Found:
empty category
SYNTAX: Any node without phonological content. Usually indicated as
e or ec. Empty categories come in different varieties, depending on their syntactic properties, such as Case, Theta-role and (potential) antecedent(s). NP-traces have no Case, whereas wh-traces may have Case (also see trace). The trace of an adjunct has no
theta-role and is A-bar bound. An NP-trace has a theta-role and is A-bound.
Empty categories can be the result of deletion or
movement, or they are base-generated, viz. pro and PRO. Different types of empty categories behave differently with respect to the Empty category principle and binding theory.
LIT. | Chomsky, N. (1982) Chomsky, N. (1981) |