Rich Agreement and Verb Movement

Abstract

AbstractIn this entry we provide an overview of the alleged correlation between the finite verb and the properties of the inflection of the verb. Specifically, it has been attested that in languages where the verb exhibits little or no inflectional morphology, no elements can intervene between the verb and the direct object (in discourse‐neutral contexts). In contrast, such intervention effects have been abundantly attested in languages where the verb exhibits a sufficiently ‘rich’ morphology. This led to the hypothesis that verb movement is triggered by rich inflectional morphology. Thus far this relation between the syntax and the morphology of the finite verb has been addressed in great detail primarily for Germanic and related languages, but more recently the research has extended beyond them. We will review the empirical claims that led to the hypothesis, as well as their theoretical implications. In addition, we will evaluate the empirical facts in a number of non‐Germanic and non‐Indo‐European languages and address the issues that arise in them. We will see that the hypothesis has not been fully confirmed or rejected yet, partly because, even though it is superficially far‐reaching, there often are particular, language‐specific properties and confounding effects that make its straightforward evaluation impossible.