Dagmar doesn't want to be alone, but she is confident that she can find a better partner than Ethan, who has cheated on her more than once, transgressions she cannot forgive. Given this scenario, what conclusion can we draw?

Dagmar's comparison level of alternatives (CLalt) is higher than her present situation.

Explanation:

The Comparison Level for Alternative is simply the lowest level a person is able to accept when there are other alternative rewards from another relationship or simply being alone. When the present situation or outcome is greater than the CLalt, then the person is satisfied with the current relationship and will likely not leave, but is the present situation is less than the CLalt, then the person is dissatisfied with the present relationship and feel there are other alternatives which will bring more reward. For the case of Dagmar, the current situation or outcome is less than the CLalt.

the sentence does not violate the phrase structure second rule (introduced by noam chomsky) because noun phrases consist of a determiner such as a, the or every, and a noun. in the sentence, the noun phrase the cake includes a determiner (the) and a noun (cake).

on the other hand, the first rule indicates that a sentence encloses a noun phrase, followed by a verb phrase. the example sentence can be analysed as follows:

john (n) + ate (v) + the (det) + cake (n).