Counter-cyclic merge as a last resort for adjuncts

Abstract

Abstract It has been argued that adjunction as pair merge, unlike substitution or set merge, may or even must occur counter-cyclically. I present evidence from optional datives in Levantine Arabic, a category of pronouns that merge as applicative adjuncts, to show that adjunction may behave on a par with set merge and give priority to cyclicity. More specifically, I show that Levantine Arabic Attitude Datives as applicative adjuncts must merge cyclically by default and that they only opt for counter-cyclic merge as a last resort.