We test adverb-verb word orders in Peruvian Spanish against analyses of verb movement (Pollock 1989, Embick & Noyer 2001). While the preferred order is V-adv-O, the alternative Adv-V-O is also possible. We propose that the verb raises in overt syntax and morphological insertion targets either the… read more
This paper argues for a bi-clausal analysis of clefts related to an assertion structure with a presupposition and an assertion. It draws evidence from two constructions in Colombian Spanish. One structure involves a focalizing copular verb that occurs low in the clausal structure, and the other… read more
The Spanish copula estar ‘be.stage-level’ has both well-known aspectual restrictions
and evidential uses. Tibetan evidential ‘dug also shows similar aspectual
constraints. Both features are derived from assuming that the relevant property
in both cases is the gradability of the predicate, which… read more
We analyze the effect of overt agreement marking on nouns in the acquisition of the syntactic constraints of bare nominals among L1 Russian learners of L2 Spanish. Gender is grammatically active in both Russian and Spanish, but nominals have a different structure and distribution. We posit that… read more
This paper addresses a systematic asymmetry between main and embedded clauses in Shipibo, an Amazonian language of the Pano family that shows certain verb-second properties. These properties are reduced to the asymmetry in the nature of the projections at the edge of the two clause types. In… read more
Overt preverbal subjects in Spanish have been claimed to be in an adjoined, peripheral layer of the clause and in IP-layer. Part of the motivation for the different analyses stems from mixed A and A-bar properties they display. I argue that subjects do not appear in a single, unique position, but… read more
