Coordination and ellipsis

Abstract

This chapter is about coordination, and ellipsis connected to coordination. Coordination is symmetric, where the conjuncts can be interchanged, or fixed. Symmetric coordination is typically additive or disjunctive, and fixed coordination is adversative. Causal coordination connects two main clauses, where one gives the cause of the other. The order depends on the conjunction used. Ellipsis in both directions of identical elements takes place in coordinated phrases of all kinds. Identical subjects are generally elided in the second clause. In such cases, an identical object may also be elided in the second clause. By sluicing an interrogative clause is elided, leaving only the wh-word. Pseudocoordination is the coordination of two verb phrases denoting one single event. The two verbs cannot both move to C, and a non-fronted subject follows the first verb but precedes the second, whereas in ordinary coordination, both verbs precede the subject.