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Our aim in this article is to develop a minimalist analysis for the distribution of finite verb forms in Basque -i. e, izan 'ser'/*edun �haber' alternations, as well as some idiosyncratic asymmetries between synthetic/analytical verb forms observed in impersonal and substandard reflexive/reciprocal constructions. According to this analysis, the distribution of finite verb forms is ultimately determined in the language by the feature-content of Verb and Tense/Aspect in the lexicon, along with the application of the syntactic requirement that uninterpretable features be checked before reaching the interfaces. Crucially, we will argue that Basque finite verbs differ in the lexicon as to their {Case}-specification; unlike the others, which are intrinsically specified for {ABS/ERG}, izan 'ser' y *edin 'ser' receive their {ABS}-feature only optionally. This idea will combine with our claim that Tense/Aspect may be morphologically defective in certain syntactic environments; in particular, either head will encode a defective feature {Minimal Case/Null Case} in the impersonal and substandard reflexive/reciprocal constructions of Basque.
