DP Movement: Raising in Syntax | Generative Grammar

DPs undergo cyclic movement through specifier positions to satisfy both case and EPP requirements. The subject moves to the specifier of V, then to the embedded T position (checking EPP but not getting case), and finally to the matrix T position where it receives nominative case and satisfies the highest T's EPP feature. This creates the surface structure where the subject appears to 'raise' out of the embedded clause. The critical insight is that movement occurs for functional reasons—case and EPP satisfaction—not just theta assignment.

In passive voice sentences, the deep structure differs from surface structure. For 'the man was hit by the rock,' the deep structure is 'was hit the man by the rock,' where the theme appears after the verb. Passive verbs cannot assign accusative case, so the theme must move to the subject position to receive nominative case. The auxiliary 'was' moves from V to T to spell out tense features. Movement serves two purposes: satisfying the EPP and obtaining correct case. The Case Filter requires DPs to have case matching the verb's assignment.

Passivization in English requires three key properties: (1) an auxiliary verb (be, was, were, has, have, will, shall), (2) the main verb in passive participle form, and (3) an optional 'by' phrase introducing the agent. Syntactically, the passive participle assigns the theme role to the DP, which then undergoes exceptional case marking movement to receive nominative case, violating locality principles. The auxiliary projects three levels (base, intermediate, maximal), and the EPP feature triggers movement to fill the specifier position. The by phrase can be inserted at the appropriate level to introduce the agent.

In passive sentences, the object NP moves to the subject position to satisfy two grammatical requirements: (1) the passive verb cannot assign accusative case to its object, and (2) the subject position must be filled (no sentence can be subjectless). This movement is motivated by the case filter, which requires all NPs to receive case. The passive verb cannot assign Theta roles to its subject, so the moved NP receives nominative case from the I head instead. This explains why passive sentences have different grammatical properties than active sentences, such as the inability to passivize intransitive verbs in English.

Evidence from Icelandic case theory supports a derivational model of syntax. In quirky case constructions with raising to object, nominative objects receive case even without visible agreement, puzzling traditional theories. This disappears if we assume the embedded clause was originally finite, then underwent Kinyalolo dissimilation reducing both C and T. Anaphor agreement effects (blocking reflexives in embedded clauses) similarly require a derivational account. Control constructions involve a minimal pronoun undergoing short-distance movement, creating the same Kinyalolo configuration and explaining their reduction patterns. Both A-movement (subject raising) and A-bar movement (wh-movement) trigger Kinyalolo dissimilation effects, supporting their formal unity despite traditional distinctions. This challenges approaches denying the fundamental sameness of wh-movement and raising.

A-bar movement is a syntactic operation in English where question words (wh-words) move from their base position to the front of the complementizer phrase (CP) to satisfy the Q-feature requirement, as demonstrated by the sentence 'Which car did the man make?' where 'which car' moves from the VP layer to the CP specifier position.

Crossover refers to syntactic movement crossing over pronouns. Bar movement (wh-movement) is subject to both strong crossover (pronoun c-commands trace) and weak crossover (pronoun embedded but not c-commanding trace). A-movement is subject to neither. Scrambling in Hindi represents a third movement type: not subject to weak crossover but subject to strong crossover. Strong and weak crossover are independent phenomena that happen to travel together in English. Strong crossover relates to the launching site, while weak crossover relates to the landing site. This challenges unified explanations like Chomsky's leftness condition and Reinhart's empty structure account.

WH movement (A'-movement) transforms declarative sentences into questions through distinct syntactic operations. In declaratives, subjects raise to T-position checking EPP and receiving nominative case. Yes/no questions involve C's Q-feature attracting T, producing do-support where auxiliaries raise to satisfy Q. Content questions add +WH to C, attracting +WH wh-elements to the specifier. Movement operates under strict constraints: WH movement must cycle through intermediate CPs even when the highest CP is the attractor. Coordinate structures function as islands preventing extraction from single conjuncts; only full conjuncts can be extracted. These constraints, identified by John Ross, reveal fundamental limitations on syntactic movement operations.

A-movement, or argument position movement, is a syntactic process in English where a constituent (typically a noun phrase) moves from its base position to a higher argument position to satisfy two grammatical requirements: the Extended Projection Principle (EPP) which requires an overt subject in the specifier position of IP, and case assignment, which must occur in a position with case potential; this movement occurs because the VP domain lacks the ability to assign nominative case, so the IP triggers the lower DP to move to a higher A-position where both requirements can be satisfied simultaneously.

Case features require that a DP with nominative case must move to a position where it can check against a head with nominative features. For example, a DP downstairs with nominative case needs to move to the specifier of TP (which has a nominative feature) to ensure case is properly licensed. This movement brings the two nominative features into a local configuration, allowing the derivation to converge.

The Agree operation is a syntactic mechanism that enables long-distance feature valuation between elements in the tree, functioning complementarily to Merge by searching for elements with valued features to satisfy unvalued features, thereby explaining phenomena like subject-verb agreement, movement constraints, and case assignment.

Movement and agreement share c-command relationships. The EPP feature triggers movement to positions where agreement can occur. In the probe and move cycle, uninterpretable features need matching interpretable features in their c-command domain. If a constituent cannot find a matching feature, it may move to a new position where it can check its features. Case assignment and the derivational cycle (merge, agree, move, repeat) explain why movement doesn't happen unconstrained. The diversity of human language can be captured by a lexicon and three universal operations: merge, move, and agree.

The minimalist program uses Agree (probe-goal feature valuation), Match (probe-goal feature attribute matching), and Phase Theory. Agree forms a relation between a probe with unvalued features and a goal with valued features, deleting unvalued features. Match concerns only feature attributes, not valuation. Phase Theory identifies phases (CP and small VP as phases, TP and big VP not phases) regulated by PIC Condition, which sends complements to LF and PF by transfer, leaving only the phase head and specifier accessible for further computation.

The Minimalist Program emphasizes economy principles in derivation and representation. The Economy of Derivation principle states that the shortest derivation is preferred over longer ones, and overlapping derivations should eliminate unnecessary operations. The Economy of Representation principle states that elements should move to check features in them rather than in the element they move to. Movement is only justified when there is a strong feature requiring checking in the surface structure, not in the underlying structure. This reflects the view that movement is a measure of imperfection in language, to be avoided unless absolutely necessary.