Feature Checking In There-existential Constructions: A Minimalist Approach

So far,the syntactic features of the English there-existentials have not received due strenuous research in China,and many recent textbooks on transformational grammar published abroad,such as Haegeman's(1991)Introduction to Government and Binding, only offer a brief introduction to the fundamental features of this construction.This does not mean that the English there-existentials are not important;instead,it is the touchstone of linguistic theories(Dai,2001).Some Chinese researchers such as Zhou Lijuan(1999),Dai Manchun & Cui Gang (2000),and Dai Manchun(2001)have contributed to the study on the English existentials within MP(Minimalist Program),however,few of these studies give a proper solution to the issue of agreement in English existentials.Scholars overseas have examined existentials from many different perspectives, especially within the MP model,and have proposed a number of theories to illuminate the nature of this construction,such as Chomsky's LF-affix hypothesis,Lansik's Partitive Case theory,and Sobin's Virus theory,etc.Chomsky(1991,and later)assumes that there is an LF-affix which is not the legitimate object in LF.He holds the idea that and there does not bear neitherφ-features (agreement features)nor Case.Lasnik(1992,1995)suggests that there is able to check the nominative Case feature of T,while the associate is assigned(abstract)Partitive,as proposed by Belletti(1988).Ochi(1999),on the basis of Chomsky's Attract F Theory, proposes that Agrs attract the nearestφ-features in the sentence.Sobin(1997)puts forward a controversial theory,i.e.Virus Theory.According to Sobin(1997),plural agreement in existentials is caused by virus,and singular agreement conforming to Spec-Head Agreement is the usual form.Considering most of the studies overseas and at home,we can find that the issue of agreement in English existentials is still controversial.The studies concerned with there-existential constructions in this thesis involve the following questions:1)What are the syntactic roles played by there?2)How does the there-existential construction check its Case?3)Why is the overt number agreement triggered by the associate DP?4)Why can the condensational singular form of there(there's)be used in the situation that the associate DP is in the plural form?This thesis argues that there merges to the associate and then overtly moves away to satisfy EPP.There bearsφ-features and it is assigned nominative Case by T.In this thesis, we suggest that the associate in existential sentences receives whatever happens to be the "default" Case in a language.Sobin's survey has proved that the condensational singular form of there(there's)is more acceptable than the separate one(there is).So we try to argue that there has strongφ-features when it is in the condensational form(there + nonstandard s + plural NP)to conform to Spec-Head Agreement,and has weakφ-features when it is in the separate form(there + be + NP).There will not checkφ-features when they are weak;thenφ-features will be checked by the associate DP(such as a man and three women in There is a man and three women in the room.)based on Ochi's Attract F.