Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.31724/rihjj.45.2.22
Exceptional Case Marking Clauses and Implicitly Controlled Clauses in the Croatian Language
Matija Zorić
orcid.org/0000-0002-6372-7827
; Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta J. J. Strossmayera u Osijeku
Abstract
This research shows additional possibilities to distinguish control verbs from ECM verbs. The assumption is that verbs show some kind control or ECM properties even in sentences with finite complements. These properties can be used to determine whether their infinitive complements should be recognized as controlled or ECM. The search of the Croatian Language Repository of the Institute of Croatian Language and Linguistics in 2017 and 2018, without categorical or time constraints, resulted in 415 transitive verbs with the object in accusative, 15 verbs governing the dative experiencer and 94 impersonal nominal predicates governing the dative experiencer. A total of 1967651 hits were reviewed. Subordinate subject and object clauses are dominantly finite sentences with the conjunction da: finite sentences with the conjunction da are most common clausal complement of active transitive verbs (214707 or 99.2%), followed by, much less frequently, implicitly controlled infinitival sentences (1644 or 0.76%), and there are marginal instantiations of ECM of accusative with infinitive as well (67 or 0.03%), mostly with the verb vidjeti (to see). Most common clausal complement of passive forms of transitive verbs is a finite sentence with the conjunction da (23064 or 94.3%), while implicitly controlled infinitival sentences are not as common (1394 or 5.7%). Verbs with dative experiencer are also complemented both by finite sentences with the conjunction da (1694 or 61.53%), and by implicitly controlled infinitival sentences (1059 or 38.47%). Croatian language enables ACI, NCI and DCI (as well as genitive with infinitive – GCI) constructions as implicit controls (or pseudo ACI, NCI and DCI), but ECM accusative with infinitive is not frequent. Even though accusative with infinitive ECM category is marginally represented in Croatian language, it is not diachronically stipulated nor limited to old Croatian literature.
Keywords
ECM; accusative with infinitive; nominative with infinitive; dative with infinitive; implicit control
Hrčak ID:
229855
URI
Publication date:
13.12.2019.
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