Agreement in passive constructions with pre and post-verbal argument and incorporation of bare singular in BP

Author(s)

Leonor Simioni

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH/SBD)
• Defense date: 2011-12-07

Examining board members

Jairo Morais Nunes; Ruth Elisabeth Vasconcellos Lopes; Ana Lucia de Paula Muller; Marcello Modesto dos Santos; Maria Cristina Figueiredo Silva

• Advisor: Jairo Morais Nunes

Abstract

The present work discusses agreement in passive constructions in BP and its relation to the ordering of constituents. In chapter 1, we show that there are three possible patterns of agreement in these constructions: full agreement, in which both participle and auxiliary fully agree with the DP; partial agreement, in which gender agreement between participle and DP is mandatory, but number agreement with the auxiliary is optional; and default agreement, in which both participle and auxiliary surface with default values for number and gender. We also show that except for the default pattern, the other ones are possible both with pre- and postverbal DPs. Our proposal is that participle heads have been reanalized due to the loss of number agreement in BP and now host only a gender feature. Chapter 2 is devoted to a detailed discussion of Agree-based and Move-based approaches to agreement. We discuss whether each agreement system can account for the data presented in chapter 1 in light of the proposal made. We conclude that both Nunes (2007) and Bokovi (2007) approaches to Agree can deal satisfactory with the data at hand. We also raise the hypothesis that the constituent order in passive constructions is derived postsyntactically, through copy deletion at PF. In chapter 3, we show that V DP order in BP, though very restricted, is possible with passive and unaccusative predicates. In these cases, we show that such order corresponds to a difference in information structure, hence motivating copy deletion at PF. Chapter 4 is devoted to a discussion of definiteness effects in BP and the different interpretations for nominals, as well as the positions that can be occupied by weak and strong nominals in BP, and relating such matters to the expression of thetic and categoric judgements (BRITTO, 1998). We also support the conclusion that default agreement is generated by a weak Case (DE HOOP, 1996), and show that bare singulars systematically fail to trigger gender agreement on participles. Finally, chapter 5 bears on the issue of bare nominals, their use and intepretation. We claim that bare singulars are not DPs in BP and cannot freely occupy argument positions. We claim instead that bare singulars in object position are incorporated, and that bare singular generic subjects are topics (MÜLLER, 2004). (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 08/00244-9 - Gender and number agreement in passives, nominal predicates and DPs in Brazilian Portuguese
• Grantee: Leonor Simioni
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate