(6) Interrogative Forms
Generally in syntactic structure, interrogative forms comprise wh-questions or yes-no
questions. Wh-questions, as we said already, undergo WH-Movement and NP-AUX
Inversion, whereas yes-no questions undergo only NP-AUX Inversion without WH-
Movement as follows:
WH-question: What will he do? => WH-Movement & NP-AUX Inversion
Yes-No question: Is he leaving? => NP-AUX Inversion
However, phonologically, a statement can be interpreted as a question ac-
cording to
rising intonation or falling intonation of the statement.
The sentence (92) can be either a statement or a question:
(92) You are leaving
As a statement, the syntactic structure (93) (a) is possible, and as a question,
the syntactic structure (93) (b) is also possible. The feature [-WH] and [+WH] that
COMP
has is crucial to determine interrogative clauses or noninterrogative clauses.
Based on phonological aspects, (93) (a) has a falling intonation contour when COMP-
node with [-WH] marks the clause as a statement, and (93) (b) has a rising intonation
contour when COMP-node with [+WH] marks the clause as a question. So phonological
facts would also be reflected in syntactic structures with their semantic interpretation.
(7) Questions : Explain by using tree diagrams
1. What is the underlying structure of ‘What have you bought?’ ?
Hint: Consider the structure before Wh-word is moved.
2. Why is a sentence ‘*I wonder you have bought what’ ungrammatical?
Hint: Is the sentence a surface structure?
3. Is a sentence ‘I wonder where you bought what’ grammatical or ungrammat-
ical?
Hint: Consider the semantic interpretation and the number of wh-words
that can be placed in COMP
4. Discuss the Base structures and the Surface Structure of the following sentences.
(a) I don’t know whether Mary will choose this book.
(b) I don’t know which book Mary will choose.
6. More on transformations
Introduction:
In the last chapter, we stated the adjunction transformation of WH-Movement.
In this chapter, we turn to look at a substitution rule of called NP-Movement.
1. Operation Types of NP-Movement
[1] Subcategorization
In the passive sentence (1), the rightness of the moved NP ‘The car’ depends on
subcategorization of the verb ‘put’. As we’ve already stated, the verb ‘put’ is sub-
categorized
as taking following NP-PP complement, obligatorily, in the underlying structure.
(1) The car has been put in the garage.
But in the passive sentence (1), the verb ‘put’ is followed by PP ‘in the garage’, not NP.
So It seems that (1) violates subcateorization rule on the verb ‘put’. But (1) is perfectly
well-formed. How can we account for this? The possible answer is to posit that the NP
‘The car’ in (1) originates in postverbal position in underlying structure as in (2).
(1) The car has been put in the garage. (surface structure)
(2) [COMP –WH] has put the car in the garage. (underlying structure)
put NP PP
In underlying structure (2), the verb ‘put’ occurs in a VP where it is followed both by
an NP ‘the car’, and by a PP ‘in the garage’. Therefore, the subcategorization on the
verb ‘put’ could be satisfied in underlying structure, and then the NP ‘the car’ can be
rightly moved to the front of the sentence by passivization.
[2] Idiom Chunk NPs
A second argument in support of an abstract underlying structure can be formulated
in relation to idiom chunk NPs. Recall that the NPs in idiom chunks such as ‘pay heed to’,
‘keep tabs on’, ‘take note of’, ‘pay homage to’, ‘take advantage of’. The NPs have
an
extremely restricted distribution: the NPs should be placed after the related verbs.
But how are we account for the grammaticality of the sentences in (3):
The answer is that the italicized idiom chunk NPs originate in the blank position, and then
they are moved into the preverbal position(called passivization) by NP-Movement. When
the idiom chunk NPs are in the blank in underlying structure, the idiom chunk restrictions
could be satisfied. So the sentences undergoing NP-movement are grammatical.
[3] Selection Restrictions
A third argument can be formulated in relation to selection restriction(related with
semenatic interpretation). Recall that there are certain restrictions on the choice of following
complement permitted by specific predicates like (4):
(4) John cooked a new dish/*a new theory.
But precisely the same restrictions are found in passive sentences like (5):
(5) Not many new dishes/!new theories were cooked at the Exhibition
For the proper explanation, we can say, as asserted already, that the passive
subjects originate as underlying (postverbal) objects, and then in underlying structure,
the subject ‘not many new dishes’ satisfied the selection restriction in the relation with
the verb ‘cooked’ semantically. Based on the movement in syntactic structures, the both moved
NPs are right, but the reason of the different grammaticality between ‘not many new dishes’
and ‘new theories is that whether they satisfy the selection restriction in underlying structure:
i.e. semantic interpretation in underlying structure is essential to explain the rightness of the
Movement in syntactic structure.