THE SUBTLE INTERPLAY OF SYNTAX AND SEMANTICS IN PASSIVE-LIKE CONSTRUCTIONS*
THE SUBTLE INTERPLAY OF SYNTAX AND SEMANTICS IN PASSIVE-LIKE CONSTRUCTIONS*

Summary/Abstract: Discrepancy of opinions on the issue at stake is most probably due to the fact that analyses of such cases are cast in terms of different, sometimes even opposite, sets of typological parameters, i.e. either theoretically or pragmatically based ones. After a brief survey of ‘intransitive passives’, the author of the present contribution goes with a fine tooth-comb through ‘superficial’ passives, in the middle section, and the so-called ‘pseudo-passives’, in the final one. A more thorough investigation, which the author conducts, of the semantic roles that can be attached to perjects, shows the syntactic valency of dualtransitivity verbs like blow or drown ranging over a fairly wide spectrum, from bona fide intransitives to bona fide passives. As for ‘pseudo-passives’, where the main discriminating factor is degree of cohesiveness between verb and preposition, the corroborating evidence amassed induces the author to view them not as merely resembling passives but rather as genuine representatives thereof.

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