce thatthat with with whichwhich??

*the book [*the book [CPCP which whichii that [ that [TPTP Mary read Mary read ttii ]] ]]

Doubly-Filled COMP Doubly-Filled COMP filterfilter

The The Doubly-Filled COMP filterDoubly-Filled COMP filter is the is the traditional “explanation”.traditional “explanation”.

Doubly-Filled COMP filterDoubly-Filled COMP filter::*[*[CPCP whwh-word if/that/for…]-word if/that/for…]

You can’t pronounce both a You can’t pronounce both a whwh-word and (a -word and (a base-generated) C at the same time. Thus:base-generated) C at the same time. Thus: the book [the book [CPCP OpOpii [ [TPTP Mary read Mary read ttii ]] ]] the book [the book [CPCP OpOpii that [ that [TPTP Mary read Mary read ttii ]] ]] the book [the book [CPCP whichwhichii [ [TPTP Mary read Mary read ttii ]] ]] *the book [*the book [CPCP whichwhichii that [ that [TPTP Mary read Mary read ttii ]] ]]

OpOp

Skeptical of Skeptical of OpOp? Is there really ? Is there really whwh-movement -movement of of OpOp, a silent , a silent whwh-phrase?-phrase?

I read the book [I read the book [CPCP which whichii [ [IPIP Mary said Mary said[[CPCP that [ that [IPIP Bill bought Bill bought ttii ]]]]. ]]]].

*I read the book [*I read the book [CPCP which whichii [[IPIP Mary wondersMary wonders[[CPCP who who [[IPIP bought bought ttii ]]]]]]].].

I read the book [I read the book [CPCP OpOpii (that) [ (that) [IPIP Mary said Mary said[[CPCP that [ that [IPIP Bill bought Bill bought ttii ]]]]. ]]]].

*I read the book [*I read the book [CPCP OpOpii (that) (that) [[IPIP Mary wondersMary wonders[[CPCP who who [[IPIP bought bought ttii ]]]]]]].].

OpOp

So if we have a silent So if we have a silent whwh-phrase, -phrase, why can’t we ask questions with it?why can’t we ask questions with it? WhereWhereii did Mary buy this book did Mary buy this book ttii ? ? WhenWhenii did Mary buy this book did Mary buy this book ttii ? ? WhyWhyii did Mary buy this book did Mary buy this book ttii ? ? HowHowii did Mary buy this book did Mary buy this book ttii ? ? **OpOpii did Mary buy this book did Mary buy this book ttii ? ?

See why?See why?

OpOp

Recoverability condition:Recoverability condition: The content of a The content of a null category must be recoverable.null category must be recoverable. the place [the place [OpOpii (that) Mary bought that book (that) Mary bought that book ttii ] ]

the day [the day [OpOpii (that) Mary bought that book (that) Mary bought that book ttii ] ]

the reason [the reason [OpOpii (that) Mary bought that book (that) Mary bought that book ttii ]]

the way [the way [OpOpii (that) Mary bought that book (that) Mary bought that book ttii ] ]

In each case, we can tell what the In each case, we can tell what the whwh--phrase is by looking at the head noun.phrase is by looking at the head noun.

A commentA commenton Con C

Notice that when you Notice that when you use use OpOp, the C, the C——despite being [+Q]—despite being [+Q]—can be pronounced can be pronounced as as thatthat..

This seems to mean This seems to mean that that thatthat is just a way is just a way you can pronounce C you can pronounce C if it would otherwise if it would otherwise be unpronounced be unpronounced and pronouncing it and pronouncing it wouldn’t violate the wouldn’t violate the DFC filter.DFC filter.

C[+WH][+Q]

C

CP

IP

I met ti

man

NPDthe

DP

NP

DPi

who(m)

week 12a. more wh-movement, subjacency, and relative clauses cas lx 522 syntax i

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