Extending X-bar theory to

functional categories
Clausal architecture and clause types
 Phrase structure rules (ch. 3)
NP → (D) (AP+) N (PP+)
NP

D AP N PP
• Flat structures
• There is no restriction on the number of
branches we can have
 X-bar rules (ch. 6)
NP → (D) N' NP
N' → (AdjP) N' or N' (PP) Adjuncts
D N'
N' → N (PP) Specifier

AdjP N'
• Binary structures
• Three types of a modifier: N' PP
specifier, adjunct and
complement N PP
Complement
 The same rules for any lexical
category
XP → (ZP) X'
X' → (WP) X' or X' (WP)
X' → X (YP) XP

(ZP) X'
X = {N, V, Adj, P} Specifier
X (YP)
Complement
 ...do not forget
Complement Adjunct
XP XP

X' X'

X WP X' WP

X
 How can I know what is a
complement and what is an adjunct?
• one-replacement (nouns)
• do-so-replacement (verbs)
• adjacency
• reordering
• For a quick decision making:
– Adj + N
– Chemistry professor, leather shoes
– N + [PP of...] (e.g., a book of poems)
– Adj + PP (full of, sensitive to, familiar with)
 Extending X-bar rules to functional
categories (ch. 7)

Functional categories (D, T, C) should not be an

exception to the X-bar rules...
 DP-hypothesis
NP DP

D N' D'
the
N PP D NP
book the
of poems N'

N PP
book
of poems
 Specifier???
• ... but now the only specifier we had in our
system (D) disappeared!

• Do we need to replace our specifier rule XP →

(ZP) X' by XP → X'?

• Note: XP → X' is a vacuous rule, so if we don't

have specifiers at all, we wouldn't need this
rule either.
 's-genitive
the man's coat 's-genitive
the coat of the man free genitive

1. 's attaches to phrases

the man standing over there's coat
the dancer from New York's shoes

2. 's is in complementary distribution with D

*the man standing over there's the coat
Possessive construction in English
DP ?

DP D' NP NP

John D NP John D N'

's 's
N' N PP
book
N PP of poems
book
of poems
 In other words...

Possessor in English is in [Spec, DP]

Can an NP have a specifier???

Yes! Possessive construction in Hungarian
(CPS 1, p. 224)
DP DP

D' DP D'

D NP Marinak D NP
a Mary a
the DP N' the N'

te N N
you kalapod kalapja
hat-2SG hat-3SG
 TP
TP TP

DP VP DP T'
Subject Subject
T VP

Subject of a sentence is in [Spec, TP]

T as a morpheme (T-affix lowering)
TP
John walked/ran into the room.

DP T'

John T VP
-ed
V'

V PP
walk
run into the room
 CP
CP What is the specifier of CP?
- wh-words (who, what, when ...)
- topics
C' - focalized XPs
(ch. 12)

C TP
I said that Louise loved rubber cookies.
Louise loved rubber cookies.
Do we have a CP in main declarative sentences?
 Yes/no-questions
You have seen a rubber cookie.
Have you seen a rubber cookie.

Irish:
Ar fhag Sean?
Q leave Sean
'Did Sean leave?'
 Yes/no-question (cont'd)
CP CP

C' C'

C[+Q] TP C[+Q] TP
Ar
fhag Sean DP T'

you T VP
have
seen...
 CP in main declarative clauses
Assumption: root questions in English contain a
phonologically null C[+Q]. T raises to this C[+Q] to
give it phonological content.
Conjunction of likes:
You can lead a horse to water but can you make
it drink?
Conclusion: main declarative clauses are CPs.
 Clausal architecture
CP Discursive
domain
C'
Grammatical
C TP
domain
T'
Lexical
T VP domain
V'
V
 Tree drawing

Let's draw a tree of the following sentence

in X-bar notation extended to functional
categories C, T and D.

The very young child walked from school to

the store.
 Clauses
Clause = subject + predicate phrase
The man left.
Susan is a linguistics student.
Bill ate a beef waffle.
Clauses: 1. main/root/matrix
2. embedded clauses (subordinate
clauses
[CP Peter said [CP that Danny danced]]
 Types of embedded clauses
• subject clauses
[CP [TP [CP People selling their stocks] caused the crash of 29]]
[CP [TP [CP For Mary to love that boor] is a travesty]]
• complement clauses
[CP [TP Heidi said [CP that Art loves peanut butter]]]
[CP [TP Colin asked [CP if they could get a mortgage]]]
• adjunct clauses
[CP [TP [DP the man [CP I saw in the cab]] robbed the bank]]
[CP [TP He arrived [CP when we left]]]
 Finite and non-finite embedded clauses
and types of C
I thought [CP that John left]
I asked [CP if John left]
I want [CP John to leave]
Ii want [CP PROi to leave]
I asked [CP for John to leave]
• finite C (that, if, whether, Ø)
• non-finite C (for, Ø)