1932

Abstract

The syntactic and semantic properties of nonfinite verb categories can best be understood in relation to and distinction from the corresponding properties of finite verb categories. In order to explore these issues, it is necessary to provide a crosslinguistically valid characterization of finiteness. Finiteness is a prototypical notion, understood in relation to a language-specific finite verb prototype; nonfiniteness is therefore understood in terms of degrees of deviation from this prototype. The syntactic properties of nonfinite verb categories, so defined, can be considered from two perspectives: the functions of nonfinite clauses within superordinate clauses (e.g., argument and adjunct functions) and the internal structure of nonfinite verb phrases. Typical of the second aspect is that nonfinite phrases tend to be defective in one or another respect, relative to finite phrases, which may be understood in terms of lacking functional projections or features which are an obligatory part of finite phrases. This defectiveness relative to the finite prototype plays out also in the semantics; typically, certain aspects of the meaning of nonfinite phrases are not independently specified, but must be derived from semantic properties of a superordinate finite clause.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-linguistics-011718-012545
2019-01-14
2024-05-10
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/linguistics/5/1/annurev-linguistics-011718-012545.html?itemId=/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-linguistics-011718-012545&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

Literature Cited

  1. Aarts B 2004. Conceptions of gradience in the history of linguistics. Lang. Sci. 26:343–89
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Aarts B 2007. In defence of distributional analysis, pace Croft. Stud. Lang. 31:431–43
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Ackerman F, Stump G 2004. Paradigms and periphrastic expression: a study in realization-based lexicalism. Projecting Morphology L Sadler, A Spencer111–58 Stanford, CA: Cent. Study Lang. Inf.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Ackerman F, Stump GT, Webelhuth G 2011. Lexicalism, periphrasis, and implicative morphology. Non-Transformational Syntax: Formal and Explicit Models of Grammar RD Borsley, K Börjars325–58 Oxford, UK: Blackwell
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Adger D 2007. Three domains of finiteness: a Minimalist perspective. See Nikolaeva 2007c 23–58
  6. Alexiadou A 2001. Functional Structure in Nominals: Nominalization and Ergativity Amsterdam: Benjamins
  7. Alexiadou A 2005. Gerund types, the present participle and patterns of derivation. Event Arguments: Foundations and Applications C Maienborn, A Wöllstein139–52 Berlin: de Gruyter
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Alexiadou A 2010.a Nominalizations: a probe into the architecture of grammar. Part I: The nominalization puzzle. Lang. Linguist. Compass 4:496–511
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Alexiadou A 2010.b Nominalizations: a probe into the architecture of grammar. Part II: The aspectual properties of nominalizations, and the lexicon versus syntax debate. Lang. Linguist. Compass 4:512–23
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Alexiadou A, Anagnostopoulou E 2008. Structuring participles. Proceedings of the 26th West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics CB Chang, HJ Haynie33–41 Somerville, MA: Cascadilla
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Alexiadou A, Iordăchioaia G, Schäfer F 2011. Scaling the variation in Romance and Germanic nominalizations. Noun Phrase in Romance and Germanic: Structure, Variation and Change P Sleeman, H Perridon25–40 Amsterdam: Benjamins
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Alexiadou A, Iordăchioaia G, Soare E 2010. Number/aspect interactions in the syntax of nominalizations: a Distributed Morphology approach. J. Linguist. 46:537–74
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Alexiadou A, Rathert M 2010. The Syntax of Nominalizations Across Languages and Frameworks Berlin: de Gruyter
  14. Anagnostopoulou E 2003. Participles and voice. Perfect Explorations A Alexiadou, M Rathert, A von Stechow1–36 Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Anderson JM 2007. Finiteness, mood and morphosyntax. J. Linguist. 43:1–32
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Arnold D, Sadler L 2013. Displaced dependent constructions. Proceedings of the LFG13 Conference M Butt, T Holloway King48–68 Stanford, CA: Cent. Study Lang. Inf.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Baker MC 2003. Lexical Categories: Verbs, Nouns, and Adjectives Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press
  18. Bianchi V 2000. On finiteness and nominative case licensing. Quad. Lab. Linguist. 1:145–67
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Bianchi V 2003. On finiteness as logophoric anchoring. Temps et point de vue [Tense and Point of View] J Guéron, L Tasmovski213–46 Nanterre, Fr.: Univ. Paris X (In French)
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Bisang W 2007. Categories that make finiteness: discreteness from a functional perspective and some of its repercussions. See Nikolaeva 2007c 115–37
  21. Bonami O 2015. Periphrasis as collocation. Morphology 25:63–110
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Bonami O, Samvelian P 2009. Inflectional periphrasis in Persian. Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar S Müller26–46 Stanford, CA: Cent. Study Lang. Inf.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Bonami O, Samvelian P 2015. The diversity of inflectional periphrasis in Persian. J. Linguist. 51:327–82
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Bonami O, Webelhuth G 2012. The phrase-structural diversity of periphrasis: a lexicalist account. Periphrasis: The Role of Syntax and Morphology in Paradigms M Chumakina, G Corbett141–67 Oxford, UK: Oxford Univ. Press/Br. Acad.
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Brandner E 2004. Head-movement in minimalism and V2 as FORCE-marking. The Syntax and Semantics of the Left Periphery H Lohnstein, S Trissler97–138 Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Bresnan J 1997. Mixed categories as head sharing constructions. Proceedings of the LFG97 Conference M Butt, T Holloway King Stanford, CA: Cent. Study Lang. Inf. 17 pp.
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Bresnan J, Asudeh A, Toivonen I, Wechsler S 2016. Lexical-Functional Syntax Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell. 2nd ed.
  28. Brown D, Chumakina M, Corbett G, Popova G, Spencer A 2012. Defining ‘periphrasis’: key notions. Morphology 22:233–75
    [Google Scholar]
  29. Cristofaro S 2003. Subordination Oxford, UK: Oxford Univ. Press
  30. Cristofaro S 2007. Deconstructing categories: finiteness in a functional-typological perspective. See Nikolaeva 2007c 91–114
  31. Croft WA 2001. Radical Construction Grammar: Syntactic Theory in Typological Perspective Oxford, UK: Oxford Univ. Press
  32. Croft WA 2007. Beyond Aristotle and gradience: a reply to Aarts. Stud. Lang. 31:409–30
    [Google Scholar]
  33. Dalrymple M 2001. Lexical Functional Grammar San Diego: Academic
  34. de Groot C 1995. The Hungarian converb or verbal adverbial in -va/-ve. See Haspelmath & König 1995 283–311
  35. Drijkoningen F 1992. Derivation in syntax. Morphology Now M Aronoff48–68 Albany, NY: SUNY Press
    [Google Scholar]
  36. Ebert KH 2003. Equivalents of ‘conjunctive participles’ in Kiranti languages. Themes in Himalayan Linguistics TR Kasakar, M Turin27–47 Heidelberg, Ger.: Südasien Inst.
    [Google Scholar]
  37. Ebert KH 2008. Converbs in Kiranti languages. From Siberia to Ethiopia—Converbs in a Cross-Linguistic Perspective KH Ebert, J Mattissen, R Suter63–89 Zürich: Univ. Zürich
    [Google Scholar]
  38. Embick D 2004. On the structure of resultative participles in English. Linguist. Inq. 35:355–92
    [Google Scholar]
  39. Halle M, Marantz AP 1993. Distributed morphology and the pieces of inflection. The View from Building 20: Essays in Linguistics in Honor of Sylvain Bromberger KL Hale, SJ Keyser111–76 Cambridge, MA: MIT Press
    [Google Scholar]
  40. Haspelmath M 1994. Passive participles across languages. Voice: Form and Function B Fox, PJ Hopper151–77 Amsterdam: Benjamins
    [Google Scholar]
  41. Haspelmath M 1995. The converb as a cross-linguistically valid category. See Haspelmath & König 1995 1–55
  42. Haspelmath M 1996. Word-class-changing inflection and morphological theory. Yearbook of Morphology 1995 G Booij, J van Marle43–66 Dordrecht, Neth.: Springer
    [Google Scholar]
  43. Haspelmath M, König E 1995. Converbs in Cross-Linguistic Perspective: Structure and Meaning of Adverbial Verb Forms—Adverbial Participles, Gerunds Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter
  44. Haug DTT 2008. Tense and aspect for glue semantics: the case of participial xadj's. Proceedings of the LFG08 Conference M Butt, T Holloway King291–311 Stanford, CA: Cent. Study Lang. Inf.
    [Google Scholar]
  45. Haug DTT 2010. Participles, events and discourse structure in Ancient GreekPaper presented at the Oxford Linguistics Seminar, Oxford, UK, March 1
  46. Haug DTT 2011. Backward control in Ancient Greek—subsumption or linearization?. Proceedings of the LFG11 Conference M Butt, T Holloway King278–98 Stanford, CA: Cent. Study Lang. Inf.
    [Google Scholar]
  47. Haug DTT 2012. Open verb-based adjuncts in New Testament Greek and the Latin of the Vulgate. Big Events, Small Clauses: The Grammar of Elaboration C Fabricius-Hansen, DTT Haug287–321 Berlin: de Gruyter
    [Google Scholar]
  48. Haug DTT 2017. Backward control in Ancient Greek and Latin participial adjuncts. Nat. Lang. Linguist. Theory 35:99–159
    [Google Scholar]
  49. Haug DTT, Fabricius-Hansen C, Behrens B, Helland HP 2012. Open adjuncts: degrees of event integration. Big Events, Small Clauses: The Grammar of Elaboration C Fabricius-Hansen, DTT Haug131–78 Berlin: de Gruyter
    [Google Scholar]
  50. Haug DTT, Nikitina T 2012. The many cases of non-finite subjects: the challenge of “dominant” participles. Proceedings of the LFG12 Conference M Butt, T Holloway King292–311 Stanford, CA: Cent. Study Lang. Inf.
    [Google Scholar]
  51. Haug DTT, Nikitina T 2016. Feature sharing in agreement. Nat. Lang. Linguist. Theory 34:865–910
    [Google Scholar]
  52. Hoekstra T, Hyams N, Becker M 1999. The role of the specifier and finiteness in early grammar. Specifiers: Minimalist Approaches D Adger, S Pintzuk, B Plunkett, G Tsoulas252–70 Oxford, UK: Oxford Univ. Press
    [Google Scholar]
  53. Holmberg A, Platzack C 1995. The Role of Inflection in Scandinavian Syntax Oxford, UK: Oxford Univ. Press
  54. Hopper PJ, Thompson SA 1984. The discourse basis for lexical categories in Universal Grammar. Language 60:703–52
    [Google Scholar]
  55. Iordăchioaia G, Soare E 2009. Structural patterns blocking plural in Romance nominalizations. Romance Languages and Linguistic Theory E Aboh, E van der Linden, J Quer, P Sleeman145–60 Amsterdam: Benjamins
    [Google Scholar]
  56. Kamp H, Reyle U 1993. From Discourse to Logic Dordrecht, Neth.: Kluwer
  57. Kaplan RM, Bresnan J 1982. Lexical-functional grammar: a formal system for grammatical representation. The Mental Representation of Grammatical Relations J Bresnan173–281 Cambridge, MA: MIT Press
    [Google Scholar]
  58. Kiparsky P 2005. Blocking and periphrasis in inflectional paradigms. Yearbook of Morphology 2004 G Booij, J van Marle113–35 Dordrecht, Neth.: Springer
    [Google Scholar]
  59. Klein W 1992. The present perfect puzzle. Language 68:525–52
    [Google Scholar]
  60. Klein W 1994. Time in Language London: Routledge
  61. Klein W 1995. A time-relational analysis of Russian aspect. Language 71:669–95
    [Google Scholar]
  62. Klein W 1998. Assertion and finiteness. Issues in the Theory of Language Acquisition: Essays in Honor of Jürgen Weissenborn N Dittmar, Z Penner225–45 Bern: Peter Lang
    [Google Scholar]
  63. Klein W 2006. On finiteness. Semantics in Acquisition V van Geenhoven245–72 Dordrecht, Neth.: Springer
    [Google Scholar]
  64. Koptjevskaja-Tamm M 1993. Nominalizations London: Routledge
  65. Koptjevskaja-Tamm M 2003. Action nominal constructions in the languages of Europe. Noun Phrase Structure in the Languages of Europe F Plank723–59 Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter
    [Google Scholar]
  66. Koptjevskaja-Tamm M 2006. Nominalization. Encyclopedia of Language and Linguisticsvol. 8: Mel–Nya K Brown, AH Anderson, L Bauer, M Berns, G Hirst, J Miller652–59 Amsterdam: Elsevier. 2nd ed.
    [Google Scholar]
  67. Langacker RW 1987. Nouns and verbs. Language 63:53–94
    [Google Scholar]
  68. Lowe JJ 2015. Participles in Rigvedic Sanskrit: The Syntax and Semantics of Adjectival Verb Forms Oxford, UK: Oxford Univ. Press
  69. Lowe JJ 2016. Participles, gerunds and syntactic categories. Proceedings of the HeadLex16 Conference D Arnold, M Butt, B Crysmann, T Holloway King, S Müller401–21 Stanford, CA: Cent. Study Lang. Inf.
    [Google Scholar]
  70. Lowe JJ 2017. Transitive Nouns and Adjectives: Evidence from Early Indo-Aryan Oxford, UK: Oxford Univ. Press
  71. Marantz A 1997. No escape from syntax: Don't try morphological analysis in the privacy of your own lexicon. Univ. Pa. Work. Pap. Linguist. 4:14
    [Google Scholar]
  72. Mithun M 2000. Noun and verb in Iroquoian languages: multicategorisation from multiple criteria. Approaches to the Typology of Word Classes PM Vogel, B Comrie397–420 Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter
    [Google Scholar]
  73. Nedjalkov IV 1998. Converbs in the languages of Europe. Adverbial Constructions in the Languages of Europe J van der Auwera, Baoill421–55 Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter
    [Google Scholar]
  74. Nedjalkov VP 1995. Some typological parameters of converbs. See Haspelmath & König 1995 97–136
  75. Nikitina TV, Haug DTT 2013. Latin constructions with participles in a diachronic perspectivePaper presented at the 21st International Conference on Historical Linguistics, Univ. Oslo, Nor., August 9
  76. Nikitina TV, Haug DTT 2016. Syntactic nominalization in Latin: a case of non-canonical subject agreement. Trans. Philol. Soc. 114:25–50
    [Google Scholar]
  77. Nikolaeva I 2007.a Constructional economy and nonfinite independent clauses. See Nikolaeva 2007c 138–82
  78. Nikolaeva I 2007.b Introduction. See Nikolaeva 2007c 1–19
  79. Nikolaeva I 2007.c Finiteness Oxford, UK: Oxford Univ. Press
  80. Nikolaeva I 2010. Typology of finiteness. Lang. Linguist. Compass 4:1176–89
    [Google Scholar]
  81. Paslawska A, von Stechow A 2003. Perfect readings in Russian. Perfect Explorations A Alexiadou, M Rathert, A von Stechow307–62 Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter
    [Google Scholar]
  82. Pires A 2007. The derivation of clausal gerunds. Syntax 10:165–203
    [Google Scholar]
  83. Platzack C, Holmberg A 1989. The role of AGR and finiteness in Germanic VO languages. Work. Pap. Scand. Syntax 43:51–76
    [Google Scholar]
  84. Platzack C, Rosengren I 1998. On the subject of imperatives: a minimalist account of the imperative clause. J. Comp. Ger. Linguist. 1:177
    [Google Scholar]
  85. Polinsky M, Potsdam E 2002.a Backward control. Linguist. Inq. 33:245–82
    [Google Scholar]
  86. Polinsky M, Potsdam E 2002.b Backward control: evidence from Malagasy. Proceedings of the 8th Meeting of the Austronesian Formal Linguistics Association A Rackowski, N Richards257–72 Cambridge, MA: Dep. Linguist. Philos., MIT
    [Google Scholar]
  87. Polinsky M, Potsdam E 2006. Expanding the scope of control and raising. Syntax 9:171–92
    [Google Scholar]
  88. Popova G, Spencer A 2012. Relatedness in periphrasis: a paradigm-based perspective. Periphrasis: The Role of Syntax and Morphology in Paradigms M Chumakina, G Corbett191–225 Oxford, UK: Oxford Univ. Press/Br. Acad.
    [Google Scholar]
  89. Pullum GK 1991. English nominal gerund phrases as noun phrases with verb phrase heads. Linguistics 29:763–99
    [Google Scholar]
  90. Rauh G 2010. Syntactic Categories: Their Identification and Description in Linguistic Theories Oxford, UK: Oxford Univ. Press
  91. Reichenbach H 1947. Elements of Symbolic Logic New York: Free Press
  92. Rizzi L 1997. The fine structure of the left periphery. Elements of Grammar L Haegeman281–337 Dordrecht, Neth.: Kluwer
    [Google Scholar]
  93. Rizzi L, Cinque G 2016. Functional categories and syntactic theory. Annu. Rev. Linguist. 2:139–63
    [Google Scholar]
  94. Ross JR 1972. The category squish: Endstation Hauptwort. Papers from the 8th Regional Meeting of the Chicago Linguistic Society PM Peranteau, JN Levi, GC Phares316–28 Chicago: Chicago Linguist. Soc.
    [Google Scholar]
  95. Roussou A 2001. Control and raising in and out of subjunctive complements. Comparative Syntax of Balkan Languages ML Rivero, A Ralli74–104 Oxford, UK: Oxford Univ. Press
    [Google Scholar]
  96. Schachter P 1976. A nontransformational account of gerundive nominals in English. Linguist. Inq. 7:205–41
    [Google Scholar]
  97. Sleeman P 2011. Verbal and adjectival participles: position and internal structure. Lingua 121:1569–87
    [Google Scholar]
  98. Sleeman P, Brito AM 2010. Aspect and argument structure of deverbal nominalizations: a split VP analysis. Nominalizations Across Languages and Frameworks A Alexiadou, M Rathert199–218 Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter
    [Google Scholar]
  99. Spencer A 2015. Participial relatives in LFG. Proceedings of the LFG15 Conference M Butt, T Holloway King378–98 Stanford, CA: Cent. Study Lang. Inf.
    [Google Scholar]
  100. Spencer A, Popova G 2015. Periphrasis and inflection. The Oxford Handbook of Inflection M Baerman197–230 Oxford, UK: Oxford Univ. Press
    [Google Scholar]
  101. Toivonen I 2003. Non-Projecting Words: A Case Study of Swedish Verbal Particles Dordrecht, Neth.: Kluwer
  102. Wurmbrand S 2001. Infinitives: Restructuring and Clause Structure Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter
  103. Ylikoski J 2003. Defining non-finites: action nominals, converbs and infinitives. SKY J. Linguist. 16:185–237
    [Google Scholar]
  104. Zaenen A, Kaplan RM 2002. Subsumption and equality: German partial fronting in LFG. Proceedings of the LFG02 Conference M Butt, T Holloway King Stanford, CA: Cent. Study Lang. Inf. 19 pp.
    [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-linguistics-011718-012545
Loading
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-linguistics-011718-012545
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Review Article
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error