Practical Grammar 9: Difference between revisions

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== Raising and Control ==
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In this unit, we will extend the grammar to license sentences with verbs like 'try' and 'seems' which have interesting properties.
== Complement Clauses ==


''try (Control verb)''
Next, we come to the exciting topic of complement (= subordinate) clauses. Here are two examples:


(1) Ingrid tried to buy olives.
(1) Fred thought that Lilly disappeared<br>
(2) Fred asked whether Lilly disappeared


''seem(Raising verb)''
There is nothing really special about these structures. As with prepositional phrases, we need


(2) Ingrid seemed to buy olives.
# lexical items for the new verbs
# lexical items for the two complementizers ''that'' and ''whether''
# two new phrase structure rules.


* 'to' (the infinitive marker): assume that it is marked [IM:+].
We make the following assumptions:
* 'buy': [VFORM:INF]


[[File:Ingrid-tried-to-buy-olives-csJPG.JPG | 500px]] &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
# ''that'' and ''whether'' belong to the part of speech C (= complementizer).  
[[File:Ingrid-tried-to-buy-olives-fsJPG.JPG | 500px]]
# A complementizer combines with a following S to form another S.
[[File:Ingrid-tried-to-buy-olives-asJPG.JPG | 500px]]
# The C and the lower S are co-heads of the upper S.
# You need to add a new VP rule which allows a VP to consist of a V and an S. The S bears the GF '''COMP'''.
# Complementizers have no PRED value.


<span style="color: blue>Exercise 9 </span>


1. Open Grammar Grammar 9 - 2026-02-04<br>
2. Implement the analysis for sentences (1)-(2) as described above.<br>
3. Parse. Your output should look exactly like the output decribed in the document Exercise-9-expected-output.pdf on Olat.


Note that the complementizers in (1) and (2) cannot be exchanged:


(3) *Fred asked that Lilly disappeared<br>
(4) *Fred thought whether Lilly disappeared


Extended Coherence Condition [non-final version] (p. 138)
The reason is that there is an incompatibility of clause type information in (3) and (4): the verb ''thought'' requires a declarative clause as its COMP, but
* All governable functions present in an f-structure must occur in the value of a local PRED feature.
the word ''whether'' can only head interrogative clauses. In (4), we find the opposite incompatibility.
* All functions that have a PRED value must have a theta role.
 
<span style="color: blue>Exercise 10 </span>
 
1. Open your current version of Grammar Grammar 9 - 2026-02-04<br>
2. Add the feature CLAUSE_TYPE to the lexical entries that need it so that (3)-(4) are not accepted by the grammar for the reasons stated above, but (1)-(2) stay grammatical.<br>
3. Parse. Your output should look exactly like the output decribed in the document Exercise-9-expected-output.pdf on Olat.
 
 
 
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Latest revision as of 10:39, 4 February 2026

Complement Clauses

Next, we come to the exciting topic of complement (= subordinate) clauses. Here are two examples:

(1) Fred thought that Lilly disappeared
(2) Fred asked whether Lilly disappeared

There is nothing really special about these structures. As with prepositional phrases, we need

  1. lexical items for the new verbs
  2. lexical items for the two complementizers that and whether
  3. two new phrase structure rules.

We make the following assumptions:

  1. that and whether belong to the part of speech C (= complementizer).
  2. A complementizer combines with a following S to form another S.
  3. The C and the lower S are co-heads of the upper S.
  4. You need to add a new VP rule which allows a VP to consist of a V and an S. The S bears the GF COMP.
  5. Complementizers have no PRED value.

Exercise 9

1. Open Grammar Grammar 9 - 2026-02-04
2. Implement the analysis for sentences (1)-(2) as described above.
3. Parse. Your output should look exactly like the output decribed in the document Exercise-9-expected-output.pdf on Olat.

Note that the complementizers in (1) and (2) cannot be exchanged:

(3) *Fred asked that Lilly disappeared
(4) *Fred thought whether Lilly disappeared

The reason is that there is an incompatibility of clause type information in (3) and (4): the verb thought requires a declarative clause as its COMP, but the word whether can only head interrogative clauses. In (4), we find the opposite incompatibility.

Exercise 10

1. Open your current version of Grammar Grammar 9 - 2026-02-04
2. Add the feature CLAUSE_TYPE to the lexical entries that need it so that (3)-(4) are not accepted by the grammar for the reasons stated above, but (1)-(2) stay grammatical.
3. Parse. Your output should look exactly like the output decribed in the document Exercise-9-expected-output.pdf on Olat.





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