parasitic gaps

A form of parasitic gap — A construction wherein the dropping of an argument is dependent on a covarying argument having been fronted in a local context, as in "Which book did she review without reading?".

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Meanings

noun
  1. pluralplural of parasitic gap
Cite this entry
APA

parasitic gaps. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parasitic%20gaps

MLA

“parasitic gaps.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parasitic%20gaps. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “parasitic gaps,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parasitic%20gaps.

Source: parasitic gaps on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.