Clauses
The Clausal Categories S and VP[inf]
The distribution of S
A clause (S) can occur in the following environments:
- S can occur as an independent declarative clause.
- S follows a complementizer: Pat thinks that __.
- S follows a subordinate conjunction: Pat arrived before __.
The internal structure of S
Obligatory elements:
- S must contain a verb
- S must contain a subject. Usually this is an NP (in nominative case), but it can also be an S ([S That Kim is always late] bothered Pat enormously.) or a VP[inf] ([VP[inf]To have missed the soccer game] bothered Pat enormously.)
Optional elements:
- There may be adverbials at the beginning of S (Last night Pat didn't sleep well., Wisely, Pat locked the door before going to bed.,> According to recent studies, Germans drink more coffee than beer.)
Complementizer-introduced sentences
English has 3 words whose function it is to mark that a clause is a subordinate clause: that, whether, if.
- The complementizer that introduces declarative subordinate clauses: Pat thinks [S that [S Sandy smokes]].
- The complementizers whether and if introduce interrogative subordinate clauses: Pat asked [S whether [S Sandy smokes]].
- The complementizer if also introduces conditional subordinate clauses: [S If [S Pat is ill]], we won't hold the picnic.
The internal structure of S'
Obligatory elements:
an S
the S is usually preceded by a complementizer, an interrogative constituent or a relative constituent.
S' introduced by a complementizer: Pat knows [S that [S Kim passed the exam]]., Pat wants [S for Kim to pass the exam]
S' introduced by an interrogative constituent: Pat knows [S which book [S Kim is reading at the moment]].
S' introduced by a relative constituent: Pat knows the author [S whose most recent book [S Kim is reading at the moment]].
The structure of an S' that is used as an interrogative clause or as a relative clause will not be considered in this section.
For S' introduced by a complementizer, the following phrase structure rule can be given:
S' -> Comp S