Truncation feeds intervention: Two clause type effects in Basque∗

In the generative literature, clause type effects have typically been modeled in one of two ways—“truncation” whereby embedded clauses are structurally reduced relative to root clauses, and intervention, by which non-root clauses have additional material that blocks movement available in root contexts. This paper analyzes two clause type effects in Basque— the possibility of verb-initial word orders (V1) and variation in the relative order of Aux, Neg and VP in embedded contexts. We show that these two effects covary systematically across clause types. We present a unified approach to these clause type effects that suggests that these two mechanisms interact, that is, that truncation feeds intervention. Omission of a Force head responsible for the *V1 effect in relevant clause types forces a set of operators to remerge in a position where they block movement of negation. VP-Neg-Aux orders in these clause types reflect a smuggling repair operation.