Questions

Information-seeking wh-questions are dealt with via functional-uncertainty paths. The wh-item is considered to be focused and this is represented explicitly at f-structure. The wh-item is placed into a (long-distance) dependency with the grammatical function (e.g., OBJ, OBL or ADJUNCT) it represents. F-structure examples are provided below from the English grammar for:

(1) Who does David like? (2) Who does David think Mary likes?

Furthermore, the f-structure makes a distinction between the features FOCUS-INT and PRON-INT. FOCUS-INT registers the actual item that is taken to be in focus, whereas PRON-INT register the actual wh-item. In examples (1) and (2) these are always identical. However, a difference emerges in examples involving pied-piping. Some examples are given in

(3) Whose book did you read? (4) Which book did you read? (5) How old is the president?