1. :

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

3. SAFE® Savings → these are the main take-aways from SAFE®
• the distinction among single-argument verbs between
unaccusative/ergative and intransitive/unergative verbs
in terms of the absence vs presence of a projection for
‘little v’ allows us to understand the major diagnostics
for (un)ergativity in an explanatorily adequate manner
• the inflectional structure of the clause recognises
separate X-bar projections for T(ense) and Asp(ect)
• the functional head I (sometimes labelled ‘Agr(eement)’)
projects outside TP, and in finite clauses hosts either a
modal or subject agreement
• a functional projection for sentential negation (NegP)
finds itself between I and TP

4. SAFE® Savings → these are the main take-aways from SAFE®
• the subject of non-finite IPs is overt when Case can be
assigned to it from the outside, by C (for) or the matrix
verb, via Exceptional Case-marking (ECM)
• while finite clauses in English must always have an
overt subject, in infinitival and gerundial clauses the
subject is often silent
• the typology of nominal elements is defined by two
binary features, [+anaphoric] and [+pronominal]
• the silent subject of non-finite clauses whose structure is
as large as CP is PRO, a [+anaphoric, +pronominal] ele-
ment licensed by null Case, assigned from C
• the silent subject of non-finite clauses no larger than IP is
an NP-trace, a [+anaphoric, –pronominal] element left
behind by raising

5. SAFE® Savings → these are the main take-aways from SAFE®
• the null pronoun pro fills the [–anaphoric, +pronominal]
cell in the typology of silent nominal types
• the [–anaphoric, –pronominal] cell in the typology is filled
by Ā-bound traces (aka variables), left behind by move-
ment into an Ā-position – incl. wh-movement, focus front-
ing, topicalisation, and null operator movement (tough-
movement, parasitic gap constructions, wh-less relatives)
• empty categories are subject to a generalised licensing
constraint: the Generalised Empty Category Principle
– NP-traces are A-bound in their local domain
– other phrasal traces are locally Ā-bound
– PRO is assigned null Case and must not be bound
– pro is locally identified by person/number features

6. SAFE® Savings → these are the main take-aways from SAFE®
• for relative clauses there are two major approaches on
the market: the ‘head-raising’ and ‘head-external’ anal-
yses
• all seemingly unbounded movement dependencies pro-
ceed via a succession of strictly local movement steps –
successive-cyclic movement
• connectivity and island effects serve as major diagnostics
for (successive-cyclic) movement (though especially the
status of anaphor connectivity as a diagnostic for move-
ment is controversial in light of the possibility of logophor-
ic construal of reflexives contained inside noun phrases)
• some material pronounced in a clause-internal position
undergoes covert movement (e.g., Quantifier Raising) to
the left periphery of the clause, in post-Spell-Out syntax

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

8. :