Complement and Adverbial PPs: Implications for Clause Structure

The syntax of adverbial PPs presents a curious paradox (Pesetsky 1995). Some of their properties would seem to favor the traditional, pre-antisymmetry, analysis of Chomsky (1981), according to which the PPs are right-adjoined to VP (those on the right being higher than, and c-commanding, those on the left): (1) [ I [ VP [ VP [ VP discussed the problem ] with John ] on Monday]] Other properties would instead seem to favor a larsonian structure in which a PP on the left is higher than, and c-commands, the PPs to its right: (2) [ I [ VP discussed [ VP the problem t V [ VP with John t V [ on Monday ]]]]] Among the phenomena favoring (1) are: A) the apparent lack of Principle C effects between the direct object and an R-expression contained in the adverbial PP (They killed him k [ on the very same day John k was being released from prison]). This is expected under (1), but not under (2). B) constituency diagnostics, which single out the V and the object as a constituent, stranding the two PPs (..and discuss the problem he did with John on Monday), or the V, the object, and the first PP, stranding the second (..and discuss the problem with John he did on Monday), or the whole sequence (..and discuss the problem with John on Monday he did), but crucially not the two PPs alone (*It's with John on Monday that he discussed the problem), nor the object plus the two PPs (*It's the problem with John on Monday that he discussed). Again, this is expected under (1), but not under (2). C) the relative scope of VP-final PPs, which typically has the PP on the right take scope over the PP on the left (John smoked in the car because of the rain). Under the standard assumption that scope is defined in terms of c-command, this is expected under (1), but not under (2). Other phenomena, however, appear to go in the opposite direction, favoring (2) over (1); among these: the binding of anaphors, the binding of pronouns (by quantifiers), and the licensing of negative polarity items (NPI). See the contrasts in (3)/(4)/(5), respectively: (3)a John spoke to Mary about these people in each other's houses on Tuesday (Pesetsky 1995,172) b *John spoke to Mary about each other in these people's houses on Tuesday (4)a Gidon …