On the nominal proform typology: Empirical support from Modern Hebrew

Abstract

In this paper, I show that the categorical status of third-person pronouns in Modern Hebrew is heterogeneous. While pronouns are traditionally thought to be a uniform syntactic object, previous research suggests they can differ significantly in their internal structure and syntactic behavior. Building on Déchaine and Wiltschko’s (2002) proposal that pronouns come in three structural sizes—each associated with a distinct categorical identity, namely pro-DP, pro-φP, and pro-NP—I apply their diagnostics to a range of Hebrew third-person pronominals, including pro (null subject). Specifically, Hebrew serves as a useful testing ground for this framework due to its partial pro-drop pattern and diverse third-person pronominal system. Based on these diagnostics, I propose that Hebrew third-person pronouns do not correspond to a single syntactic category, but instead split into three distinct categorical identities, forming the following tripartition: pro-DPs, pro-φPs, and simplex φs. The latter, a minimal φ-expression, lacks overt structure while still functioning pronominally via φ-feature specification alone. These findings support the idea that pronominal forms differ categorically even within the same person subclass and offer new empirical support for the necessity of a categorical distinction within the pronominal system in natural language.