Keir Moulton

Associate Professor
Linguistics, University of Toronto
keir.moulton at-sign utoronto dot ca

I am a theoretical and experimental linguist seeking to understand the relation between structure and meaning in natural language. My research connects generative syntax and formal compositional semantics on topics such as clausal complementation and propositional attitudes, relativization, quantification, binding and ellipsis. I conduct experiments on these and other topics at the syntax-semantics interface. I earned my PhD from the linguistics department at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 2009. My CV.

I delivered a series of lectures called 'CPs and their associates' at the Advanced Core Training in Linguisitcs Summer School at the University of York in Summer 2023.


To appear. Shimoyama, Junko, Elizabeth Bogal-Allbritten, and Keir Moulton. On propositional anaphora: 'Referential' propositions and propositional proforms. Polarity-Sensitive Expressions: Comparisons between Japanese and Other Languages. Osamu Sawada, ed. Springer.

2023. Brook, Marisa and Keir Moulton. Locating the locative in pseudo-locative where-relatives. In Non-interrogative subordinate wh-clauses, Łukasz Jędrzejowski and Carla Umbach, eds. Oxford University Press. 438--460. Pre-print version.

2022. Han, Chung-hye and Keir Moulton. Processing bound variable singular they. Canadian of Linguistics 67.3: 267-301. doi:10.1017/cnj.2022.30

2022. Chapman, Cassandra and Keir Moulton. Second chances in antecedent retrieval. Canadian Journal of Linguistics 67.1: 1-28. doi:10.1017/cnj.2022.20

2022. Moulton, Keir, Trevor Block, Holly Gendron, Dennis Storoshenko, Jesse Weir, Sara Williamson and Chung-hye Han. Bound variable singular they is underspecified: the case of all vs. every. Frontiers in Psychology, Language Sciences 13:880687. 1-20. doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.880687

2021. Han, Chung-hye, Keir Moulton, Trevor Block, Holly Gendron, Sander Nederveen. Pronouns are as sensitive to structural constraints as reflexives in early processing: evidence from visual world paradigm eye-tracking. Frontiers in Psychology, Language Sciences 12:611466. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.611466

2021. Marisa Brook and Keir Moulton. English pseudolocative relatives with resumptives: two acceptability studies. In Proceedings of CLS 56 (2020). Matthew Hewett, Corinne Kasper, Sanghee Kim, and Naomi Kurtz, eds. Chicago Linguistic Society: Chicago, Ill. 51-66.

2021. Kučerová, Ivona, Cassandra Chapman, and Keir Moulton. 2021. How to value gender: lexicon, agree and feature transmission under ellipsis. In Proceedings of the 38th West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics. Soo, Rachel, Una Y. Chow, and Sander Nederveen, eds. Cascadilla Press: Ithaca, NY. 253-263.

2020. Keir Moulton. Attitudinal and modal objects: A view from the syntax-semantics interface. Theoretical Linguistics, 46(3–4): 297–306. https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2020-0017

2020. Bogal-Allbritten, Elizabeth, Junko Shimoyama, and Keir Moulton. Things we embed. Handout of presentation at the Brussels Conference on Generative Grammar (BCGL), December 2020.

2020. Keir Moulton, Trevor Block, Holly Gendron, Chung-hye Han and Sander Nederveen. Singular they in context. Glossa: a journal of general linguistics. 5(1):122.1–3. https://doi.org/10.5334/gjgl.1012

2020. Keir Moulton. Remarks on propositional nominalization. Nominalizations: 50 Years on from Chomsky's Remarks. Hagit Borer and Artemis Alexiadou, eds. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 255–276.

2020. Han, Chung-hye, Kyeong-min Kim, Keir Moulton and Jeffrey Lidz. Null objects in Korean: experimental evidence for the argument ellipsis analysis. Linguistic Inquiry. 51.2: 319–340. https://doi.org/10.1162/ling_a_00342

2020. Kim, Kyeong-min, Chung-hye Han and Keir Moulton. The syntax of Korean VP anaphora: an experimental investigation. Journal of East Asian Linguistics 29.1: 31–76. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10831-020-09203-x

2019. Moulton, Keir. Adverbs in VP ellipsis: an experimental investigation of antecedent selection. Canadian Journal of Linguistics. 64:3. 475–508. doi:10.1017/cnj.2018.45

2019. Moulton, Keir and Junko Shimoyama. On the Inverse Trace Conversion and maximal informativeness analysis of Japanese internally-headed relative clauses: A reply to Erlewine and Gould 2016. Glossa: a journal of general linguistics 4(1): 5. 1–27. http://doi.org/10.5334/gjgl.505

2018. Elizabeth Bogal-Allbritten and Keir Moulton. Navajo in the typology of internally-headed relatives. Proceedings of SALT 27. Dan Burgdorf, Jacob Collard, Sireemas Maspong and Brynhildur Stefansdottir, eds. Linguistic Society of America, Ithaca, NY. 700–720.

2018. Elizabeth Bogal-Allbritten and Keir Moulton. Nominalized clauses and reference to propositional content. In Proceedings of Sinn und Bedeutung 21. Volume 1. Robert Truswell, Chris Cummins, Caroline Heycock, Brian Rabern, and Hannah Rhode, eds. University of Edinburgh. 215-233.

2018. Moulton, Keir and Chung-hye Han. Scope vs. C-Command: An Experimental Investigation. (Pre-publication version) Language 94.1: 191–219.

2018. Moulton, Keir Queenie Chan, Tanie Cheng, Chung-hye Han, Kyeong-min Kim and Sophie Nickel-Thompson. Focus on Cataphora: Experiments in Context. Linguistic Inquiry 49.1: 151–168.

2018. Moulton, Keir. Lectures delivered in Université Paris Diderot. Lecture 1 (D+CP), Lecture 2 (D+CP Korean), Lecture 3 (D+CP Overt D), Lecture 4 (D+CP Propositional DPs) (These are lecture notes that might be useful to someone. They contain ideas-in-progress. Please cite if using.)

2017. Runner, Jeffrey and Keir Moulton . Accusative Plus Infinitive Constructions in English. The Companion to Syntax. 2nd Edition. Martin Everaert and Henk van Riemsdijk, eds. Blackwell. 1–19.

2017. Moulton, Keir Retrieving Antecedents in Processing: Binder Indices and Φ-Features. In Proceedings of the West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics 35. Bennett, Wm. G., Lindsay Hracs, and Dennis Ryan Storoshenko, editors. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project. 30--40.

2016. Mouton, Keir. Lectures delivered at Göttingen Summer School. Lecture 1 (Intro and CP meanings), Lecture 2 (CP meanings and hyper-raising), Lecture 3 (Nouny CPs), Lecture 4 (Pseudo-relatives). (These are lecture notes that might be useful to someone. They contain ideas-in-progress. Please cite if using.)

2016. Nino Grillo and Keir Moulton. Event Kinds and the Pseudo-Relative. In Proceedings of the Forty-Sixth Annual Meeting of the North East Linguistics Society (NELS 46). Volume 2. Prickett, Brandon and Christopher Hammerly, editors. GLSA, Amherst MA. pp. 11–20.

2015. Moulton, Keir and Nino Grillo. Pseudo-Relatives: Big and Direct. In Proceedings of the Forty-fifth Annual Meeting of the North East Linguistic Society (NELS 45). Volume 2. Bui, Thuy and Denis Ozyildiz, editors. GLSA, Amherst MA. pp. 193–202.

2015. Moulton, Keir. CPs: copies and compositionality. Linguistic Inquiry 46:2 305–342

2014. Moulton, Keir. Simple event nominalizations: Roots and their interpretation. Cross-linguistic Investigations of Nominalization Patterns. Paul, Ileana, editor. Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today 210. John Benjamins. 119–144.

2013. Moulton, Keir. Raising from the Dead. Linguistic Inquiry 44:1 157–167.

2013. Moulton, Keir. Not Moving Clauses: Connectivity in Clausal Complements. Syntax. 16:3 250–291.

2013. Moulton, Keir. What covaries in backward variable binding. Proceedings of the Forty-Second Annual Meeting of the North East Linguistic Society. Volume 2. (NELS 42) [Held in Fall 2011] Keine, Stefan and Shayne Sloggett, editors. GLSA Amherst, MA. 55–68.

2013. Moulton, Keir. Small Clause Subjects do Reconstruct. Proceedings of the Forty-First Annual Meeting of the North East Linguistic Society. (NELS 41) [Held in Fall, 2010] Fainleib, Yelena, Nicholas LaCara, and Yangsook Park, editors. GLSA, Amherst, MA. 27–40.

2009. Moulton, Keir. Clausal Complementation and the Wager-Class. Proceedings of the Thirty-Eighth Annual Meeting of the North East Linguistic Society. Volume 2. (NELS 38) Schardl, Anisa, Martin Walkow, and Muhammad Abdurrahman, editors. GLSA: Amherst, MA. 165–178.

2009. Moulton, Keir. Natural Selection and the Syntax of Clausal Complementation. PhD Dissertation. University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

2008. Stickney, Helen, Moulton, Keir and Tom Roeper. From False Belief to False Ascription. Language Acquisition and Development: Proceedings of GALA 2007. Gavarro and M. Joao Freitas, editors. Cambridge Scholars Publishing: Newcastle. 424–433.

2007. Moulton, Keir. Scope relations and infinitival complements. University of Massachusetts Occasional Papers in Linguistics Vol. 33 : Iss. 1 , Article 8. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/umop/vol33/iss1/8

2007. Moulton, Keir. Small Antecedents: Syntax or Pragmatics. Proceedings of the Thirty-Seventh Annual Meeting of the North East Linguistics Society. Vol 1. (NELS 37) Elfner, Emily and Martin Walkow, editors. GLSA: Amherst, MA. 45–58.

2006. Arregui, Ana, Charles Clifton, Lyn Frazier and Keir Moulton. Processing elided verb phrases with flawed antecedents: the recycling hypothesis. Journal of Memory and Language 55.2: 232–246. Working Papers

2004. Moulton, Keir and Matthew Wolfe, editors. Proceedings of the Thirty-fourth Annual Meeting of the North East Linguistics Society. (NELS 34) Two volumes. GLSA: Amherst, MA.

2004. Moulton, Keir. External Arguments and Gerunds. Toronto Working Papers in Linguistics 22: Syntax and Psycholinguistics - Holes in Sentences: Shared structures, missing arguments and feature deficiencies. Frigeni, Chiara, editor. University of Toronto Graduate Students Association: Toronto. pp.121–136.

2003. Moulton, Keir. Deep Allophones in the Old English laryngeal system. Toronto Working Papers in Linguistics Volume 20: Special Issue on Contrast in Phonology. Currie Hall, Daniel, editor. University of Toronto Graduate Student Linguistics Association: Toronto. pp.157–173.

2002. Moulton, Keir Clausal Modification in Old English: The Case of the Correlative. MA Thesis. University of Toronto.