Tools for Analyzing the Worlds Languages Ch' 14: Nonactive Complements

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Tools for Analyzing the Worlds Languages Ch.
14 Nonactive Complements

• LING 3340 - GRAMMAR AND MORPHOLOGY
• Spring 2008 (class 16)

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review

• covered clauses that consist of
• subject, verb, complements
• some verbs that include direct objects, indirect
  objects, or oblique complements
• other phrases (such as adjuncts) may be optional
  with any verb. (possibly a word like yesterday)

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More types of complements

• Nonactive complement
• Classified partly on syntactic Cat, partly on
  meaning
• Adjective Phrases ? Adjective Complement
• my black dog is fast. (B. 184 2)
• Nominal Complements
• (Objects will always be Nominal Comps)
• Bill is a happy camper. (B. 184 3)
• Locative/Temporal/Possessive Complements
• A giraffe is in my den. (B. 184 4)

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See Handout types of complements
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Non-active Verbs

• be, become, or seem
• Why complements?
• b/c they are required by the verb
• Another example
• (what is the complement and what is the adjunct?)
• Joe became tired in class yesterday.

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Active vs. Nonactive Verbs

• Nonactive Verbs are those which can take a
  nonactive complement
• Nonactive Verbs may have unusual affixation
  and/or syntactic properties
• They usually have little meaning.
• such as be ? grammatical equal sign
• also referred to as a COPULA
• if a copula exist in a language it is usually the
  most common nonactive verb.

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Action vs State

• most nonactive complements are generally refer to
  STATES while action verbs refer to ACTION
• Actions refer to situations that change over a
  relevant period of time
• States do not.

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Example

• My uncle is a rich manNP (nominal comp)
• det adj head noun
• my uncle a rich man (rich modifies man)
• My uncle is richAdjP (adjectival comp)
  adjmy uncle is in a state of being rich
• (rich modifies my uncle)

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more examples

• locative complement
• The big bad wolf was at the pigs doorstep.
• locative adjunct
• The bbw huffed and puffed at the pigs
  doorstep.

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Existence and Possession

• These are special class types that closely
  resemble clauses containing locative complements
• Consider the following
• The wolf is on the door step
• Normal clause with locative comp.
• There is a wolf on the door step
• Existential clause

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(No Transcript)
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Adjectival Comp

• provide new information about the NPSu
• B. p 186

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Nominal Comp

• express either that the subject is a member of a
  group or identifies the subject as a specific
  individual.
• B. p 187.

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Other Nonactive Comps

• some obliques may be complements
• especially those that appear with verbs of motion
  and placement
• Other verbs such as those that express Location
  are usually adjuncts.
• (HOWEVER) Some languages have one or more
  nonactive verbs like be that are used to express
  where some object is located.
• These verbs require obliques of Location.

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Existence and Possession

• Often expressed with structures that resemble non
  active clauses containing locative complements
• a language may have an existential verb such as
  hay in Spanish there is/are
• Others may use Existential clauses like English
  There is a big bad wolf.
• see B. p 189 27-30

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English (in-class exercise)

• Mark each clause AC (active complement) or NC
  (nonactive complement)
• If NC, say whether it is an adjectival, nominal
  or locative complement or an existential clause
• Once upon a time there was a cat and a mouse.
• The cat saw the mouse.
• It was an enormous mouse.
• The cat became frightened
• and hid in a corner.
• The mouse was in a large pot of cheese.
• Finally, the cats owner arrived and said,
• You are a coward!

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• Once upon a time there was a cat and a mouse.
• The cat saw the mouse.
• It was an enormous mouse.
• The cat became frightened
• and hid in a corner.
• The mouse was in a large pot of cheese.
• Finally, the cats owner arrived and said,
• You are a coward!

• AC
• NC Adjectival Nominal Locative Existential
• Once upon a time there was a cat and a mouse.
• The cat saw the mouse.
• It was an enormous mouse.
• The cat became frightened
• and hid in a corner.
• The mouse was in a large pot of cheese.
• Finally, the cats owner arrived and said,
• You are a coward!

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Formal Analysis

• again the PSR must be expanded
• in English (at least) we would consider the
  Nonactive comp at part of the VP (since it uses
  an articulated structure).
• RECALL OUR PREVIOUS PSR

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Formal Analysis

• The new PSR
• (here we add a new grammatical relation NC to
  our PSRs)

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Verbs will also be subcategorized for different
types of NCs

• see Bick p191. 35-37
• The copula be can occur with any nonactive
  coplement
• become is different in that it only occurs with
  adjectival and nominal complements
• seem only occurs with adjectival complements

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SUBCAT requirements in the lexicon

• note that for be, the only requirement is that a
  NC be present. It doesnt state a specific type
  that it required.
• see trees B. p192

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• Read Bickford pp. 197-198 section 14.5 about when
  to analyze as Intrans verbs instead of NC.
• Also Read the summary of typological variation
  section 14.6