Syntax A   Problem 2
Due Friday October 13

1.  First consider the following examples:

	(1)  That my pig likes peanuts is regrettable.
	(2)  It is regrettable that my pig likes peanuts.
	(3)  For the pig to get sick would be distastrous.
	(4)  It would be disastrous for the pig to get sick.

	(5)  Your lack of experience is regrettable.
	(6) *It is regrettable your lack of experience.
	(7)  The loss of our department manager would be disastrous.
	(8) *It would be disastrous the loss of our department manager.

	(9) *Would be disastrous for the pig to get sick.

[NOTE: You have to ignore an irrelevant construction here, where "your lack
of experience" is discourse-presupposed, and the intonation is different:

	It is regrettable, your lack of experience.

This is right dislocation, as is also

	He's a good man, Jack.
	(Meaning "Jack is a good man")

It may be necessary for you to make up a lot more examples, but be careful
to avoid right dislocation.]

Now, being careful to avoid right dislocation, make up a lot more examples.
The immediate task is to try to figure out what the difference is between
(2) and (6).  If you can figure that out, describe it fully and carefully,
and then propose a syntactic analysis that accounts for the difference.
(I.e., state the properties of a grammar that would generate (2) but not (6).)

You might want to think about how everything that is an argument gets its
theta-role.



2.  What do you suppose accounts for the differences below?

	(10)  Harvey asserted that pigs can fly.
	(11) *Harvey asserted for pigs to fly.

	(12)  We prayed that it would stop raining.
	(13)  We prayed for it to stop raining.

	(14)  That it will stop raining is improbable.
	(15) *For it to stop raining is improbable.


3.  Now look at the following:

	(16)  It is likely that the pig will like peanuts.
	(17)  That the pig will like peanuts is likely.
	(18)  The pig is likely to like peanuts.
	(19) *The pig is likely will like peanuts.

Thinking still about how arguments get their theta-roles, and considering further
examples of the same kind, develop an analysis that accounts for the goodness of (18)
and the badness of (19).  Add further examples, including but not limited to the
following:

	(20)  It appears that my pig likes peanuts.
	(21)  My pig appears to like peanuts.
	(22)  It seems that my pig likes peanuts.
	(23)  My pig seems to like peanuts.
	(24) *It tends that my pig likes peanuts.
	(25)  My pig tends to like peanuts.


In developing your analysis, first propose subcategorization frames for the heads
'likely', 'seem', 'appear', 'tend', and others like them.  Then show the DS and
derivation of representative examples.  Account for the differences.


4.  Finally, give an account of the derivation of the following sentences:

	(26)  The assignments are likely to seem to be too hard.
	(27)  It tends to appear that the classrooms are overcrowded.
	(28)  Willie seems to want to write a novel.
	(29)  Willie wants to appear to want to learn to swim.

This last part contains a really dirty trick, but it's only a dirty trick
if you don't notice it.  For completeness, you might want to provide
a thorough demonstration that you weren't fooled by the dirty trick.