Merge of expletive there

This paper aims to resolve longstanding inconsistencies in the analysis of the merge position of expletive there. It examines five major approaches―Spec,INFL merge, Spec,v merge, small-clause-based analyses (subject vs. predicate), and DP-internal merge―and advances a refined Spec,INFL-merge analysis grounded in a Dynamic Workspace model. Under this approach, non-thematic elements such as there may be introduced during the derivation in an interface-interactive manner. The proposed framework offers an integrated analysis of the Definiteness Effect, verb-type asymmetries, and passive existential constructions, phenomena that previous analyses have failed to capture systematically. By grounding the admissibility of there in workspace dynamics, the proposal reframes our understanding of the interaction between the Merge mechanism and the CI/SM interfaces.