Эмоции vs. Интерпретации: о двух типах инфинитивных конструкций с предикативами
Emotions vs. Interpretations: two types of infinitive constructions with predicatives

Author(s): Galina Ivanovna Kustova
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Theoretical Linguistics, Syntax
Published by: Пловдивски университет »Паисий Хилендарски«
Keywords: predicative; infinitive construction; interpretation predicates
Summary/Abstract: The paper considers constructions «predicative + infinitive». Interpretive infinitive constructions as opposed to emotional reactions. For emotional reactions, the predicative and the infinitive refer to the same subject, the infinitives of the perception, mental, speech verbs are typical for them: It hurts / It's sad to see you suffer (‘X sees, X is sad’). For interpretive constructions, the subject of the predicative and the subject of the infinitive does not coincide: It's tactless to ask this question – ‘X asks the question, Y evaluates such an act as tactless’. The infinitives of perceptual and mental verbs in such a construction are either not used, or they denote a kind of action: It is tactless to listen to private conversations.

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