Abs ac
In he p esen a icle I a gue ha he null subjec obse ed in Ge man impe sonal passi es is
nei he a null exple i e no in canonical subjec posi ion (e.g. Ag SP). We will link he possibi-
li y o null subjec s in Ge man cons uc ions in ol ing he pa iciple o he possibili y o nomina i e
assignmen in o he VP. The null subjec is hen analysed as a syn ac ically p ojec ed null cog-
na e objec ha is assigned nomina i e case in si u.
Key wo ds:null exple i es, nomina i e-assignmen , Ge man impe sonal passi es.
Resum. Dues passi es impe sonals de l’alemany i l’exple iu p o
En aques a icle a gumen o que el subjec e bui de les passi es impe sonals de l’alemany no és
ni un exple iu bui ni a la posició canònica del subjec e (e.g. SconcS). Relaciono el e que els
subjec es bui s siguin possibles a les cons uccions de pa icipi de l’alemany amb la possibili a
d’assignació de cas nomina iu dins del SV. El subjec e bui s’anali za doncs com un objec e cog-
na bui p ojec a sin àc icamen que ep cas nomina iu in si u.
Pa aules clau:exple ius bui s, assignació de nomina iu, passi es impe sonals de l’alemany.
Ca WPL 7, 199947-57
Two Ge man Impe sonal Passi es
and Exple i e p o
Pa icia Cab edo Ho he
Uni e si é de Pa is 7, URA 1028
2, Place Jussieu. 75251 Pa is Cedex 05. F ance
cab edo@cc .jussieu.
Recei ed: Decembe 13 h 1998
Accep ed: Ma ch 17 h 1999
Table o Con en s
Ca WPL 7 047-057 13/6/00 12:24 Página 47
1. In oduc ion
2. The Semi-p o-d op Analysis
3. Sein- and we den-passi e
4. The Analysis
5. Conclusion
Re e ences
1. In oduc ion
The Ge man impe sonal passi e cons uc ion wi h we den poses a well-known
puzzle o Ge man syn ax: e en hough Ge man is no a p o-d op language (see (1)),
he subjec posi ion o he impe sonal we den-passi e mus emain emp y (see (2)):
(1) Ges e n kam *(e ) zu spä .
yes e day came he oo la e
‘Yes e day he came oo la e.’
(2) Ges e n wu de (*es) lange disku ie .
yes e day we den 3sg expl long discussed
‘Yes e day i was discussed/ he discussion wen on un il la e.’
When he exple i e es is inse ed in subjec posi ion o a we den-passi e i
ecei es an a gumen al eading as he 3sg neu e p onoun whe e possible (see
(3)), esul ing in ung amma icali y when he a gumen al eading is impossible as
in (4).
(3) Ges e n wu de es üh gegessen.
yes e day we den 3sg i ea ly ea en
‘Yes e day i (e.g. he ood) was ea en ea ly.’
(4) *Ges e n wu de es üh geschla en.
yes e day we den 3sg i ea ly slep
‘Yes e day i (=s h) was slep ea ly.’
2. The Semi-p o-d op Analysis
The s anda d analysis o he emp y subjec posi ion in Ge man impe sonal passi es
wi hin he gene a i e amewo k p oposes ha Ge man is a semi-p o-d op langua-
ge (e.g S e ne eld (1985), Sa i (1985), G ewendo (1989)). A ull p o-d op lan-
guage such as Spanish licenses null e e en ial p onouns (see (5a)) while a es ic ed
p o-d op language such as Ge man is aken o allow only he equi alen o (b): a
phone ically emp y exple i e p onoun p oexpl.
(5) a. (Sp) p o hablo
speak 1sg
‘I speak.’
b. p oexpl es e iden e que quie en in i a nos.
is e iden ha ( hey) wan in i e-us
‘I is e iden ha hey wan o in i e us.’
An emp y exple i e explains why he subjec posi ion o he impe sonal pas-
si e can emain emp y: i is illed by he p oexpl. The ac ha i mus be emp y is
hen de i ed by he A oid P onoun P inciple (see Sa i (1985)).
48 Ca WPL 7, 1999 Pa icia Cab edo Ho he
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(6) A oid P onoun P inciple (APP) (Chomsky (1981)):
Whe e e an o e p onoun can be a oided i mus be a oided.
2.1. The Dis ibu ion o Exple i es in Ge man
The semi-p o-d op analysis assimila es he null subjec in Ge man impe sonal
passi es o exple i es. This aises a numbe o p oblems. In Ge man he impe so-
nal use o ac i es e bs (see (7)) and wea he e bs (see (8)) do no allow exple i e
d op:
(7) Vo hin ha *(es) am Fens e geklop .
jus now has expl a he window knocked
‘Jus now he e was a knock a he window.’
(8) Heu e schnei *(es).
oday snows expl
‘Today i is snowing.’
Unde he plausible assump ion ha wea he -a gumen s a e no exple i es bu
a he quasi-a gumen s, i has been p oposed ha he Ge man p oexpl co esponds
o he ue exple i e while es is a semi-a gumen .
An analysis in e ms o p oexpl and he APP canno be ex ended o ano he case
o null subjec posi ions ha a ises in Ge man. In some cases o ex aposi ion es
can be le ou (see (9a)); ha his is no a p ope y o ex aposi ion in gene al as
shown in (9b)):
(9) a. …dass (es) kla wa , dass es so komm .
… ha i clea was ha i so comes
‘… ha i was clea ha ha would happen.’
b. …dass *(es) keinen Ve dach e eg e, dass…
… ha i no suspicion oused, ha …
‘… ha i a oused no suspicion ha …’
The APP would lead us o expec ha whe e es can be d opped i is impossible
o inse i . This expec a ion is no bo ne ou : in ex aposi ion cons uc ions es is
always possible in subjec posi ion. Fu he mo e, he p oexpl pos ula ed o he
impe sonal passi e canno be aken o ill he emp y posi ion in (9) since languages
ha ha e wo o e exple i es co esponding o a ue exple i e and a semi-a gumen
only admi he a gumen al a ian in ex aposi ions.
(10) (Du ch) … da he /*e mij i i ee da …
(Danish) …a de /*de i i e e mig a …
… ha i /* he e annoys me ha …
(examples aken om Vikne (1995:235))
Two Ge man Impe sonal Passi es and Exple i e p o Ca WPL 7, 1999 49
Ca WPL 7 047-057 13/6/00 12:24 Página 49
The elemen p oexpl canno appea in his con igu a ion. This is equally he case
o o he impe sonal cons uc ions like he impe sonal middle whe e he exple i e
es subjec is obliga o y:
(11) Hie leb *(es) sich gu .
he e li es expl e l well
‘He e i li es well / he e people li e well.’ (impe sonal middle)
Unde a p oexpl-analysis o he impe sonal passi e he a gumen al s a us o he
middle subjec has o di e om ha o impe sonal passi es. Excep o he di -
e ence wi h espec o exple i e su ace subjec s he e is no e idence o such a
di e ence o he a- oles.
2.2. Conclusion
The semi-p o-d op analysis o Ge man aises a numbe o p oblems b ie ly e iewed
abo e. We ha e seen ha he dis ibu ion o exple i es in Ge man depends on he
syn ac ic cons uc ion in ol ed, and ha he dis ibu ion o p oexpl is limi ed o a
pa icula cons uc ion, namely he impe sonal passi e. In wha ollows I will he e o e
concen a e on wo cons ucions whe e he lexical exple i e is sys ema ically excluded:
he sein- and he we den-passi e. I will a gue ha he lack o an o e subjec in he
Ge man impe sonal passi es is no o be ound in a global p ope y such as «semi-
p o-d op» bu a he in he p ope ies o he pas pa iciple and i s in e ac ions wi h
he syn ac ic en i onmen i appea s in. In pa icula I p opose ha he null subjec
in he passi e co esponds o he null objec ha is p esen wi h ac i e in ansi i e
e bs.
3. Sein- and we den-passi e
3.1. The Sein-passi e
The Ge man sein-passi e is a s a i e passi e o med wi h he auxilia y sein, ‘ o
be’, and he pas pa iciple. Like he we den-passi e i allows a pe sonal (12) and
an impe sonal (13) a ian .
(12) De Ga en is gegossen.
The ga den is wa e ed (=s a i e/ esul a i e eading)
(13) E sah, dass eingekau wa .
he saw ha shopped was
‘He saw ha he shopping had been done.’
Like he we den-passi e he impe sonal sein-passi e canno ake an exple i e
subjec (see e.g. Rapp (1997: 214)):
50 Ca WPL 7, 1999 Pa icia Cab edo Ho he
Ca WPL 7 047-057 13/6/00 12:24 Página 50
(14) a. E sah, dass schon se ie wa .
he saw ha al eady se ed was
‘He saw ha he se ing had al eady been done.’
b. E sah, dass es schon se ie wa .
he saw ha i al eady se ed was
‘He saw ha i ( he ood) had al eady been se ed.’
3.2. In e p e i e Di e ences
The wo passi es ha e clea ly di e en in e p e i e p ope ies. The we den-passi e
sha es he aspec ual p ope ies o he ac i e e b while he sein-passi e is always s a-
i e picking ou he esul an s a e o he ac ion desc ibed by he e b. The we den-
passi e can combine wi h all he modi ie s ha can modi y he ac i e e b (see (15));
he sein-passi e only allows modi ica ion ha a ec s he esul an s a e (see (16)).
(15) De B ie wi d langsam/mi o e Tin e gesch ieben.
he le e we den3sg slowly/wi h ed ink w i en
‘The le e is being w i en slowly/wi h ed ink (p ocess).’
(16) De B ie is *langsam/mi o e Tin e gesch ieben.
he le e sein3sg *slowly/wi h ed ink w i en
‘The le e is w i en slowly/wi h ed ink ( esul ).’
The we den-passi e implies disjoin e e ence be ween he su ace subjec and
he implied agen , he sein-passi e allows bo h e lexi e and disjoin in e p e a ion
(see(17)).
(17) Hans is gewaschen.
‘Hans is washed. ‘ ( esul a i e)
ok: Hans/somebody else washed Hans.
4. The Analysis
4.1. The Sein-passi e
Le in & Rappapo (1986) p opose ha he English adjec i al passi e in ol es a
lexical ca ego y changing ope a ion on he pas pa iciple:
(18) V[Pa ]→[V [Pa ]]ALe in & Rappapo (1986: 646)
Fo Ge man his analysis is oo es ic ed. K a ze (1996) shows ha he Ge man
adjec i ised pas pa iciple can be ph asal, in ha i can e ain he da i e a gumen
o he unde lying e b.
(19) Das Land wa ihm abgeschmeichel .
he land was him (da i e) o - la e ed
‘The land was ob ained om him by la e y’ (K a ze ’s example)
Two Ge man Impe sonal Passi es and Exple i e p o Ca WPL 7, 1999 51
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Following K a ze I will he e o e assume ha he adjec i al pas pa iciple
in Ge man is de i ed by a ixa ion o an adjec i al a ix. This a ixa ion may be
lexical (20) o ph asal (21):
This analysis p esupposes ha he ex e nal a gumen o he e b is in oduced
ou side he maximal p ojec ion minimally con aining he objec . I will assume wi h
K a ze ha he ex e nal a gumen is he a gumen o a specialised VOICE head
ha may also in oduce accusa i e case. Unde hese assump ions he ac ha he
(acc-assigning) p esen pa iciple canno be adjec i ised (see (21)) shows ha
he adjec i al a ix canno ake a VoiceP complemen .
(21) *De Mann is seine Kinde liebend.
he man is his child en lo ing
Adjec i isa ion o he pa iciple he e o e necessa ily p e en s he p ojec ion
o he VoiceP. Since he VoiceP is absen in adjec i al pa iciples, he ex e nal
a gumen is syn ac ically absen — see K a ze (1996) (c . e lexi e in e p e a ion
o he implici a gumen ).
The o e all s uc u e o he syn ac ic as well as he lexical a ian o he Ge man
sein-passi e is a copula cons uc ion pa allel o he combina ion o sein plus an
unde i ed adjec i e as in (22b) (see e.g. Höhle (1978)).
(22) a. Das Haus is ges ichen.
The house is pain ed. (sein-passi e)
b. Das Haus is blau.
The house is blue. (copula sein + adjec i e)
4.2. The We den-passi e
Fo he we den-passi e as o he sein-passi e he pa iciple i s p ojec s i s in e nal
a gumen . I p opose o analyse we den as a oice-auxilia y: i ills he Voice head,
allowing he p ojec ion o he VoiceP:
52 Ca WPL 7, 1999 Pa icia Cab edo Ho he
(20) A (21) A
AVAVP
(lexical adj. pa ) (ph asal adj. pa .)
(23) VoiceP
Voice’
Voice° VP
we den objec V’
V
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As he e b we den canno assign accusa i e (see (24)), only one a gumen can
be ealised.
(24) E wi d de neue Gesundhei sminis e .
He (nom) becomes he new heal h sec e a y (nom)
The in e nal a gumen is ealised since i is immedia ely me ged wi hin he VP;
i is he e o e al eady p esen when he second, ex e nal, a gumen has o be
legi imised.
As he impe sonal a ian s o he sein- and we den-passi es ely on he same
auxilia ies combined wi h he pas pa iciple as hei pe sonal coun e pa s, I will
assume ha pe sonal and impe sonal passi es ha e he same syn ac ic s uc u e.
This o ces us o assume ha une ga i e in ansi i e e bs in Ge man ha e a
syn ac ically ealised null cogna e objec . Adap ing an analysis by Dob o ie-So in
(1994) o Romanian passi es I will assume ha he emp y objec has o s ay in
si u since mo emen ou o he VP is incompa ible wi h i s seman ic con en (c . he
di e ence in in e p e a ion be ween VP-in e nal and VP-ex e nal ba e plu als in
Ge man, Diesing (1992)). I he null cogna e objec canno mo e ou o he VP,
how is i licensed? In wha ollows I will a gue ha i is licensed in si u h ough
he assignmen o [nom] case. The possibili y o ha ing an impe sonal passi e
wi hou an o e subjec in Ge man is hen linked o he possibili y o assigning
[nom] o he objec posi ion in he we den-passi e.
Tha in Ge man [nom] can be assigned in o he VP is suppo ed by he ac ha
he passi e o double-objec cons uc ions has he subjec o he sen ence in he
same posi ion as he [acc] objec in he ac i e (see e.g. den Bes en (1985), B oekhuis
(1992)).
(25) a. dass Hans einem Jungen dieses Buch gegeben ha .
ha Hans o a boy (da i e) his book(acc) gi en has
‘ ha Hans ga e his book o a boy.’
b. dass einem Jungen dieses Buch gegeben wu de.
ha o a boy (da i e) his book(nom) gi en was
‘ ha his book was gi en o a boy.’
In Du ch, ano he Ge manic OV-language, he e is also some e idence ha he
Du ch cogna e o he Ge man we den-passi e does no in ol e NP-mo emen . In
ac i e double objec cons uc ions in Du ch he indi ec objec can be ealised by a
ba e NP o by a PP in oduced by aan. I he indi ec objec is ealised as an NP i
has o p ecede he di ec objec :
(26) a. da de jongen (aan) he meisje he cadeau ga .
ha he boy ( o) he gi l he p esen ga e
b. da de jongen he cadeau *(aan) he meisje ga .
ha he boy he p esen ( o) he gi l ga e
‘ ha he boy ga e he p esen o he gi l.’
Two Ge man Impe sonal Passi es and Exple i e p o Ca WPL 7, 1999 53
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Now conside he dis ibu ion o aan in he double objec passi e. The da a in
(27) sugges ha (27b) is no de i ed om (26a) by NP-mo emen bu ela ed o he
acc-da i e o de in (26b).
(27) a. da (aan) he meisje he cadeau we d gege en.
ha ( o) he gi l he p esen was gi en
b. da he cadeau *(aan) he meisje we d gege en.
ha he p esen ( o) he gi l was gi en
‘ ha a p esen was gi en o he gi l.’
4.3. No Exple i e Subjec
In bo h he ph asal sein-passi e and he we den-passi e he unde lying objec
ini ially occupies he objec posi ion (spec VP).
In he impe sonal a ian s he null objec has o be licensed in si u by ans-
mission o [nom] case. Since he null objec needs case he lexical exple i e in
subjec posi ion is excluded o case easons. This analysis implies ha he es
in p e e bal posi ion in p esen a i e V2 con igu a ions is no inse ed in subjec
posi ion bu di ec ly in spec CP (as sugges ed o had, he Icelandic equi alen o
es in Pla zack & Holmbe g (1995)):
(30) [CP Es [C’ wu de [IP [VP null objec [V’ ge anz .]]]]
expl we den 3sg danced
‘I was danced/ The e was dancing.’
The simila i y be ween impe sonal ph asal sein-passi es and we den-passi es
is obscu ed by he ac ha lexical sein-passi es admi he impe sonal use like
unde i ed adjec i es: his use always akes an es subjec .
(31) a. Bei di is (es) imme so au ge äum .
a you place is expl always so idied up
‘A you place i is always so idy.’ (lexical sein-passi e)
b. Bei di is *(es) imme so o den lich.
a you place is expl always so idy
‘A you place i is always so idy.’ (unde i ed adjec i e)
54 Ca WPL 7, 1999 Pa icia Cab edo Ho he
((28) VP (29) VoiceP
sein AP Voice’
A VP we den VP
objec V objec V
(sein-passi e) (we den-passi e)
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In con as wi h unde i ed adjec i es, howe e , sein-passi es also allow he
exple i e-less (i.e. ph asal) cons uc ion.
4.4. The In e ac ion o We den wi h he Pe ec
The analysis o we den as a Voice auxilia y is suppo ed by o he e idence showing
ha he link be ween passi e we den and he lexical e b is igh e han ha be -
ween a e b and i s pe ec auxilia ies.
Se e al languages show an in e ac ion o pe ec and a gumen s uc u e (see
an den Wyngae d (1996) ci ing Pos ma (1994)). One example is p o ided by
Ge man modals: p esen ense modals ha e a oo and an epis emic eading while
pe ec modals only ha e he oo eading:
(32) E ha lachen müssen.
he has laugh mus (in ini i e)
ok: ‘He had o laugh.’ ( oo )
*: ‘I is/was p obable ha he laugh/laughed.’ (epis emic)
In Ge man he a gumen changing e ec o he pe ec in e ac s wi h he
a gumen - educing passi e we den: in he pe ec he pa iciple o we den appea s
wi hou he ge-p e ix ypical o he pas pa iciple:
(33) *Heu e is lange gea bei e gewo den.
Heu e is lange gea bei e wo den.
oday is long wo ked we den pas pa
‘Today i was wo ked o a long ime.’
The pas pa iciples o he sein-passi e, gewesen (see (34)),and o he pe ec
auxilia y haben, ‘ o ha e’, keep hei ge-p e ix in he pe iph as ic pe ec :
(34) a. Das Haus is anges ichen.
The house is(copula) pain ed.
b. Das Haus is anges ichen gewesen.
The house is(copula) pain ed been
(35) a. E ha ange u en.
he has ung
b. E ha ange u en gehab .
he has ung had
This di e ence be ween passi e we den and he o he unc ional e bs ollows
om he analysis p oposed abo e i we assume he s uc u e o he pas pa iciple
sugges ed in an den Wyngae d (1996). He p oposes ha he ge-p e ix o a pa i-
ciple is gene a ed in a sepa a e posi ion below he e b, a aching o he e b oo
by head mo emen :
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