This article attempts to show a new approach to the syntactic analysis of there-constructions with the so-called Spilt-Matching Conditions between a probe and a goal during AGREE in the minimalist framework, revised on Chomsky (2005). The advantage of this analysis predicts well the (un)grammaticality of there-constructions without resorting to EPP and MOM. With the assumption that the matching operation of T s [person] is different from that of T s [number], T [person] attracts Merge or Move of a lexical category in order to match for AGREE whereas T s [number] holds a long-distance match for AGREE. Thus various relevant issues regarding there-constructionsdouble there-constructions, ECM constructions and expletive it-constructions as well as the (un)grammaticality of there-constructions are accounted for by this proposed analysis.
1. Introduction
2. Previous Analyses
3. The Spilt Agree Operation
4. Conclusion