Agreement Nov 7, 2012 – Day 29 Introduction to Syntax ANTH 3590/7590 Harry Howard Tulane University

C OURSE MANAGEMENT We need to spend our $150 from the Provost’s Undergraduate Activities Fund. 11/07/12 2 ANTH3590/7590, Harry Howard, Tulane

AGREEMENT, CASE & A- MVT Radford § /07/12 ANTH3590/7590, Harry Howard, Tulane 3

AGREEMENT & VALUATION Radford § /07/12 ANTH3590/7590, Harry Howard, Tulane 4

A GREEMENT What is agreement in grammar? Some data I am happy. ~ We are happy. You are happy. ~ Y’all are happy. She/he/it is happy. ~ They are happy. There is a fly in my soup. ~ They are several flies in my soup. Call the features of person and number that are the basis of agreement phi/ ɸ features. A verb lacks values for phi features and must find them in order to be conjugated and so is called a probe ; a noun has values for phi features and so is called a goal (of the probe). A probe must find its goal within its c-command domain. 11/07/12 5 ANTH3590/7590, Harry Howard, Tulane

QP several prizes [3-Pers] [Pl-Num] A GREEMENT WITH PASSIVE BE AND THERE (2, 4), FIRST DRAFT 11/07/12 6 ANTH3590/7590, Harry Howard, Tulane CP TPCøCø T’T’ VPT BE [Past-Tns] [ -Pers] [ -Num] V awarded V assigns THEME to its complement PRN there Probe finds a goal in its c-command domain. 3 Pl Goal supplies phi features to probe.

C ASE What is case in grammar? Remember that case in English only shows up on pronouns Nominative: I, you, he/she/it, we, you, they Accusative: me, you, him/her/it, us, you, them Genitive: my, your, his/her/its, our, your, their Treat case as another feature, [u-Case], for agreement Nominative comes from agreement with finite T, see next slide. 11/07/12 7 ANTH3590/7590, Harry Howard, Tulane

PRN they [3-Pers] [Pl-Num] [ -Case] C ASE WITH PASSIVE BE (7, 9), FIRST DRAFT 11/07/12 8 ANTH3590/7590, Harry Howard, Tulane CP TPCøCø T’T’ VPT BE [Past-Tns] [ -Pers] [ -Num] V arrested V assigns THEME to its complement Probe finds a goal in its c-command domain. 3 Pl Goal supplies phi features to probe. Nom PRN they [3-Pers] [Pl-Num] [Nom-Case]

UNINTERPRETABLE FEATURES §7.4 11/07/12 ANTH3590/7590, Harry Howard, Tulane 9

R ECALL THE SHAPE OF THE GRAMMAR 11/07/12 10 ANTH3590/7590, Harry Howard, Tulane Syntax Phonetic form/interpretation: syntactic structure is spelled out; unvalued features cause the derivation to crash. Semantic representation: syntactic structure is converted to a meaning; uninterpretable features cause the derivation to crash.

U NINTERPRETABLE FEATURES Constituent interpretable features uninterpretable features T tense aspect mood person number (redundant with subject?) Nominal person number gender case (redundant with context) 11/07/12 11 ANTH3590/7590, Harry Howard, Tulane Features are interpreted in the semantics, or not. (13)

H OW TO GET RID OF UNINTERPRETABLE FEATURES ? Feature deletion (14) An uninterpretable feature is deleted immediately after any operation it is involved in applies and is thereafter invisible in the syntactic and semantic components (but visible in the PF component). Simultaneity condition (18) All syntactic operations involving a given probe apply simultaneously. 11/07/12 12 ANTH3590/7590, Harry Howard, Tulane

PRN they [3-Pers] [Pl-Num] [ -Case] R EPEAT EXAMPLE OF PASSIVE BE (16, 17) 11/07/12 13 ANTH3590/7590, Harry Howard, Tulane CP TPCøCø T’T’ VPT BE [Past-Tns] [ -Pers] [ -Num] [EPP] V arrested V assigns THEME to its complement Probe finds a goal in its c-command domain. PRN they [3-Pers] [Pl-Num] [Nom-Case] Pl goal supplies phi features to probe. Nom EPP: attracts the closest nominal to spec-T, so EPP looks like EF

EXPLETIVE IT SUBJECTS §7.5 11/07/12 ANTH3590/7590, Harry Howard, Tulane 14

I NTRODUCTION Some data 19a) It is said that he has taken bribes. ~19b) It is difficult to cope with long-term illness. ~19c) It’s a pity that they can’t come. The problem: what does be agree with? that that probably doesn’t have phi features ( 19b ) has no that the subject of the embedded clause the embedded clause in ( 19b ) has no subject the embedded clause in ( 19c ) has a plural subject impenetrability prevents it from entering into a relationship with a higher head it OK, so what are its features? only [3-Per, Sg-Num] & these are uninterpretable; no gender or case 11/07/12 15 ANTH3590/7590, Harry Howard, Tulane

S O HOW DOES BE AGREE WITH IT ? Sneaky assumption: only heads can be probes, not phrases. So it cannot be a probe; only a goal of agreement. If it originates in Spec-T, it is not c-commanded by its probe. The only solution is for it to originate in spec-V, just like any other subject, see next slide. Evidence i. They said that he has taken bribes. (25a) active said ii. I won’t have it said that he has taken bribes. (25b) passive said 11/07/12 16 ANTH3590/7590, Harry Howard, Tulane

PRN it [3-Pers] [Sg-Num] PRN it [3-Pers] [Sg-Num] E XPLETIVE IT (26-27) 11/07/12 17 ANTH3590/7590, Harry Howard, Tulane CP TP CøCø T’T’ VPT BE [Pres-Tns] [ -Pers] [ -Num] [EPP] V said Probe finds a goal in its c-command domain. 3 Pl Goal supplies phi features to probe. V' CP that he has taken bribes

NEXT TIME Continue §7 11/07/12 ANTH3590/7590, Harry Howard, Tulane 18