Syntactic Category Selection by Heads: Example Sentences and Analysis

The best pair of example sentences to support the argument that heads can select the syntactic category of their complement is (ii)a. 'They inquired where the men were going' and b. '*They inquired the men's destination.'

In sentence (ii)a, the verb 'inquired' selects a subordinate interrogative clause, 'where the men were going', as its complement. This clause functions as the direct object of the verb 'inquired' and provides the specific information being asked about.

On the other hand, in sentence (ii)b, when 'the men's destination' is used as the complement, it results in ungrammaticality ('*They inquired the men's destination'). This suggests that the verb 'inquired' cannot take a noun phrase as its complement. The verb 'inquire' typically selects for a subordinate interrogative clause, not a noun phrase, to maintain grammaticality and meaning.

The argument is supported by the fact that the verb 'inquired' in sentence (ii)a can only take a complement that is a subordinate interrogative clause. This selectional requirement is evident in the grammatical and meaningful construction of the sentence. However, when the noun phrase 'the men's destination' is used as the complement in sentence (ii)b, it violates the selectional restrictions of the verb 'inquired' and results in ungrammaticality.

One potential weakness in the argument is that it relies solely on the specific examples provided and doesn't consider other possible interpretations or alternative explanations. It's important to note that language can be complex, and there may be instances where certain verbs exhibit flexibility in their selection of complements. Therefore, additional research and analysis of different verb-complement combinations would be necessary to support a more comprehensive and robust argument.