CHAPTER SIX

MOVEMENT IN SENTENCE TRANSFORMATION

A. INTRODUCTION

1. Description of the Chapter

This chapter discusses the movement in sentence transformations. This topic is the
extended discussions of the previous chapter (Chapter 5). The courses will focus on the
types of movements and describing the movements in details. It will include the leftward
movement, passivisation, movements to focus positions, Clefting and pseudo – clefting,
Substtution by Pro-forms, dan Ellipsis.

2. Relevance
This chapter is related to the topic discussions of the previous chapter as it serves as
extended discussions. Besides, this will be relevant to the next discussions.

3. Expected Competency and Indicators

a. Expected competency

The students are able to analyse movement in sentence transformations.

b. Indicators
 Be able to analyse the leftward movement
 Be able to analyse the movement in passivisations
 Be able to analyse the movement to focus position
 Be able to analyse the movement by Clefting and pseudo – clefting
 Be able to analyse the movement by Substtution by Pro-forms
 Be able to analyse the movement in Ellipsis

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B. MATERIAL ORGANIZATION

1. Introduction

All languages have their own rules of syntax. They also have a transformation that
move constituent from one part of the phrase structure to another. Anagbogu (2001) in
Christopher (152) stated that the transformations do not only take a place, there are a lot of
assumptions made by the speakers depending on their relationship. When speaker are
familiar, they presume many things and may delete lexical items from their speech. It is
believed that the more conscripted the deep structure, the more formal the relationship
between the speakers, and the more elaborate the surface structure the more defined the
subject under discourse.

The deep structure really plays a special role in the interpretations of the sentences
and it shows the architecture of the phrase. On the other hand, surface structure results from
applying transformations (movement of categories within the syntactic structure) to form a
question. Furthermore, a transformation takes an existing syntactic structure and renders a
new construction by performing one or more of the following operations: movement,
deletion, or insertion. The transformations of the sentence itself can be done in various ways.
And one of the ways to analyze the sentence transformations is by analyzing its movement
through Leftward movements, passivisations, movement to focus position, clefting and
pseudo – clefting, substitution by pro-forms, and ellipsis, which will be described in details
in the next chapter.

2. Types of Movements

2.1 Leftward Movement

Movement test is a test which has any possibility to take any position in the sentence.
It is likely to be a constituent if it still result a good sentence. If it is possible to move a
particular string from its ordinary position to another position - typically, the begining of the
sentence- that, too is evidence that the string is a constituent. In order to make the result of

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the movement completely acceptable, it is sometimes necessary to use a special intonation
or to invoke a special discourse context, especially in the case of noun phrases. Leftward
movements is one of the example of movement test. Leftward movements is how a
constituent is moved to the left side, but the text is still acceptable in the English sentence.
For example:

1. a. Anna kicked Belle’s leg yesterday.

b. Yesterday, Anna kicked Belle’s leg.

NP VP

V NP Adv

A N

Anna kicked Belle’s leg yesterday

The diagram above shows that constituent adverb ‘yesterday’ (Adv) is configured
under the NP. In other words, constituent Adv in inside the VP. The alternation structure of
(1a) is in (1b). What exhibits the movenment in the pair is that the constituent Adv which is

85 Movements in Sentence Transformation

inside the VP as in (1a) moves to the left (at the begining of the sentence), raising it to as the
constituent under the sentence in the same hirarchy with the NP and VP. This movement is
shown in the following diagram.

Adv NP VP

V NP

A N

Yesterday Anna kicked Belle’s leg

The constituent Adv ‘yesterday’ moves from the one which is under the VP to be at
the same hirachy with NP and VP. Therefore, it makes the constituents under S are not NP
with VP anymore, but Adv, NP, and VP.

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 2. a. Charlie drove the car slowly slowly
b. Slowly, Charlie drove the car slowly (Left word movent)

NP VP

V NP Adv

Det N

Charly drove the car slowly

Like the example in (1), the movement in sentence (2a) occurs in the constituent
inside the VP. The diagram above shows that constituent adverb ‘slowly’ (Adv) is
configured under the NP. In other words, constituent Adv in inside the VP. The alternation
structure of (1a) is in (1b). What exhibits the movenment in the pair is that the constituent
Adv which is inside the VP as in (1a) moves to the left (at the begining of the sentence),
raising it to as the constituent under the sentence in the same hirarchy with the NP and VP.
This movement is shown in the following diagram.

87 Movements in Sentence Transformation

 S

Adv NP VP

V NP

A N

Slowly Charles drove the car

The constituent Adv ‘yesterday’ moves from the one which is under the VP to be at
the same hirachy with NP and VP. Therefore, it makes the constituents under S are not NP
with VP anymore, but Adv, NP, and VP.

2.2 Passivization

In English syntax, passivization is the transformation of a sentence from an active

form to a passive form. Through the process of passivization, the direct object of an active
declarative sentence can become the subject of a passive sentence. The regular passive have
the transitive verb accompanied by the infinitive and accompanied by the auxiliary. For
example: Marry is being taught by Adam. On the other hand, capability passive usually need
negative or interrogative context. For example: The book could not be read. Furthermore,

88 Movements in Sentence Transformation

passivization is the process of transforming a sentence from the active form to a passive
form which involves grammatical elements to the deep structure to make it meaningful.
Chomsky derived passive sentence from underlying strings in syntactic structure by means
of transformational rules which constitute the basic linguistic model. The Chomskyean
transformational formulation is :

NP1 + V + VP2  NP2 + AUX + Ven + by + NP1

For examples :
3. a. The man loves the children. (active)
b. The children are loved by the man. (passive)

NP VP

V NP

Det N Det N

The man loves the children

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 The movement in the passivisation occurs in the constituent NP inside VP. The
above is an active sentence in which the NP ‘the children’ in the constituent which will
exhibit the movement in the passive counterpart.

NP Aux VP

V PrepP

Prep NP

Det N Det N

The children are loved by the man

The diagram shows that the NP ‘the children’ which is inside the VP is moved to the
beginning of the sentece raising it to take the subject position. This movement upgrades its
hirarchy to the constituent under the S. What can also be explained in the movement of
passivisation is that, there is an additional cosntituent which is created as the result of the
movement. This constituent is Aux ‘are’.

90 Movements in Sentence Transformation

 Some other examples such as:

4. a. The dog is chasing the sheep (Active)

b. The sheep is being chased by the dog (passive)

NP Aux VP

V NP

Det N Det N

The dog is chasing the sheep

Like the example (3), example (4) obove shows that the movement in the
passivisation occurs in the constituent NP inside VP. The above is an active sentence in
which the NP ‘the sheep’ in the constituent which will exhibit the movement in the passive
counterpart.

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 S

NP Aux VP

V PrepP

Prep NP

Det N Det N

The sheep are chased by the dog

The diagram shows that the NP ‘the children’ which is inside the VP is moved to the
beginning of the sentece raising it to take the subject position. This movement upgrades its
hirarchy to the constituent under the S. What can also be explained in the movement of
passivisation is that, there is an additional cosntituent which is created as the result of the
movement. This constituent is Aux ‘are’ and the form of be in progressive tense ‘being’.

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2.3 Movement to Focus Position

Substitution by pro-forms is not the only diagnostic for whether a string is a

constituent. If it is possible to move a particular string from its ordinary position to another
position---typically, the beginning of the sentence---that, too, is evidence that the string is a
constituent. In order to make the result of movement completely acceptable, it's sometimes
necessary to use a special intonation or discourse context, especially in the case of noun
phrases. In the grammatical instances of movement in (1), appropriate discourse material is
included in parentheses. "___" indicates the ordinary position that a constituent has moved
from.

---> The cats, I fed _____. (The dogs, I didn't) I fed the cats.

NP VP

V NP

A N

I fed the cat

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 S

NP NP fed

The cat I fed

In the above diagram, the movement is about focusing the NP as the object of the
sentence to the initial position in the clause. This makes the constituent under the S consists
of two NPs, ‘the cat, and ‘I’.

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2.4 Clefting

2.4.1 Clefting test

Clefting changes the original structure of the sentence into an expletive construction
making use of expletive like ‘it’ and ‘there’ and puts emphasis on the particular group of
words. (BAYYAR KHULAR, 2014). Clefting is one of the sentences constructor which is to
transform (changes the form) of simple independent clause in order to gives an emphasis or
changes the focus on particular element of clauses or sentence. The element could be
subject, object, or adverbial. Based on Tallerman, the formula in using clefting test as
below:

It + copula + focus + relative clauses

It + verb + be + focus + subordinate clause + (subordinate clause= Relative

pronoun+/- subject + verb +…)

The examples in (5a) can be changed into the sentences in (b-d). These are cleft
sentences. (Cleft is from cleave meaning ‘divide’; cleft sentences are ‘divided in two’.) The
general form of cleft sentences is (17)e). In cleft sentences the material between be and that,
underlined in (17)b-d), is focussed, i.e. contrasted with some alternative that the hearer may
have in mind. The relevant point for our purposes is that this material is always a
constituent.

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 5. a. The guests from overseas visited the best parts of the city on Monday.

b. It was on Monday that the guests from overseas visited the best parts of the
city.
c. It was the best parts of the city that the guests from overseas visited on
Monday.
d. It was the guests from overseas that visited the best parts of the city on
Monday.
e. It {was/is} X that ... [where X is some constituent]

For another examples let have a look at the followings:

6. Most of the silk we see in Britain comes from siikworms.

The constituent from silkworms in (6) may be given more emphasis by placing it at
the beginning of the sentence and 'surrounding' it by the words it was I was.,. that, as
follows:

7(a) and (b) have a different outward appearance (or form), but their content (or
meaning) is more or less the same. The only difference in meaning between them is
that in (b) the element from silkworms is very emphatically contrasted with
something eise in the context (wildsilk moths, in the second coordinate clause): this
contrast is more clearly marked in (b) than in (a).

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2.4.2 Clefting test process

My brother should has driven his car to school. The sentence:

a. [My brother] should has driven his car to school

a. It was my brother who should drive his car to school

b. My brother should has driven [his car] to school

b. It was his car that my brother should have drove to school

c. My brother [should has driven] his car to school

c. *it was should has driven

More examplesabout the clefting test are drown as follows:

The paper plan flew over the rooftop of Hani’s house.

a. [The paper plan] flew over the rooftop of Hani’s house

d. It was the paper plant that flew over the rooftop Hani’s house

b. The paper plan flew over [the rooftop] of Hani’s house

e. *It was the rooftop that paper plan flew over hani’s house

c. The paper plant flew over [the rooftop of Hani’s house]

f. It was the rooftop of Hani’s house that the paper plant flew over

d. The paper plant [flew over the rooftop] of Hani’s house

g. *it was flew over the rooftop that the paper plant of Hani’s house

e. The paper plant flew [over the rooftop of Hani’s house]

h. It was over the rooftop of Hani’s house that the paper plant flew

97 Movements in Sentence Transformation

 The talented basketball player threw the ball over the basket ring.

a. [The talented basketball player] threw the ball over the basket ring.
i. It was the talented basketball player who threw the ball over the basket ring

b. The talented basketball player threw [the ball] over the basket ring
j. It was the ball that the talented basketball player threw over the basket ring

c. The talented basketball player threw the ball [over the basket ring]
k. It was over the basket ring that the talented basketball player threw the ball

d. The talented basketball player [threw] the ball over the basket ring
l. *It was threw that talented basketball player the ball over the basket ring

e. The talented basketball player threw the ball over [the basket ring]
m. It was the basket ring that the talented basketball player threw the ball over.

The clefting test is usually used to give emphasis on subject, direct object, and adverbial.

2.4.3 Substitution by Proforms

a. Proforms replacing NP:

1) personal pronouns (I put the book on the table)

2) interrogative pronouns (You put what on the table?)

Test sentence:“Sally married a student of linguistics with long hair”.

1) She married him. (substitution by personal pronouns)

2) Who married who(m)? (substitution by interrogative pronouns)
3) Whom did Sally marry? (substitution with wh-movement)

98 Movements in Sentence Transformation

 (Sally and a student of linguistics with long hair are NPs)

* Sally married this him. (substitution by personal pronoun)

(student of linguistics with long hair is not an NP)

b. Proform replacing N':one

this one (not to be confused with the generic NP one (=German man))

Complication:
While one in this use is minimally an N', it can also be an NP proform, i.e. an N' with
nothing in the SPEC position: [NP [N' one]]); cf.

I don’t like this [article on pronouns] or that [one]. (one replaces [N' article on
pronouns])
I’m having [a drink]: Would you like [one] too? (one replaces [NP a drink]) (Quirk
et al., p. 387).

Test sentence: Sally married a student of linguistics with long hair.

She married this one, not the other one. (substitution by one)
(student of linguistics with long hair is an N')
She married the one with long hair. (substitution by one)

(student of linguistics is a N', so with long hair must be an adjunct)

* She married the one of linguistics.
(student is not a N', so of linguistics must be a complement).

Note:
In the text above we refer to constituents of the type [determiner + (modified) noun]
(e.g. the student or the student of linguistics with long hair) as NPs. In a more recent
analysis, determiners are considered to be the head (D°) of a determiner phrase (DP),

99 Movements in Sentence Transformation

 and the noun functions as its NP-complement.
According to this analysis pronouns are proforms for DPs, and one is a proform for
NPs.

The tree diagram of sentence “Sally married a student of linguistics with long hair”.

2.5 Pseudo-Clefting

Pseudo-cleft sentences (also called wh-clefts) are similar in function to cleft

sentences, but they are formed with the pronoun what (= the thing(s) that/which). The
emphasis in a pseudo-cleft sentence is on the phrase after the what-clause + be. The
following is the formula of this movement.

Formulas: WHAT-CLAUSE + BE + PHRASE

 What you need is a good sleep.

 What I didn't like was the end of the movie.
 What changed his mind was a book he'd read.

If we want to refer to a person, we say The person/people who/that:

 The people who/that I met were members of the delegation.

If we want to emphasise an action, the verb after be usually takes the form that
corresponds to the form used in the what-clause:

 What you should do is write a letter to the manager.

 What I need to do is get some rest.
 What they were doing was arguing about which train to take.
 What I can do is call for a taxi.

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 In the following examples, the verb after be takes the form that the verb in the what-
clause is normally followed by:

 What I want is to sleep.

 What he can't stand is getting up early.

In the past simple and present perfect, we can use the following patterns:

 What I did in the end was (to) go home.

 What I have done is (to) write a letter to the editor.

If we want to emphasise an action, the verb after be usually takes the form that
corresponds to the form used in the what-cluse. In the following examples, the verb after be
takes the form that the verb in the what- clause is normally followed by:

2.6 Ellipsis

In linguistics, ellipsis (from the Greek ) which means ‘omission’. So, elliptical
construction is the omission of a cause from a clause of one or more words that are
nevertheless understood in the context of the remaining elements. There are numerous
widely acknowledged types of ellipsis. Nine of them are mentioned and briefly illustrated
below: 1) gapping, 2) stripping, 3) VP-ellipsis, 4) pseudogapping, 5) answer fragments, 6)
sluicing, 7) N-ellipsis, 8) comparative deletion, and 9) null complement anaphora.

a. Gapping
Gapping occurs in coordinate structures. Redundant material that is present in the
immediately preceding clause can be "gapped". This gapped material usually contains a
finite verb.

Budi can play the guitar, and Nita can play the violin

Fred likes to pet the cat, and Sally likes to pet the dog.

101 Movements in Sentence Transformation

b. Stripping

Stripping is also known as bare argument ellipsis. Many linguists take stripping to
be a particular manifestation of gapping whereby just one remnant appears in the gapped
clause instead of the two (or more) that occur in instances of gapping. The fact that stripping
is limited to occurring in coordinate structures is the main reason why stripping is integrated
into the analysis of gapping:

 Aldo can play the piano, and Mary can play the piano, too.

 Susan works at night, and Bill works at night too.

c. Verb phrase ellipsis

Verb phrase ellipsis (also VP-ellipsis or VPE) is a particularly frequent form of

ellipsis in English. VP-ellipsis elides a non-finite VP. The ellipsis must be introduced by an
auxiliary verb or by the particle to.

 George can drive a car; Mary can drive a car, too.

 You might do it, but I won't do it.

 He has done it before, which means he will do it again.

d. Pseudogapping

Many linguists take pseudogapping to be a particular manifestation of VP-ellipsis

(not of gapping). Like VP-ellipsis, pseudogapping is introduced by an auxiliary verb.
Pseudogapping differs from VP-ellipsis, however, insofar as the elided VP is not entirely
gone, but rather one (or more) remnants of the VP appear. This aspect of pseudogapping
gives it the outward appearance of gapping. Pseudogapping occurs frequently incomparative
and contrastive contexts:

102 Movements in Sentence Transformation

  They have been eating the apples more than they have been eating the
oranges.

 He drinks milk more often than he does drink water.

e. Answer ellipsis

Answer ellipsis involves question-answer pairs. The question focuses an

unknown piece of information, often using an interrogative word (e.g. who, what, when,
etc.). The corresponding answer provides the missing information and in so doing, the
redundant information that appeared in the question is elided, e.g.:

Q : Who has been hiding the truth?

A : Billy has been hiding the truth.

Q : What did you try to do?

A: I tried to Fix the hard drive.

f. Sluicing
Usually Sluicing elides everything from a direct or indirect question except the
question word. It is a frequent type of ellipsis that appears to occur in most if not all
languages. It can operate both forwards and backwards like VP-ellipsis, but unlike gapping,
stripping, answer fragments, and pseudogapping, e.g.:

 Mark can play a music instrument, but I don’t know what he can play.

 Someone has eaten the soup. Unfortunately, I don't know who. (=who has
eaten the soup).

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g. Nominal ellipsis

Nominal ellipsis occurs with a limited set of determinatives in English (cardinal and
ordinal numbers and possessive determiners), whereas it is much freer in other languages.
The following examples illustrate nominal ellipsis with cardinal and ordinal numbers:

 The first train and the second train have arrived.

 Marco did three difficult tasks because Susan had done two difficult tasks.

 I heard Mary's dog, and you heard Bill's dog. (Possessive Determiners)

h. Comparative deletion

Comparative deletion occurs in comparative clauses introduced by than in English.

The expression in the comparative clause is elided that corresponds to the expression
focused by a comparative morph such as more or -er in the antecedent clause, e.g.:

 She ordered more beer than we could drink beer.

 More people arrived than we expected people would arrive.

i. Null complement anaphora

Null complement anaphora elides a complete complement, whereby the elided
complement is a finite clause, infinitive phrase, or prepositional phrase. The verbal
predicates that can license null complement anaphora form a limited set
(e.g. know, approve, refuse, decide). Interestingly, the elided complement cannot be a noun
phrase.

Q : Do you know what happened?

A : No, I don't know what happened.

A : They told Bill to help, but he refused to help.

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 Tree Diagram Analysis For Each type of Ellipsis

C. Exercise

Provide tree diagram of the following sentence. Show how movements occur in
the diagrams.

1. Budi can play the guitar and Nita can play the violin.
2. You might do it but I won’t do it.
3. He drinks milk more often than he does drink water.
4. She ordered more beer than we could drink.
5. The first and the second train have arrived.
6. Mark can plai a music instrument but I don’t know what he can play.

D. Summary

The movement/transformation in sentence is a syntactical phenomenon. It is done as

an alternation to the regular sentence order. From the description above, it can be
seen that the movement in sentence transformation can done in various ways. Such
as Leftward movements, passivisations, movement to focus position, clefting and
pseudo – clefting, substitution by pro-forms, and ellipsis.

E. References

1. Khular, Payar. 2014.Constituency in syntax. https:languagelinguistics.com;

accessed on June 21, 2018
2. ____________ 2014.Cleft Sentence. https:wordsmile.com; accessed on on June
21, 2018
3. _____________ 2005. introduction to syntax, linguist 401 in Winkler,Julie, et
al.syntax III assignment. Babel.ucsc.edu, accessed on June 20,2018.

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