Indefinite object drop in Spanish

Abstract The criticism cast on Campos’ (1986) analysis for Spanish indefinite null objects motivates the consideration of other analyses, such as an analysis by null pronominals, nominal ellipsis and verb-stranding VP-ellipsis. Even though some of these analyses are said to explain the properties of null objects in some Romance languages, I claim they should be discarded for Spanish indefinite null objects. By contrast, in line with Martínez-García ( 2023 , 2025b , 2025c ), I claim that indefinite null objects are better analyzed as argument ellipsis, specifically as NP-ellipsis derived by PF-deletion. This analysis correctly explains the properties of the ellipsis site, namely, its indefinite, non-specific readings, the availability of sloppy readings, its narrow scope with respect to other operators and its inability of being visible as subject of secondary predication.