‘//'Grammar II

Sebastian Andres Amado

Ward College

Syntax Revision (MEC by Wekker and Haegeman: chapter 4 Part 1)

Fill in (only one word)

1. Inserting pronominal elements rather than full lexical ………Ps is referred to as a

2. The three main operations which relate questions to basic sentence patterns are:
subject-auxiliary inversion,………-insertion and ………movement.
3. The operation which changes the order of elements in a sentence, for example,
to get from I shall show you my rude drawings to shall I show you my rude
drawings? is called a ……………………………. .
4. In order to form a yes-no question we move the first …………….to the left and place
it in front of the Subject.
5. The moved auxiliary may be a modal auxiliary (shall, must, can), perfect have,
progressive be, or passive be; all these auxiliaries are marked for either
…………………..or past tense.
6. If a contracted negator -n’t is attached to the………….. auxiliary, it must be moved
along to the left.
7. The morpheme –n’t is not an ……………………… word; it must attach to the
auxiliary.
8. The uncontracted not, on the other hand, is independent and does not move
along with the ………………………….. .
9. The operation described above (yes-no questions) is generally referred to as
……………..-AUX ………………….., or SAI for short.
10. The transition from you like my drawings to do you like my drawings? Involves
two changes:
● SAI (the tense element is moved out of the VP and placed in front of
NP/Su
● …………….. is inserted.
11. Tense can never occur on its own; it must always be attached to a ……………..or
auxiliary.
12. SAI and ……..-insertion are triggered by the presence of negative VP-Adjuncts
such as no sooner, never and on no account.
13. The verb assassinate is a verb which is subcategorized as taking an ….....P.
14. After the movement of a wh-phrase to the WH slot (i.e. wh-movement)
a…………………. is left behind. We can find its original filler in the special sentence-
initial slot.
15. Wh-questions are formed by moving a ………………….containing a wh-word into
the WH slot in front of the sentence, and by ……………., with or without do-
insertion.
16. The transformation called wh-movement typically leaves a gap bound by the
………….-word. The wh-word is called the ……………….or the wh-operator. The gap
marks the original position (i.e. the extraction site) of the wh-word.

1
Answer

1. What would be the underlying structure or deep structure of the basic

sentence Jane gave this book to Bill on Saturday? Can you bracket it or
draw a tree?
2. What additional operations can we perform on the deep structure of the
basic pattern of sentence 1 above?
3. Can you mention the different types of questions possible in English?
4. Can you discuss the Wh-movement in the sentence whom did the
terrorists assassinate?
5. Can you specify the gap corresponding to (or bound by) the Wh-word or
phrase in the following sentences?
● Where did you go after the film?

● Who did you meet there?

● What did you drink?

● How good a president was J.F.K?

● Who did you say John introduced you to after the party?

● What did you say Mary wants to buy for John?

● How far away were you?

● Why did you measure it?