Syntax VP and constituent structure tests LING 400 Winter 2010

Overview Constituent structure tests and VP Coordination Substitution Movement Structural ambiguity please turn off and put away your cell phone

Verb Phrase (VP) Phrase structure rule: VP  V (NP) play the violin Simplified version of Files rule (p. 213): VP  V (NP) (Adv) (PP) (Adv). I assume that (Aux) in their actual rule is a mistake. On p. 214 Aux is not listed as a constituent of VP.

Coordination test Robin and Sharon are sisters. Conj (= Conjunction)  and, or, but, as well as, etc. XP  XP Conj XP Only identical categories can be conjoined.

Ungrammatical coordination If conjoined elements belong to different categories The student wrote NP[a letter]. The student wrote PP[to the professor]. *The student wrote NP[a letter] and PP[to the professor]. The student wrote a letter to the professor.

Coordination and constituency Robin sings. Robin plays the violin. Robin sings and plays the violin. [sings] and [plays the violin] are the same kind of constituent (VP):

Coordination of post-verb elements I want dinner. I want Dave to start cooking. *I want dinner and Dave to start cooking. I want Dave to start cooking and Robin to start doing dishes. Dave to start cooking is not an NP

Summary of coordination test Only same kind of constituent can be conjoined V, V+NP can be conjoined

Substitution test Do you know Mark Emmert? No, I haven’t met him yet. Substitution only applies to constituents. Words that substitute: pro-forms. NP pronoun S it, that, so

Verb Phrases and substitution One possibility for VP: do so   Robin sings, and so does Lee. Robin plays the violin, and so does Lee.

do so substitutes for entire VP Robin VP[plays the violin], and VP[so does] Lee. If do so substitutes for part of VP *Robin plays the violin, and so does David the piano. (Robin plays the violin, and David the piano.) ellipsis

Summary of substitution test Pro-forms can substitute for constituents do so can substitute for V, V+NP

Movement test Assumption: 1 sentence of pair more basic What did Robin see? < Robin saw a bear.

Only single constituents can be “moved” I said I would write to the president. I said I would write to the president, and to the president I wrote. *I said I would write to the president about it, and to the president about it I wrote.

to the president about it not a constituent

Movement test and VP Robin said she would play the violin. Robin said she would play the violin, and play the violin she did.

Summary of movement test Only constituents can be moved V+NP can be moved

Structural ambiguity and VP Words in same phrase have tighter semantic connection VP helps represent meanings

An ambiguous sentence “The nomination of Dr. Henry Foster to the Surgeon General’s office appears to be in trouble after he admitted that he had performed at least 39 abortions on TV last night.” (1995) VP  V (NP) (Adv) (PP) (Adv) “he admitted...last night” vs. “he performed abortions…last night” from Wikipedia: Dr. Henry Foster served as U.S. President Bill Clinton’s Senior Advisor on Teen Pregnancy Reduction and Youth Issues, and was a nominee to the post of Surgeon General of the United States by Clinton in 1995. Foster, an obstetrician from Tennessee, was nominated to fill the void left by Jocelyn Elders, but garnered substantial controversy when he admitted that he had performed abortions. Although there were questions raised concerning his involvement with forced sterilizations during the Tuskegee Syphillis Experiment, Dr. Foster has sharply denied involvement although employed by the University during the final period of the experiments. When asked how many abortions he had performed, he initially replied that it had been few, but later stated the number was likely substantially higher. Opponents accused him of dishonesty, while he defended himself by stating that he couldn't make a spur of the moment specific recollection without examining his records. Foster faced significant opposition in the Senate, mostly by pro-life Republicans. Foster's nomination was withdrawn on June 22, following a fillibuster by Senator Phil Gramm, who was seeking the 1996 Republican presidential nomination at the time. Although still listed as on the faculty of Meharry Medical College, Foster appears not to have a web site.

‘He performed … last night’

‘he admitted ... last night’

Structural ambiguity Adverbs are an optional VP constituent Ambiguity results from 2 VPs

Summary Tests for constituency Structural ambiguity Coordination test Substitution test Movement test V+NP is a constituent: VP Structural ambiguity Adv in more than one VP