The ambiguity of projection and the chomskyan adjunction as a formal way of approaching predication in small clauses and secondary predication

Abstract

This paper focus on the syntax of the predication relations in predicative constructions like secondary predication and small clause constructions. The goals are (i) to consider that an adjunction structures à la Chomsky (1986) and May (1985) (opposing category vs . segment of category) is an interesting solution to the syntax of predication, whenever combined with the idea that merge can be symmetrical in terms of projection (if α and β are merged, either α or β can project – Chomsky, 1995); and (ii) to present a formal and unified approach to the grammar of different kinds of predication, based on Carreira (2015), emphasizing specially cases of small clauses and secondary predication. The paper presents new data from BP, which challenges the classical analyses, as in Williams (1980), Stowell (1983) and Rothstein (1983) and minimalist analysis as Den Dikken (2006). This research is framed in the Minimalist Program of Chomsky (1995) and other. As we will argue, by exploring this mechanism, we might be able to provide a unified account for different types of predication.