El sujeto como objeto. Descripción en español

Abstract The inconveniences posed by the definition of the subject as a conceptual universal in the field of theoretical linguistics —discussed in the first part of this study— are, in our opinion, due to the lack of a rigorous characterization of this constituent in different languages. In order to address this issue, we propose, in a second part, a description of this linguistic element in the realm of descriptive grammar of Spanish. In our view, the noun phrase —or its equivalent— acts as a null or overt subject in this language if it agrees with the verb and designates a specific or unspecified entity. However, we consider that the existence of a subject is not always guaranteed. To verify the validity of our proposal, we analyze certain structures that reflect the controversy stemming from such characterization and, as a result, confirm the need to establish specific criteria for the behavior of the subject in Spanish. This is essential not only to achieve a valid definition across all languages but also to ensure a coherent and systematic reflection in the classroom for Spanish as both a native and foreign language.