LING2001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 20: Complementizer, La Une
Friday, 12 May 2017
LECTURE 20
FUNCTIONAL CATEGORIES: FEATURES
-Theta grids
•We have just discussed thematic roles and theta grids
-Verbs and their core arguments (no adjuncts)
-Show how many complements a verb needs
-Subject obligatory in English (external argument)
•We can use similar grids to explain differences between items in a same category
-Complementisers
-Modals
-Tense
-A range of auxiliaries
•Grids can show us the features that distinguish items belonging to a same more general
category
-Complementisers
•We saw that some verbs (heads) subcategorise for a complementiser
•So verbs also select for the type of CP that will complement them
-Such selection is similar to a verb;s selection of arguments
-For example, verbs like ‘believe’ and ‘expect’ always take an embedded declarative,
never an interrogative
•“Max believed/expected that Bill stole the pizza”
•*Max believed/expected whether Bill stole the pizza
-Verbs like ‘wonder’ and ‘inquire’ always take an embedded interrogative, never a
declarative
•*Max wondered/inquired that Bill stole the pizza
•“Max wondered/inquired whether Bill stole the pizza”
-Verbs like ‘know; and ‘guess’ seem to take both
•“Max knew/guessed that Bill stole the pizza”
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find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
Theta grids: we have just discussed thematic roles and theta grids. Verbs and their core arguments (no adjuncts) Show how many complements a verb needs. Subject obligatory in english (external argument: we can use similar grids to explain differences between items in a same category. A range of auxiliaries: grids can show us the features that distinguish items belonging to a same more general category. Complementisers: we saw that some verbs (heads) subcategorise for a complementiser, so verbs also select for the type of cp that will complement them. Such selection is similar to a verb;s selection of arguments. For example, verbs like believe" and expect" always take an embedded declarative, never an interrogative: max believed/expected that bill stole the pizza , *max believed/expected whether bill stole the pizza. Verbs like wonder" and inquire" always take an embedded interrogative, never a declarative: *max wondered/inquired that bill stole the pizza, max wondered/inquired whether bill stole the pizza .
