Please join us for Syntax Square this week:
Speaker: Coppe van Urk
Title: Adjunct Infinitives and Parasitic Gaps in Dutch
Time: Tuesday, 10/5, 1-2PM
Place: 32-D461
This talk attempts to illustrate the value of using a more extensive classification of different adjunct types, drawing on Huettner’s (1989) survey of English infinitival adjuncts. To achieve this, a puzzle in the distribution of parasitic gaps in Dutch across adjunct types is presented. On the basis of independent properties of different adjuncts, it is argued that adjunct infinitives occupy at least three distinct positions in the Dutch clause. Under standard assumptions about parasitic gaps, this proposal is shown to derive the right distributional pattern. The relationship between this analysis and the analysis of Dutch object scrambling is then briefly discussed.
If you are interested in presenting in Syntax Square this semester, please contact Claire Halpert (halpert@mit.edu) or Natasha Ivlieva (ivlieva@mit.edu).