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Syntax: Advanced Forays – Extensions & Reflexions Marcel den Dikken Department of English Linguistics ELTE

Nominal Typology → SAFE®ty First • clauses (IPs) of all types, whether finite or non-finite, are required to have their SpecIP position occupied (EPP) • in the absence of an overt occupant of SpecIP, this requirement is satisfied by a silent subject – PRO (in non- finite control clauses as large as CP) or NP-trace (in the IP complement of raising verbs) • PRO is specified as [+anaphoric, +pronominal], and thereby completes the matrix of nominal categories • NP-trace occupies the [+anaphoric, –pronominal] cell of the typology of nominal elements • in this segment, we will discover that the [–anaphoric, +pronominal] member of the typology also has a silent counterpart – the null pronoun pro

SAFE® 7 Nominal Typology • PRO fits into the typology of nominal types as the filler of the [+anaphoric, +pronominal] cell of the matrix → PRO is necessarily silent (or null) because it is assigned ‘null Case’ by the C-head of the clause in which it occurs Q do the other cells in the matrix of nominal types feature null forms, too? → the NP-trace in raising constructions is the perfect null category to fill the [+anaphoric, –pronominal] cell [Mary tried [CP C [IP PRO to kiss herself/*oneself]]] [Mary seemed [IP t to kiss herself/*oneself]] Nominal Types [+anaphoric] [–anaphoric] [+pronominal] PRO pronouns [–pronominal] anaphors names

Nominal Typology why do we write ‘PRO’ in all-caps?? SAFE® 7 Nominal Typology why do we write ‘PRO’ in all-caps?? is there also a null category called ‘pro’?? Q do the other cells in the matrix of nominal types feature null forms, too? → it turns out that indeed there is an empty category pro – and it fills the [–anaphoric, +pronominal] cell of the matrix [Mary tried [CP C [IP PRO to kiss herself/*oneself]]] [Mary seemed [IP t to kiss herself/*oneself]] Nominal Types [+anaphoric] [–anaphoric] [+pronominal] PRO pronouns [–pronominal] NP-trace names

Nominal Typology why do we write ‘PRO’ in all-caps?? SAFE® 7 Nominal Typology why do we write ‘PRO’ in all-caps?? is there also a null category called ‘pro’?? Q do the other cells in the matrix of nominal types feature null forms, too? → it turns out that indeed there is an empty category pro – and it fills the [–anaphoric, +pronominal] cell of the matrix [Mary tried [CP C [IP PRO to kiss herself/*oneself]]] [Mary seemed [IP t to kiss herself/*oneself]] Nominal Types [+anaphoric] [–anaphoric] [+pronominal] PRO pro [–pronominal] NP-trace names

neither pronouns nor proper names combine with articles in English SAFE® 7 Nominal Typology * the he * the John neither pronouns nor proper names combine with articles in English but note that while this is probably universally true for pronouns, for proper names it is not * az ő der er * % a János der Hans % Nominal Types [+anaphoric] [–anaphoric] [+pronominal] PRO pronouns [–pronominal] anaphors names

neither pronouns nor proper names combine with articles in English SAFE® 7 Nominal Typology * the he that I know now is quite different from the he/him of my youth * the John that I know now is quite different from the John of my youth neither pronouns nor proper names combine with articles in English but note that while this is probably universally true for pronouns, for proper names it is not * az ő der er * % a János der Hans % Nominal Types [+anaphoric] [–anaphoric] [+pronominal] PRO pronouns [–pronominal] anaphors names

but pronouns should be radically prevented from taking an article SAFE® 7 Nominal Typology * the he that I know now is quite different from the he/him of my youth the John that I know now is quite different from the John of my youth we want to give proper names the capacity in principle to combine with an article but pronouns should be radically prevented from taking an article * az ő der er * % a János der Hans % Nominal Types [+anaphoric] [–anaphoric] [+pronominal] PRO pronouns [–pronominal] anaphors names

but a pronoun is a D, hence can never be lower than D SAFE® 7 Nominal Typology * the he that I know now is quite different from the he/him of my youth the John that I know now is quite different from the John of my youth we want to give proper names the capacity in principle to combine with an article a proper name is a noun that usually moves to D but sometimes stays put Gianni mio il mio Gianni but a pronoun is a D, hence can never be lower than D * az ő der er * % a János der Hans % Nominal Types [+anaphoric] [–anaphoric] [+pronominal] PRO pronouns [–pronominal] anaphors names

Nominal Typology % a János der Hans % [DP [D′ D [NP N]]] John SAFE® 7 Nominal Typology [DP [D′ D [NP N]]] John a proper name is a noun that usually moves to D but sometimes stays put % a János der Hans % Nominal Types [+anaphoric] [–anaphoric] [+pronominal] PRO pronouns [–pronominal] anaphors names

Nominal Typology [DP [D′ D [NP N]]] he *he SAFE® 7 Nominal Typology what’s in NP in the structure of pronouns? [DP [D′ D [NP N]]] he *he an empty category called ‘pro’ a proper name is a noun that usually moves to D but sometimes stays put but a pronoun is a D, hence can never be lower than D Nominal Types [+anaphoric] [–anaphoric] [+pronominal] PRO pronouns [–pronominal] anaphors names

Nominal Typology [DP [D′ D [NP N]]] he pro SAFE® 7 Nominal Typology what’s in NP in the structure of pronouns? [DP [D′ D [NP N]]] he pro an empty category called ‘pro’ → note that pronouns in English sometimes combine with an overt noun phrase to form the ‘pronoun–noun construction’ literature students generally don’t like [us linguists] very much [DP [D′ D [NP N]]] us linguists Nominal Types [+anaphoric] [–anaphoric] [+pronominal] PRO pronouns [–pronominal] anaphors names

SAFE® 7 Nominal Typology what’s in NP in the structure of pronouns? [DP [D′ D [NP N]]] he pro an empty category called ‘pro’ pro and PRO are different creatures in our nominal typology PRO occurs as the subject of non-finite clauses pro in English only occurs inside pronominal noun phrases Nominal Types [+anaphoric] [–anaphoric] [+pronominal] PRO pro [–pronominal] anaphors names

SAFE® 7 Nominal Typology • the empty category PRO is licensed iff (a) and (b) hold (a) PRO is in an environment in which it cannot be bound (b) PRO gets a special ‘null Case’ from the null C-head of the non-finite clause • the empty category pro is licensed iff pro is in a local relationship with a functional head that is equipped with person/number features that serve to identify the person/number features of pro → effectively, this confines the distribution of pro in English to the complement position of a D filled with a pronoun Nominal Types [+anaphoric] [–anaphoric] [+pronominal] PRO pro [–pronominal] anaphors names

SAFE® 7 Nominal Typology with the [–anaphoric, +pronominal] cell of the typology now firmly filled with pro, there remains one cell for which we have not come across an empty candidate yet Q does the [–anaphoric, –pronominal] cell have an empty category in it, too? → it turns out that indeed there is an empty category for this cell of the matrix – we will turn to it after addressing some remaining questions about non-finite clauses Nominal Types [+anaphoric] [–anaphoric] [+pronominal] PRO pro [–pronominal] NP-trace names

SAFE® Deposits → so far, we have seen that: • the typology of nominal elements is defined by two binary features, [+anaphoric] and [+pronominal] • for overt noun phrases, only three of the four cells of the matrix have fillers: anaphors, pronouns, and names; the [+anaphoric, +pronominal] cell cannot have an overt ex- ponent because it is unlicensable • but silent [+anaphoric, +pronominal] PRO is licensed as the subject of non-finite CP by null Case, assigned by C • the [+anaphoric, –pronominal] NP-trace is licensed by being bound within its local domain • the null pronoun pro, in the [–anaphoric, +pronominal] cell, is licensed in a local relationship with a functional head equipped with person/number features matching those of pro

Syntax: Advanced Forays – Extensions & Reflexions Marcel den Dikken Department of English Linguistics ELTE

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