Syntax Transformations

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Syntax Transformations

• LING 200
• Spring 2003

Reading File 6.6
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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

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Model of syntax
P-S rules generate deep syntactic structure
transformational rules
? surface syntactic structure
Not every sentence contains evidence of
transformational rules!
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Some transformational rules of English

• Subject Aux inversion
• Dative shift
• Particle movement

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Subject Aux inversion
NPThe student who slept through the last
lecture Auxshould be VPstudying. Subject
Aux inversion SNP AuxX Y ? SX NP
AuxY Should the student who slept through the
last lecture be studying?
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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.
• Ill find the right size for you.
• Ill find you the right size.

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Two possible accounts of dative shift
1. Modify the PS rules VP ? V NP
NP But The student Vput NPthe assignment
NPthe TAs box. 2. Modify the output of the PS
rules. The Dative Shift transformation V NP1
P-NP2 ? V NP2 NP1
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Dative shift

• PS rules VP ? V NP PP
• The TA VPVgave NPa prize PPPto NPthe
  best student.
• Dative shift V NP1 P-NP2 ? V NP2 NP1
• The TA Vgave NPa prize PPto the best
  student.
• Output ?
• The TA VPVgave NPthe best student NPa
  prize.

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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 PPto NP
• - Paul Allen donated a million dollars to the
  university.
• - Paul Allen donated the university a
  million dollars.
• Not every Vgive NP PP
• - They gave themselves up to the police.
• - They gave the police themselves (up).

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Verb - particle movement

• Two types of V P NP in English
• V PP VPV PPP NP

Vlook PPat the solution Vrely PPon the
help Vwait PPfor the next best
thing Vdefer PPto a higher authority Vrun
PPup the hill
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Phrasal verbs
2. Phrasal verb VPVV P NP V ? V (P) (P
preposition, particle)
VVput Pon NPa coat VVput Poff
NPthe decision VVgive Pout NPthe
exam VVcall Pup NPthe dean VVget
Pout NPa pencil VVstand Pup NPa
date VVrun Pup NPthe bill
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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
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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 up put off the decision,
put it off give out the exam, give it out call up
the dean, call him up
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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 PPup the hill we ran. They said it was okay to run upV the billNP, and up the bill we ran. They said it was okay to run up the bill, and NPquite a bill we ran up.
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V PP vs. phrasal verbs

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

V PP phrasal verb
Did you Vrun PPup the hill? No, PPup the stairs No, NPthe stairs Did you Vrun up NPthe (food) bill? No, up the bar tab No, NPthe bar tab
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V PP vs. phrasal verbs
4. Separability of V, P
V PP phrasal verb
Stephen Vran stealthily PPup a big hill. Stephen stealthily Vran PPup a big hill. Stephen ran stealthily up a big bill. Stephen stealthily Vran up NPa big bill.
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V PP vs. phrasal verbs
5. Possibility of coordinating PP
V PP phrasal verb
You have to Vrun PPup that hill and then PPup an even bigger one. You have to Vrun PPup NPthat hill and then NPan even bigger one. We were told not to run up the food bill or up the bar tab. We were told not to Vrun up NPthe food bill or NPthe bar tab.
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Summary and analysis

• The linear string
• V P NP
• has two possible analyses
• V P NP V PP
• V P NP phrasal verb

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V P NP V P NP
PP preposing yes no
PP fragment yes no
V, P separability yes no
PP coordination yes no
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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
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Position of pronominalized NP
Particle Movement (transformation)   Verb PV NP
1 2 3 ?   1 3 2 (optional unless NP is
pronoun (then obligatory))
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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)  
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Drawbacks of purely PS approach

• doesnt 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
• Vput Pup PPwith the situation
• Vlet Pup PPon the pedal

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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)

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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