Transcript Lecture slides

Complement Selection
Rajat Kumar Mohanty
Center for Indian Language Technology
IIT Bombay
Outline




C(ategorial) Selection
S(emantic) Selection
L(exical) Selection
Complement Selection and UNL Relations
Categorial Selection (C-selection)
Certain heads impose particular demands
on the category of the XP they combine
with.
 The verb know can take NPs, indicatives
S’s, and interrogative S’s.




John knows [NP the time].
John knows [S that the world is full of noises].
John knows [S what the time is].
Categorial Selection

The verb ask can take NPs and
interrogative S’s, but not indicative S’s.



John asked me [NP the time].
*John asked me [S that the world was full of
noises].
John asked me [S what the time was].
Categorial Selection

The verb wonder can only take
interrogative S’s, not NPs or indicative S’s.



*Paul wonders [NP the time].
*Paul wonders [S that the world is full of
noises].
Paul wonders [S what the time is].
Semantic Selection (S-selection)
S-selection seems particularly helpful in
cases where an argument of a particular
sort is needed, but its category is not
fixed.
 The verb put selects for a location:





Bill put the book on the table.
Bill put the book under the table.
Bill put the book there.
*Bill put the book.
Lexical Selection (L-selection)
Sometimes particular heads select for
particular lexical items, not just particular
categories.
 verbs


depend, rely – on


hope – for


The community depends on the shipping industry for
its survival.
We are hoping for good weather on Sunday.
toy – with

I did briefly toy with the idea of living in States.
Lexical Selection

nouns

love - for, of



desire - for, *of


a mother’s love for her children
love of your country
a strong desire for power
adjectives

similar – to, in





My teaching style is similar to that of most other teachers.
The two houses are similar in size.
different - from
consistent – with
proud, ashamed - of
Lexical Selection

L-selection is also found with clausal
complements.






She liked the concert.
She liked hearing the concert.
She liked to hear the concert
She enjoyed the concert.
She enjoyed hearing the concert.
*She enjoyed to hear the concert
Lexical Selection




He succeeded in convincing her.
*He succeeded to convince her.
*He managed in convincing her.
He managed to convince her.
Discussion

Does the complement-adjunct distinction make
any difference in deciding the UNL relation?





A student [of high moral principles]
Arguments [with John] are often pointless
Arguments [with few premises] are often pointless
a student [of Physics] [with long hair]
Does the complement selection makes any
difference in deciding the UNL relation?



Bill put the book on the table
Bill put the book under the table
Bill put the book there
Discussion








John knows [NP the time].
John knows [S that the world is full of noises].
John knows [S what the time is].
his disillusionment with life
It is difficult for John.
your reply to my letter
She only replied with a smile.
The terrorists replied to the government’s statement
with more violence.
Sources and Suggested Readings
Introduction to Government and Binding
Theory, 2nd edn., Liliane Haegeman,
Blackwell, 1994.
 Syntactic Structures Revisited, Howard
Lasnik, MIT Press, 2000.
 Bhatt, R. 2003. Introduction to Syntax.
 Principles and Parameters, Peter Culicover,
Oxford, 1997.

THANK YOU