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is unable to bind its variable "x", and this is thought to be the reason why the sentence is ungrammatical. One popular theoretical implementation of this is called "relativized minimality". Roughly, it states that a variable of a given kind must be bound by the closest available operator of the
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This sentence is ambiguous between an "I did nothing" reading and another, "there's something I didn't do" reading. On the latter reading, one would represent the sentence as follows within generative grammar (omitting irrelevant details):
195:. For example, the following attempt to create a similar example results in an ungrammatical sentence. The theoretical representation of the sentence is given right below, omitting, again, irrelevant details.
360:
May, Robert. (1977) "Logical Form and
Conditions on Rules." In Kegl, J. et al. eds. Proceedings of NELS VII, pp. 189 - 207. MIT, Cambridge, Mass.
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of the verb "please". Part of the reason to assume the empty operator—variable dependency in such sentences is that they exhibit sensitivity to
225:": "whether". The sentence (4) with its representation (5) is grammatically acceptable because there's no intervening operator between "Op
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The following is an example which is treated within generative grammar in terms of an invisible operator binding an invisible variable:
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such as sentential negation ('not') have also been treated as operators. It is also common within generative grammar to hypothesise
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which it then binds. When this movement leaves the spoken word order unchanged, it is said to be "covert". This process of covert
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Zanuttini, R. (1997) Negation and
Clausal Structure: A Comparative Study of Romance Languages, Oxford University Press.
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empty operators whenever a clause type or construction exhibits symptoms of the presence of an
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187:" is the empty operator and "x" is the variable bound by that operator, functioning as the
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Here, "whether" creates an island for a-bar movement. This means that the operator Op
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Haegeman, Liliane (1994) Introduction to
Government and Binding Theory. Blackwell.
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Koopman, H., & Sportiche, D. (1982). Variables and the
Bijection Principle.
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The relevant aspects of this sentence are represented as follows:
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221:", because there is a closer operator of the same kind as "Op
229:" and "x" which blocks the dependency in that sentence.
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Rizzi, Luigi. (1990) Relativized
Minimality. MIT Press.
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to positions higher in the structure, leaving behind a
28:. One often says that the operator "binds a variable".
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The following examples illustrate the use of the term
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24:denotes a type of expression that enters into an
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325:(1991) Types of A-Bar Dependencies. MIT Press.
217:same kind. In (6,7), "x" can't be bound by "Op
79:The following example is a case of so-called "
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203:John is easy to decide whether to please.
159:" is the operator binding that variable.
155:Here, "x" is the variable, and "something
131:ambiguities as in the following example.
99:empty "variable" indicated here as "__".
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95:Here, "what" is an operator, binding a
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91:did Bill say he wants to buy __ ?
71:within generative grammatical theory.
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43:('every', 'some', 'most', 'no'), but
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39:('which', 'who', 'when', etc.), or
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279:Lectures on Government and Binding
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107:In the generative model of the
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171:4. John is easy to please.
109:syntax-semantics interface
55:, such as sensitivity to
53:a-bar movement dependency
26:a-bar movement dependency
306:The Linguistic Review, 2
277:Chomsky, Noam. (1981)
20:, the technical term
111:, a quantifier must
31:Operators are often
281:, Foris, Dordrecht.
163:Tough constructions
244:syntactic movement
193:extraction islands
179:5. John is easy .
121:quantifier raising
103:Quantifier raising
57:extraction islands
18:generative grammar
382:Generative syntax
323:Cinque, Guglielmo
208:7. John is easy
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148:3. Something
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97:phonetically
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75:Wh-operators
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239:wh-movement
81:wh-movement
41:quantifiers
33:determiners
371:Categories
260:References
35:, such as
308:, 139-60.
183:Here, "Op
137:something
233:See also
69:operator
63:Examples
22:operator
377:Grammar
45:adverbs
189:object
129:scope
117:trace
201:Bad:
199:6.
113:move
89:What
87:1.
83:":
16:In
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353:^
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125:QR
59:.
227:x
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123:(
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