Basic English Grammar with Exercises

Suggested Answers and Hints - Chapter 3

(iii) The DP subject in sentence (1c) is headed by the noun student, which is a

one-place predicate. Its lexical entry is:

(8) student cat: [–F, +N, –V]


-grid: <theme>

subcat: prepositional

The PP in Cambridge is not in the lexical entry of the predicate student, as it

cannot be interpreted as theme; therefore it is interpreted as an adjunct in the DP. The

PP of Physics can be understood as the theme of the head. In this DP the same problem

arises that we had in (i). In this structure the adjunct PP is again closer to the nominal

head than the complement PP, which indicates that either the head is first merged with

the adjunct, then the resulting structure with the complement or alternatively the

branches of the tree should be allowed to cross. Neither of these strategies available in

X-bar theory as in (i) and (ii).

Exercise 15

a) DP b) NP

D' N'

D NP AP N'

a N' little AP N'

AP N' brown N

big N jug

house

c) DP

D'

D NP

this N'

AP N'

incredible N

story