Wh-movement. CAS LX 522 Syntax I Fall 2001 November 6, 2001

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1 AS LX 522 Syntax I Fall 200 November 6, 200 Paul Hagstrom Week 9: Wh-movement Preliminary tree to remind ourselves: They will bake a cake. () P [ Q] T T VP will P bake they NP a N cake Verb bake needs to assign two θ-roles. Finite T needs to assign NOM ase Finite T needs its specifier to be filled (EPP) P they needs NOM ase P a cake needs A ase Wh-movement Wh-questions in English (who(m), what, where, why, when, ) involve: Inversion ([+Q] forces T to move to ). Movement of a wh-word to SpecP. ([+WH] requires [+wh] phrase in its specifier). (2) What will they bake? Object wh-question Question (so is [+Q]). Wh-question (so is [+WH]). bake still has 2 θ-roles to assign. what is a P, distinguished by [+wh] (is a wh-word). Ps need case, arguments need θ-roles. () P [+Q] T VP will P bake they what [+wh] 2 g (4) P P k SS gu TP T j P i T what [+Q] will [+wh] [+WH] t j VP t i they V t k bake Embedded questions (5) I hope [ P that Bill will leave tomorrow ]. (6) a. I know [ P what you will do next summer ]. b. * I know [ P what will you do next summer ]. (7) a. I wonder [ P what they baked ]. b. * I wonder [ P what did they bake ]. (8) I wonder [ P if they will bake a cake ]. Inversion. Where is [+Q], T must move to. English: Only true for matrix. English-specific! Wh-movement. Where is [+WH], a [+wh] phrase must move to SpecP. Since T does not move to [+Q] in embedded questions, why not: (9) a. * I know [ P what that you will do next summer ]. b. * I wonder [ P what that they baked ]. oubly-filled OMP filter: * [ P wh-phrase that / if / whether ] English only! (0) P What was baked? [+Q] [PAST] V VP be baked what [+wh] 4

2 g g () P P k SS gu TP T j t k T what [+Q] gu [+wh] [+WH] T V i t j VP [PAST] be t i VP V t k baked Notice: Wh-movement applies to wh-phrases which already have ase. We can t move a P for ase after it s already got ase. We can move a [+wh] P in wh-movement after it s got ase. In fact, we have to Ps need ase. Terminology: Movement for ase/epp is A-movement ( Argument movement things which got θ-roles) Movement not for ase is A -movement (A-bar movement) (e.g., for [+WH] feature of ). 5 Wh-words can move quite far they can be moved out of an embedded P. Where does what get its θ-role? What P is it in? (2) What i did Bill buy t i? () What i did Mary say [ P that Bill bought t i ]? (4) What i did Sue think [ P that I said [ P that Bill bought t i ]]? NOTE! Wh-movement works just as well in embedded questions. (5) Mary knows [ P what i Sue thinks [ P that Bill bought t i ]]. However, there are certain situations in which wh-movement appears to be blocked. (6) Bill claimed [ P that he drew a pumpkin in the syntax book]. (7) What i did Bill claim [ P that he drew t i in the syntax book]? (8) Bill denied [ P the claim [ P that he drew a pumpkin in the syntax book]]. (9) *What i did Bill deny [ P the claim [ P that he drew t i in the syntax book ]]? What s wrong? 6 You cannot move a wh-word out of a P contained within a P. The P is a complex noun phrase island 7 The idea here is that a wh-word can t move too far. We can got both kinds of island if we suppose: 8 Subjacency condition: Wh-movement may not cross more than one bounding node (but it may cross one) Bounding nodes: P, TP. That s the answer, let s see how it works If a wh-word is in an island at, it cannot be moved off the island to an external SpecP. (20) You know what I blame this on the breakdown of? Society. Moe Szyslak (The Simpsons, 5F07 Miracle on Evergreen Terrace) (2) I wonder [ P what i Bill bought t i ]. (22) *Who j do you wonder [ P what i t j bought t i ]? (2) Bill ate lunch at :00pm at Taco Bell. (24) When i did Bill eat lunch t i at Taco Bell. (25) Mary asked when i Bill ate lunch t i at Taco Bell. (26) Mary asked where i Bill ate lunch at :00pm t i. (27) *When j will Mary ask [ P where i Bill ate lunch t j t i ] (28) *Where i will Mary ask [ P when i Bill ate lunch t j t i ] wh-island: A P with a wh-word in SpecP is an island. (29) They heard the claim that Bill baked a cake. (0) P Note: This differs from the book a little bit. The structure shown here is right. NP the N P claim that # Bill baked a cake Now, let s try *What did they hear the claim that Bill baked?

3 () P [+Q] P hear they NP the N P claim that [ Q] T [PAST] P Bill bake what 9 (2) P Almost SS +T i TP [+Q] [+WH]P j T did rg t i VP rg t j they hear NP the N P claim that [ Q] P k T Bill t m VP t k 0 V+T m P bake+-ed what How about What do you think that Mary baked? then? () What i do [ TP you think that [ TP Mary baked t i ] ]? Why isn t this out? Successive-cyclic wh-movement: When moving a wh-word out of a P, it will move first to SpecP and then out of the P, in order to satisfy Subjacency. Mcloskey (2000). Quantifier float and wh-movement in an Irish English. Linguistic Inquiry (): fn. cf. What do you want exactly? (4) What all did you get t for hristmas? (5) What did you get all for hristmas? (West Ulster) (6) All the students have left. (7) The students have all left. (8) I don t remember [ P what I said all ]. (9) What all did he say (that) he wanted? (40) What did he say (that) he wanted all? (4) What did he say all (that) he wanted? (42) P bounding node [+Q] P V P think you bounding node that [ Q] T [PAST] P Mary bake what 2

4 (4) P Almost SS +T i TP bounding node [+Q] [+WH]P j T t i VP t j you V P think bounding node that [ Q] P m T Mary [PAST] t m bake what (44) Italian Tuo fratello ( your brother ), [ P a cui i [ TP mi domando [ P che storie i [ TP abbiano raccontato t i t j... to whom I wonder which stories they-have told era molto preoccupato ( was very worried ). (45) * Tuo fratello, [ P a cui i to whom [ TP temo [ P la possibilità [ P che [ TP abbiano raccontato tutto t i ]]... I-fear the possibility that they-have told everything,... NP islands are respected, wh-islands aren t? (46) Mi sto domandando [ P a chi i I am wondering to whom potrei chiedere t i [ P quando j dovrò parlare di questo argomento t j ]] I-may ask when I ll-have-to speak about this topic (47) * Questo argomento, [ P di cui k mi sto domandando This topic of which I am wondering [ P a chi potrei chiedere [P quando dovrò parlare t k ]]] to whom I-may ask when I ll-have-to speak 4 mi sembra sempre più complicato to-me seems ever more complicated Italian bounding nodes: P and P. (Rizzi 982) Subject wh-questions: Who moved my cheese? Who will eat this sandwich? Because the subject is the wh-word, no inversion is detectible. Nor is there any do support (*Who did move my cheese?) Nevertheless, in the interest of simplicity and theory-internal consistency, we assume nothing is really different... (but cf. Vacuous Movement Hypothesis, homsky 986 inter alia) (48) P [+Q] T VP [PAST] -ed P eat who [+wh] it 5 g (49) P P i SS? gu TP T j t i T who [+Q][PAST] [+wh] [+WH] -ed t j VP t i Wait! what is going on with affix hopping eat and do-support here? it (50) θ-criterion movement, expletive insertion SS ase filter, EPP affix hopping ru do-support r u r u PF LF interpretation (next week) 6 Movement before SS is always upwards, to a c-commanding pos n. Movement on the PF branch doesn t really act like movement.

5 Argument wh-questions vs. adjunct wh-questions... 7 (5) How i did you fix the car t i? 8 Argument wh-questions are subject wh-questions, object wh-questions. Who bought the book? What did Bill buy? What was eaten? Adjunct wh-questions are those which question constituents which in a declarative would be adjuncts. (5) I fixed the car with a wrench. (52) P [ Q] P i T I [PAST] t i u PP fix the car P P with a wrench (54) P PP k how +T j TP P i T you t j VP t i t k fix the car Adjunct wh-questions are more delicate than argument wh-questions. (55)?Whose car i were you wondering how to fix t i? (Ed s car...i was wondering how to fix Ed s car.) (56) *How i were you wondering whose car to fix t i? (With a wrench... I was wondering whose car to fix with a wrench.) What makes these different? (57) VP VP how V which car with a wrench Ed s car V 9 Nailing down the precise formulation of this restriction is very complicated... (see homsky 986, Rizzi 990) Here is a close approximation: Empty ategory Principle (EP) Traces must be properly governed 20 Lexical: N, V, A, P Functional:, T, (58) *How i were [ TP you wondering [ P whose car [ TP to fix t i ]]]? (With a wrench... I was wondering whose car to fix with a wrench.) (59) How i did [ TP you fix the car t i ]? (60) How i did [ TP Bill say [ P t i that [ TP you fixed the car t i ]]? It appears that adjuncts are hyper-sensitive to Subjacency violations, but it possible to move an adjunct wh-word as long as it doesn t go too far. Interestingly, subjects generally act like adjuncts (6)? [Which car] i do you know [ P how Bill fixed t i ]? (62) * How i do you know [ P which car Bill fixed t i ]? (6) * Who i do you know [ P which car t i fixed (with a hammer)]? (64) * Who i do you know [ P how t i fixed (the Pacer)]? Usually... (65) [Which chair] i do you find [ t i will roll most smoothly]? (66) [Which taxi service] i do you consider [ t i most reliable]? It kind of looks like traces which get accusative ase are safe. Proper Government α properly governs β iff (i) α governs β and α is a lexical head or (ii) α antecedent-governs β. Idea: (i) accounts for?what i did you say knew how Bill fixed t i? (ii) allows for How i did you fix the car t i? antecedent governs means How and its trace are close. Antecedent Government (first attempt) α, a moved category, antecedent-governs β iff i) α binds β (c-commands & co-indexed) ii) no more than one bounding node dominates β but not α. if moving from β to α would not violate Subjacency (67)? Which song i were [ TP you wondering [ P whether [ TP the band will play t i ]]? (68) * Which band i were [ TP you wondering [ P whether [ TP t i will play that song]]]?

6 G G (69)? Which car i do you know how to fix t i? (70) * Who i do you know how t i will fix the car? (7) Which band i did you consider [ t i to be the best ]? That-trace effect (72) What i did you say (that) Bill would fix t i? (7) *Who i did you say (*that) t i would fix the car? This differentiates subjects and objects it looks like a job for the EP. When the trace must rely on antecedent government, that blocks it. Empty ategory Principle (EP) Traces must be properly governed α properly governs β iff (i) α governs β and α is a lexical head or (ii) α antecedent-governs β. α antecedent-governs β iff (i) α binds β (ii) no more than one bounding node dominates β but not α. (iii) there is no filled governing β. (74) * that t i T 2 That-trace effects aren t universal, though... (75) Italian hi hai detto che ha scritto questo libro? who have-you said that has written this book Who did you say wrote this book? (76) * P chi i hai P t i che t i T not gov d by a lexical head not antecedent gov d by t i : T... t i binds t i no bounding nodes intervene but there is a filled (che) governing t i. (77) Hanno telefonato molti studenti have.pl phoned many students Many students have phoned. (78) Vinceremo noi will-win.pl we We will win. 22 (79) TP pro Vinceremo noi will-win.pl we pro i T We will win. t i P (something like this) noi vinceremo an this help? (80) How i did you say (that) he will fix your car t i? (8)... P t i (that) he j T will t j t i # fix your car 2 (82) Italian hi hai detto che ha scritto questo libro? who have-you said that has written this book Who did you say wrote this book? (8) [ P hi i [ TP pro hai detto [ P t i che [ TP pro ha [ VP scritto question libro] t i ]]]] (84) P chi i hai P t i che pro j T t j t i # scritto question libro 24

7 (85) Mario E parla Florentine It. Mario SL speaks Mario speaks. (86) E parla SL speaks He speaks (87) * Parla (88) gl ha telefonato della ragazze SL(M.SG) has phoned some girls(f.pl) Some girls telephoned. (89) Quante ragazze tu credi che gli abbia parlato? how.many girls you think that M.SG has.sg spoken How many girls do you think have spoken? (90) * Quante ragazze tu credi che le abbiano parlato? how.many girls you think that F.PL have.pl spoken ( How many girls do you think have spoken? ) 25 The category of wh-words: (9) P [+wh] P [+wh] P [+wh] NP what who which N book (92) AdvP [+wh] AdvP [+wh] AdvP [+wh] AdvP [+wh] Adv Adv Adv Adv Adv Adv Adv Adv how why when where (9) P [+wh] PP [+wh] P [+wh] P NP P P [+wh] -se for who N book whom 26 Pied-piping: [For whom] i did you buy that bagel t i? P-stranding: Who(m) i did you buy that bagel for t i? Relative clauses (94) Bill heard [ P the speech i [ P which i [ TP Mary made t i ]]]. " z m Restrictive relatives restrict the reference of the head noun. Semantically, we refer to something which is both: a speech and (something) which Mary made. 27 (99) P P P Op i Op i Which i that Ø Ø Is it really wh-movement? What do we know about wh-movement? (00) * I know the way which i John wonders [ wh-island why Bill went t i ]. 28 Appositive relatives don t restrict the reference, but provide additional information (95) a. Mary, who you met yesterday, just bought a house. b. Mary, [ P who i [ P you met t i yesterday ] ],... Free relatives involve -ever and don t modify a head noun (96) a. I will buy [whatever i you sell t i ]. b. Whoever just arrived unplugged my lamp. (97) a. Bill heard the speech [which Mary made]. b. Bill heard the speech [that Mary made]. c. Bill heard the speech [Mary made]. (98) Bill heard [ P the speech [ P Op i (that) [ TP Mary made t i ]]]. " z m (0) * I know the way which i John made [ NP the claim that Bill went t i ]. (02) *I know the way Op i (that) John wonders [ wh-island why Bill went t i ]. (0) *I know the way Op i that John made [ NP the claim that Bill went t i ]. So: If relative clauses allow an Op, why can t wh-questions? Why can you have that with Op but not with which? *I heard the speech which i that Mary made t i. Recoverability ondition The content of a null category must be recoverable (from a co-indexed overt category in the sentence). (04) a. When did Mary buy the book? b. Where did Mary buy the book? c. How did Mary buy the book? d. * Op i did Mary buy the book?

8 29 (05) a. * Op i did Mary buy t i? b. * Op i did Mary give a book t i? (06) Bill heard the speech i [ P Op i that [ TP Mary made t i ]]. oubly Filled omp Filter *[ P wh-xp that / if / whether ], if wh-xp is overt (non-null). (07) P Sample relative clause: The student Bill will meet. NP the P N Op i student [+Q] P j T Bill will t j V t i meet