This dissertation studies lexical and syntactic aspects of Noun Phrases in Spanish under the Principles and Parameters framework. Whereas Nominal expressions may be seen as a continuum towards reference, with propositional functions mapped onto properties, verbs undergo prediction. As a result, N' can be a semantically saturated expression, but V' cannot. This is the case of Nouns that project an affected object. "Affectedness" is defined by the ability of a cemplement to semantically saturate a lexical head. The stacked nature of nominal modification is captured through a successive spec-head relationship between modifee and modifier. This relationship occurs at the syntactic level of representation in languages with overt nominal morphology. Otherwise it occurs at LF. This explains the word order parameter between Romance and English adjectival modification, and it allows us to further define previous proposals for a weak and a strong determiner position. Finally, the above analysis and the conditions on Spec-head agreement account for the extraction facts in Spanish.
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