Quotative Inversion
1. What is the status of the external argument in quotative inversion?
The external argument is in-situ in Spec vP.
2. What is the status of the quote in quotative inversion?
The quotative operator (not the quote) undergoes movement to Spec TP, and is co-indexed with the quote.
3. What is the status of the verb in quotative inversion?
The VP moves to a position higher than the in-situ subject: VP-S.
4. What is the role of smuggling in quotative inversion?
The movement of the VP smuggles the quotative operator over the in-situ subject so that the quotative operator can undergo A-movement to Spec TP.
5. What is the status of the transitivity constraint in quotative inversion?
The transitivity constraint follows without stipulation from minimal search.
6. What sort of variation is found in quotative inversion cross-linguistically?
Different languages use different constructions for the task, depending on what is available. Setswana uses a post-verbal focus construction. German and Dutch use a verb-second construction.
Inversion
7. What other kinds of inversion are found in English?
Quotative inversion, locative inversion, presentatives, inverse copular constructions, existential there constructions, so-inversion and as-inversion.
8. How does quotative inversion relate to the other kinds of inversion in English?
They have exactly the same derivation involving VP movement, smuggling and A-movement to Spec TP.
9. What properties do inversion constructions in English have in common?
(a) The transitivity constraint, (b) resisting post-verb nominative subjects, (c) agreement alternations, (d) [V prt DP] word order (where applicable).
Passive
10. What is the relationship between quotative inversion and the passive?
Both involve smuggling the object over the in-situ subject.
11. What is the status of VoiceP in syntactic theory?
VoiceP mediates between theta-positions and A-positions. VoiceP does not introduce the external argument, contrary to popular opinion.
12. What are the smugglers in quotative inversion and the passive?
The quotative inversion involves VP movement, whereas passive involves PartP movement.
13. If implicit arguments are possible in the passive, why not in quotative inversion?
The post-verbal subject in quotative inversion needs Case, but in Collins 2024 implicit arguments do not get assigned case (caseless pro).
Heavy DP Shift
14. Does Heavy DP Shift give evidence for rightward movement?
No, c-command tests show clearly that it is not rightward movement.
15. Is movement of the DP in Heavy DP Shift A- or A’-movement?
Heavy DP Shift is A’-movement, since it licenses parasitic gaps.
16. What is the analysis of Heavy DP Shift?
Heavy DP Shift involves vP movement smuggling the subject over the element in Spec FocP.
17. What is the theoretical importance of Heavy DP Shift in quotative inversion?
Normally the subject of a finite clause cannot undergo Heavy DP Shift, but in quotative inversion it can.
General
18. What does inversion tell us about the status of rightward movement in UG?
Neither inversion nor Heavy DP Shift provide any evidence for rightward movement in UG.
19. What is the status of smuggling in UG?
Smuggling is made freely available by UG, since it involves a sequence of two permissible operations of internal Merge.
20. How can the different types of smuggling be classified?
Smuggling can be classified by the kind of movement of the smuggler. For example, there is A’-smuggling (tough-movement). We have not seen any example of A-smuggling yet (the smuggler is a DP undergoing A-movement). Smuggling can also be classified by the size and category of the smuggler (e.g., VP, vP versus PartP).
21. What is the status of freezing in UG?
There is no general freezing constraint in UG, as shown by the ubiquity of smuggling.
22. What are the implications of smuggling for the theory of locality?
Smuggling is the only way of avoiding a locality constraint (such as RM, MLC or PIC). Other approaches, such as leapfrogging, involve unnecessary complications (such as equidistance).
23. What are the implications of inversion phenomena for the A/A’-distinction?
VP/PartP movement is neither A- nor A’-movement. It is its own category with its own properties.
24. What does inversion in English tell us about the theory of argument structure?
Inversion phenomena are analyzed as movement, not the alternative projection of arguments. The projection of arguments is determined by the theta-criterion, not simply by the formal mechanisms of formal semantics, which is unrestrictive.
25. What are the implications of inversion phenomena for the theory of voice?
Voice can be defined as the mapping of arguments to A-positions. Voice phenomena such as the middle, passive and inverse voice all involve inversion and smuggling in the same sense as quotative inversion, locative inversion and presentatives.
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