FEATURE COPYING AND BINDING: EVIDENCE FROM COMPEMENTIZER AGREEMENT AND SWITCH REFERENCE

Abstract. This paper claims (a) that the formal features of the goal are copied onto the probe in the Agree operation, contra Chomsky 2000 and more in line with Chomsky 1998, and (b) that formal features copied onto the probe during the Agree operation participate in binding in a selective way, contra Lasnik 1999. These claims are supported by a modification of Zwart's (1993, 1997) analysis of complementizer agreement and a minimalist reworking of Finer's (1984, 1985) theory of switch reference. It will also be shown that formal features deleted during Agree will not be carried anymore when the category containing them undergoes further movement. This assumption plays a key role in providing an account of complementizer agreement more constrained than Zwart's.