5 Wh-movement
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5.2 Wh-questions
(1) a. What languages can you speak?
b. Which one would you like?
c. Who was she dating?
d. Where are you going?
(2) wh-in-situ questions (echo questions in English)
a. You can speak what languages?
b. You would like which one?
c. She was dating who?
d. You are going where?
in-situ (i.e. ‘in place)
2
Who was she dating?
(3)
CP
Spec
Who
C´
C
T
C
was + Ø
(1)
(1) head movement
TP
PRN
T´
she T
VP
was dating who
(2)
(2) wh-movement
Wh-movement moves maximal projections
3
(5) Complementiser Condition
An overt complementiser (like that/for/if) cannot
have an overt specifier in the superficial structure
of a sentence
Cf. wh+that
(4) Belfast English (Henry 1995, 107)
a. I wonder [which dish that they picked]
b. They didn’t know [which model that we had discussed]
(5) Standard English
a. %I wonder [what kind of party that they have in mind]
b.*I wonder [what that they have in mind]
4
Wh-movement: internal merge
(Chomsky 2001)
• Internal merge: movement operations by which an item
contained within an existing structure is
moved to a new position within the
same structure
• External merge: merger operations which involve
taking an item out of the lexical array
cf. head movement: adjunction operation by which
one head is adjoined to another
5
Trace/trace copies
in wh-movement
• Evidence I
- Have-cliticisation
(8) I have/I’ve been to Rome more often than I have/*I’ve to Paris
(I have been)
(9) Cliticisation is barred when a clitic is followed by a null
constituent
(12) a. I wonder [how much money they have in their bank account
b. *I wonder [how much money they’ve t in their bank account]
how much money
copying & deletion
6
Trace/trace copies
in wh-movement
• Evidence II
- Preposition copying (in relative clause)
(14) c. … that fair [for which love groan’d for]
(Prologue to Act II. Romeo and Juliet)
In present day English:
(15) a. but if this ever-changing world [in which we live in]
makes you give in and cry, say ‘Live and Let Die’
(Sir Paul McCartney, theme song from the James Bond movie Live and Let Die)
b. IKEA only actually has ten stores [from which to sell from]
(Economics reporter, BBC Radio 5)
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- Split / discontinuous spellout
(21) What hope of finding any survivors could
there be what hope of finding any survivors
- Reflexive reading
(22) Joe wonders which picture of himself Jim bought
(23) Joe wonders [which picture of himselfi
[Jimi bought which picture of himself]]
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5.4 Driving wh-movement & auxiliaty inversion
• Edge feature [EF]
(26-7) The EF on C enables it to attract the wh-pronoun where to Spec, CP.
‘EF is always deleted when satisfied’ in English.
CP
PRN/ADV
where
C´
C
TP
[EF]
PRN
Ø
you
T´
T
are
VP
V
going
(25) He wants to know [where you are going]
PRN/ADV
where
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(24) Interrogative Condition
A clause is interpreted as a non-echoic question iff it is a CP with an
interrogative specifier (i.e. a specifier containing an interrogative word)
(28) Who were you phoning?
(29-30)
CP
PRN
who
(Merge & Move, and then Delete)
C´
C
TP
[TNS, EF]
PRN
were+Ø
you
T´
T
were
VP
V
phoning
PRN
who
10
Null yes-no question particle
‘whether’
Evidence-1: Elizabethan English
(32) a. Whether had you rather lead mine eyes or eye your master’s heels?
(Mrs Page, Merry Wives of Windsor, III.ii)
b. Whether does thou profess thyself a knave or a fool?
(Lafeu, All’s Well That Ends Well, IV.v)
Evidence-2: yes-no questions introduced by ‘whether ’ in reported speech
(33) a. ‘Are you feeling better?,’ he asked.
b. He asked whether I was feeling better
Evidence-3: yes-no answers
(34) a. When he asked ‘Did you vote for L.Loudmouth?,’ I said ‘yes’ and you
said ‘no’
b. When he asked whether we voted for L. Loudmouth, I said
Evidence-4: can be tagged by or not
(35) a. Has he finished or not?
‘yes’ and you said ‘no’ 11
b. I can’t say whether he has finished or not
(40) Chain Uniformity Condition
A chain is uniform with regard to phrase structure status
(Chomsky 1995, 253)
(39) *Which have you done [which assignment]?
XP
X
(violates CUC)
(37) Which assignment have you done?
(41) Attract Smallest Condition/ASC
(Pied-piping)
(explains 37)
A head which attracts a particular type of item attracts
the smallest constituent containing such an item which
will not lead to violation of any UG principle.
= we move wh-word on its own wherever possible, but if it were prevented, then
we move the next smallest possible constituent containing the wh-word
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(44) Economy Condition
Derivations and representations…are required to be
minimal, with no superfluous steps in derivations
and no superfluous symbols in representations.
(Chomsky 1989, 69)
(47) Left Branch Condition/LBC
In languages like English, the leftmost constituent
of a nominal expression cannot be extracted out of
the expression containing it.
(Ross, 1967)
Nominal expressions: DP, QP
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5.6 Pied-piping of a superordinate preposition
EF of C triggers mvnt, to Spec-C, of the smallest maximal projection containing
WH-word (cf. T in finite clauses carries an EPP feature)
(49) They asked [to whom he was referring]
(50)
PP
to whom
CP
C´
C
[EF]
Ø
TP
PRN
he
T´
T
was
VP
V
referring
PP
P PRN
to whom
PIC
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(51) Impenetrability Condition
A constituent in the domain of a complementiser or preposition is
impenetrable to (and so cannot be attracted by) a higher head ccommanding the relevant complementiser/preposition.
 prevents ‘preposition stranding’
Cf. (52) They asked [who he was referring to]
(53) b. How far did they go inside the tunnel?
(54) [PP how far [P´ [P inside] the tunnel]]
wh-Spec
PP
Spec
how far
P’
P
NP
PIC inside the tunnel
The Impenetrability Condition only bars extraction of a constituent in the
domain of (i.e. c-commanded by) the preposition, and the specifier how far
is not c-commanded by the preposition inside.
=> The IPC allows material to be extracted from the edge of a Prepositional
Phrase, but not from its (c-command) domain.
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(52) they asked [who he was referring to]
(50)
Spec
who
CP
C´
C
[EF]
Ø
TP
PRN
he
T´
T
was
VP
V
PP
referring PRN
P´
who P PRN
[EF] who
to
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(57) What might he think that she is hiding what?
(63)
CP
Spec
C´
what C
TP
might+Ø PRN
T´
he T
VP
might V
CP
think PRN
C´
what C
TP
that she is hiding what
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(57) What might he think that she is hiding what?
(63)
CP
Spec
C´
what C
TP
might+Ø PRN
T´
he T
VP
might V
CP
think PRN
C´
what C
TP
that she is hiding what
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Quantifier stranding/floating
McCloskey (2000, 2002)
(64) What all did you get for Christmas?
=‘What are all the things which you got for Christmas?’
(65) a. What all do you think that he’ll say that we should buy?
b. What do you think all that he’ll say that we should buy?
c. What do you think that he’ll say all that we should buy?
d. What do you think that he’ll say that we should buy all?
(66) [CP What all [C that] we should buy]
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5.8 Multiple wh-questions
(76) a. He might think that who has done what?
b. Who might think that he has done what?
c. *What might he think that who has done?
d. *Who what might he think that has done?
e. *What who might he think has done?
(78) Attract Closest Condition
A head which attracts a given kind of constituent
attracts the closest constituent of the relevant kind.
(79) Wh-Attraction Condition
The edge feature on C attracts the smallest possible maximal projection
containing the closest wh-word to move to spec-C
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(76) c. Who might he think has done what?
(82)
CP
Spec
who C
C´
TP
[TNS, EF] PRN
might+Ø
he
T´
T
VP
might V
CP
think PRN
C´
who has done what
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