Syntax – Week 5, Lecture 2
X-Bar Theory, Part II
1. Revision – NP’s, PP’s, AdjP’s and AdvP’s
Using the proform ‘one’, we argued for an intermediate level of structure
between a N and a NP called N’ (N-bar). This N-bar level allows us to
capture the constituency seen within NP’s. For example:
That tall gentle very awkward fair-headed giant
This means that a simple NP like “cats” now has the following structure:
In the tree above, we note the that the AdjP is an adjunct – and that
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Syntax – Week 5, Lecture 2
structurally, it occurs as sister to N’ and daughter to N’:
Post-head modifier adjuncts also occur in this configuration:
This is in contrast to complements, which occur as sister to N and
daughter to N’:
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Syntax – Week 5, Lecture 2
The proof for the different structural configurations between adjuncts and
complements was seen using the proform one. Given an appropriate
context, one can be substituted for a N’ level, but not an N:
Q. Which giant? A. That tall one with fair hair.
Q. Which student? A. *That tall one of linguistics.
We are going to generalize this observation to all the other phrases:
● a complement is daughter to bar level (N’, V’, Adj’ etc), and sister to
the head of the phrase
● an adjunct is is daughter to bar level (N’, V’, Adj’ etc), and sister to
another bar level of the same type
Complement Adjunct
The YP is a complement to the head The YP is an adjunct to the head
Example: PP
We have argued that the NP inside a PP is a complement to the
preposition. This is because the NP is obligatory:
I read the book [at the library] vs. *I read the book [at].
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Syntax – Week 5, Lecture 2
This means that NP inside the
PP must be sister to the head
of the PP, and daughter to a P’.
Example: AdjP
Adjectives can be followed by PP’s which are either adjuncts or
complements.
In the sentence below, “of spam” is a PP acting as a
complement to the adjective. As such, it needs to
be sister to the head of the adjective phrase (i.e.,
the adj) and daughter to a bar level (adj’):
She was [AdjP fond of spam]
In the sentence below, the PP “with pink
highlights” is adjunct which adds further
optional information to the adjective
purple. Being an adjunct, it must be sister
to an Adj’, and daughter to an Adj’:
Her hair was [purple with pink highlights]
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Syntax – Week 5, Lecture 2
Note: an adjective can be preceded by an adverb which specifies the
degree of the adjective. This adverb is argued to be in specifier position
(i.e., the same structural position as the determinative in a NP):
2. Verbs and VP’s
We used the proform “one” to tease apart the inner structure of NP’s.
Similarly we can use the phrase “do so” to determine the inner structure
of VP’s. Compare the sentences below:
Stefan will [wash his socks in the bathroom] and Ben will do so too.
Stefan will [wash his socks] in the bathroom and Ben will do so in the kitchen.
But:
Stefan will [put his socks in the bathroom] and Ben will do so too.
*Stefan will [put his socks] in the bathroom and Ben will do so in the kitchen.
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Syntax – Week 5, Lecture 2
How can we account for the difference in grammaticality of these
sentences?
The do so test tells us that both [wash his socks] and [wash his socks in
the bathroom] must be constituents in the following sentences:
Stefan will [wash his socks in the bathroom] and Ben will do so too.
Stefan will [wash his socks] in the bathroom and Ben will do so in the kitchen.
We know that wash is a transitive verb which takes an object NP as a
complement. Our tests for adjuncts clearly indicate that the PP “in the
bathroom” is an adjunct. This leads us to the following structure:
We will call this intermediate level of verbal structure a V’ level. Just like
the equivalent N’ tests, we can demonstrate that this level of constituency
exists using the do so tests – wherever you see a V’, under appropriate
conditions, you should be able to replace it with do so.
What about the following distinction in grammaticality:
Stefan will [put his socks in the bathroom] and Ben will do so too.
*Stefan will [put his socks] in the bathroom and Ben will do so in the kitchen.
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Syntax – Week 5, Lecture 2
This suggests that “put his socks in the bathroom” is a V’ constituent,
whereas as “put his socks” is not:
If we compare the two trees above, we note that the difference in
configuration is explained by whether the PP is an adjunct or a
complement.
Recall that a complement is sister to the head of the phrase and daughter
to a bar level, whereas an adjunct is sister to bar level and daughter to a
bar level:
Identify the complements and adjuncts in the tree diagrams above.
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Syntax – Week 5, Lecture 2
Example 2: I indulge [in wine]/[in the kitchen]
The PP’s in the sentences below function as either a complement or an
adjunct. This can be seen using coordination and stacking tests:
Coordination Tests
I indulged in the kitchen and for three hours
*I indulged in wine and in the kitchen
Stacking
I indulged in the kitchen for three hours
*I indulged in wine in olives
These tests match our intuitions – the PP “in wine” is a complement to
the verb “indulge” whereas the PP “in the kitchen” is an adjunct.
The do so test also reveals a difference between these two PP’s:
a. I indulge in the kitchen and Mary does so too.
b. I indulge in the kitchen and Mary does so in the lounge.
c. I indulge in wine and Mary does so too.
d. *I indulge in wine and Mary does so in olives.
We know that “do so” identifies V’ constituents. This tells us that indulge
in (b) is a V’, but not in (d). Also that “indulge in the kitchen” and “indulge
in wine” are both V’. Once again, we have found that complements must
be sister to the head, and adjuncts sister to the bar level:
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Syntax – Week 5, Lecture 2
Further evidence for a V’ Level
Order of phrases
Complements generally come closest to the verb, and adjuncts furthest
away. An adjunct can’t intervene between a verb and its complement:
I indulged in winepp in the kitchenpp
?I indulged in the kitchenpp in winepp
He darned his socksNP last nightNP
?He darned last nightNP his socksNP
Warning: Some heads can have more than one complement.
She gave the man a pizza
She put the spam on the dog
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Syntax – Week 5, Lecture 2
Gapping (See Radford Ch5)
John sells trucks on Thursday and Mary ___ cars on Friday
V NP PP
*John put Fido in the doghouse and Mary ___ Spot in the yard.
V NP PP
Both of these sentences have a V followed by a NP and PP. The difference
in the grammaticality can be explained by the fact the PP is an adjunct in
the first sentence and a complement in the second. Radford (after
Culicover and Wikins) proposes the following restriction on gapping:
Gapping of a V may not occur if the V takes more than one complement
within the containing V’.
Emphatic Reflexives
Emphatic reflexives behave differently with V’ and V. They can’t be sisters
to V, but they can be sisters to V’:
Consider:
*Mary will put the candles herself on the cake
*Mary will take herself the cake to the party.
But:
Mary will take the cake herself to the party.
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Syntax – Week 5, Lecture 2
Summary
X-bar theory: dependency relations in major categories
Major
category
Head Specifiers Complements Modifiers
NP Must be
a lexical
N
* Articles (a,the)
* Demonstratives
(this, that…)
* Quantifiers
(all, some…)
* Possessives
(my, your…)
(Many Ns cannot take.)
PPs (a student of physics;
an argument about
linguistics)
Subordinate clauses (the
rumour that the dollar is
about to fall; the
question whether this is
all worth it)
APs (that pesky
wombat)
Relative clauses (that
pesky wombat which
we saw in Tubbot)
PPs (locative and
temporal esp.) (that
pesky wombat from
Tubbot)
AdjP Must be
a lexical
Adj
Degree words
(very clever,
quite silly)
(Many As cannot take)
PPs (fond of Jill, averse
to fish)
Subordinate clauses (glad
that the dollar is about to
rise;)
PPs (locative and
temporal) (anxious
about the outcome on
new years eve)
PP Must be
a lexical
P
Degree words
(right against
the fence; almost
in the garden)
NPs (after dinner; under
the bed)
Subordinate clauses
(after she has had her
dinner)
PPs (out of the window)
Nothing (she went out)
(not common)
Certain Adverbials
(almost certainly in
the wrong)
Certain PPs (out of
touch in some ways)
VP Must be
a lexical
V
See later –
different
theories. B&M:
auxiliaries
(perfect have;
progressive be)
Nothing (Vi)
NPs (e.g. Vt, Vdt)
PPs
Subordinate clauses
(think that the dollar is
about to fall)
Manner adverbials
and PPs (answered
quickly; answered
with skill; cut it with
a knife)
Other PPs (locative
and temporal) (kissed
the man on the boat;
saw the doctor on
Friday)
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Syntax – Week 5, Lecture 2
Practice
When doing your own trees, you don’t need to repeat the various tests
establishing the existence of intermediate levels of constituency. Instead,
you need to identify which phrases are complements, adjuncts and
spec ifiers and then create a t ree wi th the appropr iate
complement/adjunct/specifier relationships. For example:
The extremely stupid hunters on the pickup shot the signs on the edge of the road for fun.
Step 1: Break down the sentence into its largest constituents:
[The extremely stupid hunters on the pickup]NP:Subj [shot [the signs on the edge of the road]NP:Obj [for
fun]PP:Adjunct]VP
Identify each phrase as a specifier, adjunct or complement:
[The extremely stupid hunters on the pickup]NP:Subj Specifier to S
[the signs on the edge of the road]NP:Obj Complement to V
[for fun]PP:Adjunct Adjunct to VP
Then continue the same process for the remaining phrases.
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Syntax – Week 5, Lecture 2
NP1: The extremely stupid hunters on the pickup
Head of phrase: hunters
Specifier to NP: the
Adjunct to N: extremely stupid on the pickup
NP2: the signs on the edge of the road
Head of NP: signs
Specifier to NP: the
Adjunct to N: on the edge of the road
Note the PP “of the road” is a complement to
the N edge
PP: on the edge of the road.
Head of PP: on
Complement to P: the edge of the road
NP: the edge of the road
Specifier: the
head of phrase: edge
PP Comp: of the road
PP: of the road
Head of PP: of
Complement to P: the road
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Syntax – Week 5, Lecture 2
AdjP: extremely stupid
Head of phrase: stupid
Specifier to AdjP: extremely
Finally, after all the phrases have been identified as either complements,
specifiers or adjuncts, you can put the tree together:
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