Abstract
Abstract In the modular framework of generative grammar, passive is reduced to the interaction of various principles involving Case theory, movement, and Theta theory (Chomsky 1981). Movement of the object to subject position is dependent on the thematic vacuousness of this subject position, which in turn is obtained by the “absorption” of the external thematic role by the passive morphology transmit¬ ting this thematic role to the by-phrase (Jaeggli 1986; Baker, Johnson, and Roberts 1989). Movement is triggered as aconsequence of Burzio’s (1986) generalization: a verb without an external Theta-role has no accusative Case to assign. Since no accusative Case is available for the object NP in the postverbal position (or in Spec AgrOP, in the minimalist framework), the object NP moves to subject position, where nominative Case is available. If the object stays in object position, it can only do so if provided with inherent partitive Case, yielding impersonal passives (le) with necessarily indefinite (partitive) NPs in object position (Belletti 1988).
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