GAPPING AND ITS MECHANISM

Abstract

In my doctoral thesis, I discuss the mechanism of Gapping, which is an ellipsis phenomenon, in English, Russian, and Dutch. In its simplest form, Gapping elides the second occurrence of a finite verb in coordinated clauses: Sam ate an apple and Peter ate a pear. I propose that Gapping is derived via Parallel Merge. I also argue that Gapping is a twofold phenomenon which is derived from coordination of vPs and TPs. I also consider categorial restrictions on Parallel Merge because heads and phrasal categories differ in compatibility with Parallel Merge. This compatibility is determined by uninterpretable features. The goal of Parallel Merge is to reduce the quantity of uninterpretable features in a derivation; thus, Parallel Merge can only be applied to elements that bear uninterpretable features.