GETTING VERB MOVEMENT

Child language features a striking difference in root clauses between finite (auxiliary) verbs (in IF) and root infinitives and participles (in VP). Fronted nonfinite verbs are virtually never attested in child language. However, it is shown that there is no one-to-one correlatio n between position and inflection since finite verbs do not always fro nt. It is argued that a derivational treatment in terms of verb fronti ng is the proper way to establish a relationship between the two verba l positions. Differences between developmental stages in Dutch, Englis h, and French are accounted for by making crucial use of the status of T as a content-licensing head and the strength of the formal finitene ss feature on the functional head T, and by exploiting the status of m odality, aspect, and negation as heads potentially blocking movement f rom V to T. While special attention is paid to the separate status of auxiliaries in acquisitional and historical development, a novel persp ective on linguistic change is sketched by relating data from verb pla cement in the developmental stages of French to verb-placement facts i n the history of English. An integrated account of finiteness and verb fronting is provided to explain their inverse relationship.