IULC Publications

Orphan Prepositions in French and the Concept of 'Null Pronoun'

By Anne Zribi-Hertz

Professor Zribi-Hertz introduces the term 'orphan pronoun' to describe such constructions as that found in Cette valise, je voyage toujours avec. It is first shown that, unlike English stranded prepositions, French orphan pronouns do not govern the trace of a moved NP or WH-NP, but that since they nevertheless contain a null, or elliptical argument, the French constructions do seem to raise some questions of theoretical interest within a syntactic framework that includes the concept of 'empty category.' Empirical evidence leads to the conclusion that orphan pronouns govern a null, non-anaphoric, empty pronominal, a conclusion that calls for some extension of the concept of 'null pronoun,' as defined in Chomsky (1982).

36 pages
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