The structure of null subject DPs and agreement in Polish impersonal constructions 157
(38) a. Widzę stąd górę /Anię /ją.
see.pres 1 sg from-here mountain.acc /Anna.acc /her
‘I can see a mountain/ Anna/ her from here.’
b. Widać stąd górę / Anię / ją.
see.inf from-here mountain.acc / Anna.acc / her
‘[One] can see a mountain/ Anna/ her from here.’
c. Słychać Anię /ją.
he ar.inf Anna.acc /her
‘[One] can see Anna/her.’
d. Marysi czytało się tę książkę. przyjemnie.
Marysia.dat read.past 3 sg.n się this.acc.f book.acc.f pleasantly
‘Marysia found reading this book pleasant.’
e. Czytano książkę.
read book.acc.f
‘[One/They] read/were reading a/the book.’
In (38a) the verb agrees with the nominative subject, and the object is accusative. The
verbs in the sentences (38b) and (38c), on the other hand, are in their infinitive and
therefore non-agreeing, non-finite forms, but the objects in both sentences still remain
accusative. The same can be said about (38d). In this sentence the verb is marked
3 sg.n, and it does not agree with any of the possible subjects,^33 but the object tę książkę
‘this.acc book.fem.acc’ is nonetheless accusative. The same is true about (38e). The
sentences in (38) demonstrate that accusative case is assigned to an object regardless
of whether there is a true subject agreement marking on the verb or whether agree-
ment is established by default. Because of that accusative case on the object cannot be
taken as an indicative of the presence of subject agreement. Therefore, I will continue
assuming here that agreement marking on the verbs (3sg in the present; 3sg.n in the
past) in the impersonal SIĘ construction is established by default.
- Case
It has been argued in the previous section that null impersonal pronouns in the two
constructions in question do not trigger subject agreement marking on T, and as a
result it is assigned by default. This impossibility of triggering subject agreement
- It is argued for by Krzek (2013) that the dative nominal Marysi ‘Marysia.dat’ is not a
subject in this construction as it fails a number of subjecthood tests. The same is true for
the stipulated null subject. In fact, it is assumed that the subject is not projected at all in this
construction.