Argument structure

✍ Scribed by Jane B. Grimshaw

• Publisher: MIT Press
• Year: 1990
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 214
• Series: Linguistic Inquiry monographs; 18
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Argument Structure is a contribution to linguistics at the interface between lexical syntax and lexical semantics. It formulates an original and highly predictive theory of argument structure that accounts for a large number of syntactic phenomena. The main analytical focus is on passives, nominals, psychological predicates, and the theory of external arguments. In the course of Argument Structure, Jane Grimshaw suggests that, contrary to the prevailing view, argument structure is in fact structured; it encodes prominence relations among arguments which reflect both their thematic and their aspectual properties. The prominence relations support a new theory of external arguments, with far reaching consequences for the syntactic behavior of predicates, and the nature of cross-categorial variation in argument structure.

✦ Table of Contents

Frontmatter
Halftitle
Series title
Title
Copyright
Contents
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1: Principles of Argument-Structure Representation
Chapter 2: The Structure of Argument Structure
2.1 Structured Argument Structure: The Thematic Dimension
2.2 Theta-Marking and the Structure of A-Structure
2.2.1 Theta-Marking with Light Verbs
2.2.2 English compounds
2.3 Structured Argument Structure: The Aspectual Dimension
2.3.1 The inadequacy of thematic reanalysis
2.3.2 The inadequacy of lexical case marking
2.3.3 Another dimension of semantic analysis
2.3.4 The aspectual dimension
2.4 Consequences of Thematic and Aspectual Prominence for Linking
2.5 External Arguments and A-Structure Prominence
2.5.1 A theory of external arguments
2.5.2 External arguments and quirky case
2.5.3 Unaccusatives
2.6 Theta Role Labels
2.7 Summary
Chapter 3: Nominalization
3.1 Ambiguity in the Nominal System
3.2 Nominals and Event Structure
3.2.1 Event structure and argument structure in nominals
3.2.2 The presence or absence of argument structure
3.2.3 Properties of the determiner system
3.2.4 Unambiguous modifiers
3.2.5 Aspectual differences
3.2.6 Some alternatives
3.3 The Lexical Representation of Nominals
3.4 Compounds and Argument Structure
3.5 Theta-Marking Properties of Argument-Taking Nominals
3.5.1 Sentential complements to nouns
3.5.2 Passive nominals
3.5.3 Nouns as defective theta markers
3.6 Complements and Modifiers
3.6.1 A note on affectedness
3.6.2 Complements and selection
3.6.3 Properties of modifiers
3.6.4 Selection and CP modifiers
3.6.5 Sentential complements to -er nominals
3.6.6 Summary
3.7 Some Conclusions on Nominalization
Chapter 4: The Argument Structure of Nominals and Passives
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Suppressed Positions and Argument Adjuncts
4.3 External Arguments and Suppression
4.3.1 The passive
4.3.2 Nominalization
4.3.3 Adjectival passives
4.4 More Evidence for Suppression
4.5 Argument Adjuncts in Passives and Nominals
4.5.1 Possessives
4.5.2 By phrases
4.6 Argument, Adjunct, or Argument Adjunct?
4.6.1 The adjunct analysis
4.6.2 By phrases and possessives as arguments
4.6.3 Adjuncts, argument adjuncts, and the theta criterion
4.7 Conclusion
Chapter 5: Argument Structure and Anaphora
5.1 Reflexive Cliticization
5.2 Local Anaphora and Thematic Hierarchy Effects
5.3 Long-Distance Anaphora and Prominence
5.3.1 Long-distance anaphora with psychological predicates
5.3.2 Anaphora and the argument structure of causatives
5.4 Conclusion
Notes
Chapter 2
1–7
8–16
17–24
25–27
Chapter 3
1–6
7–15
16–26
27
Chapter 4
1–7
8–17
18–27
Chapter 5
1–5
6–8
References
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