English Language and Linguistics – English Syntax

Description

Important notes on your trees: . You are not allowed to abbreviate structure, so make sure you draw all the bar levels as well as the head of each phrase. . You should assume the CP Hypothesis, TP Hypothesis, DP Hypothesis, and VP-Internal Subject Hypothesis. . All your trees should be drawn in accordance with X-bar rules. 1 A. Selection (20pts) 1. Pick five of the underlined words in (1a–b). Draw a selectional grid for each one. Remember that a selectional grid includes all the arguments of a head (not adjuncts) and lists the following information: . category . position (1) a. That elephant will devour the cookies very quickly. b. The monkey’s friend fears bananas.

B. Tree drawing and movement (30pts) 2. Provide a sentence with wh-movement, T-to-C movement, and a prepositional phrase. 3. Draw a D-Structure and S-Structure tree for your example. Your tree should adhere to the X-bar rules, the CP Hypothesis, the TP Hypothesis, and the DP Hypothesis. C. Tree drawing and movement (30pts) 4. Provide a sentence with an adverb, an adjective, and movement, but with no T-to-C movement. 5. Draw a D-Structure and S-Structure tree for your example. Your tree should adhere to the X-bar rules, the CP Hypothesis, the TP Hypothesis, and the DP Hypothesis. D. Wh-movement and the Principle of Modification (20pts) 6. The example in (2) is ambiguous. What are the two possible meanings? Explain why two meanings are possible, making reference to the Principle of Modification. (2) In which city did Fatima say that a popular elephant plays the xylophone? 7. Draw a D-Structure and S-Structure tree for one of the meanings (indicate which one). Your tree should adhere to the X-bar rules, the CP Hypothesis, the TP Hypothesis, and the DP Hypothesis. Some websites allow you to generate syntax trees. Such websites include: . http://ironcreek.net/phpsyntaxtree/ . http://mshang.ca/syntree/ You may also find it easy to draw trees in Word or Paint