Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Modality, Control And Restructuring In Arabic, Yasser Albaty

Theses and Dissertations

The dissertation examines theories of modality and control with data from Standard Arabic (SA). In particular, I show that complementations of particular modal and control verbs in SA are not clausal, but smaller phrases. This challenges proposed accounts in the literature of modality in SA as well as theories of control within Minimalism. I alternatively argue for a novel account of both constructions that posits a monoclausal (i.e., restructuring) structure.

First, Chapter 2 investigates modality verbs in SA and shows that subjunctive complements of modality do not exhibit the properties of clausal complementation. I examine the syntax-semantics properties of modality …

Mandarin -Guo Under Control: An Experimental Study, Wei Zhou

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This thesis examines the experiential aspectual marker -guo under control in Mandarin. The status of -guo under control has been a subject of controversy, involving two important theoretical questions. The first question concerns whether -guo under control is syntactically associated with the matrix verb or the embedded verb. The second question deals with whether, in terms of interpretive effects, -guo under control triggers actuality entailments. This thesis addresses the latter question through an interpretive judgment test conducted among 260 native Mandarin speakers. In the test, three control verbs (changshi ‘try’, guli ‘encourage’, and zuzhi ‘oppose’) were selected, each of …