Post Verbal Subjects and Agreement in Brazilian Portuguese

(28) Chegada a autorizacao, o senhor podera entrar.
arrived the authorization, the-sir can-fur enter
‘The authorization having arrived, you will be able to enter, sir.’
(29) Vindo o motorista, nos podemos viajar.
arrived the driver, we can travel
‘The driver having arrived, we can travel.’
(30) Desaparecidas as joias, a Maria estava pobre de novo.
disappeared the jewels, the Mary was poor of-new
‘The jewels having disappeared, Mary was poor again’
(31) *Trabalhados os professores, a escola permaneceu aberta.
worked the teachers, the school remained open
‘The teachers having worked, the school remained open.’
(Silva 2001, p. 88)
(32) *Dancadas as bailarinas, a plateia bateu palmas.
danced the balarinas, the crowd beat palms.
‘The ballerinas having danced, the crowd clapped. ‘
Thus, the three diagnoses discussed here indicate that the verbs which
follow the variant agreement pattern are in fact unaccusative. The next section
introduces another environment where there is variant agreement.
2.2 Existential Construction
Existential sentences are formed by the verb ter (‘have’) followed by a post-verbal
pivot or associate (uns meninos (‘some boys’) in (33)) and often a PP coda. The
verb in these constructions follows the optional agreement pattern:
(33) Tinha/ Tinha-m uns meninos no parque.
have.sg/have-pl one-pl boy in-the park
‘There were some boys in the park.’
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