Verb-governed infinitival complementation in the recent history of English

by Sofía Bemposta-Rivas, Maurizio Gotti (Editor)

Overview

Verb-dependent non-finite complementation and, in particular, to- and bare-infinitive complement clauses have been the subject of extensive investigation and debate. The aim of this monograph is to contribute to the existing literature by modelling the variation in relation to a selection of verbs that govern to- and bare-infinite complements in the recent history of American and British English. Using methodologies provided by corpus linguistics and multivariate analyses, this book attempts to account for the forces that make certain verbs show a preference for either to-infinitive or bare-infinitive complementation from Middle English onwards, and to provide a comprehensive description of the factors that influence the choice of infinitival. Specifically, this monograph deals with morphological, syntactic and semantic/pragmatic variation between to- and bare-infinitive complementation in English, governed by, specifically, dare, need and help.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783034342278
Publisher:	Peter Lang AG, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften
Publication date:	11/30/2021
Series:	Linguistic Insights: Studies in Language and Communication , #287
Pages:	340
Product dimensions:	5.91(w) x 8.86(h) x 0.03(d)

About the Author

Sofía Bemposta-Rivas holds a PhD in English
philology from the University of Vigo. She
completed a BA and an MA in advanced English
studies at the same institution, where she
is an active member of the research group
Language Variation and Textual Categorisation
(LVTC). Her research focuses on English
historical syntax, specifically on non-finite
complementation, using corpora and empirical
methodologies. Thanks to the financial
support provided by the LVTC group, the
English Linguistic Circle (ELC) network and the
Spanish Ministry of Science, Sofía developed
research stays in Edinburgh, Leuven, York,
Lancaster, British Columbia and Bamberg.

Table of Contents

Introduction — Data and methodology — Dare and need revisited — Help — Summary, conclusion and avenues for further research — Appendix — References and sources .