Ibn Tofail University

Faculty of Languages, letters and Arts

Department of English
Prepared by : Mohammed Gharioua
Full name: …………………………………………….
Apogée N. …………………………………………….

Semester 6 Date: May 2023

Module: SYNTAX Time allowed: 1h30mins.

SYNTAX Mock EXAM

A. Account for the these ill-formed syntactic rules (2 Pts ):

1. *TP (NP) – VP
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2. *PP P - N - ( NP )
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B. Using the movement constituency test, explain whether the underlined strings
in the following sentences are constituents (2 Pts ):

1. He finished his last assignment

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2. She put me in an embarrassing moment
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C. Using X-bar theory, state the two meanings of the ambiguous sentence below
and then draw two trees standing for each meaning (2 Pts ):
The burglar robbed the woman with the knife.

Meaning 1 : ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

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Meaning 2 : ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..................

D. Consider the following tree diagram (4 Pts ):

B C

GP E K

L M

1. Does node L precede node M?

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2. Does Node C immediately dominate Node E?

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3. Does node B govern node L? Justify your answer.

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 4. Which nodes are asymmetrically c-commanded by node B?
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E. Explain why the following sentences are ungrammatical (8 Pts ):

1. *sheᵢ has taken saraᵢ to the grocery store.
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2. *Nataliaᵢ claimed that herselfᵢ hit Andro the last week.
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3. * Jillᵢ replied heᵢ can't attent the meeting.
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4. *[Natalia’sᵢ daughter]ᵍ hurt herselfᵢ using a sharp machine this evening.
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5. *My rabbit traveled with a friend by a car.
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6. *They signed last week.
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7. *The philosopher the author explained the theory to the students clearly.
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8. *We went on a vacation spain.
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F. Using Extending X-bar theory, draw the tree for the following sentence,
indicating the relevant type(s) of movement (2pts ):
How will she react to the decision.
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