Chapter 5 - Verb Phrases4.2 PP modifiers
The other main modifier in the VP is the PP. This differs from the AP modifier in its
distribution in that it always follows the verb. Thus a PP modifier has a far more
restricted distribution than an adverbial one:
(175) a may in the lake have been swimming
b may have in the lake been swimming
c *may have been in the lake swimming
d may have been swimming in the lake
Understandably, we cannot get a PP modifier between a verb and its complement, just
like Adverbs, however we can separate a verb from its PP complements:
(176) a *flowed under the bridge the river
b live with his mother in Paris
The only way for (176a) to have been generated would be to adjoin the PP to the left
of the lower VP. However, PPs never adjoin to the left, only to the right, and moreover
this would necessitate the verb moving over the PP adjunct. As this is impossible for
AP modifiers, we can assume that it is impossible for PP modifiers as well. In (176b),
assuming the locative PP to be the complement of the verb, the only way for this to get
behind the PP adjunct would be for it to move. And hence we can assume that there is
a backwards movement that PP arguments may undergo which is similar to the
movement that clausal complements undergo, as discussed in section 3.8. That PP
complements may undergo such a movement is supported by the following data:
(177) a a book about penguins was published last week
b a book was published last week about penguins
In this example, the PP is part of the subject DP and yet it may appear on the opposite
side of the clause to the subject, indicating that it can undergo this kind of movement.
DP complements, however, cannot move backwards past a PP adjunct as can be
seen by (176a). We might assume that this is because the DP must occupy a Case
position and hence cannot move away from its specifier position in the VP. However,
this is not so straightforward as DPs can be moved out of Case positions in some
instances and moreover some DPs can undergo backward movement:
(178) a this exercise 1 , I don’t think anyone can [do t 1 ]
b which book 1 were you [reading t 1 ]
c you should complete t 1 in ink [every form with a blue cross at the top] 1
In (178a) and (b) the object has undergone a movement to the front of the clause, out
of its Case position. But if this is an allowable movement, why should it not be
allowed to move to the back of the clause? In (178c) the object has moved backwards
behind the PP adjunct with ink. In this case, the DP is very long and complex involving
quantification and post head modification. A simpler DP would not be allowed to do
the same thing:
(179) *you should complete t 1 in ink [the form] 1