ADVERBIAL BECAUSE-CLAUSES AS FOCAL ELEMENTS*
Tomoko Kawamura
Nanzan University

1.

Introduction

Adverbial because-constructions have an interesting property that other adverbial
constructions do not have. (1) and (2) are different only in the choice of the adverb.
(1)

John called Mary [because he visited Kyoto].

(2)

John called Mary [when he visited Kyoto].

While it looks as if they have same structures, they behave differently when negated. Lakoff(1970) and Linebarger (1987) observe that the negated sentence with a because-phrase isambiguous.
(3)

John didn't call Mary [because he visited Kyoto].
a. John called Mary. Its cause was not that he visited Kyoto. (NA)b. John didn't call Mary. Its cause was that he visited Kyoto. (NH)On the first reading, which is called "negative adjunct (NA)" reading, John visited Kyoto andhe called Mary, but the reason for his call was not his visit, but something else. On the second
reading, which is called "negative head (NH)" reading, John visited Kyoto (and he met Mary
directly), so he didn't call her. Here, not negates the main predicate phrase. This ambiguity is
not found in negated when-constructions, unless some part of the when-phrase is focused.
(4)

John didn't call Mary [when he visited Kyoto].
a. #John called Mary. It was not when he visited Kyoto.
b. John didn't call Mary. It was when he visited Kyoto.

(#NA)
(NH)

The difference in (3) and (4) is puzzling if the difference between (1) and (2) is only theirchoice of the adverb.
Johnston (1994) proposes that the ambiguity of negated because-constructions arises*

The material of this paper was presented at Cambridge-Hyderabad-Nanzan Joint Workshop on
Interface Conditions and discussed in my dissertation. I am grateful to the audience of the workshop
for their variable comments. I also would like to thank Richard K. Larson, Marcel den Dikken, Daniel
Finer, Heejeong Ko, Mamoru Saito, Keiko Murasugi, Edward Wilford, Hiroshi Aoyagi, Tomohiro
Fujii, Koji Sugisaki, Andrei Antonenko, and Carlos de Cuba for their helpful comments andsuggestions.
Nanzan Linguistics: Special Issue 3, Vol. 2, 103–122© 2008 Tomoko Kawamura

Nanzan Linguistics: Special Issue 3, Vol. 2

from two possible adjunction sites of the because-phrase. He argues that the because-phrase
may adjoin to VP or TP.
(5) a.

b.

TP
DP
John

T'
T
not

TP
TP

VP
VP

DP
John
PP

call Mary P
because

PP
T'

P
TP
becauseVP
he visited Kyoto

T
not
TP

call Maryhe visited Kyoto[NA reading][NH reading]In (5a), the because-phase adjoins to VP and Johnston claims that negation takes scope overthe because-phrase. He assumes that because is a logical element and if it intervenes thehierarchical relation of the negative element and the predicate, the negation must associatewith the because-phrase, and it blocks the association of negation with the predicate. In (5b),the because-phrase adjoins to TP. Since because does not intervene between the negative
element and the predicate, negation takes scope over the predicate.
This analysis, however, leaves several questions. According to Johnston, the becausephrase in (5a) intervenes the hierarchical relation of the negative element and the predicate,but it is not clear how to calculate the closeness in this case and why it blocks association ofnegation with the predicate. Secondly, Johnston claims that not only because-phrases, but also
temporal adverbial phrases can adjoin to VP and TP. If so, we wrongly predict that negatedwhen-constructions are ambiguous as well. Furthermore, this analysis does not capture theinteresting correlation between the information structure and the ambiguity of negatedsentences. In this paper, I examine the correlation between the information structure and theambiguity of negated sentences, and propose an alternative focal analysis of negated becauseconstructions, arguing that because-phrase is inherently focused.
2.

Correlations between the Information Structure and the Ambiguity

2.1. Because-clauses
Rutherford (1970) and Hooper and Thompson (1973) observe that there are two distinct
types of adverbial because-phrases: the restrictive because-phrase in (6) and the nonrestrictive because-phrase in (7).
(6)

Sam is going out for dinner [because his wife is cooking Japanese food].

(7)

Sam is going out for dinner, [because I just talked to Mary].

(restrictive)(non-restrictive)

In (6), the because-phrase provides the reason for Sam's actions. In contrast, the because--104-

Adverbial Because-clauses as Focal Elements (T. Kawamura)phrase in (7) explains how the speaker came by the knowledge of Sam's actions. The readingin (7) is sometimes called "the epistemic reading" and it is distinguished from the restrictive
one in (6).
Hooper and Thompson observe that the restrictive and non-restrictive because-phrases
are different in their informational structures. The restrictive because-phrase in (6) expresses
the main assertion of the sentence and the information in the main clause is presupposed.
(8)

Sam is going out for dinner [because his wife is cooking Japanese food].
(restrictive)
Main assertion: because-phrase (The cause is his wife's cooking of Japanese food.)

In non-restrictive because-constructions, however, the main clause expresses the main
assertion.
(9)

Sam is going out for dinner, [because I just talked to Mary].
Main assertion: main clause (Sam is going out for dinner.)(non-restrictive)

This difference between restrictive and non-restrictive because-phrases is clear when wecheck their yes-no interrogative forms. With restrictive because-phrases, (10) asks about thecontent of the because-phrase.
(10) Is Sam going out for dinner [because his wife is cooking Japanese food]?
Yes, that is because his wife is cooking Japanese food.
No, that is because he found a new restaurant.

(restrictive)

The main clause has the yes-no interrogative form syntactically, but what (10) asks is whether
his wife's cooking of Japanese food is the cause of Sam's going out for dinner. It does not ask
whether Sam is going out for dinner. This indicates that the content of the main clause ispresupposed. In contrast, with a non-restrictive because-clause, the yes-no question in (11)asks about the content of the main clause.
(11) Is Sam going out for dinner?, [because I just talked to Mary].
Yes, he is going out for dinner.
No, he is not going out for dinner.

(non-restrictive)(11) asks whether Sam goes out for dinner. The because-phrase now explains why the speakerasks this question about Sam. This suggests that the main clause expresses the main assertion,in contrast to the restrictive case.
Interestingly, a negated sentence becomes ambiguous when it has a restrictive becausephrase, but it stays unambiguous with a non-restrictive because-phrase.

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Nanzan Linguistics: Special Issue 3, Vol. 2(12) Sam is not going out for dinner [because his wife is cooking Japanese food]. (restrictive)a. Sam is going out for dinner. Its cause is not his wife's cooking of Japanese food. (NA)b. Sam is not going out for dinner. Its cause is his wife's cooking of Japanese food. (NH)(13) Sam is not going out for dinner, [because I just talked to Mary].
(non-restrictive)
a. #Sam is going out for dinner. Its cause is not that I just talked to Mary. (#NA)
b. Talking to Mary, I found that Sam is not going out for dinner. (NH)With a restrictive because-phrase, the negated sentence has both NA and NH readings, butwith a non-restrictive because-phrase, it only has the NH-reading. Thus, the negated becauseconstructions are ambiguous when the because-phrase expresses the main assertion.
The restrictive because-phrase may be pre-posed as in (14).
(14) [Because his wife is cooking Japanese food], Sam is going out for dinner.

(pre-posed)

Prince (1977) observes that the information structure of pre-posed because-constructions isdifferent from that of post-verbal because-constructions. She argues that the pre-posed
because-phrase is presupposed and the main assertion is expressed by the main clause.
(15) [Because his wife is cooking Japanese food], Sam is going out for dinner.
Main assertion: main clause (Sam is going out for dinner)(pre-posed)This fact is checked using its yes-no interrogative form. (16) asks the content of the mainclause and it indicates that the main clause expresses the main assertion.
(16) [Because his wife is cooking Japanese food], is Sam going out for dinner?
Yes, he is going out for dinner.
No, he is not going out for dinner.

(pre-posed)

The difference between post-verbal and pre-posed because-constructions is clear when wecheck the answer of why-questions. In answers of wh-questions, the phrase which is replacedwith the wh-element expresses the new information and it is interpreted as the main assertionof the sentence. In the answer of why-questions, the post-posed restrictive becauseconstruction can be used (17Bi), but the pre-posed one cannot be used (17Bii).
(17) A: Why is Sam going out for dinner?
B: i. He is going out for dinner [because his wife is cooking Japanese food]. (post-verbal)
ii. #[Because his wife is cooking Japanese food], he is going out for dinner. (pre-posed)
The contrast in (17B) indicates that the post-verbal because-phrase can express the new
information, while the pre-posed one cannot.
Unlike the post-verbal case, the negated sentence with a pre-posed because-phrase isunambiguous.

-106-Adverbial Because-clauses as Focal Elements (T. Kawamura)(18) [Because his wife is cooking Japanese food], Sam is not going out for dinner. (pre-posed)a. #Sam is going out for dinner. Its cause is not his wife's cooking of Japanese food. (#NA)
b. Sam is not going out for dinner. Its cause is his wife's cooking of Japanese food. (NH)In (18), negation cannot associate with the pre-posed because-phrase and it does not have theNA-reading. Thus, the pre-posed restrictive because-phrase is different from the post-posed
one in two respects: (i) it does not express the main assertion, and (ii) negation does not makethe sentence ambiguous.
2.2. Other Adverbial Phrases
The sentence with an in-order-to phrase has the same information structure as postverbal restrictive because-clause and the content of in-order-to phrase expresses the main
assertion.
(19) John splayed an insecticide [in order to grow tomatoes].
Main assertion: in-order-to phrase (The purpose was growing tomatoes.)
When negated, the sentence becomes ambiguous.
(20) John didn't spray an insecticide [in order to grow tomatoes].
a. John sprayed an insecticide. Its purpose was not growing tomatoes.
b. John didn't spray an insecticide. Its purpose was growing tomatoes.

(NA)
(NH)

The in-order-to phrase expresses the main assertion of the sentence and the sentence isambiguous when negated.
How about the constructions with a temporal adverbial phrase? Heinämäki (1978)
observes that temporal adverbial phrases typically express the presupposition of the sentence
and the main assertion of the sentence is the content of the main clause.
(21) Bob saw a pyramid [when he was in Egypt].
Main assertion: main clause (Bob saw a pyramid.)
It is also known that negation does not make the sentence ambiguous, unless some part of thewhen-phrase gets some special stress.
(22) Bob didn't see a pyramid [when he was in Egypt].
a. #Bob saw a pyramid. It was not when he was in Egypt. (#NA)
b. Bob didn't see a pyramid. It was when he was in Egypt. (NH)The causal phrases introduced by since or after are also presupposed, just like temporaladverbial phrases, and the main clause expresses the main assertion of the sentence.
(23) a. The room was warm [since the air condition broke down].
Main assertion: main clause (The room was warm.)-107-

Nanzan Linguistics: Special Issue 3, Vol. 2

b. The room was warm [after the air condition broke down].
Main assertion: main clause (The room was warm.)
The adverbs since and after in (23) have a causal meaning and the breaking of the air
condition caused the warmness of the room. Nonetheless, the information structure is like thatof temporal adverbial constructions. When those sentences are negated, the sentence stays
unambiguous.
(24) The room was not warm [since the air condition broke down].
a. #The room was warm. Its cause was not that the air condition broke down. (#NA)
b. The room was not warm. Its cause was that the air condition broke down. (NH)(25) The room was not warm [after the air condition broke down].
a. #The room was warm. It was not after the air condition broke down.
b. The room was not warm. It was after the air condition broke down.

(#NA)
(NH)

So far, we have seen seven different adverbial constructions. The following tablesummarizes the correlation between the informational structure and the ambiguity of negatedsentences:(26)
AdvP expresses the main assertion
because (restrictive)
in-order-to
because (preposed)
because (non-restrictive)
temporalcausal sincecausal after

YES
YES
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO

Ambiguous with negation
YES (NA/NH)
YES (NA/NH)
NO (NH)NO (NH)NO (NH)NO (NH)NO (NH)(26) shows that negation may associate with the adverbial phrase when it expresses the main
assertion of the sentence, but it cannot associate with the presupposed phrases.
2.3. Focal Constructions
Ambiguity is also found in the negated focal constructions (Jackendoff 1972, Jacobs
1991, Herburger 2000 and others).
(27) John didn't butter THE BAGEL.
a. It was not the bagel that John buttered.
b. It was the bagel that John didn't butter.

(bound)(free)In the first reading, John buttered something, but it was not the bagel. Negation associateswith the focused element and thus it is called "bound" reading. In the second reading, there
was something that John didn't butter and it was the bagel. This reading is called "free"reading. The focused phrase typically expresses the main assertion of the sentence and the restof the sentence expresses the presupposition. This suggests that there is a similarity between-108-Adverbial Because-clauses as Focal Elements (T. Kawamura)

the restrictive because-constructions and the focal constructions. Both focused phrase andrestrictive because-phrase express the main assertion of the sentence, and in the bound and
NA readings, negation associates with those phrases. In the free reading and the NH-reading,negation associates with the main predicate phrase. This implies that the two readings in thenegated restrictive because-constructions can be assimilated to the two readings of negatedfocal constructions. Then, why are the negated focal constructions ambiguous and how those
two readings are derived? In the next section, I discuss the analysis of the negated focal
constructions.
3.

Negated Focal Constructions

3.1. Analysis of Focus
Davidson (1966) argues that action sentences are descriptions of events and they express
event quantifications. The sentence John buttered the bagel is then logically represented as(28).1(28) John buttered the bagel.
[Davidsonian event semantics][∃e:C(e)] butter (John, the bagel, e)
There was a contextually relevant event such that John buttered the bagel.
The event quantifier ∃e is restricted by the context predicate C, which gets its value from thecontext and ensures that the sentence only refers to the events which are relevant in thecontext. Every other element in the sentence is interpreted in the scope of the event quantifier.
Castañada (1967) and Parsons (1990) extend this event semantics and suggest decompositionof the predicate to smaller atomic units. In this neo-Davidsonian event semantics, the eventand each argument are correlated in one-to-one relation with the thematic roles, and thesentence John buttered the bagel is logically represented as (29).
(29) John buttered the bagel.
[neo-Davidsonian event semantics][∃e:C(e)] butter (e) & Agent (e, John) & Theme (e, the bagel)
There was a contextually relevant event which was buttering whose agent was John andwhose theme was the bagel.
Herburger (2000) employs this neo-Davidsonian event semantics for the analysis of
focus. Following the idea by Lewis (1975) and Partee (1991, 1998) that the phrase which
expresses the old information tends to be interpreted in the restriction of some quantifier andthe phrase which expresses the main assertion tends to appear in its scope, Herburger
proposes that the distinction of old and new information imposes a structure on event
quantification. She argues that the old information forms the restriction of the event quantifier
and the new information constitutes its scope. According to her system, the focal construction
John buttered THE BAGEL is logically represented as (30).
1

To simplify the analysis, I ignore tense in the logical representations.

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Nanzan Linguistics: Special Issue 3, Vol. 2(30) John buttered THE BAGEL.
[structured event quantification][∃e:C(e) & butter (e) & Agent (e, John)] Theme (e, the bagel)For some contextually relevant buttering event by John, its theme was the bagel.
The non-focused element appears in the restriction of the event quantifier together with thecontextual predicate variable and they restrict the event quantifier. The focused element THE
BAGEL appears only in the scope of the event quantifier. When the focus position shifts, we
get a different logical representation: the event quantifier is restricted by different elements.
(31) JOHN buttered the bagel.
[structured event quantification][∃e:C(e) & butter (e) & Theme (e, the bagel)] Agent (e, John)
For some contextually relevant buttering event of the bagel, its agent was John.
Note that two sentences in (30) and (31) have the same truth-condition, but they express
different information. The logical representations in (30) and (31) successfully express thisdifference.
Sentences with a focused element are different from sentences without a focused elementin their event structures. Then, how can we derive those logical representations from theirsyntactic structures? According to the Generalized Quantifier Theory (Barwise and Cooper
1981, Keenan and Stavi 1986), quantifiers in natural languages denote relations between sets.
For example, in (32), the quantifier some expresses the intersection relation between the set ofbirds and the set of swimmers; the sentence is true if these two sets intersect.
(32) Some birds swim.
[some birds swim] = 1 iff{x: bird (x)} ∩ {x: swim (x)} ≠ ∅In this theory, the sets so-related are regarded as arguments of the quantifier and those sets
play functional roles such as restriction and scope in the interpretation of quantificational
expressions. Larson (1991) develops this idea by arguing that quantifiers also have their own
argument structures. He proposes that the notions "restriction" and "scope" are theta-roles
which are assigned to set-arguments in certain order. Parallel to Baker's (1988) thematichierarchy of verbal predicates in (33), Larson proposes the thematic hierarchy in (34) for
quantifiers.
(33) θAGENT > θTHEME > θGOAL > …

[thematic hierarchy of verbal predicates](34) θSCOPE > θRESTRICTION > …

[thematic hierarchy of quantifiers]

These thematic hierarchies decide the syntactic relation of arguments. The argument which
receives a higher role in the hierarchy should be projected higher in syntactic structures. Notethat these hierarchies tell us the hierarchical relations among arguments, but they do not
specify the absolute positions of each argument. A certain theta-role, for example "θTHEME"
may be realized in the V-complement position or the VP spec position, depending on the typeof the theta-assigner. If so, the scope role of one-place and two-place quantifiers may be-110-Adverbial Because-clauses as Focal Elements (T. Kawamura)realized in different syntactic positions depending on the type of the quantifier. The phrases
with a one-place quantifier would have the structure in (35a) and the phrase with a two-placequantifier would have the syntactic configuration in (35b):(35) a. one-place quantifierb. two-place quantifier

QP

QP

Q

XP

XP

SCOPE

SCOPE

Q'
Q

YP
RESTRICTION

When a quantifier has only one theta-role, it would be the scope role and it is assigned to thephrase in the complement of Q. When a quantifier has two theta-roles, the restriction thetarole would be assigned to the phrase in the complement of Q and the scope theta-role would
be assigned to the phrase in QP spec.
I propose that event quantifiers also have the argument structure of quantifiers and they
may be one-place or two-place. When the sentence does not have any focused phrase, allelements in the sentence express new information and they are interpreted in the scope of theevent quantifier. Thus, the event quantifier has only one theta-role, namely the scope role, and
it is assigned to the TP in the complement of Q-head. (36c) shows how the meaning of thesentence is formed from its parts.
(36) a. John buttered the bagel.
[∃e:C(e)] butter (e) & Agent (e, John) & Theme (e, the bagel)b.

QP
Q 1-place

c.
TP

QP
Q1-place[∃e:C(e)]butter(e)&Ag(e,John)&Th(e,bagel)TPλP([∃e:C(e)]P(e))

John buttered the bagel

λe(butter(e)&Ag(e,John)&Th(e,bagel)

SCOPE

When a part of the sentence is focused, the event quantifier is restricted by unfocused
elements. I propose that the event quantifier in the sentence with a focused phrase has twotheta-roles and I assume that this Q-head has a feature which attracts the focused phrase to QP
spec covertly. The sentence in (37a) then has the LF-structure in (37b) and the meaning of thesentence is formed as in (37c).
(37) a. John buttered THE BAGEL.
[∃e:C(e) & butter (e) & Agent (e, John)] Theme (e, the bagel)-111-

Nanzan Linguistics: Special Issue 3, Vol. 2b.
FocP
the bagel
SCOPE

c.

QP
Q'
Q2-place

QPλe(Th(e,bagel))TP

John butteredQ2-place[∃e:C(e)&butter(e)&Ag(e,John)]Th(e,bagel)Q'

λQ([∃e:C(e)&butter(e)&Ag(e,John)]Q(e))

TPλPλQ([∃e:C(e)&P(e)]Q(e))λe(butter(e)&Ag(e,John))

RESTRICTION

The restriction theta-role of Q is assigned to TP and the TP is mapped to the restriction of theevent quantifier. The focused phrase gets the scope role in QP spec and it is mapped the scopeof the event quantifier. This analysis systematically maps the LF syntactic structure to alogical representation. Using this structure, I propose an analysis of negated focal
constructions in the next section.
3.2. Negated Focal Constructions
As shown before, the negated focal constructions are ambiguous with bound and freereadings:(38) John didn't butter THE BAGEL.
a. It was not the bagel that John buttered.
b. It was the bagel that John didn't butter.

(bound)(free)

Herburger (2000) argues that these two readings are result of the scope difference of negation.
On the bound reading, negation is interpreted in the scope of the event quantifier and on thefree reading, it is interpreted in the restriction of the event quantifier. The two readings are
logically represented as (39a) and (39b) respectively.
(39) a. [∃e: C(e) & butter (e) & Agent (e, John)] ~ [Theme (e, the bagel)]b. [∃e: C(e) & ~ [butter (e) & Agent (e, John)]] Theme (e, the bagel)(bound)(free)

Then how are these logical representations derived? Interestingly, Kiss (1994) observes
that these two readings are distinguished syntactically in Hungarian. Without a focused
element, the negative element nem appears in the pre-verbal position.
(40) Mari [nem fözött
ebéd -et].
Mari not coocked lunch-acc

Hungarian'Mary didn't cook lunch.'
When a part of the sentence is focused, the focused element appears in a designated position,
which follows the topic phrase. In the bound reading, the negation nem precedes the focusedphrase (41a), and in the free reading, it precedes the predicate (41b).

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Adverbial Because-clauses as Focal Elements (T. Kawamura)(41) a. Mari nem
Mary notEBÉDETi [fözött ti]
lunch-acc cooked

Hungarian'It was not lunch that Mary cooked.'b. Mari EBÉDETi [nemMari lunch-acc nom(bound)fözött ti]
cooked'It was lunch that Mary didn't cook.'(free)

This difference in (41a) and (41b) suggests that the scope difference of negation arises fromthe different syntactic positions of negation.
So, I propose that negation may be interpreted in the position different from the Negprojection and the LF-position of the interpretable [+neg] feature decides the scope of thenegation. I assume that the [+neg] feature may appear on the Foc-head or the Neg-head. If it
appears on the Foc-head, the negation is mapped to the scope of the event quantifier together
with the focused element, and the bound reading is derived.2 If it appears on the Neg-head,
the negation is mapped to the restriction of the event quantifier and the free reading isderived.
(42) a.

QP
FocP

b.
Q'

QP
FocP

Foc
DP
Q2-place TP[+neg] the bagel
John T NegP
Neg
not

Foc

DP
Q2-place TP
the bagelJohn T NegP

vP

Neg
not
[+neg]

buttered[∃e: C(e) & butter (e) & Ag (e, John)] ~ [Th (e, the bagel)]Q'

vPbuttered[∃e: C(e) &~[butter (e) & Ag (e, John)]] Th (e, the bagel)[bound reading][free reading]Here, two readings arise from two possible sites of the [+neg] feature. In Einglish, the [+neg]feature does not carry the phonological form and the Neg-head is usually pronounced.
However if we assume that Hungarian [+neg] feature is pronounced as nem, the correlation
between the two forms in (41a) and (41b) and their readings is straightforwardly explained.
If the because-phrase behaves like a focused phrase, the ambiguity of negated becauseconstructions should be analyzed in the way parallel to the negated focal constructions. I
discuss the analysis of negated because-construction in the next section.
2

In (42a), the position of the [+neg] feature is different from where negation is actually pronounced. I
assume that if the [+neg] feature appears at the position different from the Neg-head, the [+neg]feature must be c-commanded by the Neg-head when the Neg-head is introduced to the derivation.

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4.

Ambiguity of Negated Because-constructions

Recall that the restrictive because-phrase expresses the main assertion. Larson (2004)
thus proposes that the because-phrase is interpreted in the scope of the event quantifier and its
domain is restricted by the elements in the main clause. The simple case in (43a) is logically
represented as (43b).
(43) a. Sam is going out [because Mary is cooking Japanese food].
b. [∃e1: C(e1) & go-out (e1) & Agent (e1, Sam)][∃e2: C(e2) & cause (e2, e1)] cook (e2) &Agent (e2, Mary) & Theme (e2, Japanese food)For some contextually relevant going out event by Sam, its cause is some cooking
event of Japanese food by Mary.
Since the NA and NH readings of negated because-constructions correspond to the bound andfree readings of negated focal constructions, two readings of negated because-constructions
are logically represented as (44).
(44) Sam is not going out [because Mary is cooking Japanese food].
a. [∃e1: C(e1) & go-out (e1) & Agent (e1, Sam)][∃e2: C(e2) & cause (e2, e1)] ~ [cook (e2)& Agent (e2, Mary) & Theme (e2, Japanese food)](NA-reading)b. [∃e1: C(e1) & ~ [go-out (e1) & Agent (e1, Sam)]][∃e2: C(e2) & cause (e2, e1)] cook (e2)& Agent (e2, Mary) & Theme (e2, Japanese food)(NH-reading)In the NA-reading, negation associates with the because-phrase and in the free reading, it
associates with the predicate phrase. So, I propose that the [+neg] feature may appear in the
because-head or Neg-head. If it appears on the because-head, the logical representation of the
NA-reading is derived as in (45). If it appears on the Neg-head, the logical representation of
the NH-reading is derived as in (46).
(45)

QP
becauseP[NA-reading]Q'becauseTP
Q1
TP[+neg]
Mary is cooking JF
Sam
is

NegP

SCOPE

Neg

vP
going out[∃e1:C(e1)&go-out(e1 )&Agent(e1,Sam)][∃e2:C(e2)&cause(e2,e1)]~(cook(e2)&Agent(e2,Mary)&Theme(e2, JF))

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Adverbial Because-clauses as Focal Elements (T. Kawamura)

(46)

QP

[NH-reading]becauseP
because

Q'
TP

Q1

TP

Mary is cooking JF

Sam

is

NegP

Neg
[+neg]

vP
going out

RESTRICTION[∃e1:C(e1)& ~(go-out(e1)&Agent(e1,Sam))][∃e2:C(e2)&cause(e2,e1)]cook(e2 )&Agent(e2,Mary)&Theme(e2, JF)
Here, just like negated focal constructions, the two possible sites of the [+neg] feature induce
the ambiguity of negated restrictive because-constructions.
Linebarger (1980) and Uribe-Echevarria (1994) examines the correlation between scope
possibilities and licensing of Negative Polarity Items (NPIs), and they argue that NPIs is
licensed at LF in the scope of negation. Since the LF-position of the [+neg] feature decides
the scope of negation, it is reasonable to consider that the [+neg] feature is responsible forlicensing NPIs. I propose that NPIs are licensed if they are c-commanded by the head with the[+neg] feature at LF. In the bound reading, the [+neg] feature locates on the Foc-head and it
would license the NPI within the focused phrase. In the free reading, the [+neg] feature
locates on the Neg-head, so it would not license the NPI within the focused phrase. Then, thenegated focus constructions with an NPI in the focused phrase should be unambiguous andallow only bound reading. The example in (47) shows that this is the correct prediction.
(47) John didn't eat ANY BAGEL.
a. It was not a bagel that John ate.
b. #It was a bagel that John didn't eat.

(bound)(#free)The LF-structure of the bound and free readings are given below:(48) a.

QP

b.

FocP
Foc
[+neg]Q'DP
any bagel

Q

FocP
TP

John

QP

T

Foc

Q'
DP
Q
any bagel

NegP

TP
John

T

NegP

not licensed
Neg

vP

Neg
[+neg]

ate[bound reading]vP
ate[free reading]

The Foc-head c-commands the focused phrase, but the Neg-head does not c-command it at-115-

Nanzan Linguistics: Special Issue 3, Vol. 2

LF. Thus the NPI is licensed in the bound reading (48a), but not in the free reading (48b).
If the negated focal constructions and negated restrictive because-clauses are analyzed
uniformly, we predict that the negated because-constructions also become unambiguous when
an NPI appears within the because-phrase. This prediction is born out. Linebarger (1987)
observes that the ambiguity in (44) disappears when an NPI appears within the becausephrase.
(49) Sam is not going out [because Mary is cooking anything].
a. Sam is going out. Its cause is not that Mary is cooking food. (NA)b. #Sam is not going out. Its cause is that Mary is cooking food. (#NH)
As predicted, (49) allows only NA-reading, supporting the analysis that the [+neg] feature
may appear on the because-head.
Interestingly, when an NPI appears outside of the focused phrase, the sentence stays
ambiguous. Let us look at the negated focal constructions first.
(50) John didn't give anything TO MARY.
a. It was not to Mary that John gave something. (bound)b. It was to Mary that John didn't give anything. (free)
The presence of the free reading is predicted, since the Neg-head c-commands the NPI in thepresupposed phrase. The availability of the bound reading may look puzzling for lack of
direct c-commanding relation between the NPI and the Foc-head. Under the standard X-bar
theory, however, the features of the head project up to its maximal projection and thus, the
FocP should be able to inherit the [+neg] feature from its head.3 This FocP should be able tolicense the TP-internal NPIs. Since the FocP c-commands an NPI in (51a), the bound reading
is available, in addition to the free reading.
(51) a.

QP

b.

FocP [+neg]
Foc[+neg]DP
to Mary

Q'
Q

FocP
TP

John

QP

Foc

T

NegP

Neg

Q'

DP
Q
to Mary

TP
John

vP

NegP

Neg
vP
[+neg]
give anything

give anything[bound reading]T[free reading]Johnston (1994) observes that the ambiguity of negated restrictive because-constructions
3

Thanks to Marcel den Dikken (personal communication) for suggesting this possibility.

-116-Adverbial Because-clauses as Focal Elements (T. Kawamura)stays when an NPI appears outside of the because-phrase.
(52) Sam is not going to any restaurant [because Mary is cooking dinner].
a. Sam is going to some restaurant. Its reason is not that Mary is cooking dinner. (NA)b. Sam is not going to any restaurant. Its reason is that Mary is cooking dinner. (NH)(52) has both NA and NH readings and it is parallel to the ambiguity we found in (50). These
NPI facts support the uniform analysis of focal constructions and because-constructions.
I have proposed that the [+neg] feature may appear on the because-head or the Neg-headand that when it appears on the because-head, the NA-reading is derived, and when it appearson the Neg-head, the NH-reading is derived. In Russian, the [+neg] feature has phonologicalfeatures and it is overtly realized as ne.4 In negated focal constructions, the bound and freereadings are distinguished by the position of the negation. On the bound reading, ne appears
in front of the focused element, and on the free reading, it appears in front of the predicate.
(53) a. John vstretil ne MARY.
John met
not Mary(bound)Russian'It was not Mary that John met.'b. John ne vstretil MARY.
John not met
Mary(free)'It was Mary that John didn't meet.'
The same distribution is found in the negated because-constructions.
(54) a. John ušol ne [potomu cto prišla Mary].
John left not because that came Mary(NA)

Russian'John left. Its reason was not that Mary came.'b. John ne ušol [potomu cto prišlaJohn not left because that cameMary]. (NH)Mary'John didn't leave. Its reason was that Mary came.'
When the negative element ne appears just before the because-phrase, the sentence has the
NA-reading. When it appears before the main predicate, it has the NH-reading. The parallel
phenomena of (53) and (54) indicate that the negated focal constructions and negatedbecause-constructions should be analyzed in the same way.
Japanese data also support the correlation between the negated focal constructions andthe negated because-constructions. Takubo (1985) observes that Japanese negation does not
associate with a focused element and the negated focal constructions do not have the bound4

Thanks to Andrei Antonenko for Russian data.

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Nanzan Linguistics: Special Issue 3, Vol. 2

reading.5(55) Taro-wa EDOJO-ootozure-nak-atta.
Taro-top Edo.castle-acc visit-neg-pst'Taro didn't visit EDO CASTLE.'
a. #It was not Edo castle that Taro visited.
b. It was Edo castle that Taro didn't visit.

Japanese(#bound)(free)

Interestingly, the same pattern is observed in Japanese negated because-constructions.
(56) Taro-wa [ Hanako-ga kita kara]
deteik-anak-atta.
Taro-top Hanako-nom came because leave-neg-pst

Japanese'Taro didn't leave because Hanako came.'a. #Taro left. The reason of it was not that Hanako came.
(#NA)
b. Taro didn't leave. The reason of it was that Hanako came. (NH)(56) indicates that negation cannot associate with the because-phrase, though it may associatewith the main predicate. Johnston's analysis of negated because-constructions cannot capture
this correlation between the negated focal constructions and the negated becauseconstructions. The focal analysis, on the other hand, predicts this correlation correctly.
Before closing this section, I would like to discuss other adverbial clauses briefly. As
shown before, in-order-to phrases express the main assertion and the sentence is ambiguouswith negation.
(57) John didn't spray an insecticide [in order to grow tomatoes].
a. John sprayed an insecticide. It was not for growing tomatoes. (NA)b. John didn't spray an insecticide. It was for growing tomatoes. (NH)I assume that the [+neg] feature may appear on the head of the in-order-to phrase or Neg-headand these options make the sentence ambiguous.
The negated pre-posed restrictive because-constructions and temporal adverbial phrases
are unambiguous.

5

Keiko Murasugi (personal communication) pointed out that the bound reading is available even in
Japanese when the focused element is marked with the contrastive marker -wa.
(i)

Taro-ga EDOJO-wa otozurenakatta.
Taro-nom Edo.castle-wa visit-neg-pst'Taro didn't visit EDO CASTLE.'a.
It was not Edo castle that Taro visited. (bound)b. ?? It was Edo castle that Taro didn't visit. (??free)-118-Adverbial Because-clauses as Focal Elements (T. Kawamura)(58) [Because Mary is cooking food], Sam is not going out for dinner.
a. #Sam is going out for dinner. Its cause is not that Mary is cooking food. (#NA)
b. Sam is not going out for dinner. Its cause is that Mary is cooking food. (NH)(59) Bob didn't see a pyramid [when he was in Egypt].
a. #Bob saw a pyramid. It was not when he was in Egypt.
(#NA)
b. Bob was in Egypt. During that time, he didn't see a pyramid. (NH)The pre-posed because-clause and temporal adverbial phrases do not express the main
assertion and negated sentences are unambiguous. This implies that the head of the pre-posed
because-phrase and the temporal phrase cannot host the [+neg] feature, suggesting that only
phrases which express the main assertion of the sentence can host the [+neg] feature.
5.

Frequency Adverb

So far, I have argued that post-verbal restrictive because-phrases and in-order-to phrases areinterpreted analogously to focal phrases. If this is on the right track, we predict that otherfocus sensitive elements would also associate with those phrases. It has been claimed that thefrequency adverbs may associate with a focused phrase (Lewis 1975, Stump 1981, Rooth
1985 and others) and Herburger (2000) observes that the focal construction with a frequency
adverb is ambiguous.
(60) John always e-mails Mary AT HOME.
a. For all occasions that John e-mails Mary, he does so at home.
(bound)b. On all relevant occasions, John is e-mailing Mary. It happens at home. (free)In the first reading, the frequency adverb always associates with a focused element and it iscalled "bound" reading. In the second reading, always does not directly associate with afocused element, rather, it associate with the main predicate. Thus it is called "free" reading.
Independently, Johnston (1994) observes that the restrictive because-construction with afrequency adverb is ambiguous.6(61) John always goes back home at eight [because Mary cooks dinner].
a. Whenever John goes back home at eight, the reason for doing so is that Mary cooks
dinner. (QA)
b. On all relevant occasions, John goes back home at eight. The reason for this patternof behaviour is that Mary cooks dinner. (QH)
6

Johnston's (1994) original example is as follows:(i)

Leopold always sold shares because he needed money.
a. On all occasions that Leopold sold shares, his reason for doing so was that he needed money. (QA)
b. On all occasions Leopold sold shares, and the reason for this pattern of behavior was that heneeded money. (QH)
(Johnston 1994)-119-

Nanzan Linguistics: Special Issue 3, Vol. 2

On the first reading, each event of the John's going back home at eight is evaluated and thesentence is true if John's reason is Mary's cooking of dinner in each case. Johnston calls thisreading "Quantifier Adjunct (QA)" reading. The second reading says that there is a patternthat John goes back home at eight and the sentence is true if this pattern is due to Mary's
cooking of dinner. This reading is called "Quantifier Head (QH)" reading.
If the restrictive because-phrase is regarded as a focal element, the ambiguity of (61) iscorrectly predicted and we can analyze the ambiguities of (60) and (61) uniformly. Herburger(2000) argues that frequency adverbs are interpreted as event quantifiers and she proposes thefollowing logical representations for the readings in (60):(62) John always e-mails Mary AT HOME.
a. [Always e: C(e) & e-mail(e) & Agent (e, John) & Goal (e, Mary)] At (e, home)(bound)b.[∃e1: C(e1) & [Always e2: C(e2)] e-mail (e2) & Agent (e2, John) & Goal (e2, Mary)& contain (e2, e1)] At (e1, home)(free)In the bound reading, the frequency adverb always is interpreted as a two-place event
quantifier. In the free reading, it is interpreted as a one-place event quantifier which isembedded within the restriction of a higher event quantification. I suggest that the tworeadings in (61) can be logically represented in the same way.
(63) John always goes back home at eight [because Mary cooks dinner].
a. [Always e1: C(e1) & go-back(e1) & Agent(e1,John) & Theme(e1,home) & At(e1,eight)][∃e2: C(e2) & cause(e2,e1)] cook(e2) & Agent(e2,Mary) & Theme(e2,dinner) (QA)
b. [∃e1: C(e1) & [Always e2: C(e2)] go-back(e2) & Agent(e2, John) & Theme (e2,home)& At(e2,eight) & contain(e2,e1)][∃e3:C(e3)&cause(e3,e1)] cook(e3) & Agent(e3,Mary)& Theme (e3, dinner)(QH)(63a) says that for each event of John's going back home a eight, it is caused by the event of
Mary's cooking of dinner. (63b) says that the event of Mary's cooking dinner induces serial
events of John's going back home at eight. These logical representations successfully express
the two readings of (61).
Since the in-order-to phrases express the main assertion, the in-order-to constructions
with a frequency adverb are ambiguous, as well.
(64) John always goes back home at eight [in order to please Mary].
a. Whenever John goes back home, it is for pleasing Mary.
(QA)
b. On all relevant occasions, John goes back home at eight. He has this pattern of
behavior to make Mary happy. (QH)
When the adverbial phrases do not express the main assertion, the sentence should not be
ambiguous and thus, the sentence with a pre-posed because-phrase would not be ambiguous.
As predicated, (65) has only one reading, which corresponds to the QH-reading.

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Adverbial Because-clauses as Focal Elements (T. Kawamura)(65) [Because Mary cooks dinner], John always goes back home at eight.
'Mary cooks dinner. So, for all relevant events, John goes back home at eight.'
The temporal adverbial-phrases are typically presupposed and do not express the main
assertion. Thus, we predict that the temporal constructions with a frequency adverb are also
unambiguous. However, this prediction does not hold. Johnston (1994) observes that theexample in (66) is ambiguous.7(66) Marcia always writes a letter [when she is at the café].
a. All the occasions that Marcia is at the café, she writes a letter.
b. All the occasions that Marcia writes a letter, she is at the café.

(Johnston 1994)

This ambiguity is puzzling, but it seems those two readings are different from what we foundin the focal constructions. In the first reading (66a), the adverbial phrase provides the
restriction of all and in the second reading (66b), the main clause provides the restriction ofall. These readings are not parallel to what we found in the focal constructions and restrictive
because-constructions. This suggests that two readings in (66) arise from some independent
property of temporal adverbial phrases.
6.

Summary

In this paper, I proposed that restrictive because-phrases and in-order-to phrases areinterpreted as if they are inherently focused. I argued that the negated sentences with thosephrases are ambiguous in a way parallel to negated focal constructions. I also showed that
other adverbial phrases which do not express the main assertion are not ambiguous withnegation. This analysis captures the correlation between the informational structure of
because-constructions and the ambiguity, and furthermore, it explains various interesting
cross-linguistic phenomena, which cannot be explained by Johnston's (1994) multiple
adjunction site analysis. Furthermore, I showed that the association of frequency adverb to therestrictive because-phrase can also be accounted for by the focal property of the becausephrase. This analysis leaves one interesting question: why are the restrictive because-phrase
and the in-order-to phrase inherently focused, and other adverbial phrases are not? I leave thisquestion open for further research.

References
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Barwise, J. and R. Cooper (1981) "Generalized Quantifiers and Natural Language," Linguistics andPhilosophy 4:159-219.

7

Edward Wilford (personal communication) pointed out the ambiguity is more clear if we use letters,
instead of a letter, though I use Johnston's original data here.

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