How much structure is needed: The case of the Persian VP

The aim of this paper is to tease apart two available views of the VP in Persian. The prevailing view of the Persian VP initially suggested in generative studies assumes a hierarchical structure with two object positions, mainly motivated by the existence of differential object marking in Persian. Building on quantitative studies, we revisit this hierarchical view and show that it is not born out by the data. A flat structure view of the VP, on the contrary, is in line with the data.