Events, Phrases, and Questions

by Truswell, Robert

• ISBN13: 9780199577781
• ISBN10: 0199577781
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-02-15
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This book addresses some recalcitrant problems in syntactic theory, by turning to structures from outside of syntax. The problems concern types of wh-question which are predicted to be ungrammatical, but are not. These exceptionally acceptable wh-questions form natural semantic classes, relating to the number and type of events they describe. The work is therefore situated squarely at the interface between syntax and cognitive, semantic and pragmatic factors regulating the individuation of events. Aspect, agentivity, presupposition, and world knowledge all influence the acceptability of the sentences in question.

Author Biography

Robert Truswell is British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow in Linguistics and English Language at the University of Edinburgh. His research concerns the interface between syntax and semantics. He received his PhD in Phonetics and Linguistics from University College London in 2007 and subsequently spent a year as a postdoctoral associate at Tufts University.

Table of Contents

General Preface	p. vii
Acknowledgements	p. viii
List of Figures and Tables	p. ix
Abbreviations	p. x
Introduction	p. 1
Where We're Going	p. 1
Locality Theory and Extraction from Adjuncts: A Potted History	p. 6
Further Puzzles	p. 29
The Plan	p. 37
The Structure of Events
The Variable Size of Events	p. 43
Variable Pragmatic Coarse-Graining	p. 46
The Directness of Direct Causation	p. 51
Aspectual Classes	p. 55
Summary	p. 67
Single Events from Multiple Verb Phrases and the Role of Agentivity	p. 68
Events and VP-Coordination	p. 68
Relations other than Direct Causation	p. 73
Agentivity and Event Size	p. 79
Planning and Enablement	p. 82
Agentivity, Aspectual Classes, and the Progressive	p. 98
Structures Built from Events	p. 104
Introduction	p. 104
The Problems	p. 105
Dealing with the Problems	p. 109
Events and Intervals in Syntax	p. 111
Events and Locality
Where We Stand	p. 121
Extraction from Adjuncts	p. 129
Rationale Clauses	p. 130
Prepositional Participial Adjuncts	p. 135
Bare Present Participial Adjuncts	p. 145
Conclusion	p. 167
Appendix: Preposition Stranding in Adjuncts	p. 169
Extraction from Complement Clauses and the Effect of Tense	p. 174
On the Impermeability of Tensed Adjuncts	p. 175
Why Tensed Complements are Different	p. 178
Factive Islands and Event Structure	p. 179
Cyclic Determination of Event Structure	p. 188
What Has Happened to the CED?	p. 192
Summary	p. 205
Architectural Issues	p. 207
Introduction	p. 207
Could We Syntacticize the Single Event Grouping Condition?	p. 209
Integrating Syntactic and Semantic Constraints on Movement	p. 229
Conclusion	p. 238
Conclusion	p. 240
References	p. 246
Author Index	p. 256
Subject Index	p. 259
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