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This paper investigates control constructions in the Niger-Congo language Wolof, which offers several insights into the phenomenon of control. First, I show that one and the same predicate can take infinitival complements of different sizes, giving additional suport to the claims in Wurmbrand (2014c, 2015), Wurmbrand and Lohninger (2023). Next, I present arguments in favor of Grano's (2012, 2015) claim that Exhaustive Control (EC) and Partial Control (PC) are derived via different strategies, specifically, that EC is the result of movement (Hornstein 1999 et seq.). Control in Wolof is only exhaustive, both with cross-linguistically typical EC predicates and with typical PC predicates, and, notably, all control constructions in Wolof restructure, and all control verbs are monotransitive, properties that usually characterize EC, but not PC predicates. This confirms a correlation between EC, restructuring, and monotransitivity argued for by Cinque (2004, 2006) and Grano (2012, 2015). While Cinque's and Grano's approaches treat EC predicates as functional verbs, I argue that this bundle of properties cannot be a simple consequence of monoclausal syntax and propose that movement of the subject from the infinitival into the matrix clause must be available in bi-clausal constructions as well, supporting the view that at least one type of control is derived via movement, and does not involve PRO. An additional argument for this claim comes from ditransitive verbs: I show that Wolof does not have object control, and attribute this property to the larger size of infinitival complements in ditransitive constructions, resulting in the subject movement into the higher clause being impeded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper investigates the relationship between infinitival nominalizations and analytical passives in Brazilian Portuguese. Taking Distributed Morphology as a theoretical framework (Halle & Marantz 1993; Marantz 1997), we propose a parallel structure for these formations based on the important similarities they present. Specifically, we propose that the derivation of both these structures includes a projection of a mixed nature, a Switch head (Panagiotidis 2015), which carries features of two different categories and thus can interrupt an extended projection and begin a new one. In this case, the Switch makes the originally verbal structure to become nominal. We argue that the distinction between nominal infinitives and passives is that in the former, the Switch carries an [N] feature, while in the latter, it brings an [A] feature to the structure. Infinitival nominalizations, thus, are formally nouns, as evidenced by their compatibility with determiners and different argument positions prototypically associated with nouns. In passives, this operation results in participles, which behave like adjectives: they do not admit a determiner, they have unvalued φ-features and they need a copular verb to be projected into a verbal structure.

In this paper I argue that the position and realization of subjects in adverbial non-finite clauses in Italian, Spanish, Galician, and European Portuguese can provide valuable insight into the licensing conditions for pro and postverbal subjects in finite clauses in these pro-drop languages. I first provide evidence that Tense and Agreement constitute separate syntactic heads in these languages, as argued by Belletti (1990) among others, and also apply this analysis to non-finite clauses in Spanish, Galician, and Portuguese. I will also argue, after analyzing the syntactic variation exhibited by subjects in non-finite clauses (containing regular and inflected infinitives) in Spanish, Galician, and European Portuguese, that (i) postverbal overt subject DPs are licensed by a full set of φ-features in Agr (overt or covert), (ii) pro is licensed by an Agr head that is overtly realized by either overt φ-features or verb movement, and (iii) preverbal overt subject DPs are licensed by verb movement to Agr.

This study describes and compares two temporal adverbial constructions—(1) temporal subordinate clauses marked by *kaḏî and (2) the temporal, adverbial use of the infinitive in the construction preposition + infinitive—based on their usage in Old, Imperial, Biblical, Qumran Aramaic, and the Aramaic of Targum Jonathan to Kings. The latter is not common outside the Targumim, but it occurs in a few texts (mostly translations) from the first millennium BCE. There are also two occurrences in original compositions (Daniel and 4Q542). After describing these constructions in Old through Middle Aramaic, the relevant constructions in Targum Jonathan to Kings are examined to see what light might be shed on the Targum's alternating translations of the Hebrew construction preposition + infinitive. It is concluded that these constructions differ syntactically, and a method for discerning the temporal relationship that these adverbials have to their respective main clauses is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Slovo a Slovesnost is the property of Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Czech Language Institute and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper, we provide a comparative analysis of three constructions that occur with perception verbs like ver (“see”) in Spanish: infinitives, gerunds, and so‐called pseudorelative clauses. We analyze several phenomena regarding the transparency status of the embedded inflected or uninflected clause, such as the availability of long (i.e., matrix) passive, short (i.e., embedded) passive, the occurrence of modal verbs, embedded negation, and left‐peripheral fronting. Our data from acceptability judgment tasks and a Spanish corpus led us to postulate that, albeit their surface similarities, the three examined constructions have different syntactic structures, reflected by their structural integration and the phasal versus nonphasal status of the embedded clause: We argue that gerunds are secondary predicates, while pseudorelatives and infinitives are complements of the perception verb. With respect to the latter two configurations, pseudorelatives are defective CPs (and thus weak phases) that allow (finite) raising‐to‐object, but not raising‐to‐subject. Infinitives, on the other hand, show interspeaker variation with respect to their structural size as voiceP or TP, accounting for variable acceptability judgments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a comprehensive description of non-finite verbs in Assamese, a language that belongs to the Indo-Aryan family. Non-finite verbs exist in multi-verb constructions, which include both single and multi-clausal constructions. In single clauses, they occur with different auxiliaries and carry various aspectual and modal meanings. In multi-clausal constructions, on the other hand, they occur in dependent clauses and mark various syntactic relations that they have with the main clause. This paper primarily deals with two aspects: firstly, it discusses the forms of non-finite verbs, and secondly, it analyses the syntactic functions they carry in single and multi-clausal constructions. The syntactic functions of non-finite verbs in multi-clausal constructions are examined from two perspectives – their functions within superordinate constructions, and their functions within a construction.

The verbs གསོལ་ gsol `request' and གནང་ gnaṅ `agree, grant', because of theircomplementary semantics and parallel syntax, provide a convenient windowthrough which to caste light on the two forms of subordinate clausesthat they both govern, namely infinitives and terminative verbal nouns.

This paper explores the correlation between clitic climbing and restructuring. In particular, it offers evidence from Catalan and cross-linguistic data to demonstrate that restructuring is universal and that clitic climbing is a facultative epiphenomenon of restructuring. In this sense, the proposal presented here claims that restructuring verbs select an embedded clause headed by a Cdef/Tdef. It also shows that languages triggering clitic climbing display a higher degree of transparency and that the (un)availability of clitic climbing in a particular language is derived by the nature of the embedded v.

In this article, we present a novel analysis of infinitive fronting in Old and Middle French (9th-16th century). We find that in sentences with modal verbs and clitic climbing, the infinitive may either follow the main verb or precede it. When the subject of the main verb is overt and the infinitive is fronted, the order is Subj-Vinf-Vfin. Moreover, we find that the object of the fronted infinitive either cliticises onto the main verb (i.e. clitic climbing) or moves as a full DP with the infinitive, in which case the order is Subj-Obj-Vinf-Vfin. We compare our data to Stylistic Fronting, and we show that infinitive fronting in Old and Middle French is a different mechanism. Our analysis takes infinitive fronting to be vP-movement to Spec,TP, an operation which patterns alongside other Transparency Effects. Therefore, infinitive fronting provides further evidence for monoclausal restructuring in earlier French.

In this paper, we discuss the morphosemantics of aspect and tense in the Portuguese infinitives. Specifically, within Distributed Morphology framework (Halle & Marantz, 1993), in advancing Resende & Pires de Oliveira (2022)’s recent proposal, we approach the internal constituency of Portuguese infinitives (mostly Tense and Aspect) and discuss what exactly these pieces of structure denote. Firstly, we argue that all infinitives contain AspP and that its head is featured as neutral, in the sense of Smith (1997). Secondly, we approach TP and argue for a tree-way system (T[+TENSE], T[–TENSE], T[ ]), which can be associated to two different syntactic environments (in this case, DP vs. no DP), but not to different syntactic settings (for instance, raising vs. ECM). On the sematic side, Asp[neutral] denotes a set of time intervals where the event denoted by the verbal stem has started. As regards Tense, if T is [–TENSE], then it renders a simultaneous reading in relation to the matrix verb and if it is [+TENSE], the infinitive is futurate in relation to the matrix verb. However, if T lacks a tense-value, the TP will denote a property of events, almost like the nP-denotation in the nominal domain.

Copyright of Linguistische Treffen in Wrocław is the property of Oficyna Wydawnicza ATUT and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study provides a synthesis of corpus-based and experimental investigations of word-order preferences in German infinitival complementation. We carried out a systematic analysis of present-day German corpora to establish frequency distributions of different word-order options: extraposition, intraposition, and 'third construction'. We then examined, firstly, whether and to what extent corpus frequencies and processing economy constraints can predict the acceptability of these three word-order variants, and whether subject raising and subject control verbs form clearly distinguishable subclasses of infinitive-embedding verbs in terms of their word-order behaviour. Secondly, our study looks into the issue of coherence by comparing acceptability ratings for monoclausal coherent and biclausal incoherent construals of intraposed infinitives, and by examining whether a biclausal incoherent analysis gives rise to local and/or global processing difficulty. Taken together, our results revealed that (i) whilst the extraposition pattern consistently wins out over all other word-order variants for control verbs, neither frequency nor processing-based approaches to word-order variation can account for the acceptability of low-frequency variants, (ii) there is considerable verb-specific variation regarding word-order preferences both between and within the two sets of raising and control verbs under investigation, and (iii) although monoclausal coherent intraposition is rated above biclausal incoherent intraposition, the latter is not any more difficult to process than the former. Our findings indicate that frequency of occurrence and processing-related constraints interact with idiosyncratic lexical properties of individual verbs in determining German speakers' structural preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last decades witnessed the significant impact of using corpora on linguistics and language education. Particularly, the introduction of the direct application of corpora and Data-Driven Learning (DDL) has brought helpful tools in learning and teaching languages. This study investigated the effect of using corpora on teaching the confusing grammatical constructs, gerunds and infinitives, to EFL students. Further, the study explored EFL students' perceptions of using corpora in learning grammar. The study adopted a mixed method research design involving a triangulation of quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. A proficiency test and pre- and post-tests were administered to 89 sophomore EFL students. Further, a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used to explore EFL students' perceptions of using corpora in learning grammar. The results indicated a statistically significant difference between the control and experimental groups in favor for the group that received corpus-based instruction of gerunds and infinitives. In addition, the results showed students' positive perceptions of the use of corpora in learning grammar. The study concluded with some recommendations for ELT instructors and curriculum designers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is an introduction to a collection of papers discussing the identity of form and diversity of function in non-finite verb forms from a variety of perspectives. We start by illustrating the phenomenon and introducing the main functions that non-finite forms can have in the languages of the world. We provide a concise typological overview of the attested combinations of these functions and show how and to what extent these patterns are reflected in the traditional labels, such as participles, converbs, verbal nouns, and infinitives. We briefly discuss the main approaches to the phenomenon under study that have been proposed within both functional and formal frameworks. Finally, we provide a summary of the papers comprising this Special Issue, highlighting the perspectives adopted in the individual contributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a comprehensive multifaceted analysis of directive speech acts (based on modern media texts from the popular Ukrainian newspaper Day) taking into account the following approaches: 1) cognitive-semantic, with the projection of directive statements on extra-lingual reality, the study of their propositional-syntactic structure, and semantic relations between components; 2) formal-grammatical, which involves the identification of morphological and syntactic means of expression of motivation and the specifics of the positional structure of sentences; 3) communicative-syntactic, which allows for the characterization of directive statements in terms of their intonation and actual articulation; 4) communicative-pragmatic and discursive, which focuses on the specifics of certain types of directive speech acts in specific discourses, their perlocutionary effect, pragmatic intentions of the speakers, their communicative strategies and tactics, the interaction of the addresser and the recipient and more. Directive speech acts with infinitives, verbs of imperative, conditional and optative moods, present, past and future tenses, which are based on performative constructions, are distinguished from the formal-grammatical point of view. They all have the same propositional meaning, which at the semantic-syntactic level of the sentence is implemented in the following obligatory syntaxemes: the subject (speaker), the predicate of volitional action, the recipient of volitional action or the potential subject of action, and the predicate of potential action. In specific communicative acts, the syntaxeme of the subject of volitional action is correlated with the recipient of speech, i.e., the speaker expressing the communicative intention of motivation, and the complex syntax of the recipient of volitional action-subject of potential action – with the recipient of speech, i.e., the interlocutor from whom the speaker expects on his volition. The core of directive speech acts is formed by sentences with verbs in the imperative mood (imperatives) and vocatives. The periphery is formed by indirect statements (including narrative, interrogative, conditional), the motivational modality of which is due to context or extra-lingual situation. Verbal predicates as the centre of directive speech acts, with the semantics of order, command, request, supplication, imploration, persuasion, invitation, permission, demand, coercion, appeal, instruction, direction, recommendation, suggestion, warning, precaution, advice, admonition, preaching, etc., are usually in a communicative position rheme with the actual articulation of statements.

Since Pollock, Jean-Yves. 1989. Verb movement, universal grammar, and the structure of IP. Linguistic Inquiry 20. 365–424, it is well known that Romance finite verbs move into the I-domain. However, the relationship between finiteness and verb movement has not yet been investigated in detail. The aim of the present study is to trace and analyse verb movement in various types of non-finite and semi-finite clauses in Romance, including infinitives with specified subjects, inflected infinitives, bare infinitival clauses, Aux-to-Comp (cf. Rizzi, Luigi. 1982. Issues in Italian syntax. Dordrecht: Foris), past participial clauses, and gerunds. It is shown that all types of Romance non-finite verbs move high, with the exception of French absolute participles and French infinitives. The picture of non-finite movement is thus more uniform than that of finite verb movement (cf. Schifano, Norma. 2018. Verb movement in Romance. A comparative study. Oxford: Oxford University Press). A unified account is proposed: non-finite verbs all need to be anchored to the speech act through a higher clause, which requires them to be in a local relation with the anchoring head Fin (cf. Groothuis, Kim A. 2020. Reflexes of finiteness in Romance. Cambridge: University of Cambridge Unpublished PhD thesis). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an analysis of the structure and use of the Finnish independent infinitives. Although typological studies have shown that syntactically independent non-finite constructions are widespread in many languages, the understanding of their semantic and intersubjective motivation is still in its early stages. The current paper aims to enrich the understanding of independent non-finite constructions by closely looking at free-standing infinitive constructions in spoken and written Finnish: it combines theoretical concepts of Cognitive Grammar with the methodological tools of Interactional Linguistics to explore the nature of independent infinitives as a resource for conceptualization and the intersubjective functions that it affords. The paper suggests that the fact that independent infinitives are grammatically ungrounded makes them useful in interactional and textual sequences involving affect display. As the indexical functions of infinitives can be explained from their own morphosyntactic and semantic characteristics, the paper makes the more general claim that there is no synchronic evidence that would support the assumption that such constructions ever evolved, via ellipsis, from finite constructions. Methodologically and theoretically, the paper advocates an approach that takes into account both the social and cognitive nature of language, and promotes the view that Cognitive Grammar offers a flexible, semantically rich starting point for the description of intersubjective meanings conveyed by grammar, when combined with the context-sensitive and microanalytical methodology of Interactional Linguistics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dative experiencers have been argued to have certain subject properties in finite domains. The question thus arises whether they can ever be controlled like structural (null) subjects. In the literature, it has been argued that one feature distinguishing dative experiencers from (nominative) subjects in Spanish is that the former cannot be controlled, differently from true quirky subjects. By examining corpus data, I argue that Dative experiencers have been argued to have certain subject properties in finite domains. The question thus arises whether they can ever be controlled like structural (null) subjects. In the literature, it has been argued that one feature distinguishing dative experiencers from (nominative) subjects in Spanish is that the former cannot be controlled, differently from true quirky subjects. By examining corpus data, I argue that Spanish dative experiencers, even though they cannot be obligatorily controlled in complement infinitives, can appear in adjunct infinitives in non-obligatory control contexts. One property that is crucial for sanctioning this option is the possibility of licensing full DP subjects in nonfinite domains. If the subject position is occupied by a non-controlled nominative DP, dative experiencers are bound by logophoric or topic coordinates in C. The data give further support to an Agree-based theory of control, according to which the referential relation between the subject of infinitives and its controller is mediated by functional heads of the extended verbal projection.

Infinitives are known to encode covert modality in certain environments including infinitival relatives and questions. Beyond these environments, however, the precise distribution and interpretation of infinitival modality remains poorly understood. In that light, this paper investigates infinitive-embedding enough/too sentences like Pat is tall enough to be the thief or Lee is too old to drive. These sentences have a modal semantics whose compositional source is contested: on one approach, the infinitive encodes the modality, and on another approach, the enough/too morpheme itself is modal. To adjudicate this debate, I consider heretofore largely overlooked finite-clause-embedding enough sentences like Pat is tall enough that she might/must be the thief or Lee was fast enough that she won the race. They provide, I argue, novel support for the view that the modality is in the embedded clause (whether nonfinite or finite) and not in enough/too. I then compare the covert modality of nonfinite enough clauses to the covert modality of infinitival relatives, questions, and complements to attitude predicates and content nouns. I generalize that covert modality in nonfinite clauses never encodes epistemic necessity, and I tentatively hypothesize that this constraint reflects the marked status of nonfiniteness in the finite/nonfinite opposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates how two non-finite forms, infinitives and conversion nouns, are represented in the mind of L1 and L2 speakers and what is their relationship to other members of the corresponding word family. German native speakers and proficient German learners with Czech as L1 participated in four overt priming experiments involving a grammatical judgement task. We investigated the relationship between infinitives (Experiment 1) and conversion nouns (Experiment 2) and formally identical verbal or noun forms. We further focussed on the relationship between conversion nouns and regular nominal derivation forms with two derivational suffixes: -er and -ung (Experiments 3 and 4). Our results show that the two non-finite forms differ in their relations to other members of a word family and do not constitute a special class of non-finites as suggested in previous literature. While German infinitives seem to be closer related to finite verbal forms, conversion nouns behave in the same way as other regular nominal derivatives within the same word family. As for the German L1 and L2 contrast, no significant difference in the mental representation of the examined forms was found. This finding suggests that with respect to the explored phenomena, proficient learners rely on the same linguistic organisation as L1 speakers.

The study aimed at analyzing infinitives in the translation of The Little Prince's novel from English to Indonesian. The main objectives of this study are (1) to analyze how the infinitives in the Little Prince's novel were translated by the translator, and (2) to describe what kind of infinitives in The Little Prince's novel, and to identify the strategies that were used by the translator. For the purpose of this study, the writer used a descriptive-analytical study. The source of data is the novel entitled The Little Prince and translation. The researcher found four infinitives in the novel entitled The Little Prince, namely, bare infinitive, to-infinitive, split infinitive and infinitive phrase. The data of infinitives that were analyzed are 150 data. 48 data are to infinitives, 32 data are bare infinitives, 20 data are split infinitives, and 50 data are phrase infinitives. For bare infinitive, most of the data showed that the strategy used was literal; for to-infinitive, most of the data showed that the strategy used was unit shift; for the split infinitive, most of the data showed that the strategy used was compression, and for the infinitive phrase, most of the data were unit shift. The translation of infinitive in The Little Prince novel is accurate, acceptable and readable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. The feature of the Baltic-Finnish languages is a system of infinitives and infinitive constructions. The article analyzes the syntactic roles of the inessive of the II infinitive, which according to the Baltic-Finnish syntax classification is considered an adverbial construction that characterizes the verb predicate. Materials and Methods. The analysis is performed using comparative and descriptive methods. The article uses the language dialect material and material of the Veps literary language that has been developing for 30 years, and which writing began to revive in 1989. Results and Discussion. Semantically the inessive of II infinitive has two main functions: temporal and final. The first one indicates an action that occurs at the same time with the action represented by the main finite verb. The second function indicates the purpose of the action represented by the main verb. At the same time, the final function is purely Vepsian. Conclusion. Modern Vepsian syntax is the result of development that was caused by the loss of traditional Baltic-Finnish features and taking of some significant features because of the influence of the Russian language.

Traditionally taken as one of the nominals forms of the verb, infinitives in Portuguese, in spite of their morphophonological homogeneity (-r), appear in a range of morphosyntactic contexts. This paper argues that all these contexts can be reduced to three, namely, a nominal, a verbal and a “mixed” – in the sense of Chomsky (1970). Specifically, by assuming Distributed Morphology (Halle & Marantz, 1993), it proposes a step-by-step morphosyntactic and semantic derivation of the contexts where the /R/-morpheme appears, also addressing the issues involving tense and aspect in these forms. In summary, we argue that nominal, verbal and mixed infinitives share the same derivational path up to AspP, which – we claim – is underdetermined, thus competing with (perfective) participles and (imperfective) gerunds. Above AspP, the first bifurcation is between no and T. Projecting no generates a predicate of events. By projecting T (in verbal and mixed infinitives), the system has a three-way path: T[+tense], where T will be futurate in relation to the finite matrix verb; T[–tense], where T will be simultaneous /anaphoric in respect to the finite matrix verb; or T[ ], where there is no c-commanding T and then, as last resort, the grammar will change this phrase into a predicate of events.

The article presents a comprehensive multifaceted analysis of directive speech acts (based on modern media texts from the popular Ukrainian newspaper Day) taking into account the following approaches: 1) cognitive-semantic, with the projection of directive statements on extralingual reality, the study of their propositional-syntactic structure, and semantic relations between components; 2) formal-grammatical, which involves the identification of morphological and syntactic means of expression of motivation and the specifics of the positional structure of sentences; 3) communicative-syntactic, which allows for the characterization of directive statements in terms of their intonation and actual articulation; 4) communicative-pragmatic and discursive, which focuses on the specifics of certain types of directive speech acts in specific discourses, their perlocutionary effect, pragmatic intentions of the speakers, their communicative strategies and tactics, the interaction of the addresser and the recipient and more. Directive speech acts with infinitives, verbs of imperative, conditional and optative moods, present, past and future tenses, which are based on performative constructions, are distinguished from the formal-grammatical point of view. They all have the same propositional meaning, which at the semantic-syntactic level of the sentence is implemented in the following obligatory syntaxemes: the subject (speaker), the predicate of volitional action, the recipient of volitional action or the potential subject of action, and the predicate of potential action. In specific communicative acts, the syntaxeme of the subject of volitional action is correlated with the recipient of speech, i.e., the speaker expressing the communicative intention of motivation, and the complex syntax of the recipient of volitional action-subject of potential action - with the recipient of speech, i.e., the interlocutor from whom the speaker expects on his volition. The core of directive speech acts is formed by sentences with verbs in the imperative mood (imperatives) and vocatives. The periphery is formed by indirect statements (including narrative, interrogative, conditional), the motivational modality of which is due to context or extra-lingual situation. Verbal predicates as the centre of directive speech acts, with the semantics of order, command, request, supplication, imploration, persuasion, invitation, permission, demand, coercion, appeal, instruction, direction, recommendation, suggestion, warning, precaution, advice, admonition, preaching, etc., are usually in a communicative position rheme with the actual articulation of statements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A certain class of predicates in German optionally allows for their complement clause to appear as coordinated with the matrix clause rather than embedded into it. This construction, which I will call Implicational Complement Coordination, exhibits all the hallmark properties of Asymmetric Coordination: Despite technically being in a conjunct position, the clause in question behaves like a subordinate clause with respect to asymmetric binding, asymmetric scope of negation and adverbs as well as asymmetric extraction. Based on the detailed description of the phenomenon by Reis (1993), it can be shown that this coordinate construction mimics its infinitival counterpart with respect to these syntactic tests. In this paper, I argue that this can be accounted for by saying that the coordinate construction is derived on the basis of its subordinate counterpart by means of movement. The subordinate properties of the second conjunct then derive from its derivational history as a subordinate clause. Further, I will show that even though other cases of Asymmetric Coordination (in German) lack a minimally different infinitival counterpart, they can and should still be derived from an underlyingly subordinate syntax.

Resumo: Este trabalho investiga as propriedades sintáticas internas (isto é, a constituição morfofonológica) e externas (ou seja, a relação com outros constituintes da sentença) dos infinitivos que ocorrem com os verbos ir, dever e poder. Mais especificamente, este artigo mostra que o comportamento sintático e semântico desses infinitivos é capturado pela depreensão de três propriedades principais, a saber, (i) formação de uma única unidade sintática com ir, dever e poder, (ii) dependência morfossintática com o verbo auxiliar/modal que lhe subcategoriza, (iii) interpretação de evento em potencial. Assim, partindo desse recorte, o presente estudo propõe uma análise à luz do quadro da Morfologia Distribuída (HALLE; MARANTZ, 1993) e, alternativamente, uma análise que assume os pressupostos do Programa Minimalista (CHOMSKY, 1993), com o objetivo de mostrar que, independentemente da teoria que se assume, com base no mesmo conjunto de traços, os fenômenos empíricos que subjazem à relação entre ir, dever e poder e seus infinitivos pode ser capturada. Palavras-chave: infinitivos; verbo auxiliar; verbo modal. Abstract: This paper investigates both internal (i.e. the morphophonological structures) and external (i.e. the relation with the other constituents of the sentence) syntactic properties of infinitives occurring with the verbs ir (‘go’) dever (‘must’) and poder (‘can/may’). More specifically, this paper shows that the syntactic and semantic behavior of those infinitives is captured by three major properties, namely, (i) the constituency of a single syntactic unit with ir, dever and poder, (ii) the morphosyntactic dependency on the auxiliary/modal that is selected, (iii) the reading of potential event. Thus, departing from those properties, the present study proposes a Distributed Morphology-based approach (HALLE; MARANTZ, 1993) analysis and, alternatively, a Minimalist-based approach (CHOMSKY, 1993) analysis, in order to show that, regardless the theory assumed, by considering the same group of features, the empirical phenomena underlying the relation between ir, dever and poder and their infinitives can be captured. Keywords: infinitives; auxiliary verb; modal verb.

This study investigated certain properties of non-finite clauses in Thai, that is, matrix clause predicates, clause markers, and modal auxiliaries in the clausal complements. Two types of resources were employed. The first one was constructed based on the obligatoriness and optionality of thîi càʔ, a marker for irrealis complements (Singhapreecha 2010). The second database was obtained from a translation into Thai from De Jonge’s (1998) Spanish subjunctives. Three hypotheses were formulated. Firstly, thîi càʔ is obligatory with matrix predicates neutral to irrealis mood, optional with those implicitly irrealis, and absent with experiential clauses. Secondly, predicates taking (purposive and imperative) subjunctives occur in the absence of tense and modal auxiliaries, and definitive elements are not accommodated in hypothetical clauses. Thirdly, with predicates taking indicatives, tense/aspect markers are likely, but not modals of possibility. Data from a series of questionnaires conducted with Thai informants confirmed the first and second hypotheses. The third hypothesis was partially confirmed. While tense markers were favored as predicted, modals of moderate to weak obligation/possibility were acceptable. This study suggests, in respect to modality and indicatives, a sense weaker than certainty be allowed in evaluating a past or hypothetical event.

Traditionally, the academy understands that the infinitive's temporal reference in prepositional constructions depends on the combination of tense form and the preposition itself. However, this does not explain the many cases in which different temporal contexts use the same tense form, even with prepositions often assumed to function in specific time relations. This study applies verbal aspect theory for such constructions and demonstrates how the aspectual approach becomes important in exegesis. Moreover, deictic markers help us determine the time reference of infinitive verbs within prepositional phrases and not the construction itself [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows that the distribution of (non‑)finiteness in the South Slavic languages reflects an implicational scale along an independently attested semantic complementation hierarchy (e.g., Givón 1980). We suggest that in the South Slavic languages, finiteness is triggered by clausal agreement features associated with different syntactic heads. Building on a complexity approach to the complementation hierarchy, we propose that cross-linguistic variation in finiteness and variation across different types of complements are the result of language-specific differences in the distribution of agreement features. More broadly, we conclude that there is no (universal) semantic correlate of (non‑)finiteness and, contra cartographic approaches, that finiteness is not confined to a particular domain in the clause. Following Adger (2007), we argue that finiteness can be distributed over all clausal domains.

As a group, children with specific language impairment (SLI) have presented with lower levels of proficiency with infinitive clauses relative to comparison groups with typical language (TL). The presence of considerable individual variability within those affected by SLI, however, remains unexplained. Furthermore, the status of infinitive clause productions in children with language impairments that do not meet criteria for SLI, because of either low nonverbal abilities or other concomitant conditions, is unknown. Previous studies focused on children with SLI and have not included children who would fit into a broader developmental language disorder (DLD) designation. In this study, spontaneous language samples were collected on 30 children with DLD and 30 children with typical language skills, including those with low nonverbal abilities or other neurodevelopmental disorders (age range: 5;1–7;7). Samples were analyzed to examine potential predictors of children's infinitive clause use and their infinitive TO omission rates. Significant group differences were found for the number and accuracy of infinitive clauses produced. Consistent with previous reports examining children with SLI, considerable variability was found across cases of DLD. Maternal education and mean length of utterance (MLU) were significant predictors for children's infinitive clause use. Finite verb morphology composite scores and MLU were significant predictors of children's infinitive TO omission rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a Poverty of Stimulus argument for the participation of a dedicated linguistic module in second language acquisition. We study the second language (L2) acquisition of a subset of English infinitive complements that exhibit the following properties: (a) they present an intricate web of grammatical constraints while (b) they are highly infrequent in corpora, (c) they lack visible features that would make them salient, and (d) they are communicatively superfluous. We report on an experiment testing the knowledge of some infinitival constructions by near-native adult first language (L1) Spanish / L2 English speakers. Learners demonstrated a linguistic system that includes contrasts based on subtle restrictions in the L2, including aspect restrictions in Raising to Object. These results provide evidence that frequency and other cognitive or environmental factors are insufficient to account for the acquisition of the full spectrum of English infinitivals. This leads us to the conclusion that a domain-specific linguistic faculty is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to shed light on the key semantic and syntactic aspects of an understudied Spanish construction, («to put something ~ someone to + infinitive»). It will be argued that the preposition a plays a crucial role in determining its causative semantics and its aspectual restrictions (inchoativity); furthermore, a syntactic analysis will be developed in order to explain its hybrid properties, between control and restructuring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study traces the developmental route in acquisition and use of infinitives (e.g., lišon ‘to sleep’, le-exol ‘to-eat’, la-asot ’to-do’) in Hebrew as a first language, proceeding from the initial, “pre-grammatical“ emergence of linguistic forms among toddlers to structure-based knowledge and proficient use of the same devices in adolescence. Analysis involves a varied data-base of L1 oral Hebrew usage in: parent-child interactions of children aged 1;6 to 3;0 years; elicited storybook-based narratives of preschoolers; and personal-experience narratives and expository talks of schoolchildren, adolescents, and adults. Findings show that infinitives constitute an interesting test-case for examining the route from initial emergence via acquisition to maturely proficient command of a given subsystem in L1. Infinitival structures in Modern Hebrew, a language with an impoverished system of nonfinite verbs and lacking in auxiliaries of the kind common in Standard Average European, reveal a long developmental path, showing increasing complexity at all levels of language use: morphological form, types of syntactic constructions, semantic content, and discursive function, the latter primarily for the purpose of achieving textual connectivity.

Using the standardized test LiSe-DaZ across four test rounds, we collected elicited production data from 22 typically developing early second language learners (eL2 TD) of German (mean age at T1: 3;7) and 11 older eL2 children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) (mean age at T1: 7;1). Focusing on the relation between verb placement and verbal inflectional morphology two questions were addressed: Do eL2 children obey the ban on non-finite verbs in verb-second position (V2) in German, and do eL2 SLI children differ from their eL2 TD peers in their morpho-syntactic behavior? This is the first study on this issue to systematically differentiate between V2 and verb-final position (Vf) and between bare verb forms and infinitives, based on a large sample of elicited production data. Results show that from the first test round onwards verbal inflectional morphology and verb placement were strongly related in the TD and the SLI group. Bare verb forms occurred in V2 only and are argued to be finite; en-infinitives were restricted to Vf. We conclude that a) the restrictions for morphological markings are inextricably tied to specific syntactic positions, b) that this knowledge is still accessible when L2 acquisition starts around age 3, and c) that the ban on non-finite verbs in V2 is invulnerable in eL2 TD and in SLI, indicating that SLI is matter of severe delay.

The study considers development and use of verb/predicate chaining constructions by Hebrew speakers from early childhood to adolescence, based on analysis of authentic conversational and narrative corpora. Three types of constructions are analyzed, ordered hierarchically by degree of cohesivity and obligatoriness of chaining: (1) monoclausal complex predicates (the “extended predicates” of traditional Hebrew grammars); (2) coreferential interclausal predicate chaining; and (3) discursively motivated topic chaining. Relevant typological features of Modern Hebrew are reviewed as accounting for the absence of canonical clause chaining in the language (the paucity of non-finite constructions in everyday usage, absence of an uninflected basic form of verbs, lack of auxiliary verbs, and monolexemic verb-internal complexity). Monoclausal verb chaining emerges early in the speech of toddlers in interaction with their caretakers, whereas predicate chaining by coordination across clauses occurs only later, and chunking of such constructions at the service of discourse connectivity is found only from school-age. Non-finite subordination emerges as an advanced form of clause combining, in contrast to straightforward subordination with the multifunctional subordinator še ‘that’. Two main conclusions follow from the study: First, the innovative hierarchy defined here for different degrees of verb/predicate linkage mirrors developmental phases in child language; and, second, monoclausal chains of finite verbs or verbal operators followed by infinitival complements are grammatically obligatory, and are common from an early age, whereas bi- and multi-clausal predicate chaining represents an optional rhetorical choice on the part of a given speaker–writer in a particular communicative context.

The study considers development and use of verb/predicate chaining constructions by Hebrew speakers from early childhood to adolescence, based on analysis of authentic conversational and narrative corpora. Three types of constructions are analyzed, ordered hierarchically by degree of cohesivity and obligatoriness of chaining: (1) monoclausal complex predicates (the "extended predicates" of traditional Hebrew grammars); (2) coreferential interclausal predicate chaining; and (3) discursively motivated topic chaining. Relevant typological features of Modern Hebrew are reviewed as accounting for the absence of canonical clause chaining in the language (the paucity of non-finite constructions in everyday usage, absence of an uninflected basic form of verbs, lack of auxiliary verbs, and monolexemic verb-internal complexity). Monoclausal verb chaining emerges early in the speech of toddlers in interaction with their caretakers, whereas predicate chaining by coordination across clauses occurs only later, and chunking of such constructions at the service of discourse connectivity is found only from school-age. Non-finite subordination emerges as an advanced form of clause combining, in contrast to straightforward subordination with the multifunctional subordinator še 'that'. Two main conclusions follow from the study: First, the innovative hierarchy defined here for different degrees of verb/predicate linkage mirrors developmental phases in child language; and, second, monoclausal chains of finite verbs or verbal operators followed by infinitival complements are grammatically obligatory, and are common from an early age, whereas bi- and multi-clausal predicate chaining represents an optional rhetorical choice on the part of a given speaker–writer in a particular communicative context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article discusses the OC-NC generalization (Landau 2004 , 2015) that establishes a relationship between the obligatory control nature of a construction and its semantic (tensedness/attitude) and formal (morphological agreement) properties. I discuss three counterexamples attested in languages of the Caucasus and demonstrate that complements of desiderative verbs in these languages violate predictions of the generalization: agreeing tensed complements instantiate obligatory control, or uninflected tensed complements are noncontrolled. I also give references to other potential counterexamples and discuss issues raised by the empirical evidence, ultimately arguing that no such typological universal holds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study is concerned with the Dutch geblazen-construction (e.g. het is oppassen geblazen 'one should watch out'; literally: 'it is to.watch. out blown'). Its aim is to give the first systematic, usage-based description of the most important formal and semantic, as well as some diachronic aspects of this severely understudied construction. Based on 1,258 instances from the SoNaR-corpus of contemporary written Dutch, the construction's composition, schematicity, and its realized type-productivity (i.e. the number of infinitives combined with geblazen) are described, allowing for a more precise definition of the construction's general meaning. Additional qualitative diachronic corpus data from the DBNL are used to give a plausible explanation of how geblazen 'blown' could have acquired its non-literal, modal reading in this construction. While it is very likely that this reading developed from an earlier metaphorical reading of infinitive + geblazen, this source construction alone cannot explain the attested jump in productivity in the 1950s and the sudden occurrence of the subject and copula het is 'it is' in the construction. This suggests that the geblazen-construction may in fact be a multiple source construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to question the locality of the possessive anaphor svoj. In some Slavic languages (possessive) anaphors behave like long-distance anaphors in infinitival clause (cfr. Faltz 1985, Pica 1987, Rappaport 1986, Dotlac?il 2005, Reinders- -Machowska 1991). In this paper we tackle the possibility that also Croatian svoj might display long-distance binding in that context. In the analysis we follow the classification of infinitival complements into restructuring and non-restructuring ones: while the former are generated as VP complements, the latter are clause complements (cfr. Rizzi 1976, Wurmbrand 2003, Grano 2015, Landau 2000). On the basis of two criteria - the (im)possibility of licensing negative polarity items and of introducing both infinitival and finite complements - we propose a new classification of Croatian verbs taking infinitival complements which show that svoj cannot be bound outside its governing category. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I will provide a new argument for post-syntactic morphology. The empirical evidence comes from so-called displaced morphology in German verb clusters, where the non-finite verb form selected by a given governor does not appear on the immediately dependent verb but rather on the linearly last verb of the selector's complement. The placement of the morphology thus partly depends on linear notions and not exclusively on hierarchical relations. I will provide an analysis within Distributed Morphology (Halle and Marantz in The view from Building 20. Essays in linguistics in honour of Sylvain Bromberger, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, pp 111–176, 1993), where exponents for non-finite morphology are inserted into separate functional heads which are linearized after their VP-complements. At a late stage of the PF-derivation, the exponents are associated with their verbal hosts by means of Local Dislocation, an operation that applies under adjacency (Embick and Noyer in Linguist Inq 32(4):555–595, 2001). As a consequence, the non-finite morphology always comes last in the selector's complement. Displacement arises once the immediately dependent verb is not the last verbal element in the complement of its selector; this is generally the case in strictly ascending orders, while in the strictly descending 321 order the morphology is faithfully realized. The placement operation is thus always the same, displacement only emerges as a side effect of certain cluster orders. Further evidence for a post-syntactic approach to the placement of non-finite morphology and against a pre-syntactic perspective comes from the absence of semantic effects under displacement, the emergence of non-finite verb forms specified for more than one non-finite category under multiple displacement and the distribution of default forms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]