Stranding, weak pronouns, and the fine structure of the Dutch Mittelfeld

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to develop a tool for determining the unmarked position of various PP types in the Dutch Mittelfeld. The paper argues that the distribution of stranded prepositions, which obey a Freezing constraint, can be used for this purpose, and that the same holds for prepositions with a weak pronominal complement. Among the results of this twin diagnostic are independent evidence for a case-movement analysis of scrambling, and support for a particular analysis of predicative complement constructions.