Practical Grammar 9

Functional Control

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

try (Control verb)

Notation:

In the exercises of this unit, we will have to implement Control: this means that a GF of the higher verb and the SUBJ of the higher verb's XCOMP are identical.

In XLFG, this is written as follows:

• (↑SUBJ) = (↑XCOMP SUBJ); means: the SUBJ of the higher verb and the XCOMP's SUBJ are identical.
• (↑OBJ) = (↑XCOMP SUBJ); means: the OBJ of the higher verb and the XCOMP's SUBJ are identical.

Exercise 9.1 (based on section pages 102-103 and 108-110 of the textbook)

• Go to https://xlfg.labri.fr/.
• Create a new project and copy your previous grammar into your new project.
• Make sure that under 'Output Parameters' Extended Coherence test on Feature-Structures is set to Yes.
• On the basis of pages 102-108 in the textbook, make all the additions to the grammar that are necessary to yield the following outputs for sentence (1):

(1) Ingrid tried to buy olives.

   

Implement the following grammatical assumptions:

• 'to' (the infinitive marker): assume that it is marked [IM:+].
• 'buy': [VFORM:INF]

Make sure that your grammar makes the correct predictions for the sentences below:

(2) Ingrid buys olives
(3) *Ingrid tried buys olives

seem(Raising verb)

(4) Ingrid seemed to buy olives.

(2) Ingrid seemed to buy olives

   

Extended Coherence Condition [non-final version] (p. 138)

• All governable functions present in an f-structure must occur in the value of a local PRED feature.
• All functions that have a PRED value must have a theta role.

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