Superlatives, partitives and apparent φ-feature mismatch in Spanish
Abstract
Adjectival superlatives in Spanish are expressed by a definite determiner and the com-
parative morpheme m ́as ‘more/-er’ modifying the adjective. While gender and number
concord between the determiner, adjective and noun is generally obligatory, there is a
subset of cases where it seems to be disrupted: the determiner surfaces as the so-called
neuter lo, the adjective spells out masculine and there is no overt noun. I argue that this
non-canonical pattern is the result of a failed Agree dependency between probes on D and
a noun underspecified for φ. Failure to value the probe triggers the emergence of defaults
at the point of Vocabulary Insertion: lo and masculine morphology on the adjective. The
analysis that lo as genderless and numberless receives support from coordination patterns.
Keywords
syntax-morphology, phi-agreement, superlatives, partitives, SpanishReferences
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