Transcript 14_Aux

Syntax:
Auxiliary verbs
LING 400
Winter 2010
Overview
VP substitution (review)
 Auxiliary verbs

– Properties
– Auxiliary verbs and movement
– Subject NP
For further learning
about syntax, LING 461
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Verb Phrases and substitution
One possibility for VP: do so
Robin plays the violin, and Lee does so as well.
Robin plays the violin, and so does Lee.
do so substitutes for entire VP
Sentences with have

Another VP pro-form: so
– Robin has studied the violin. So has Lee.
What does this tell us about have?
 have must not be part of the VP
 What is have (and words like it)?

VP substitution possibilities
do so
Joyce has studied ASL. Julia has done so as well.
so
Joyce has studied ASL. So has Julia.
as
Joyce has studied ASL, as has Julia.
More pre-VP possibilities
is
Joyce is studying ASL, and so is Julia.
will
Joyce will study ASL, and so will Julia.
should
Joyce should study ASL, and so should Julia.
AUX
my slides
S  NP (AUX) VP
Contemporary Linguistics
IP  NP I’
I’  I VP
AUX  Modal have be
I, ±Pst 
Modal  will, would, can, could, may, might, must,
should
The dog might bite that man.
My slides
Contemporary
Linguistics
Why V’: never [drink
alcohol and drive a car]
Properties of AUX
Modals
Joyce will study.
have: + past participle
Joyce has studied.
be: + present participle/gerund
Joyce is studying.
Rightmost AUX governs V form

Joyce AUX[should] VP[study ASL].

Joyce
AUX[should
have] VP[studied ASL].

Joyce
AUX[should
have been] VP[studying ASL].
Modal vs. non-modal AUX
BE + -ing form (‘gerund’): ‘progressive’ construction
is going: present progressive
was going: past progressive
will be going: future progressive
HAVE + -ed form (‘past participle’): ‘perfect’ construction
has gone: present perfect
had gone: past perfect
will have gone: future perfect
Modal vs. non-modal AUX
Non-modals: 3sg, infinitive, participle forms
has, to have, having, had
is, to be, being, been
Modals like must
do not have infinitival forms
*to must
do not inflect for 3sg
musts
do not have participle forms
*musting, *musted
Negation follows AUX
positive
negative
free form: not
bound form: n’t [ənt]
has studied
is studying
will study
has not studied
is not studying
will not study
hasn’t studied
isn’t studying
won’t study
Aux + n’t

Some special negative forms
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
haven’t, hasn’t, hadn’t
isn’t, aren’t (> ain’t), *amn’t, wasn’t, weren’t
*willn’t (won’t)
wouldn’t
can’t
couldn’t
*mayn’t (may not)
mightn’t
mustn’t
shouldn’t
*shalln’t (shant, shall not)
Aux and yes/no questions
Aux moves to the beginning of Q
Joyce will study ASL.
Will Joyce study ASL?
*Will study Joyce ASL?
Only leftmost Aux moves
Joyce has been studying ASL.
Has Joyce been studying ASL?
*Has been Joyce studying ASL?
Aux movement
Contemporary Linguistics Inversion: Move I to C
(see p. 175)
Properties of sentences with no Aux
S  NP (Aux) VP
 “Do-support” (= Do Insertion, CL p. 177)

– In negative Ss and questions, if no Aux, then Aux 
do.
do-support


Declarative sentence
– Julia studies.
Negative
– Julia doesn’t study.
– *Julia studies not. *Julia studiesn’t. *Julia not
studies.
Yes/no question
– Does Julia study?
– *Studies Julia?
– (Julia studies?!)
 Emphatic
– Julia does study.

AUX, if any, inflects for tense.
do can be Aux or V

Declarative
– Stephen did the homework.

Negative
– Stephen didn’t do the homework.

Yes/no Q
– Did Stephen do the homework?

Emphatic
– Stephen did do the homework.
3 types of do

Main verb
– Stephen did the homework.

AUX (< Do support)
– Did Stephen do the homework?

Pro-form
– Stephen finished the homework. Joyce did so
as well.
be and have can be Aux or V

be
– V: John is quiet.
– AUX + V: John is being quiet.

have
– V: Robin has doubts.
– Aux + V: Robin has had doubts.
Refining AUX movement rule

“In questions, the leftmost constituent of
Aux is moved to the beginning of the
sentence.”
– Joyce has been studying ASL.
– Has Joyce been studying ASL?
Sentences with more than one AUX

The person who is studying ASL has left
the room.
1
Which Aux?
 Not leftmost Aux of sentence
2

– *Is the person who studying ASL has left the
room?

Has the person who is studying ASL left
the room?
Subject NP
“In questions, the leftmost constituent of
the highest AUX is moved to the beginning
of the sentence.”
 ‘highest AUX’

– immediately dominated by root node
 Movement
delimits subject NP constituent
Syntax summary
Sentences are not just strings of words
 Structural ambiguity: structure determines
meaning
 Tests for constituency

– Coordination test: only constituents of same
category can be conjoined
– Substitution test: pro-forms can substitute for
constituents
– Movement test: only constituents can be moved

Some constituents identified: VP, Aux, Subject
NP
Question
In some language you know other than
English, how are negative sentences
formed? Where is the negative morpheme
placed with respect to the verb?