Null objects in Spanish recipes
Carlos Martínez García · Verba: Anuario galego de filoloxia · 2025
Definite null objects occur in Spanish recipes under specific conditions. First, they must be interpreted as definite and specific. This interpretation can be obtained from an antecedent or by lexical or pragmatic means. Second, null objects represent arguments that could occur as clitic pronouns with the same definite, specific interpretation. Third, verbs selecting definite null objects must receive imperative interpretations, given the instructional register which recipes belong to. Finally, definite null objects must be affected. Regarding their syntactic properties, definite null objects behave as syntactically projected DPs, since they can control and bind grammatical elements, license parasitic gaps and be visible to predication. The central claim of this paper is that a syntactically projected null pronominal can capture the basic properties of definite null objects. The pronominal displays gender, number and D features. The analysis can be extended to uses of definite null objects without linguistic antecedents. In these special cases, the non-spelled out pronominal bears neuter gender.