Tense in LFG � Syntax and Morphology

An important tenet of LFG is the lexical integrity principle which says that the leaves of c structure trees are complete surface words Given this principle the morphological component is seen as distinct from the syntax It can be modelled by sublexical rules as we will illustrate below but the principles that apply to these rules are di erent from those applying in the syntax see Bresnan and Mchombo for discussion The way LFG is set up allows single words and phrases to contribute the same or similar information to an f structure For example a form like parla pass e simple of parler contributes information similar to that contributed by a parl e the pass e compos e of the same verb The framework allows a similar treatment for the two forms as well as the maintenance of lexical integrity and makes it possible to avoid word formation rules in the syntax without losing paradigmatic transparency see Vincent and B orjars for discussion These possibilities however are not always exploited as well as they could be and using them transparently is made less easy than it could be by another architectural feature of LFG