Determiners in genitive constructions

Bernstein, Cowart and McDaniel (Linguistic Inquiry 30, 1999, 493), Stanford, CA) offer an important insight into the structure of possessive DP (e.g. the in the girlʹs truck) has a ‘low’ source, the possessor phrase, rather than a ‘high’ source, the D heading the top DP. Further, they recognize a consequent problem: their analysis incorrectly allows the possibility that more than one D may be selected into a possessive DP (e.g. *the in the girlʹs truck). Their analysis of possessive DPs involves a mixture of overt and covert D raising. The present paper argues that their analysis entails a number of problems, many of which are resolved if such raising is analyzed exclusively as covert raising. Further considerations suggest that a Spec-head agreement analysis much along lines originally suggested by Longobardi (Linguistic Inquiry 25, 1994, 609–665) is preferable to either D raising analysis. This analysis maintains the insight of Berstein et al. and others that lexical Ds in possessive DPs have a low source.