Syntax 1 Wiki: Week 6

Abbreviations

To make life easier on us, we use a number of abbreviations in valence lists, e.g. NP, PP, etc. In the next exercise you are supposed to find out which feature structures each of these abbreviations stand for. To this end, do the following exercises.

• Go to the online grammar.
• Click on the lexical entry for amuse.
• Click on the tree.
• There are two NP-nodes in the verb's valence lists.
• Open both of them and find what the two feature structures have in common. That is what the symbol "NP" abbreviates.

Exercises

(1) Which feature structure does the symbol "NP" stand for?

Check your answer

Now follow the same procedure for the abbreviatory symbols below.

(2) Which feature structure does the symbol "D" stand for?

Check your answer

(3) Which feature structure does the symbol "PP" stand for?

Check your answer

(4) Which feature structure does the symbol "VP" stand for?

Check your answer

(5) Which feature structure does the symbol "S" stand for?

Check your answer

Auxiliaries

Through the feature AUX, we can distinguish auxiliaries from main verbs. This is necessary because in English auxiliaries have a number of syntactic properties that sets them sharply apart from main verbs.

Illustration:

1. Auxiliaries, but not main verbs, can appear before the negation:

Lilly has not seen the movie.

*Lilly saw not the movie.

2. Auxiliaries, but not main verbs, can appear before the subject in Yes-no questions:

Has Lilly seen the movie?

*Saw Lilly the movie?

The syntactic contexts where only auxiliaries can appear are therefore marked [AUX +].

Exercise

Using the abbreviations introduced in the last section, write a lexical entry for the auxiliary did as it is used in the following sentence:

Lilly has seen the movie.

Check your answer

Now let us be more precise and expand the symbol "VP" in the entry above. What will the result be?

The lexical entry of has with the symbol "VP" spelled out

Check your answer

• Go to the online grammar.
• Display the lexical entry of has and convince yourself that it is the same as above.

Exercise

• Write down by hand the lexical entry of the progressive auxiliary is.
• Now go to the online grammar.
• Display the lexical entry of is and check your answer.

Exercise

• Write down by hand the lexical entry of the progressive auxiliary will.
• Now go to the online grammar.
• Display the lexical entry of will and check your answer.

Exercise

• Go to the online grammar.
• Type in the following sentences one by one and predict what the result will be.
• Explain what the result is in each case.

(1) Lilly

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