Transcript syntax4

Syntax
Transformations
LING 200
Spring 2003
Reading: File 6.6
More on movement
• Two kinds of syntactic rules
– Phrase structure rules: generate basic structures
– Transformational rules:
• permute or ‘move’ structures generated by
phrase structure rules in limited ways
• prevent PS rules from becoming overly
complicated
• can account for syntactic discontinuity
Model of syntax
P-S rules generate: ‘deep’ syntactic structure
transformational rules:

‘surface’ syntactic structure
Not every sentence contains evidence of
transformational rules!
Some transformational rules of English
Subject – Aux inversion
• Dative shift
• Particle movement
Subject – Aux inversion
NP[The
student who slept through the last lecture] Aux[should be]
VP[studying].
Subject – Aux inversion:
S[NP Aux[X
Y]  S[X NP Aux[Y
Should the student who slept through the last lecture be
studying?
Dative shift
• The TA gave a prize to the best student.
• The TA gave the best student a prize.
• The student left the homework assignment for
their TA.
• The student left their TA the homework
assignment.
• I’ll find the right size for you.
• I’ll find you the right size.
Two possible accounts of dative shift
1. Modify the PS rules:
VP  V NP NP
But: *The student V[put] NP[the assignment] NP[the
TA’s box].
2. Modify the output of the PS rules. The Dative Shift
transformation:
V NP1 P-NP2  V NP2 NP1
:
Dative shift
PS rules: VP  V NP PP
The TA VP[V[gave] NP[a prize] PP[P[to]] NP[the best student]]].
Dative shift: V NP1 P-NP2  V NP2 NP1
The TA V[gave] NP[a prize] PP[to the best student].
Output:

The TA VP[V[gave] NP[the best student] NP[a prize]].
Restrictions on Dative shift
• Dative shift transformation lexically restricted to:
– bring...to, give...to, show...to, read...to, ...
– do...for, find...for, make...for, save...for, ...
– ask (a question) of
• Not every V NP PP:
- The magician touched the girl with the wand.
- *The magician touched the wand the girl.
• Not every V NP PP[to NP]
- Paul Allen donated a million dollars to the university.
- *Paul Allen donated the university a million dollars.
• Not every V[give] NP PP
- They gave themselves up to the police.
- *They gave the police themselves (up).
Verb - particle movement
• Two types of V P NP in English
1. V PP: VP[V PP[P NP]]
V[look] PP[at
the solution]
V[rely] PP[on
the help]
V[wait] PP[for
the next best thing]
V[defer] PP[to
a higher authority]
V[run] PP[up
the hill]
Phrasal verbs
2. Phrasal verb: VP[V[V P] NP]
V  V (P) (P = preposition, “particle”)
V[V[put] P[on]] NP[a
coat]
V[V[put] P[off]] NP[the decision]
V[V[give] P[out]] NP[the exam]
V[V[call] P[up]] NP[the dean]
V[V[get] P[out]] NP[a pencil]
V[V[stand] P[up]] NP[a date]
V[V[run] P[up]] NP[the bill]
Differences between V PP,
phrasal verbs
1. Position of pronominalized NP:
noun object
V PP
run up the hill
phrasal verb
run up the bill
pronoun object
run up it
run it up
Phrasal verbs and ‘particle movement’
Optional with full NP:
put on a coat,
put a coat on
Obligatory with pronoun:
*put on it,
put it on
run up a bill, run it up
put off the decision, put it off
give out the exam, give it out
call up the dean, call him up
V PP vs. phrasal verbs
2. Entire PP can be moved to the beginning of the
sentence (‘preposed’):
V PP
They said it was okay to run
up the hill, and PP[up the hill]
we ran.
phrasal verb
They said it was okay to [run
up]V [the bill]NP, *and up the
bill we ran.
They said it was okay to run
up the bill, and NP[quite a
bill] we ran up.
V PP vs. phrasal verbs
3. Sentence fragment test:
Only a constituent can substitute for a sentence.
V PP
Did you V[run] PP[up the
hill]?
No, PP[up the stairs]
No, NP[the stairs]
phrasal verb
Did you V[run up] NP[the
(food) bill]?
*No, up the bar tab
No, NP[the bar tab]
V PP vs. phrasal verbs
4. Separability of V, P
V PP
Stephen V[ran] stealthily
PP[up a big hill].
Stephen stealthily V[ran]
PP[up a big hill].
phrasal verb
*Stephen ran stealthily up a
big bill.
Stephen stealthily V[ran up]
NP[a big bill].
V PP vs. phrasal verbs
5. Possibility of coordinating PP
V PP
You have to V[run] PP[up that
hill] and then PP[up an even
bigger one].
You have to V[run] PP[up
NP[that hill] and then NP[an
even bigger one]].
phrasal verb
*We were told not to run up
the food bill or up the bar
tab.
We were told not to V[run
up] NP[the food bill] or NP[the
bar tab].
Summary and analysis
The linear string
V P NP
has two possible analyses:
1. V [P NP]
V + PP
2. [V P] NP
phrasal verb
V [P NP]
[V P] NP
PP preposing
yes
no
PP fragment
yes
no
V, P separability
yes
no
PP coordination
yes
no
Position of nominal vs. pronominal objects
NP object
pronoun object
V [P NP]
[V P] NP
ran up the hill
ran up the bill
*ran the hill up
ran the bill up
ran up it
*ran up it
*ran it up
ran it up
Position of pronominalized NP
Particle Movement (transformation)
Verb
1
P]V
2
NP
3

1
3
2
(optional unless NP is pronoun (then obligatory))
Transformational vs. PS approach
to Particle Movement
Purely phrase structure approach
VP  V (P) (NP)
VP  V (NP) (P)
(run up the bill)
(run the bill up)
Drawbacks of purely PS approach
• doesn’t represent phrasal verbs as syntactic
or lexical unit
• no savings in # rules needed (1 PS rule + 1
transformation)
• additional rule would be needed (VP  V P
PP) for phrasal verb + PP:
[V[put] P[up]] PP[with the situation]
[V[let] P[up]] PP[on the pedal]
[V P] PP
• Preposing: on the pedal we let up
• Sentence fragment: did you let up on the
pedal? No, (on) the brake.
• Separability: let up carefully on the pedal.
• Coordination: let up on the clutch and (on)
the accelerator
• (No Particle movement: let up on it, *let on
it up)
Summary
• Sentences are not just unstructured strings
of words
• Two kinds of syntactic rules
– Phrase structure rules
– Transformational rules:
• Some transformational rules of English
– Subject – Aux inversion
– Dative shift
– Particle movement