Suggested Answers for Check Questions

In an embedded yes-no question the presence of the interrogative complementizer determines the force of the clause, i.e. that it is interpreted as a question. In an embedded wh-question there is no overt element occupying the C head position and [Spec, CP] is occupied by the wh-element itself. Nevertheless, the clause is interpreted as interrogative. Given assumptions about specifier-head agreement observed elsewhere, it may be assumed that although the element in the C head position is non-overt, it has the [+wh] feature and that is what the wh-element in the [Spec, CP] position agrees with. Thus, it is necessary for the wh-element to appear in the [Spec, CP] position to manifest this specifier-head agreement relationship. For this reason a wh-element is seen as an operator necessary to promote the interpretation of a clause. In echo-questions the wh-element remains in its base position and the structure is not interpreted as a question, instead, it is interpreted as a device to provide missing information. A wh-element is only interpreted as an operator if it has moved into the [Spec, CP] position. In multiple wh-questions only one wh-element moves, the other remains in situ. The interpretation of the non-moved wh-element as an operator depends on the presence or absence of a moved wh-element in the same clause (The interpretative principle: Interpret a wh-element as an operator if it is in [Spec, CP] or is coindexed with a wh-element in [Spec, CP].).