Poznań Studies in Contemporary Linguistics 44(3), 2008, pp. 319–343 © School of English, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland doi:10.2478/v1001010081001619 THE ROLE OF FUNCTIONAL FEATURES IN THE DERIVATIONAL PROCEDURE: A NEW ACCOUNT OF THE EPPEFFECTS, CASE AND AGREEMENT KATARZYNA MIECHOWICZMATHIASEN Vienna University katarzyna.miechowicz1mathiasen@univie.ac.at ABSTRACT In this paper, I propose an alternative account of feature checking/valuation based solely on cate gorial features. The main assumption is that lexical heads have an exclusively lexical feature ma trix, whereas functional heads have an exclusively functional feature matrix. The next assump tion is that only lexical features allow strictly local feature checking/valuation (i.e. under Agree); functional features, on the other hand, require a syntactic operation (Merge or Move) to check/value their functional features. Interaction between functional heads (Probes) and lexical ones (Goals) is made possible only via the mediating functional heads cselecting the lexical ones (e.g. D selects N/NP, v selects V/VP). The mediating functional heads provide lexical heads/ categories with a functional layer indispensable for “communication” with the functional Probes (as in Chomsky 1999: 9). The analysis proposed here accounts for the facts traditionally ascribed to the Extended Projection Principle (EPP). I show on the basis of English and Icelandic data that the EPPeffects result from categorial functional feature checking and cannot be reduced to either Case or agreement; rather, Case and agreement are intertwined in the processes of categorial fea ture checking/valuation and constitute their output, but crucially not their goal. KEYWORDS: feature checking/valuation; EPPeffects; feature matrix; expletive constructions. 1. The Proposal: What drives the syntactic derivation? In the analysis to be presented here, the driving force behind syntactic derivations is the need of functional probes to check/value their categorial functional features. Functional heads exist solely for their function, to ensure they perform it, syntax employs the strat egy of feature checking/valuation. The lexical features of lexical heads, on the other