On complex predicates in Brazilian Portuguese

Abstract

I analyze Romance syntactic complex predicates (faire-infinitive causatives, periphrastic tenses and restructuring), and propose the unification of these phenomena usually thought to stem from different structures by showing that one single analysis is possible: the non-finite verb phrase moves to the specifier of the upper V. This movement enables the verbs to be close enough to each other, and it allows for a configuration where clitics can climb and long object movement can occur. Crucial for this movement is either the presence of a defective C-T or its total absence. I account for the lack of Romance syntactic complex predicates in Brazilian Portuguese as well as for other phenomena in the language.