This course will deal with the (surface) position of subjects. We will look at how we diagnose where subjects are in the structure, how they get there, and what motivates and constrains these operations.

​

​

• Comp-trace & Anti-comp-trace effects

• Conditions on subject overtness (EPP) & problems for grammatical modularity

• Conditions on subject extraction & apparent ellipsis repairs

• Variation in subject positions (e.g. VSO vs. SVO)

The course will be conducted in an informal and interactive format. Rather than moving towards a fixed solution to these questions, we will focus on the nature of argumentation and evidence used to reach very different conclusions — often based on the same data (considered from different angles).

​​

​

​

​

​

​

​