Abstract
This study investigated the forms used to express third-person subjects (pronouns, unexpressed subjects, and lexical noun phrases) by Spanish speakers to determine whether there were contexts in which multiple forms were in variation. After ruling out contexts where categorical behavior was observed, we used a step-by-step, function-based approach to investigate whether there was evidence that lexical noun phrases were in variation with other subject forms in certain contexts. The final step was a variationist analysis of the patterns of use of third-person subjects in those contexts. The results showed that lexical noun phrases occurred in contexts in which unexpressed subjects and pronouns were also possible and that they were conditioned by some of the linguistic factors examined in previous research. The findings suggested that a functional, data-driven definition of the envelope of variation led to inclusion of a wider range of variants, extending current knowledge of subject expression in Spanish.
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