On the prepositional nature of non-finite verbs

Abstract

This paper investigates the prepositional nature of non-finite verbal forms. Assuming well-known observations that relate the categories P and V on the one hand (see Chomsky 1970, 1981, Demirdache & Uribe-Etxebarria 2000, Hale & Keyser 2002, and Svenonius 2003, 2007, 2008, among others), and P and C on the other (see den Besten 1983, Emonds 1985, Kayne 2000, and van Riemsdijk 1978) I argue that some non-finite verbs —in particular, past participles and gerunds— incorporate a preposition as a result of the interaction between the categories C and T, which can manifest itself as a species of P in non-finte contexts (see Demirdache & Uribe- Etxebarria 2000, and Pesetsky & Torrego 2004). This approach not only explains different syntactic facts concerning non-finite clauses, but also sheds some light on their interpretive intricacies.

Keywords

• category
• infinitive
• gerund
• participle
• preposition
• Aux/T-to-C movement