Test Suite
Grammar Formalisms
Spring Term 2008

Tenses and Verb Agreement:

Simple past tense
The doctor examined Sam.
The doctors examined Sam. 

Simple present tense, 3sg subject
The doctor examines Sam.

Main clause needs tensed verb. 
*The doctor examining Sam.
*The doctor to examine Sam. 

Wrong agreement with 3sg subject
*The doctor examine Sam.  

3pl subject
The doctors examine Sam.

Wrong agreement with 3pl subject
*The doctors examines Sam. 

Agreement between noun and determiner

This doctor yawned.
*This doctors yawned. 
These doctors yawned. 
*These doctor yawned.
The doctor yawned.
The doctors yawned.
A doctor yawned.
*A doctors yawned. 

Determiners with count and mass nouns:

Singular count nouns need determiners
*Doctor yawned.

Plural count nouns can occur without determiners
Doctors yawned.

Singular mass noun doesn't need determiner
Water leaked.

Mass noun with mass determiner
Much water leaked.

Mass noun with count determiner
*A water leaked. 

Count noun with mass determiner
*Much doctor yawned. 

``The'' goes with everything:
The doctor yawned.
The water leaked.

``This'' goes with everything:
This doctor yawned.
This water leaked.

Mass nouns aren't plural:
*Waters leaked.
*These waters leaked.
*The waters leaked.  


Auxiliary verbs:

``Be'' is followed by a present participle:
The doctor is yawning.
*The doctor is yawned.
*The doctor is yawns.
*The doctor is yawn.

``have'' is followed by an active voice past participle
The doctor has yawned.
*The doctor has yawn.
*The doctor has yawns.
*The doctor has yawning.

Either transitive verb without direct object, or passive voice with ``have''.
*The doctor has examined.  

Passive:  

Make sure that ``Sam'' is the patient, not the agent.
Sam was examined by the doctor. 

Passive ``be'' has to be followed by a passive voice past participle:
*Same was examined the doctor. 

Passive ``be'' followed by active voice and wrong verb form.
*Sam was examining by the doctor.

Passive ``be'' with a transitive verb, or active ``be'' with wrong
verb form. 
*The doctor was examined Sam.

Dative Shift:

The teacher gave the student a book.
The teacher gave a book to the student. 

Make sure auxiliary verbs work here too:
The teacher is giving the student a book.
The teacher has given the student a book. 
*The teacher is gives the student a book.
*The teacher is give the student a book.
*The teacher has gives the student a book.
*The teacher has give the student a book.

Interaction of dative and passive:

The student was given a book (by the teacher). 
The book was given to the student (by the teacher).  


Relative Clauses (long distance)

The doctor who yawned examined Sam. 
Sam saw the doctor who yawned.
The doctor who Sam saw yawned.
The doctor who Sam talked to yawned. 
Sam saw the doctor who the student studied with. 

Make sure that auxiliary verbs still work in your relative clauses.  

The doctor who is yawning examined Sam.
The doctor who has yawned examined Sam. 

Make sure that verb agreement works in your relative clauses:

The doctor who yawns examined Sam.
*The doctor who yawn examined Sam.
*The doctor who yawning examined Sam.

Make sure that passives work inside your relative clauses:

The student who was examined by the doctor yawned.

Make sure that sentences containing relative clauses can be
passivized:

The student who yawned was examined by the doctor. 

Embedding Operations

Operation: It seems that S

It seems that the doctor yawned.

Make sure the verb form is right:
*It seems that the doctor yawn.
*It seems that the doctor to yawn. 
*It seems that the doctor yawning.  

Make sure that ``it'' is the only possible subject here:
*Sam seems that the doctor yawned. 

Make sure that subject verb agreement still works:
*It seem that the doctor yawned. 


Operation: NP seems to VP 

The doctor seemed to yawn.

Interaction with passive:
Sam seemed to be examined by the doctor.

Correct verb form after ``seem''
*The doctor seemed yawning. 
*The doctor seemed yawned. 
*The doctor seemed yawn.  
*The doctor seemed yawns.

Operation:  NP TRY to VP-infinitive

*It tried that the doctor yawned.  

Operation: NP believe that S

It's ok to make the word ``that'' obligatory. 

Sam believes that the doctor yawned. 
Sam believes that the doctor yawns.

*Sam believes that the doctor yawning.
*Sam believes that the doctor yawn.
*Sam believes that the doctor to yawn. 

Operation: NP believe NP to VP-infinitive 

Sam believes the doctor to yawn. 
*Sam believes the doctor to yawning. 
*Sam believes the doctor yawn. 

This is actually grammatical, but not with the NP beleive NP to VP
rule.  
*Sam believes the doctor yawns.

Make sure that you can apply passivization:

The doctor is believed to have yawned. 

Operation: NP persuade NP that S

Sam persuaded the doctor that the teacher yawned. 

Make sure that passive works:

The doctor was persuaded that the teacher yawned. 

Operation: NP persuade NP to VP-infinitive

Sam persuaded the doctor to yawn. 

Make sure that passive works:

The doctor was persuaded to yawn. 

Operation: There insertion

There was [a student] [given a book]. 

Subject has to be ``there''
*The doctor was a student given a book. 

(NP has to be indefinite, but don't worry about it.)

The third argument of ``be'' must be a verb phrase that is passive or
a present participle.

There was a student yawning.

*There was a student yawns.
*There was a student yawn.
*There was a student to yawn.
*There was a student yawned. 

Third argument of ``be'' can't be an active voice past participle: 
*There was a student examined Sam.

There was a student examined by the doctor.
There were students examined by the doctor. 
*There was students examined by the doctor.
*There were a student examined by the doctor.  

Interaction of There with embedding operations:

There seems to be a student yawning.
*There seem to be a student yawning.  
There is believed to seem to be a student yawning.
*There is believed to seem to be students yawning.  

Some of your favorite sentences: (modified to match the test suite so
far)

You may need to add a few more lexical items, but if you have handled
the test suite so far, these sentences should work for free.  

It seems that there was a book that was examined being examined. 

The doctor who examined the student who read a book made a mistake. 

The students sit in the room that was that was cleaned with a broom that 
was made from straws that were loaded onto the truck that you were
persuaded to buy. 

There is a teacher smearing the wall with paint that has been loaded
onto the truck by Sam.

Tom believes the wall that the teacher saw to be smeared with paint.

Oysters that oysters eat persuade oysters to eat oysters that oysters
that oysters eat eat.  

The boy saw the boy who saw the boy that the boy saw. 

It seems that Sam tried to persuade Sally that the cat that the dog
chased died.