CAS LX 522 Previously, in LX 522…

Syntax I • Sentences have structure, and are made up of

constituents.
• The constituents are phrases.
• A phrase consists of a head and modifiers.
• The categorial type of the head determines the
Week 2. Clauses and Trees categorial type of the phrase (e.g., a phrase headed
and c-command by a noun is a noun phrase).
• There are several categories, we looked at some of
them and determined phrase structure rules or
templates for what each kind of phrase can
contain.

Previously, in LX 522… Trees and constituency

• We looked at NP, VP, PP, AdvP, and AdjP. • A sentence has a hierarchical structure
– NP: (D) (AdjP+) N (PP+) • Constituents can have constituents of their own.
• The simplest way to draw this is with a tree.
– PP: P (NP)
– VP: (AdvP+) V (NP) (PP+) (AdvP+) PP
– AdjP: (AdvP) Adj
P NP
– AdvP: (AdvP) Adv
on
D N

the table

Trees Drawing trees

• The tree diagram is the most important • Suppose the task is to draw the tree
analytical notation we will work with, and structure of a simple sentence.
we will use a lot of trees through the – The student put the book on the table.
semester, so it is important to be able to
understand and draw trees.

1
 Step 1: Identify categories Step 2: Locate modification
The first step is to identify the category of each The second step is to figure out the modification
of the words in the sentence. relations between words. What modifies
what?
Here, we have several thes and each modifies
the noun to its right.

D N V D N P D N D N V D N P D N
The student put the book on the table The student put the book on the table

Step 3: Apply rules Step 3: Apply rules

The third step is to apply our rules, We have several N’s being modified.
remembering the Golden Rule of Modifiers: So we consult our rule about NPs:
Modifiers are always attached within the – NP: (D) (AdjP+) N (PP+)
phrase they modify.
Starting at the right edge, we see that the table
So we look at the things being modified, and can form an NP.
consult the rule for things of that category.

D N V D N P D N D N V D N P D N
The student put the book on the table The student put the book on the table

Step 3: Apply rules Step 3: Apply rules

So, we draw an NP above the table. Sure, we can draw in a PP for on the table.
Now, consider on. It is a P, and there is only Next, look at book. It is an N and the only rule
one kind of phrase which can contain a P: we have that contains an N is NP:
– PP: P NP – NP: (D) (AdjP+) N (PP+)
Can we build a PP with what we have? Can we build an NP?
PP
NP NP

D N V D N P D N D N V D N P D N
The student put the book on the table The student put the book on the table

2
 Step 3: Apply rules Step 3: Apply rules
Here, we have two choices. Only one choice is the right choice. How do we
– NP: (D) (AdjP+) N (PP+) know which one it is?
An NP may but need not contain a PP. We have Answer: The Golden Rule of Modifiers.
D N PP at our disposal. We could put them all
NP
in an NP, or we could leave the PP out of the
NP. PP
? PP
NP NP

D N V D N P D N D N V D N P D N
The student put the book on the table The student put the book on the table

Step 3: Apply rules Step 3: Apply rules

In The student put the book on the table, does Compare this sentence to
on the table modify book? If so, it needs to be The student saw the book on the table
in the NP headed by book. What is the difference them with respect to on
the table?
NP NP
? PP
? PP
NP NP

D N V D N P D N D N V D N P D N
The student put the book on the table The student put the book on the table

Step 3: Apply rules Step 3: Apply rules

On the table in our sentence modifies put (it Only one of our phrase structure rules has a V,
specifies the goal location of the putting); it the VP rule, so we can build a VP.
does not modify book, and so it should not be – VP: (AdvP+) V (NP) (PP+) (AdvP+)
included in the same NP as book (it should be We just determined that on the table modifies
in the same phrase as put). the verb, so the VP must contain the NP and
PP the PP following the V. PP
NP NP NP NP

D N V D N P D N D N V D N P D N
The student put the book on the table The student put the book on the table

3
 Step 3: Apply rules Step 3: Apply rules
The last step we can do with the rules we have Using the idea that the sentence has an NP and a
so far is to build the NP over the student. VP (which we will soon add to our rules), we
can complete the tree.
VP NP VP

PP PP
NP NP NP NP

D N V D N P D N D N V D N P D N
The student put the book on the table The student put the book on the table

Step 3: Apply rules The S node

And that’s our tree for The student put the book • At the end of our tree, we had to posit a rule
on the table. which we hadn’t yet formalized:
S – S: NP VP

NP VP • This is a good first approximation, but there

PP
are a couple of problems with this
NP
formulation
NP

D N V D N P D N
The student put the book on the table

The S node The S node

• The first problem is that it is not complete • There are a number of things which can go in this
as it stands. Consider: position. One group of these are called modals:
– Pat could leave.
– The students will eat the sandwiches.
– Pat should leave.
• We have an NP the students, which is the – Pat might leave.
subject of the sentence. – Pat will leave.
• We have an NP the sandwiches and a VP – Pat would leave.
eat the sandwiches. • Modals appear between the subject NP (Pat) and
the VP (leave). So, we need to allow for this in our
• But what is will? S rule.

4
 The S node Do-support
• S: NP (Modal) VP – Pat left.
– Pat did not leave.
• We also need to allow for the not in
– *Pat not left.
negative sentences like:
• When you negate a sentence like this in
– Pat might not leave.
English, you need to use do.
– Pat should not leave.
• Do looks like it is in the same place that
• So, we now have modals are.
– S: NP (Modal) (Neg) VP • When you use do like this, do gets marked
for tense, not the verb.

Do-support Do-support
• In fact, when you have something in the • For this reason, we will call the “modal” slot “T”
“Modal” slot, the verb never shows past (for “tense”).
tense marking. – S: NP (T) (Neg) VP
– Pat left. • Now, consider Pat left. The verb is marked with
– Pat will (not) leave. past tense, but we wanted to make T be where the
– Pat did not leave. tense information goes.
– Pat should not leave. • The common view is that T holds something that
• Hypothesis: The “modal” slot is where the is smaller than a word, a tense affix.
tense marking (past, present, future) goes.

The tense affix The tense affix

• If you look at verbs, many of them can be • If we suppose that the past tense affix -ed is of
distinguished in the present and the past tense by category T, we could write Pat left this way:
the presence of -ed at the end. – Pat -ed leave
– Walk vs. walked (walk+ed) • Part of being a verbal affix (in this case a verbal
– Wait vs. waited (wait+ed) suffix) is that it is required to be attached to a
– Sleep vs. slept (sleep+ed) verb.
• The idea is that the past tense of the verb is made • So -ed must “hop” onto leave (because verbal
of the verb stem plus something else, the past
affixes need to be attached to verbs), yielding
tense suffix.
left.

5
 The tense affix Do-support
• Now, since every sentence needs tense, we • This also gives us an explanation for why when
can suppose that the T in our S rule isn’t you negate a sentence you need to use do:
optional—there is always a T there, but it – Pat did not leave.
can be an affix which will hop onto the verb • The past tense affix needs to be attached to a
and be pronounced as one word with the verb, but it can’t because not is in the way.
verb.
• The way out is to insert a “dummy verb”, a verb
• S: NP T (Neg) VP that has no semantic content, that -ed can attach
to.

Do-support The S node

• The idea is that we insert the “dummy verb” • So given “affix hopping” and do-support,
do as a “last resort” if the sentence has a we can write our S rule with three required
“stranded affix” that can’t hop onto an elements:
adjacent verb. This is called do-support. – S: NP T (Neg) VP
• There is something else which is unusual
about the S rule in comparison to our other
rules.

The S node The TP node

• Compare S: NP T (Neg) VP to • An obvious choice, now that T is a required
– NP: (D) (AdjP+) N (PP+) part of S, is to assume that T is the head of S.
– PP: P (NP) • Given this, we will rename our S node to “TP”
– VP: (AdvP+) V (NP) (PP+) (AdvP+) to be more in line with our other phrases.
• Our other rules make phrases that are the • TP: NP T (Neg) VP
same category as their head. • That is, the tense morpheme -ed or a modal
• What is the head of S? like might is actually the head of the sentence.

6
 Embedded clauses Embedded clauses
• There is just one more kind of phrase we – Pat said that the students ate the sandwiches.
should add to our set of structure rules. • We know that the students ate the
• It is possible to embed one sentence inside sandwiches is a TP, so let’s abbreviate this:
– Pat said that TP.
another, like this:
– Pat said that the students ate the sandwiches.
• When you embed a sentence, you generally
need a word like that, called a
• The whole thing is a sentence, but it has our complementizer. We will assign it to
familiar sentences as part of it. category C.

The CP The CP
– Pat said that TP. • In fact, a CP can not only be the object of a
• We can write a rule for CP like this, where that verb, but it can also be the subject of a verb:
(C) is the head, and TP is an obligatory – That Pat left surprised me.
“modifier.” – The dog surprised me.
– CP: C TP • So, we need to allow for this in our TP rule:
• And we need to modify our VP rule to allow CP – TP: {NP/CP} T (Neg) VP
to be the object of a verb (like say):
– VP: (AdvP+) V ({NP/CP}) (PP+) (AdvP+)

Our phrase structure rules Recursion

• We now have a fairly complete set of rules. • An important property of the rules we have is that they are
– NP: (D) (AdjP+) N (PP+) recursive. Inside a CP, you can have a CP. Inside an AdvP
you can have an AdvP. This means that there in principle
– PP: P (NP)
an infinite number of possible sentence structures.
– VP: (AdvP+) V ({NP/CP}) (PP+) (AdvP+) – John left.
– AdjP: (AdvP) Adj – Mary said that John left.
– AdvP: (AdvP) Adv – Bill thinks that Mary said that John left.
– TP: {NP/CP} T (Neg) VP – I heard that Bill thinks that Mary said that John left.
– Pat said that I heard that Bill thinks that Mary said that John left.
– CP: C TP

7
 Back to the trees Step 1:Identify categories
• We now have the tools to draw trees for a • First, identify the categories.
lot of English sentences. Let’s do another
one—it will be very important to be
comfortable with converting sentences into
trees.
• Our sentence will be:
– John said that the dog barked very loudly.

John said that the dog barked very loudly.

Step 2: Locate modification Step 2: Locate modification

• First, identify the categories. • The modifies dog.
• Then, figure out what modifies what. • Very modifies loudly.
• Very loudly modifies barked.

• Now, we start to apply our rules.

N V C D N V Adv Adv N V C D N V Adv Adv

John said that the dog barked very loudly. John said that the dog barked very loudly.

Step 3: Apply rules Step 3: Apply rules

• Very modifies loudly, so very must be inside • Now, we can apply our rule to make the
the phrase headed by loudly, an AdvP. Our AdvP very loudly.
rule is: – AdvP: (AdvP) Adv.
– AdvP: (AdvP) Adv.
• Notice: The AdvP headed by loudly can
optionally take an AdvP—not an Adv. So,
first we need to make very an AdvP.
AdvP
N V C D N V Adv Adv N V C D N V Adv Adv
John said that the dog barked very loudly. John said that the dog barked very loudly.

8
 Step 3: Apply rules Step 3: Apply rules
• Next, we have the V. Our rule is • Moving on to dog, it is modified by the,
– VP: (AdvP+) V (NP/CP) (PP+) (AdvP+) together constituting the subject NP of the
• So we can build a VP containing the verb embedded sentence. Our rule allows us to
and the AdvP very loudly. build an NP here.
– NP: (D) (AdjP+) N (PP+)
VP
AdvP AdvP
AdvP AdvP

N V C D N V Adv Adv N V C D N V Adv Adv

John said that the dog barked very loudly. John said that the dog barked very loudly.

Step 3: Apply rules Step 3: Apply rules

• Remember that barked, the past tense of bark,
• Now we want to complete the embedded
comes from a past tense morpheme (-ed) and the
sentence. Our rule is:
verb stem (bark).
– TP: {NP/CP} T (Neg) VP.
• So, the word barked is really structurally -ed
• We can’t build that with what we have right barked. We need to add this to the tree.
now. VP VP
• Same for said (say + -ed)
AdvP AdvP
NP AdvP NP AdvP
N V C D N V Adv Adv N V C D N V Adv Adv
John said that the dog barked very loudly. John said that the dog barked very loudly.

Step 3: Apply rules Step 3: Apply rules

• Now, we can apply our TP rule to do the • And then we can use the CP to build the phrase
embedded clause. headed by that.
– TP: {NP/CP} T (Neg) VP. – CP: C TP

TP
VP VP
AdvP AdvP
NP AdvP NP AdvP
N T V C D N T V Adv Adv N T V C D N T V Adv Adv
John -ed say that the dog -ed bark very loudly. John -ed say that the dog -ed bark very loudly.

9
 Step 3: Apply rules Step 3: Apply rules
• And then the TP rule: TP: {NP/CP} T (Neg) VP.
• Next, the VP rule to combine say and the CP.
• This needs an NP, so we need to build that first.
– VP: (AdvP+) V ({NP/CP}) (PP+) (AdvP+)
VP

CP CP
TP TP
VP VP
AdvP AdvP
NP AdvP NP AdvP

N T V C D N T V Adv Adv N T V C D N T V Adv Adv

John -ed say that the dog -ed bark very loudly. John -ed say that the dog -ed bark very loudly.

Step 3: Apply rules Step 3: Apply rules

TP
• Now we can use the TP rule: • And we’re done.
VP – TP: {NP/CP} T (Neg) VP. VP

CP CP
TP TP
VP VP
AdvP AdvP
NP NP AdvP NP NP AdvP
N T V C D N T V Adv Adv N T V C D N T V Adv Adv
John -ed say that the dog -ed bark very loudly. John -ed say that the dog -ed bark very loudly.

One to try… The young consumers…

– NP: (D) (AdjP+) N (PP+) • Is this what you ended up with?
– PP: P (NP)
– VP: (AdvP+) V ({NP/CP}) (PP+) (AdvP+)
TP
– AdjP: (AdvP) Adj
VP
– AdvP: (AdvP) Adv NP
– TP: {NP/CP} T (Neg) VP PP
– CP: C TP NP
AdjP
AdjP
• The young consumers walked to the new store. D Adj N T V P D Adj N
The young consumers -ed walk to the new store

10
 Trees Trees
A • The “joints” of the tree are
• We will be working with trees a lot, and the nodes. The nodes here are
geometry of trees will be quite important. B C labeled (with node labels).
We need some terminology to talk about the
• Nodes are connected by
parts of trees. D E F
branches.
• The node at the top of the tree
(with no branches above it) is
called the root node. A is the
root node.

Trees Tree relations

A • Nodes with no branches beneath A • A node X dominates nodes
them are called terminal nodes. below it on the tree; these are
B C B C the nodes which would be
• B, D, E, F are terminal nodes. C
pulled along if you grabbed the
D E F D E F
D E F node X and pulled it off of the
• Nodes with branches beneath page.
them are called nonterminal
nodes. • C dominates D, E, and F.
• A, C are nonterminal nodes.

Tree relations Tree relations

A • A node X immediately A • A node which shares the same
dominates a node Y if X mother as a node X is
B C dominates Y and is connected B C sometimes called the sister of
by only one branch. X.
D E F D E F
• A immediately dominates • B is the sister of C.
B and C. • C is the sister of B.
• A is also sometimes called the • D, E are the sisters of F.
mother of B and C.

11
 Tree relations Tree relations
A • A node X c-commands its
sisters and the nodes dominated • What does PP dominate?
B C by its sisters. • P, NP, D, AdjP, Adj, N.
TP
D E F
• B c-commands C, D, E, and F.
VP
• D c-commands E and F. NP
PP
• C c-commands B.
C-command NP
is very important AdjP
AdjP
to understand!
D Adj N T V P D Adj N
The young consumers -ed walk to the new store

Tree relations Tree relations

• What is/are the sister(s) of V? • What is/are the sister(s) of the N store?
• PP. • D, AdjP.
TP TP
VP VP
NP NP
PP PP

NP NP
AdjP AdjP
AdjP AdjP
D Adj N T V P D Adj N D Adj N T V P D Adj N
The young consumers -ed walk to the new store The young consumers -ed walk to the new store

Tree relations Tree relations

• What does P c-command? • What does VP c-command?
• NP, D, AdjP, Adj, N. • NP, D, AdjP, Adj, N, T.
TP TP
VP VP
NP NP
PP PP

NP NP
AdjP AdjP
AdjP AdjP
D Adj N T V P D Adj N D Adj N T V P D Adj N
The young consumers -ed walk to the new store The young consumers -ed walk to the new store

12
 Grammatical relations Grammatical relations
• What is the subject of this sentence? • In fact, the subject is in general, the NP
• The NP The young consumers. which is the daughter of TP.
• Notice that this is the daughter of TP. • Subject = NP daughter of TP
TP TP
VP VP
NP NP
PP PP
NP NP
AdjP AdjP
AdjP AdjP
D Adj N T V P D Adj N D Adj N T V P D Adj N
The young consumers -ed walk to the new store The young consumers -ed walk to the new store

Grammatical relations Grammatical relations

• Similarly the (direct) object is generally the • And the object of a preposition is the NP which is
NP which is the daughter of VP the daughter of PP.
• Direct object = NP daughter of VP. • Object of a preposition = NP daughter of PP.
TP TP
VP VP
NP NP
PP PP

NP NP
AdjP AdjP
AdjP AdjP
D Adj N T V P D Adj N D Adj N T V P D Adj N
The young consumers -ed walk to the new store The young consumers -ed walk to the new store

Precedence Precedence
• The tree also encodes the linear order of • That is, V is pronounced before NP,
the terminal nodes. meaning V is pronounced before all of the
• The is pronounced before students. terminal nodes dominated by NP.
• Saw is pronounced before the and students.
VP VP

V NP V NP
saw saw
D N D N
the students the students

13
 Precedence No line crossing
• Even if the tree is drawn sloppily, nothing • One of the implications of
VP
changes—(everything dominated by) V is this is that you cannot
pronounced before (everything dominated draw a well-formed tree
NP
with lines that cross.
by) NP. This is still “saw the students”.
• Adv can’t be pronounced AdjP
VP before V because Adv is
part of NP and V has to AdvP
V NP be pronounced before all Adv
saw V Adj N
of NP.
D N
the students

Back to c-command Negative Polarity Items

A • To reiterate, c-command is a very
important concept of tree geometry. • Certain words in English seem to only be available
in “negative” contexts.
B C It’s not fundamentally complicated,
– Pat didn’t invite anyone to the party.
but it turns out to be very useful in
– Pat does not know anything about syntax.
D E F characterizing natural language – Pat hasn’t ever been to London.
syntax. – Pat hasn’t seen Forrest Gump yet.
• A node X c-commands its sisters – *Pat invited anyone to the party.
and the nodes dominated by its – *Pat knows anything about syntax.
sisters. – *Pat has ever been to London.
– *Pat has seen Forrest Gump yet.

Negative Polarity Items Any

• These are called negative polarity items. • Just to introduce a complication right away, there
is a positive-polarity version of any that has a
• They include ever, yet, anyone, anything, different meaning, known as the “free choice any”
any N, as well as some idiomatic ones like meaning. This meaning is distinguishable
lift a finger and a red cent. (intuitively) from the NPI any meaning, and we
– Pat didn’t lift a finger to help. are concentrating only on the NPI any
– Pat didn’t have a red cent. meaning—for now, we will just consider any to be
ambiguous, like bank.
– *Pat lifted a finger to help.
– John read anything the professor gave him.
– *Pat had a red cent. – Anyone who can understand syntax is a genius.
– Pick any card.

14
 Negative Polarity Items Negative Polarity Items
• We say that NPI’s are licensed by negation • But it isn’t quite as simple as that. Consider:
in a sentence. They are allowed to appear – I didn’t see anyone.
by virtue of having a “license” to appear, – *I saw anyone.
namely negation. – *Anyone didn’t see me.
– *Anyone saw me.
• Just like you need a driver’s license to drive
a car (legally), you need negation to use a • It seems that simply having negation in the
sentence isn’t by itself enough to license the
NPI (grammatically).
use of an NPI.

Negative Polarity Items Negative Polarity Items

• As a first pass, we might say that negation • In fact, what’s required is that negation c-
has to precede the NPI. command the NPI.
– I didn’t see anyone. – *[That John didn’t stay] surprised anyone.
– *Anyone didn’t see me. – [That John didn’t stay] didn’t surprise anyone.
• But that’s not quite it either. TP
– *[That John didn’t stay] surprised anyone.
CP T VP
– [That John didn’t stay] didn’t surprise anyone.
not V NP

Negative Polarity Items Negative Polarity Items

– John said that Mary slipped in the living room. • Now, consider:
• This sentence has two possible meanings; – John said that Mary didn’t slip in any room in the
either John said it in the living room, or house.
Mary slipped in the living room (according • Suddenly, it has only one meaning. Why?
to John). – John said: In no room did Mary slip.
– John said that Mary will leave yesterday. – *John said in any room: Mary didn’t slip.
– John said that Mary will leave tomorrow.

15
 Negative Polarity Items Negative Polarity Items
TP TP TP TP
*
NP T VP NP T VP NP T VP NP T VP
John -ed John -ed John -ed John -ed
V CP V CP PP V CP V CP PP
say say in the say say in any
living room room
C TP C TP C TP C TP
that that that that

NP T VP NP T VP NP T VP NP T VP
Mary -ed Mary -ed Mary did Mary did
V PP V Neg V PP Neg V
slip slip not slip in any not slip
in the
living room room

Negative Polarity Items Negative Polarity Items

TP TP

• How about:
NP T VP NP T VP
– John didn’t say that Mary slipped in any room John did John did
in the house. Neg V CP Neg V CP PP
not say not say in any
• What do we predict? room
C TP C TP
that that

NP T VP NP T VP
Mary -ed Mary -ed
V PP V
slip in any slip
room

Negative Polarity Items Binding Theory

• John didn’t say that Mary slipped in any • Binding Theory is primarily concerned
room in the house. with explaining the distribution of three
– …He said that when he was out in the yard… kinds of noun phrases:
– …He said that she slipped on the sidewalk… – Anaphors. Expressions like himself, herself,
• Both meanings are good, because both myself, each other.
possible structural positions for the NPI are – Pronouns. Expressions like him, her.
c-commanded by the negation. – R-expressions. Referring expressions like Pat,
Chris.

16
 R-expressions Anaphors
• R-expressions are NPs like Pat, or the • An anaphor does not get its meaning from
professor, or an unlucky farmer, which get something in the world—it depends on
their meaning by referring to something in something else in the sentence.
the world. Most NPs are like this. – John saw himself in the mirror.
– Mary bought herself a sandwich.

Pronouns Anaphors and pronouns

• A pronoun is similar to an anaphor in that it • Anaphors and pronouns are referentially
doesn’t refer to something in the world but dependent, they do not have an intrinsic
gets its reference from something else. meaning.
– John told Mary that he likes pizza. • Anaphors: himself, herself, myself, yourself,
– Mary wondered if she agreed. itself, themselves, yourselves, ourselves.
– Mary concluded that he was crazy. Very similar are reciprocals like each other.
• …but it doesn’t need to be something in the • Pronouns: he, him, she, her, I, me, you,
sentence. them, it, we, us.

The problem The problem

• It turns out that there are very specific configurations in which • The question Binding Theory strives to
pronouns, anaphors, and R-expressions can/must be used.
• Even though both he and himself could refer to John below, you answer is: When do you use anaphors,
can’t just choose freely between them. pronouns, and R-expressions?
– John saw himself.
– *John saw him.
– John thinks that Mary likes him.
– *John thinks that Mary likes himself.
– John thinks that he is a genius.
– *John thinks that himself is a genius.

17
 Indices and antecedents Indices and antecedents
• Anaphors and pronouns are referentially • Johni saw himselfi in the mirror.
dependent; they can (or must) be co-referential
with another NP in the sentence. • The NP from which an anaphor or pronoun
• The way we indicate that two NPs are co- draws its reference is called the antecedent.
referential is by means of an index, usually a
subscripted letter. Two NPs that share the same
index (that are coindexed) also share the same • John is the antecedent for himself. John and
referent. himself are co-referential.
• Johni saw himselfi in the mirror.

Constraints on co-reference Binding

• What is the difference between the relationship
– Johni saw himself i. between John and himself in the first case and in
– *Johni’s mother saw himselfi. the second case?
• It is impossible to assign the same referent
TP
to John and himself in the second sentence.
What is different between the two NPi T VP * TP

sentences? -ed
N V NPi NP T VP
see -ed
John NPi V NPi
N N
mother see
himself N N
John’s himself

Binding Binding
• In the first case, the NP John c-commands the • When one NP c-commands and is coindexed with
NP himself. But not in the second case. another NP, the first is said to bind the other.

TP TP

NPi T VP * TP
NPi T VP * TP

-ed -ed
N V NPi NP T VP N V NPi NP T VP
see -ed see -ed
John NPi V NPi John NPi V NPi
N N N N
mother see mother see
himself N N himself N N
John’s himself John’s himself

18
 Binding Principle A
• Definition: A binds B iff • Principle A of the Binding Theory (preliminary):
– A c-commands B An anaphor must be bound.
– A is coindexed with B “if and only if”

TP TP

NPi T VP * TP
NPi T VP * TP

-ed -ed
N V NPi NP T VP N V NPi NP T VP
see -ed see -ed
John NPi V NPi John NPi V NPi
N N N N
mother see mother see
himself N N himself N N
John’s himself John’s himself

Principle A Binding domains

• This also explains why the following • But this is not the end of the story; consider
sentences are ungrammatical: – *Johni said that himself i likes pizza.
– *Himselfi saw John i in the mirror. – *Johni said that Mary called himselfi.
– *Herselfi likes Maryi’s father.
• In these sentences the NP John c-commands
– *Himselfi likes Mary’s fatheri.
and is coindexed with (=binds) himself,
• There is nothing which c-commands and is
coindexed with himself and herself. The satisfying our preliminary version of
anaphors are not bound, which violates Principle A—but the sentences are
Principle A. ungrammatical.

Binding domains Binding domains

– Johni saw himselfi in the mirror. • It seems that not only does an anaphor need to be
– Johni gave a book to himself i. bound, it needs to be bound nearby (or locally).
– *Johni said that himself i is a genius.
– *Johni said that Mary dislikes himselfi. • Principle A (revised):
An anaphor must be bound in its binding domain.
• What is wrong? John binds himself in every
case. What is different? Binding Domain (preliminary):
• In the ungrammatical cases, himself is in an The binding domain of an anaphor is the smallest
embedded clause. clause containing it.

19
 Pronouns Principle B
– *Johni saw himi in the mirror. • Principle B
– Johni said that hei is a genius. A pronoun must be free in its binding domain.
– Johni said that Mary dislikes him i.
Free
– Johni saw himj in the mirror.
Not bound
• How does the distribution of pronouns
differ from the distribution of anaphors?
• *Johni saw himi.
• It looks like it is just the opposite. • Johni’s mother saw himi.

Principle C Principle C
• We now know where pronouns and • Binding is a means of assigning reference.
anaphors are allowed. So what’s wrong with • R-expressions have intrinsic reference; they
these sentences? The pronouns are unbound
can’t be assigned their reference from
as needed for Principle B. What are the
binding relations here? somewhere else.
• R-expressions can’t be bound, at all.
• *Hei likes Johni. • Principle C
• *Shei said that Maryi fears clowns. An r-expression must be free.
• Hisi mother likes Johni.

Binding Theory

• Principle A


An anaphor must be bound in its binding domain.
Principle B

A pronoun must be free in its binding domain.
Principle C



An r-expression must be free.


• In several weeks, we will return to the Binding
Theory to revise the definition of binding domain

(it is more complicated than “smallest clause”).

20
 For next time:
• Read:
– Chapter 3, 4
• Homework:
– Chapter 2: problems 4(a, b, and d), 5, and 9.
– Chapter 3: problems 1, 2(a only), 3, 6

21