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(infelicitous) Whatj did Ann wonder whoi would eat ti tj ? (source: Key Terms in Syntax and Syntactic Theory)

The above sentence appears in a section discussing island constraint. I know this sentence is wrong as whatj is moved out of the who-island, from trace j, but my question here is about the positioning of trace i. If the location of trace i is right, you are seeing 'eat (somebody) (something),' which is a strange construct. Do you think this is a typo; ti should be placed between 'would' and 'eat'? Any help would be very much appreciated.

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  • I don't know whether it's a typo, but I agree with you that it's a mistake. Trace i is the logical subject of "eat" or "would eat", not its object.
    – Greg Lee
    Mar 1, 2020 at 4:11
  • Greg, thanks. Strictly speaking, trace i should come right in front of 'eat'; as a result of placing 'would,' whoi then moves up before the auxiliary, I think.
    – Sssamy
    Mar 1, 2020 at 8:00

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