Chapter 7 - Complementiser PhrasesIf we assume that Q, like if, is not a bound morpheme, then there will be no reason
for inversion. However, in a main clause there can be no complementiser and hence Q
like all other complementisers will be prevented from appearing. An interrogative CP
still needs to be interpreted as interrogative however and hence it will need its head to
have the [+wh] feature. We have seen how, when a wh-element moves to spec CP, it
agrees with the head. If we make the reasonable assumption that nothing can agree
with an empty head position, this necessitates something being in the head position of
an interrogative clause. Given that complementisers are systematically excluded from
this position, the only option is to move the nearest head into the C position and this
will be the auxiliary in I:
(53) a [CP what e [IP I can do]]
b [CP what if/Q [IP I can do]]
c [CP what can 1 [IP I t 1 do]]
(53a) is ruled out because the wh-element has nothing to agree with and hence the
clause cannot be interpreted as an interrogative. (53b) is ruled out by the general
exclusion of complementisers appearing in main clauses. This leaves (53c) as the only
grammatical possibility.
While this analysis seems less ad hoc than the assumption of different interrogative
complementisers in main and embedded clauses, there are still a number of questions
left unanswered. For example, how are we to analyse yes–no questions under the
assumption that complementisers are not allowed in main clause complementiser
positions? What triggers the inversion in this case if there is no wh-element to agree
with? The answer might be that there is a wh-like element in yes–no questions.
Although we do not get inversion type yes–no questions in embedded clauses, for
obvious reasons, it is still possible to have an embedded yes–no question. These are
typically expressed by the element whether:
(54) I asked [CP whether I should bring some wine]
If we were to put the content of this embedded clause into a main clause it would be
should I bring some wine, i.e. a yes–no question. Thus, (54) contains an embedded
yes–no question. The wh-element whether is quite strange. In many ways it looks like
a complementiser, being a word that appears at the front of an interrogative clause,
rather like if. However, there are a number of reasons to believe that whether is not a
complementiser. For one thing, it can introduce both finite and non-finite clauses:
(55) a I wonder [CP whether I should boil the eggs]
b I wonder [CP whether to boil the eggs]
As we have seen, complementisers generally select for a particular type of CP
complement, either finite or non-finite. Moreover, no other complementiser can
introduce a non-finite clause with a missing subject:
(56) *they hoped [for – to win]
Whether can be coordinated with operators like the negative and wh-pronouns:
(57) a I’m not sure [whether or even when I should applaud]
b they asked [whether or not they would be paid]