This paper offers a functional explanation for the existence and for the special properties of movement rules in natural languages. The hypothesis is advanced that raising, lowering, and fronting rules all serve the function of increasing the prominence of objective content in surface structure. (CK)

The assumption that the active/passive relation is structural in nature and therefore best expressed by a transformation is debated. The relation can be captured in the lexicon without a passive transformation. An interpretive rule is proposed to handle the problem. Passives are shown as generated by phrase structure rules. (SC)

Mirror images in constituent order are found in a wide range of parallel clause types in Japanese and English. Three detailed explanations for linear orderings are provided. (Author/HP)

Proposes that NPs determined by the generic indefinite article represent abstract concepts and as such are not inherently different from indefinite NPs appearing in copulative predicates. (Author/RM)

A number of syntactic constructions claimed by linguists to be restricted to main clauses are shown to occur in a variety of subordinate clause types. It is shown that an adequate solution will involve a complex interaction of syntactic, semantic and pragmatic factors. (Author/RM)

Argues that sentences in the "have a V" frame are not idiosyncratic, but exhibit orderly and systematic behavior and are governed by strict semantic rules. Discusses 10 subtypes, each with a slightly different semantic formula. (EKN)

A number of experimental tasks were conducted in which subjects were asked to interpret and create novel noun-noun compounds. Results indicate that semantic relationships that hold between members of these compounds cannot be characterized in terms of a finite list of appropriate compounding relationships. (CHK)

The right roof constraint'' is the assumption that rightward-movement rules are always upward-bounded; see J.R. Ross' dissertation, Constraints on Variables in Syntax'' (MIT, 1967). (RS)

Two passive forms of verbs are discussed. One is related to its active counterpart transformationally and the other lexically. Voice is defined as the relationship between a verb's subcategorization feature and the surface form of the sentence it occurs in. (SC)

Data from a number of language (Slavic, Romance, Modern Greek) concerning predicate agreement with the polite plural (semantically singular, but plural in surface structure) suggest that more verb-like predicates tend to agree with the surface subject, while more noun-like predicates tend to agree with the underlying subject. (Author/KM)

Shorter version of this paper read at the First California Linguistics Conference, Berkeley, May 1971. (VM)

Problems of number inconsistency are discussed which arise in Italian when singular distributive quantifiers float rightward off of subjects, leaving these subjects plural. (Author/RM)

Work supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation to Harvard University and by the Language Research Foundation. Considers the properties and use of the word even'' in English. (VM)