Does Number Agree? Structure of Number of NPL Phrases with Respect to Agreement

Sa？etak English nominal phrases a number of NPL and the number of NPL show unusual subject-verb agreement patterns when in subject position. If the number (N1) is indefinite, there is an agreement in the plural (i.e. with the number features of N2 which is the complement of of). On the other hand, with the definite N1, the verb is in singular; in such cases, the N1 refers to a specific number of N2. There seems to be a correlation between (in)definiteness of N1 and the agreement in number. Tahe categorial identity of the constituents which plays a role in triggering the two distinct agreement patterns is investigated in the paper. As there are apparently two nouns and thus two potential lexical heads contained in the phrases, the agreement seems to be triggered by the singular phi-features of N1 (number), as opposed to the plural phi-features of the of-complement. This paper tests the lexical vs. functional identity of the number N1, comparing some existing analyses, e.g. the indefinite number as a functional head or a semi-lexical head in a pseudo-partitive construction. I argue that the two agreement patterns relate to the categorial identity of the number N1 which in the case of the indefinite phrase is transparent for agreement, unlike the lexical number in the definite number of phrase