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 Barwise — Cooper (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.