This article deals with a vexing problem in the phonology of Moroccan Arabic, the alternation between [CɨCC] and [CCɨC] nouns. It is shown that this alternation cannot be predicted in all instances from the phonetic nature of the consonants, contrary to what has been claimed in previous analyses, and that it is necessary to have recourse to an analysis based on the notion of templates. It is claimed that the difference between the two forms [CɨCC] and [CCɨC] reflects an underlying difference between the three templates /CVCC/, CVCVC/, and /(ɂa)CCVC/, which are shared by both Classical Arabic and Moroccan Arabic. The influence of sonority is secondary and only accounts for the appearance of [CCɨC] forms in nouns derived from the template /CVCC/ whose last consonant is a nasal ([jbɨn] ‘cheese), a liquid ([bħɨr] ‘sea’), or a /ʕ/ ([zrɨʕ] ‘wheat’).

The aim of this article is to provide an analysis of two types of Spanish infinitival constructions headed by a determiner. In an attempt to define the categorial status of the infinitive morpheme, it is proposed that there are two homophonous infinitival morphemes which project two different structures: one of them is inflectional in nature and projects clausal configurations; the other one is derivational in nature and projects nominal structures. This latter suffix carries an activity aspect and attaches only to aspectually compatible verbal stems. This proposal explains the different properties and contexts for the two structures analysed, and, more interestingly, provides an account for a number of data that remained unexplained in previous analyses.