An economy theory of PRO
Deniz Satik
September 2022 

This paper provides a novel account of the nullness and the distribution of PRO. First, it provides empirical evidence to show that PRO is a highly deficient pronoun. Following Cardinaletti and Starke's (1999) theory of pronominal deficiency, PRO is treated as a bare NP, nothing more than a reference variable that does not project phi-features. This rules it out from occurring in the subject position of most finite clauses. Second, assuming that clausal complements come in at least three different sizes--finite or nonfinite CP, TP and vP--five novel pieces of evidence establish that as a clause becomes more deficient in syntactic and semantic features, its subject must too. This necessitates PRO's being read as a bound variable. The distribution and nullness of PRO is derived under Cardinaletti and Starke's framework of syntactic economy in which the smallest possible pronoun, PRO, is preferred as the subject of control infinitives because it is the most economical bound variable.

Format:	[ pdf ]
Reference:	lingbuzz/006833 (please use that when you cite this article)
Published in:	This is a rough first draft. Comments very much appreciated!
keywords:	pronouns, economy, control, deficiency, nullness, semantics, syntax
previous versions:	v2 [September 2022] v1 [September 2022]
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