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Midterm Flashcards

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1
Q

Distributional definition

A

Parts of speech are classified by their distribution.

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2
Q

Morphological distribution

A

Affixes appear only on certain kinds of words.

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3
Q

Syntactic distribution

A

Position relative to other words.

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4
Q

Syntactic distribution of nouns

A
  • after determiners
  • can appear after adjectives
  • follow prepositions -subject of the sentence or as the direct object
  • negated by “no”
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5
Q

Verbs: inflectional morphology

A
  • in the past tense, -ed, -t
  • present tense, third person singular -s
  • progressive -ing,

perfective -en,

passive -ed and -en

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6
Q

Verbs: syntactic distribution

A
  • follow auxiliaries, modals, and the infinitive marker “to” -follow subjects (careful!)
  • can follow adverbs such as “often” and “frequently” (careful!)
  • negated with not/n’t (as opposed to no and un-)
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7
Q

Adjectives: inflectional morphology

A
  • comparative -er (or follow “more”)
  • superlative -est (or follow “most”)
  • negative by prefix un-
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8
Q

Adjectives: syntactic distribution

A
  • between determiners and nouns
  • can follow the auxiliary am/is/are/was/were/be/been/being (careful: this distribution overlaps with verbs)
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9
Q

Adverbs

A
  • many end in -ly -generally don’t take inflectional suffixes
  • some can be used comparatively and follow “more”
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10
Q

Adverbs: syntactic distribution

A
  • can’t appear between a determiner and a noun
  • can’t appear after “is” and its variants
  • otherwise fairly free distribution
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11
Q

Obligatory = complement

A

If a phrase is obligatory, it is a complement (but optionality does not mean that it’s an adjunct)

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12
Q

Recursivity = adjunct

A

Usually adjuncts can be iterated, while arguments cannot be.

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13
Q

Coordination

A

Complements and adjunct cannot be coordinated. It still needs to be decided whether the coordinated phrases are complements or adjuncts. Also, coordination can fail not only because one tries to coordinate a complement and an adjunct, but also for other reasons.

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14
Q

Constituency = adjunct

A

If proforms can be substituted for the sister of the phrase in question, then the sister of that phrase is an X’ projection. The phrase is then an adjunct, since it’s sister is an X’, and not an X.

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15
Q

DP-hypothesis

A
  • ’s is the head of determiner phrase
  • D takes NP as a complement
  • NP is ‘s specifier
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16
Q

Adjunct vs Complement

A
  • head and complement cannot be separated
  • there is only complement but can be multiple adjuncts
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17
Q

Tense lowering

A

If there is no auxiliary in T, lower T’s tense related features [PAST]/[PRES] to the V head of T’s sister VP

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18
Q

Selection

A

The semantic restrictions that a predicate imposes on its arguments are called the predicate’s selectional restrictions

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19
Q

Subcategorization

A

The restrictions a predicate imposes on the syntactic category of its arguments are called its subcategorization frame.

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20
Q

Thematic relations

A

Descriptive term for the semantic relation between a predicate and its argument.

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21
Q

Agent

A

Initiator of the action, CAPABLE of volition

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22
Q

Natural phenomenon

A

Initiator of action, INCAPABLE of volition

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23
Q

Experiencer

A

The argument that experiences or perceives the event. The argument of verbs of emotion, perception, or cognition

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24
Q

Goal

A

The entity towards which motion takes place. Goals may involve abstract motion.

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25
Recipient
A kind of goal that involves a change of possession. The possession can be abstract.
26
Source
Entity from which movement occurs (opposite of goal)
27
Location
Place where action occurs
28
Instrument
The entity with which action occurs
29
Beneficiary
The entity for whom the action occurs
30
Theta role
A theta role is a BUNDLE of thematic relations associated with a particular argument
31
The theta-criterion
- every phrase in an argument position must have exactly one theta role - every theta role must be indexed to only one argument
32
Sentence constituency test
If you can answer a question with the string, it's probably a constituent
33
Clefting test
it be B that AC ex. It is the hungry ghost that raided the fridge today.
34
Pseudo-clefting test
B be wh- AC ex. The hungry ghost is who raided the fridge today.
35
Passive test
Any string of words that can become the subject in a passive, or can be introduced after the preposition by in the passive is a constituent. ex. The hungry ghost raided the fridge. the fridge was raided by the hungry ghost.
36
Coordination test
Take two acceptable sentences of the form ABD and ACD If the string AB and CD is acceptable with the same meaning as ABD and ACD, this is evidence that B and C are both constituents of the same kind
37
Headedness
Head - a word that gives its category to the phrase determines the major meaning of the phrase (endocentric)
38
Principle of Modification
If an XP modifies some head Y, then it must be dominated by some projection of Y
39
Sentences are TPs
- every sentence contains an expression of tense (T) - this can be via an independent word (aux, modals, to) - or via an affix on the verb
40
C
C is the head of embedded clauses (if, whether, that)
41
Lexical ambiguity
A string of words has multiple meanings because one of the words in it has multiple meanings.
42
Structural ambiguity
A string of words has multiple meanings because the grammar can assign it multiple structures with different meanings.
43
Node
place in a tree that represents either a phrasal or lexical category
44
Label
name of the category of a node
45
Branch
the connection between two nodes
46
mother
node that a branch is going down from
47
daughter
node that a branch is pointing up from
48
root node
node that no branch is going up from
49
terminal node
node that no branch is going down from
50
dominance
node A dominated node B if either - B is a daughter of A or - a daughter of A dominates B
51
sister precedence
Node A sister-precedes node B if and only if both are immediately dominated by the same node, and A appears to the left of B
52
Precedence
Node A precedes node B if and only if - neither A dominates B nor B dominates A and - A (or some node dominating A) sister precedes B (of some node dominating a B)
53
C-command
Node A c-commands node B if - every node dominating A also dominates B - and A does not itself dominate B
54
asymmetric c-command
A asymmetrically c-commands B, if A c-commands B but B does not c-command A
55
R-expressions
[-pronoun]
56
Pronouns
you, me, us, him
57
Anaphors
itself, herself, yourselves
58
possessive pronouns
determiners that are pronouns D[+PRONOUN]
59
Binding
A binds B if and only if - A c-commands B and - A and B are co-indexed
60
Binding Principle A
An anaphor (NP[+anaphor]) must be bound in its binding domain
61
Binding domain
The TP containing the anaphor
62
Binding Principle B
Pronouns ([+pronoun,-anaphor]) must be free in their binding domain
63
Binding Principle C
R-expressions must be free everywhere
64
Binding Theory
the theory of the conditions under which NPs can be bound
65
Talking about binding
Binding is asymmetric. The antecedent binds the pronoun
66
Antecedent
thing that provides meaning to a pronominal expression (coindexed)
67
Specifier
daughter of XP, sister to X'
68
adjunct
daughter of X', sister to X'
69
complement
daughter of X', sister to X
70
maximal projection
the largest syntactic unit headed by a head X is the maximal projection of X
71
Valency
number of arguments a predicate takes monovalent - intransitive bivalent - trasitive trivalent - ditransitive
72
Specifiers
- usually on the left - determiner to NP - negative elements to VP - AdvP to AdjP - AdvP to PP
73
Theta Grid

Syntax Midterm (1 decks)

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