draft of November 2011

(=a/one) is involved in (16), ambiguity arises. The presence of the pronominal in (16a) forces
a referential interpretation for the indefinite, exactly as in the clld case in (3). The indefinite
interpretation is only available when the object is dropped in the second clause (16b), on a
par with (5).
(16) a. o Yanis psahni enan idravliko, ala dhe ton vriski puthena
the-nom Yanis look-for-3sg one plumber but not him find-3sg anywhere
Yanis is looking for a plubmer but cannot find him anywhere. ∃ > look-for
b. o Yanis psahni enan idravliko, ala dhe vriski puthena
the-nom Yanis look-for-3sg one plumber but not find-3sg anywhere
Yanis is looking for a plubmer but cannot find one anywhere. look-for > ∃
The facts reviewed so far indicate that: (i) the relation between a clld-ed phrase and the clitic
mirrors intrasentential anaphora in the two languages; (ii) Greek pronouns systematically
resist non-referential antecedents while Italian clitics can accept such antecedents; (iii) Greek
allows Indefinite Argument Drop (IAD) where Italian systematically employs pronouns.
Before moving on it is worth pointing out that IAD is available also with subjects in Greek
as shown in (17) (and noticed by Giannakidou and Merchant 1997). (17b) can be a felicitous
exchange in a context where a new helpline is set up at a university, available to faculty,
students and the general public, but what is of interest is if students specifically use it.
(17) a. A:irthe kanis? B:ne irthe
A:came-3sg anyone? B:yes, came-3sg
A:Did anyone come? B:Yes, someone did.
b. A:tilefonisan fitites? B:ne tilefonisan
A:phoned-3pl students? B:yes, phoned-3pl
A:Did students phone? B:Yes, some did.
By contrast, such indefinite subjects cannot be dropped in Italian.
(18) A:Ha telefonato qualcuno B:Si, qualcuno ha telefonato/*Si, ha telefonato
A:Has phoned someone? B:Yes, someone has phoned/*Yes, has phoned
A: Has anyone phoned? B: Yes, someone has phoned.
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