The Category P Features, Projections, Interpretation

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head form a complex Directional predicate at LF, which combines the arguments of the
lexical head and the Directional P. This is schematized in (47):
(47) N/V path P dir N/V-P dir
Arg (a moving entity) Int. (location) Arg, Int. (location)
When the lexical head is a verb like send, Arg in (47) is theta-argument (e.g.
Theme). In case the lexical head is a nominal, Arg is either: (i) a semantic slot in the
lexical semantic structure of the noun, corresponding to the moving entity (Grimshaw
1990) (e.g. John’s trip/race to India); or (ii) if the path denoting nominal is bus or plane
(e.g. the bus to Paris; the plane to Tokyo), Arg is identical to R, the external argument
of an N (Higginbotham 1985). 33 ’ 34
I assume that the complex Directional predicate can be formed only in the most
local, head-complement, configuration. This predicts that the Directional PP cannot
function as across copula predicate, even if the subject is headed by a path denoting
noun. The question arises why the predication in (46a), repeated in (48), is only
marginal, and not ungrammatical. In other words, is (48), in fact, a counter-example to
the prediction?
(48) ?ha-tiyul hu le-hodu
the-trip he to-India
“The trip is to India.”
Following a suggestion by Julia Horvath (p.c.), I propose that (48) is actually not
an instance of across copula predication by a Directional PP, but rather an elliptic
modification. More specifically, the predicate in (48) is not the Directional PP, but
33 Path denoting Ns like trip, race, bus, road are result, rather than (complex) event, nominals
(simplifying the terminology in Grimshaw 1990). Following Grimshaw (1990), they do not have an
argument structure, i.e. they do not have syntactic arguments.
34 The combination with a Directional PP is systematic for nominals such as the race, the trip, which in
addition to path, include also the manner meaning component. In contrast, combination with a Directional
PP is much more restricted for nominals such as the road, the plane, the bus. Thus, although the road to
Amsterdam is fine, a sidewalk to the square or a bicycle to the village are infelicitous. I thank Fred
Landman for drawing my attention to these nominals, and Barbara Partee and Julia Horvath for clarifying
the relevant distinction between the former and the latter.