The Phrase Structure of Non-Projecting Words

This paper presents some of the main ideas developed in my thesis. The empirical focus of my thesis is verbal particles in Swedish, exemplified by 'upp' (up), 'bort' (away), and 'ut' (out). I argue that verbal particles in Swedish are syntactically independent words which do not project phrases; i.e. they are non-projecting words. In the notation used here a non-projecting words is a plain X (e.g., P, N...), and projecting words is an X-0 (e.g., P-0 or N-0). Since particles differ syntactically from other constituents, they are governed by different distributional constraints. Specifically, I argue, Swedish particles must adjoin to V-0. This explains the otherwise mysterious word order facts: verbal particles immediately follow the verbal position within the VP, even though elements with the same function normally follow the direct object. The analysis advocated here also explains the fact that particles cannot take complements and modifiers: since particles do not project phrasal levels, there is nowhere for other phrases to attach. My thesis will be published by Kluwer, and the unrevised version is available at: http://www.stanford.edu/~toivonen/.