Towards a QUD-Based Analysis of Gapping Constructions

Gapping Constructions in Universal Dependencies v2

In this paper, we provide a detailed account of sentences with gapping such as “John likes tea, and Mary coffee” within the Universal Dependencies (UD) framework. We explain how common gapping constructions as well as rare complex constructions can be analyzed on the basis of examples in Dutch, English, Farsi, German, Hindi, Japanese, and Turkish. We further argue why the adopted analysis of th...

Experimental Evidence for Constraint Competition in Gapping Constructions

This paper presents the results of two experiments investigating gradient acceptability in gapping constructions. Experiment 1 shows that adjuncts and complements are equally acceptable as remnants in gapping, a fact that has been surrounded by controversy in the literature. It also provides evidence against the claim that gapping must leave behind exactly two remnants, and shows that subject r...

Embedding the antecedent in gapping: Low coordination and the role of parallelism

Building on a long tradition of earlier work, Johnson (2009:293) identifies three unique properties that distinguish gapping from superficially similar elliptical constructions, such as pseudogapping, e.g. Some had ordered mussels, and others had ∆ swordfish. First, gapping is restricted to coordination structures (2) (Jackendoff 1971:22, Hankamer 1979:18f.). Second, the gap in gapping cannot b...

On Syntax-Semantics of Gapping Constructions

Determiner sharing as an instance of dependent ellipsis

In English coordinate ellipsis constructions, the determiner of a DP in the second conjunct can sometimes be omitted under identity with the determiner of the corresponding constituent of the first conjunct, a phenomenon known as determiner sharing. Following Williams’s (1997) analysis of nonconstituent ellipsis, we argue that determiner sharing involves a twostep elision process: coordinate el...