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: I Language Files: Chapter 5 (pp. 204-215, 216-220) I Language Instinct: Chapter 4 (pp. 74-99) . Syntax: An Interesting Property of our PS Rules Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Current PS Rules: Constituency S ! f NP , CP g VP NP ! (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) Course Readings VP ! V (NP) f (NP) (CP) g (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. I A sentence must have a VP in it. I A VP can have a CP in it. I 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 ! f NP , CP g VP NP ! (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) Course Readings VP ! V (NP) f (NP) (CP) g (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 ! f NP , CP g VP NP ! (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) Course Readings VP ! V (NP) f (NP) (CP) g (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. I An NP can contain an (optional) PP. I A PP can contain an (optional) NP. Syntax: An Interesting Property of our PS Rules Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Current PS Rules: Constituency S ! f NP , CP g VP NP ! (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) Course Readings VP ! V (NP) f (NP) (CP) g (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 . I Sentences containing other sentences I Dave thinks that he is cool I Dave wonders if he is cool I That he is not cool surprises Dave. I Noun Phrases (NPs) containing other NPs I The man with a telescope I The rock near the tree I Some dogs outside this house Syntax: Recursion Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Current PS Rules: Constituency S ! f NP , CP g VP NP ! (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) Course Readings VP ! V (NP) f (NP) (CP) g (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 . I Noun Phrases (NPs) containing other NPs I The man with a telescope I The rock near the tree I Some dogs outside this house Syntax: Recursion Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Current PS Rules: Constituency S ! f NP , CP g VP NP ! (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) Course Readings VP ! V (NP) f (NP) (CP) g (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 I Sentences containing other sentences I Dave thinks that he is cool I Dave wonders if he is cool I That he is not cool surprises Dave. Syntax: Recursion Recursion, Conjunction, and Our Current PS Rules: Constituency S ! f NP , CP g VP NP ! (D) (A*) N (CP) (PP*) Course Readings VP ! V (NP) f (NP) (CP) g (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 I Sentences containing other sentences I Dave thinks that he is cool I Dave wonders if he is cool I That he is not cool surprises Dave. I Noun Phrases (NPs) containing other NPs I The man with a telescope I The rock near the tree I Some dogs outside this house . Answer, Part 1: Once recursion gets started, it never has to stop. I Once the rules allow a sentence inside a sentence... (Dave thinks that he is cool) I ...then they also allow a sentence in a sentence in a sentence... (Mary said that Dave thinks that he is cool) I ...and a sentence in a sentence in a sentence in a sentence... (John wonders if Mary said that Dave thinks that he is cool) I ...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 . I Once the rules allow a sentence inside a sentence... (Dave thinks that he is cool) I ...then they also allow a sentence in a sentence in a sentence... (Mary said that Dave thinks that he is cool) I ...and a sentence in a sentence in a sentence in a sentence... (John wonders if Mary said that Dave thinks that he is cool) I ...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 . I ...then they also allow a sentence in a sentence in a sentence... (Mary said that Dave thinks that he is cool) I ...and a sentence in a sentence in a sentence in a sentence... (John wonders if Mary said that Dave thinks that he is cool) I ...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 I Once the rules allow a sentence inside a sentence... Auxiliary Verbs (Dave thinks that he is cool) . I ...and a sentence in a sentence in a sentence in a sentence... (John wonders if Mary said that Dave thinks that he is cool) I ...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 I Once the rules allow a sentence inside a sentence... Auxiliary Verbs (Dave thinks that he is cool) I ...then they also allow a sentence in a sentence in a sentence... (Mary said that Dave thinks that he is cool) . I ...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 I Once the rules allow a sentence inside a sentence... Auxiliary Verbs (Dave thinks that he is cool) I ...then they also allow a sentence in a sentence in a sentence... (Mary said that Dave thinks that he is cool) I ...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 I Once the rules allow a sentence inside a sentence... Auxiliary Verbs (Dave thinks that he is cool) I ...then they also allow a sentence in a sentence in a sentence... (Mary said that Dave thinks that he is cool) I ...and a sentence in a sentence in a sentence in a sentence... (John wonders if Mary said that Dave thinks that he is cool) I ...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 I Once the rules allow a sentence inside a sentence... Auxiliary Verbs (Dave thinks that he is cool) I ...then they also allow a sentence in a sentence in a sentence... (Mary said that Dave thinks that he is cool) I ...and a sentence in a sentence in a sentence in a sentence... (John wonders if Mary said that Dave thinks that he is cool) I ...and so on, and so on.... I After all, suppose there were only finitely many possible English sentences. I Then, there’d necessarily be a longest English sentence, S. I But, we could always make a longer sentence by embedding S: (Dave thinks that S) I Therefore, there is no ‘longest possible’ English sentence (Just like there is no ‘biggest number’) I 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 . I Then, there’d necessarily be a longest English sentence, S.