On the Locus of Tense

In this study, I provide an argument in favor of Chomsky’s (2021) claim that tense is a feature of v, not of INFL. First, I show that the Japanese Gapping construction (JGC) can involve the coordination that I call “continuative form coordination (CFC),” as well as another type of coordination, referred to as “finite form coordination (FFC).” I argue then that what are conjoined in CFC are constituents smaller than IP. And finally, I argue that the view that tense is a feature of v receives support from a contrast between the JGC and its non-elliptical counterpart with CFC with respect to whether the non-final conjuncts can contain a temporal adverb that is incompatible with the tense indicated by the sentence-final verb.