Subject Float, Low Subject Trapping, and Case in Icelandic

This paper describes and discusses two peculiar sets of (in)definiteness facts applying to subjects in Icelandic, here referred to as Subject Float and Low Subject Trapping. Indefinite subjects (commonly quantified) in presentational sentences and related clause types may either occupy the complement position within the predicate phrase or “float” or into various positions in the middle field. This is Subject Float, yielding variation such as “There would (many farmers) then (many farmers) probably (many farmers) be (?*many farmers) elected (many farmers)”. Conversely, and unexpectedly, definite NP subjects of some adjectival and verbal predicates must stay in the complement position. This is Low Subject Trapping, yielding orders such as “there is cold radiator-the” and “there cooled radiator-the”. It is shown that the licensing of subject NPs in the various positions in Subject Float and in the complement position in Low Subject Trapping is unrelated to specific cases, thus refuting the widely adopted case approach to NP-licensing.