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Location and the estar/ser alternation

Abstract

This article is concerned with the syntactic factors that underlie the Spanish ser ‘BESER’/estar ‘BEESTAR’ alternation. In line with recent studies which have argued that a prepositional feature is crucial to the alternation, it is argued here following Zagona (2012) that a syntactic process of Locative agreement is crucial to the alternation: a light verb BE that agrees with either a spatial or a temporal locative constituent is spelled out as estar ‘BEESTAR’. This approach permits a unified account of copular and auxiliary estar ‘BEESTAR’. In addition, it accounts for the fact that the stage-level effect that is often attributed to estar is not found in contexts where the copula agrees with a predicate of spatial location.

Abstract

This article is concerned with the syntactic factors that underlie the Spanish ser ‘BESER’/estar ‘BEESTAR’ alternation. In line with recent studies which have argued that a prepositional feature is crucial to the alternation, it is argued here following Zagona (2012) that a syntactic process of Locative agreement is crucial to the alternation: a light verb BE that agrees with either a spatial or a temporal locative constituent is spelled out as estar ‘BEESTAR’. This approach permits a unified account of copular and auxiliary estar ‘BEESTAR’. In addition, it accounts for the fact that the stage-level effect that is often attributed to estar is not found in contexts where the copula agrees with a predicate of spatial location.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Ser and estar 1
  4. Ser and estar and aspect
  5. More than a copula 23
  6. Ser, estar and two different modifiers 51
  7. Sentences as predicates 85
  8. Ser and estar beyond aspect
  9. The inference of temporal persistence and the individual/stage level distinction 119
  10. Location and the estar/ser alternation 147
  11. What do Spanish copulas have in common with Tibetan evidentials? 173
  12. On word order in Spanish copular sentences 203
  13. The extension and loss of copulas
  14. Origins and development of adjectival passives in Spanish 239
  15. Eventive and stative passives and copula selection in Canadian and American Heritage Speaker Spanish 267
  16. The development and use of the Spanish copula with adjectives by Korean-speaking learners 293
  17. Index 325
New Perspectives on the Study of <i>Ser</i> and <i>E</i><i>star</i>
This chapter is in the book New Perspectives on the Study of <i>Ser</i> and <i>E</i><i>star</i>
https://doi.org/10.1075/ihll.5.06zag

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Ser and estar 1
  4. Ser and estar and aspect
  5. More than a copula 23
  6. Ser, estar and two different modifiers 51
  7. Sentences as predicates 85
  8. Ser and estar beyond aspect
  9. The inference of temporal persistence and the individual/stage level distinction 119
  10. Location and the estar/ser alternation 147
  11. What do Spanish copulas have in common with Tibetan evidentials? 173
  12. On word order in Spanish copular sentences 203
  13. The extension and loss of copulas
  14. Origins and development of adjectival passives in Spanish 239
  15. Eventive and stative passives and copula selection in Canadian and American Heritage Speaker Spanish 267
  16. The development and use of the Spanish copula with adjectives by Korean-speaking learners 293
  17. Index 325
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