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Lecture # 16
Review of Lecture 15

 Finite state grammars are less powerful than phrase
structure grammars &
Phrase structure grammars are less powerful
than transformational grammars
Finite state grammars:
A finite set of rules operates upon a finite vocabulary
and is capable of generating an infinite set of sentences.
Review of lecture 15

 Function of PS grammar – to generate strings of
symbols and to assign to each a labelled bracketing
 TG consists of two levels of representation of a
sentence: Deep and surface.
 Surface structures are derived from deep structures
TGG (some common
transformations)

Passive Agent deletion
[someone] ate the cake.
 When the subject agent is not identified, we use an
indefinite pronoun to fill the slot where it would
appear in the deep structure
The cake was eaten.
 In many instances we delete the agent in passive
sentences
TGG (some common
transformations)

 TGG proposes a deletion rule that eliminates a
prepositional phrase containing the subject agent.
 Hence, it can be said that a sentence has undergone
two transformations
Passive & Passive agent deletion (James Dale
Williams, The teacher’s Grammar book, 2nd ed.
Lawrence Ehribaum, 2005)
TGG (some common
transformations)

2. Extraposition
 A construction (or transformation) in which a clause
that acts a subject is moved (or extraposed) to the
end of the sentence.
 It is replaced by dummy ‘it’ in the initial position
 An extraposed subject sometimes called a postponed
subject
TGG (some common
transformations)

 The use of ‘it’ as a subject (or dummy subject) in
sentences about time and weather (e.g. it is raining
again) and in certain idioms (it’s ok).
 It is also known as ambient ‘it’ or empty ‘it’
 Unlike the ordinary pronoun ‘it’ dummy ‘it’ refers to
nothing at all.
 It simply serves a grammatical function.
TGG (some common
tranformations)

 In simple words, dummy ‘it’ has a grammatical
meaning but no lexical meaning.
3. End – Focus
 It is the principle that states that the most important
information in a clause or a sentence is placed at the
end.
 End-focus is a normal characteristic of sentence
structure in English
TGG (some common
tranformations)

 Example:
[T]he dramatist deliberately uses a marked
word order to focus attention[on] the part of the
information that is comically most surprising
To be technically accurate, end focus is given to the last
open-class item or proper noun in a class. (Quirk &
Greenbaum)
TGG (some common
transformations)

Example: In the sentence, “ Sean Connery was born in
Scotland” the last open- class item is the noun
‘Scotland’
By default it is the focus, the new piece of information
in this sentence.
Sean Connery is the topic (subject)
It is an old piece of information on which the speaker
makes some comment.
TGG (Some common
transformatio

 The old information is generally placed in the
subject, whereas new information is put in predicate.
 End focusing processes that produce marked end
focus
Parked right outside our front door last night it
was a large furniture van
TGG (Some common
tranformations)

 Someone parked a large furniture van last night
right outside our front door.
 A large furniture van, right outside our front door
last night, parked
 Some end focuses clearly more marked than others –
readers can confirm by reading – by looking at the
intonation patterns
TGG (some common
tranformations)

4. End focus and Genitives ( Possessive forms)
 The choice between the ‘s’ genitive and the ‘of’
genitive is determined by the principles of end focus
and end weight.
 According to the principles, the more complex and
communicatively more important constituents are
placed towards the end of the NP
TGG (some common
transformations)

 Accordingly, the ‘s’ genitive should be preferred
when the possessum is more important than
possessor, while the ‘of’ genitive should be preferred
if the possessor is more communicatively important
than possessum
Ali’s chair (Chair more important)
Legs of the chair (chair more important)
TGG (Some common
transformations)

5. Reversed ‘wh’ clefts
 Reversed ‘wh’ clefts have main focus at the
beginning of the first unit, not at the end after ‘be’ as
in regular wh-clefts.
 Some combinations (that’s what /why/how/the
way) are stereotyped as ‘the thing is / the problem
is.
TGG (Some common
transformations)


All you need is love (regular wh- cleft)
Love is all you need (reversed wh- cleft)
 What you should do is this (regular wh – cleft)
This is what you should do (reversed wh- cleft)
TGG (Some common
transformations

Wh – movement
S – structure
 Who will John see?
John will see who?
 What will Ali play?
Ali will play what?
TGG (Some common
transformations)

Sentence transformations
Grammatically correct sentences (correctness
in term of grammar
 It is possible for a sentence to be both grammatically
correct and meaningless
e.g. Colourless green ideas sleep furiously (Chomsky)
TGG (Some common
transformations)

 The above sentence is grammatically correct but
carries no proper meaning.
Man bit snake bit the
 The meaning is clear no native speaker would accept
it as a well-formed sentence
So sentences have to be grammatically correct and
meaningful to be used and accepted
Summary

Common transformations
Passive agent deletion
We fit an indefinite pronoun to fill the gap
when the subject is not given
Extraposition
Subject moved at the end and a dummy ‘it’ is
put in the initial position. It has a grammatical
meaning but no lexical meaning
Summary

End focus
The old piece is put in the start and the most important
information is put at the end
End focus and genitives
Choice between ‘s’ genitive and ‘of’ genitive
More important put at the end
Summary

 Reversed wh-clefts
Wh-cleft is put at regular position
Wh-cleft is reversed
Sentence transformations
Grammatically correct but meaningless
Final words

 Chomsky is clear that a generative grammar models
only the knowledge that underlies the human ability
to speak and understand.
Final words

 Internal language ( I language) is the mentally
represented linguistic knowledge that a native
speaker of a language has, and is therefore a mental
object –from this perspective most of the theoretical
linguistics is a branch of psychology &

External knowledge
Final words

 External language (E language) encompasses all
other notions of what a language is, for example that
it is a body of knowledge or behavioral habits shared
by community