The primary purpose of this paper is to provide a coherent explanation for the so-called tough constructions (TCs). The previous analyses along with our proposal are viewed as strategies for the “survival” by which the TC-subjects and their mates in the embedded object position are licensed during the derivation before they are transferred. We believe the principle of The Most Specified Survival under Multiple Sphere Hypothesis (Im, 2003-2010) has the advantage of overcoming the several problems of the θ-theory, the Case theory, and the locality provoked when we resort to internal Merge or movement operation.
O. Introduction
1. Survival through movements
2. Survival through smuggling
3. Survival through phases
4. Survival in spheres
5. Concluding remarks