A Principled Explanation on Double Object and Dative Constructions

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to suggest a principled explanatory mechanism for the puzzling interaction of the complements DP1 and DP2 within VP in the Double Object Construction (DOC) and Dative Construction (DC). For this, the multiple Spec-VP and the multiple Theta (θ)-Agree of V inherited from v such as V1CAUSE and V2Have in DOC are posited with respect to Aoun and Li’s (1989) DOC to DC Transformation (T) approach. To support this postulation, Distributed Morphology (DM)– based Harley’s (2002) double object verb decomposition is adopted and slightly changed in the vein of the causative light verb v . And Kayne’s (1984) binary branching as well as Larson’s (1988) and Aoun and Li’s (1989) passivization are adopted and Aoun and Li’s (1989) Hybrid Analysis is a bit revised. As a result, the semantic relation and the structural (asymmetric) c-command relation between DP1 and DP2 in DOC and DC are solved. Also the inaccessibility of wh-extraction on DP2 in DOC and the accessibility of wh-extraction on DP1 in DC are explained.