The goal of this article is to present some arguments showing that the two available analyses of preverbal subjects in European Portuguese (as movement to Spec,IP or as left-dislocation structures) are not necessarily incompatible. Arguments are put forward showing that the traditional analysis, according to which subjects are moved to Spec, IP, does not raise many problems dealing with simple declarative clauses in unmarked contexts that arise for the alternative analysis.
Subject; Preverbal; Postverbal; Spec; IP; A-position; A-bar position; Left-dislocation