This book is an extensively revised version of the core part of my 1993 MIT doctoral dissertation, which seeks to provide a Minimalist theory of Case absorption and support it through empirical investigation. The central idea pursued is that impoverishment of phrase structure is responsible for Case absorption and that the right theory of Case checking should derive this property. Although the basic line of research on Case absorption and wh-agreement remains the same, this book incorporates a lot of new results. A principied theory of Case checking and Case absorption has been worked out in Chapter 1. Treatment of participial constructions in Chapter 3 and wh­ agreement in Chapter 4 is far more systematic and comprehensive. Chapter 2 is also streamlined, together with refinements of the analysis of Romanian. The product, I hope, is a more convincing def ense of the strength of the Mi ni mal ist approach. I would like to thank my thesis committee members Ken Haie, Noam Chomsky, and Howard Lasnik, under whose guidance this project started.

Inhalt

1: Case Checking.- 1.0. Introduction.- 1.1. Minimalist Framework.- 1.2. Case Checking.- 1.2.1. Proposal.- 1.2.2. Northern Italian Subject Clitic Doubling.- 1.3. Organization.- Appendix. Case Checking Without Agr.- Notes.- 2: TNS ? AGR-S ? COMP.- 2.0. Introduction.- 2.1. The Distribution of PRO.- 2.1.1. Statement of the Problem.- 2.1.2. The Answer.- 2.1.3. Martin (1992).- 2.2. NP Raising.- 2.2.1. English.- 2.2.2. Romanian subjunctive.- 2.3. Explaining the TNS-COMP Relation.- 2.3.1. Morphological Correlation and ECM from Comp.- 2.3.2. Movement to C°.- 2.3.2.1. Trigger Problem Resolved.- 2.3.2.2. Arbitrariness of Overt Movement.- Notes.- 3: V ? AGR-O ? TNS/ASP.- 3.0. Introduction.- 3.1. Passive.- 3.1.1. Morphological Varieties of Passive.- 3.1.2. Case Absorption in Participial Passive.- 3.1.2.1. The Problem.- 3.1.2.2. Structure of Participial Passive.- 3.2. Participial Constructions.- 3.2.1. Have and Be.- 3.2.2. Locus of Accusative Case Checking.- 3.2.2.1. Minimality Problem.- 3.2.2.2. Clitic Movement.- 3.2.2.3. Celtic.- 3.2.3. Parametric Variations in Participial Constructions.- 3.2.3.1. English Progressive.- 3.2.3.2. Breton.- 3.2.3.3. Hebrew.- 3.2.3.4. Romance Again.- 3.2.4. Aux Selection.- 3.2.4.1. Unergatives.- 3.2.4.2. Aspect and Aux Selection.- 3.3. Causative.- 3.3.1. Typology of Causative.- 3.3.2. Case Property of Reduced Causative.- 3.3.2.1. The Embedded Object Raised to the Matrix Clause.- 3.3.2.2. Case Checking and Relativized Minimality.- 3.3.3. Transitivity Restriction.- 3.3.4. Structural Similarity of Passive and Reduced Causative: Passive in Japanese.- 3.3.5. Embedding of the Copula under Reduced Causative.- 3.4. Tightening up Some Loose Ends.- 3.4.1. Oblique External Argument.- 3.4.1.1. Argument vs. Adjunct.- 3.4.1.2. Oblique Marking.- 3.4.1.3. Apparent 1AEX Violations and Impersonal Constructions.- 3.4.1.4. Antipassive.- 3.4.2. Selection.- 3.4.2.1. TP Complementation: Japanese Causative.- 3.5. Conclusion.- Notes.- 4: Wh-Agreement.- 4.0. Introduction.- 4.1. Three-way Distinction in Palauan.- 4.1.1. The Phenomenon.- 4.1.2. The Account.- 4.1.3. Zaenen's Generalization.- 4.2. Tense.- 4.2.1. Modalization.- 4.2.1.1. Absence of the Subject/Non-subject Asymmetry.- 4.2.1.2. English.- 4.2.2. Intermediate Traces.- 4.3. C°.- 4.3.1. Morpho-Phonological Arbitrariness.- 4.3.1.1. Past Proposals.- 4.3.1.2. Further Arguments for Morphological Arbitrariness.- 4.3.2. V-Raising to C°.- 4.3.2.1. Root/Non-root (A)symmetry.- 4.3.2.2. Asymmetry in English.- 4.4. Agr-s.- 4.4.1. Absence of Subject-Verb Agreement in Subject Extraction.- 4.4.2. Failure of Subject Raising in Overt Syntax.- 4.4.2.1. The Syntactic Mechanism.- 4.4.2.2. Transitivity Restriction in French Stylistic Inversion and Japanese Nominative-Genitive Conversion.- 4.4.2.3. Oblique Insertion in Chamorro.- 4.4.3. Subject Extraction.- 4.4.3.1. Mayan Focus Antipassive.- 4.4.3.2. The Ban against Movement Which is Too Short.- 4.4.4. Other Phenomena.- 4.5. Conclusion.- Notes.- References.- Index of Languages.- Index of Names.- Index of Subjects.