Syntax

Question 1

Phrase structure rules

Answer 1

• generate all possible sentences
• allow recursion
• account for modularity

Question 2

C-selection

Answer 2

• which complements are required by the head
• syntactic positions
• phrasal categories

Question 3

Argument structure

Answer 3

• related to meaning

- number of participants required

Question 4

Theta Criterion

Answer 4

1. Each argument is assigned 1 theta role

2. Each theta roles is assigned to 1 argument

Question 5

Internal argument

Answer 5

Realised as a complement

Question 6

External argument

Answer 6

External to the predicate

Realised as subject

Question 7

The Projection Principle

Answer 7

Lexical information is syntactical encoded

Syntactic rules can’t change lexical information

Question 8

The Extended Projection Principle

Answer 8

Every sentence has a syntactic subject

Question 9

Noun phrase, sentence parallels

Answer 9

• nominal argument structure
• functional categories modify nouns
• nominal versions of agreement, tense, aspect

Question 10

Government

Answer 10

A governs B if

• A is a head
• A and B are sisters

Question 11

Theta-government

Answer 11

A theta-governs B if

• A governs
• A assigns a theta-role to B

Question 12

Specifier-head agreement

Answer 12

• the specifier (subject DP) and the head (I) are coindexed

- features of person and number are shared

Question 13

C-command

Answer 13

A c-commands B if

• A does not dominate B
• every x that dominates A also dominates B

Question 14

Accusative case

Answer 14

Verbs and prepositions assign
Direct objects of transitive verbs and objects of prepositions
Heads governing complements

Question 15

Nominative case

Answer 15

Tensed I
DP in the specifier
Specifier-head agreement

Question 16

Genitive case

Answer 16

Possessive feature
DP in specifier
Specifier-head agreement

Question 17

The Case Filter

Answer 17

All over DPs must have case

Question 18

Move-alpha

Answer 18

Anything can move anywhere

Question 19

Chain

Answer 19

The path followed by a constituent from its original position to its landing site

Question 20

Landing site

Answer 20

Empty - no DP generates or theta-marked there

A-position - where an argument could occur

Question 21

Unergative verbs

Answer 21

1 external argument
Agent
Satisfies VISH

Question 22

Unaccusative verbs

Answer 22

1 internal argument
Non-agent
Resembles passive

Question 23

Burzio’s Generalisation

Answer 23

Verbs which lack an external argument fail to assign accusative case

Question 24

Principle of structure preservation

Answer 24

Movement must be structure preserving; the targeted position must be of the same type as the position of base-generation

Question 25

The Head Movement Constraint

Answer 25

Heads must move to the most local available landing site

Question 26

The Mirror Principle

Answer 26

Ordering of morphemes mirrors the order of elements in phrase structure

Question 27

Binding

Answer 27

A binds B if - A is c-commanded by B - A and B are coindexed

Question 28

Binding principles

Answer 28

- an anaphor is bound in its Governing Category - a pronominal is free in its Governing Category - an R-expression is free

Question 29

Types of non-over DPs

Answer 29

- DP-trace - Wh-trace - PRO - pro

Question 30

The Null Subject Parameter

Answer 30

Allows subject pronouns in some languages to be omitted

Question 31

Licensing

Answer 31

Requirement that an element meet some criteria or result in ungrammaticality

Question 32

The PRO Theorem

Answer 32

PRO must be ungoverned

Question 33

Vacuous movement

Answer 33

If movement is from spec(IP) to spec(CP) and I to C, word order doesn’t change

Question 34

The That-Trace Fliter

Answer 34

Rules out the sequence overt complementiser followed by a trace

Question 35

The Empty Category Principle

Answer 35

- traces must be properly governed | - movement ins upwards and left

Question 36

UTAH

Answer 36

Identical thematic relationships between items are represented by identical structural relationships between these items at D-structure - agents are subjects - patients, themes and experiences are objects - deviation from this is through movement

Question 37

The Subjacency Condition

Answer 37

A single instance of wh-movement can cross only one bounding node, where IP and DP are bounding nodes.

Question 38

Crossing a node

Answer 38

If x dominates the departure site but not the landing site it is a node

Question 39

M-command

Answer 39

Node A m-commands node B if the first maximal projection dominating A dominates B