4.

6 English Syntax 6: Verb-Particle versus Verb-PP Structure

1. John ran into the street.
2. Paul called up Tim.
3. The child slipped into the closet.
4. I calmed down the clerk.
5. The student filled in the blanks.
6. Deer can leap over the fence.

Apply the three constituent structure tests to sentences 1-6 to determine which
structure (I or 11) is correct for each one. In the spaces provided, state which
structure is correct for each sentence and give the evidence for your answer (i.e.,
mention the results of the tests).

1.
Cleft:
Conjunction:
Particle Movement:

2.
Cleft:
Conjunction:
Particle Movement:

3.
Cleft:
Conjunction:
Particle Movement:

4.
Cleft:
Conjunction:
Particle Movement:

5.
Cleft:
Conjunction:
Particle Movement:

6.
Cleft:
Conjunction:
Particle Movement:

4.8 English Syntax 8: Arguing for Syntactic Structure

Consider the following sentence and answer the questions below:
The TA who is entering the room will pass out the exam at the door.

A. Draw a tree structure for the example sentence given above.

B. Determine five pieces of evidence that support the structure you have drawn
in question A. For example, you can use the following constructions as evidence:
yes/no questions (to test for the subject constituent), clefts and conjunctions (to
test for the structure of the VP), negative placement, and tag questions.
Provide your five pieces of evidence in the answer sections labeled 1-5. In each
case, give the following information in the spaces labeled a-d:

a. State what you are trying to show (e.g., that X is the subject
constituent).
b. Provide example sentence(s) (e.g., example(s) of yes/no questions).
c. State whether the example sentence passes or fails the test.
d. State the significance of the results you found in part c.

1.
a.

b.

c.

d.

2.
a.

b.

c.

d.

3.
a.

b.

c.

d.

4.
a.

b.

c.

d.

5.
a.

b.

c.

d.

6.
a.

b.

c.

d.