Location and the estar/ser alternation
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Karen Zagona
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
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Ser and estar 1
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Ser and estar and aspect
- More than a copula 23
- Ser, estar and two different modifiers 51
- Sentences as predicates 85
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Ser and estar beyond aspect
- The inference of temporal persistence and the individual/stage level distinction 119
- Location and the estar/ser alternation 147
- What do Spanish copulas have in common with Tibetan evidentials? 173
- On word order in Spanish copular sentences 203
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The extension and loss of copulas
- Origins and development of adjectival passives in Spanish 239
- Eventive and stative passives and copula selection in Canadian and American Heritage Speaker Spanish 267
- The development and use of the Spanish copula with adjectives by Korean-speaking learners 293
- Index 325
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Ser and estar 1
-
Ser and estar and aspect
- More than a copula 23
- Ser, estar and two different modifiers 51
- Sentences as predicates 85
-
Ser and estar beyond aspect
- The inference of temporal persistence and the individual/stage level distinction 119
- Location and the estar/ser alternation 147
- What do Spanish copulas have in common with Tibetan evidentials? 173
- On word order in Spanish copular sentences 203
-
The extension and loss of copulas
- Origins and development of adjectival passives in Spanish 239
- Eventive and stative passives and copula selection in Canadian and American Heritage Speaker Spanish 267
- The development and use of the Spanish copula with adjectives by Korean-speaking learners 293
- Index 325
