This article describes and analyzes possessor extraction (PE) in English, a restricted possibility in the colloquial language of some speakers. I argue that the complexities of this phenomenon reveal evidence for the Cyclic Linearization theory of Spell-Out (e.g., Fox and Pesetsky 2005), which constrains English PE by interacting with a (phase-level) requirement to keep the possessor and the possessive D adjacent at PF (e.g., Gavruseva and Thornton 2001). These factors prevent such PE from succeeding unless the possessum is stranded in a clause edge, among other restrictions. This analysis entails the nonphasehood of DP, clarifies the derivation of that’s-relatives, reveals some linearization constraints on stranding, and suggests that expletive there originates in vP.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
Spring 2021
March 30 2021
Possessor Extraction in Colloquial English: Evidence for Successive Cyclicity and Cyclic Linearization
In Special Collection:
CogNet
Colin P. Davis
Colin P. Davis
Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, MIT, [email protected]
Search for other works by this author on:
Colin P. Davis
Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, MIT, [email protected]
Received:
March 16 2021
Accepted:
March 16 2021
Online ISSN: 1530-9150
Print ISSN: 0024-3892
© 2020 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2020
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Linguistic Inquiry (2021) 52 (2): 291–332.
Article history
Received:
March 16 2021
Accepted:
March 16 2021
Citation
Colin P. Davis; Possessor Extraction in Colloquial English: Evidence for Successive Cyclicity and Cyclic Linearization. Linguistic Inquiry 2021; 52 (2): 291–332. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/ling_a_00369
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Client Account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Could not validate captcha. Please try again.
Sign in via your Institution
Sign in via your InstitutionEmail alerts
Advertisement
Related Articles
How to Neutralize a Finite Clause Boundary: Phase Theory and the Grammar of Bound Pronouns
Linguistic Inquiry (July,2018)
Against the Existence of Pied-Piping: Evidence from Tlingit
Linguistic Inquiry (October,2010)
Ceiling Effects on Weight in Heavy NP Shift
Linguistic Inquiry (March,2021)
How Much Context Is Enough? Two Cases of Span-Conditioned Stem Allomorphy
Linguistic Inquiry (April,2015)