On postverbal subjects in Old Venetian

Abstract Postverbal subjects occupy different positions across languages, as they can result from V-to-C movement (e.g., German) or from the subject remaining low (e.g., Italian), either in a thematic or low focus position. We test postverbal subjects in Old Venetian and show that their frequency increases in (i) main clauses, and (ii) unaccusative/predicative/passive verbs. Postverbal pronominal subjects exclusively increase under (i), postverbal non-pronominal subjects under (ii). This indicates that Old Venetian lacked an active low focus subject position and that postverbal pronominal and non-pronominal subjects are different: pronominal subjects are postverbal due to V-to-C movement, while non-pronominal subjects are postverbal due to their low thematic position. We model this by proposing that pronominal subjects must leave their low thematic position for checking their Ground features in the low CP area, a position not available for non-pronominal subjects, which either stay low or move to the high Topic layers in the CP.