DRAFT: Two Kinds of Restructuring Infinitives in Basque1

Recent monoclausal approaches to restructuring come in two flavors. Cinque (2004) and Cardinaletti and Shlonsky (2004) propose that restructuring is universally restricted to single iterations of the functional sequence (fseq) of the clause (Cinque 1999). From this perspective, restructuring is always and everywhere between a main verb and a higher functional head of the same fseq. In contrast, Wurmbrand (2001, 2004) argues that “lexical ” restructuring must also be admitted. That is, lexical verbs in V may, under certain conditions, restructure with a small verbal complement. This paper presents evidence from Basque that supports the latter view. In particular, this paper distinguishes two kinds of restructuring infinitives in Basque—those headed by –tu,-i,–n or-Ø (depending on the verb class) and those with-t(z)en, as shown in (1) and (2). In both cases, the auxiliary agrees in person and number with dative and absolutive arguments of the lower verb. Different properties of these infinitives, however, suggest that they have different functional structures. Infinitives with –tu/-i/-n/–Ø are InfinPs, a vP-internal projection that restructures with a higher functional head of the same fseq (“functional restructuring ” in Wurmbrand’s terms). In contrast, infinitives with-t(z)e infinitives are minimally AspPs tha