Finnish nonfinite clauses constitute a complex grammatical class with a seemingly chaotic mix of verbal and nominal properties. Thirteen nonfinite constructions, their selection, control, thematic role assignment, nonfinite agreement, embedded subjects, and syntactic status were targeted for analysis. An analysis is proposed which derives their syntactic and semantic properties by relying on a computational model of human information processing. The model analyzes Finnish nonfinite constructions as truncated clauses with one functional layer above the verb phrase. Research methods from naturalistic cognitive science and computational linguistics are considered as potentially useful tools for linguistics.

This article addresses locality conditions on Negative Concord (NC) in Russian. We examine long-distance licensing of “negative” ni-pronouns in subject- and object-control infinitives. Existing theories of negative concord rely in one way or another on the movement of negative concord items (NCI): either as a direct licensing condition, or as a prerequisite for entering a local configuration with the licensor. Consequently, theories predict that ni-pronoun movement to the matrix clause (i.e., the local domain of the matrix licensor) would increase acceptability of ni-licensing. Using experimental data, we explore various linear positions available for ni-pronouns in the matrix clause and in embedded infinitival clauses. We show that movement is not required for long-distance licensing, and that derived positions of ni-pronouns are independent of ni-licensing. We argue that although ni-licensing and movement both obey locality constraints, they differ as to the type of locality required. This article presents evidence for recent proposals that movement and agreement have different properties with respect to locality constraints.

Intellectualists tell us that a person who knows how to do something therein knows a proposition. Along with others, they may say that a person who intends to do something intends a proposition. I argue against them. I do so by way of considering ‘know how ——’ and ‘intend ——’ together. When the two are considered together, a realistic conception of human agency can inform the understanding of some infinitives: the argument need not turn on what semanticists have had to say about (what they call) ‘the subjects of infinitival clauses’.

The purpose of this article is to give a description of the syntax of clausal complementation in Norwegian within the framework of Lexical-Functional Grammar (LFG). The data are mostly authentic sentences from text corpora and web pages. The description given is rather different from traditional descriptions. An important point to be made is that Norwegian (finite and non-finite) clausal complements are not homogeneous with respect to their syntactic properties. Even if most clausal complements behave like objects, Norwegian also has clausal complements that do not behave like objects. This phenomenon is well known from other languages, but has never been observed in the literature on Norwegian. The structure and function of non-object clausal complements are discussed, and the traditional idea that they are PP obliques is rejected.