6 - Head movement
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
Summary
Overview
So far, the analysis we have presented has assumed that syntactic structures are derived by a series of binary merger operations. We now go on to argue that derivations may involve not only merger, but also movement operations. In this chapter, we look at two similar types of movement operation, one which affects auxiliaries in Modern English, and another which affected verbs in earlier stages of English. We shall argue that both types of movement involve essentially the same head movement operation, involving movement from one head position to another. We begin by looking at the syntax of so-called auxiliary inversion in English.
Auxiliary inversion
In chapters 3–5, we saw that complementizers are positioned in front of subjects in the clauses they introduce. More specifically, we suggested that complementizers head a separate layer of functional superstructure in clauses, which we termed a complementizer phrase (= CP), with the head C (= COMP) position of CP being filled by complementizers like that/for/if. However, complementizers are not the only kinds of constituent which can precede subjects in clauses. After all, in our brief discussion of auxiliary inversion in §1.6, we saw that auxiliaries can also precede subjects in inversion structures (e.g. in yes–no questions such as Can you help me?).
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- Information
- Syntactic Theory and the Structure of EnglishA Minimalist Approach, pp. 216 - 266Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1997