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English 401 Course Packet Syntax 87

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Page 1: Syntax - 50megszapotec.(PPs): Does someone live in the house? No one lives there. there=[in the house] Is this your first time in Los Angeles or have you been here before? here=[in

English 401 Course Packet

Syntax

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English 401 Course Packet

Syntax Introduction Last week, we began studying syntax, how words are put together into phrases and sentences. The first thing we did was to discuss how to identify the categories of lexical items. Now, we will see how the words are grouped together into constituents. This idea, though probably not explicitly stated, should be familiar from traditional terms like subject, predicate and prepositional phrase. That there are sub-groups (constituents) within a sentence can be seen when considering simple yes-no question formation in English. Bill will go to the store tomorrow. Will Bill go to the store tomorrow? No description based purely on linear ordering (such as take the first word, or even the first auxiliary) will account for the systematic differences between declaratives and the corresponding yes-no question. For example, based on the above pair, we might hypothesize that to form a question in English you switch the order of the first two words of the declarative. This obviously will not work for the following sentence, though: Her husband will go to the store tomorrow. This hypothesis predicts the following: *Husband her will go to the store tomorrow? Instead of the correct Will her husband go to the store tomorrow? A more sophisticated hypothesis like move the first auxiliary verb to the beginning of the sentence will account for the above examples. However, it will trip up on the following kinds of sentences: The man who will go to the store for me will be my hero. The revised hypothesis predicts that the first auxiliary (in this case the first will) should be moved to front of the sentence to form a question. Again this is wrong: *Will the man who go to the store for me will be my hero? Instead of the correct: Will the man who will go to the store for me be my hero?

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English 401 Course Packet

Instead, we need to be able to identify the subject and find the main verb of the sentence. The order of the main auxiliary and subject are switched. Note that this is something that very young children of 3 or so could be shown to have already mastered. They intuitively could identify the subject and knew not to take an auxiliary from within the subject but the auxiliary of the main verb. Clearly, then we have evidence for at least one type of constituent: subjects. What other properties do subjects and other constituents have? How can we identify them? Constituents exhibit a number of properties. These groups of words act together as a unit and can be deleted under certain conditions, moved around, can stand on their own and are subject to pronominal replacements. Deletion: Bill will go to the store. Will Mary? [go to the store] has been deleted from the second sentence. This can happen in part because the words form a constituent. I bought Bill's book about linguistics but not John's. [book about linguistics] again has been deleted after John's. That is, the sentence is understood as meaning I bought Bill's book about linguistics but not John's book about linguistics. Again this deletion suggests that [book about linguistics] is a constituent. Movement: Again under certain conditions or with certain structures, phrases can be moved around within a sentence. There are actually lots of different types of movement. Below are some examples, compare the two sentences. The constituent suggested by movement possibilities is enclosed in brackets []: I like that car. Now, [that car], I like. Forest ran from New York to Philadelphia. Forest ran [to Philadelphia] [from New York]. I looked up the number. I looked [the number] up. The librarian put the exquisite leather-bound edition written by Catholic monks in France during the 7th century and recently donated to the library by a wealthy American industrialist under glass. The librarian put [under glass] [the exquisite leather-bound edition written by Catholic monks in France during the 7th century and recently donated to the library by a wealthy American industrialist].

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English 401 Course Packet

John wrecked his motorcycle in Los Angeles. [His motorcycle] was what John wrecked in Los Angeles. (Not his car.) [In Los Angeles] was where John wrecked his motorcycle. (Not in Boston.) [Wreck his motorcycle in Los Angeles] was what John did. [John] was (the one) who wrecked his motorcycle in Los Angeles. (Not Bill.) Ability to Stand Alone: Constituents can often reasonably stand on their own, say as responses to questions: What did John wreck in Los Angeles? [His motorcycle]. Where did John wreck his motorcycle? [In Los Angeles] or [Los Angeles] What did John do in Los Angeles? [wreck his motorcycle] What did John do? [wreck his motorcycle in Los Angeles] Who wrecked his motorcycle in Los Angeles? [John]. What happened? [John wrecked his motorcycle in Los Angeles]. Pronominal Substitution A single pronominal form can often be substituted for a constituent. Interestingly this test cannot only tell us if we are dealing with a constituent, but what kind (NP, VP, PP), etc. NP-pronouns. These are the traditional pronouns, like he, him, it, she, her, they, etc. They replace NPs (determiner phrases, traditional noun phrases, things beginning with the, a, my, this, that). A man who had been out to sea for a year came in. He told me a funny story. He=[a man who had been out to sea for a year] Bill saw a billion bug-eyed aliens, but luckily, they didn't see him. they=[a billion bug-eyed aliens], him=[Bill]. Note that this and that can also be used as pro-NPs: Do you want to keep this old yellow dress? I thought I had thrown that out. that=[that old yellow dress]

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English 401 Course Packet

Here and there can be used to substitute for certain locational prepositional phrases (PPs): Does someone live in the house? No one lives there. there=[in the house] Is this your first time in Los Angeles or have you been here before? here=[in Los Angeles] Do/did can be thought of as standing in for Verb Phrases (VPs): Who went to the store? Mary did. did=[went to the store] Bill didn't go to the store, but Fred did. did=[went to the store]. I don't like broccoli. Do you? do=[like broccoli]. Note that single words act as constituents. Single words can be subjects for example. Also, full sentences are also constituents. They can stand on their own for example. Putting it All Together: Use all applicable tests to determine if the underlined string of words in each of the following sentences can form a constituent or not: I read your book on Madonna. I put your book on the table. Deletion This one is hard to apply to the entire string your book on Madonna or your book on the table. However, we can apply it to book on Madonna and book on the table: I read your book on Madonna, but I didn't read Bill's [book on Madonna]. [book on Madonna] may be left out, suggesting it is a constituent. *I put your book on the table, but I didn't put Bill's [book on the table]. [book on the table] cannot be left out suggesting. Movement Your book on Madonna is what I read. [Your book on Madonna] can be moved, suggests it is constituent.

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English 401 Course Packet

*Your book on the table is what I put. [your book on the table] cannot be moved. Ability to Stand Alone Q: What did you read? Your book on Madonna. [your book on Madonna] can stand alone suggesting it can be a constituent in this sentence. Q: *What did you put? Your book on the table. [your book on the table] cannot stand alone for this question. Actually the question is even ill-formed. Substitution I read your book on Madonna, and Bill also read it. It=[your book on Madonna] suggesting it can be a constituent. *I put your book on the table, Bill also put it. It cannot stand for [your book on the table]. Conclusion: [your book on Madonna] can form a constituent in the sentence I read your book on Madonna. Since, [your book on the table] does not pass any of the tests it seems unlikely that it forms a constituent in the sentence I put your book on the table, though negative evidence is not 100%. Why does it not seem to form a constituent? Both strings are very similar. your book followed by PP beginning with on. Why can't the second one be a constituent?

It has to do with the requirements of the verb. Put must be followed by an NP and a PP. Therefore, on the table, as the only PP following put, must be interpreted as the PP that put requires. Read on the other hand, does not require a locational PP, but can take a PP object. The PP then can be understood as part of the PP, modifying book. When used to modify book, the PP forms a constituent with it. [book on Madonna] and [your book on Madonna] can be constituents in I read your book on Madonna. VP V NP PP for verbs like put VP V (NP) (NP) (PP) for verbs like read ( ) = optional NP D CNP for D like the. For Madonna the D is omitted. CNP = commonNP CNP CNP (PP) CNP N for Ns like book PP P (NP) put can be part of a VP that requires a direct object and a PP. read can form a VP by itself, or take an object and/or a PP: Don't bother me, I'm reading. (No overt direct object). Don't bother me when I'm reading in the library. (No overt direct object, modifying PP.)

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English 401 Course Packet

I read a book. (Direct Object) I read a book in the library. (Direct Object and a PP). He read me a story about Joan of Arc. (Two objects) He read me a story in my room. (Two objects and a PP). Note that read can be used without a direct object, with a direct object or with two objects, direct and indirect objects. Each of these uses may or may not occur with a modifying PP. Observe, then, that this makes I read your book on Madonna structurally ambiguous. On Madonna can either modify book, meaning your book about Madonna, or can modify read, stating where the location of reading took place. These two differences can be represented as follows:

your book about Madonna reading your book took place on Madonna

I read your book on Madonna.

I read your book on Madonna. How the constituents are grouped together can alter the meaning of the sentence. Once we have constituents grouped together we can label them according to their structures and functions, such as PP, VP, NP, etc.

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English 401 Course Packet

Summary of Constituency Tests (developed by Alex Hurst)

SUBSTITUTION Substitution (sometimes called “Pronominalization”) tests for: different things, depending upon what you’re using as the substitute description: If you can replace a sequence of words with another item, then the sequence of words and the other item (sometimes called a “pro-form”) are of the same category. This is easier to show with examples. Some examples of substitution:

1. pro-NP = personal pronouns (I, you, he/she/it, we, you, they) I ate [NP a hamburger] for lunch. [NP It] was tasty.

2. pro-CNP = one Matt saw [NP that [CNP balloon]] in the field, but I saw [NP this [CNP one]] land in the park.

3. pro-VP = forms of do, do so (note how this is just like VP-ellipsis) Rod [VP worked on his homework], and Todd [VP did so], too.

4. pro-PP’s = there, then, thus, among others (it depends on the PP) Mayor Quimby met Fat Tony [PP in his office] on Tuesday, and saw him [there] again the next Friday.

As a secondary option, you can just try substituting other full NP’s, VP’s, etc., too. Make sure you obey selectional restrictions, though: don’t try to make a sentence where the rock is the subject of a verb like believes. TESTS WITH DELETION VP-ellipsis tests for: VP’s description: If a phrase with a verb gets deleted in a context where the information can be assumed, then the deleted constituent is a VP. This context is often the answer to a question, or a coordinate construction. Some examples of VP-ellipsis:

1. Do you think Maude [VP found the cat]? Yes, she did [VP e ]. 2. Bob will [VP have a conversation about Wittgenstein], and Mel will [VP e], too.

TESTS WITH LEFTWARD MOVEMENT NP-Movement tests for: NP’s description: The two types of NP-movement we’ve dealt with are passivization and raising predicates (like “seem”). If a phrase can undergo either of these movements, then it is a constituent.

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Some examples of NP-movement: • The chief of police employs a number of quirky officers. 1. passivization: [NP A number of quirky officers] are employed [e] by the chief of

police. 2. raising: [NP The chief of police] seems [e] to employ a number of quirky officers.

Wh-Movement tests for: different types of phrasal constituents, as long as they’re wh-phrases description: In English, wh-phrases must move to spec-CP. If a phrase containing a wh-word moves to the front of a clause, then that phrase is a constituent. Some examples of wh-movement:

1. [NP What] do you want [e] for your birthday? 2. [AP How beautiful] was the sunset you saw on the ocean [e]?

Topicalization tests for: non-wh versions of what wh-movement tests for description: Topicalization is like wh-movement in that both move a constituent to spec-CP. However, topicalization does not require the moved constituent to contain a wh-phrase. Depending on your dialect, this test might not be very useful – a lot of English speakers find this type of construction ungrammatical in general. Others allow multiple or embedded topicalization. Some examples of topicalization:

1. Homer is very fond of donuts, but [NP boiled cabbage] he doesn’t like [e]. 2. Theresa knows who should come, but [CP whether they’re actually coming] she’s

not sure of [e]. VP-Fronting (also called “VP-Preposing”) tests for: VP’s description: If a phrase beginning with a verb can be moved to the front of a clause, then it is a VP. Some examples of VP-fronting:

1. I said I would eat my hat if you won the bet, so [VP eat my hat] I will [e]. 2. Helen was dead set on finding an article, and [VP find it at the library] she finally

did [e]. TESTS WITH RIGHTWARD MOVEMENT Heavy-NP Shift tests for: NP’s description: Particularly heavy NP’s can be moved rightward across other material to the end of a sentence. “Heavy” is defined as “having a lot of lexical material”.

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Some examples of heaviness: 1. NP’s with PP complements Professor Frink gave [NP the new book [PP about the Mayan civilization]] to his student. Professor Frink gave [e] to his student [NP the new book [PP about the Mayan civilization]]. 2. NP’s with Relative Clauses

Janie put [NP the butterfly [CP which she had caught]] on the table. Janie put [e] on the table [NP the butterfly [CP which she had caught]].

PP-Extraposition tests for: PP’s description: Some (but not all) PP’s which are part of a DP can be moved rightward to the end of a sentence. An example of PP-extraposition:

1. Herman told [NP a story [PP about the war]] to Bart. Herman told [NP a story [e]] to Bart [PP about the war].

CP-Extraposition tests for: CP’s description: CP complement clauses can be moved rightward to the end of a sentence. This movement is usually over an intervening indirect object. Note that a NP direct object of a verb like tell or relate will preceded the indirect object. An example of CP-extraposition:

1. Lenny related [NP the news] to Carl. (no extraposition) Lenny related [e] to Carl [CP that the power plant was shutting down for maintenance].

SOME OTHER TESTS Coordination tests for: Any kind of constituent. description: If two phrases are connected by a conjunction like “and” or “or”, and the result is grammatical, then the two phrases are the same kind of constituent. When applying this test, it’s best to take something that you already know is a particular type of constituent as one of the conjuncts. Some examples of coordination:

1. [NP [NP My green turtle] and [NP your brother’s frog]] are going to race. 2. Roy just [VP [VP moved in] and [VP started eating all of my food]].

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Cleft tests for: NP’s and PP’s form: It is [constituent] that is [remainder of sentence]. description: Try taking a chunk of the sentence and plugging it into the [constituent] slot above. If the result is a grammatical sentence, then whatever chunk you used is a constituent. Note that this test only really works well for NP’s and PP’s. Some examples of cleft:

• Apu works at the Kwik-E-Mart. 1. It is [NP Apu] who works at the Kwik-E-Mart 2. It is [PP at the Kwik-E-Mart] that Apu works.

Pseudocleft tests for: NP’s, AP’s, CP’s, VP’s form: What [remainder of sentence] is [constituent]. description: Try taking a chunk of the sentence and plugging it into the [constituent] slot above. Some examples of pseudocleft:

1. Moe thinks that Barney will never leave. What Moe thinks is [CP that Barney will never leave].

2. The steamroller will crush everything in its path. What the steamroller will do is [VP crush everything in its path]. What will crush everything in its path is [NP the steamroller].

3. The stump is completely hollow. What the stump is, is [AP completely hollow].

Note that with both cleft and pseudocleft constructions, whatever comes right after “is” is the constituent. Right-Node Raising tests for: NP’s, PP’s, AP’s, TP’s, CP’s (at least) description: Take two sentences with some phrase in common. Coordinate the two sentences, and then extract the shared phrase from both conjuncts. Put the shared phrase at the end of the sentence. If the result is grammatical, then whatever you extracted is a constituent. Some examples of right-node raising:

1. Yoshi builds, and Godzilla destroys, [NP the tallest skyscrapers in Tokyo]. 2. The cat jumped, and the flower pot fell, [PP off the windowsill]. 3. The car looked, and the toolbox felt, [AP very heavy]. 4. My dad knew that, and my mom suspected that, [TP I had come home after

midnight]. Matt wondered, and Ryan asked, [CP if I had found the lost pair of pliers].

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English 401 Course Packet

Subjects The Subject does NOT equal the “doer” of the action. The “doer” of the action is called the AGENT. It is a semantic (meaning) concept. Subjects are also frequently Agents, but this is not always true (and in more complex writing, may almost never be true). There are two main reasons for this. Many verbs don’t express an action, and even when they do, various mechanisms like passivization can place entities other than agents in the Subject position. Verbs that don’t have agents: John seems unhappy. You’re not that tall. I only have 50 cents to my name. Those books each cost 50 dollars. That movie sucks. (If you think sucks describes an action here you will have to explain why so many people identified it as an adjective on the pre-test). It’s raining. Verbs that could have agents but which are omitted through passivization or expressed in a prepositional phrase: The chicken should be cooked for about 20 minutes. The president was rumored to have considered resigning. Those who are found guilty can be fined. Valuable records should always be kept in a safe place. The batter was hit by the pitch. I was horrified by his behavior. The frog was kissed by the princess. The letter was sent to Bill. Bill was sent a postcard from France. Homer’s clothes got caught on the coffee table. Actually, agents can be hidden in a variety of ways: Lincoln’s hope was for the peaceful preservation of the Union, but the South’s attack on Fort Sumter made war an inevitability. A papal appeal was made to the nations of the world for assistance to those facing the threat of African starvation. Attempts were made on the part of the President’s aides to assert his immunity from a Congressional subpoena.

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Subject is also NOT what the sentence is “about.” This notion is the TOPIC of the sentence. It is a pragmatic/discourse notion. Places where Topics do not match subjects: I’m not sure what to do about Bobby. I’m afraid he’s going to fail his classes. I don’t know…He’s definitely a very bright boy. I think he just lacks motivation. Unfortunately, motivation isn’t something we can force on him. That’s something he must find on his own. The subject of the next sentence is it, but its topic (boldfaced) is your claims, the

Object of the Preposition for: It is impossible for your claims to be proved conclusively. At best, they merely describe a plausible alternative. The next subject below is I, but the topic is these questions, the object of to.

In regard to these questions, I believe there is a need for more research. They do raise very serious questions, but are thus far unproven. The next subject is it, but its topic is our proposals, the subject of a verb in a

Subordinate Clause: It is likely that our proposals will be accepted. They are exactly the kinds of projects that the board usually supports. The subject of this next sentence is no one, but its topic is results like these, a direct

object shifted to the front for emphasis: Results like these no one could have predicted. If they can replicated, it would suggest that time travel is in fact possible. Below, England is the topic of the sentence and Object of the Preposition in, but it is

the subject of the sentence: In England, it rains a lot. That’s why it has such green hillsides and such pale people. An example where topic, subject and agent are all distinct: Poor Felipe, his car was stolen by a carjacker. Fortunately, he’s ok, but his insurance only covers liability and uninsured motorists.

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English 401 Course Packet

What are subjects? Subjects are in fact purely grammatical entities that exhibit a range of morphological and syntactic properties. Subjects are grammatical constituencies within a sentence. In English, there are a number of properties that are uniquely associated with subjects of finite clauses.1 Below, I list three such properties which finite subjects uniquely exhibit and which can be used as diagnostics for a subject phrase: (Finite) Subject Phrases in English: 1. Finite verbs agree with the subject in number and person:

This is rather limited in English, but can be seen in forms of the verb be and in the present tense of verbs (3rd singular vs. all other persons/numbers) as shown below (subjects underlined, verbs italicized): 1. I am going to the store. 2. He/she/it is going to the store. 3. You/We/They are going to the store. 4. Bill/the governor/my ex-wife/An old friend of mine from high school is going to the store. 5. Bill and Mary/All of the former presidents/Three old friends of mine are going to the store. 6. I/He/she/it was going to the store. 7. You/We/They were going to the store. 8. Bill/the governor/my ex-wife/An old friend of mine from high school was going to the store. 9. Bill and Mary/All of the former presidents/Three old friends of mine were going to the store. 10. I/you/we/they know the answer to the question. 11. He/she/it knows the answer to the question. 12. Bill/the governor/my ex-wife/An old friend of mine from high school knows the answer to the question. 13. Bill and Mary/All of the former presidents/Three old friends of mine know the answer to the question. 1 The notion of subject is also frequently extended to non-finite clauses, but we will not focus on these here. We can note that non-finite subjects are usually identified by analogy with the corresponding finite subject.

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English 401 Course Packet

2. Subject-Auxiliary Inversion in Question In English, question formation involves the switching of the order of the subject phrase and the first auxiliary of the main verb of the corresponding declarative sentence. (Note that this inversion is limited to the main (independent/matrix) subject and clause. This inversion does not typically happen with embedded (dependent) clauses (except in certain dialects)). Thus, to form a yes/no question from the following declarative sentences, the first auxiliary (or a form of do if there is no overt auxiliary) and the subject must be inverted: 1. You can believe it.

Can you believe it? 2. An old friend from high school will be visiting Bill tomorrow.

Will an old friend from high school be visiting Bill tomorrow? 3. The boy who stole the cookie thought he got away with it. Did the boy who stole the cookie think he got away with it? Note that inversion is typically blocked if other elements (such as adverbs or prepositional phrases) have already been moved to the beginning of the sentence: 4. Unfortunately, the cure was found too late. *Was unfortunately, the cure found too late? 5. After climbing two-thirds of the way up the mountain, Bill was forced to stop. *Was after climbing two-thirds of the way up the mountain, Bill forced to stop. This is a desirable result. These elements are sentence level modifiers and do not form a constituent with the subject and therefore cannot participate in subject/auxiliary inversion. This means that if we are to use this subject property as a diagnostic for subjects we must leave out such elements from the beginning of a sentence or move them to other positions within the sentence: 6. Was the cure found too late? 7. Was Bill forced to stop after climbing two-thirds of the way up the mountain? Was Bill, after climbing two-thirds of the way up the mountain, forced to stop? Similar to yes/no questions, wh-question formation also typically requires subject/auxiliary inversion: 8. Bill said what? What did Bill say?

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English 401 Course Packet

9. The boy who stole the cookie thought he got away with it why. Why did the boy who stole the cookie think he got away with it? Of course, if it is the subject constituent that is being questioned, there is no wh-movement: 10. Who thought that he got away with it? (*Did who think that he got away with it?) 11. What was found too late? (*Was what found too late?) 12. After climbing two-thirds of the way up the mountain, who was forced to stop? (*Was who forced to stop, after climbing two-thirds of the way up the mountain?) 3. Nominative Pronouns When a pronoun is substituted for the entire finite subject noun phrase, the nominative form of the pronoun is used. Thus, we get I, he, she, we and they instead of me, him, her, us, and them or my, his, her, our and their (of course, you and it do not show a contrast between the nominative and accusative forms): 1. The boy who stole the cookie thought he got away with it. He thought he got away with it. 2. After climbing two-thirds of the way up the mountain, Bill was forced to stop.

After climbing two-thirds of the way up the mountain, he was forced to stop. 3. My old friends from high school are coming to visit me tomorrow. They are coming to visit me tomorrow. 4. Who did Peggy think was lying? Who did she think was lying? Prescriptivists do argue that nominative pronouns should never appear within a conjoined subject (not Me and Bill, but Bill and I). The observed actual pattern seems to be the one mentioned here. If the entire subject phrase is expressed as a pronoun, in most (perhaps all) dialects of English, the pronoun will be nominative, and thus this property can still be used as a diagnostic for finite subjects in most (perhaps all) varieties of English. Thus, for speakers (me included) who do say Me and Bill are going to go to the store, we can still use this diagnostic to show that Me and Bill is the subject. 5. Me and Bill are going to go to the store. We are going to go to the store. 4. Conclusion These three properties can serve pretty well as diagnostics for finite subjects in most sentences of English. Again though, we must keep in mind our caveats about the validity of positive and negative evidence.

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Identifying Subjects Practice For each of the following sentences, underline the subject phrase of the main (independent) clause and circle the head of the subject phrase. Subject phrases are sometimes referred to as the whole subject. The whole subject of the main clause can be combined with the predicate of the main clause to form a complete sentence, which can stand alone. Then in the boxes below give one piece of evidence to support each of these decisions (sentences from Williams 2003).

1. When educators can discover how to use computer-assisted instruction, our schools can teach more complex subjects and students will learn faster.

Subject

Head

2. We need to know which parts of our national forests are being logged most

extensively so that we can save virgin stands at greatest risk. Subject

Head

3. There is need for an analysis of library use to provide a reliable base for the

projection of needed resources. Subject

Head

4. Professional athletes often fail to realize that they are unprepared for life after

stardom because their teams protect them from the problems that the rest of us adjust to every day.

Subject

Head

5. Many colleges have come to an understanding that continued tuition increases are

no longer possible because of strong resistance from parents to the soaring costs of higher education.

Subject

Head

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6. The use of models in teaching prose style does not result in improvements of clarity and directness in student writing.

Subject

Head

7. Precision in plotting the location of building foundations enhances the possibility

of accurate reconstruction of the village. Subject

Head

8. Any departures by the members from established procedures may cause

termination of membership by the Board. Subject

Head

9. A student's lack of socialization into a field may lead to writing problems because

of her insufficient understanding about arguments by professionals in that field. Subject

Head

10. The successful implementation of a new curriculum depends on the cooperation

of faculty with students in setting achievable goals within a reasonable time. Subject

Head

11. In recent years, the appearance of new interpretations about the meaning of the discovery of America has led to a reassessment of Columbus's place in Western history. Subject

Head

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English 401 Course Packet

12. Decisions about forcibly administering medication in an emergency room setting despite the incapability of an irrational patient to provide legal consent are usually made by the on-scene medical staff. Subject

Head

13. Tracing the transitions in a book or a well-written article will provide help in efforts at improving coherence in writing. Subject

Head

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English 401 Course Packet

Basic Phrase Structure Rules (adapted from Baker 1995)

S NP VPFin A VPFin is a VP whose head is in the present tense or past tense or is a modal verb: will, would, shall, should, can, could, may, might, must plus a few quasi-modals like ought.. 1 S wo NP VPFin InfP to VPStem VPStem has a bare Verb head 2 InfP wo to VPStem Verb Phrase Structures for Intransitive Verbs VP V NPPred VP V AdjP VP V PPLoc(ation) 3 VP 4 VP 5 VP wo wo wo V NPPred V AdjP V PPLoc | | | BECOME BE STAY BE SEEM RESIDE BECOME VP V VP PPMot(ion) V VPPresPart (head V-ing)6 VP # VP 7 VP | w o wo V V PPMot V VPPresPart | | | DISAPPEAR GO BE BREAK MOVE KEEP VP VPPastPart (V-ed) VP V VPStem VP V InfP 8 VP 9 VP 10 VP wo wo wo V VPPastPart V VPStem V InfP | | | HAVE MUST TRY MAY HOPE WILL

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English 401 Course Packet

Verb-phrase structure for special-purpose DO auxiliary VP DO VPStem 11 VP wo V VPStem | DO Verb Phrase structures for transitive verbs: VP V NP VP V NP NPPred VP V NP AdjP 12 VP 13 VP 14 VP wo 9 9 V NP V NP NPPred V NP AdjP | | | SEE CONSIDER KEEP BREAK CALL MAKE MAKE VP V NP PPLoc VP V NP PPMot VP V NP VPPresPart 15 VP 16 VP 17 VP 9 9 9 V NP PPLoc V NP PPMot V NP VPPresPart | | | KEEP MOVE HEAR PLACE TAKE CATCH VP V NP VPStem VP V NP InfP 18 VP 19 VP 9 9 V NP VPStem V NP InfP | | MAKE PERSUADE WATCH ASK Adjective Phrase Structures: AdjP Adj AdjP Adj PPof AdjP Adj PPto 20 AdjP 21 AdjP 22 AdjP | w o wo Adj Adj PPof Adj PPto | | | DESPONDENT FOND SIMILAR INTELLIGENT TIRED TIRED

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English 401 Course Packet

AdjP Adj PPat AdjP Adj PPwith AdjP Adj InfP 23 AdjP 24 AdjP 25 VP wo wo wo Adj PPat Adj PPwith Adj InfP | | | ANGRY COMPATIBLE EAGER Structures for common-noun phrase: CNP CN CNP CN PPof CNP CN PPto 26 CNP 27 CNP 28 CNP | w o wo CN CN PPof CN PPto | | | BOOK LEADER HEIR DOG KING BEER CNP CN PPin CNP CN InfP 29 CNP 30 CNP wo wo CN PPin CN InfP | | FAITH EFFORT TRUST DESIRE Sentences and Embedded Sentences SFin NP VPFin SStem NP VPStem 31 SFin 32 SStem wo wo NP VPFin NP VPStem That clauses That-CFin that SFin That-CStem that SStem 33 That-CFin 34 That-CStem wo wo that SFin that SStem Infinitival Clauses InfC for NP InfP InfC InfP 35 InfC #InfC 9 | for NP InfP InfP

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English 401 Course Packet

VP-structures for intransitive verbs that take clauses as complements VP V That-CFin VP V That-CStem VP V InfC 36 VP 37 VP 38 VP wo wo w o V That-CFin V That-CStem V InfC | | | BELIEVE INSIST WANT KNOW REQUIRE PREFER LIKE Transitive Verbs with clauses as complements: VP V NP That-CFin 39 VP 9 V NP That-CFin | TELL WARN Adjective-phrase structure for adjectives which take clauses as complements AdjP Adj That-CFin AdjP Adj That-CStem AdjP Adj InfC 40 AdjP 41 AdjP 42 AdjP w o wo wo Adj That-CFin Adj That-CStem Adj InfC | | | CONFIDENT INSISTENT EAGER Compare the related nominal form: CNP CN InfC 43 CNP wo CN InfC | EAGERNESS

Noun Phrases Containing that clauses 44 NP wo NP That-CFin 4 the fact the claim

Sentences that have clauses as subjects S That-C VP S InfC VP 45 S 46 S wo wo That-C VP InfC VP

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English 401 Course Packet

Structures for elementary noun phrases NP Pro NP PropN NP Det CNP NP Gen CNP 47 NP 48 NP 49 NP 50 NP | | wo wo Pro PropN Det CNP Gen CNP NP CNPMass NP CNPPl NP Art CNP 51 NP 52 NP 53 NP | | wo CNPMass CNPPl Art CNP NP Det Num CNP NP Gen Num CNP 54 NP 55 NP 9 9 Det Num CNP Gen Num CNP Genitive Construction NP Gen CNP 56 Gen wo NP 's Structures involving gerundive structures: NP Gerundive Gerundive Gen VPPres Part Gerundive VPPres Part 57 NP 58 Gerundive 59 Gerundive | w o | Gerundive Gen VPPresPart VPPresPart Basic Rules for modifiers (note that a modifier can be of a variety of categories): VP Mod VP VP VP Mod S Mod S CNP AdjP CNP 60 VP 61 VP 62 S 63 CNP wo wo wo wo Mod VP VP Mod Mod S AdjP CNP Coordination 64 XP 9 XP and XP

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