Constraints on Multiple Nominative Constructions in Korean

This paper aims at a comprehensive understanding of Korean multiple nominative constructions. Five different types of double nominative constructions are identified in this paper. It is shown that there is one special way of doubling nominatives. If the nominative subject NP of a one-place adjective is unsaturated in the sense that its possessive specifier is not realized within the noun phrase, a new nominative NP coindexed with the unrealized possessive specifier may appear before the initial nominative, resulting in a double nominative construction. If the added nominative happens to be unsaturated, then another nominative may be added, resulting in a triple nominative construction, and so on and on. This process may not only multiply itself, but also does it interact with other four types of double nominative constructions, and as a result a complex array of multiple nominatives may occur before the single predicate adjective. It is argued, however, that the original valency of an adjective is strictly preserved throughout, no matter how many nominatives may occur before the adjective.