Detecting Complements and Adjuncts

Rajat Kumar Mohanty

Center for Indian Language Technology IIT Bombay

Outline

X-bar Theory Revisited Complement and Adjuncts within an NP Detecting Complements and Adjuncts

Structural Ambiguity Phrase Structure Rules for Noun Phrases Reordering of Adjuncts Co-ordination Extraposition Preposing Co-occurrence Restrictions

Generalization Exercises
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X-bar Theory

It tells us how words are combined to make phrases and sentences. It captures the commonality between different types of phrases, which PS-rules cannot.

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X-bar Projection
XP (Maximal projection)

YP

X `(Intermediate projection)

X (Minimal projection)

ZP

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X-bar Projection
XP (X-phrase)

YP(Specifier)

X`

X (Head)

ZP (Complement)
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X-bar Projection
XP YP (Specifier) X` X` ZP (Adjunct)

X (Head)

ZP (Complement)

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X-bar Projection
NP NPspecifier Johns Nhead solution to the problem
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N` PPcomplement

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X-bar Projection
NP
Detspecifier

N` N`
PPcomplement PPadjunct

the

Nhead

in the cabinet meeting

discussion
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of the cricket match

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Complement and Adjuncts within an NP

NP

Detspecifier

N`

N`

PPadjunct

with long hair

Nhead PPcomplement

student
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of NLP
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Structural Ambiguity in an NP

A student [of high moral principles] Is there any ambiguity in this NP ?

a person who studies high moral principles a student who has high moral principles

This ambiguity can be characterized in structural terms

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a person who studies high moral principles

NP
Detspecifier N`

a
Nhead

PPcomplement

student

of high moral principles

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a student who has high moral principles

NP
Detspecifier

N` N`
PPadjunct

of moral principles
Nhead

student
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Examples
1. 2.

Arguments [with John] are often pointless. (???) Arguments [with few premises] are often pointless. (???) Arguments [with John] [with few premises] are often pointless. *Arguments [with few premises] [with John] are often pointless.

3.

4.

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Phrase Structure Rules for Noun Phrases

The complement must precede an adjunct. Rules

NP N (PP) N N (PP) adjunct rule complement rule

1.

Examples
2.

a student [of Physics] [with long hair] * a student [with long hair] [of Physics]

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Phrase Structure Rules for Noun Phrases

Adjunct rules are recursive. A complement rule is not recursive, i.e., it can apply only once. Examples
1. 2.

a student [with long hair] [with short arms] * a student [of Physics] [of Chemistry]

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Reordering of Adjuncts

Unlike complements which have to precede adjuncts, adjuncts can be freely reordered with respect to each other.

1.
2.

a student [with long hair] [with short arms] a student [with short arms] [with long hair]

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Co-ordination

Complements can be co-ordinated with other complements.

a student [of linguistics] and [of Computer Science]

Adjuncts can be co-ordinated with other adjuncts.

a student [with short arms] and [with long hair]

But adjunct PPs and complements PPs cannot be co-ordinated.

* a student [of Physics] and [with short arms] * a student [with short arms] and [of Physics]
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Extraposition

1. 2.

Adjuncts are less tightly bound to the head noun than complements. It is possible to extrapose adjuncts PPs but not possible to extrapose complement PPs. Examples
A student [with long hair] came to see me yesterday. ? A student came to see me yesterday [with long hair]. * A student came to see me yesterday [of Physics].

3.

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Preposing

1. 2.

Complements and Adjuncts behave differently with respect to preposing. Examples

[What branch of linguistics] is John a student of? * [What kind of hair] is John a student with?

Note that Complements and Adjuncts go in opposite directions with respect to Extraposition and Preposing. Heads are more closely related to their complements than to their adjuncts.
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Co-occurrence Restrictions

Heads place significant restrictions (i.e. , subcategorisation) on what can appear as their complement.
1. 2. 3. 4.

a student of NLP * a boy of NLP * a girl of NLP * a teenager of NLP

No similar restrictions are imposed on adjuncts.

a student with long hair a boy with long hair a girl with long hair a teenager with long hair
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Generalization

Heads are more closely related to their complements than to their adjuncts. Subcategorisation restrictions hold only between a head and its complement, not between a head and its adjuncts.

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Exercise-I

Identify the complements and adjuncts in the following NPs:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

your reply [to my letter] the attack [on Starr] the loss [of the ship] Johns disgust [at Marys behavior] his disillusionment [with life] the book [on the table] the advertisement [on the television] the fight [after the match] his resignation [because of the scandal] a cup [with a broken handle]
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Exercise-II

Provide trees for the bracketed NPs in the following sentences:

I met [a specialist in fibreoptics from Japan]. [The journey from Mumbai to Delhi on the Christmas Day] was tiring. [The discussion of the riots in the bar] was full and frank. [The solution to the problem given by John] is better than the solution given by Mary. [The solution to last weeks quiz on page 20] is a better one.
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Sources and Suggested Readings

Introduction to Government and Binding Theory, 2nd edn., Liliane Haegeman, Blackwell, 1994. Syntactic Structures Revisited, Howard Lasnik, MIT Press, 2000. Bhatt, R. 2003. Introduction to Syntax. Principles and Parameters, Peter Culicover, Oxford, 1997.
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THANK YOU

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