@cite{merchant-2013} — Voice and Ellipsis

Voice mismatches between an elided phrase and its antecedent are tolerated under VP-ellipsis but blocked under sluicing, fragment answers, gapping, and stripping. This uneven distribution follows from the structural position of VoiceP relative to the [E]-bearing head.

Core Insight

VP-ellipsis targets vP (complement of Voice), so Voice is external to the ellipsis site — mismatches are invisible to the identity condition. Sluicing and other clausal ellipses target TP (which contains VoiceP), so Voice is internal — mismatches violate identity.

Argument Structure Alternations (§3.3)

No argument structure alternation — causative/inchoative, dative, middle, prepositional — is tolerated under any kind of ellipsis. The heads regulating these alternations all sit at or below v, hence are always inside the deletion domain regardless of ellipsis height.

Formalization

Every grammaticality judgment is verified against canMismatch from DeletionDomain.lean. Cross-linguistic data (German, Greek) supplements the English paradigm.

def Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.fragmentAnswers : Minimalism.Ellipsis.EllipsisType

Fragment answers: movement to Spec,CP + TP-deletion. Same [E] position as sluicing (@cite{merchant-2004}).

Equations

• Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.fragmentAnswers = { ePosition := Minimalism.Ellipsis.SpinePos.C, name := "fragment answers" }

def Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.gapping : Minimalism.Ellipsis.EllipsisType

Gapping: elides material containing VoiceP. [E] at C or higher.

Equations

• Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.gapping = { ePosition := Minimalism.Ellipsis.SpinePos.C, name := "gapping" }

def Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.stripping : Minimalism.Ellipsis.EllipsisType

Stripping (bare argument ellipsis): subcase of gapping.

Equations

• Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.stripping = { ePosition := Minimalism.Ellipsis.SpinePos.C, name := "stripping" }

def Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.pseudogapping : Minimalism.Ellipsis.EllipsisType

Pseudogapping: remnant extracted from vP; deletion domain includes VoiceP. [E] at T or higher.

Equations

• Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.pseudogapping = { ePosition := Minimalism.Ellipsis.SpinePos.T, name := "pseudogapping" }

structure Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.VoiceMismatchDatum : Type

A voice mismatch datum across an ellipsis boundary.

• description : String
• antecedentVoice : Minimalism.VoiceFlavor
• targetVoice : Minimalism.VoiceFlavor
• ellipsisType : Minimalism.Ellipsis.EllipsisType
• grammatical : Bool
• language : String

instance Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.instReprVoiceMismatchDatum : Repr VoiceMismatchDatum

Equations

• Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.instReprVoiceMismatchDatum = { reprPrec := Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.instReprVoiceMismatchDatum.repr }

def Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.instReprVoiceMismatchDatum.repr : VoiceMismatchDatum → ℕ → Std.Format

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def Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.ex1a : VoiceMismatchDatum

(1a) Active → passive under VPE. "The janitor must remove the trash whenever it is apparent that it should be ⟨removed⟩."

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def Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.ex2a : VoiceMismatchDatum

(2a) Passive → active under VPE. "The system can be used by anyone who wants to ⟨use it⟩."

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def Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.ex5 : VoiceMismatchDatum

(5) "*Joe was murdered, but we don't know who."

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def Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.ex6a : VoiceMismatchDatum

(6a) German: "*Erika hat jemanden ermordet, aber sie wissen nicht, wer."

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def Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.ex25a : VoiceMismatchDatum

(25a) Greek: "*O Jannis skotose kapjon, ala δen kserume pjos."

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def Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.ex9a : VoiceMismatchDatum

(9a) German: "Wer hat den Jungen untersucht? — *Von einer Psychologin."

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def Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.ex10a : VoiceMismatchDatum

(10a) "*Some bring roses and lilies by others."

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def Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.ex11a : VoiceMismatchDatum

(11a) "*MAX brought the roses, not by AMY!"

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theorem Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.vpe_voice_predicted : ex1a.grammatical = Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch Minimalism.Ellipsis.englishVPE Minimalism.Ellipsis.voiceMismatch ∧ ex2a.grammatical = Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch Minimalism.Ellipsis.englishVPE Minimalism.Ellipsis.voiceMismatch

VP-ellipsis data matches canMismatch.

theorem Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.sluicing_voice_predicted : ex5.grammatical = Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch Minimalism.Ellipsis.sluicing Minimalism.Ellipsis.voiceMismatch ∧ ex6a.grammatical = Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch Minimalism.Ellipsis.sluicing Minimalism.Ellipsis.voiceMismatch ∧ ex25a.grammatical = Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch Minimalism.Ellipsis.sluicing Minimalism.Ellipsis.voiceMismatch

Sluicing data matches canMismatch across three languages.

theorem Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.high_ellipsis_voice_predicted : ex9a.grammatical = Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch fragmentAnswers Minimalism.Ellipsis.voiceMismatch ∧ ex10a.grammatical = Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch gapping Minimalism.Ellipsis.voiceMismatch ∧ ex11a.grammatical = Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch stripping Minimalism.Ellipsis.voiceMismatch

All high ellipsis types block voice mismatches.

structure Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.ArgStructureDatum : Type

A datum for argument structure alternation under ellipsis.

• description : String
• alternationType : Minimalism.Ellipsis.MismatchDimension
• ellipsisType : Minimalism.Ellipsis.EllipsisType
• grammatical : Bool

def Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.instReprArgStructureDatum.repr : ArgStructureDatum → ℕ → Std.Format

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instance Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.instReprArgStructureDatum : Repr ArgStructureDatum

Equations

• Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.instReprArgStructureDatum = { reprPrec := Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.instReprArgStructureDatum.repr }

def Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.ex30a : ArgStructureDatum

(30a) "This can freeze. *Please do."

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def Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.ex31a : ArgStructureDatum

(31a) Greek: "*Eklisan ena δromo, alla δen ksero pjos ⟨eklise⟩"

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def Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.ex35a : ArgStructureDatum

(35a) "*They market ethanol well in the Midwest, but regular gas doesn't."

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def Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.ex36a : ArgStructureDatum

(36a) "*Ethanol markets well in the Midwest, though they don't in the South."

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def Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.ex39a : ArgStructureDatum

(39a) "*They served₁ someone the meal, but I don't know to whom."

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def Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.ex43a : ArgStructureDatum

(43a) "*They embroidered something with peace signs, but I don't know what on ⟨they embroidered peace signs t⟩"

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def Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.ex44 : ArgStructureDatum

(44) "*She embroiders peace signs on jackets more often than she does with swastikas."

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theorem Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.argStructure_data_predicted : ex30a.grammatical = Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch ex30a.ellipsisType ex30a.alternationType ∧ ex31a.grammatical = Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch ex31a.ellipsisType ex31a.alternationType ∧ ex35a.grammatical = Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch ex35a.ellipsisType ex35a.alternationType ∧ ex36a.grammatical = Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch ex36a.ellipsisType ex36a.alternationType ∧ ex39a.grammatical = Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch ex39a.ellipsisType ex39a.alternationType ∧ ex43a.grammatical = Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch ex43a.ellipsisType ex43a.alternationType ∧ ex44.grammatical = Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch ex44.ellipsisType ex44.alternationType

Per-datum verification: each datum's grammaticality equals the canMismatch prediction for its alternation type and ellipsis type.

theorem Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.v_alternations_blocked_high_ellipsis : Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch Minimalism.Ellipsis.sluicing Minimalism.Ellipsis.dativeAlternation = false ∧ Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch Minimalism.Ellipsis.sluicing Minimalism.Ellipsis.prepAlternation = false ∧ Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch Minimalism.Ellipsis.sluicing Minimalism.Ellipsis.middleAlternation = false ∧ Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch Minimalism.Ellipsis.englishVPE Minimalism.Ellipsis.dativeAlternation = false ∧ Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch Minimalism.Ellipsis.englishVPE Minimalism.Ellipsis.prepAlternation = false ∧ Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch Minimalism.Ellipsis.englishVPE Minimalism.Ellipsis.middleAlternation = false ∧ Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch fragmentAnswers Minimalism.Ellipsis.dativeAlternation = false ∧ Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch gapping Minimalism.Ellipsis.middleAlternation = false ∧ Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch pseudogapping Minimalism.Ellipsis.prepAlternation = false

All v-level alternations are blocked under high-[E] ellipsis types (sluicing, VPE, fragment answers, gapping, pseudogapping) — because v is inside the deletion domain when [E] is at Voice or above. Under vVPE ([E] on v), these alternations ARE tolerated (@cite{kalyakin-2026}).

theorem Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.uneven_distribution : Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch Minimalism.Ellipsis.englishVPE Minimalism.Ellipsis.voiceMismatch = true ∧ Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch Minimalism.Ellipsis.sluicing Minimalism.Ellipsis.voiceMismatch = false ∧ Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch fragmentAnswers Minimalism.Ellipsis.voiceMismatch = false ∧ Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch gapping Minimalism.Ellipsis.voiceMismatch = false ∧ Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch stripping Minimalism.Ellipsis.voiceMismatch = false ∧ Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch pseudogapping Minimalism.Ellipsis.voiceMismatch = false

The uneven distribution: voice mismatches are tolerated in VP-ellipsis (low [E]) but blocked in all clausal ellipses (high [E]).

theorem Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.voice_uniquely_discriminates : Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch Minimalism.Ellipsis.englishVPE Minimalism.Ellipsis.voiceMismatch ≠ Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch Minimalism.Ellipsis.sluicing Minimalism.Ellipsis.voiceMismatch ∧ Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch Minimalism.Ellipsis.englishVPE Minimalism.Ellipsis.transitivityMismatch = Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch Minimalism.Ellipsis.sluicing Minimalism.Ellipsis.transitivityMismatch ∧ Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch Minimalism.Ellipsis.englishVPE Minimalism.Ellipsis.dativeAlternation = Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch Minimalism.Ellipsis.sluicing Minimalism.Ellipsis.dativeAlternation ∧ Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch Minimalism.Ellipsis.englishVPE Minimalism.Ellipsis.lexicalMismatch = Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch Minimalism.Ellipsis.sluicing Minimalism.Ellipsis.lexicalMismatch

Voice is the discriminating dimension: the only mismatch that distinguishes VP-ellipsis from sluicing. All v-level and V-level dimensions are blocked under both.

theorem Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.no_inverse_language : Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch Minimalism.Ellipsis.sluicing Minimalism.Ellipsis.voiceMismatch = true → Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch Minimalism.Ellipsis.englishVPE Minimalism.Ellipsis.voiceMismatch = true

Merchant's negative prediction: if voice mismatches were tolerated in sluicing (high [E]), monotonicity would force them to be tolerated in VP-ellipsis (low [E]) too. No language can have the reverse of the attested pattern.

theorem Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.voice_between_boundaries : Minimalism.Ellipsis.voiceMismatch.headPosition = Minimalism.Ellipsis.SpinePos.Voice ∧ Minimalism.Ellipsis.transitivityMismatch.headPosition = Minimalism.Ellipsis.SpinePos.v ∧ Minimalism.Ellipsis.dativeAlternation.headPosition = Minimalism.Ellipsis.SpinePos.v ∧ Minimalism.Ellipsis.prepAlternation.headPosition = Minimalism.Ellipsis.SpinePos.v ∧ Minimalism.Ellipsis.middleAlternation.headPosition = Minimalism.Ellipsis.SpinePos.v ∧ Minimalism.Ellipsis.lexicalMismatch.headPosition = Minimalism.Ellipsis.SpinePos.V

Voice's discriminating power follows from its spine position: it sits between the VPE boundary (Voice) and the sluicing boundary (C). All other mismatch dimensions sit at v or below.

theorem Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.end_to_end_voice_chain : Minimalism.VoiceFlavor.agentive ≠ Minimalism.VoiceFlavor.passive ∧ Minimalism.Ellipsis.canMismatch Minimalism.Ellipsis.englishVPE Minimalism.Ellipsis.voiceMismatch = true ∧ ex1a.grammatical = true ∧ ex2a.grammatical = true

End-to-end chain: Voice severing (@cite{kratzer-1996}) → Merchant's deletion domain theory (@cite{merchant-2013}) → voice mismatch asymmetry.

Step 1 (Voice.lean): Active and passive are distinct Voice flavors; Voice is an independent head above vP.

Step 2 (DeletionDomain.lean): VPE's [E] sits on Voice, deleting vP. Voice is external → mismatches invisible to identity.

Step 3 (this file): Active→passive and passive→active under VPE are both grammatical, matching canMismatch.

theorem Phenomena.Ellipsis.Studies.Merchant2013.again_confirms_vp_boundary : Minimalism.Ellipsis.againSurvives Minimalism.Ellipsis.AgainPosition.vP_adjunction Minimalism.Ellipsis.englishVPE = true ∧ Minimalism.Ellipsis.againSurvives Minimalism.Ellipsis.AgainPosition.VP_adjunction Minimalism.Ellipsis.englishVPE = false

The again diagnostic (§4): under VPE, only repetitive again (high, VoiceP-adjunction) survives; restitutive again (low, VP-adjunction) is inside the deletion domain. This confirms that VPE targets vP, not VP.