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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...

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Published in:Natural Language & Linguistic Theory Vol. 44; no. 1; pp. 1 - 21
Main Author: den Dikken, Marcel
Format: Article
Published: Springer Nature Mar2026
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      jtl: Natural Language & Linguistic Theory
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      dt: Mar2026
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      pub: Springer Nature
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        191342326
        10.1007/s11049-026-09696-6
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        atl: Number and person agreement with the subject: Downward Agree vs Spec–Head.
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        au: den Dikken, Marcel
        affil:
          https://ror.org/005cqsz63 ELTE Research Centre for Linguistics, Benczúr utca 33, H–1068, Budapest, Hungary
          https://ror.org/01c27hj86 Centre of Linguistics of the University of Lisbon, Alameda da Universidade, PT–1600-214, Lisboa, Portugal
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      keyword:
        ‘pluringulars’
        ‘singular they/them’
        Agree
        Number
        Person
        Pronouns
        Spec–Head agreement
      ab: 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.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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          year: 2026
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