Verb Phrase Syntax: A Parametric Study of English and Spanish

This study is concerned with the structure of verb phrases in English and Spanish, and with syntactic processes involving VP and Vo. A primary focus of attention is auxiliary verbs. It is argued that the structure dominating these verbs is essentially the same in English and Spanish, as is the structure dominating auxiliaries and 'main' verbs in each language. It must be concluded that the occurrence of distinct syntactic processes affecting auxiliaries and other VP constituents in the two languages does not follow from parametrization of phrase structure. It is argued that similarities between the two languages with respect to the composition of so-called "V*" constructions derive from the fact that VP is licensed under both clauses of the Principle of Full Interpretation, i. e. , predication and sub categorization. Distinct syntactic processes in English and Spanish are argued to follow from the fact that there are inflectional features related to each of these licensing conditions (including specification for [ ± PAST) and nominal person/number features) which affect government relations in distinct ways, resulting in parametrization of S-structure representa­ tions. xi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express my appreCiatIOn to the Department of Romance Languages at the University of Washington for support for preparation of the final manuscript, and to the Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese at the University of Virginia for a leave during which much of this research was accomplished.

1 The Principles-and-Parameters Model and the Verb Phrase.- 1.1. From the Generative Tradition to Principles-and-Parameters.- 1.2. V* Constructions.- 1.3. $$ \bar{X} $$-Theory.- 1.3.1. Background.- 1.3.2. Auxiliaries and $$ \bar{X} $$-Theory.- 1.4. Predication.- 1.5. Subcategorization and Theta-Theory.- 1.5.1. Lexical Entries and D-Structure.- 1.5.2. S-Structure.- 1.5.3. Government in the Barriers Framework.- 1.5.4. Subcategorization Licensing of VP.- Notes.- 2 Auxiliary Verbs in $$ \bar{X} $$-Theory.- 2.1. Introduction.- 2.2. Arguments for VP with Auxiliaries as Specifiers.- 2.3. Auxiliaries as Heads of Full Phrases.- 2.3.1. Adjuncts.- 2.3.2. Specifiers.- 2.3.2.1. Scarcely Adverbials.- 2.3.2.2. All and Only.- 2.4. Specifiers and Adjuncts of Layered VP.- 2.5. Clausal-Type Restrictions on Occurrences of Aspectuals.- 2.6. Summary and Conclusions.- Notes.- 3 Licensing of VP.- 3.1. Introduction.- 3.2. Predication and the Distribution of VP.- 3.2.1. Predication.- 3.2.2. Infinitival and Gerundive Adjuncts.- 3.3. Theta-marking of VP by INFL.- 3.3.1. A Relational Account of Tense Construal.- 3.3.2. Temporal Theta Roles.- 3.3.3. LF Operations and Syntactic Representations of S, R, E.- 3.4. Subcategorization Licensing and the Argumenthood of VP.- 3.5. Auxiliaries and Head-Head Agreement.- 3.5.1. Progressive Be.- 3.5.2. Perfective Have.- 3.6. The Verbal Case Hypothesis.- Appendix: Syntactic Aspect and the Distribution of VP and AP.- Notes.- 4 Proper Government of VP.- 4.1. Introduction.- 4.2. Tense-Government.- 4.3. INFL and Tense-Identification.- 4.4. Antecedentless Null VP (VP-Deletion).- 4.4.1. Syntactically Empty Categories Versus Deletion.- 4.4.2. Affix-stranding versus Tense-Government.- 4.4.3. Government by V0 versus Tense-Government.- 4.5. Null VP and Auxiliary Clitics (Contraction).- 4.5.1. Constraints on Auxiliary Reduction.- 4.5.2. A Syntactic Analysis of Auxiliary Clitics.- 4.6. Clitics and Proper Government.- 4.6.1. Clitic Government.- 4.6.2. Verbal Clitics in INFL.- 4.6.3. Cliticization to COMP and Clitic Government.- 4.7. VP-Preposing.- 4.7.1. Movement of Preposed VP.- 4.7.2. Proper Government.- 4.7.3. Preposing Auxiliaries.- Notes.- 5 Structure of VP in Spanish.- 5.1. Introduction.- 5.2. Spanish Aspectual and Copular Verbs.- 5.2.1. Perfective Haber.- 5.2.2. Estar ‘be’.- 5.2.3. Ser ‘be’.- 5.2.4. Semi-aspectual Verbs.- 5.2.5. Summary of Aspectual and Copular Verbs.- 5.3. The Verbal Complex Hypothesis.- 5.3.1. Past Participle Context Rule and Exclusion of Main Verbs in Auxiliary Position.- 5.3.2. Le-la-les Placed by Local Rule.- 5.3.3. Selectionally dominant V = Obligatory V.- 5.3.4. No Null Anaphora for Past Participle.- 5.3.5. Possible Elimination of TENSE Movement.- 5.3.6. Negative Placement.- 5.3.7. Summary and Discussion.- 5.4. Arguments for Standard Phrasal Structure for Auxiliaries.- 5.4.1. Temporal Adverbs.- 5.4.2. Preverbal Adverbs.- 5.4.3. Todos and Sólo.- 5.4.4. Negation.- 5.5. Summary and Discussion.- Notes.- 6 V0 Chains and Government of VP in Spanish.- 6.1. Introduction.- 6.2. Issues.- 6.2.1. Tense-Government in Clauses Lacking Auxiliaries.- 6.2.2. Tense-Government in Clauses with Auxiliaries.- 6.2.3. V0 Chains and L-marking VP.- 6.2.4. Summary of Issues.- 6.3. Movement of Non-defective (Main) Verbs.- 6.3.1. Movement to INFL.- 6.3.2. Head-Head Agreement of Nominal Features.- 6.3.3. Temporal Role Absorption.- 6.3.4. Parameter Setting for Tense-Government.- 6.4. V0 Movement of Haber + Participle.- 6.4.1. Temporal Roles in Perfective Clauses.- 6.4.2. Role Assignment and Movement.- 6.4.3. Further Evidence for Parametrization of Role Assignment.- 6.5. Movement of Estar and Ser.- 6.5.1. Temporal Roles.- 6.5.2. Movement of Progressive Estar.- 6.5.3. V0 Movement of Copular Ser and Estar.- 6.6. Temporal Role Assignment and Agreement in Declaratives.- 6.6.1. Non-movement of V0 to INFL in Declaratives.- 6.6.2. Non-Agreement Between INFL and V0.- 6.6.3. Aspectual Agreement.- 6.6.4. Summary.- Notes.- References.- Index of Names.- Index of Subjects.