Comprehensive Study Guide to English Syntax: Constituency, Functions, and Theoretical Grammars

Fundamentals of Syntactic Structure and Constituency

• Definition of Structure:
  • Any complex entity possesses structure if it fulfills four criteria:
  • It is divisible into parts (constituents).
  • There are different kinds or categories of parts.
  • The constituents are arranged in a specified configuration.
  • Each constituent fulfills a specific grammatical or functional role in the overarching organization.
  • Constituents are themselves complex, creating a hierarchy of parts (hierarchical structure).
  • Analogy of the bicycle:
  • A pile of components (metal tubes, hubs, spokes, chain, cables) only forms a bicycle when assembled in a precise configuration; random assembly yields non-bicycles or sculptures.
  • A spoke is a constituent of a bicycle wheel, and the wheel is a constituent of the bicycle.
  • A spoke is an indirect constituent of the bicycle, mediated by the wheel; it is not an immediate constituent of the bicycle.
  • Treating a spoke as an immediate constituent of a bicycle incorrectly leaves wheels out of the structural description and misstates the function of the spoke, which functions directly only in relation to the wheel.

• Linear String vs. Hierarchical Syntax:
  • Sentences do not consist merely of linear sequences of words (analogous to a string of beads or numbers such as $1-2-3-4-5$).
  • A flat analysis assigning words as immediate constituents of a sentence fails to explain why certain linear word orders are grammatical while others are completely ungrammatical (e.g., Stream old Sam sunbathed beside a, Sunbathed old beside stream a Sam).
  • Sentences contain words, but they consist of phrases—intermediate structural groupings that have specific functions and positions.

• Constituency Tests:
  • The Omission Test: If a string of words can be deleted from a well-formed sentence leaving a complete, grammatical sentence, that string forms an identifiable constituent. In Old Sam sunbathed beside a stream, omitting beside a stream leaves Old Sam sunbathed, showing beside a stream is an optional phrasal constituent.
  • The Single Word Substitution Test: If an entire sequence of words can be replaced by a single lexical item (e.g., replacing beside a stream with here, there, or somewhere) without altering the overarching clausal structure, that sequence constitutes a phrase.
  • The Question-Answer Test: A coherent, felicitous answer to an open wh-question (who, what, where, when, why, how) forms a constituent. To the question Where did Old Sam sunbathe?, the answer Beside a stream is a constituent; to What did Old Sam sunbathe beside?, A stream is a constituent.
  • The Movement Test: If a sequence of words can be displaced as an intact unit to another position in a construction (such as fronting: Beside a stream, Old Sam sunbathed, or pseudo-clefting: A stream is what Old Sam sunbathed beside), it behaves as a phrasal unit.
  • The Sense Test: A genuine constituent forms a coherent semantic unit of meaning. Sequences like beside a lack independent meaning and fail all syntactic tests.

• Phrase Marker Geometry and Formal Terminology:
  • Node: Any branching or labeled point within a phrase marker.
  • Domination: Node $A$ dominates node $B$ if $A$ is higher than $B$ in the tree and connected to $B$ by a continuous downward line or series of lines.
  • Immediate Domination: Node $A$ immediately dominates node $B$ if $A$ dominates $B$ and no intervening labeled node occurs between them.
  • Mother and Daughter: Node $A$ is the mother of $B$ and $C$ if it immediately dominates them; $B$ and $C$ are the daughters of $A$.
  • Sisters: Two or more nodes that are immediately dominated by the exact same mother node.
  • Formal Definition of Constituent in a Tree: A set of terminal elements is represented as a constituent if and only if there is a single node that dominates all of those elements and no other elements.
  • Structural Ambiguity: A sentence possessing two distinct interpretations corresponds to two distinct phrase markers reflecting different constituent groupings (e.g., Heseltine asked how old Sam was, where how old can form a constituent meaning What was Sam's age?, or old Sam forms a constituent meaning In what condition was old Sam?).

Grammatical Functions: Subject, Predicate, and Complementation

• Immediate Constituents of the Sentence:
  • At the highest level, a simple sentence ($S$) exhaustively divides into two immediate sister constituents: Subject and Predicate.
  • Syntactically, the Subject is realized as a Noun Phrase ($NP$) immediately dominated by $S$.
  • The Predicate is realized as a Verb Phrase ($VP$) immediately dominated by $S$.

• The Question Movement Test for Subject:

  • To locate the subject NP definitively, convert the declarative sentence into a yes/no interrogative.
  • The constituent that exchanges positions with the tensed auxiliary verb is the Subject NP.
  • Examples:
  • The ducks are paddling away $\rightarrow$ Are [the ducks] paddling away?
  • The clown in the make-up room doesn't want to perform $\rightarrow$ Doesn't [the clown in the make-up room] want to perform?
  • When lexical verbs appear without auxiliaries, dummy do is introduced: My new duck lays lightly boiled eggs $\rightarrow$ Does [my new duck] lay lightly boiled eggs?
  • Non-referring Expletive Subjects: In sentences such as It is snowing again and There is nothing to eat, the words it and there denote no entity, yet they operate as formal grammatical subjects because they undergo inversion: Is [it] snowing again?, Is [there] nothing to eat?

• Relational Concepts of Head, Modifier, and Complement:

  • Head: The obligatory, central constituent of a phrase that imparts its category to the entire phrase ($N$ heads $NP$, $V$ heads $VP$, $A$ heads $AP$, $P$ heads $PP$, $Adv$ heads $AdvP$).
  • Modifier: A dependent constituent in a one-way dependency relation with a head. Modifiers are optional and omissible without generating ungrammaticality. They specify properties or attributes of the head.
  • Complement: A dependent constituent in a two-way (mutual) dependency relation with a head. Complements are grammatically obligatory to complete the head's meaning and are governed by the head. In English, heads typically precede their complements.

Word Categories and Phrasal Distribution

• Lexical vs. Phrasal Categories:

  • Words are classified into lexical categories based on their syntactic distribution (the structural positions they can occupy and the elements with which they combine) and their morphological inflections.
  • Phrases represent the maximal expansions of lexical heads and share the distribution of their heads.

• Nouns and Noun Phrases:

  • Nouns ($N$): Characterized morphologically by the possessive genitive suffix (-'s) and pluralization (-s), and distributionally by co-occurrence with determiners (the, a/an, some).
  • Sub-categories of Nouns:
  • Proper Nouns: Inherent names (Jessica, Leiden, Frankenstein) that are inherently definite, resist determiners/modifiers, and project directly as non-branching $NP$s.
  • Common Nouns: Divided into Count Nouns (can be pluralized and quantified with numerals or a/an) and Mass Nouns (refer to uncounted substances or concepts like butter, cutlery, honesty; resist pluralization and indefinite articles, but take some or covert determiners).
  • Pronouns: Closed class of functional words that substitute for complete $NP$s, not simple $N$s. Subtypes include definite personal (she, them), reflexive (myself), indefinite (someone), demonstrative (this, those), interrogative (who, what), possessive (mine, hers), and impersonal (one).
  • Non-Branching $NP$ Nodes: Pronouns and proper nouns project directly to non-branching $NP$ nodes because they function as full phrases in their own right.

• Adjectives and Adjective Phrases:

  • Adjectives ($A$): Modify nouns or function as predicatives. Typical derivational suffixes include -able, -al, -ful, -ic, -ish, -ous, -less.
  • Gradable vs. Non-Gradable: Gradable adjectives participate in comparative (-er, more) and superlative (-est, most) alternations and accept Degree Adverbs (very, too, quite, extremely). Non-gradable adjectives (atomic, dead, medical) represent absolute states.
  • Numerals: Cardinal (one, two) and ordinal (first, second) numerals pattern as adjectives within the nominal phrase.
  • Structure of $AP$: An $AP$ consists of an obligatory head $A$, optionally preceded by a Degree Adverb ($DEG$) or an Adverb Phrase ($AdvP$).

• Adverbs and Adverb Phrases:

  • General Adverbs ($Adv$): Typically formed by adding -ly to adjectives (frankly, deliberately). They head $AdvP$s, modify adjectives, or function as adverbials.
  • Degree Adverbs ($DEG$): Express degree (very, quite, extremely, hardly, too); modify adjectives or general adverbs.

• Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases:

  • Prepositions ($P$): Express spatial, temporal, or abstract relations (in, on, under, to, of, by, without).
  • Two Basic Forms of $PP$:
  • $PP$ consisting of a head $P$ complemented by an $NP$ (beside a stream).
  • Intransitive/Single-Word $PP$s: Spatial or temporal locatives traditionally termed adverbs (here, there, now, then, abroad, downstairs) that substitute directly for $PP$s and project as non-branching $PP \rightarrow P$.

• Words Spanning Multiple Categories:

  • Phonological stress shifts distinguish noun-verb alternations: first-syllable stress on nouns (SUSpect, EScort, REbel, PROgress), second-syllable stress on verbs (susPECT, esCORT, reBEL, proGRESS). Exception: repeat, which bears second-syllable stress in both uses (rePEAT).

• Co-ordinate Phrases:

  • Co-ordination links two or more constituents of identical category using a coordinator (and, or, but).
  • The resulting coordinate phrase belongs to the same grammatical category as the coordinated conjuncts: $XP \rightarrow XP + \text{coordinator} + XP$.
  • Co-ordinating mismatched categories (Max and quite quickly, the acrobats and quite incomprehensible) produces ungrammaticality due to conflicting head features and a lack of unified syntactic function.
  • Co-ordination can occur at the phrasal level, the intermediate level, or the lexical level.

Complementation of the Basic Verb Phrase

• Six Sub-categories of Lexical Verbs:
  • Transitive Verbs ([trans]):
  • Require a single $NP$ complement functioning as Direct Object ($dO$).
  • The verb governs the $dO$ in the objective case (Phil dreads them vs. *Phil dreads they).
  • Canonical configuration: $VP \rightarrow V[\text{trans}] + NP$.
  • Intransitive Verbs ([intrans]):
  • Require no complement whatsoever; the verb projects as a complete $VP$ on its own.
  • Canonical configuration: $VP \rightarrow V[\text{intrans}]$ (e.g., Omar sighed).
  • Ditransitive Verbs ([ditrans]):
  • Require two complements: an Indirect Object ($iO$) and a Direct Object ($dO$).
  • Display two alternating surface orders:
    • Double-object construction: $VP \rightarrow V[\text{ditrans}] + NP (iO) + NP (dO)$ (William gave Millie some bleach).
    • Prepositional indirect object construction: $VP \rightarrow V[\text{ditrans}] + NP (dO) + PP (iO)$ (William gave some bleach to Millie).
    • Prepositional indirect objects are strictly introduced by to or for and require an animate recipient or beneficiary.
  • Intensive Verbs ([intens]):
  • Require a single complement functioning as Subject-Predicative ($sP$).
  • The primary intensive verb is the copula be; others include become, seem, appear, remain, look, taste, feel, sound.
  • Predicatives attribute a property to the Subject rather than referring to a distinct entity.
  • Complement can be an $AP$ (Ed is extravagant), an $NP$ (Sigmund was an auctioneer), or an obligatory locative $PP$ (Oscar was in the engine room).
  • Complex Transitive Verbs ([complex]):
  • Require two complements: a Direct Object ($dO$) and an Object-Predicative ($oP$).
  • The $oP$ attributes a property to the $dO$, establishing an embedded intensive relation.
  • Realized as: $V[\text{complex}] + NP + AP$ (Max finds his own jokes extremely funny), $V + NP + NP$ (They made Stella their spokesperson), or $V + NP + PP$ (Liza put the wine under her bed).
  • Prepositional Verbs ([prep]):
  • Require an obligatory Prepositional Complement ($PC$) headed by an idiosyncratic, verb-selected preposition (glance at NP, refer to NP, apply for NP).

• Structural Ambiguity Between Ditransitive and Complex Transitive:
  • Max found Bill an amusing companion is ambiguous:
  • Ditransitive interpretation: Max located a companion for Bill ($V[\text{ditrans}] + NP (iO) + NP (dO)$; three participants).
  • Complex transitive interpretation: Max judged Bill to be an amusing companion ($V[\text{complex}] + NP (dO) + NP (oP)$; two participants).

Adverbials, Phrasal Verbs, and Ellipsis

• Adjunct Adverbials (VP-Adverbials) vs. Complements:
  • Complements are sisters-of-$V$ within the basic, lowest $VP$ ($VP_1$).
  • Adjunct adverbials are optional, modifying constituents represented as sisters-of-$VP$ under a higher recursive $VP$ node ($VP_2 \rightarrow VP_1 + \text{Adjunct}$).
  • Can be realized as $PP$s, $AdvP$s, or temporal $NP$s (last night, yesterday).

• The Pro-VP Do So Test:

  • The pro-form do so substitutes exclusively for a complete $VP$ constituent, never for a non-phrasal verb ($V$) or a non-constituent string.
  • Albie mended his bike in the garage and Jon did so in the garden is grammatical because mended his bike is a complete $VP_1$.
  • *Albie put his bike in the garage and Jon did so in the garden is ungrammatical because put his bike is not a constituent; put requires its locative $PP$ complement within $VP_1$.

• Phrasal Verbs vs. Prepositional Verbs:

  • A Phrasal Verb consists of a lexical verb plus a functional Particle ($Prt$).
  • The Particle Shift Test: Particles can shift to the right of a direct object $NP$ (Aisha called up her friends $\rightarrow$ Aisha called her friends up). Particle shift is obligatory when the direct object is an unstressed pronoun (Aisha called them up, not *Aisha called up them).
  • Prepositional verbs consist of a verb plus a true Preposition heading a $PP$; prepositions cannot shift (Aisha called up the street $\rightarrow$ *Aisha called the street up).
  • Idiomaticity cuts across the distinction: both phrasal verbs (turn on, give up) and prepositional verbs (see through her disguise, hang about the office) can be non-compositional idioms.

• Sentence Adverbials (S-Adverbials):

  • Disjunct Adverbials: Express the speaker's comment on the content of the utterance or the manner of expression (Frankly, hopefully, between you and me).
  • Conjunct Adverbials: Connect the host sentence to the wider discourse context (incidentally, however, therefore, in short, on the other hand).
  • Structural configuration: S-adverbials do not modify elements within $VP$; they are hosted by the sentence as sisters-of-$S$ dominated by a higher $S$ ($S \rightarrow \text{AdvP}/\text{PP} + S$).

• Ellipsis vs. Sub-categorisation:
  • Ellipsis refers to the omission of grammatically required constituents whose identity is recoverable from the communicative context (e.g., William gave some bleach [E] where the indirect object is understood).
  • Grammaticality is an absolute property of sentences in isolation, whereas acceptability applies to contextualized utterances.

Auxiliary Verbs, Tense, and Dependent Constructions

• Lexical vs. Auxiliary Verbs:

  • Auxiliaries form a closed functional category. They are distinguished by three diagnostic properties:
  • They invert with the subject in questions.
  • They accept negative contraction (not, -n't).
  • They exhibit phonological contraction (will $\rightarrow$ 'll, have $\rightarrow$ 've).
  • Lexical verbs cannot invert (Spoke he?), cannot take direct negation (He spoke not), and require auxiliary do.

• The Verbal Hierarchy and Ordering:

  • Only the first verb in a verbal string is finite (marked for present or past tense).
  • All subsequent verbs are non-finite, with their morphology determined by the immediately preceding verb.
  • Strict hierarchical ordering: $\text{Modal (MOD)} > \text{Perfect (PERF)} > \text{Progressive (PROG)} > \text{Passive (PASS)} > \text{Lexical Verb (V)}$.
  • MOD: Takes a non-finite bare stem complement; inherently finite (lacks non-finite forms and subject-verb agreement).
  • PERF (have): Takes a non-finite perfect participle complement (-en / -ed).
  • PROG (be): Takes a non-finite progressive participle complement (-ing).
  • PASS (be): Takes a non-finite passive participle complement (-en / -ed).

• Structural Position of Auxiliaries:
  • Each auxiliary verb functions as the head of its own $VP$, taking another $VP$ as its complement.
  • Auxiliary Verb Phrase structure with Adverbials:
  • Assumption 1: An adverbial preceding a verb modifies the following $VP$.
  • Assumption 2: Sentence-final adverbials modify the lexical $VP$.

• Constructions Dependent on Auxiliaries:
  • Passive Sentences:
  • The active direct/indirect object moves to subject position, leaving an empty trace/gap (•).
  • Passive auxiliary be is inserted, and the lexical verb appears as a passive participle.
  • The active subject is either deleted or realized as an optional adjunct $PP$ headed by by.
  • Negative Sentences:
  • The negative particle not attaches to the right of the tensed auxiliary.
  • When no auxiliary is present in the underlying declarative, dummy auxiliary do carries the tense and negation (Byron did not dance).
  • Yes/No Interrogatives:
  • The tensed auxiliary fronts to the Complementiser position ($C_1$), which is the daughter of $S'$ (S-bar) and sister of $S$.
  • Leaves a gap under its original auxiliary node.
  • If no auxiliary is present, dummy do is inserted into $C_1$ (Does Byron dance?).

The Internal Structure of Noun Phrases

• The $DET + NOM$ Division:
  • Multi-word Noun Phrases divide immediately into a Determiner ($DET$) and a Nominal ($NOM$).
  • $NOM$ is an intermediate structural level between the full phrase ($NP$) and the lexical noun ($N$).
  • The $DET + NOM$ division in $NP$ mirrors the Subject ($NP$) + Predicate ($VP$) division in $S$.

• Determiners ($DET$) and Pre-Determiners ($PRE-DET$):
  • Determiners: Closed class comprising Articles (the, a/an), Demonstratives (this, that, these, those), Quantifiers (some, any, no, every), and Possessives (my, your, John's).
  • Covert Determiners: Plural count nouns (essays) and mass nouns (smoke) appearing without an overt determiner possess a covert $DET$ that induces an indefinite or general reading.
  • Genitive Possessive -'s: An entire possessive $NP$ plus genitive -'s forms a complex possessive determiner ($DET \rightarrow POSS \rightarrow NP + \text{'-s'}$), as in [the book]'s cover.
  • Pre-determiners: Words like all, both, half, double precede and modify full $NP$s ($NP \rightarrow PRE-DET + NP$).

• Complements vs. Adjuncts within $NOM$:
  • Complements in $NP$: Sisters-of-$N$ within $NOM$ ($NOM \rightarrow N + PP$). Associated with nouns derived from verbs or relational concepts (destruction of forests, student of chemistry).
  • Adjuncts in $NP$: Sisters-of-$NOM$ within a higher recursive $NOM$ ($NOM \rightarrow AP/PP + NOM$). Express optional, non-inherent attributes (destruction in April 1944, student from Germany).
  • The Pro-NOM One Test: The pro-form one substitutes exclusively for $NOM$ constituents, never for an incomplete lexical noun $N$.
  • The destruction in April 1945 and the one in 1944 (grammatical: one replaces the $NOM$ destruction).
  • *The destruction of the ozone layer and the one of forests (ungrammatical: destruction is an $N$, not a $NOM$, because of forests is an obligatory complement).

• Pre-modifiers and Post-modifiers in $NOM$:
  • The Friendly Head Principle (FHP): Within $NOM$, the head of a modifying phrase tends to sit immediately adjacent to the head noun. Left-headed modifiers ($PP$s, complex $AP$s with complements) must post-modify the noun; right-headed modifiers (simple $AP$s) pre-modify the noun.
  • Adjunct $AP$s vs. Restricted $AP$s:
  • Adjunct $AP$s: Sisters-of-$NOM$, can appear in predicative position (the old friend = the friend who is aged).
  • Restricted $AP$s: Sisters-of-$N$, resist predicative position (an absolute hero, a structural engineer, his old friend = friend of long standing); cannot co-occur with pro-NOM one (*an absolute one).
  • Quantifying Adjectives ($QA$): Much, many, few, little, and numerals head $AP$s that precede ordinary descriptive adjectives in $NOM$.
  • Compound Nouns: Combinations of two nouns ($N \rightarrow N + N$, e.g., traffic light, roof maintenance) where the modifying noun attaches at the lexical level and bears initial stress.

• Pronoun Modification and Ellipted Heads:
  • Indefinite pronouns fused historically from $DET + N$ (someone, anything) accept post-modifying $AP$s or $PP$s (someone intelligent).
  • Expressions like those at the back or two in the library are analyzed as having an Ellipted Head noun ($[E]_N$) preceded by $DET$ and followed by an adjunct $PP$.

Clausal Complementation and Subordinate Sentences

• Sentential Recursion and Clausal Subordination:
  • A complex sentence contains one or more subordinate clauses (embedded sentences).
  • Main Clause: The topmost clausal node ($S_1$) that is not dominated by any other clause.
  • Abbreviated Clausal Analysis (ACA): A diagrammatic representation using triangles to depict clausal nesting and clausal functions while abstracting away from intra-clausal details.

• Complementisers (That, Whether/If):

  • Functional words occupying the $C_1$ position (daughter of $S'$, sister of $S$).
  • That introduces declarative content clauses; can be overt or covert.
  • Whether or if introduces subordinate interrogative clauses (indirect yes/no questions).

• Functions of Declarative and Interrogative Clauses:

  • Subject and Extraposed Subject:
  • A clause can function directly as subject: $S \rightarrow S' + VP$ (That the king was in his counting house surprised her).
  • Extraposition: To avoid heavy subject clauses, the clausal subject extraposes to the end of the sentence, adjoined to $S$, while expletive it occupies the subject position: It surprised her [that the king was in his counting house].
  • Certain intransitive verbs (seem, appear, transpire, happen) obligatorily require extraposition (*That he had left seemed vs. It seemed that he had left).

• Complement of $V$: Functions as the clausal object of transitive or ditransitive verbs (Anna told him [that his shirt was hanging out]).

• Subject-Predicative: Complements intensive be (The consensus is [that you should taste the stew first]).

• Complement of $A$ within $AP$: Complements psychological or epistemic adjectives (aware that…, happy that…, unsure whether…).

• Complement of $N$ within $NP$: Sisters-of-$N$ within $NOM$, complementing abstract nouns (fact, rumour, idea, claim).

• Complement of $P$ within $PP$: Whether-clauses complement prepositions (the question of [whether they should revamp]); prepositions after, before, until, and temporal since take bare $S$ complements (after [she left]).

  • Adverbial Clauses:

• Introduced by subordinating conjunctions (although, because, if, unless, while, causal since) occupying the $C_1$ position.

• Function as adjunct adverbials modifying $VP$ or as sentence adverbials modifying $S$.

Wh-Constructions: Questions and Relative Clauses

• Main Wh-Questions:
  • Involve two distinct movement operations:
  • Wh-Fronting: A wh-phrase moves from its base position to the higher Complementiser position ($C_2$), which is the daughter of $S''$ (S-double-bar) and sister of $S'$.
  • Auxiliary-Fronting: The tensed auxiliary moves to the lower Complementiser position ($C_1$).
  • Leaves a co-indexed gap (•) in the base position of the wh-constituent.
  • Preposition Stranding vs. Pied-Piping: Either the bare wh-NP is fronted leaving the preposition stranded (Who will Julia give the pen to •?), or the entire $PP$ is pied-piped (To whom will Julia give the pen •?).

• Subordinate Wh-Interrogative Clauses:

  • Display wh-fronting to $C_2$, but lack auxiliary-fronting to $C_1$ (Marcel isn't certain [who he sent the flowers to •]).

• Relative Clauses within $NP$:

  • Function as clausal modifiers of nouns; characterized by an internal gap corresponding to the relativized element.
  • Restrictive Relative Clauses:
  • Function as adjunct modifiers of $NOM$ (sister-of-$NOM$).
  • Restrict the referential set identified by the head noun.
  • The relative pronoun can be ellipted if it is not the subject and not pied-piped (The cakes [which/that/E they bought •]).
  • That in relative clauses occupies $C_1$ while the wh-operator in $C_2$ is covert.
  • Non-Restrictive Relative Clauses:
  • Function as parenthetical modifiers of full $NP$s (sister-of-$NP$).
  • Set off by commas; add extra descriptive information without restricting reference.
  • Cannot be introduced by that and do not permit ellipsis of the wh-word.

Non-Finite Clauses: Form, Control, and Functions

• Form of Non-Finite Clauses:

  • Lacks tense ([-tense]); main clauses can never be non-finite.
  • Often feature covert subjects (•). Covert subjects are either:
  • Controlled: Co-indexed with an overt antecedent in a superordinate clause.
  • Free: Arbitrary or general in reference, lacking an overt controller.

• Four Non-Finite Verb Forms:

  • Bare Infinitive: Uninflected verb stem without to; appears under causative and sensory verbs (She made him [wash her socks]).
  • To-Infinitive: Features the non-finite auxiliary to ([-tense]), which occupies the modal position and takes a bare stem $VP$ complement (to taste the wine).
  • Passive Participle: Non-finite verb taking passive morphology ([Loaded to capacity], the lorry moved on).
  • -ing Participle: Non-finite verb taking the -ing suffix (apologising, having hospitalised); distinct from the progressive participle because it occurs with stative verbs (Knowing the answer…).

• Complementisers in Non-Finite Clauses:

  • $C_1$: Occupied by for (when an overt subject is present: For Angelo to get the blame) or whether (with a covert subject: whether to go).
  • $C_2$: Occupied by fronted wh-phrases in non-finite interrogatives (where to put it) or covert wh-operators in non-finite relatives (The instrument [to use •]).

• Functions of Non-Finite Clauses:

  • Subject and Extraposed Subject ([Stripping wallpaper] is wretched / It is wretched [stripping wallpaper]).
  • Complement of $A$ in $AP$:
  • Type A Adjectives (reluctant, eager): Superordinate subject controls the covert subject of the infinitive clause (Max_1 is reluctant [•_1 to try it]).
  • Type B Adjectives (impossible, easy): Superordinate subject controls the covert object of the infinitive clause (That piano_1 is impossible [• to move •_1]).
  • Complement of $P$ in $PP$ (by leaving the handbrake off).
  • Adverbial (Having furnished ourselves with garlic, we set off).
  • Complement of $N$ within $NP$ (his ability to think).
  • Modifier of $NOM$ (non-finite relative clause: the train leaving Platform 9).

• Verbal Complementation: Type I vs. Type II Verbs:
  • When an overt $NP$ intervenes between a matrix verb and a non-finite verb (She expected/persuaded the boss to dance):
  • Type I Verbs (expect, believe, prefer):
  • Take a single clausal complement ($S'$); the intervening $NP$ is the overt subject of the lower non-finite clause.
  • Do not impose semantic/selectional restrictions on the intervening $NP$.
  • Permit expletive there as the lower subject (Rowena expected [there to be more food]).
  • Active/passive alternation in the lower clause preserves truth conditions (Sarah believed Dr. Fernandez to have treated Paul = Sarah believed Paul to have been treated by Dr. Fernandez).
  • Type II Verbs (persuade, advise, force):
  • Take two complements: a Direct Object $NP$ and an embedded non-finite clause whose covert subject is controlled by that object.
  • Impose volition/agentivity restrictions on the $NP$ object (*I advised the tree to lose its leaves).
  • Prohibit expletive there (*Rowena advised [there] to be more food).
  • Active/passive alternation in the lower clause alters truth conditions or creates anomaly (Sarah persuaded Dr. Fernandez to treat Paul $\neq$ Sarah persuaded Paul to be treated by Dr. Fernandez).

Syntactic Theory, Universal Grammar, and X-Bar Syntax

• Theoretical Foundations of Generative Grammar:

  • Language as an Infinite Set of Sentences: Natural languages cannot be described via exhaustive lists of sentences because recursive mechanisms (co-ordination, relative clauses, clausal embedding) make them infinite.
  • Competence vs. Performance: Linguistic competence represents the internalized, subconscious mental grammar possessed by a native speaker that generates an infinite set of well-formed structures; performance refers to actual language use, subject to memory, fatigue, and cognitive constraints.
  • Explanatory Adequacy: The theoretical requirement to explain how human infants acquire complex linguistic systems effortlessly, rapidly, and without formal instruction (the poverty of the stimulus), motivating the theory of an innate Universal Grammar ($UG$).

• Core Principles of X-Bar ($\bar{X}$) Syntax:

  • Generalizes structural rules across all syntactic categories using the variable $X$ (where $X$ stands for $N$, $V$, $A$, $P$, etc.).
  • Binary Branching Constraint: Prohibits triple-branching configurations; every branching node divides into at most two daughters.
  • Endocentricity Constraint: Every phrase $XP$ possesses an obligatory lexical or functional head $X$ of the same category ($XP \rightarrow \dots X \dots$); headless (exocentric) rules like $S \rightarrow NP + VP$ are strictly prohibited.
  • Uniform Three-Level Structural Hierarchy:
  • Maximal Phrasal Level ($XP$ or $X''$)
  • Intermediate Level ($X'$)
  • Minimal Lexical/Head Level ($X$)
  • Canonical X-Bar Expansion Rules:
  • $XP \rightarrow (YP), X'$ (Specifier Rule: $YP$ is Specifier)
  • $X' \rightarrow X', (YP)$ (Adjunct Rule: $YP$ is Adjunct; recursive)
  • $X' \rightarrow X, (YP)$ (Complement Rule: $YP$ is Complement)

• Theoretical Consequences and Modern Developments:
  • Small Clauses ($SC$): Eliminates triple-branching complex transitive structures by analyzing the direct object and object-predicative as a binary-branching verbless clause ($VP \rightarrow V' \rightarrow V + [_{SC} NP \; AP]$).
  • Conjunction Phrases ($ConjP$): Replaces symmetric triple-branching coordination with a binary-branching phrase headed by the conjunction: $ConjP \rightarrow NP \text{ (Specifier)} + Conj' \rightarrow Conj + NP \text{ (Complement)}$.
  • Inflection Phrase ($IP$): Resolves the exocentricity of $S$ by analyzing Tense/Inflection ($I$ or $T$) as the functional head of the sentence, taking $VP$ as its complement, with the traditional subject occupying the Specifier of $IP$.
  • Complementiser Phrase ($CP$): Unifies $S'$ and $S''$ into an endocentric functional projection headed by the Complementiser ($C$), taking $IP$ as its complement, with fronted wh-phrases occupying the Specifier of $CP$.
  • The VP-Internal Subject Hypothesis: Subjects originate within the $VP$ as the Specifier of $VP$, where they receive their thematic/semantic roles from the lexical verb, and subsequently raise to the Specifier of $IP$ to satisfy tense and agreement feature-checking requirements.
  • The DP Hypothesis: Parallels the clausal functional superstructure by analyzing traditional Noun Phrases as Determiner Phrases ($DP$) headed by the functional category $D$, which embeds the lexical $NP$ as its complement.