The Category P Features, Projections, Interpretation

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inability to agree with its DP-object and delete its uninterpretable Case feature [Acc]
(e.g. unaccusative or passive verbs). As already mentioned, the verbs under discussion
are two-place verbs with an external argument, thus there is no reason to assume that
lack of little v may be the reason why they cannot check Case.
Neeleman (1997) (contra Hestvik (1991)), argues that the occurrence of
prepositions in PP-verb construction is due to the thematic deficiency of the verb. He
proposes that the verb and the preposition form a complex predicate at LF and jointly
theta-mark the DP complement of a P.
Note that verbs are canonical predicates, and therefore theta-assigners. Thus we
do not expect to find verbs that need the assistance of a P in order to assign their
internal theta-role. 5
To recapitulate, the deficiencies attributed to PP-verbs in each of the views are
stipulated. These views do not suggest an explanatory account, because they do not
answer the question why there are two-place verbs that have these deficiencies, and
what distinguishes this particular set of Vs from the ‘non-deficient’ ones.
Let us now turn to the second question: What is the function of the discussed Ps?
3.1.2 The prepositional angle
Hestvik (1991), in his study of the diverse binding effects found with various
kinds of PPs, claims that Ps occurring in PP-verb constructions are completely nonthematic,
and that their only function is to assign Case to their DP complement, the
argument of the verb.
However, if Case was the only issue here, one would expect one (at most two)
specific preposition, on a par, with of or šel/be- (‘of’, ‘in’) which appear with Ns and
As in English or Hebrew, respectively: ha-nitu’ax šel ha-gufa (‘the operation of the
corpse’); ge’e be-hesegav (‘proud of his achievements’). But this is not the case. The
set of P-morphemes occurring in PP-verb constructions is limited, but it does contain
several members (rather than being a one-member set consisting of a ‘dummy’
preposition such as of). Thus, although Case may be at stake here, Case alone does not
seem to be a satisfactory answer.
5 If a given verb has more than one internal argument, the assistance of a P is arguably needed in order
to specify the semantic role of the second (internal) argument (Marantz 1984). As already mentioned,
the discussed verbs have an external argument and an internal one, rather than two internal arguments.