Null objects and sentential complements, with evidence from the Corpus of Historical American English
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Juhani Rudanko
Abstract
The present article discusses the occurrence of covert NP objects in object control structures with the matrix verb warn. The existence of such structures is at odds with Bach’s Generalization, which effectively states that the NP object in an object control structure may not be omitted. Evidence from COHA is introduced and discussed, to shed new light on the apparent exceptions to the Generalization. The frequency of the construction is tracked over the course of the past two centuries, and the nature of the covert NP object is also examined. The question is raised as to whether this NP can be assigned a general interpretation, as has been claimed in the literature, or whether a more specific interpretation is appropriate.
Abstract
The present article discusses the occurrence of covert NP objects in object control structures with the matrix verb warn. The existence of such structures is at odds with Bach’s Generalization, which effectively states that the NP object in an object control structure may not be omitted. Evidence from COHA is introduced and discussed, to shed new light on the apparent exceptions to the Generalization. The frequency of the construction is tracked over the course of the past two centuries, and the nature of the covert NP object is also examined. The question is raised as to whether this NP can be assigned a general interpretation, as has been claimed in the literature, or whether a more specific interpretation is appropriate.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- List of contributors ix
- Interrogating corpora to describe grammatical patterns 1
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Part 1. Patterns in the verb phrase
- Light verb constructions in the history of English 15
- What happened to the English prefix, and could it stage a comeback? 35
- The pattern to be a-hunting from Middle to Late Modern English 57
- The present perfect and the preterite in Late Modern and Contemporary English 81
- can and be able to in nineteenth-century Irish English 105
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Part 2. Patterns in the noun phrase
- Syntactic constraints on the use of dual form intensifiers in Modern English 131
- Ma daddy wis dead chuffed 151
- The case of focus 173
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Part 3. Patterns in complementation structures
- Null objects and sentential complements, with evidence from the Corpus of Historical American English 209
- A new angle on infinitival and of - ing complements of afraid , with evidence from the TIME Corpus 223
- Active and passive infinitive, ambiguity and non-canonical subject with ready 239
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Part 4. Patterns of clause combining
- The diffusion of English absolutes 265
- It-clefts in English L1 and L2 academic writing 295
- The speech functions of tag questions and their properties. A comparison of their distribution in COLT and LLC 321
- Author index 351
- Subject index 355
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- List of contributors ix
- Interrogating corpora to describe grammatical patterns 1
-
Part 1. Patterns in the verb phrase
- Light verb constructions in the history of English 15
- What happened to the English prefix, and could it stage a comeback? 35
- The pattern to be a-hunting from Middle to Late Modern English 57
- The present perfect and the preterite in Late Modern and Contemporary English 81
- can and be able to in nineteenth-century Irish English 105
-
Part 2. Patterns in the noun phrase
- Syntactic constraints on the use of dual form intensifiers in Modern English 131
- Ma daddy wis dead chuffed 151
- The case of focus 173
-
Part 3. Patterns in complementation structures
- Null objects and sentential complements, with evidence from the Corpus of Historical American English 209
- A new angle on infinitival and of - ing complements of afraid , with evidence from the TIME Corpus 223
- Active and passive infinitive, ambiguity and non-canonical subject with ready 239
-
Part 4. Patterns of clause combining
- The diffusion of English absolutes 265
- It-clefts in English L1 and L2 academic writing 295
- The speech functions of tag questions and their properties. A comparison of their distribution in COLT and LLC 321
- Author index 351
- Subject index 355
