Number and person agreement with the subject: Downward Agree vs Spec–Head.
This paper shows that there are fundamental connections in English between nominals headed by a singular noun of the committee type and the singular and plural pronouns they/them and you with regard to their agreement behaviour for number and person. An analysis of these DPs’ internal syntax and the...
| Publicado en: | Natural Language & Linguistic Theory Vol. 44; no. 1; pp. 1 - 21 |
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| Autor principal: | |
| Formato: | Artículo |
| Publicado: |
Springer Nature
Mar2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| Sumario: | This paper shows that there are fundamental connections in English between nominals headed by a singular noun of the committee type and the singular and plural pronouns they/them and you with regard to their agreement behaviour for number and person. An analysis of these DPs’ internal syntax and the influence of pre- vs post-verbal placement on number and person inflection on the verb is presented that capitalises on the difference between downward Agree and Spec–Head agreement. This analysis offers a syntactic representation for ‘singular they/them’ which not only explains its agreement sensitivity to linear placement relative to the finite verb but also four additional properties of this complex pronoun. |
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