Syntactic correspondences

LFG hypothesizes that constituent structure (c-structure) and functional structure (f-structure) are mutually constraining structures and that the relation between these structures is governed by constraints associated with words and phrasal configurations. This chapter explores universally valid generalizations regarding the correlation between phrasal positions and grammatical functions. Section 4.1 discusses the formal representation of the relation between c-structure and f-structure. Section 4.2 explores the relation between c-structure and f-structure: how c-structure phrases and their heads relate to f-structure, and the c-structure/f-structure realization of arguments and modifiers. Next, the chapter examines apparent mismatches between units at c-structure and those at f-structure; Section 4.3 shows that these cases have a natural explanation within LFG. Section 4.4 discusses the Lexical Integrity Principle, the concept of wordhood and the possibly complex contribution of words to functional structure, and Section 4.5 discusses the principle of Economy of Expression.