Adopting the theoretical framework of the minimalist program, this study of syntactic limitations on complement configuration investigates the link between thematic external arguments and case. Using evidence from pronominal, psychological experiencer, and inalienable constructions, it argues that both accusative and dative are structural cases in French and that this duality is reflected in a parallel limit on argument projection. Larson’s single complement hypothesis, which allows a maximum of two internal arguments, provides the theoretical justification for this proposal. The testing ground for the binary hypothesis is a group of nonthematic subject constructions involving undative as well as unaccusative verbs, linking, according to Burzio’s generalization, case suspension and lack of an internal argument. The investigation of these constructions and those involving partitive case provides not only a theoretically significant contribution to our understanding of grammar, but also a motivated explanation for a number of empirical problems in French.
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Part of the "Current Issues in Linguistic Theory" series, this text looks at case suspension and binary complement structure in French. It covers minimalist syntactic representation, argument structure, unaccusative and case defective verbs, and binary case and syntactic representation.
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1. Minimalist syntactic representation; 2. Case and argument structure; 3. Unaccusative verbs and affected datives; 4. Case defective psych verbs; 5. Case suspending pronominals; 6. Inalienable undatives; 7. Case suspension and complement structure; 8. Appendix: grammaticality survey; 9. References; 10. Index of authors; 11. Index of subjects
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Product details
ISBN
9789027236364
Published
1996-02-29
Publisher
John Benjamins Publishing Co
Weight
410 gr
Height
245 mm
Width
164 mm
Age
P, 06
Language
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Number of pages
212
Author