On the interpretation of null indefinite objects in Greek (original) (raw)

Aspect and argument realization: A study on antecedentless null objects in Greek

The aim of this study is to investigate the interaction between viewpoint aspect and argument realization. More specifically, we examine the correlation of +/Àperfective verb forms in Greek and null objects with indefinite, non-specific interpretation. It is argued that although null objects are possible with both perfective and imperfective verbs, imperfective verbs favour object omission more than perfectives. We claim that this is due to two reasons: first, that there is a difference in the syntactic representation of overt direct objects with perfective and imperfective verbs, which is associated with the notion of economy in their respective derivations, i.e. Merge as opposed to Merge + Move; secondly, that perfective verbs show an interpretive difference at the LF interface depending on the overt versus null nature of the direct object, whereas imperfectives do not. The difference is related to the semantic notion of telicity. This prediction has been tested in an off-line sentence-completion task with two groups of native speakers of Greek, an adult and a child group. The data revealed that native speakers of Greek preferred to use overt DP objects with perfective verbs more than with imperfectives. This finding is interpreted as showing that Aspect is a functional feature with an effect on argument realization. #

‘Subject’ and EPP in Greek: The discontinuous subject hypothesis

Journal of Greek Linguistics, 2002

In the present study we examine the notion ‘subject’ in finite clauses in Greek, a null-subject language, and we investigate the connection between the rich morphological marking of subject-agreement on the verb and the definition of this notion. We propose that ‘subject’ in Greek should be analysed as a discontinuous element which consists of a null nominal element in the SpecTP position satisfying the Extended Projection Principle (EPP), associated with a pro at the relevant theta-position inside the VP. We argue that this analysis has not only the theoretical advantage of maintaining the universally strong value of EPP, but also, perhaps more importantly, the descriptive advantage of providing a satisfactory explanation for a number of apparent idiosyncrasies of Greek constructions.

Null Objects and VP Ellipsis in European and Brazilian Portuguese

The Handbook of Portuguese Linguistics, 2016

OE/LIN/UI0214/2013). We also thanks an anonymous reviewer for their helpful comments on a previous version of this paper. Cognate Null-Obj: the null object refers to an object easily recovered from the lexical content of the verb: (3) Durante as minhas férias , quero sobretudo ler__. during the my vacation want mainly read 'During my vacation, I mainly want to read.' Arbitrary Null-Obj, where the missing object is understood as part of the lexical meaning of some verbs: (4) Isto leva à seguinte conclusão. this leads to-the following conclusion 'This leads (us/people) to the following conclusion.' Anaphoric Null-Obj: the null object has a linguistic antecedent. (5) Ele experimentou o casaco mas não comprou__. he tried on the coat but not bought 'He tried on the coat but he did not buy (it).' As shown in the examples (1) to (5), Portuguese allows different types of Null_Obj. In this work we will focus on definite anaphoric and situational null objects, i.e., the cases in (2) and (5). VP ellipsis (henceforth,VPE) designates the lack of the phonological expression that includes the verbal complement of a verb or verbal sequence and optionally its adjunct(s). Early analyses on VP ellipsis focused on English. In this language VP ellipsis only occurs with auxiliary verbs, the infinitival marker to and the copulative verb "be": (6) Mary loves Peter and Ann does __, too. (7) Mary wants to buy an encyclopedia and I also want to __. (8) A: Who is the best basketball player in the neighborhood? B: John is __. The study of predicate ellipsis has been extended to other languages, and a different strategy of VP ellipsis has been put forth, where the elliptical VP is licensed by a main verb. Goldberg (2005) called this strategy verb stranding VPE. Raposo (1986) was the first to claim the existence of this strategy in EP. (9) A: A empregada colocou os livros na estante? the housemaid put the books on-the shelf 'Did the housemaid put the books on the shelf?' B: Sim, colocou __. Yes, put Yes, she did. Within the Principles and Parameters framework, VPE analyses mainly focused on the licensing condition(s) on the elliptical constituent and the recovering strategy of ellipsis. We will retain these topics in the study of VPE in EP and BP.

Eliding the noun in close apposition, or Greek polydefinites revisited

2007

In this paper we propose a treatment of Greek polydefinites as an instance of close apposition, as in Burns the poet. We argue that like close appositives, Greek polydefinites consist of two DPs, the only difference being that one of them contains noun ellipsis. We propose that both polydefinites and close ap-positives involve a process of Referential-role identification, in the spirit of the proposal by Higginbotham (1985) for theta-role identification in cases of ad-jectival modification. We show that our proposal can shed light on the ordering freedom of polydefinites, their discourse properties, the kind of adjectives that can appear in the construction, as well as the lack of polyindefinites. 1

On Nominal Ellipsis and the Valuation of Definiteness in Romanian

2017

The paper proposes a syntactic and interpretative account of nominal ellipsis in Romanian DPs. After reviewing previous accounts, we conclude that a suitable theory should unify total ellipsis (with no remnant) with partial ellipsis, (with at least one remnant). In the proposed theory, ellipsis is viewed as a discourse grammar phenomenon, presupposing the retrieval of suitable discourse antecedent. Since the ellipsis site is anaphorically related to the antecedent, it will be syntactically definite. Definiteness checking is thus obligatory in any DP which contains an ellipsis site, and it is this step which provides the unity of nominal ellipsis. Therefore, ellipsis is a double figure, involving both the anaphoricity of the elided NP and the contrastivity of the remnant (if present), a feature which triggers movement to the DP left periphery. In light of this theory, we examine two cases of nominal ellipsis in Romanian: partial ellipsis with cardinal remnants and total ellipsis.

On the Marginal Functions and Features of Object Clitics, with Special Reference to Modern Greek

Revue québécoise de linguistique, 2000

Written within the minimalist program approach to grammar (Chomsky 1995), this paper examines the nature of θ-role requirements in three types of object clitic constructions: idiomatic and affected accusative in Modern Greek, and affected dative in Modern Greek and French. I do not treat the idiomatic clitic constructions as lexically listed VPs, but as being derived syntactically. Furthermore, I argue that these constructions contain Tense and Person intrinsic features that are not visible to the syntax, and an obligatory θ-feature [EXPERIENCER] checked in the syntax by means of the operation Attract-F. Affected accusatives are analyzed as non-A-bound θ-marked affixes which attract an interpretable θ-feature [EXPERIENCER] associated with V. A simple VP syntactic structure without clitic movement is attributed to them. Lastly, for affected dative constructions, I propose a v shell syntactic structure with base-generation of the clitic.

Nominal ellipsis as a collaborative effort

Borealis: An International Journal of Hispanic Linguistics, 2016

Following fundamental minimalist assumptions, this study aims to explain the distribution of nominal ellipsis (NE, henceforth) in Spanish as the result of last resort constraints at different components of the grammar. The current proposal is that NE in Spanish is a special case of trace deletion that results from the creation of an imperfect/defective/smaller copy, which must be interpreted as an anaphora (concretely, as a (definite) pronoun) at the semantic interface (hence, SEM) due to its 'reduced' size. Therefore, the structure created in narrow syntax will be interpreted as any other copy at the phonological interface (hence, PHON), where it is not pronounced, but it will be interpreted as a (definite) pronoun at SEM. This approach derives the partitive character of the NE construction and the impossibility of having NE with some Determiners and prenominal Adjectives as the result of an SEM clash between the presence of the anaphora and the meaning of the Determiner.