8 – 16.12.11

What about non-finite clauses?

A: I will arrange [for them to see a specialist]

B: She wanted [him to apologise]

for-to infinitive clauses such as (a) are Cps, since they are introduced by the infinitival complementiser for.

The complement of want is indeed introduced by for when the infinitive complement is separated from the verb want in some way:

She wanted more than anything for him to apologise

A pseudo-cleft sentence:

What she really wanted was for him to apologise.

Pseudo-cleft sentences: 'what John bought was a car', where the italicised expression is said to be focused and to occupy focus position within the sentence.

What.... …. ← pseudo-cleft sentence

She wanted [CP [Co] [TP him [T to] apologise ]]

Control clauses mus be Cps headed by a null infinitival complementiser.

I will arragne [PRO to see a specialist]

\

CP

TP

T

C PRN T VP

for them to see a specialist

o PRO to see a specialist

Evidence:

I will arrange [to see a specialist] and [for my wife to see one at the same time]

Empty determiners

speaker a: What did you learn from your visit to Milan?

Speaker b: That Italians do love the opera (reply 1)

Italians love opera (reply 2)

The Italians and the opera comrise a determiner (D) and a noun (N), and so can be analysed as determiner prases (Dps)

CP

C TP

that

o DP T

D N T VP

the Italians do

o Italians o

V DP

love

love

D N

the opera

o opera

Evidence:

a. Eggs are fattening c. I had eggs for breakfast

b. Bacon is fattening d. I had bacon for breakfast

The nouns eggs and bacon in (a, b) have a generic interpretation ('eggs/bacon in general').

In (c,d) they have a partitive interpretation, ('some eggs/bacon'.)

If we say that indeterminate nominals are Dps headed by a null generic/partitive determiner o, we can say that the semantic properties of o determine that bare nominals will be interpreted as generically or partitively quantified.

lack of determiner means sth

N. kot

G. kota

D. kotu

Acc. Kota
Instr. Kotem

Lack of inflectional ending means that it's Nominative case

speaker a: What did our president tell your prime minister?

Speaker b: That we Brits do envy you Yanks (replay 1)

We envy you (reply 2)

CP

C TP

That

DP T

D N T VP

we Brits do

V DP

envy

D N

you Yanks

CP

C TP

o

D T

we

T VP

o

V D

envy you

As all clauses are C-projections, all nominals are D-projections:

• determinate nominals are Dps headed by an overt determiner;

• indeterminate nominals are Dps headed by a null determiner;

• Pronouns are determiners used without a complement

• the null pronoun PRO is a null determiner used without a complement

Movement

Clauses typically have a CP+TP+VP

speaker a: what did he want to know?

Speaker b: If the president was lying

CP

C TP

if

DP T

the president

was lying

Head movement

speaker a: What's the question that everyone's asking?

Speaker b: was the president lying?

What position does and inverted auxiliary was move into?

If the inverted auxiliary moves into the head C position of CP, an inverted auxiliary and a complementiser are mutually exclusive.

Speaker a: what did the journalist from the Daily Dirge ask you?

Speaker b: *If was the president lying.

CP

C TP

DP T

the president

T V

was lying

Head movement – movement of a word from the head position in one phrase into the head position in another phrase

What happens to the head T position of TP once it is vacated by movement of the inverted auxiliary into C?

When a constituent moves from one position in a structure to another, the position out of which it moves remains intact and is filled by a silent copy of the moved constituent (a trace of the moved constituent (t)).

Evidence:

a. They have gone
b. They've gone

a. Will they have gone?
b. *Will they've gone?

Movement of will into C leaves a silent copy behind in the T position out of which will moves:

[CP [C Will] [TP they [T will] have gone]]?

TP

DP T

they

T V

have gone

Operator movement

Where are the bold-face pre-auxiliary constituents positioned in:

a. What languages can you speak?

b. No other colleague would I trust

Each of the pre-auxiliary phrases contains a determiner which is said to have the semantic function of being an operator:

what – an interrogative operator (wh-operator)

no – a negative operator

Expressions containing such operators are called operator expressions.

Each of the operator expressions functions as the complement of the verb at the end of the sentence.

a. You can speak what languages? an wh-in-situ question (in-situ - place)

b. I would thrust no other colleague

They are moved into some position preceding the inverted auxiliary.

Inverted auxiliaries occupy the head C position in CP,

+ preposed operator phrases are moved into some pre-head (specifier) position within CP.
= preposed operator phrases occupy the specifier position within CP (spec-CP).

CP

C

TP

T

VP

DP

C D T V DP

What languages can you t speak t

no other colleague would I t trust t

1

2

1 – head movement (of a head from T to C)

2 – operator movement (wh-movement) (of an operator expression into the specifier posoition within CP)