Chapter 6 - Inflectional Phrases(59) IP
– I'
I vP
will v'
v vP
∆ DP v'
Boris v VP
e V'
V
laugh
In this case, the light verb assigns agent -role to its specifier and so should be capable
of assigning Case and in fact the possible appearance of a cognate object seems to
confirm this assumption. But when there is no object, the subject still undergoes the
movement, suggesting that it does not get Case from the light verb.
There are a number of possible ways to account for these observations. The
simplest is to assume that Case assignment is directional and that accusative Case in
English is assigned to the right. Thus, the light verb will be able to assign Case to the
object as the object appears to the right. However the light verb will not be able to
assign Case to the subject as the subject is in the specifier position and specifiers are to
the left of the head.
This is too simple, however, as it is not the case that a light verb can assign Case to
any element on its right. Consider a more complicated case in which we have a verb
with a clausal complement. The light verb of this verb will be to the left of the
complement clause and hence to the left of the subject of that clause. But it cannot
assign accusative Case to this subject, allowing it to stay inside its own subject
position: