$\beta$sPUs

This tree handles clausal ``coordination'' with comma, dash, colon, semi-colon or any of the terminal punctuation marks. The first clause must be either indicative or imperative. The second may also be infinitival with the separating punctuation marks, but must be indicative or imperative with the terminal marks; with a comma, it may only be indicative. The two clauses need not share the same mode. NB: Allowing the terminal punctuation marks to anchor this tree allows us to parse sequences of multiple sentences. This is not the usual mode of parsing; if it were, this sort of sequencing might be better handled by a higher level of processing.

(478)0(478

(479)

For critics , Hardy has had no poetic periods - one does not speak of early Hardy or late Hardy , or of the London or Max Gate period.... 

(479)0(479

(480)

Then there was exercise , boating and hiking , which was not only good for you but also made you more virile : the thought of strenuous activity left him exhausted. 

This construction is one of the few where two non-bracketing punctuation marks can be adjacent. It is possible (if rare) for the first clause to end with a question mark or exclamation point, when the two clauses are conjoined with a semi-colon, colon or dash. Features on the foot node, as shown in Figure 23.9, control this interaction.

  

Figure: $\beta$sPUs, with features displayed

Complementizers are not permitted on either conjunct. Subordinating conjunctions sometimes appear on the right conjunct, but seem to be impossible on the left:

(480)0(480

(481)

Killpath would just have to go out and drag Gun back by the heels once an hour ; because he'd be damned if he was going to be a mid-watch pencil-pusher . [Brown:cl17] 

(481)0(481

(482)

The best rule of thumb for detecting corked wine (provided the eye has not already spotted it) is to smell the wet end of the cork after pulling it : if it smells of wine , the bottle is probably all right ; if it smells of cork , one has grounds for suspicion. [Brown:cf27]