Feature Inheritance and the reduced phase: the syntax of verbless clauses in Standard Arabic

This study investigates the architecture of verbless sentences in Standard Arabic (SA) under Phase Theory and strict principles of computational efficiency. By demonstrating that these equational clauses structurally lack a Tense (T) head, this analysis challenges traditional models of Case valuation and temporal anchoring. Rejecting the “Null-T” approach, the analysis of Double Nominative and agreement asymmetries demonstrates that these constructions are not structurally deficient; instead, omitting a vacuous T-head directly satisfies computational economy. Applying the mechanics of Feature Inheritance (FI), we propose an optimal “short-circuit” derivation within a “Reduced Phase” architecture where C delegates φ-features and Case directly to a specialized nominal Agreement (Agr) head. This downward delegation allows C to act as the temporal anchor and provides the asymmetry required to resolve the {XP, YP} labeling deadlock. Consequently, the derivation identifies the ’pronoun of separation’ (PRON) as the explicit morphological realization of this inheritance process. By integrating comparative evidence from Romance reduced structures and the broader Afro-Asiatic family, the analysis demonstrates that this Agr-anchor provides a generalized, cross-linguistic strategy for licensing independent verbless clauses.