1. Lecture 5
Phrase Hierarchy

2. Syntax ABC
Syntax is a branch of linguistics that studies how words are combined to form sentences and the rules that govern the formation of sentences.

3. Hierarchical Structure in Syntax
Verb phrase VP
动词短语
Inflection phrase IP
屈折短语
Complementaizer phrase CP
标句语短语

4. Projection 投射
X- Phrase
specifier(spec) X’
X complement(comp)

5. What is an IP?
IP is a term of generative grammar used to analyze the mental structure of a sentence. It stands for inflection phrase. According to the generative doctrine, sentences have hierarchically arranged categorical constituent structure in which sounds are grouped together into words, words into phrases, and phrases into sentences.

6. direct representation
This categorical constituent structure can be represented schematically in the form of a labeled tree-diagram, part of the skeleton of which is as the following:
John hates Bill
[IP John [VP hates Bill ] IP
NP VP
V NP
direct representation
of the sentence
hierarchy

7. X-bar IP SPEC I’ I VP ī SPEC V’ V NP John like this book
SPEC I’
I VP 
SPEC V’
V NP
X-bar ī
John like this book
‘pres’ John like this book
John
John likes this book

8. What is a cp?
that he ‘pres’ like the book

9. Topicalization
This booki he ‘pres’ like t i

10. Wh-movement
Whati do you like t i ?

11. Negative topicalization
Not a soul i did I see t i
root CP
Negative topicalization

12. Adjunct CP
John, I like him

13. L1 acquisition in syntax
Let’s start from L1 acquisition…
According to Radford (1996), Children’s L1 acquisition consists of three stages, viz. VP-stage, IP-stage, and CP-stage.

14. Early child L1 clauses have no functional architecture, and thus lack IP and CP projections. e.g.
want book

17. Gradually, L1-English children acquire the functional architecture, and step into the IP-stage. e.g.
I want the book

18. Chinese speakers, since childhood, regard a CP as natural as an IP.
[CP这本书i [IP我要 ti]]

19. In English, a declarative, root CP never emerges free of context.
THIS BOOK I WANT. ?

20. “This book John likes” can be isolated as a sentence but may be regarded as odd by the native speakers of English. When it is embedded in the sentence group on the left, it sounds appropriate to the same informants.

21. e.g.
Not all your books cater for everyone’s taste. For example, this book john likes, but that book he hates. His roommate, bill, prefers other books.

22. “[a]clause is only as big as it needs to be
“[a]clause is only as big as it needs to be. It is an IP unless it has to be a CP.”
Grimshaw (1993)

23. What is the need? Not all your books cater for
everyone’s taste. For example,
this book john likes…
topic
topic

24. exercises John met Bill. John asked whether Bill hated him.
3. “John, why do you think that I hate you?”

25. Light verb “v” The ball rolled down the hill.
He rolled the ball down the hill.

26. Let's call it a day.