(1)
a.
Throw away.
b.
Want more apples.
c.
Put that on.
d.
Take a nap.
(2)
a.
Mommy throw it away.
b.
I want doggie.
c.
Andrew put that on.
d.
Mama take a nap.
(3)
a.
after wh-elements.
b.
in subordinate clauses.
c.
after a fronted XP other than the subject
(4)
a.
Cosa hai detto? Italian
What have said
‘What have you said?’
b.
Gianni ha detto che verrà.
Gianni has said that will come
‘Gianni has said that he will come.’
c.
Ieri ho parlatoa Carlo.
Yesterday have spoken to Carlo
‘Yesterday I have spoken to Carlo.’
(Guasti, 2004, p. 159)
(5)
Null subjects are permitted in all and only languages with morphologically uniform inflectional paradigms. (Jaeggli & Safir, 1989, p. 29)
(6) a.
‘parlare (to talk)
ISC
parlo
1PL
parliamo
Italian
2SG
parli
2PL
paríate
3SG
parla
3PL
parlano
b.
‘tánlún’ (to talk)
Chinese
ISC
tánlún
1PL
tánlún
2SG
tánlún
2PL
tánlún
3SG
tánlún
3PL
tánlún
c.
‘to talk’
ISC
talk
1PL
talk
English
2SG
talk
2PL
talk
3SG
talks
3PL
talk
(7)
a.
TOPICi [topici
[proi INFL VP]]
b.
TOPICi [topici [NP INFL [Vproi]
Table 1
Proportion of null subjects in finite clauses
(8)
a.
[T, D, uφ, NOM] [vP [3SG, uCase] v...] →
b.
[T, D, 3SG, NOM] [vP [3SG, NOM] v...] →
c.
[T, D, 3SG, NOM] [vP [3SG,NOM] v...]
(9)
a.
[T, uφ, NOM] [vP [3SG, uCase] v...] →
b.
[T, 3SG, NOM] [vP [3SG, NOM] v...] →
c.
[T, 3SG, NOM] [vP [3SG, NOM] v...]
(10)
Nessa biblioteca ∅gen não pode estudar.gen -T
In.this library not can study:INF
‘In this library one cannot study.’
Table 2
Null subject parameters across languages
(12)
a.
Gianni va al mare.
Italian (D in T (+))
Gianni go:3SG to.the beach
‘Gianni is going to the beach.’
b.
Va al mare?
Go:3SG to.the beach
‘Is (s)he going to the beach?’
(13)
a.
John is going to the beach.
English (D in T (-))
b.
Is *(John) going to the beach?
(14)
O Pedroi diz que [TP (ele), sabe inglês muito bem].
The Peter say:3SG that he know:3SG English very well
‘Peter says he knows English very well.’
BP (P in T (-))
(15)
Peter says [TP * (he) knows English very well].
English (P in T (+))
(16)
a.
Nessa biblioteca ∅gen não pode estudar. BP (φ-dependent (-))
In.this library not can study:INF
In this library one cannot study.
b.
O João vende livros.
The John sell:3SG books
‘John sells books’
(17)
a.
*Him gave I money.
English (φ-dependent (+))
b.
I gave him money.
Table 3
Initial values of the Null Subject parameters and final values for non-null-subject languages
(18)
a.
Istarat 1-fustaan.
Levantine Arabic
Bought the dress
‘She bought the dress’
b.
*Fariid kaal innu istarat 1-fustaan.
Fariid said that bought the dress
‘Fariid said that she bought the dress’
c.
Fariid kaal innu ha istarat 1-fustaan.
Fariid said that she bought the dress
‘Farrid said that she bought the dress’
(Rizzi, 2005, p. 10)
(19) a.
(I) travayè pra
Franco-Provençal patois
S/he works a lot
‘S/he works a lot.’
b.
Portyè *(i) travayè?
Why s/he works
‘Why does s/he work?’
c.
Voué *(i) travayè.
Today s/he works
‘S/he works today.’
(Rizzi, 2005, pp. 10-11)
⸽
(20)
Force...
Top...
Foe...
Fin...
⸽
AgrS...
T...
⸽
(21)
a.
I’ve got to go.
b.
(I’ve) gotta go.
(22)
(I/you/we/.. .’ll) see what happens.
(23)
a.
(I’ll) tell you if I’ve got to go.
*(I’ll) tell you if (I’ve) gotta go.
(24)
*Will (you) tell me if you’ve got to go?
(25)
*Where’re (you) going?
Table 4
Subjectless sentences in Nariyama’s (2004) study
(26)
a.
Articles, auxiliaries, and copula omission in adult English: confined to the initial position of the sentence.
b.
Articles, auxiliaries, and copula omission in child English: can occur anywhere in the sentence.
Table 5
Percentage of null subjects and average MLU in English-speaking children
(27)
a.
children need to learn the pragmatic/discourse conditions in which subject drop is licensed in languages like English.
b.
childrens high frequency of null subjects is explained by the fact that their speech is tied to the “here and now?.