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2. Syntax: Advanced Forays – Extensions & Reflexions
Marcel den Dikken
Department of English Linguistics
ELTE

3. Syntax: Advanced Forays
SAFE® 1
Syntax: Advanced Forays
• this series of short slide shows with voice-overs follows
in the wake of Syntax: A First Encounter (SAFE), and
serves as supporting material for the Advanced Syntax
lecture course taught in ELTE’s Department of English
Linguistics
• the slide shows are loosely based on the following text-
book, familiarity with which is presupposed throughout
Mark Newson, Marianna Hordós, Dániel Pap, Krisztina Szécsényi, Gabriella Tóth, Veronika Vincze,
Basic English Syntax with Exercises
(2007)
available on-line, free of charge, at:

4. Syntax: Advanced Forays
SAFE® 1
Syntax: Advanced Forays
• while SAFE laid the foundations for an understanding of
Noam Chomsky’s theory of generative syntax, the present
series of short programmes goes into greater detail and
extends this basic understanding of syntax with an eye
towards engendering a conscious command of the theory
that will facilitate direct access to the primary research
literature and critical reflexions on syntactic theorising
• each segment is identified in the top left- hand corner of
the slides as SAFE® (the acronym for Syntax: Advanced
Forays – Extensions & Reflexions) followed by the serial
number of the segment
• for best results, the full series of slide shows should be
viewed in sequential order
• further readings and references to the literature can be
found in the accompanying textbook

5. Syntax: Advanced Forays
SAFE® 1
Syntax: Advanced Forays
• this first segment is mostly a brief summary of what was
covered in SAFE; subsequent segments start with a
quick review of previous installments of SAFE®
• as in SAFE, we will keep track of what was discussed
with the help of the SAFE® Deposit Box
• and as in SAFE, things that will be useful to store in
memory (such as definitions, or important generalisations
or hypotheses) will be marked with this symbol:

6. SAFE Savings → from SAFE we inherited the following picture:
• a generative syntax is a formal system that is capable of
deriving (or ‘generating’) all and only those sentences of
human natural language that are grammatical
• sentences are formed by combining heads and phrases
into X-bar projections in accordance with
(a) the Projection Principle (all lexical information,
for category, subcategorisation, and thematic (or
θ-) roles, must be syntactically represented)
(b) the θ-Criterion (θ-role↔argument biuniqueness)
(c) the UTAH (correspondence between thematic and
structural relationships)

7. SAFE Savings → from SAFE we inherited the following picture:
• verbs project their internal arguments within VP but need
a ‘little v’ to get their external θ-role and accusative Case
assigned (cf. Burzio’s Generalisation)
• finite I, which projects outside the v–VP core, entertains
Spec-Head agreement with its specifier under which
(a) person/number agreement between the finite verb
and the structural subject is checked
(b) nominative Case is assigned to the subject
• on top of IP a projection of the functional head C can be
included in the structure of the sentence
(a) C serves as the locus for lexical complementisers
and as the landing-site for Subject–Aux Inversion
(b) SpecCP serves as the host for wh-operators (incl.
whether) and the null operator

8. SAFE Savings → from SAFE we inherited the following picture:
• heads and phrases can undergo movement; all occur-
rences of movement leave a trace behind
• the nominal phrase has a structure broadly similar to
that of the clause, featuring the functional categories
Q (for quantifiers) and D (for determiners)
• the D-head of possessive nominal phrases is occupied in
English by the genitival marker ’s, which, like person/
number marking in finite I, entertains a Spec-Head agree-
ment relation with its specifier
• the structural parallelism between clauses and nominal
phrases is further enhanced by the binding asymmetries
(involving reflexives, pronouns, and names) found
between subjects/possessors, on the one hand, and
hierarchically lower constituents, on the other

9. SAFE® Preview → SAFE® will take us in the following directions:
• we will delve into the distinction between unaccusative/
ergative and intransitive/unergative verbs and provide an
explanation for the major diagnostics for (un)ergativity
• we will develop the inflectional structure of the clause
by recognising separate X-bar projections for Asp(ect),
T(ense), and sentential negation (NegP)
• we will put the subject of non-finite clauses in a special
spotlight, examining how it gets Case when it is overt,
and what its nature is when it is silent
• we will develop a typology of nominal elements defined
by the binary features [+anaphoric] and [+pronominal],
and discuss the licensing of silent nominal elements

10. SAFE® Preview → SAFE® will take us in the following directions:
• we will discuss a wide range of constructions involving
movement to the left edge of the clause, going beyond
wh-movement to present focus fronting, topicalisation,
and null operator movement constructions of various
kinds
• we will subject the syntax of relative clauses to a closer
inspection, juxtaposing the two major approaches that
are on the market: the ‘head-raising’ and ‘head-external’
analyses
• and we will see that syntax continues beyond the point
at which the output of the derivation is pronounced:
some material spelled out in a clause-internal position
undergoes covert movement, in post-Spell-Out syntax

11. Syntax: Advanced Forays – Extensions & Reflexions
Marcel den Dikken
Department of English Linguistics
ELTE

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