Good 4 Syntax Ex

7/30/2019 Good 4 Syntax Ex

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Detecting Complements and Adjuncts

Rajat Kumar Mohanty

Center for Indian Language Technology

IIT Bombay


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Monday, July 11, 2005 CFILT

Outline

X-bar Theory Revisited

Complement and Adjuncts within an NP

Detecting Complements and Adjuncts Structural Ambiguity

Phrase Structure Rules for Noun Phrases

Reordering of Adjuncts

Co-ordination

Extraposition

Preposing

Co-occurrence Restrictions

Generalization

Exercises


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X-bar Theory

It tells us how words are combined to make

phrases and sentences.

It captures the commonality between different

types of phrases, which PS-rules cannot.


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X-bar Projection

XP

X `

X ZP

YP

(Maximal projection)

(Intermediate projection)

(Minimal projection)


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X-bar Projection

XP

X `

X ZP

YP

(X-phrase)

(Head)

(Complement)

(Specifier)


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X-bar Projection

XP

X `

X

ZP

YP

(Complement)

(Specifier)

X `

ZP(Head)

(Adjunct)


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X-bar Projection

NP

N `

PPcomplement

NPspecifier

Johns Nhead

solution

to the problem


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X-bar Projection

NP

N `

of the cricket match

theN `

discussion

in the cabinet

meeting

Detspecifier

NheadPPcomplement

PPadjunct


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Complement and Adjuncts within an NP

NP

N `

Nhead

PPadjunct

Detspecifier

of NLP

aN `

PPcomplement

student

with long hair


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Structural Ambiguity in an NP

A student [of high moral principles]

Is there any ambiguity in this NP ?

a person who studies high moral principles

a student who has high moral principles

This ambiguity can be characterized in structural

terms


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a person who studies high moral principles

NP

N `

of high moral principles

a

student

Detspecifier

NheadPPcomplement


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a student who has high moral principles

NP

N `

of moral principles

aN `

student

Detspecifier

Nhead

PPadjunct


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Examples

1. Arguments [with John] are often pointless. (???)2. Arguments [with few premises] are often pointless.

(???)

3. Arguments [with John] [with few premises] are oftenpointless.

4. *Arguments [with few premises] [with John] are often

pointless.


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The complement must precede an adjunct. Rules

NPN (PP) adjunct rule

N N (PP) complement rule

Examples

1. a student [of Physics] [with long hair]2. * a student [with long hair] [of Physics]


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Adjunct rules are recursive.

A complement rule is not recursive, i.e., itcan apply only once.

Examples

1. a student [with long hair] [with short arms]

2. * a student [of Physics] [of Chemistry]


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Reordering of Adjuncts

Unlike complements which have to precede

adjuncts, adjuncts can be freely reordered

with respect to each other.

1. a student [with long hair] [with short arms]

2. a student [with short arms] [with long hair]


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Co-ordination

Complements can be co-ordinated with othercomplements.

a student [of linguistics] and [of Computer Science]

Adjuncts can be co-ordinated with other adjuncts. a student [with short arms] and [with long hair]

But adjunct PPs and complements PPs cannot be

co-ordinated. * a student [of Physics] and [with short arms]

* a student [with short arms] and [of Physics]


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Extraposition

Adjuncts are less tightly bound to the headnoun than complements.

It is possible to extrapose adjuncts PPs but not

possible to extrapose complement PPs. Examples

1. A student [with long hair] came to see me yesterday.

2. ? A student came to see me yesterday [with long

hair].3. * A student came to see me yesterday [of Physics].


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Preposing

Complements and Adjuncts behave differentlywith respect to preposing.

Examples

1. [What branch of linguistics] is John a student of?2. * [What kind of hair] is John a student with?

Note that Complements and Adjuncts go inopposite directions with respect to Extraposition

and Preposing. Heads are more closely related to their

complements than to their adjuncts.


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Co-occurrenceRestrictions Heads place significant restrictions (i.e. ,

subcategorisation) on what can appear as theircomplement.

1. a student of NLP

2. * a boy of NLP

3. * a girl of NLP4. * a teenager of NLP

No similar restrictions are imposed on adjuncts.

a student with long hair a boy with long hair

a girl with long hair

a teenager with long hair


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Generalization

Heads are more closely related to their

complements than to their adjuncts.

Subcategorisation restrictions hold only

between a head and its complement, not

between a head and its adjuncts.


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Exercise-I

Identify the complements and adjuncts in thefollowing NPs:

1. your reply [to my letter]

2. the attack [on Starr]

3. the loss [of the ship]4. Johns disgust [at Marys behavior]

5. his disillusionment [with life]

6. the book [on the table]

7. the advertisement [on the television]8. the fight [after the match]

9. his resignation [because of the scandal]

10. a cup [with a broken handle]


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Exercise-II

Provide trees for the bracketed NPs in thefollowing sentences: I met [a specialist in fibreoptics from Japan].

[The journey from Mumbai to Delhi on theChristmas Day] was tiring.

[The discussion of the riots in the bar] was full andfrank.

[The solution to the problem given by John] isbetter than the solution given by Mary.

[The solution to last weeks quiz on page 20] is abetter one.


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Sources and Suggested Readings

Introduction to Government and BindingTheory, 2nd edn., Liliane Haegeman,Blackwell, 1994.

Syntactic Structures Revisited, HowardLasnik, MIT Press, 2000.

Bhatt, R. 2003. Introduction to Syntax.

Principles and Parameters, Peter Culicover,Oxford, 1997.


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Good 4 Syntax Ex

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