Instructor: Adriana Todea

atodea@yahoo.com
Office hours: Friday 2-3 p.m., Alpha Centre room

Introduction to Generative Grammar

Course 5: The structure of phrases. The X-bar principle as a
parameterized principle of Universal Grammar
WEEK 6
Outline1
How are phrases being built?
The Structure-dependency principle suggests that phrases are not flat
structures, but layered structures, which means that constituents in a
phrase are hierarchically grouped.
Is there a hierarchy among the constituents of a verb phrase (VP)?
John will give the book by Chomsky to Maria tomorrow.

Hierarchy of constituents:
Head:
Obligatory arguments:
Optional arguments:
Adjuncts:

You find in this outline the content of the slides that I project during the course,
which contain the main topics and also structures and diagrams which may be difficult
and time consuming for you to copy during my lecture. They are made available to you
before class to save time and to make note-taking easier, but not unnecessary!
The outline as such (without your notes covering the detailed explanations that I give
during the course) cannot constitute a sufficient source of information when preparing
for the exam. If you miss the class, it is strongly recommended that this outline be used
as a guide to the bibliography indicated at the end of this document.
1

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The Theta-criterion: Each argument is assigned one and only one

theta-role. Each theta-role is assigned to one and only one argument.
The Projection Principle: Lexical information is syntactically
represented. OR Lexical information determines the syntactic structure.
HOW? Heads (predicates) project phrases according to their syntactic
valence (argument structure).

The verb phrase:

V= zero projection;
V= intermediate projection;
VP= maximal projection.
VP V; NP John
V V; AdvP
V V; PP
V V; NP the book by Chomsky
V give

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Other phrases: NP, AP, PP

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All phrase structures have a common blueprint according to which heads

project phrases: the X-bar (X) model.
The Head combines with arguments, complements or adjuncts (according
to its syntactic valence) to form intermediate projections.
The specifier (subjects/ determiners) combines with the last intermediate
projection to form the maximal projection.

What about the structure of phrases in other languages?

The Head parameter: a parameter of UG concerning the position of
heads in relation to their complements within phrases (they are either
first (English) or last (Latin, Japanese)

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Ex: Latin : me cum

English:
with me
Japanese: Watashi wa nihonjin desu
(I
Japanese am)
English:
I am Japanese

Is the head parameter in Japanese set head-first or head-last?

Is the head parameter in English set head-first or head-last?
Is the head parameter in Latin set head-first or head-last?

The specifier position in NPs:

English: the girl
Romanian: fat-a

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The X-bar model accounts for the structure of phrases in natural

languages: what is common as well as the syntactic variation across
languages. Therefore the X-bar model is a parameterized principle of
Universal Grammar.

The Head combines with arguments, complements or adjuncts (according

to its syntactic valence), either to the left or to the right, to form
intermediate projections.
The specifier (subjects/ determiners) combines with the last intermediate
projection, either to the left or to the right, to form the maximal
projection.

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The structure of sentences

Which are the syntactic features of a sentence?
John will visit the house.
John visited the house.
John did visit the house.
John visits the house.
John does visit the house.
John must visit the house.
(I want) John to visit the house.
A sentence is just a bigger phrase. Therefore it is the projection of a
head. The projector of a sentence/ clause is a functional category called
Inflection (I), and its maximal projection (the sentence or clause) is an
Inflection Phrase (IP).
An inflection renders functional features such as tense, agreement,
aspect, mood, and modality.
Finite clauses [+tense; +agr]
Non-finite clause [+tense; -agr]
Small clauses [-tense; -agr]

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The structure of complex sentences: subclauses and the embedding

principle
(I wonder) [if [IP John will visit the house]].
Complex sentences are possible because of the embedding principle
which allows clause recursivity. But clause recursivity is just a specific
realization of the recursive phrase-structure blueprint: the X-bar model.
A subclause is a clause in complement position: a complement-clause.
As any phrase, a subclause is projected by a head. The head of a
subclause is a functional category called Complementizer (C).

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Exercise: Using the X-bar model draw the tree diagram of the following
subclause in West Flemish:
. . . da den inspekteur da boek gelezen
eet.
. . . that the inspector that book read(p.p.) has.

da

eet

da boek
Bibliography:
Vivian Cook & Mark Newson (1996) Chomskys Universal Grammar,
second edition, Blackwell, pp 131-158 (you can find it in the Generative
Grammar dossier at the library)

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