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In:Romance Languages and Linguistic Theory 2012: Selected papers from 'Going Romance' Leuven 2012
Edited by Karen Lahousse and Stefania Marzo
[Romance Languages and Linguistic Theory 6] 2014
► pp. 141–160

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The derivation of Classical Latin Aux-final clauses

Implications for the internal structure of the verb phrase

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Published online: 18 December 2014
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https://doi.org/10.1075/rllt.6.07dan
The focus of this paper is the syntax of Latin clauses in which a finite auxiliary occurs in clause-final position, which in Classical Latin (ca. 100 BC–200 AD) is the most frequently attested word order pattern. I argue that these structures are derived through VP movement, which is analysed as an instance of EPP-driven A-movement rather than as phrasal roll-up (as in Ledgeway 2012). Evidence comes from the interaction between sentential negation and verb movement, as well as from the availability of the order VOAux. The present proposal supports the claim that in some languages, the EPP-feature on T0 attracts a VP rather than a DP (Travis 2005; Biberauer and Roberts 2005).
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