Quiz 7 11.28.00 Name: ________________________
1. The structure of the Ditransitive construction is
a. SUBJ V OBJ1 'to' OBJ2
b. SUBJ V OBJ1 OBJ2
c. SUBJ V OBJ2 'to' OBJ1
d. both 'b' and 'c'
'b' is correct. 'a' and 'c' are instances of the dative construction, such as "I gave an A to the student." The tip-off is the presence of the preposition 'to'. The ditransitive just has two object noun phrases which follow the verb, without any prepositions.
2. An example used by Goldberg is:
a. She fed the guests lasagna.
b. Jim kicked the goal the ball.
c. I painted the fence a new coat of paint.
d. both 'a' and 'c'.
'a' is correct (it is example 20b in the text).
3. Which is a semantic constraint on the ditransitive construction discussed by Goldberg?
a. The transferred object cannot be animate (which rules out 'Mike gave him her.').
b. The agent must intend the transfer (which rules out 'Mike threw the right fielder the ball which he had intended to throw to the fist baseman.').
c. The transfer must proceed along a single path (which rules out 'I gave him a ball around the corner.').
d. All of the above.
'b' is correct. 'a' is just wrong, as animate objects can be the transferred object: 'I gave her the baby.' 'c' is also wrong, I just made it up and I'm not sure it even makes sense.
4. Which is a semantic constraint on the ditransitive construction discussed by Goldberg?
a. The recipient must be acquainted with the agent.
b. The recipient must be understood as metaphorically undergoing a change of state (which rules out 'John gave the brick a dirty look.')
c. The recipient must be expected to willingly receive the transferred object (which rules out 'Sally burned Joe some rice.').
d. All of the above.
'c' is correct, and in fact that example is number (17) in the text. 'a' is ridiculous. 'b' is just plain strange, and I'm not sure what it would mean -- I just made it up --, the recipient need not, of course, be understood as changing state, though of course this can be the case, as in 'Jane gave Mike the flu.'
5. Consider the example "Mike killed Reagan a commie." This sentence is
a. a counterexample to the proposed semantics of the ditransitive construction.
b. an illustration of a metaphor in which actions done for someone's benefit are understood as objects transferred to that person.
c. an aberration, since Reagan would not willingly receive a Commie, and being a willing recipient is a constraint on the first object.
d. not discussed by Goldberg.
'b' is correct, and this is discussed on page 150 of the Goldberg reading. 'a' is not correct, since Goldberg does account for the semantics by means of the metaphor discussed in 'b'. 'c' is wrong because the relevant semantics has Reagan willingly receiving a metaphorical object, the death of a commie. 'd' is incorrect, as can be seen by looking at page 150.
6. The structure of the caused motion construction is (where OBL is a directional prepositional phrase)
a. OBJ1 V OBJ 2 OBL
b. SUBJ V OBJ
c. SUBJ V OBJ OBL
d. SUBJ V OBL
'c' is correct. 'a' wouldn't be a sentence (or a clause), since it lacks a subject. 'b' is simply a transitive sentence, such as 'I painted the fence.' And 'd' looks like an intransitive with a prepositional phrase adjunct (sorry about the jargon), like 'I walked into the house.'
7. According to Goldberg, the 'causer' argument in the caused motion construction (CMC)
a. must be an agent or an instrument.
b. must be an agent, and instrument, or a natural force.
c. must be an agent or a natural force.
d. must be an agent.
'c' is correct. This is discussed on page 165.
8. The sentence *Sam encouraged Bob into the room is bad because
a. 'encourage' requires an intermediate cognitive cause, which is ruled out by the 'direct causation' constraint of the CMC.
b. 'encourage' does not require that Bob actually enter the room, as required by the CMC.
c. 'encouraging' is not a physical activity, and hence is unable to cause physical motion.
d. none of the above.
'a' is correct, as is discussed on pages 166-7 of the Goldberg text.
9. According to Goldberg, the sentence *He struck the ball across the field is infelicitous because
a. 'strike' entails that the stuck object is affected in some manner other than movement, and this is incompatible with the semantics of the CMC.
b. the field is not a willing recipient of the ball, because it is not animate.
c. the agent argument 'he' might not have intentionally struck the ball, and the CMC requires that the caused motion be intentionally initiated.
d. both 'b' and 'c'
'a' is correct, and is the topic of pages 169-71 in the text.
10. Which of the following is/are among the five constraints on the CMC identified by Goldberg?
a. The agent must intend the caused motion to proceed along the path that the moving entity in fact follows.
b. If the caused motion is not strictly entailed, it must be presumed as a ceteris paribus implication.
c. The path of motion must be completely determined by the action denoted by the verb.
d. The verb must be stative (aka imperfective).
e. 'b' and 'c'.
f. 'b' and 'd'
'e' is correct (the constraints are listed on page 174 of the text). 'd' is obviously false, as perfective verbs, such as kick, sneeze, hit, are always in the CMC. 'a' is also obviously false -- e.g. I knocked the glass of the table.