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Romanian nominalizations: case and aspectual structure

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2002

ALEXANDRA CORNILESCU
Affiliation:
University of Bucharest

Abstract

Two Romanian nominalizations, the infinitive and the supine, are compared in Noun+Object (NO) and Noun+Subject (NS) structures, regarding their ability to yield e-(vent)/r-(esult) readings. The NO structures behave alike and yield e-readings. The two NS structures contrast sharply: the infinitive NS is always an r-nominal, the supine NS may be an e-nominal. This contrast between the infinitive and the supine follows from their aspectual properties. While the supine is [−Telic], and may project either an Object or a Subject in e-nominals, the infinitive is [+Telic], and REQUIRES the projection of the Object. This constraint may follow from the fact that in nominals Aspect and Case are checked in the same projection.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2001 Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

I would like to express my profound gratitude to Carmen Dobrovie-Sorin for patiently reading several earlier drafts of this paper and making many substantive, detailed comments, most helpful in clarifying my ideas. Gabriela Pana-Dindelegan and Ileana Baciu also deserve my warm thanks for their suggestions and their invaluable help with the data. Thanks are also due to the two anonymous JL referees who offered relevant criticism that helped to rewrite the paper and to Bob Borsley for extensive help with the final version of the manuscript. The usual disclaimers apply.