Evaluates two hypotheses that argue that the Spanish demonstrative verbs "aqui" and "aca" can alternate in some contexts. The results of a quantitative study of Venezuelan Spanish show that the delimination hypothesis, which states that the place denoted by "aqui" is less limited and defined than the place denoted by "aca," is valid. (29…

Examines the changes that French negative infinitives have undergone since the 15th century. Argues that, for main verbs, the change in word order reflects a change in the position of "pas," while the change in the position of modals and auxiliaries is due to these verbs assuming a position lower in the structure. (82 references) (MDM)

Argues that the position of the finite verb in Old English clauses reflects synchronic variation in underlying structure, INFL-medial versus INFL-final, and that the syntax of main and subordinate clauses is the same. Quantitative data analysis indicates that the frequency of INFL-medial structure increases at the expense of INFL-final structure…

Proposes a set of copula forms that should be set aside from variable analysis as instances of "don't count" (DC) forms to allow for systematic comparisons among studies of the English language. Reviews the major alternative descriptions of DC copula cases in the literature and analyzes the behavior of the traditional DC categories. (29…

Discusses "end-weight," long, complex phrases that tend to come at the end of clauses. Corpus data on heavy noun phrase shift, the dative alternation, and particle movement indicate that there are several structural measures of weight highly correlated with constituent ordering. (38 references) (Author/CK)

Investigated the potential correlation of agreement marking with the expression of pronominal subjects in the speech of 10 Spanish speakers from Puerto Rico and 10 from Spain. The results show not only similar patterns of pronominal expression but also similar rankings of constraints on pronominal expression in both dialects. (MDM)