SUBJECT-BECAUSE CONSTRUCTION AND THE EXTENDED PROJECTION PRINCIPLE

Abstract

This paper aims to clarify in terms of the minimalist program the structure of a particular construction to be termed the subject-because construction, exemplified by just because I'm here now doesn't mean that I didn't go. It will be argued that the construction involves not only the subject-because merged in [Spec, T] but also a null subject in [Spec, v] whose φ-features delete the uninterpretable φ-features of T. This analysis accounts for the absence of subject-verb agreement for the subject-because, its (non)-occurrence in (non)-Case-marking positions, and its failure to agree with emphatic reflexives as well as pronominal subjects in tag-clauses.