2019 Volume 35 Issue 2 Pages 297-315
This paper provides a principled explanation for subextraction from NP in English within the framework of cyclic linearization advocated by Fox and Pesetsky (2005). It is argued that PP can undergo wh-movement from an internal argument, but it cannot do so from an external argument by virtue of an ordering contradiction. Then, it is demonstrated that the (im)possibility of PP extraposition can also be explained by the presence or absence of an ordering contradiction. Furthermore, the proposed cyclic linearization approach enables us to account for the amelioration of external subject island effects under ellipsis in a straightforward way.
