ErgSemantics_InstrumentalRelatives

ESD Test Suite Examples

Money to buy the dog arrived.

Linguistic Characterization

Instrumental relative clauses are a subtype of infinitival relative clauses. Their distinguishing feature is in the connection between the head noun and the relative clause: in this construction, the head noun fills the role of an instrumental adjunct with respect to the relative clause. There is no lexical item carrying the instrumental semantics, however. This is provided by the construction (as with_p).

Motivating Examples

The treebanked examples for this phenomenon range from ones where with_p seems a natural paraphrase to more subtle examples:

• It's your turn to sing.

• Give her time to miss you.

This construction is distinguished from quasi-modal infinitivals in the relationship between the head noun and the relative clause, and in that the quasi-modal infinitivals but not instrumental relatives can serve as the complement of the copula. Quasi-modal infinitival examples:

• The plumber to fix the sink is coming at 10.

• The plumber who is to fix the sink is coming at 10.

ERS Fingerprints

  h:with_p[ARG1 e, ARG2 x]
  h:[ARG0 e]
  h:[ARG0 x]

Interactions

Open Questions

• Are there both wh- and non-wh variants of these?

• Is it true that we don't see these as complements of the copula?

• The fingerprints as written assert that the instrumental relationship is always with respect to the highest clause in the relative. I think this is true; is it?

  • Money to convince Kim to buy the dog arrived.

• The label-sharing between head noun and verb is characteristic of relative clauses in general. Does it belong as part of these fingerprints?

• Need a better label for with_p, since not all of these can be paraphrased with with.

Grammar Version

ERG 1212

More Information

• ErgSemantics main page

• Inventory of semantic phenomena (to be) documented

• How to cite this work