Two German Impersonal Passives and Expletive pro

Abstract

In the present article I argue that the null subject observed in German impersonal passives is neither a null expletive nor in canonical subject position (e.g. AgrSP). We will link the possibility of null subjects in German constructions involving the participle to the possibility of nominative assignment into the VP. The null subject is then analysed as a syntactically projected null cognate object that is assigned nominative case in situ.