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Elucidation of a telic infinitive

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 October 2001

MATTHEW WHELPTON
MATTHEW WHELPTON
Affiliation:
University of Iceland
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Abstract

In this paper, I consider the semantics of a modifier infinitive in English, related to the more widely discussed Rationale Clause (see especially Faraci 1974, Jones 1991). I argue that the semantics of this infinitive (a Telic Clause) derives from the properties of the predicate which heads it (TELOS). I characterize TELOS, within a Davidsonian event semantics, as a pure relation between events and argue against the view that the word only, which often prefaces the Telic Clause, is in fact the head of the construction. I explore the conditions on reference which apply to TELOS. As well as offering an account of a little-discussed construction, therefore, this paper is intended as a contribution to our understanding of the place of argument structure in event semantics.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Linguistics , Volume 37 , Issue 2 , July 2001 , pp. 313 - 337
Copyright
© 2001 Cambridge University Press

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