38 Questions
What is the condition that must be satisfied for reflexives to be grammatical?
The reflexive must have a local antecedent.
What is the function of PRO in the sentence 'John wants [TP PRO [T to] prove himself]'?
PRO is controlled by John.
What is the relationship between PRO and himself in the sentence 'John wants [TP PRO [T to] prove himself]'?
PRO is the antecedent of himself.
Why is the sentence 'John wants [to prove himself]' grammatical?
The reflexive 'himself' has a local antecedent within the bracketed clause.
What is the relationship between 'himself' and 'John' in the sentence 'John wants [to prove himself]'?
Himself is coreferential to John.
What is the assumption made about the bracketed clause in 'John wants [to prove himself]'?
The bracketed clause has a PRO subject of its own.
What is the purpose of introducing a silent spellout of a complementiser in structures like (101)?
To avoid phonetic features of the complementiser
What is the term used to describe verbs like 'want' in earlier work?
For-deletion verbs
In what type of sentences is the use of a null counterpart of 'for' obligatory?
When the complement clause immediately follows the verb 'want'
What is the consequence of the Empty Category Principle (82) on null complementisers?
They must be adjacent to the verb 'want'
What is the term used to describe the alternative account of the absence of 'for' in certain structures?
Null counterpart
What is required when the complement clause is separated from the verb 'want' in some way?
The overt variant 'for' must be used
What is the case of the subject in defective clauses when the subject is passivized?
Nominative
What is the characteristic of the null counterpart of 'for'?
It has a somewhat different distribution than the overt variant
What is the requirement for the complementiser in focus position in a pseudo-cleft sentence?
It must be the overt variant 'for'
What type of clauses may lack a CP layer according to the text?
Root infinitive clauses
What type of constituents have no overt phonetic form but have specific grammatical and semantic properties?
Null constituents
What type of clauses contain a null PRO subject according to the text?
Control infinitive clauses
What type of clauses are argued to contain a null T constituent?
Auxiliariless indicative clauses
What operation is used to lower the abstract tense affix onto the main verb?
Affix Hopping
What type of clauses are argued to contain a null counterpart of the modal auxiliary 'should'?
Subjunctive clauses
What type of clauses are argued to be TPs headed by a null variant of infinitival 'to'?
Bare infinitive clauses
What happens to the initial /h/ segment of the perfect auxiliary form 'have' when it is unstressed?
It is lost
Why do some people write 'You should of been there' instead of 'You should have been there'?
Because 'of' is pronounced similarly to 'have' when unstressed
What happens to the vowel of 'have' when it is used with a subject ending in a vowel or diphthong?
It is lost
What is the result of 'have' losing its vowel when used with a subject ending in a vowel or diphthong?
It encliticises onto its subject
Why can't 'have' cliticise onto 'she' in the sentence 'He could have helped her or she've helped him'?
Because 'she' is a subject that blocks cliticisation
What is the nature of the operation that allows 'have' to cliticise onto its subject?
A phonological operation
What is the phonological condition on the application of 'have' cliticisation?
The subject must end in a vowel or diphthong
What is the result of the syntactic movement operation in English?
A constituent is moved to the front of a sentence
What is the result of substituting an infinitive clause with a finite clause in a sentence like (9a)?
The subject of the clause becomes overt.
What is a necessary condition for a control clause to be paraphrased by a finite clause with an overt subject?
The verb must be able to take both an infinitive complement and a finite complement.
What is the evidence from the syntax of reflexive anaphors that supports the existence of a null PRO subject?
Reflexives require a local antecedent.
What is the meaning of 'local antecedent' in the context of reflexive anaphors?
A clausemate antecedent.
Why is sentence (10a) grammatical?
Because the reflexive has a local antecedent.
Why is sentence (10b) ungrammatical?
Because the reflexive does not have a clausemate antecedent.
What is the function of the bracketed clause in sentence (9b)?
It is a finite complement clause.
What is the significance of the verb 'want' in the context of control verbs?
It is a control verb that cannot take a finite complement clause.
Study Notes
Reflexives and Antecedents
- Reflexives require a local antecedent, which means an antecedent contained within the same clause/TP as the reflexive.
- In sentences like "John wants [to prove himself]", the reflexive "himself" has a local antecedent "John" within the same bracketed clause.
Null PRO Subjects
- A null PRO subject is assumed in bracketed clauses like "[TP PRO [T to] prove himself]".
- The null PRO subject serves as a clausemate antecedent for the reflexive "himself".
- The null PRO subject is controlled by the higher subject "John", making "himself" coreferential with "John".
Control Infinitive Clauses
- Control infinitive clauses have a null PRO subject, which can refer to a constituent within a higher clause or have arbitrary reference.
- The null PRO subject can be controlled by a higher subject, as in "Jim promised [PRO to come to my party]".
Elliptical Clauses
- Elliptical clauses like "[she have helped him]" are TPs headed by a null (ellipsed) tense auxiliary.
Null T Analysis
- The null T analysis is extended to auxiliariless indicative clauses like "He enjoys syntax", which contain a TP headed by an abstract tense affix.
- The abstract tense affix is lowered onto the main verb by the morphological operation of Affix Hopping in the PF component.
Subjunctive Clauses
- Subjunctive clauses contain a null T constituent, which may be a null counterpart of the modal auxiliary "should" or an inherently null subjunctive auxiliary.
Bare Infinitive Clauses
- Bare infinitive clauses like "[you have my password]" are TPs headed by a null variant of infinitival "to".
Small Clauses
- Small clauses like "[Mary the best candidate]" are TPs containing a null counterpart of infinitival "to" and a null variant of the verb "be".
This quiz covers the concepts of reflexives and antecedents in sentence clauses, including local antecedents and null PRO subjects.
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