SyntaxTransformations

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 NPV NP11 P-NP P-NP2 2 V NP V NP2 2 NPNP1 1 ::

Dative shift

PS rules: VP PS rules: VP V NP PP V NP PP

The TA VP[V[gave] NP[a prize] PP[P[to]] NP[the best student]]].

Dative shift: V NP V NP11 P-NP P-NP2 2 V NP V NP2 2 NPNP11

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 verbs2. 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:

V PP phrasal verb

noun object run up the hill 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 upput off the decision, put it offgive out the exam, give it outcall 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 phrasal verb

They said it was okay to run up the hill, and PP[up the hill] we ran.

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.

3. Sentence fragment test:Only a constituent can substitute for a sentence.

V PP vs. phrasal verbs

V PP phrasal verb

Did you V[run] PP[up the hill]?

No, PP[up the stairs]No, NP[the stairs]

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 phrasal verb

Stephen V[ran] stealthily

PP[up a big hill].Stephen stealthily V[ran]

PP[up a big hill].

*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 phrasal verb

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]].

*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

V [P NP] [V P] NP

NP object ran up the hill ran up the bill

*ran the hill up ran the bill up

pronoun object ran up it *ran up it

*ran it up ran it up

Position of pronominalized NP

Particle Movement (transformation) Verb P]V NP

1 2 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) (run up the bill)VP V (NP) (P) (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