Behavioral Properties of Subjects 1 Imperatives An imperative

Behavioral Properties of Subjects (1): Imperatives • An imperative is a command. – Close the door. • Addressed to an agent who can carry out the command. – It’s hard to make an imperative with nonagentive verbs: • ? Be tall. • ? Know the answer by the time I get back.

Imperatives • We know that the addressee of an imperative has to be an agent, but does it have to be a subject? • Sentences such as passives have agents that are not subjects. – English: • *The clothes be washed. – Not an imperative • Let the clothes be washed! – Addressee is the subject of let, not the agent of wash • The cost be damned! – A special exclamation. Not really an imperative. Addressee doesn’t do the damning.

Imperatives – Malagasy (Madagascar): (Van Valin 2. 39 b) • Sasao ny lamba. wash. passive the clothes The clothes be washed! (imperative)

Behavioral Properties of Subjects (2): Reflexives (and notation for pronoun reference) • Antecedent: What a pronoun refers to. – Who is John(i)? He(i) is my brother. – John(i) thought that he(i/j) would go. • John can be the antecedent of he in both examples. • Reflexive Pronoun: – – I(i) saw myself(i/*j). You saw yourself. He saw himself. Etc.

Reflexive Pronouns in English • James(i) saw himself(i). – Antecedent is subject. • James(i) told Miriam(j) about herself(j). – Antecedent is direct object. • Miriam(j) talked to/with Sam(i) about himself(i). – Antecedent is oblique (prepositional phrase).

Reflexive Pronouns in Norwegian • Reflexive pronoun #1: – Jon(i) fortalte meg om seg selv(i). John told me about himself. (Antecedent is subject. ) – *Vi fortalte Jon(i) om seg selv(i). We told John about himself. Antecedent must be the subject.

Reflexive Pronouns in Norwegian • Reflexive pronoun #2: – *Jon(i) snakker om ham selv(i). John talks about himself. (Antecedent is subject. ) – Vi fortalte Jon(i) om ham selv(i). We told John about himself. Antecedent cannot be the subject.

Behavioral Properties of Subjects (3): Wh-extraction • Who ate my sandwich? – Who is the subject of eat. • Who did Pat see? – Who is the direct object of see. • Who did Leslie give the tickets to? – Who is the object of a preposition. • To whom did Leslie give the tickets. – To whom is a prepositional phrase. • Who is Chris taller than? – Who is the object of a comparative.

Wh-extraction • Question words begin with wh in English. • The question word is extracted from the position that is normal for its grammatical relation (subject position, object position, etc. ) and is placed at the beginning of the sentence. • Some languages use wh-in-situ (in place): – You saw what? – In English this is used only for expressing surprise or to indicate that you missed part of the previous sentence.

Cleft Formation • It was Pat who ate my sandwich. – Pat is subject of eat. • It was Pat who Chris saw. – Pat is object of see. • It was Pat who Leslie gave the tickets to. – Pat is object of a preposition. • It was Pat who Chris was taller than. – Pat is object of comparison.

Languages with restricted whextraction • It is not common for wh-extraction to be limited to certain grammatical relations. • When it is restricted, it is generally restricted to subjects. • Malagasy – – Subject can be extracted. Object cannot be extracted. Recipient cannot be extracted. Instrument and other prepositional phrases can be extracted. – Passive voice and other voices create subjects so that they can be extracted.

Behavioral Properties of Subjects (4): Relative Clauses NP N-bar S N-bar Det N NP The person who Head VP V bought Relative Clause NP the house Relative Pronoun

Components of Relative Clauses • Head noun: person • Sentence from which something is extracted. – Bought the house. • Relative pronoun or complementizer: – The person who bought the house. – The person that bought the house.

Relative Clauses • The whole thing is an NP and can be in any NP position. – The person who bought the house is nice. • Subject – I met the person who bought the house. • Object – I talked to the person who bought the house. • Object of a preposition.

Relative Clauses in English • The extracted (relativized) can have any grammatical relation in English. – I met the person who saw you. • Subject is relativized. – I met the person who you saw. • Direct object is relativized. – I met the person who you talked to. • Object of a preposition is relativized. – I met the person who you are taller than. • Object of comparison is relativized.

Relative Clauses in English • If something other than the subject is relativized in English, the relative pronoun or complementizer can be omitted: – The person I met. – The person I talked to. – The person you are taller than. – *The person bought the house. • Not a relative clause.

Participial clauses in English • These are not relative clauses: – [NP The person buying the house] is rich. – [NP The person tormented by nightmares] couldn’t sleep. • Can’t have relative pronouns or complementizers (although that is not a criterion for being a relative clause in other languages): – *the person who/that buying the house is rich – *the person who/that tormented by nightmares is rich

Relative Clauses in English • These are relative clauses: – The person who is buying the house – The person who is tormented by nightmares

Relative clauses in your language • Your language here.

Relative clauses in Malagasy • • Subject can be relativized. Direct object cannot be relativized. Instrument cannot be relativized. Passive and other voices create new subjects so that they can be relativized. • Compare to participial clauses in English. – [NP The person [s washing the clothes]] – * [NP The clothes [s the person washing]] • Intendent to mean the clothes that the person is washing. – [NP The clothes [s being washed by the person]]

Behavioral Properties of Subjects: matrix coding as subject Matrix Clause S NP VP V S-bar Embedded Clause S COMP It seems that NP VP they have left.

Behavioral Properties of Subjects: matrix coding as subject S NP S VP V NP S-bar VP V VP-bar S COMP It seems that NP VP VP COMP they have left. They seem to have left.

Behavioral Properties of Subject: Matrix Coding as Subject • Seem takes one semantic argument. • Two syntactic subcategorization frames – Dummy subject and tensed clause – Subject and infinitive clause missing a subject • Subject of embedded clause is coded as subject of matrix clause – Occurs before the matrix verb in English – Matrix verb agrees with it

Behavioral Properties of Subject: Matrix Coding as Subject • What does this have to do with subjects? • Only the subject of the embedded clause can be removed from the lower clause and coded as the matrix clause subject. – * They seem I to have seen ____. – * The knife seems I to have cut the bread with.

What is the subject of these sentences? • • There is a problem. There are problems. In this village lives a wise man. In this village live many people.

Matrix coding as subject: more commonly known as Raising-to-Subject Lower clause subject is raised to be the subject of the matrix clause. S NP S VP V NP S-bar VP V VP-bar S COMP It seems that NP VP VP COMP they have left. They seem to have left.

Behavioral Properties of Subjects: Matrix Coding as Object: a. k. a. Raising-to-Object or Exceptional Case Marking • Believe takes to semantic arguments. • Two syntactic subcategorization frames: • Subject and tensed embedded clause. • Subject, object, and infinitive VP • I believe that they have left. • I believe them to have left.

Matrix Clause S NP VP V S-bar S COMP NP I believe that they Embedded Clause VP have left S NP VP V NP VP-bar COMP VP I believe them to have left

S NP Raising-to-Object: We will use this one in this class. VP V NP VP-bar COMP VP I believe them to have left S NP VP Exceptional Case Marking: we will not use this one. S V NP VP-bar COMP VP I believe them to have left

Evidence that them is direct object of the matrix clause • It is in the accusative case. • It can be the subject of the passive of the matrix verb. – They are believed to have left. • Tests for constituency: – Class participation • Coordination • Movement • Pronoun substitution

Behavioral property of subjects only • Only the subject of the lower (embedded) clause can be raised up to be the object of the matrix clause. – Leslie believes that the police have arrested Chris. – Leslie believes the police to have arrested Chris. – *Leslie believes Chris the police to have arrested.

Test with raising to object • There are some problems. • In the village live many people.

Using passive to make patients raisable • • • It seems that Chris ate a sandwich. It seems that a sandwich was eaten by Chris. A sandwich seems to have been eaten by Chris. I believe that Chris ate a sandwich. I believe that a sandwich was eaten by Chris. I believe a sandwich to have been eaten by Chris.

Raising in Malagasy • See handout

Behavioral Properties of Subjects: Control by Matrix Subject • Pat is the agent of try and the agent of open. • Pat. Sis also the subject of both verbs. NP VP V VP-bar VP COMP Pat tried to open the window

Control by matrix subject: a. k. a. Equi NP Deletion • Pat tried Pat to open the window. • Pat tried __ to open the window.

Control as a properties of subjects. • Pat tried ___ to open the window. controller controllee Only the subject of the lower (embedded) clause can be the controllee: * Pat tried Kim to see ___

Seem and Try (more about this later in the semester) • The cat seems to be out of the bag. • There seems to be a problem. • That seems to be my husband. • The doctor seemed to examine Sam. • Sam seemed to be examined by the doctor. • The cat tried to be out of the bag. • *There tried to be a problem. • That tried to be my husband. • The doctor tried to examine Sam. • Sam tried to be examined by the doctor.

Control by Matrix Object S NP VP V NP VP-bar COMP VP I persuaded Pat to leave

Control by Matrix Object • Pat is the direct object of persuade and the subject of leave. – The matrix object (controller) and embedded subject (controllee) are the same. • Only the embedded subject can be the controllee. – *Pat persuaded Sam the doctor to examine.

Believe and Persuade • I believe the cat to be out of the bag. • I believe there to be a problem. • I believe that to be my husband. • I believe Pat to have opened the window. • I believe the window to have been opened by Pat. • I persuaded the cat to be out of the bag. • *I persuaded there to be a problem. • I persuaded that to be my husband. • I persuaded Pat to have opened the window. • ? I persuaded the window to have been opened by Pat.

Using passive to make patients controllable • I believe that Sam opened the window. • I believe the window to have been opened by Sam. • I perusaded the doctor to examine Sam. • I persuaded Sam to be examined by the doctor.

Control in Malagasy • See handout.

Control of Adjunct Clauses • Having just arrived in town, Sam called his mother. • Having just hurt herself, Sam called his mother. • What can be the controller? – Matrix subject? – Matrix object? • What can be the controllee? – Embedded subject? – Embedded object?

Conjunction Reduction • Bill saw Sam and left. – Who left? • Bill saw Sam and greeted him. – Who greeted someone? • *Bill(i) saw Sam(j) and he(i) greeted ___(j). • What can be the controller of conjunction reduction? • What can be the controllee of conjunction reduction?

See handout • Conjunction reduction in Malagasy. • Conjunction reduction and control in Tindi.

Three kinds of empty arguments • Pro-drop: The empty argument is understood with a definite reference: he, she, it, they, etc. • Optional argument with indefinite reference. • Semantic valency change.

Pro-drop • English sentences almost always have a subject noun phrase: – She studied. • Dummy or pleonastic subjects: – It is raining – There is a problem. • Apparent exceptions due to ellipsis: – Does he like chocolate? Seems to. – What are you going to do? Study real hard.

Pro-drop languages • The subject noun phrase can be missing, but is understood as a pronoun referring to something specific: – Your language here. • The direct object noun phrase (or other noun phrases) can also be dropped in some languages. – Your language here.

Optional arguments in English • The children ate chocolate. • The children ate. – What does this mean? • What happened to the cake? – The children ate it. – *The children ate.

Optional argument vs. semantic valency change • • • The pirates sank the boat. The boat was sunk by the pirates. The boat was sunk. The boat sank. The boat was sunk to destroy the enemy. – Presence of a purpose clause indicates that there is an unspecified agent. Two semantic roles: agent and theme. • *The boat sank to destroy the enemy. – Inability to take a purpose clause indicates that the sentence contains only one semantic role – theme.