ABSTRACT
The paper proposes an analysis of the phenomenon of floating quantification, by discussing its relevance to the theory of verb movement. Two theories of floating quantification are compared in order to see how they treat the issue of verb movement. It is shown that for both theories floating quantifiers are diagnostics for verb raising, since they occupy a left-edge position in the lower phase. By taking the distribution of floating quantifiers and higher adverbs in English, it is shown that these two theories make wrong predictions. It is suggested that universal floating quantifiers occupy a high position within the Middlefield and for this reason they cannot be considered reliable diagnostics for verb raising.
Key-words:
floating quantifiers; verb movement; funtional hierarchy; Cartography
