The purpose of this study is to specify a principled explanation for the syntactic puzzling phenomena of the expletive there-constructions. For this, expletive there pure-merged in the vP-Spec as a defective Goal argument is posited on the basis of Chomsky's (2001, 2005b) Agree-based Strong Minimalist Thesis. In addition, Interpretive Complex (Chomsky 1999, 2001) for the Bare Output Condition satisfying surface structure semantic effects of edge feature is adopted in the vein of Chomsky's (2005b) semantic Duality of the interface and Diesing's (1992) Mapping Hypothesis. As a result, an unspecific reading of associate NP and the Definite reading problem in the expletive there-constructions are specified. The inconsistent role of Probe expletive there is also solved without maximizing matching effect. In addition, the merge of expletive there in the Raising structure and ECM is explained in the same manner. Furthermore, Merge over Move Principle is not needed any longer in the locality of the phase level.

There have been three main proposals regarding to the structure of the English existential construction: small clause, bare-NP, and ternary analysis. Each has some merits in accounting for its syntactic properties, but at the same time leaves out certain empirical issues unaccounted for. This paper critically reviews these three previous analyses and offers a hybrid analysis that allows both the bare NP as well as small clause structure for the construction. We sketch this hybrid analysis within a Construction Grammar perspective.