Basic English Syntax with Exercises

subject-auxiliary inversion

3.2.1 Move α

In (50b) we have what is termed a yes–no question, as it may be answered with a simple “yes” or “no”. These questions typically involve subject–auxiliary inversion, in which the auxiliary verb and the subject appear to switch places. A more current view of the inversion process is that the auxiliary moves to a position to the left of the subject:

7.3.1 Basic positions within the CP

Note that these questions are formed by placing an auxiliary verb in front of the subject, a phenomenon traditionally termed subject–auxiliary inversion. Again, given that the auxiliary is to the left of the subject, it seems to be outside of the IP and presumably somewhere in the CP. This time, however, the position needed is a word position and the obvious choice is the complementiser position itself: