12. The Portugese inflected infinitive and its conceptual basis
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Augusto Soares da Silva
Abstract
This paper offers a conceptual analysis of the Portuguese inflected (or personal) infinitive. The analysis makes use of a few concepts of Cognitive Grammar. The inflected infinitive is described as an objective construal of the main participant of a process type. This conceptual import is consistent with the grammatical behavior of the inflected infinitive. After giving an overview of the structural properties of the inflected infinitive in modern Portuguese, the paper will describe the continuum of event asymmetry in which the inflected infinitival clause holds an intermediate position between the subordinate finite clause and the infinitival clause. The meaning of the inflected infinitive is therefore characterized by imagery dimensions that are specific to subordinate constructions, namely independence, specificity, grounding, prominence and objectivity/subjectivity. Finally, some aspects relating to the distribution of inflected infinitival (complement, adverbial and subject) clauses will be analyzed in terms of semantic compatibility.
Abstract
This paper offers a conceptual analysis of the Portuguese inflected (or personal) infinitive. The analysis makes use of a few concepts of Cognitive Grammar. The inflected infinitive is described as an objective construal of the main participant of a process type. This conceptual import is consistent with the grammatical behavior of the inflected infinitive. After giving an overview of the structural properties of the inflected infinitive in modern Portuguese, the paper will describe the continuum of event asymmetry in which the inflected infinitival clause holds an intermediate position between the subordinate finite clause and the infinitival clause. The meaning of the inflected infinitive is therefore characterized by imagery dimensions that are specific to subordinate constructions, namely independence, specificity, grounding, prominence and objectivity/subjectivity. Finally, some aspects relating to the distribution of inflected infinitival (complement, adverbial and subject) clauses will be analyzed in terms of semantic compatibility.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction vii
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Part I: Event chains and complex events
- 1. Asymmetry in English multi-verb sequences: A corpus-based approach 3
- 2. Asymmetries for locating events with Cora spatial language 25
- 3. Spanish (de)queisimo: Part/whole alternation and viewing arrangement 53
- 4. What does coordination look like in a head-final language? 87
- 5. Verb serialization as a means to express complex events in Thai 103
- 6. Notional asymmetry in syntactic symmetry: Connective and accessibility marker interactions 121
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Part II: Subordination, nominalization, modification
- 7. Subordination in Cognitive grammar 137
- 8. Asymmetric events, subordination, and grammatical categories 151
- 9. Asymmetry reversal 173
- 10. Transparency vs. Economy: How does Adioukrou resolve the conflict? 195
- 11. Relating participants across asymmetric events: Conceptual constraints on obligatory control 209
- 12. The Portugese inflected infinitive and its conceptual basis 227
- 13. The periphrastic realization of participants in nominalizations: Semantic and discourse constraints 245
- 14. Asymmetries in participial modification 261
- Author index 283
- Subject index 285
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction vii
-
Part I: Event chains and complex events
- 1. Asymmetry in English multi-verb sequences: A corpus-based approach 3
- 2. Asymmetries for locating events with Cora spatial language 25
- 3. Spanish (de)queisimo: Part/whole alternation and viewing arrangement 53
- 4. What does coordination look like in a head-final language? 87
- 5. Verb serialization as a means to express complex events in Thai 103
- 6. Notional asymmetry in syntactic symmetry: Connective and accessibility marker interactions 121
-
Part II: Subordination, nominalization, modification
- 7. Subordination in Cognitive grammar 137
- 8. Asymmetric events, subordination, and grammatical categories 151
- 9. Asymmetry reversal 173
- 10. Transparency vs. Economy: How does Adioukrou resolve the conflict? 195
- 11. Relating participants across asymmetric events: Conceptual constraints on obligatory control 209
- 12. The Portugese inflected infinitive and its conceptual basis 227
- 13. The periphrastic realization of participants in nominalizations: Semantic and discourse constraints 245
- 14. Asymmetries in participial modification 261
- Author index 283
- Subject index 285
