Unit 4 - Empty Categories

Pro Drop Parameter and Agreement Features

Introduction to Pro Drop

• The discussion begins with an overview of the pro drop parameter, highlighting its significance in understanding language properties and how it manifests in different languages.

• It contrasts parameters with principles, emphasizing that parameters shape a language's unique characteristics.

Rich vs. Poor Agreement Systems

• The speaker explains that Spanish has a rich agreement inflection system in verbs, allowing for clear subject identification through verb endings, unlike English which has a limited system.

• This difference is illustrated by discussing how Spanish can indicate the subject through verb morphology, while English often requires explicit subjects.

Null Subjects and Expletives

• In Spanish, null subjects (omitted subjects) are common due to rich agreement features; this contrasts with English where subjects cannot be omitted as easily.

• The concept of expletives is introduced, explaining their role as placeholders in subject positions within sentences like weather constructions or existential sentences. Examples include "There is a man in the garden."

Anomalous Agreement and Unaccusativity

• The speaker discusses anomalous agreement in passive constructions where the verb points to the direct object rather than the agent (subject), noting this phenomenon's relevance to unaccusative constructions.

• Examples illustrate how these grammatical structures differ between Spanish and English regarding subject identification and agreement features.

Post-Verbal Subjects in Spanish

• A key feature of Spanish discussed is the allowance for post-verbal subjects—subjects appearing after the verb—which differs from English syntax rules that do not permit such structures. Examples are provided from relevant literature on comparative syntax.

Understanding Complementizers and Subject Extraction in English and Spanish

The Role of Overt Complementizers

• The basic form of a declarative complementizer in English is illustrated with "I think that this audience will enjoy the book." Topicalizing the subject leads to an ungrammatical sentence: "This audience I think that we enjoy the book."

Interrogation Movement and Grammaticality

• In interrogative contexts, such as "Which readers should I expect that will like my book," movement occurs rather than topicalization. This requires omitting the overt complementizer, resulting in "This audience I think will enjoy the book."

Comparison with Spanish Grammar

• Unlike English, similar sentences are grammatical in Spanish due to its consistent use of complementizers. Declarative noun clauses necessitate these structures.

Subject Extraction Across Languages

• In English, sentences like "Who do you think that won the game?" are ungrammatical, while they remain acceptable in Spanish. Hagman and Goron suggest this reflects differences in subject extraction capabilities between languages.

Rich Agreement Features in Spanish

• Spanish allows for post-verbal subjects due to null subjects and expletives. This enables extraction from positions immediately after overt complementizers—an option not available in English.

Consequences of Weak Agreement Inflection in English

Verb Movement Limitations

• In English, weak agreement inflection means verbs do not raise to T0 or C0 during root questions. Consequently, auxiliary verb insertion (e.g., 'do') becomes necessary for forming questions or negative sentences.

Identification Challenges for Subjects

• Identifying non-pro subjects is impossible without explicit pre-verbal subjects or covered complementizers when extracting from embedded clauses.

Omission of Subjects in Various Registers

• While pre-verbal subjects must be present for grammatical correctness, some constructions allow omission of first-person subjects, particularly noted through examples from Virginia Woolf's diaries where she frequently omits them.

Exploring Pro-Drop Language Characteristics

Differences Between English and Spanish

• The discussion raises whether English functions similarly to pro-drop languages like Spanish. However, Hagman and Goron clarify that covered subjects are limited to specific registers within declarative root sentences only.

Understanding Subject Omission in English

Key Concepts of Subject Omission

• The discussion begins with the types of constructions where subject omission is not permissible, including root questions and embedded clauses.

• It highlights how speakers from pro-drop languages, like Spanish, may struggle with subject inclusion when learning English due to their native language's structure.

• The principle of full interpretation is introduced as a reason for the necessity of subjects in English sentences, emphasizing that verb inflection alone cannot convey subject content.

Embedded Clauses and Topicalization

• Examples are provided to illustrate ungrammaticality in omitted subjects within embedded clauses, reinforcing the need for explicit subjects.

• The speaker discusses topicalized arguments and predicates, noting that these structures also require clear subject presence to maintain grammatical integrity.

Focalization and Negative Constituents

• Root sentences featuring focalized negative constituents are examined; examples demonstrate how inversion occurs without omitting subjects.

• A comparison is made between English and Romance languages regarding subject omission capabilities, indicating that Spanish allows more flexibility than English.

Restrictions on Non-Overt Subjects

• The distribution of non-overt subjects in special registers is discussed, highlighting differences between English and pro-drop languages.

• It emphasizes that certain environments restrict non-overt subjects due to structural requirements within the clause.

CP Layer Implications

• The importance of the CP (Complementizer Phrase) layer is explained; if occupied by an overt element, it excludes non-overt subjects from appearing.

• Identification issues arise when no antecedent exists for a null subject; this leads to further restrictions on subject omission across various sentence types.

Conclusion on Subject Structures

• Summarizes that any finite construction requiring elements from its CP projection will not permit null subjects in any register.

Discussion on Complementizers and Empty Categories

Introduction to Complementizers

• The discussion shifts focus to complementizers, a topic developed by Hageman and Goron, which is distinct from the pro-drop parameter.

• It highlights the differences in functionality between noun clauses and relative clauses, setting the stage for further exploration of these concepts.

Examples of Noun Clauses and Relative Clauses

• An example illustrates how overt complementizers can be optional in sentences like "Pat believes her cousin will betray her" versus "I believe that...".

• The distinction between defining relative clauses and basic sentences is emphasized, showcasing how additional information modifies meaning.

Omission of Complementizers

• In examples (a), (b), and (c), it is noted that subjects can be omitted without losing grammaticality; however, this changes with different structures.

• Example (d) demonstrates that certain constructions require an overt complementizer to maintain grammatical integrity.

Understanding Intransitivity in Nouns

• The inability to omit the complementizer in specific cases is linked to the nature of nouns as intransitive elements within sentence structure.

• A deeper analysis reveals that nouns cannot take complements unless introduced by an operator, affecting how they interact with complementizers.

Identification of Empty Categories

• The identification process for empty categories involves local operations within projections, emphasizing the need for proper hosts for null complementizers.

• Transitive verbs are crucial for identifying null complementizers; if not identified correctly, these categories remain uninterpreted.

Spanish Language Comparison: Gagmo Phenomenon

• Transitioning to Spanish grammar, it’s noted that similar rules apply regarding overt complementizers unless an appropriate operator exists.

• The discussion introduces dummy prepositions used in Spanish when dealing with non-complementizer scenarios due to transitivity issues.

Conclusion on Dummy Prepositions

• Differences between acceptable and unacceptable examples highlight issues related to dummy preposition insertion in Spanish grammar.

Object Control Constructions and Expletive Subjects

Understanding Object Control in ECM Constructions

• The speaker introduces the concept of object control in ECM (Exceptional Case Marking) constructions, emphasizing that it is unrelated to the pro-drop parameter.

• An example illustrates how "the migration office does not allow passengers" shows that "passengers" controls the reference of a non-finite clause, highlighting the ditransitive nature of these constructions.

• In English, omitting the internal argument (e.g., "passengers") leads to ungrammaticality, while Spanish allows for such omissions, indicating a significant difference between the two languages.

• Hageman's theory suggests that in Romance languages like Spanish or Italian, object pro (null object with control verbs) is not linked to the project parameter settings that govern subject pro in root clauses.

• The structure of object control constructions always includes two internal arguments: an agent/initiator and a theme/location.

Active vs. Inert Object Pro

• The distinction between active and inert object pro is crucial; in Spanish, object pro can actively control references in infinitival clauses, whereas in English it cannot.

• This means that English requires overt realization of internal arguments due to its inert nature regarding object pro.

Expletive Subject Pro

• Another category discussed is expletive subject pro found in exceptionally case-marked small clauses; this differs from both object pro and the project parameter.

• An example from Spanish demonstrates how an expletive serves as a placeholder for subjects within monotransitive verbs selecting small clauses.

Differences Between English and Spanish Expletives

• In English, expletives cannot be omitted without resulting in ungrammatical sentences; examples illustrate this point clearly.

• The significance of recognizing expletives relates to their agreement features; all expletives generally exhibit defective agreement patterns.

Recognition of Expletives Through Agreement Features

• In Spanish, speakers can omit expletives because they can recover them through number and gender features present in adjectives.

Understanding Expletives and Pro Drop in English and Spanish

The Role of Expletives in Language

• The term "expletive" is discussed, highlighting that in English, expletives are often absent, while in Spanish they can be present. This distinction is tied to the features of adjectives rather than verb agreement.

• An example illustrates that when a small clause is complete, there is no need for an expletive subject. The phrase "I consider it terrible" demonstrates grammaticality without explicit subjects.

Object Control vs. Subject Control

• In Romance languages, the non-overt expletive subject (pro) cannot be simplified to just positive settings; this contrasts with object pro scenarios where reference assignment becomes problematic if not overt.

• The discussion includes how verbs like "allow" or "permit" face challenges with object control due to the necessity of overt direct objects for proper reference assignment.

Subject Control Verbs

• A focus on subject control verbs such as "promise" shows that these do not lead to ungrammaticality when used correctly. For instance, “Anderson promised to solve the problem” maintains grammatical integrity.

• Conversely, using an object control verb incorrectly leads to ungrammatical structures, as seen in “Anderson's indications allowed to solve the problem.”

Rich Agreement Features and Null Subjects

• The session emphasizes rich agreement features related to the project parameter and identifies four phenomena: null subjects and null expletives among others.

• These phenomena allow for subject extraction across embedded clauses but are unavailable in English compared to other languages.

Clarifying Key Concepts

• It’s clarified that concepts like null complementizers and various types of pro (object pro and expletive subject pro) are not linked with rich agreement inflection features.