UCL Working Papers in Linguistics 11 (1999)

WH in situ and the intervention effect

ERIC MATHIEU

In this paper, I discuss data which suggest that covert movement must satisfy constraints that overt movement does not, posing a challenge for the uniform characterization of Move as Move F (Chomsky 1995). I propose an alternative analysis: the WH operator that French WH phrases in situ contain moves to Spec-CP and leaves a trace which is non-referential. Since antecedent government is local, the intervention effects are thus expected. French WH phrases in situ in single WH questions always appear to denote functions ranging over higher order entities, even when the WH phrase is in object position.

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