Syntactic Derivations in English Be-passive Constructions

This work aims to describe how syntactic derivations in English be-passive constructions are interpreted in a relatively new approach to grammar known as Government and Binding Theory, or GB-theory, worked out by Noam Chomsky in the early 1980s. First, different principles and modules which are fundamental to the examination of passive structures in the current grammar model are presented. Next, the formation of the passivized verb is studied and various approaches to derivations are discussed, including the investigation of whether passivization is possible without the process of NP-movement. Finally, a brief survey is provided of the most distinctive aspects of the immediate successor of GB- theory, known as the Minimalist Program, putting emphasis on how its typical method of minimization affects the process of passivization. The book is kindly recommended to anyone taking interest in some recent developments in generative grammar, especially in those concerning passive structures.