Against a clausal ellipsis account of all stripping strings in Spanish

Abstract

Abstract Stripping is a phenomenon whereby a full clause is coordinated with a phrase (XP) and an adverb, typically NEG(ation) (e.g. John read Hamlet but not Othello). As noted previously in the literature (e.g. Bosque 1984), while in English NEG must precede XP, Spanish allows the reverse order as well (XP-NEG). This paper examines these two strings (i.e. XP-NEG and NEG-XP) in Spanish and compares them with respect to a number of properties. The major goal of this paper is to show that, despite the appearances, the two strings constitute radically distinct phenomena. Analytically, I defend, in line with many others, that XP-NEG involves sentential coordination and clausal ellipsis (Depiante 2000; Vicente 2006, a.o.). With respect to NEG-XP, I contend that it involves constituent negation, constituent coordination and no ellipsis at all. This paper thus provides novel data and arguments which support the view originally proposed in Bosque (1984).