Introduction to Syntax: Problem Set #2
This problem set is due on Wednesday, July 20 (understood as ending at midnight on the
20th). You can turn it in either by physically handing a hard copy to either Norvin or
Cristina, or by sending us a .pdf file. Please don’t send us other kinds of electronic files.
Feel free to consult with each other, or with us, but please write up your own answers.
Problem One
Consider the following ungrammatical sentences. In cases where a DP is italicized,
assume that the italicized DP has been moved from the spot marked with "e" (short for
"empty spot"). Explain why each sentence is ill-formed. Some of these examples may
violate more than one constraint or principle; make sure you list everything that goes
wrong.
(1) *We believe to be likely that we will win.
(2) *I told Jerry about e.
(3) *John’s mother criticized himself.
(4) *It seemed to the clone of Porter to be hired e.
Problem Two
In Choctaw (a Muskogean language spoken in Oklahoma and Mississippi), transitive
verbs agree with both the subject and the object:
(5) Chi- bashli -li -tok
2sgOBJ cut 1sgSUBJ PAST
'I cut you'
(6) Is- sa- sso -tok
2sgSUBJ 1sgOBJ hit PAST
'You hit me'
(here the numbers stand for persons, "sg" means "singular", and "SUBJ" and "OBJ" stand
for "subject" and "object"--so chi-, for instance, means "second person singular object").
Intransitive verbs split into two types, exemplified below:
(7) a. Hilha -li -tok
dance 1sgSUBJ PAST
'I danced'
b. Ish- ipah õ?
2sgSUBJ eat Q
'Have you eaten?'
c. I:- bali:li-tok
1plSUBJ run PAST
'We ran'
(8) a. Sa- hohchafoh
1sgOBJ be-hungry
'I am hungry'
b. Chi- cha:hah
2sgOBJ be-tall
'You are tall'
c. Pi- hohfaya -tok
1plOBJ be-ashamed PAST
'We were ashamed'
Question one: What do you think is going on here?
Choctaw exhibits a phenomenon known as "switch-reference marking". Under certain
circumstances, the verb in the first of two clauses may bear a morpheme indicating,
roughly, whether the subjects of the two clauses refer to the same person or not (SS
stands for "same subject", DS for "different subject"):
(9) a. Tobi apa -li -cha oka ishko -li -tok
bean eat 1sgSUBJ SS water drink 1sgSUBJ PAST
'I ate beans and I drank water'
b. Tobi apa -li -na tãchi ish -pa -tok
bean eat 1sgSUBJ DS corn 2sgSUBJ eat PAST
'I ate beans and you ate corn'
In (9a), the "same subject" suffix -cha indicates that the subjects of the two clauses refer
to the same person; in (9b), where the two clauses have different subjects, you get the
"different subject" suffix -na. These suffixes are obligatory in these examples; using -na
in (9a), or -cha in (9b), would yield an ill-formed sentence.
Consider the following examples of sentences involving switch reference markers. The
sentence marked with % is one on which Choctaw speakers disagree; in some dialects of
Choctaw (call them Choctaw A), this sentence is well-formed, while in other dialects
(Choctaw B), it is ill-formed.
(10) a. Nita pisa -li -cha bali:li -li -tok
bear see 1sgSUBJ SS run 1sgSUBJ PAST
'I saw the bear and ran'
b. Sa- hohchafo-cha tobi hoponi -li -tok
1sgOBJ hungry SS bean cook 1sgSUBJ PAST
'I was hungry, so I cooked some beans'
c. *Nita pisa -li -na bali:li -li -tok
bear see 1sgSUBJ DS run 1sgSUBJ PAST
'I saw the bear and ran'
d. % Sa- hohchafo-na tobi hoponi -li -tok
1sgOBJ hungry DS bean cook 1sgSUBJ PAST
'I was hungry, so I cooked some beans'
Question two: Give a description of the rules for the use of same-subject and different-
subject markers in Choctaw A and Choctaw B. Your rules should make reference to the
syntactic behavior of the subjects of the clauses.