Jaume Solà i Pujols - Departament de Filologia Catalana ...

crucially rely on or refer to in the following chapters: the Internal Subject Hypothesis, Subject
Inversion, the Projection Principle, the Split INFL Hypothesis, and Case Theory.
In Chapter 2, I develop a possible account of BG based on standard notions of subject
inversion and expletives. Thereafter I argue, on the basis of Binding Theory considerations, that
this account is not appropriate, in that it misses some generalizations on subject inversion and
expletives. Finally, I present a binding-theoretical approach to the nature of inverted subjects
which will provide the basic facts to be explained in the following chapters. Throughout the
chapters, the contrast between NSLs and non-NSLs languages will be at stake.
In Chapter 3, I develop the central proposals, which are essentially two: one on the way
the dependency between AGR and the sentence subject is established (from which BG can be
derived), the other on the way AGR identifies its subject across languages (from which the
cluster of properties of NSLs vs. non-NSLs languages is derived). The first proposal is in fact an
alternative to the Extended Projection Principle. The second proposal is based on Binding
Theory. It involves a reformulation of the notion of Binding Domain, in a way that covers the
classical facts in Binding Theory as well as the new facts presented in Chapter 2, and some
others. Case Theory is also reformulated in a way consistent with our version of Binding Theory
and Nominative Case assignment. This theoretical apparatus allows for a simple characterization
of the contrast NSLs vs. non-NSLs, the former having the classical cluster of properties (null
subjects, subject inversion, absence of that-t effects). In fact, however, we will argue that all
languages have a more subtle form of null-subjecthood and subject inversion.
We also consider some independent motivation for our reformulation of BT, concerning
a special type of copulative constructions ('John is not himself anymore'). We devote special
attention to some specific types of subjects: 'indefinite subjects', namely indefinite NP's in
existential and presentational constructions; CP subjects, and inverted subjects in French Stylistic
Inversion. Finally, we propose a solution to a problem for Relativized Minimality concerning A-
dependencies.
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Chapter 4 is devoted to infinitival constructions. On the one hand, it aims at explaining