JAPAN 1102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Dummy Pronoun, Terminal And Nonterminal Symbols, Pro-Form
13 Mar 2017
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Argument nps are nps selected by a head of a phrase. Idea comes from aristotle: language is subjects and predicates. Subject is the np daughter of s (this is true most of the time) [e] ho comprato un libro (italian, lf p210) comprato = main verb libro = object ho = a form of to have". But ho" indicates that subj is first person singular. Languages where you can drop pronouns are prodrop languages. English has a requirement that something goes in subject position. Pp can be in the position of the subject. Pp does not equal what comes after is". Not the to be" that needs a subject. Saying there is something in the box that is a book. Just something that is put in subject position. Empty subjects in infinitives: [[e] to buy books] is easy. Dummy subjects (there, it): it is easy to buy books. One is obj is missing, the other is subj is missing.
