Clitics and direct objects in Macedonian

Abstract

This squib investigates the distribution of clitics with direct object DPs in Macedonian. In particular, it aims to explain the co-occurrence restrictions on clitics with IP-internal DPs, i.e., DPs in pre-and postverbal position. The occurrence of the clitics with such DPs is linked to their feature specification for strength, where strength is defined as in BarwiseCooper (1981). The analysis is then extended to DPs in clause-initial positions, i.e., DPs at the left periphery. It is shown that the overall behavior of DPs with respect to clitic doubling prompts a novel, three-way distinction of the DPs in Macedonian as [+strong], [−strong] and unspecified for strength.