3.2.2 D-structure and S-structure

3.2.2.2 S-structure and Case Theory

3.2.3 Traces

In the previous sections of this chapter we have concerned ourselves with the positions in which elements originate at D-structure and the positions they move to at S-structure. We might term these positions the Extraction site and the Landing site of a moved element. What is the status of the landing site at D-structure and the extraction site at S-structure? In (58) we introduced a restriction on movement called the Structure Preservation principle, which states that movements are not allowed to alter the basic X-bar nature of a structure. The result of this restriction is that the structure cannot be much different between D- and S-structure. In particular, we would not expect landing and extraction sites to appear at one level of representation but be absent at another. Thus, if we consider a passive structure in which the object moves to subject position, we can expect the object and subject positions to be present at both D- and S-structure:

3.2.3 Traces

What this means is that anything that is inserted into a structure from the lexicon cannot change from one level of representation to another. If a verb is put into a structure, nothing can delete or alter this verb, turning it into a noun, for example. Also no movement can alter a verb’s selectional properties: a transitive verb will remain transitive at D-structure and S-structure even if the object is moved.

3.2.3 Traces

The overall conclusion of this discussion then is that the empty positions that are present at D-structure are of a different nature to the empty positions present at S-structure which are created by movements: D-structure empty positions are vacant to be moved into, S-structure empty positions are not. Obviously this demands an explanation.

3.2.3 Traces

The S-structure representations here demonstrate the movement of an interrogative pronoun from two different D-structure positions, marked by the trace. In (97a) who moved from object position and hence the sentence is interpreted as a question about the one who was helped. In (97b) on the other hand who moves from the subject position and hence the question is about the one who does the helping.

4.3 Multiple Determiners

The object of the verb is associated with accusative Case and hence must be in a Case position. But the object of the noun is not associated with any Case; indeed nouns in general cannot take bare object. We can account for these observations if we simply assume that the complement position of a noun is a Caseless position. Given the Case Filter introduced in the previous chapter, it follows that DPs are not allowed to occupy such a position at S-structure. There is nothing to prevent a noun from taking a DP complement at D-structure, however, and thematically it seems to be the case that many nouns do have DP arguments which all surface as PPs headed by the meaningless preposition of. We might therefore assume that this preposition is inserted into the structure at S-structure so that the Case Filter may be satisfied.

5.2.3.2 Light verbs and ergatives

But how can we even consider (50) as a possible analysis when it obviously gets the word order wrong? The thing to remember is that what we are discussing here is the organisation of the VP at D-structure and we know that things tend to move about before we get to S-structure. Thus, if there is a plausible movement analysis which will re-arrange things so that the right word order is achieved at S-structure, then this objection will have been answered. The obvious way to achieve the correct word order would be to have the verb move to the light verb position:

5.3 Aspectual Auxiliary Verbs

Remember, that what we are looking at there is the D-structure, before movement takes place. Thus this structure is that of a declarative VP, not an interrogative one. At S-structure the subject will move out of the vP to the clausal subject position, where it will get Case:

5.4.1 Adverbs

In (173a), given that there is no light verb with an unaccusative verb, the adverb must be adjoined to the VP. In (173b) the adverb is adjoined to a vP headed by an agentive light verb and in (173c) and (d) it is adjoined to a vP headed by aspectual morphemes. Thus there seems to be no limit in principle on what the adverb can adjoin to. In each of these cases however, the adverb is adjoined to a higher position than the verb moves to. When there is no light verb, as in (173a), the verb is not forced to move out of the VP and in this case the adverb can adjoin to the VP. If the verb moves out of the VP, however, the adverb cannot adjoin to it. Indeed, anything that the verb moves out of is out of bounds for an adjunction site for the adverb. This suggests that the adverb interacts with the movement of the verb and it is this interaction that determines the possible adjunction sites for the adverb. Specifically, it seems that the verb never moves over the top of the adverb. Hence, we may assume that in principle an adverb can adjoin to any part of the extended VP, including any light verb projection, as long as the verb remains lower than it at S-structure and does not move over its adjunction position. There are a number of ways in which we might attempt to account for this fact, but at present we will be satisfied at leaving it as a descriptive generalisation.

6.1 The structure of IP

A phrasal position to the left of a head could be taken to be its specifier. Clearly the subject is a phrase and it always precedes the inflection at S-structure and hence we might assume that the position to which the subject moves, when it leaves the VP, is the specifier of the IP:

6.2 The syntax of inflection

17) represents the D- and S-structures of the sentence Sam should phone Fiona. As discussed in the previous chapter, the agent originates in the specifier of a light verb, the position to which this Θ-role is assigned. It moves to the specifier of the IP, a process we will discuss in the next section. The verb heads the lower VP and moves to support the light verb. The inflectional element is unaffected by any process. Exactly the same is true for an infinitival clause:

6.2 The syntax of inflection

Here (18) provides the D- and S-structures for the infinitival IP in a sentence like I want [Sam to phone Fiona]. Again, the same movement processes are observable and again none of these involves the inflection itself.

8.2 Raising and Control

The verb seem is one which takes a clausal complement but it has no thematic subject. In this case the subject position is filled by a meaningless it, known as a pleonastic subject. This subject, like all subjects in English finite clauses is obligatory. This suggests that the obligatory nature of the subject is more than a semantic condition that arguments need to be realised. In fact there seems to be a grammatical requirement that clauses have subjects. This condition has been called the Extended Projection Principle (EPP). Recall from chapter 3 that the Projection Principle ensures that the lexical properties of heads are projected into the structure at all levels of syntactic representation. Thus if a verb requires an object as a lexical property, it must have an object at D-structure and at S-structure. The Extended Projection Principle claims not only this, but that the subject position must be present at all levels of structural representation and moreover that it must be filled by something at S-structure. Of course, under usual circumstances there will be something in the subject position at S-structure as an argument of the verb will move there for Case reasons. But even if there is no argument inside the VP in need of Case, the subject position must be filled by the insertion of a pleonastic subject: