CAS LX 502
11a. Predicate modificationand adjectives
Is hungry
• As a starting point, we’ve been considering is hungry to be an intransitive verb.
• Really, though, is is the verb, hungry is an adjective.• An individual can either be hungry or not hungry.
That is, hungry is either true or false of an individual. Hungry is a function from individuals to truth values, <e,t>.
• In is hungry, the verb is is not contributing any meaning, it’s just there to link up the subject and the adjective.
Bond is hungry
• Let’s tweak our syntax so that is hungry is comprised of is and hungry, and let’s say that is has no semantic value, that it is meaningless.
• VP Vbe Adj
• Vbe is• Adj hungry, happy, tall• [Vbe]M,g = —• [hungry]M,g = x [ x F(hungry) ]
Bond is hungry
• To interpret this we want is to be ignored. To be precise, we can slightly modify Pass-Up so that it applies to this case.
• Pass-UpIf a node has only one daughter with a semantic value, , then []M,g = []M,g
S
NP VP
Vbe
is
NP
Bond
Adj
hungry
Bond is hungry
• Pass-UpIf a node has only one daughter with a semantic value, , then []M,g = []M,g
S
NP VP
Vbe
is
NP
Bond
Adj
hungry
x [ x F(hungry) ]<e,t>
Bond is hungry
• Pass-UpIf a node has only one daughter with a semantic value, , then []M,g = []M,g
S
NP VP
Vbe
is
NP
Bond
Adj
hungry
x [ x F(hungry) ]<e,t>
x [ x F(hungry) ]<e,t>
Bond is hungry
• Pass-UpIf a node has only one daughter with a semantic value, , then []M,g = []M,g
S
NP VP
Vbe
is
NP
Bond
Adj
hungry
x [ x F(hungry) ]<e,t>
x [ x F(hungry) ]<e,t>
x [ x F(hungry) ]<e,t>
Bond is hungry
• Pass-UpIf a node has only one daughter with a semantic value, , then []M,g = []M,g
S
NP VP
Vbe
is
NP
Bond
Adj
hungry
x [ x F(hungry) ]<e,t>
F(Bond) ]<e>
Bond is hungry
• Pass-UpIf a node has only one daughter with a semantic value, , then []M,g = []M,g
• Functional application[ ]M,g =[]M,g ( []M,g )or []M,g ( []M,g ) whichever is defined
S
NP VP
Vbe
is
NP
Bond
Adj
hungry
x [ x F(hungry) ]<e,t>
F(Bond) ]<e>
Bond is hungry
• Functional application[ ]M,g =[]M,g ( []M,g )or []M,g ( []M,g ) whichever is defined
• [S]M,g = [VP]M,g ( [NP]M,g )= x [ x F(hungry) ] ( [NP]M,g )= x [ x F(hungry) ] ( F(Bond) )= F(Bond) F(hungry)
S
NP VP
Vbe
is
NP
Bond
Adj
hungry
x [ x F(hungry) ]<e,t>
F(Bond) ]<e>
Every hungry fish is happy
• By separating is from hungry, we’ve isolated a category of adjectives, which also appear in noun phrases modifying a common noun, as in every hungry fish.
• Now that we have adjectives, we can turn a common noun like fish into a more descriptive common noun like hungry fish… inching closer to actual English.
• NC Adj NC
Nemo is a fish
• One more detour before we continue: What is the contribution of a in Nemo is a fish?
• We have a listed as a quantifier, meaning essentially the same as some, e.g.,• A fish likes every book.• Some fish likes every book.
• A means that there is an x that for which both and hold.
• Every means that for every x, being implies also being .
Nemo is a fish
• But does Nemo is a fish really mean ‘There is an x that is a fish, and Nemo is that x’?
• It doesn’t really feel like that. Also, notice that every cannot be used here:• *Nemo is every happy fish.
Nemo is a fish• What it seems like intuitively is that a is not adding
anything to the meaning either. That, like is, a is just meaningless, passing along the meaning of the common noun.
• So, let’s allow for that by building in a “dummy determiner” that has no meaning and shows up only when the verb is is.
• VP Vbe NPpred
• NPpred Detdummy NC
• Detdummy a
• [DETdummy a ]M,g = —
Nemo is a fish
• There’s nothing new or fancy going on here, just more use of Pass-Up.
• [fish]M,g = x [ x F(fish) ]
• [DETdummy a]M,g = —
• [is]M,g = —
S
NP VP
Vbe
is
NP
Nemo
NPpred
fish
Detdummy
a
NC
x [ x F(fish) ]<e,t>
Nemo is a fish
• Then, as before:
• [S]M,g = [VP]M,g ( [NP]M,g )= x [ x F(fish) ] ( [NP]M,g )= x [ x F(fish) ] ( F(Nemo) )= F(Nemo) F(fish)
S
NP VP
Vbe
is
NP
Nemo
NPpred
fish
Detdummy
a
NC
x [ x F(fish) ]<e,t>
x [ x F(fish) ]<e,t>
F(Nemo)<e>
What the meaning of is is
• Is is always meaningless?• It seems to be in Nemo is a fish.• But what about in Nemo is the President?
Or A hungry fish is a happy fish?
• The “meaningless” kind of is we’ll call predicative. The “equals” kind of is we’ll call equative.
Equative be
• The equative is is kind of like a conjunction that means “equals” and seems to be able to equate any two NPs. We might give the rule as (perhaps limiting and to NPs):
• [is]M,g = [ [ []M,g = []M,g ] ]
Nemo is a happy fish
• We added a rule to allow for adjectives to attach to common nouns:
• NC Adj NC
• So, we should be able to draw a structure for Nemo is a happy fish.
Nemo is a happy fish
• However, when we try to work out the truth conditions, we run into a problem.
S
NP VP
Vbe
is
NP
Nemo
NPpred
fish
Detdummy
a NC
x [ x F(fish) ]<e,t>
NC
Adj
happy
x [ x F(happy) ]<e,t>
?
Nemo is a happy fish
• What type should happy fish be?• Seems like it should be
the same as fish.
• A property (a predicate), true of individuals (<e,t>), that are happy and fish.
• Nemo is happy and Nemo is a fish.
S
NP VP
Vbe
is
NP
Nemo
NPpred
fish
Detdummy
a NC
x [ x F(fish) ]<e,t>
NC
Adj
happy
x [ x F(happy) ]<e,t>
?<e,t>
Nemo is a happy fish
• We want something that,given an individual z,is trueif happy is true of zand fish is true of z.
z [ z F(happy) z F(fish) ]
S
NP VP
Vbe
is
NP
Nemo
NPpred
fish
Detdummy
a NC
x [ x F(fish) ]<e,t>
NC
Adj
happy
x [ x F(happy) ]<e,t>
?<e,t>
Predicate modification
• To make the structure interpretable and to accomplish the desired meaning, we add a third interpretation rule:
• Predicate modification[ ]M,g = z [ []M,g(z) []M,g(z) ]where and are predicates (type <e,t>).
Predicate modification• Predicate modification
[ ]M,g = z [ []M,g(z) []M,g(z) ]where and are predicates (type <e,t>).
• For [happy fish]M,g, will be happy, will be fish.• [happy]M,g = x [ x F(happy) ]• [fish]M,g = x [ x F(fish) ]• [happy fish]M,g
= z [ [happy]M,g(z) [fish]M,g(z) ]= z [ x [ x F(happy) ](z) [fish]M,g(z) ]= z [ z F(happy) [fish]M,g(z) ]= z [ z F(happy) x [ x F(fish) ](z) ]= z [ z F(happy) z F(fish) ]
Nemo is ahappy fish
• Now that we have a semantic value for the whole NC, the rest proceeds as in Nemo is a fish from before.
• Is and a have nosemantic value, so[NC]M,g is passed upall the way to [VP]M,g.
S
NP VP
Vbe
is
NP
Nemo
NPpred
fish
Detdummy
a NC
x [ x F(fish) ]<e,t>
NC
Adj
happy x [ x F(happy) ]<e,t>
z [ z F(happy) z F(fish) ] <e,t>
Nemo is ahappy fish
• [S]M,g = [VP]M,g ( [NP]M,g )= z [ z F(happy) z F(fish) ] ( [NP]M,g )= z [ z F(happy) z F(fish) ] ( F(Nemo) )= F(Nemo) F(happy) F(Nemo) F(fish)
• Nemo is happy and Nemo is a fish.
S
NP VP
Vbe
is
NP
Nemo
NPpred
fish
Detdummy
a NC
NC
Adj
happy
z [ z F(happy) z F(fish) ] <e,t>
F(Nemo)<e>
(F3)S NP VP VP Vt NP
S S ConjP VP Vi
ConjP Conj S NP Det NC
S Neg S NP NP
VP Vbe NPpred NC Adj NC
NPpred Detdummy NC
Det the, a, every NP Pavarotti, Loren, Bond, Nemo, Dory, Blinky, Semantics, The Last Juror, hen, shen, itn, himn, hern, himselfn, herselfn, itselfn.
Conj and, or
Vt likes, hates
Adj boring, hungry
Neg it is not the case that NC book, fish, man, woman
Detdummy a Vbe is
[Pavarotti]M,g = F(Pavarotti) (any NP)
[boring]M,g = x [ x F(boring) ] (any NC or Adj or Vi)
[likes]M,g = y [ x [ <x,y> F(likes) ] ] (any Vt)
[and]M,g = y [ x [ x y ] ] (analogous for or)
[it is not the case that]M,g = x [ x ]
[every]M,g = P [ Q [ xU [P(x) Q(x)] ] ]
[a]M,g = P [ Q [ xU [P(x) Q(x)] ] ]
[i]M,g = g(i) [is]M,g = —
[i]M,g = S [x [ [S]M,g[i/x] ] ] [DETdummy a]M,g = —
Pass-UpIf a node has only one daughter with a semantic value, , then []M,g = []M,g
Functional application [ ]M,g = []M,g ( []M,g )
or []M,g ( []M,g )
Quantifier Raising[S X NP Y ][S NP [S i [S X ti Y ]]]
Predicate modification[ ]M,g = z [ []M,g(z) []M,g(z) ]where and are predicates
The boring fish
• There are two more things to add to our system before we call it complete enough for this semester.
• One is to add an interpretation for the (which our syntax can generate), as in the boring fish.
• The is a Det but it is different from every: It doesn’t seem to rely on the value of the sentence:
• Every means for each x, if is true of x, is also true of x.
• The is just an individual, one of which is true, with the presupposition that there is only one individual of which is true.
A unique fish
• However, rather than try to incorporate presuppositions into F3, we’ll instead define the to be a quantifier like every or a except meaning a unique.• (This means not presupposing existence and
uniqueness, but rather asserting it)
• [the]M,g =P [ Q [ xU [P(x) y[P(y)x=y] Q(x)] ] ]
• [a]M,g =P [ Q [ xU [P(x) Q(x)] ] ]
The fish that Bond likes
• The last thing to incorporate is the relative clause.
• Idea: suppose we start with Bond likes the fish and we transform this S into an NP (the fish that Bond likes) by doing something similar to QR.
• Relative clause transformation:[S X Det NC Y ][NP Det [Nc NC [S that [S i [S X ti Y ] ] ] ] ]
Relative clause transformation
• [that]M,g = —
S
… ti …
S
S
i
Det
NC
… NP …
Det NC
S
that
NC
NP
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