Exercise 1

Exercise 1


Understanding syntax234 exerciSeS 1. In Section 7.3, we considered the type of applicative construction known in English as dative movement, an alternation which gives rise to pairs such as Kim gave the book to Lee/Kim gave Lee the book. As noted earlier, not all verbs which take an NP and a to‑PP complement can undergo the alternation. Your task is to work out what factors condition the application of dative movement. I have given a few examples, but you will need to find others, to get a fuller picture. I have also suggested grammaticality judgements which accord with my own intuitions, but you should feel free to disagree with them, and to find or make up other examples to support your case. Given that judgements may vary, the ‘correct answer’ here is a rather fluid concept! (1) a. Lee donated the prize money to her favourite charity. b. *Lee donated her favourite charity the prize money. (2) a. The shopkeeper refunded the money to me. b. The shopkeeper refunded me the money. (3) a. Kim passed the ball to Lee. b. Kim passed Lee the ball. (4) a. I transferred the money to Lee. b. *I transferred Lee the money. (5) a. We showed/sent/forwarded/texted that message to all our friends. b. We showed/sent/?texted/?forwarded all our friends that message. (6) a. Kim dispatched that letter to his lawyer. b. *Kim dispatched his lawyer that letter. (7) a. I faxed my answer to him straight away. b. I faxed him my answer straight away. (8) a. I handed/delivered the parcel to the publishers. b. I handed/*delivered the publishers the parcel. (9) a. I awarded/presented fantastic prizes to the best students. b. I awarded/*presented the best students fantastic prizes. (10) a. I recommended/introduced KnowledgeofLanguageto the students. b. *I recommended/introduced the studentsKnowledgeofLanguage. 2. Study the data in (1) through (10) (from Klamer 1994) and then say exactly how the causative construction is formed in the Malayo‑Polynesian language Kambera. Note that one crucial affix in the Kambera is left unidentified and unglossed. What is it? (1) Na pakanabu-ta weling la ài. he fall-1pl.obj move from tree ‘He made us fall from the tree.’ 7 Processes that change grammatical relations Exercises