The Transformational Process: An Oversimplified Overview

Abstract

IN TRANSFORMIATIONAL GRAIMMIAR there are three tvrpes of generative rules. The first type is the rewrite rule or phrase structure rule. This is the type of rule that allows us to generate the deep structures of basic or kernel sentences. I realize that the concept of the kernel sentence has been challenged because of the fact that it is best to view all sentences (whether kernel or derived) as potentially containing both imbedded sentences and transformations; however, let us waive this realization for a moment, and assunme for the basis of discussion that some sentences are derived in some way from these through the transformational process. At this point it should be noted that of all the phrase structure rules, the most significant one is the one which expands the verb phrase for it is this one which determines the strict subcategorization relationship between the verb and the complements of the verb. This is the rule which generates intransitive verbs without any complements, linking verbs with their Subjective Complements (Predicate Nouns, Predicate Adjectives, and Predicate Adverbs), and three types of transitive verbs-those with Direct Objects only, those with both Direct Objects and Indirect Objects, and those with both Direct Objects and Objective Complements. The phrase structure rules not only generate the deep structures of sentences, but in addition they result in a tree diagram which shows in a hierarchical fashion how the various constituents of the sentence relate to each other. As a name for the second type of generative rule, let me propose the term grammatical transformation. These are the obligatory transformations that must be applied to make the surface structure of the sentence and include such processes as concord (as when verbs are made to agree with their subjects), copying rules (as when the determiner of a noun is chosen on the basis of the semantic features of that particular noun), separating rules (such as affix hopping, where the first part of a perfect, progressive, or passive construction is separated from the second part; all separation rules result in discontiguous elements), and constituent combining rules (as when bring plus past is rewritten as brought). These transformations have been called spelling rules. They are the last rules that are applied to a sentence, and they have the effect of making it so that the sentence is spelled or pronounced correctly. Since they are all obligatory,