Temporal specification and subject reference in Romanian subjunctive complements

Abstract

The paper looks at the dependency of Romanian subjunctive complements on the semantic class of the matrix verb. It shows that different types of temporal dependency trigger different identity relations between the null embedded subject and the (subject) antecedent in the main clause (cf. Farkas 1984). Volitional verbs are also looked at in terms of the restrictions they impose on the subjunctive complements they subcategorize for. Finally, following Landau’s (1999) classification of infinitive complements in English, Romanian subjunctives are argued to fall into two distinct classses exhibiting different properties in terms of subject reference and temporal dependency.

Keywords

• subjunctive
• infinitive
• control
• subject
• anaphoric