Instructor: Imola-Ágnes Farkas

farkas_imola_agnes@yahoo.com
Office hours: Tuesday 9-10 a.m., M16

Introduction to Generative Grammar

Control and raising structures

Outline

(PRO) Control structures:

[TPf George promised [TPnf PRO to visit the house.]]

[TPf George wanted [TPnf PRO to visit the house.]]

[TPf George told Mary [TPnf PRO to visit the house.]]

Non-finite TP (TPnf) is embedded in finite TP (TPf).

What is the interpretation of spec-TPnf (PRO)? PRO is visitor (agent)

PRO is a minimal DP-argument, with no phonetic form, and no independent reference. PRO is c-selected and
theta-marked by lower lexical predications.

Seminar 5 Page 1
What is the referential value of PRO?

[TPf George promised [TPnf PRO to [vP PRO visit the house.]]]

[TPf George wanted [TPnf PRO to [vP PRO visit the house.]]]

[TPf George told Mary [TPnf PRO to [vP PRO visit the house.]]]

[TPf George promised [TPnf PROGeorge to [vP PROGeorge visit the house.]]]

[TPf George wanted [TPnf PROGeorge to [vP PROGeorge visit the house.]]]

[TPf George told Mary [TPnf PROMary to [vP PROMary visit the house.]]]

PRO is a minimal DP-argument, with no phonetic form, and no independent reference. PRO is a DP-copy…

PRO is c-selected and theta-marked by lower lexical predications. … in a referential chain created by Move! across
TPs (cross-clausal Move!)

[TPf George promised [TPnf George to [vP George visit the house.]]]
NP ‘George’ is doubly theta-marked by promise and visit.

[TPf George wanted [TPnf George to [vP George visit the house.]]]
NP ‘George’ is doubly theta-marked by want and visit.

[TPf George told Mary [TPnf Mary to [vP Mary visit the house.]]]
NP ‘Mary’ is doubly theta-marked by told and visit.
Theta-role Assignment Principle: Theta-roles can only be assigned under a merge operation.

BUT if Move! is redefined as Copy! & Merge!, theta roles can be assigned under Move!

BUT what triggers Move! from lower non-finite TP to higher verb phrase (for extra theta-marking)?
Fill in the syntactic diagram of the sentence George told Mary to visit the house with the missing nodes.

EPP: T/V/v needs to merge with an already

theta-marked nominal from its c-command domain.
Fill in the syntactic diagram of the sentence George wanted to visit the house with the missing nodes.

In control structures the EPP feature

of V or v correlates with a theta-role.

EPP: T/V/v needs to merge with an already

theta-marked nominal from its c-command domain.
The EPP feature can be carried/ hosted by a control verb

--either by its V head spec-TPnf moves to spec-VP: higher object controls PRO

--or by its light v head spec-TPnf moves to spec-vP: higher subject controls PRO

(PRO) Control structures: Summary

1. the EPP feature of V or v correlates with a theta-role:

[George wanted [to visit the house]].

- George: theta role Agent by visit in the lower TP

- George: cross-clausal movement: lower TP → higher TP
- George: theta role Experiencer by want in the higher TP
George in the lower TP – George in the higher TP: coreferential
George in the lower TP – George in the higher TP: different theta roles
George is doubly theta-marked

2. Expletives
- want has an external (subject) theta role → may not take an expletive
*It wanted that George visited the house.
Raising structures:
Fill in the syntactic diagram of the sentence George expected to visit the house with the missing nodes.

In control structures the EPP feature

of V or v correlates with a theta-role.

EPP: T/V/v needs to merge with an already

theta-marked nominal from its c-command domain.
Fill in the syntactic diagram of the sentence George expected Mary to visit the house with the missing nodes.

The EPP feature of V expect makes the subject of non-finite TP

cross over to the main TP; BUT the EPP feature is not correlated
with a theta-role: raising structure.

EPP: T/V/v needs to merge with an already

theta-marked nominal from its c-command domain.
Fill in the syntactic diagram of the sentence Mary was expected to visit the house with the missing nodes.

The EPP feature of V expect makes the subject of non-finite TP

cross over to the main TP; BUT the EPP feature is not correlated
with a theta-role: raising structure.

EPP: T/V/v needs to merge with an already

theta-marked nominal from its c-command domain.
Fill in the syntactic diagram of the sentence Mary was expected to visit the house with the missing nodes.

The EPP feature of T was makes the subject of non-finite TP

cross over to the main TP: raising structure.

EPP: T/V/v needs to merge with an already

theta-marked nominal from its c-command domain.
Fill in the syntactic diagram of the sentence Mary seems to examine the student with the missing nodes.

The EPP feature of T -s makes the subject of non-finite TP

cross over to the main TP: raising structure.

EPP: T/V/v needs to merge with an already

theta-marked nominal from its c-command domain.
Raising structures: Summary

1. the EPP feature of V or v does not correlate with a theta-role:

[George seems [to visit the house]].

- George: theta role Agent by visit in the lower TP

- George: cross-clausal movement: lower TP → higher TP
- George: no theta role by seem in the higher TP
George in the lower TP – George in the higher TP: coreferential
George in the lower TP – George in higher TP: the same ϴ role
George is not doubly theta-marked

2. expletives
- seem no external (subject) theta role → may take an expletive subject

- two possibilities to satisfy EPP:

(i) raising a nominal from the lower TP (non-finite TP)

George seems [George to taste/to be visiting the house].

(ii) introducing the expletive it (+ finite CP)

It seems that George visits/is visiting the house.
Conclusions

Both raising and control structures involve the crossing (via Move!) of a DP/NP from a non-finite lower clause to
an argument position (subject/ object) in the higher clause.

In control structures the landing site of cross-clausal movement is theta-marked: the EPP feature of the control
verb is correlated with a theta-role.

In raising structures the landing site of cross-clausal movement is NOT theta-marked, whether it is the EPP
feature of V or the EPP feature of T that triggers the movement.

Further practice:

Draw the tree diagrams of the following sentences:

1. George promised his sister to pass the exam.

2. George persuaded his sister to study English.
3. George expected his sister to pass the exam.
4. George’s sister is expected to pass the exam.
5. George wants his sister to pass the exam.
6. George’s health seems to improve daily.