# Is there a language whose syntactic structure accepts a specifier of a PP? Tags: syntax, syntax-trees, x-bar-theory, prepositions, constituents - Score: 4 - Views: 312 - Answers: 2 - Answered: yes - Asked by: Ergative Man (1514 rep) - Asked: 2022-02-25 - Edited: 2022-02-26 - Site: linguistics ## Question We know a preposition (in X-bar theory) is the head of a prepositional phrase and it has a complement that is the sister of this very preposition. However I've never seen a language with a constituent in the specifier position of the PP. Is there a reason for that? Is there a language that fills it with something? ## Answers ### Answer by George Walkden (score: 3) In his syntax textbook, Richard Larson (2010: 346-7) suggests that measure phrases in PPs, e.g. “three miles” in “three miles down the road”, occupy the specifier of PP. If that’s correct, English is a language that can have constituents in Spec,PP - though it doesn’t always. ### Answer by AAM111 (score: 1) English has PP specifiers! The bird flew right over us. My friend lives just around the corner. Most dictionaries seem to call these adverbs, but syntactically they serve a different function than words