Syntax I Final Exam	(Assignment 25)
Due Friday December 18 at 11 AM

As is the case with all assignments in this course, you may
collaborate on figuring out the answers; as always, write up your
response individually.

I.  Difficulty

There is a category of adjectives denoting degree of difficulty:

     hard
     easy
     difficult
     tough

To these we can add a few special nominal expressions that function like
adjectival predicates:

     a bitch
     a cinch

(1)   It may be hard for you to find the answer to this question.
(2)   To find the answer to this question may be hard.
(3)   The answer to this question may be hard for you to find.
(4)   The answer to this question may be hard to find.
(5)  *You are going to find.
(6)   It is going to be hard to keep tabs on Murphy.
(7)   Murphy is going to be hard to keep tabs on.
(8)   Tabs are going to be hard to keep on Murphy.
(9)  *Tabs are going to be hard to be kept on Murphy.
(10)  Murphy is going to be hard to find a present for.
(11) *Murphy is going to be hard to find a present for Betty.
(12) *There is going to be a bitch to be enough beer.

Investigate sentences with difficulty adjectives and develop an analysis.
Be sure to make your assumptions about deep structures and transformational
rules clear.  Show how the grammatical examples in (1)-(12) are derived,
and explain why (5), (9), (11), and (12) are not generated.


II.  Readiness

Adjectives like 'hard' and 'ready' occur in some of the same
environments as ordinary adjectives like 'long':

(1)     The exam was hard.
(2)     The exam was ready.
(3)     The exam was long.

But they can also appear in structures where ordinary adjectives can't:

(4)     The exam was hard to put under the door.
(5)     The exam was ready to put under the door.
(6)    *The exam was long to put under the door.

There are grammatical sentences which are like (6) except that they
involve 'too':

(7)     The exam was too thick to put under the door.

Ignore sentences containing the word 'too'; we will
not be dealing with them here.  Maybe in Syntax II.





'Hard' and 'ready' can occur in some of the same structures, but not
all. Note the difference in interpretation of those structures in which
they can both occur:

(8)     It was hard to make the decision.
(9)     It was ready to make the decision.
(10)	To make the decision was hard.
(11)   *To make the decision was ready.

Note that (9) is grammatical if the decision is about to be made by a
very large gorilla of unknown gender.

(12)    The socks were hard to put on.
(13)    It was hard to put on the socks.
(14)    The socks were ready to put on.
(15)    It was ready to put on the socks.

The gorilla again.

(16)    The socks were ready for the gorilla to put on.
(17)    The socks were ready to put on the gorilla.

(18)    The socks were hard for the gorilla to put on.
(19)    The socks were hard to put on the gorilla.

Also note the ambiguity in (20) but lack of ambiguity in (21):

(20)    The turkey is ready to eat.
(21)    The turkey is hard to eat.

Finally, notice that in sentences which involve the verbs 'spit',
'drop', and 'put', the adjectives 'ready' and 'hard' give rise to
different combinations of meaning and ambiguity:

(22) a.	The muskrat was ready to spit into the hole.
     b.	The muskrat was ready to drop into the hole.
     c.	The muskrat was ready to put into the hole.

(23) a.	The muskrat was hard to spit into the hole.
     b.	The muskrat was hard to drop into the hole.
     c.	The muskrat was hard to put into the hole.

Also notice this:

(24)	Tabs will be hard to keep on Harvey.
(26)   *Tabs will be ready to keep on Harvey.	(at least, not idiomatic)

The problem is to propose an analysis for 'ready' which accounts for how
it differs from 'hard'.












III.  Derivations and Explanations

Give and discuss the derivations of (1) and (2):

(1)     No opponent turned out to be easy for Harvey to outwit.

(2)     No opponent expected to be easy for Harvey to outwit.

Explain the following patterns:

(3)     The results proved to be impossible to verify.
(4)     The results were proved to be impossible to verify.
(5)    *The results were proved to be impossible to be verified.
(6)     The results proved to be ready to verify.
(7)	The results were proved to be ready to verify.
(8)	The results were proved to be ready to be verified.

Explain why 'Harvey' and 'him' cannot be coreferent in (9):

(9)     Harvey is going to be hard to persuade to be ready to paint him blue.

Be sure to justify any assumptions you make about lexical items or
structures that have not previously been established.


IV.  Strictly optional:

Can you say anything intelligent about (1)?

(1)  The kids stopped being hard to get ready to send to school
     when they learned to tie their own shoes.