Improper movement

Improper movement is a illicit movement from an A-bar-position to an A-position, as in (i):

(i) * [IP Johni seems [CP t'i [IP ti knows it all]]]

The intermediate trace, t'_i, being a variable since it occupies an A-bar position, violates principle C of the Binding Theory, because it is A-bound by John.

Link

Utrecht Lexicon of Linguistics

References

• Chomsky, N. 1986b. Barriers, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
• Haegeman, L. 1991. Introduction to Government and Binding Theory, Oxford, Blackwell.