Conjunction Agreement and the Coordinate Structure Constraint

Abstract

A long-standing question in syntax is what role linear order plays in a hierarchical grammar. Phenomena that on the surface show sensitivity to linear order have been particularly illuminating. When agreeing with coordinated subjects with different gender features, participles in Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), Slovenian, and other languages allow multiple options including agreeing with the linearly closest conjunct. This pattern motivated an analysis where linear order can play a role in a syntactic operation such as agreement (Marušič et al. 2015; Willer-Gold et al. 2016 among others). On the other hand, Murphy & Puškar (2018) show that the pattern can be accounted for without resorting to linear order. This paper provides novel evidence from Coordinate Structure Constraint violating movement in BCS to argue for the non-linear approach. If the argument is on the right track, agreement can be kept within syntax without resorting to PF conditions.