Download lecture 5: topic 4 continued

BBN-ANG-253
Advanced Syntax Lecture Course
Autumn, 2016/17
Topic 4 continued
1 Some types of verbs that not fit
so-called ’linking verbs’: become, look, smell, taste, sound, feel, be
1.1
13 a
He became suspicious/a teacher.
b
The students looked exhausted.
c
The eggs smelled rotten.
d
The cakes tasted heavenly.
e
They sounded a bit annoyed.
f
The oven felt hot.
The theta-roles of the subjects vary (theme, experiencer) and their event structure can
be argued to be simple or even complex but given that they mostly express some kind
of state it is difficult to determine. They can take DP or AP complements. They are
incompatible with the progressive (cf. stative verbs).
1.2
middle verbs (cf. ergatives and transitives):
14 a
b
The car moves easily.
c
The bottle breaks easily.
d
Greek translates easily.
15 a

The baggage transfers efficiently.
b
Messages transmit rapidly by satellite.
c
The speech transcribes well.
d
The car drives nicely.
(Keyser and Roeper, 1984: 383-384)
middle verbs do not refer to given events in time (cf, event structure):
16 a

The door opens easily.
Bureaucrats bribe easily.
b
The wall paints easily.
c
?Yesterday, the mayor bribed easily, according to the newspaper.
d
?At yesterday’s house party, the kitchen wall painted easily.
(ibid p.384)
middle verbs and ergative verbs
17 a
b
The pirates sank the boat / The boat sank
Someone bribed the bureaucrats / Bureaucrats bribe easily (ibid p.381)
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BBN-ANG-253
Advanced Syntax Lecture Course
Autumn, 2016/17
c
Sink, boat! (ibid p. 384)
d
*Bribe, bureaucrat!
18 a
The boat is sinking.
b
*Bureaucrats are bribing.
Ergative verbs and transitive verbs can have middle verb counterparts. Middle verbs
do not describe events and must obligatorily appear with an AP. They are
incompatible with the progressive (cf. stative verbs).
1.3
verbs that take only a PP complement: extend, appeal, wait, depend, belong, etc…
1.4
verbs appearing in resultative constructions: the verb’s argument structure does not
seem to be determined by the verb alone, rather by the composite effects of the verb and the
composite together (Goldberg and Jackendoff). (cf. ECM-verbs)
19 a
1.5
He hammered the nail flat.
b
They swept the room clean.
c
She painted the gate black.
raising verbs: seem, appear, be
20 a
It seems we have arrived.
b
We seem to have arrived.
c
It seems that there are no answers.
d
There seem to be no answers.
Raising is a movement that only subjects can undergo. Note the seem can appear
with both expletives, the difference is that with one the clause is finite with the
other non-finite, the reason being, perhaps, that it is inserted while there moves
from the lower clausal subject position. Be also exhibits the phenomenon.
21 a
b
It seems that Mary is smart.
Mary seems (to be) smart.
22 a
There are no answers.
b *No answers are.
c
A man is on top of the building.
d There is a man on top of the building.
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BBN-ANG-253
Advanced Syntax Lecture Course
Autumn, 2016/17
1.6
a miscellaneous group: contain, weigh, hold. etc.
23 a
The box contains three kittens.
b
The boksz weighs a pound.
b
The tank holds 200 litres of water.
References
Goldberg, A. E. and Jackendoff, R.: The English Resultative as a Family of Constructions.
https://www.google.hu/webhp?sourceid=chromeinstant&rlz=1C1SKPM_enHU439HU448&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF8#q=resultative+verbs+in+English retrieved on 6. 11. 14.
Keyser, S. J. and Roeper, T. (1984) On the Middle and Ergative Constructions in English.
Linguistic Inquiry 17/3:381-416
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