NULL SUBJECTS IN URDU AND ENGLISH: A MINIMALIST CROSS-LINGUISTIC STUDY

Abstract

This study investigates the syntactic constraints on null subjects in formal Urdu and English short stories under Chomsky’s Minimalist Program (1995). Urdu, a pro-drop and morphologically rich language, allows omission of overt subjects through agreement and discourse recoverability. English, being non-pro-drop, restricts subject omission to specific syntactic environments such as imperatives and ellipsis. Using a descriptive qualitative method and purposive sampling technique, data were collected from formal Urdu and English short stories. The analysis, based on Minimalist operations of Merge, Move, and Agree, shows that Urdu licenses null subjects through rich agreement features, while English requires overt subjects due to weak morphology and EPP satisfaction. Findings highlight how Urdu’s morphology permits syntactic economy, whereas English maintains overt realization for structural completeness. The study contributes to understanding cross-linguistic variation in null subject licensing.