Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The distinction drawn here between ergative and object-deletion verbs is based on the role of the subject. The object of a transitive ergative verb is the subject of the corresponding intransitive ergative verb. With object-deletion verbs, in contrast, the subject is consistent regardless of whether an object is or is not present.
Instead, it is more appropriately analyzed as argument ellipsis, where specific arguments (e.g., objects) are omitted while the verb phrase remains intact. [20] The strict Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) order in Japanese and the absence of auxiliary verbs to syntactically license ellipsis further challenge the notion of verb-stranding VPE.
In Object_(grammar)#Verb_classes there is below intransitive: Object deletion We have already eaten. This is, in fact, in my version of grammar, transitive because it can carry an object. Note that this is different from the ergative case (where the meaning of the verb changes, and nobody would disagree with that sank in "The freighter sank ...
An alternative explanation for tough constructions involves no movement, relying instead on "Tough Deletion," wherein the subject appears twice in the underlying form, both in the main subject and embedded object positions, and the latter is then deleted, like so:
This optionality is a clear indication of ellipsis. At other times, however, ellipsis seems to be obligatory, for instance with cases of comparative deletion, e.g., *More girls were there today than girls were there yesterday. The second occurrence of girls must be omitted in this sentence (More girls were there today than were there yesterday).
Antecedent-contained deletion (ACD), also called antecedent-contained ellipsis, is a phenomenon whereby an elided verb phrase appears to be contained within its own antecedent. For instance, in the sentence "I read every book that you did", the verb phrase in the main clause appears to license ellipsis inside the relative clause which modifies ...
Expletive there can appear as the "object" of a raising-to-object predicate, but not of a control verb, e.g. a. *Fred asked there to be a party. - Expletive there cannot appear as the object of a control predicate. b. Fred expects there to be a party. - Expletive there can appear as the object of a raising-to-object predicate. a.
The notion that the process of whiz deletion is the correct explanation for the surface structures in question has been disputed. Williams argues, [3] for instance, that it fails to address the difference between 4. The firm representing the defendant moved to have the case dismissed. which whiz deletion would produce from 5.