Basic Skills (A versus A'-Movement)

Syntax II Spring 2025

Week 2: Basic Skills: A versus A’-Movement

By the end of the semester, a student taking Syntax II (graduate level) should have the following basic skills. 

1.

Be able to argue whether or not there is a movement relationship between two positions X and Y.

2.

Be able to define A-position and A’-position. 

3.

Be able to give a wide range of example sentences illustrating A-movement and A’-movement in English. The student should be able to draw plausible tree diagrams for each of these examples (e.g., tough-movement).

See Class Exercise

4.

For any particular example of movement, the student should be able to argue (using various diagnostics) that it is A or A’-movement.

5.

Be able to list the main properties distinguishing A-movement and A’-movement (e.g., binding, reconstruction, parasitic gaps, improper movement, weak crossover, etc.). The student should be able to define all the relevant principles that enter into these properties (e.g., they should be able to define weak crossover, they should know about the copy theory of movement).

6.

For each property in (5), the student should be able to give example sentences illustrating that property. For example, the student should be able to show that A-movement does not show Weak Crossover Effects. Likewise, the student should be able to show that A-movement does not give rise to condition C reconstruction effects.