Movement

Systematic changes in word order often

indicate syntactic movement:

• Head-movement:

Have you t seen Bob?

• A-movement:

Bob was seen t.

• A-bar movement:

the one [who you have seen t]

 Auxiliaries

• Auxiliaries take VP complements.

• The auxiliary restricts the form of the

following verb

1. Modal+bare infinitive
She will eat cake.

2. Dummy do+bare infinitive

She did (not) eat cake.

3. Auxiliary have+perfect participle

She has eaten cake.

4. be+progessive participle
She is eating cake.

5. be+perfect participle
Cake is (often) eaten.
 Auxiliaries

This effect is achieved by lexical

selection of the VP complement:

• modals select an infinitival VP

• have selects a perfect participle VP
• be selects a progressive participle VP
or a perfect/passive participle VP

Auxiliaries can combine in this order:

(Modal)(Perfect)(Progressive)(Passive)

2 Aux: will have eaten

will be eating/eaten
has been eating/eaten
is being eaten

3 Aux: will have been eating/eaten

has been being eaten

4 Aux: will have been being eaten

 T-to-C movement

In matrix interrogatives, T moves to C

(Subject-Aux inversion).

(1) a. Could I t have a banana?

b. I asked [whether I could have a
banana].

• Auxiliaries can move to C:

(2) a. Will they t eat cake?

b. Did they t eat cake?
c. Have they t eaten cake?
d. Are they t eating cake?
e. Was the cake t eaten?

• Main V be can also move to C, but

other main V cannot:

(3) a. Is that t a cake?

b. * Ate they t cake?
• Locality: only highest Aux moves:

(4) a. Will you [t [be [going]]]?

b. * Be/are you [will [t [going]]]?

• Not ‘leftmost Aux’:

(5) a. Is the woman [who is in the

room] t tall?
b. * Is the woman [who t in the
room] is tall?

• Not ‘rightmost Aux’:

(6) a. Is Mary t the woman [who is in

the room]?
b. * Is Mary is the woman [who t in
the room]?

Instead: structurally highest Aux (head of

the TP sister of matrix C)
 NegP

• A new category: NegP

TP

NP T'

Sue T NegP
will
Neg'

Neg VP
not
V'

V NP
eat
eggs
 NegP, cont’d.

• Elements in T precede negation, but

the verb in V cannot.

(7) a. Sue will not eat eggs.

b. * Sue eats not eggs.

• Auxiliaries can occupy T:

(8) a. Sue will not eat eggs.

b. Sue did not eat eggs.
c. Sue has not eaten eggs.
d. Sue is not eating eggs.
e. Eggs are not being eaten.

• Main V be (the copula) can also

occupy T, but other main V cannot
(see 5b):

(9) Those are not eggs.

 Movement to T vs. Generation in T

• When another element is in T,

auxiliary and copula remain below T,
like (other) main V:

(10) a. They will not have eaten cake.

b. They will not be eating cake.
c. Cake will not be eaten.
d. That will not be a good cake.
e. They will not eat cake.

• But modals and dummy do cannot be

generated below T in English.

(11) a. * They will not can eat cake.

b. * They will not do eat cake.

• Thus, modals and dummy do are

generated as T, while have and be are
generated as V, and move to T.
 Some Constraints

• There is only one T per clause, so only

one finite Aux/V per clause.

(12) He will have been eating cake.

He has t been eating cake.
He is t eating cake.
He eats cake.

• Locality: only the highest moveable V

can move to T.

(13) a. They have not t been going.

b. * They been/are not have t going.

• Obligatoriness: Aux must move if

possible

(14) a. They have not t been going.

b. * They not have been going.
 V-to-T-to-C movement

Auxiliaries that originate in V move to T

on their way to C:

[CP [TP he [VP has [VP eaten the cake]]]] Æ

[CP [TP he has [VP t [VP eaten the cake]]]] Æ
[CP has [TP he t [VP t [VP eaten the cake]]]]

Why not move the auxiliary directly from

V to C? Because:

• The elements that can undergo

movement to C are exactly the same
elements that can occupy T!

• This generalization is captured if we

assume that movement to C always
proceeds through T.

• Otherwise, it isn’t.
 Do-support

Auxiliary do-support is sometimes

obligatory.

• Main verbs cannot undergo T-to-C

movement, but also cannot just stay
“in situ” in a matrix interrogative:

(15) a. * Eats he cake?

b. * He eats cake? (except as echo-Q)
c. Does he eat cake?

• Main verbs cannot undergo V-to-T

movement, but also cannot just stay in
situ in a negative clause:

(16) a. * He eats not cake.

b. * He not eats cake.
c. He does not eat cake.

Why?
 T-to-V lowering

Tense/Agr must be morphologically

realized. Tense can lower onto a main
verb in the morphology (after syntax).

(17) He often eats cake.

TP

NP T'
he
T VP
[+Tense]
[+3sg Agr] V'

AP V'

often V NP
eat+s
cake
 T-to-V lowering, cont’d.

Neg blocks T-to-V lowering (though not

V-to-T movement)

(18) *He not eats cake.

TP

NP T'

he T NegP
[+Tense]
[+3sg Agr] Neg'

Neg VP
not
V'

V NP
eat
cake
 Do-support

Inserting dummy “do” realizes the

Tense/Agr features morphologically.

(19) He does not eat cake.

TP

NP T'

he T NegP
[+Tense]
[+3sg Agr] Neg'
does
Neg VP
not
V'

V NP
eat
cake
 T-to-C and Do-support

If T moves to C in syntax, the subject NP

blocks T-to-V lowering in morphology.

(20) *He eats cake? (except as echo Q)

CP

C'

C [+Q] TP
[+Tense]
[+3sg Agr] NP T'
he
T VP
t
V'

V NP
eat+s
cake
 T-to-C and Do-support, cont'd.

Inserting dummy “do” realizes the

Tense/Agr features morphologically.

(21) Does he eat cake?

CP

C'

C [+Q] TP
[+Tense]
[+3sg Agr] NP T'
does he
T VP
t
V'

V NP
eat
cake