Syntax: Recursion, Conjunction, and Constituency
Course Readings
Recursion Syntax: Conjunction Recursion, Conjunction, and Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs Constituency
...... Syntax: Course Readings Recursion, Conjunction, and Constituency
Course Readings
Recursion
Conjunction
Constituency Tests
The following readings have been posted to the Moodle Auxiliary Verbs course site: ▶ Language Files: Chapter 5 (pp. 204-215, 216-220) ▶ Language Instinct: Chapter 4 (pp. 74-99)
...... Syntax: An Interesting Property of our PS Rules Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Current PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP NP → (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) Course Readings VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Recursion PP → P (NP) Conjunction CP → C S Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs An Interesting Feature of These Rules: As we saw last time, these rules allow sentences to contain other sentences.
▶ A sentence must have a VP in it. ▶ A VP can have a CP in it. ▶ A CP must have an S in it.
...... Syntax: An Interesting Property of our PS Rules Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Current PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP NP → (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) Course Readings VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Recursion → PP P (NP) Conjunction CP → C S Constituency Tests
Auxiliary Verbs An Interesting Feature of These Rules: As we saw last time, these rules allow sentences to contain other sentences.
S
NP VP
N V CP
Dave thinks C S
that . he. . is. . cool...... Syntax: An Interesting Property of our PS Rules Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Current PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP NP → (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) Course Readings VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Recursion PP → P (NP) Conjunction CP → CS Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs Another Interesting Feature of These Rules: These rules also allow noun phrases to contain other noun phrases. ▶ An NP can contain an (optional) PP. ▶ A PP can contain an (optional) NP.
...... Syntax: An Interesting Property of our PS Rules Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Current PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP NP → (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) Course Readings VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Recursion PP → P (NP) Conjunction CP → CS Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs Another Interesting Feature of These Rules: These rules also allow noun phrases to contain other noun phrases. NP
D N PP
the man P NP
with a telescope
...... ▶ Sentences containing other sentences ▶ Dave thinks that he is cool ▶ Dave wonders if he is cool ▶ That he is not cool surprises Dave.
▶ Noun Phrases (NPs) containing other NPs ▶ The man with a telescope ▶ The rock near the tree ▶ Some dogs outside this house
Syntax: Recursion Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Current PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP NP → (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) Course Readings VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Recursion PP → P (NP) Conjunction CP → CS Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs Vocabulary: Recursion is when an expression of some type contains another expression of that same type
...... ▶ Noun Phrases (NPs) containing other NPs ▶ The man with a telescope ▶ The rock near the tree ▶ Some dogs outside this house
Syntax: Recursion Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Current PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP NP → (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) Course Readings VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Recursion PP → P (NP) Conjunction CP → CS Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs Vocabulary: Recursion is when an expression of some type contains another expression of that same type ▶ Sentences containing other sentences ▶ Dave thinks that he is cool ▶ Dave wonders if he is cool ▶ That he is not cool surprises Dave.
...... Syntax: Recursion Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Current PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP NP → (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) Course Readings VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Recursion PP → P (NP) Conjunction CP → CS Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs Vocabulary: Recursion is when an expression of some type contains another expression of that same type ▶ Sentences containing other sentences ▶ Dave thinks that he is cool ▶ Dave wonders if he is cool ▶ That he is not cool surprises Dave.
▶ Noun Phrases (NPs) containing other NPs ▶ The man with a telescope ▶ The rock near the tree ▶ Some dogs outside this house ...... Answer, Part 1: Once recursion gets started, it never has to stop. ▶ Once the rules allow a sentence inside a sentence... (Dave thinks that he is cool) ▶ ...then they also allow a sentence in a sentence in a sentence... (Mary said that Dave thinks that he is cool) ▶ ...and a sentence in a sentence in a sentence in a sentence... (John wonders if Mary said that Dave thinks that he is cool) ▶ ...and so on, and so on....
Syntax: The Consequences of Recursion Recursion, Conjunction, and Question: Constituency So what? What’s so neat about ‘recursion’? Course Readings
Recursion
Conjunction
Constituency Tests
Auxiliary Verbs
...... ▶ Once the rules allow a sentence inside a sentence... (Dave thinks that he is cool) ▶ ...then they also allow a sentence in a sentence in a sentence... (Mary said that Dave thinks that he is cool) ▶ ...and a sentence in a sentence in a sentence in a sentence... (John wonders if Mary said that Dave thinks that he is cool) ▶ ...and so on, and so on....
Syntax: The Consequences of Recursion Recursion, Conjunction, and Question: Constituency So what? What’s so neat about ‘recursion’? Course Readings Answer, Part 1: Recursion Once recursion gets started, it never has to stop. Conjunction Constituency Tests
Auxiliary Verbs
...... ▶ ...then they also allow a sentence in a sentence in a sentence... (Mary said that Dave thinks that he is cool) ▶ ...and a sentence in a sentence in a sentence in a sentence... (John wonders if Mary said that Dave thinks that he is cool) ▶ ...and so on, and so on....
Syntax: The Consequences of Recursion Recursion, Conjunction, and Question: Constituency So what? What’s so neat about ‘recursion’? Course Readings Answer, Part 1: Recursion Once recursion gets started, it never has to stop. Conjunction Constituency Tests ▶ Once the rules allow a sentence inside a sentence... Auxiliary Verbs (Dave thinks that he is cool)
...... ▶ ...and a sentence in a sentence in a sentence in a sentence... (John wonders if Mary said that Dave thinks that he is cool) ▶ ...and so on, and so on....
Syntax: The Consequences of Recursion Recursion, Conjunction, and Question: Constituency So what? What’s so neat about ‘recursion’? Course Readings Answer, Part 1: Recursion Once recursion gets started, it never has to stop. Conjunction Constituency Tests ▶ Once the rules allow a sentence inside a sentence... Auxiliary Verbs (Dave thinks that he is cool) ▶ ...then they also allow a sentence in a sentence in a sentence... (Mary said that Dave thinks that he is cool)
...... ▶ ...and so on, and so on....
Syntax: The Consequences of Recursion Recursion, Conjunction, and Question: Constituency So what? What’s so neat about ‘recursion’? Course Readings Answer, Part 1: Recursion Once recursion gets started, it never has to stop. Conjunction Constituency Tests ▶ Once the rules allow a sentence inside a sentence... Auxiliary Verbs (Dave thinks that he is cool) ▶ ...then they also allow a sentence in a sentence in a sentence... (Mary said that Dave thinks that he is cool) ▶ ...and a sentence in a sentence in a sentence in a sentence... (John wonders if Mary said that Dave thinks that he is cool)
...... Syntax: The Consequences of Recursion Recursion, Conjunction, and Question: Constituency So what? What’s so neat about ‘recursion’? Course Readings Answer, Part 1: Recursion Once recursion gets started, it never has to stop. Conjunction Constituency Tests ▶ Once the rules allow a sentence inside a sentence... Auxiliary Verbs (Dave thinks that he is cool) ▶ ...then they also allow a sentence in a sentence in a sentence... (Mary said that Dave thinks that he is cool) ▶ ...and a sentence in a sentence in a sentence in a sentence... (John wonders if Mary said that Dave thinks that he is cool) ▶ ...and so on, and so on....
...... Syntax: The Consequences of Recursion Recursion, Conjunction, and Question: Constituency But what’s so great about that? Course Readings Answer, Part 1: Recursion Once recursion gets started, it never has to stop. Conjunction Constituency Tests ▶ Once the rules allow a sentence inside a sentence... Auxiliary Verbs (Dave thinks that he is cool) ▶ ...then they also allow a sentence in a sentence in a sentence... (Mary said that Dave thinks that he is cool) ▶ ...and a sentence in a sentence in a sentence in a sentence... (John wonders if Mary said that Dave thinks that he is cool) ▶ ...and so on, and so on....
...... ▶ After all, suppose there were only finitely many possible English sentences. ▶ Then, there’d necessarily be a longest English sentence, S. ▶ But, we could always make a longer sentence by embedding S: (Dave thinks that S) ▶ Therefore, there is no ‘longest possible’ English sentence (Just like there is no ‘biggest number’) ▶ Therefore, the number of possible English sentences is infinite!
Syntax: The Consequences of Recursion Recursion, Conjunction, and Question: Constituency But what’s so great about that? Course Readings Answer, Part 2: Recursion Thanks to this, there are literally an infinite number of possible Conjunction English sentences. Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs
...... ▶ Then, there’d necessarily be a longest English sentence, S. ▶ But, we could always make a longer sentence by embedding S: (Dave thinks that S) ▶ Therefore, there is no ‘longest possible’ English sentence (Just like there is no ‘biggest number’) ▶ Therefore, the number of possible English sentences is infinite!
Syntax: The Consequences of Recursion Recursion, Conjunction, and Question: Constituency But what’s so great about that? Course Readings Answer, Part 2: Recursion Thanks to this, there are literally an infinite number of possible Conjunction English sentences. Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs ▶ After all, suppose there were only finitely many possible English sentences.
...... ▶ But, we could always make a longer sentence by embedding S: (Dave thinks that S) ▶ Therefore, there is no ‘longest possible’ English sentence (Just like there is no ‘biggest number’) ▶ Therefore, the number of possible English sentences is infinite!
Syntax: The Consequences of Recursion Recursion, Conjunction, and Question: Constituency But what’s so great about that? Course Readings Answer, Part 2: Recursion Thanks to this, there are literally an infinite number of possible Conjunction English sentences. Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs ▶ After all, suppose there were only finitely many possible English sentences. ▶ Then, there’d necessarily be a longest English sentence, S.
...... ▶ Therefore, there is no ‘longest possible’ English sentence (Just like there is no ‘biggest number’) ▶ Therefore, the number of possible English sentences is infinite!
Syntax: The Consequences of Recursion Recursion, Conjunction, and Question: Constituency But what’s so great about that? Course Readings Answer, Part 2: Recursion Thanks to this, there are literally an infinite number of possible Conjunction English sentences. Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs ▶ After all, suppose there were only finitely many possible English sentences. ▶ Then, there’d necessarily be a longest English sentence, S. ▶ But, we could always make a longer sentence by embedding S: (Dave thinks that S)
...... ▶ Therefore, the number of possible English sentences is infinite!
Syntax: The Consequences of Recursion Recursion, Conjunction, and Question: Constituency But what’s so great about that? Course Readings Answer, Part 2: Recursion Thanks to this, there are literally an infinite number of possible Conjunction English sentences. Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs ▶ After all, suppose there were only finitely many possible English sentences. ▶ Then, there’d necessarily be a longest English sentence, S. ▶ But, we could always make a longer sentence by embedding S: (Dave thinks that S) ▶ Therefore, there is no ‘longest possible’ English sentence (Just like there is no ‘biggest number’)
...... Syntax: The Consequences of Recursion Recursion, Conjunction, and Question: Constituency But what’s so great about that? Course Readings Answer, Part 2: Recursion Thanks to this, there are literally an infinite number of possible Conjunction English sentences. Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs ▶ After all, suppose there were only finitely many possible English sentences. ▶ Then, there’d necessarily be a longest English sentence, S. ▶ But, we could always make a longer sentence by embedding S: (Dave thinks that S) ▶ Therefore, there is no ‘longest possible’ English sentence (Just like there is no ‘biggest number’) ▶ Therefore, the number of possible English sentences is infinite!
...... Syntax: The Consequences of Recursion Recursion, Conjunction, and Constituency
Course Readings
Recursion The Main Importance of Recursion: Conjunction Recursion seems to make human language fundamentally Constituency Tests different from other kinds of animal communication. Auxiliary Verbs ▶ Other organisms have complex ‘languages’ (bees, dolphins) ▶ But none of them have been found to exhibit recursion (so far) ▶ So recursion may be part of what makes human language so special...
...... Syntax: Conjunction of Noun Phrases Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Current PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP NP → (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) Course Readings VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Recursion PP → P (NP) Conjunction The Conjunction CP → CS ‘Meta-Rule’ Constituency Tests Problem: Auxiliary Verbs Our rules won’t let us make sentences like the following: ▶ Bill and Dave danced. ▶ The dog chased the young cat and the ugly boy. ▶ Dave walked past the school and the church.
...... Temporary Solution: Let’s introduce the following, additional rule for NPs: NP → NP and NP (An NP can be formed from two other NPs joined by ‘and’).
Syntax: Conjunction of Noun Phrases Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Current PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP NP → (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) Course Readings VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Recursion PP → P (NP) Conjunction The Conjunction CP → CS ‘Meta-Rule’ Constituency Tests The Pattern: Auxiliary Verbs Wherever English allows one NP, it also allows two NPs joined by ‘and’.
...... Syntax: Conjunction of Noun Phrases Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Current PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP NP → (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) Course Readings VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Recursion PP → P (NP) Conjunction The Conjunction CP → CS ‘Meta-Rule’ Constituency Tests The Pattern: Auxiliary Verbs Wherever English allows one NP, it also allows two NPs joined by ‘and’.
Temporary Solution: Let’s introduce the following, additional rule for NPs: NP → NP and NP (An NP can be formed from two other NPs joined by ‘and’).
...... Syntax: Conjunction of Noun Phrases Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Updated PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP Course Readings NP → (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) NP → NP and NP Recursion VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Conjunction The Conjunction PP → P (NP) ‘Meta-Rule’ CP → CS Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs We can now form those sentences that we couldn’t before:
S
NP VP
NP and NP V
N N danced
Bill Dave
...... Syntax: Conjunction of Noun Phrases Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Updated PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP Course Readings NP → (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) NP → NP and NP Recursion VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Conjunction The Conjunction PP → P (NP) ‘Meta-Rule’ CP → CS Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs S
NP VP
N V PP
Dave walked P NP
past NP and NP
the school the church ...... Syntax: Conjunction of Verb Phrases Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Updated PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP Course Readings NP → (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) NP → NP and NP Recursion VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Conjunction The Conjunction PP → P (NP) ‘Meta-Rule’ CP → CS Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs Problem: These rules still won’t let us make sentences like the following: ▶ Dave dances and smokes cigars. ▶ Tom walked into the house and sat down. ▶ Mary screamed and said her ankle hurt.
...... Temporary Solution: Let’s introduce the following, additional rule for VPs: VP → VP and VP (A VP can be formed from two other VPs joined by ‘and’).
Syntax: Conjunction of Verb Phrases Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Updated PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP Course Readings NP → (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) NP → NP and NP Recursion VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Conjunction The Conjunction PP → P (NP) ‘Meta-Rule’ CP → CS Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs The Pattern: Wherever English allows one VP, it also allows two VPs joined together by ‘and’.
...... Syntax: Conjunction of Verb Phrases Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Updated PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP Course Readings NP → (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) NP → NP and NP Recursion VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Conjunction The Conjunction PP → P (NP) ‘Meta-Rule’ CP → CS Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs The Pattern: Wherever English allows one VP, it also allows two VPs joined together by ‘and’.
Temporary Solution: Let’s introduce the following, additional rule for VPs: VP → VP and VP (A VP can be formed from two other VPs joined by ‘and’).
...... Syntax: Conjunction of Noun Phrases Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Updated PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP Course Readings NP → (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) NP → NP and NP Recursion VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Conjunction The Conjunction VP → VP and VP ‘Meta-Rule’ PP → P (NP) Constituency Tests CP → CS Auxiliary Verbs
We can now form those sentences that we couldn’t before: S
NP VP
N VP and VP
Dave V V NP
dances smokes cigars ...... Syntax: Conjunction of Prepositional Phrases Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Updated PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP Course Readings NP → (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) NP → NP and NP Recursion VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Conjunction The Conjunction VP → VP and VP ‘Meta-Rule’ PP → P (NP) Constituency Tests CP → CS Auxiliary Verbs
Problem: These rules still won’t let us make sentences like the following: ▶ Dave walked out the door and into the yard. ▶ People with guns and without licenses will be arrested .
...... Syntax: Conjunction of Prepositional Phrases Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Updated PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP Course Readings NP → (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) NP → NP and NP Recursion VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Conjunction The Conjunction VP → VP and VP ‘Meta-Rule’ PP → P (NP) Constituency Tests CP → CS Auxiliary Verbs
The Pattern: Wherever English allows one PP, it also allows two PPs joined together by ‘and’.
Temporary Solution: Let’s introduce the following, additional rule for PPs: PP → PP and PP (A PP can be formed from two other PPs joined by ‘and’).
...... Syntax: Conjunction of Prepositional Phrases Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Updated PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP Course Readings NP → (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) NP → NP and NP Recursion VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Conjunction The Conjunction VP → VP and VP ‘Meta-Rule’ PP → P (NP) Constituency Tests PP → PP and PP Auxiliary Verbs CP → CS S
NP VP
N V PP
Dave walked PP and PP
P NP P NP
out the door into the yard ...... Syntax: Summary of Our Conjunction Rules Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Updated PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP Course Readings NP → (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) NP → NP and NP Recursion VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Conjunction The Conjunction VP → VP and VP ‘Meta-Rule’ PP → P (NP) Constituency Tests PP → PP and PP Auxiliary Verbs CP → CS
Summary: So far, we’ve added three different rules to our system: ▶ NP → NP and NP ▶ VP → VP and VP ▶ PP → PP and PP
...... Syntax: Summary of Our Conjunction Rules Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Updated PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP Course Readings NP → (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) NP → NP and NP Recursion VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Conjunction The Conjunction VP → VP and VP ‘Meta-Rule’ PP → P (NP) Constituency Tests PP → PP and PP Auxiliary Verbs CP → CS
Problem: These three separate rules are missing an obvious pattern!
▶ Wherever you can have any category X, you can also have ‘X and X’ .
...... Syntax: Summary of Our Conjunction Rules Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Updated PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP Course Readings NP → (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) NP → NP and NP Recursion VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Conjunction The Conjunction VP → VP and VP ‘Meta-Rule’ PP → P (NP) Constituency Tests PP → PP and PP Auxiliary Verbs CP → CS
The Conjunction ‘Meta-Rule’: X → X and X (Where X can be any category (N, V, A, D, P, C) or any phrase (S, NP, VP, PP, CP, etc.))
...... Syntax: The Conjunction ‘Meta-Rule’ Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Updated PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP Course Readings NP → (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Recursion PP → P (NP) Conjunction The Conjunction CP → CS ‘Meta-Rule’ X → X and X Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs How to Read Our New Rule: “For any label X, this is a rule of the syntax: X → X and X” ▶ So, our new ‘meta-rule’ makes all the following PS rules: ▶ NP → NP and NP ▶ VP → VP and VP ▶ PP → PP and PP
...... Syntax: The Conjunction ‘Meta-Rule’ Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Updated PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP Course Readings NP → (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Recursion PP → P (NP) Conjunction The Conjunction CP → CS ‘Meta-Rule’ X → X and X Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs Our ‘meta-rule’ also makes some other PS rules we need:
...... Syntax: The Conjunction ‘Meta-Rule’ Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Updated PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP Course Readings NP → (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Recursion PP → P (NP) Conjunction The Conjunction CP → CS ‘Meta-Rule’ X → X and X Constituency Tests Conjunction of Sentences: Auxiliary Verbs S → S and S S
NP VP
V CP N
thinks C S Dave
that S and S
he sucks . . . . Joe. . . rules...... Syntax: The Conjunction ‘Meta-Rule’ Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Updated PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP Course Readings NP → (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Recursion PP → P (NP) Conjunction The Conjunction CP → CS ‘Meta-Rule’ X → X and X Constituency Tests Conjunction of CPs: Auxiliary Verbs CP → CP and CP S
NP VP
V CP N
thinks CP and CP Dave
C S C S
that he sucks . . that...... Joe. . . rules...... Syntax: The Conjunction ‘Meta-Rule’ Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Updated PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP Course Readings NP → (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Recursion PP → P (NP) Conjunction The Conjunction CP → CS ‘Meta-Rule’ X → X and X Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs Conjunction of Ns: N → N and N S
NP VP
D N V
some N and N fight
dogs cats ...... Syntax: The Conjunction ‘Meta-Rule’ Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Updated PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP Course Readings NP → (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Recursion PP → P (NP) Conjunction The Conjunction CP → CS ‘Meta-Rule’ X → X and X Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs Conjunction of Vs: V → V and V S
NP VP
N V NP
Dave V and V the carrots
cooked sliced ...... Syntax: The Conjunction ‘Meta-Rule’ Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Updated PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP Course Readings NP → (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Recursion PP → P (NP) Conjunction The Conjunction CP → CS ‘Meta-Rule’ X → X and X Constituency Tests Conjunction of Ps: Auxiliary Verbs P → P and P S
NP VP
V PP N
walked P NP Dave
P and P the house
in around...... Syntax: The Conjunction ‘Meta-Rule’ Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Updated PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP Course Readings NP → (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Recursion PP → P (NP) Conjunction The Conjunction CP → CS ‘Meta-Rule’ X → X and X Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs Vocabulary: If two things are joined together by “and”, they are said to be: ▶ conjoined ▶ coordinated
...... Syntax: Phrases and ‘Constituents’ Recursion, Conjunction, and Vocabulary: Constituency If a group of words in a sentence form a phrase on their own, they are said to be a constituent. Course Readings Recursion
Illustration: “Dave likes the happy man.” Conjunction S Constituency Tests Conjunction Degree Expressions (Deg) NP VP Question by Repetition Auxiliary Verbs
N V NP
Dave likes D A N
the happy man
▶ ‘the happy man’ is a constituent (Those words together on their own form a phrase in the sentence: the NP)
...... Syntax: Phrases and ‘Constituents’ Recursion, Conjunction, and Vocabulary: Constituency If a group of words in a sentence form a phrase on their own, they are said to be a constituent. Course Readings Recursion
Illustration: “Dave likes the happy man.” Conjunction S Constituency Tests Conjunction Degree Expressions (Deg) NP VP Question by Repetition Auxiliary Verbs
N V NP
Dave likes D A N
the happy man
▶ ‘likes the happy man’ is a constituent (Those words together on their own form a phrase in the sentence: the VP)
...... Syntax: Phrases and ‘Constituents’ Recursion, Conjunction, and Vocabulary: Constituency If a group of words in a sentence form a phrase on their own, they are said to be a constituent. Course Readings Recursion
Illustration: “Dave likes the happy man.” Conjunction S Constituency Tests Conjunction Degree Expressions (Deg) NP VP Question by Repetition Auxiliary Verbs
N V NP
Dave likes D A N
the happy man
▶ ‘the happy’ is not a constituent (Those words on their own don’t form a phrase in the sentence)
...... Syntax: Phrases and ‘Constituents’ Recursion, Conjunction, and Vocabulary: Constituency If a group of words in a sentence form a phrase on their own, they are said to be a constituent. Course Readings Recursion
Illustration: “Dave likes the happy man.” Conjunction S Constituency Tests Conjunction Degree Expressions (Deg) NP VP Question by Repetition Auxiliary Verbs
N V NP
Dave likes D A N
the happy man
▶ ‘likes the’ is not a constituent (Those words on their own don’t form a phrase in the sentence)
...... Answer: There are some tests you can use! ▶ Linguists call these ‘constituency tests’. ▶ The first involves ‘conjunction’ (joining things with ‘and’)
Syntax: Tests for Constituency Recursion, Conjunction, and Constituency
Question: Course Readings Recursion ▶ Suppose I don’t already know the right structure for a Conjunction
sentence... Constituency Tests ▶ Conjunction How can I tell whether some bunch of words is Degree Expressions (Deg) actually a constituent of not? Question by Repetition Auxiliary Verbs
...... Syntax: Tests for Constituency Recursion, Conjunction, and Constituency
Question: Course Readings Recursion ▶ Suppose I don’t already know the right structure for a Conjunction
sentence... Constituency Tests ▶ Conjunction How can I tell whether some bunch of words is Degree Expressions (Deg) actually a constituent of not? Question by Repetition Auxiliary Verbs
Answer: There are some tests you can use! ▶ Linguists call these ‘constituency tests’. ▶ The first involves ‘conjunction’ (joining things with ‘and’)
...... Important Consequence of the ‘Meta-Rule’: ▶ Suppose some words ‘X Y Z’ are a constituent. ▶ Then, they together form a phrase of some type ‘XP’ ▶ Then, our conjunction rule would let you join together two such XPs with ‘and’ ▶ So, you should be able to follow ‘X Y Z’ with ▶ ‘and’, followed by ▶ Another bunch of words ‘A B C’ of the same categories as ‘X Y Z’
Syntax: Conjunction as Constituency Test Recursion, Conjunction, and Constituency Our ‘Meta-Rule’ for Conjunction: X → X and X
▶ This rule says that ‘and’ can only go between two Course Readings phrases of the same type. Recursion ▶ NP → NP and NP Conjunction ▶ VP → VP and VP Constituency Tests ▶ → Conjunction PP PP and PP Degree Expressions (Deg) Question by Repetition
Auxiliary Verbs
...... ▶ Then, they together form a phrase of some type ‘XP’ ▶ Then, our conjunction rule would let you join together two such XPs with ‘and’ ▶ So, you should be able to follow ‘X Y Z’ with ▶ ‘and’, followed by ▶ Another bunch of words ‘A B C’ of the same categories as ‘X Y Z’
Syntax: Conjunction as Constituency Test Recursion, Conjunction, and Constituency Our ‘Meta-Rule’ for Conjunction: X → X and X
▶ This rule says that ‘and’ can only go between two Course Readings phrases of the same type. Recursion ▶ NP → NP and NP Conjunction ▶ VP → VP and VP Constituency Tests ▶ → Conjunction PP PP and PP Degree Expressions (Deg) Question by Repetition
Auxiliary Verbs Important Consequence of the ‘Meta-Rule’: ▶ Suppose some words ‘X Y Z’ are a constituent.
...... ▶ Then, our conjunction rule would let you join together two such XPs with ‘and’ ▶ So, you should be able to follow ‘X Y Z’ with ▶ ‘and’, followed by ▶ Another bunch of words ‘A B C’ of the same categories as ‘X Y Z’
Syntax: Conjunction as Constituency Test Recursion, Conjunction, and Constituency Our ‘Meta-Rule’ for Conjunction: X → X and X
▶ This rule says that ‘and’ can only go between two Course Readings phrases of the same type. Recursion ▶ NP → NP and NP Conjunction ▶ VP → VP and VP Constituency Tests ▶ → Conjunction PP PP and PP Degree Expressions (Deg) Question by Repetition
Auxiliary Verbs Important Consequence of the ‘Meta-Rule’: ▶ Suppose some words ‘X Y Z’ are a constituent. ▶ Then, they together form a phrase of some type ‘XP’
...... ▶ So, you should be able to follow ‘X Y Z’ with ▶ ‘and’, followed by ▶ Another bunch of words ‘A B C’ of the same categories as ‘X Y Z’
Syntax: Conjunction as Constituency Test Recursion, Conjunction, and Constituency Our ‘Meta-Rule’ for Conjunction: X → X and X
▶ This rule says that ‘and’ can only go between two Course Readings phrases of the same type. Recursion ▶ NP → NP and NP Conjunction ▶ VP → VP and VP Constituency Tests ▶ → Conjunction PP PP and PP Degree Expressions (Deg) Question by Repetition
Auxiliary Verbs Important Consequence of the ‘Meta-Rule’: ▶ Suppose some words ‘X Y Z’ are a constituent. ▶ Then, they together form a phrase of some type ‘XP’ ▶ Then, our conjunction rule would let you join together two such XPs with ‘and’
...... Syntax: Conjunction as Constituency Test Recursion, Conjunction, and Constituency Our ‘Meta-Rule’ for Conjunction: X → X and X
▶ This rule says that ‘and’ can only go between two Course Readings phrases of the same type. Recursion ▶ NP → NP and NP Conjunction ▶ VP → VP and VP Constituency Tests ▶ → Conjunction PP PP and PP Degree Expressions (Deg) Question by Repetition
Auxiliary Verbs Important Consequence of the ‘Meta-Rule’: ▶ Suppose some words ‘X Y Z’ are a constituent. ▶ Then, they together form a phrase of some type ‘XP’ ▶ Then, our conjunction rule would let you join together two such XPs with ‘and’ ▶ So, you should be able to follow ‘X Y Z’ with ▶ ‘and’, followed by ▶ Another bunch of words ‘A B C’ of the same categories as ‘X Y Z’
...... Illlustration: “Dave likes the happy man” ▶ ‘The happy man’ is a constituent (an NP). ▶ And, so we can follow it with ‘and’ plus a sequence of words of the same categories: (Dave likes the happy man and some angry cat)
Syntax: Conjunction as Constituency Test Recursion, Conjunction, and Constituency
Important Consequence of the ‘Meta-Rule’: Course Readings Recursion ▶ If some words ‘X Y Z’ are a constituent... Conjunction ▶ Then, you should be able to follow ‘X Y Z’ with Constituency Tests ▶ Conjunction ‘and’, followed by Degree Expressions (Deg) ▶ Another bunch of words ‘A B C’ of the same Question by Repetition categories as ‘X Y Z’ Auxiliary Verbs
...... ▶ ‘The happy man’ is a constituent (an NP). ▶ And, so we can follow it with ‘and’ plus a sequence of words of the same categories: (Dave likes the happy man and some angry cat)
Syntax: Conjunction as Constituency Test Recursion, Conjunction, and Constituency
Important Consequence of the ‘Meta-Rule’: Course Readings Recursion ▶ If some words ‘X Y Z’ are a constituent... Conjunction ▶ Then, you should be able to follow ‘X Y Z’ with Constituency Tests ▶ Conjunction ‘and’, followed by Degree Expressions (Deg) ▶ Another bunch of words ‘A B C’ of the same Question by Repetition categories as ‘X Y Z’ Auxiliary Verbs
Illlustration: “Dave likes the happy man”
...... ▶ And, so we can follow it with ‘and’ plus a sequence of words of the same categories: (Dave likes the happy man and some angry cat)
Syntax: Conjunction as Constituency Test Recursion, Conjunction, and Constituency
Important Consequence of the ‘Meta-Rule’: Course Readings Recursion ▶ If some words ‘X Y Z’ are a constituent... Conjunction ▶ Then, you should be able to follow ‘X Y Z’ with Constituency Tests ▶ Conjunction ‘and’, followed by Degree Expressions (Deg) ▶ Another bunch of words ‘A B C’ of the same Question by Repetition categories as ‘X Y Z’ Auxiliary Verbs
Illlustration: “Dave likes the happy man” ▶ ‘The happy man’ is a constituent (an NP).
...... Syntax: Conjunction as Constituency Test Recursion, Conjunction, and Constituency
Important Consequence of the ‘Meta-Rule’: Course Readings Recursion ▶ If some words ‘X Y Z’ are a constituent... Conjunction ▶ Then, you should be able to follow ‘X Y Z’ with Constituency Tests ▶ Conjunction ‘and’, followed by Degree Expressions (Deg) ▶ Another bunch of words ‘A B C’ of the same Question by Repetition categories as ‘X Y Z’ Auxiliary Verbs
Illlustration: “Dave likes the happy man” ▶ ‘The happy man’ is a constituent (an NP). ▶ And, so we can follow it with ‘and’ plus a sequence of words of the same categories: (Dave likes the happy man and some angry cat)
...... ▶ And, so we can follow it with ‘and’ plus a sequence of words of the same categories: (Dave likes the happy man and hates some angry cat)
Syntax: Conjunction as Constituency Test Recursion, Conjunction, and Constituency
Important Consequence of the ‘Meta-Rule’: Course Readings Recursion ▶ If some words ‘X Y Z’ are a constituent... Conjunction ▶ Then, you should be able to follow ‘X Y Z’ with Constituency Tests ▶ Conjunction ‘and’, followed by Degree Expressions (Deg) ▶ Another bunch of words ‘A B C’ of the same Question by Repetition categories as ‘X Y Z’ Auxiliary Verbs
Illlustration: “Dave likes the happy man” ▶ ‘Likes the happy man’ is a constituent (a VP).
...... Syntax: Conjunction as Constituency Test Recursion, Conjunction, and Constituency
Important Consequence of the ‘Meta-Rule’: Course Readings Recursion ▶ If some words ‘X Y Z’ are a constituent... Conjunction ▶ Then, you should be able to follow ‘X Y Z’ with Constituency Tests ▶ Conjunction ‘and’, followed by Degree Expressions (Deg) ▶ Another bunch of words ‘A B C’ of the same Question by Repetition categories as ‘X Y Z’ Auxiliary Verbs
Illlustration: “Dave likes the happy man” ▶ ‘Likes the happy man’ is a constituent (a VP). ▶ And, so we can follow it with ‘and’ plus a sequence of words of the same categories: (Dave likes the happy man and hates some angry cat)
...... ▶ And so we can’t follow it with ‘and’ plus a sequence of words of the same categories. (*Dave likes the happy and some angry man)
Syntax: Conjunction as Constituency Test Recursion, Conjunction, and Constituency
Important Consequence of the ‘Meta-Rule’: Course Readings Recursion ▶ If some words ‘X Y Z’ are a constituent... Conjunction ▶ Then, you should be able to follow ‘X Y Z’ with Constituency Tests ▶ Conjunction ‘and’, followed by Degree Expressions (Deg) ▶ Another bunch of words ‘A B C’ of the same Question by Repetition categories as ‘X Y Z’ Auxiliary Verbs
Illlustration: “Dave likes the happy man” ▶ ‘The happy’ is not a constituent.
...... Syntax: Conjunction as Constituency Test Recursion, Conjunction, and Constituency
Important Consequence of the ‘Meta-Rule’: Course Readings Recursion ▶ If some words ‘X Y Z’ are a constituent... Conjunction ▶ Then, you should be able to follow ‘X Y Z’ with Constituency Tests ▶ Conjunction ‘and’, followed by Degree Expressions (Deg) ▶ Another bunch of words ‘A B C’ of the same Question by Repetition categories as ‘X Y Z’ Auxiliary Verbs
Illlustration: “Dave likes the happy man” ▶ ‘The happy’ is not a constituent. ▶ And so we can’t follow it with ‘and’ plus a sequence of words of the same categories. (*Dave likes the happy and some angry man)
...... ▶ And so we can’t follow it with ‘and’ plus a sequence of words of the same categories. (*Dave likes the and saw the happy man)
Syntax: Conjunction as Constituency Test Recursion, Conjunction, and Constituency
Important Consequence of the ‘Meta-Rule’: Course Readings Recursion ▶ If some words ‘X Y Z’ are a constituent... Conjunction ▶ Then, you should be able to follow ‘X Y Z’ with Constituency Tests ▶ Conjunction ‘and’, followed by Degree Expressions (Deg) ▶ Another bunch of words ‘A B C’ of the same Question by Repetition categories as ‘X Y Z’ Auxiliary Verbs
Illlustration: “Dave likes the happy man” ▶ ‘Likes the’ is not a constituent.
...... Syntax: Conjunction as Constituency Test Recursion, Conjunction, and Constituency
Important Consequence of the ‘Meta-Rule’: Course Readings Recursion ▶ If some words ‘X Y Z’ are a constituent... Conjunction ▶ Then, you should be able to follow ‘X Y Z’ with Constituency Tests ▶ Conjunction ‘and’, followed by Degree Expressions (Deg) ▶ Another bunch of words ‘A B C’ of the same Question by Repetition categories as ‘X Y Z’ Auxiliary Verbs
Illlustration: “Dave likes the happy man” ▶ ‘Likes the’ is not a constituent. ▶ And so we can’t follow it with ‘and’ plus a sequence of words of the same categories. (*Dave likes the and saw the happy man)
...... Syntax: Applying the Test to a New Case Recursion, Conjunction, and Constituency
Important Consequence of the ‘Meta-Rule’: Course Readings ▶ If some words ‘X Y Z’ are a constituent... Recursion ▶ Then, you should be able to follow ‘X Y Z’ with Conjunction ▶ ‘and’, followed by Constituency Tests Conjunction ▶ Another bunch of words ‘A B C’ of the same Degree Expressions (Deg) categories as ‘X Y Z’ Question by Repetition Auxiliary Verbs
Let’s now try this out on a new case!
Degree Expressions: ▶ “The very tall man left.” ▶ The category of ‘very’ is a ‘Degree Expression’ (Deg). ▶ Other Degs include: too, kinda, more, most, least, ...
...... Our ‘Conjunction Test’: Take that sequence of words, follow it with ‘and’ plus a sequence of words of the same categories. ▶ If it sounds good, it’s a constituent! ▶ If it sounds bad, it’s not a constituent!
Syntax: Degs and Constituency Recursion, Conjunction, and Question: Constituency ▶ Do the Deg ‘very’ and the adjective ‘tall’ form a constituent? Course Readings ▶ That is, which of these tree structures is correct?: Recursion Conjunction S S Constituency Tests Conjunction Degree Expressions (Deg) NP VP NP VP Question by Repetition Auxiliary Verbs D Deg A N V D AP N V
The very tall man left The Deg A man left
very tall
...... Syntax: Degs and Constituency Recursion, Conjunction, and Question: Constituency ▶ Do the Deg ‘very’ and the adjective ‘tall’ form a constituent? Course Readings ▶ That is, which of these tree structures is correct?: Recursion Conjunction S S Constituency Tests Conjunction Degree Expressions (Deg) NP VP NP VP Question by Repetition Auxiliary Verbs D Deg A N V D AP N V
The very tall man left The Deg A man left
very tall Our ‘Conjunction Test’: Take that sequence of words, follow it with ‘and’ plus a sequence of words of the same categories. ▶ If it sounds good, it’s a constituent! ▶ If it sounds bad, it’s not a constituent!...... Result: “The very tall and kinda handsome man left.” ▶ This sentence sounds totally fine! ▶ So we can conclude that “very tall” does form a constituent!
Syntax: Degs and Constituency Recursion, Conjunction, and Our ‘Conjunction Test’: “The very tall man left.” Constituency Try following “very tall” in this sentence with “and” + Deg + A ... Course Readings ▶ If it sounds good, it’s a constituent! Recursion ▶ If it sounds bad, it’s not a constituent! Conjunction Constituency Tests Conjunction Degree Expressions (Deg) Question by Repetition
Auxiliary Verbs
...... ▶ This sentence sounds totally fine! ▶ So we can conclude that “very tall” does form a constituent!
Syntax: Degs and Constituency Recursion, Conjunction, and Our ‘Conjunction Test’: “The very tall man left.” Constituency Try following “very tall” in this sentence with “and” + Deg + A ... Course Readings ▶ If it sounds good, it’s a constituent! Recursion ▶ If it sounds bad, it’s not a constituent! Conjunction Constituency Tests Conjunction Degree Expressions (Deg) Result: “The very tall and kinda handsome man left.” Question by Repetition Auxiliary Verbs
...... ▶ So we can conclude that “very tall” does form a constituent!
Syntax: Degs and Constituency Recursion, Conjunction, and Our ‘Conjunction Test’: “The very tall man left.” Constituency Try following “very tall” in this sentence with “and” + Deg + A ... Course Readings ▶ If it sounds good, it’s a constituent! Recursion ▶ If it sounds bad, it’s not a constituent! Conjunction Constituency Tests Conjunction Degree Expressions (Deg) Result: “The very tall and kinda handsome man left.” Question by Repetition Auxiliary Verbs ▶ This sentence sounds totally fine!
...... Syntax: Degs and Constituency Recursion, Conjunction, and Our ‘Conjunction Test’: “The very tall man left.” Constituency Try following “very tall” in this sentence with “and” + Deg + A ... Course Readings ▶ If it sounds good, it’s a constituent! Recursion ▶ If it sounds bad, it’s not a constituent! Conjunction Constituency Tests Conjunction Degree Expressions (Deg) Result: “The very tall and kinda handsome man left.” Question by Repetition Auxiliary Verbs ▶ This sentence sounds totally fine! ▶ So we can conclude that “very tall” does form a constituent!
...... Syntax: Degs and Constituency Recursion, Conjunction, and Our ‘Conjunction Test’: “The very tall man left.” Constituency Try following “very tall” in this sentence with “and” + Deg + A ... Course Readings ▶ If it sounds good, it’s a constituent! Recursion ▶ If it sounds bad, it’s not a constituent! Conjunction Constituency Tests Conjunction S Degree Expressions (Deg) Question by Repetition NP VP Auxiliary Verbs
D AP N V
The AP and AP man left
Deg A Deg A
very tall kinda handsome
...... Answer: ▶ We’ll call this type of a phrase an Adjective Phrase (AP) ▶ Since it consists of a Deg and an A, the PS rule would be: AP → (Deg) A
Our Updated PS Rules: S → { NP , CP } VP NP → (D) (AP*) N (CP) (PP*) VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) PP → P (NP) CP → CS AP → (Deg) A X → X and X
Syntax: Adjective Phrases Recursion, Conjunction, and Constituency Question: What’s the rule that combines a Deg (‘very’) and an A (‘tall’) Course Readings into a phrase? Recursion Conjunction
Constituency Tests Conjunction Degree Expressions (Deg) Question by Repetition
Auxiliary Verbs
...... Our Updated PS Rules: S → { NP , CP } VP NP → (D) (AP*) N (CP) (PP*) VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) PP → P (NP) CP → CS AP → (Deg) A X → X and X
Syntax: Adjective Phrases Recursion, Conjunction, and Constituency Question: What’s the rule that combines a Deg (‘very’) and an A (‘tall’) Course Readings into a phrase? Recursion Conjunction Answer: Constituency Tests ▶ Conjunction We’ll call this type of a phrase an Adjective Phrase (AP) Degree Expressions (Deg) Question by Repetition ▶ Since it consists of a Deg and an A, the PS rule would be: Auxiliary Verbs AP → (Deg) A
...... Syntax: Adjective Phrases Recursion, Conjunction, and Constituency Question: What’s the rule that combines a Deg (‘very’) and an A (‘tall’) Course Readings into a phrase? Recursion Conjunction Answer: Constituency Tests ▶ Conjunction We’ll call this type of a phrase an Adjective Phrase (AP) Degree Expressions (Deg) Question by Repetition ▶ Since it consists of a Deg and an A, the PS rule would be: Auxiliary Verbs AP → (Deg) A
Our Updated PS Rules: S → { NP , CP } VP NP → (D) (AP*) N (CP) (PP*) VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) PP → P (NP) CP → CS AP → (Deg) A X → X and X
...... Syntax: Recursion, Conjunction, and Constituency
Course Readings
Recursion
Conjunction ▶ Besides this, linguists have many other ‘tests’ for Constituency Tests whether a bunch of words forms a constituent. Conjunction Degree Expressions (Deg) Question by Repetition ▶ In this class, we’ll learn just one more... Auxiliary Verbs (More are discussed in the reading...)
...... Crucial Fact: In such dialogs, we can only ‘quizzically repeat’ a constituent. ▶ Person 1: “Dave likes the happy man.” ▶ Person 2: “Likes the happy man?!?” ▶ Person 2: “The happy man?!?” ▶ Person 2: * “the happy?!?” ▶ Person 2: * “likes the?!?”
The Rationale: If something is not a ‘constituent’, then it’s not a full phrase, and it’s ‘weird’ not to speak in full phrases...
Syntax: Questioning by Repetition Recursion, Conjunction, and Basic Fact: Constituency We can ‘call things into question’ by repeating them in a quizzical fashion: Course Readings Recursion ▶ Person 1: “Dave is dating a lawyer.” Conjunction ▶ Person 2: “A lawyer?!?” Constituency Tests Conjunction Degree Expressions (Deg) Question by Repetition
Auxiliary Verbs
...... ▶ Person 1: “Dave likes the happy man.” ▶ Person 2: “Likes the happy man?!?” ▶ Person 2: “The happy man?!?” ▶ Person 2: * “the happy?!?” ▶ Person 2: * “likes the?!?”
The Rationale: If something is not a ‘constituent’, then it’s not a full phrase, and it’s ‘weird’ not to speak in full phrases...
Syntax: Questioning by Repetition Recursion, Conjunction, and Basic Fact: Constituency We can ‘call things into question’ by repeating them in a quizzical fashion: Course Readings Recursion ▶ Person 1: “Dave is dating a lawyer.” Conjunction ▶ Person 2: “A lawyer?!?” Constituency Tests Conjunction Degree Expressions (Deg) Crucial Fact: Question by Repetition In such dialogs, we can only ‘quizzically repeat’ a constituent. Auxiliary Verbs
...... ▶ Person 2: “Likes the happy man?!?” ▶ Person 2: “The happy man?!?” ▶ Person 2: * “the happy?!?” ▶ Person 2: * “likes the?!?”
The Rationale: If something is not a ‘constituent’, then it’s not a full phrase, and it’s ‘weird’ not to speak in full phrases...
Syntax: Questioning by Repetition Recursion, Conjunction, and Basic Fact: Constituency We can ‘call things into question’ by repeating them in a quizzical fashion: Course Readings Recursion ▶ Person 1: “Dave is dating a lawyer.” Conjunction ▶ Person 2: “A lawyer?!?” Constituency Tests Conjunction Degree Expressions (Deg) Crucial Fact: Question by Repetition In such dialogs, we can only ‘quizzically repeat’ a constituent. Auxiliary Verbs ▶ Person 1: “Dave likes the happy man.”
...... ▶ Person 2: “The happy man?!?” ▶ Person 2: * “the happy?!?” ▶ Person 2: * “likes the?!?”
The Rationale: If something is not a ‘constituent’, then it’s not a full phrase, and it’s ‘weird’ not to speak in full phrases...
Syntax: Questioning by Repetition Recursion, Conjunction, and Basic Fact: Constituency We can ‘call things into question’ by repeating them in a quizzical fashion: Course Readings Recursion ▶ Person 1: “Dave is dating a lawyer.” Conjunction ▶ Person 2: “A lawyer?!?” Constituency Tests Conjunction Degree Expressions (Deg) Crucial Fact: Question by Repetition In such dialogs, we can only ‘quizzically repeat’ a constituent. Auxiliary Verbs ▶ Person 1: “Dave likes the happy man.” ▶ Person 2: “Likes the happy man?!?”
...... ▶ Person 2: * “the happy?!?” ▶ Person 2: * “likes the?!?”
The Rationale: If something is not a ‘constituent’, then it’s not a full phrase, and it’s ‘weird’ not to speak in full phrases...
Syntax: Questioning by Repetition Recursion, Conjunction, and Basic Fact: Constituency We can ‘call things into question’ by repeating them in a quizzical fashion: Course Readings Recursion ▶ Person 1: “Dave is dating a lawyer.” Conjunction ▶ Person 2: “A lawyer?!?” Constituency Tests Conjunction Degree Expressions (Deg) Crucial Fact: Question by Repetition In such dialogs, we can only ‘quizzically repeat’ a constituent. Auxiliary Verbs ▶ Person 1: “Dave likes the happy man.” ▶ Person 2: “Likes the happy man?!?” ▶ Person 2: “The happy man?!?”
...... ▶ Person 2: * “likes the?!?”
The Rationale: If something is not a ‘constituent’, then it’s not a full phrase, and it’s ‘weird’ not to speak in full phrases...
Syntax: Questioning by Repetition Recursion, Conjunction, and Basic Fact: Constituency We can ‘call things into question’ by repeating them in a quizzical fashion: Course Readings Recursion ▶ Person 1: “Dave is dating a lawyer.” Conjunction ▶ Person 2: “A lawyer?!?” Constituency Tests Conjunction Degree Expressions (Deg) Crucial Fact: Question by Repetition In such dialogs, we can only ‘quizzically repeat’ a constituent. Auxiliary Verbs ▶ Person 1: “Dave likes the happy man.” ▶ Person 2: “Likes the happy man?!?” ▶ Person 2: “The happy man?!?” ▶ Person 2: * “the happy?!?”
...... The Rationale: If something is not a ‘constituent’, then it’s not a full phrase, and it’s ‘weird’ not to speak in full phrases...
Syntax: Questioning by Repetition Recursion, Conjunction, and Basic Fact: Constituency We can ‘call things into question’ by repeating them in a quizzical fashion: Course Readings Recursion ▶ Person 1: “Dave is dating a lawyer.” Conjunction ▶ Person 2: “A lawyer?!?” Constituency Tests Conjunction Degree Expressions (Deg) Crucial Fact: Question by Repetition In such dialogs, we can only ‘quizzically repeat’ a constituent. Auxiliary Verbs ▶ Person 1: “Dave likes the happy man.” ▶ Person 2: “Likes the happy man?!?” ▶ Person 2: “The happy man?!?” ▶ Person 2: * “the happy?!?” ▶ Person 2: * “likes the?!?”
...... Syntax: Questioning by Repetition Recursion, Conjunction, and Basic Fact: Constituency We can ‘call things into question’ by repeating them in a quizzical fashion: Course Readings Recursion ▶ Person 1: “Dave is dating a lawyer.” Conjunction ▶ Person 2: “A lawyer?!?” Constituency Tests Conjunction Degree Expressions (Deg) Crucial Fact: Question by Repetition In such dialogs, we can only ‘quizzically repeat’ a constituent. Auxiliary Verbs ▶ Person 1: “Dave likes the happy man.” ▶ Person 2: “Likes the happy man?!?” ▶ Person 2: “The happy man?!?” ▶ Person 2: * “the happy?!?” ▶ Person 2: * “likes the?!?”
The Rationale: If something is not a ‘constituent’, then it’s not a full phrase, and it’s ‘weird’ not to speak in full phrases...... The Constituency Test: If we’re not sure whether some bunch of words in a sentence is constituent, try ‘quizzically repeating’ it! ▶ If it sounds natural, then those words form a constituent! ▶ If it doesn’t, then they don’t form a constituent!
Illustration: “Dave walked into the house”
▶ Our rules predict that ‘walked’ and ‘into the house’ form a constituent (VP). ▶ Our ‘repetition test’ for constituency confirms this. ▶ Person 1: Dave walked into the house. ▶ Person 2: Walked into the house?!?
Syntax: Questioning by Repetition Recursion, Conjunction, and Crucial Fact: Constituency In dialogs, we can only ‘quizzically repeat’ a constituent. Course Readings
Recursion
Conjunction
Constituency Tests Conjunction Degree Expressions (Deg) Question by Repetition
Auxiliary Verbs
...... Illustration: “Dave walked into the house”
▶ Our rules predict that ‘walked’ and ‘into the house’ form a constituent (VP). ▶ Our ‘repetition test’ for constituency confirms this. ▶ Person 1: Dave walked into the house. ▶ Person 2: Walked into the house?!?
Syntax: Questioning by Repetition Recursion, Conjunction, and Crucial Fact: Constituency In dialogs, we can only ‘quizzically repeat’ a constituent. Course Readings The Constituency Test: Recursion If we’re not sure whether some bunch of words in a sentence is Conjunction constituent, try ‘quizzically repeating’ it! Constituency Tests Conjunction ▶ Degree Expressions (Deg) If it sounds natural, then those words form a constituent! Question by Repetition ▶ If it doesn’t, then they don’t form a constituent! Auxiliary Verbs
...... ▶ Our ‘repetition test’ for constituency confirms this. ▶ Person 1: Dave walked into the house. ▶ Person 2: Walked into the house?!?
Syntax: Questioning by Repetition Recursion, Conjunction, and Crucial Fact: Constituency In dialogs, we can only ‘quizzically repeat’ a constituent. Course Readings The Constituency Test: Recursion If we’re not sure whether some bunch of words in a sentence is Conjunction constituent, try ‘quizzically repeating’ it! Constituency Tests Conjunction ▶ Degree Expressions (Deg) If it sounds natural, then those words form a constituent! Question by Repetition ▶ If it doesn’t, then they don’t form a constituent! Auxiliary Verbs
Illustration: “Dave walked into the house”
▶ Our rules predict that ‘walked’ and ‘into the house’ form a constituent (VP).
...... Syntax: Questioning by Repetition Recursion, Conjunction, and Crucial Fact: Constituency In dialogs, we can only ‘quizzically repeat’ a constituent. Course Readings The Constituency Test: Recursion If we’re not sure whether some bunch of words in a sentence is Conjunction constituent, try ‘quizzically repeating’ it! Constituency Tests Conjunction ▶ Degree Expressions (Deg) If it sounds natural, then those words form a constituent! Question by Repetition ▶ If it doesn’t, then they don’t form a constituent! Auxiliary Verbs
Illustration: “Dave walked into the house”
▶ Our rules predict that ‘walked’ and ‘into the house’ form a constituent (VP). ▶ Our ‘repetition test’ for constituency confirms this. ▶ Person 1: Dave walked into the house. ▶ Person 2: Walked into the house?!?
...... Syntax: Sentences With Multiple Verbs Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Current PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP NP → (D) (AP*) N (CP) (PP*) Course Readings VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Recursion PP → P (NP) Conjunction CP → CS Constituency Tests AP → (Deg) A Auxiliary Verbs X → X and X Problem: ▶ Our PS rules only let a single sentence have a single V: ▶ However, sentences can seem to have more than one V: ▶ Dave has bought a car. ▶ Dave did buy a car. ▶ Dave is buying a car. ▶ Dave will buy a car.
...... Key Observation: ▶ In these kinds of Ss, the first V isn’t just any old verb of English. ▶ Rather, it can only be one of very limited group: (has, did, is, will, can, must, should, ...)
Vocabulary Auxiliary Verb (Aux) = a V that can directly precede another V in an English sentence (has, did, is, will, can, must, should, ...)
Syntax: Auxiliary Verbs Recursion, Conjunction, and The Challenge: Constituency Fix our rules so that sentences with multiple Vs are possible: Course Readings ▶ Dave has bought a car. Recursion ▶ Dave did buy a car. Conjunction ▶ Dave is buying a car. Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs ▶ Dave will buy a car.
...... Vocabulary Auxiliary Verb (Aux) = a V that can directly precede another V in an English sentence (has, did, is, will, can, must, should, ...)
Syntax: Auxiliary Verbs Recursion, Conjunction, and The Challenge: Constituency Fix our rules so that sentences with multiple Vs are possible: Course Readings ▶ Dave has bought a car. Recursion ▶ Dave did buy a car. Conjunction ▶ Dave is buying a car. Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs ▶ Dave will buy a car.
Key Observation: ▶ In these kinds of Ss, the first V isn’t just any old verb of English. ▶ Rather, it can only be one of very limited group: (has, did, is, will, can, must, should, ...)
...... Syntax: Auxiliary Verbs Recursion, Conjunction, and The Challenge: Constituency Fix our rules so that sentences with multiple Vs are possible: Course Readings ▶ Dave has bought a car. Recursion ▶ Dave did buy a car. Conjunction ▶ Dave is buying a car. Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs ▶ Dave will buy a car.
Key Observation: ▶ In these kinds of Ss, the first V isn’t just any old verb of English. ▶ Rather, it can only be one of very limited group: (has, did, is, will, can, must, should, ...)
Vocabulary Auxiliary Verb (Aux) = a V that can directly precede another V in an English sentence (has, did, is, will, can, must, should, ...) ...... Syntax: Auxiliary Verbs Recursion, Conjunction, and The Challenge: Constituency Fix our rules so that sentences with multiple Vs are possible: Course Readings ▶ Dave has bought a car. Recursion ▶ Dave did buy a car. Conjunction ▶ Dave is buying a car. Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs ▶ Dave will buy a car.
Key Question: In sentences like those above, does the Aux form a constituent with the VP? S S
NP Aux VP NP ??
N has bought a car N Aux VP
Dave Dave has bought a car ...... 1. The Conjunction Test: The sequence ‘Aux VP’ can be followed by ‘and’ plus another ‘Aux VP’ sequence: ▶ Dave has bought a car and will buy a house.
2. The Repetition Test: The sequence ‘Aux VP’ can be ‘quizzically repeated’ ▶ Person 1: ‘Dave will buy a house.” ▶ Person 2: ‘Will buy a house?!?”
Conclusion: The ‘Aux’ does form a constituent with the VP that follows it.
Syntax: Applying Our Constituency Tests! Recursion, Conjunction, and Key Fact: Constituency The sequence ‘Aux VP’ does pass our constituency tests! Course Readings
Recursion
Conjunction
Constituency Tests
Auxiliary Verbs
...... 2. The Repetition Test: The sequence ‘Aux VP’ can be ‘quizzically repeated’ ▶ Person 1: ‘Dave will buy a house.” ▶ Person 2: ‘Will buy a house?!?”
Conclusion: The ‘Aux’ does form a constituent with the VP that follows it.
Syntax: Applying Our Constituency Tests! Recursion, Conjunction, and Key Fact: Constituency The sequence ‘Aux VP’ does pass our constituency tests! Course Readings 1. The Conjunction Test: Recursion The sequence ‘Aux VP’ can be followed by ‘and’ plus another Conjunction ‘Aux VP’ sequence: Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs ▶ Dave has bought a car and will buy a house.
...... Conclusion: The ‘Aux’ does form a constituent with the VP that follows it.
Syntax: Applying Our Constituency Tests! Recursion, Conjunction, and Key Fact: Constituency The sequence ‘Aux VP’ does pass our constituency tests! Course Readings 1. The Conjunction Test: Recursion The sequence ‘Aux VP’ can be followed by ‘and’ plus another Conjunction ‘Aux VP’ sequence: Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs ▶ Dave has bought a car and will buy a house.
2. The Repetition Test: The sequence ‘Aux VP’ can be ‘quizzically repeated’ ▶ Person 1: ‘Dave will buy a house.” ▶ Person 2: ‘Will buy a house?!?”
...... Syntax: Applying Our Constituency Tests! Recursion, Conjunction, and Key Fact: Constituency The sequence ‘Aux VP’ does pass our constituency tests! Course Readings 1. The Conjunction Test: Recursion The sequence ‘Aux VP’ can be followed by ‘and’ plus another Conjunction ‘Aux VP’ sequence: Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs ▶ Dave has bought a car and will buy a house.
2. The Repetition Test: The sequence ‘Aux VP’ can be ‘quizzically repeated’ ▶ Person 1: ‘Dave will buy a house.” ▶ Person 2: ‘Will buy a house?!?”
Conclusion: The ‘Aux’ does form a constituent with the VP that follows it.
...... Question: What is the type of phrase that the Aux and the VP make?
Answer: Well, it looks like just another VP! ▶ It comes together with an NP or CP to make an S ▶ Wherever you have a ‘plain VP’, you can have ‘Aux VP’
Syntax: The Rule for Auxiliary Verbs Recursion, Conjunction, and Conclusion: Constituency The ‘Aux’ does form a constituent with the VP that follows it. Course Readings S Recursion
Conjunction NP ?? Constituency Tests
Auxiliary Verbs N Aux VP
Dave has bought a car
...... Answer: Well, it looks like just another VP! ▶ It comes together with an NP or CP to make an S ▶ Wherever you have a ‘plain VP’, you can have ‘Aux VP’
Syntax: The Rule for Auxiliary Verbs Recursion, Conjunction, and Conclusion: Constituency The ‘Aux’ does form a constituent with the VP that follows it. Course Readings S Recursion
Conjunction NP ?? Constituency Tests
Auxiliary Verbs N Aux VP
Dave has bought a car
Question: What is the type of phrase that the Aux and the VP make?
...... Syntax: The Rule for Auxiliary Verbs Recursion, Conjunction, and Conclusion: Constituency The ‘Aux’ does form a constituent with the VP that follows it. Course Readings S Recursion
Conjunction NP ?? Constituency Tests
Auxiliary Verbs N Aux VP
Dave has bought a car
Question: What is the type of phrase that the Aux and the VP make?
Answer: Well, it looks like just another VP! ▶ It comes together with an NP or CP to make an S ▶ Wherever you have a ‘plain VP’, you can have ‘Aux VP’
...... Syntax: The Rule for Auxiliary Verbs Recursion, Conjunction, and Conclusion: Constituency The ‘Aux’ does form a constituent with the VP that follows it. Course Readings S Recursion
Conjunction NP VP Constituency Tests
Auxiliary Verbs N Aux VP
Dave has bought a car
Question: What is the type of phrase that the Aux and the VP make?
Answer: Well, it looks like just another VP! ▶ It comes together with an NP or CP to make an S ▶ Wherever you have a ‘plain VP’, you can have ‘Aux VP’
...... Syntax: The Rule for Auxiliary Verbs Recursion, Conjunction, and Conclusion: Constituency The ‘Aux’ does form a constituent with the VP that follows it. Course Readings S Recursion
Conjunction NP VP Constituency Tests
Auxiliary Verbs N Aux VP
Dave has bought a car
Our Updated PS Rules: S → { NP , CP } VP NP → (D) (AP*) N (CP) (PP*) VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) VP → Aux VP PP → P (NP) CP → CS AP → (Deg) A X → X and X ...... Important Prediction: Because this recursion, our new PS rule lets us have multiple Aux’s in a single sentence!
Syntax: Recursion in the VP Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Updated PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP Course Readings NP → (D) (AP*) N (CP) (PP*) VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Recursion VP → Aux VP Conjunction PP → P (NP) Constituency Tests CP → CS Auxiliary Verbs AP → (Deg) A X → X and X
Interesting Consequence: Our new VP rule creates another case of recursion: ▶ According to the rule, a VP can directly contain another VP
...... Syntax: Recursion in the VP Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Updated PS Rules: Constituency S → { NP , CP } VP Course Readings NP → (D) (AP*) N (CP) (PP*) VP → V (NP) { (NP) (CP) } (PP*) Recursion VP → Aux VP Conjunction PP → P (NP) Constituency Tests CP → CS Auxiliary Verbs AP → (Deg) A X → X and X
Interesting Consequence: Our new VP rule creates another case of recursion: ▶ According to the rule, a VP can directly contain another VP
Important Prediction: Because this recursion, our new PS rule lets us have multiple Aux’s in a single sentence!
...... Syntax: Recursion in the VP Recursion, Conjunction, and Important Prediction: Constituency Our new PS rule for auxiliaries (VP → Aux VP) lets us have Course Readings multiple Aux’s in a single sentence. Recursion
S Conjunction
Constituency Tests
NP VP Auxiliary Verbs
N Aux VP
Dave might Aux VP
have Aux VP
been drinking whiskey
...... The Solution? You’ll have to take Linguistics 401 (Introduction to Syntax)
Syntax: Limits to Recursion in the VP Recursion, Conjunction, and Problematic Prediction: Constituency Our PS rule for auxiliaries (VP → Aux VP) wrongly allows us Course Readings to have an unlimited number of Aux’s in a single sentence. Recursion
S Conjunction NP VP Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs N Aux VP
Aux VP Dave might Aux VP will Aux VP have
been drinking whiskey
...... Syntax: Limits to Recursion in the VP Recursion, Conjunction, and Problematic Prediction: Constituency Our PS rule for auxiliaries (VP → Aux VP) wrongly allows us Course Readings to have an unlimited number of Aux’s in a single sentence. Recursion
S Conjunction NP VP Constituency Tests Auxiliary Verbs N Aux VP
Aux VP Dave might Aux VP will Aux VP have
been drinking whiskey The Solution? You’ll have to take Linguistics 401 (Introduction to Syntax)
......