Syntax

1. Syntax Lecture 6: The syntax of non-finite clauses – Part 1

2. Types of Infinitival Clauses • There are three types of infinitive in English: • John wants [Mary to meet him] • Mary tried [to avoid John] • Bill seemed [to like Mary] • The obvious difference between 1. and the others is that it has a subject.

3. Types of Infinitival Clauses • There are three types of infinitive in English: • John wants [Mary to meet him] • Mary tried [to avoid John] • Bill seemed [to like Mary] • The obvious difference between 1. and the others is that it has a subject. • We will look at this kind of infinitive next week.

4. Infinitives without subjects This is another version of the same sentence where the meaningful phrase is not in the subject position This sentences has a meaningful subject: ‘A man’ Instead there is a meaningless subject: ‘there’ Even though the subject is meaningless, it cannot be omitted. This is called a Pleonastic subject • Only infinitives can lack subjects – not finite clauses: • John hoped [-- to be rich] • * John hoped [-- will be rich] • Finite clauses must have subjects, even if there is no semantic need for one: • A man is at the door • There is a man at the door • * is a man at the door

5. The difference between infinitival clauses • That the two types of infinitive differ can be seen in a number of ways: • Idiom subjects: • The cat is out the bag = a secret is revealed • The cat seems [to be out the bag] • The cat wants [to be out the bag] – only literal • Passive • The butler appears [to have stolen the diamonds] = • The diamonds appear [to have been stolen by the butler] • The butler wants [to steal the diamonds]  • The diamonds want [to be stolen by the butler]

6. Explaining the difference - Raising • In one of the cases, the subject of the main clause appears to behave as though it is the subject of the embedded infinitival clause: • The cat seems [-- to be out the bag] • ‘the cat’ is the subject of the idiom ‘out the bag’ • The butler appears [ -- to have stolen the diamonds] • The diamonds appear [ -- to have been stolen by the butler] • The butler has stolen the diamonds • The diamonds have been stolen by the butler • As the active and passive sentences mean similar things, then the two sentences based on them mean similar things

7. Raising verbs • The verbs which appear with these infinitives can often appear with a finite clause complement: • When they do, they have a pleonastic subject and the meaningful subject is in the complement clause: • The cat seems [to be out the bag] • It seems [the cat is out the bag] • The butler appears [to have stolen the diamonds] • It appears [the butler has stolen the diamonds

8. Raising verbs • This suggests that such verbs do not have their own (meaningful) subject: • As finite clauses need to have a subject, a meaningless one is inserted

9. Raising verbs

10. Raising verbs • If this is so, then it is possible that the subject of the infinitive ‘raises’ to the subject of the raising verb: • i.e. it moves from the lower subject position to the upper one:

11. Raising verbs

12. Support for raising It accounts for why the subject of the upper clause behaves as though it is the subject of the lower clause (because it is!) It accounts for why verbs which have no subject of their own can sometimes have a subject (they borrow them from another clause) We have already seen that subjects move out of the VP – this is just another movement that the subject undergoes

13. Further arguments: Local dependencies ‘together’ is dependent on a plural clause mate Reflexive pronouns depend on clause mate antecedents • Some words are dependent on other elements in the same clause as them: • John thinks [they left together] • * they think [John left together] • Mary thinks [John loves himself] • * John thinks [Mary loves himself]

14. Further arguments: Local dependencies • But with raising verbs, the licensing element can be in the upper clause: • They seem [ -- to have left together] • John appears [ -- to love himself] • This can be explained if we assume that the subject of the raising verb started off in the lower clause and raised • -- seem [they to have left together • -- appears [ John to love himself]

15. The other infinitive: Control It is ‘the cat’ that wants something, so this is an argument of this verb. ‘The butler’ is doing the expecting, and so it belongs in the higher clause. • The other infinitives differ from raising clauses in that the subject in the higher clause does not behave as though it originates in the lower clause: • The cat wants [-- to be out the bag] • The butler expects [ -- to steal the diamonds] • The verbs which take these clauses as complements cannot have pleonastic subjects • * it expects [ John will leave] • So does the infinitive have no subject?

16. The control infinitive has a subject • We still interpret this infinitive as though it has a subject: • The cat wants [ (the cat) to be out the bag] • The butler expects [ (the butler) to steal the diamonds • How can these sentences mean this if there is no subject? • Clause mate dependents are also still possible: • They want [ to leave together] • John expects [ to support himself] • This suggests that the higher subject is also in the lower clause • But how can one phrase be in two positions?

17. How pronouns work • A pronoun is something which stands for something else – which could be in the same sentence: • John thinks Mary likes him = • John thinks Mary likes John • As we can’t have one element in two positions, we use pronouns to achieve the appearance

18. Control as pronominalisation • It would be possible to see control clauses as having a pronoun subject which takes the higher subject as its antecedent: • They want [PRONOUN (= them) to leave together] • John expects [PRONOUN (= him) to support himself] • Clearly, this pronoun is not pronounced • It is present semantically – it means something • It is present syntactically – it occupies a position • It is absent phonologically

19. Comparison between raising and control clauses Control Raising movement reference

20. Conclusion • There are two types of apparently subjectless infinitival clauses • Complements of raising verbs (e.g. seem, appear) • Raising verbs have no subject of their own • The subject of the infinitival complement raises to their subject position • Complements of control verbs (want, expect) • Control verbs have their own subject • Their infinitival complements have an unpronounced pronoun subject (PRO) • In general, all clauses have subjects (even if you can’t always see them).