Syntax II3/3#2 Syntactic and semantic argumentsSYNTACTIC AND SEMANTIC ARGUMENTS

- the essential body of every SENTENCE is a CLAUSE, whose central element is the VERB- verb phrase: single verb [short VP] or verb (head) + other members [long VP]- only full verbs can be heads of VPs- the verb also determines what can or cannot occur in a sentence valence

SIMPLE SENTENCE designates a process or a situation, i.e. a relation between the participants

ARGUMENTS classified according to the kind of role they play in a sentence described by the predicate; expression denoting participants in the state/event- direct arguments not marked by a prepositionJake gave Mary a bouquet of flowers.- oblique (indirect) arguments marked by a prepositionJake gave a bouquet of flowers to Mary.- arguments are obligatory because they are required by the valence (syntactic and semantic) of a particular verb- arguments are closely associated with the meaning of predicate

PREDICATE an expression denoting a stack- predicate of the verb will determine the features of arguments- e.g. with a verb the number of subjects is limited (because of semantics)Trees devour their prey. NO.Tigers devour their prey. OK

ARGUMENT STRUCTURE the number and type of arguments associated with a particular predicate

ADJUNCTS elements which contribute to the meaning of the sentence as a whole, but are never necessary to complete the meaning of the predicate; optionalJack drinks (a beer).gives new meaningJack drinks a beer in one gulp. additional information (optional)

PREDICATE + arguments | non-arguments (A)CORE [nucleus (= predicate) + arguments] | periphery

CORE | peripheryChris | ate | the apple | in the kitchen. A N A Non-A

- verb determines the argument, but not the periphery

PREDICATE-ARGUMENT RELATIONSa) grammatical (syntactic) relations: S, O, C, premodification, postmodificationb) semantic roles: agent, patient, recipient,- grammatical relations are independent from semantic roles- each argument you have in a sentence must be acquired a semantic role and arguments cannot bear more than one semantic role at the same time

- major semantic roles:1. AGENT prototypically animate and normally instigates the actions that are performed wilfully and intentionally (but not always: kill vs. murder)2. PATIENT undergoes a change of state or condition(kill, smash, break, crush, wash)3. THEME similar to patient; refers to entities located or who undergo a change of location, entities which are possessed or undergo a change of position(put, place, give, send, buy)4. RECIPIENT can appear syntactically as Oi or S5. EXPERIENCER usually appears with verbs denoting perception, emotion or cognition(see, know, believe)6. LOCATIONGOALJack ran to the supermarket.SOURCEJack ran from this house.PATHJack ran through the woods.7. INTRUMENT He killed him with an axe.8. BENEFICIARY usually appears as Oi- and a minor one:9. STIMULUS usually with verbs of perception, experience

- criteria for roles: intuition + grammatical criteria- tests distinguish similar constructions

- events vs. states: agent patient ?The baby chew the biscuit.The baby is heavy.

- event: What happened?The baby chew the biscuit. OKThe baby is heavy. NO.What did X do? X = agentWhat happened to X? X = patient

- other tests for agents: wh-cleft questions: what X did was what X is doing is putting the verb into imperative or progressive (with activity verbs)Chew the biscuit!What is the patient doing?a) *The patient is suffering a lot of pain.STATE (experiencer)so, NO.b) The patient is annoying the nurses.EVENT (agent)OK

- prototypical agents human beings acting of their own volition (but kill and murder volition not always a factor); instigating an action and producing an effect on sth- less typical agents do not have volition nor instigate an actionThis arch supports the tower.The computer played six games.The flood swept away the village. natural forces can be agents in English

STATE- neither agent or patient, but neutral- some cases do stand in between, but they are rareThe baby is heavy. neutralThe vase stood on the table. could be a theme- with stative verbs like know, like, see, believe,... (perception, emotion) S can be an experiencerShe knows the answer. experiencer

- some direct objects are not typical patients or themes but rather results because of the lexical meaning of the verbWren build St. Pauls Cathedral.The dog dug a hole in the ground.*What happened to the Cathedral/hole?- still they behave like patients and can be treated as such, because we dont want to complicate the whole thing with more semantic roles

- prepositions make the whole thing differentThe window was broken with a hammer.hammer = instrumentagent = not specified- someone broke the window using a hammer

The window was broken by a hammer.hammer = agent- happened accidentally- the decision was based on grammatical criteria- grammatical categories establish VERY BROAD CATEGORIES and GENERAL ROLES- e.g. it would be too much to further divide patient into result, so we say that result is just a less typical patient

INTERPRETATIONS OF A CLAUSE:information from the syntactic structure (e.g. prepositions)+information from the lexical verb+information from the lexical meaning of the nouns given in a sentence

Exercise: Define the roles of subjects and direct objects in these sentences: S Od1. The farmer killed the snake.AGENTPATIENT2. The rock broke the window.*INSTRUMENTPATIENT3. The lawyer received the summons.RECIPIENTTHEME4. Many tourists saw the accident.EXPERIENCERSTIMULUS5. Sally presented Bill with the award.AGENTRECIPIENT6. The mugger robbed Sam of $50.AGENTSOURCE7. The clown amused the child.AGENTEXPERIENCER

*can also be a less typical agent