Questions

Giusti (2003: 181-204) Illocutionary force A comparison with German

CP[+WH] CP

(1) a. I have seen Mary. NP IP IP

wen
b. Have you ___ seen Mary? who C[+WH] C
have hast
NP VP NP
you
c.Who have you ___ seen ___? I du
VP I
have hast
V NP V
NP
seen who gesehen
wen

(4) a. *chi hai tu visto

A comparison with French b. * hai tu visto Maria? Italian
CP CP

*
(5) a. Chi ha visto Maria? (ambiguous)

IP IP
qui
C
chi
C
b. Who saw Mary?
as hai
NP VP NP VP
tu tu c. Who did Mary see?
I I
as NP hai NP
V V
vue qui visto chi

Echo-questions
embedded questions The auxiliary 1.
(6) a. Mary went where?
I to C:
b. Maria andata dove?
c. Maria ist wohin gegangen? (10) a. Would Harry __ have been beeing scolded?
b. Mary asked where Tim went. b. Has Harry __ been being scolded?
vs. lack of movement c. Is Harry __ being scolded?
(7) a. elle est alle ou? (French) d. Was Harry __ scolded?
b. tu as vu qui? b. Mary asked if/whether Tim went away. e. Does Harry __ scold his children?

Head-movement is local
Auxiliaries are hierarchically ordered cf. Ch.2.II
 The auxiliary 2. The auxiliary 2bis The auxiliary 3.
[I+Neg] to C: C can host a single word C cannot host V contrary to other
(11) (12) a. Would {*not} Harry __ {not} have been scolded? Germanic languages
b. Has {*not} Harry __ {not} been being scolded?
c. Is {*not} Harry __ {not} being scolded? (13) a. (German) Gingst du weg?
b. Dutch
d. Was {*not} Harry __ {not} scolded?
c. Swedish
e. Does {*not} Harry __ {not} scold his children?
d. Early Modern English
(14) a. Did you go away?
contracted Negative forms are not the
English has negative inflection
b. *Went you away?
result of a phonological process

The auxiliary 4. Whether vs. if Polarity items

A subordinate C does not host I-to-C
b. Mary asked if/whether Tim went away.
c. *Mary asked if/whether did Tim go away.
(16)
b. Mary asked who Tim saw.
c. *Mary asked who did Tim see.
SpecCP vs C
(19) a. Have you ever been to England?.
(17) a. Mary wondered if/whether she should go away. b. Did you meet anybody?.
b. *Mary wondered if to go away. c. Anybody arrived?
c. Mary wondered whether to go away
(20) a. Sei mai stato in Inghilterra?
Finite clause vs infinitival clause b. Hai incontrato nessuno/qualcuno?
Non arrivato nessuno?
(18) a. Mary wondered who she should invite. d. Qualcuno arrivato Nessuno arrivato?
b. Mary wondered who to invite.

Wh-Subjects Subject object asymmetry Preposition Stranding

*
CP[+WH]
(21) a. who saw you. (23) a. who did you look at.
b. *who did see you. b. what did you talk about.
IP (24) a. where did you arrive (at).
who
C[+WH]
(22) a. who did you see.
b. what did you arrive at.
did b. who did you talk to
NP VP (only metaphorical in the sense of:)
who c. where did you go c. what conclusion did you arrive at.
I
d. when did you arrive d. what station did you arrive at
[past] V NP
saw
see e. etc.
you
 -movement
(25) who do you think [(that) Mary saw __].
cf. chi credi che Maria abbia visto
*
a. who do you think [(that) Mary saw __ ].
b. who do you think [__ (that) Mary saw __].
Subjects vs. non-subjects
(32) a. *Who did who say what to __?
b. *What did who say __ to whom?
c. *Where did who buy what?
(33) a. Where did you buy what?
b. What did you buy where?
(34) a. What did you say to whom?
b. *Who did you say what to __?
Some special cases
b. *Someone is at the door. Is he/Are they? (indef)
d. *You may not be ready. May you? (modals)
(26) a. *Who do you wonder whether Mary met.
b. *Who did you regret that Mary met.
c. *Who do you have the opinion that Mary met.
d.
(27) a. ?Chi ti chiedi se Maria abbia incontrato.
b. ?Chi ti dispiace che Maria abbia incontrato.
c. ?Chi hai la sensazione che Maria abbia incontrato.
d. ?Chi non credi che Maria abbia incontrato
Tags
(35)
(36)
c.
Multiple interrogatives
(28) a. Who said what to whom.
b. My mother wants to know who said what to
whom.
(29) a. What did Mary buy where
b. My mother wants to know what Mary bought
where.
(30) a. Which boy did you meet at which party.
b. Whose book did you buy at which book shop.
(31) a. Chi ha detto che cosa (*a chi)?
b. *Cosa hai comprato dove?
c. *Quale ragazzo hai incontrato a quale festa?
Generalizations about Tags
strictly the same auxiliary as in the matrix
clause,
no other verbal element can appear,
opposite polarity as in the matrix clause,
a pronominal subject must be present, not a full
DP.