Chapter 6
Syntax: simple sentences
Below you find two DGS examples, both containing two sentences. Why is the second sentence in (a) grammatical, but the second one in (b) not?
poss1 friend index3 a school work.
child++ index3 b(arc) 3 a help3 b
‘My friend works in a school. He helps the children.’
poss1 friend index3 a school work.
* child++ index3 b(arc) trust
‘My friend works in a school. He trusts the children.’
In DGS, the grammar requires that the arguments (here subject and object) be marked either on the verb or indicated by pronouns. In the second sentence in (a), both arguments are marked on the verb help, and therefore, the subject pronoun referring to the friend can be dropped. In contrast the second sentence in (b) contains the verb trust, which is not spatially modified (note the lack of subscripts). That is, in this sentence, the subject is neither indicated by a pronoun nor by a marking on the verb – and this leads to ungrammaticality.