Universal 1112: ¬ subject raising ⇒ ¬ full passive
Original
Subject Raising Constraint: No argument of an object complement sentence can be raised into subject position. Any language which contains this constraint will not have full passsives (which are derived by raising the subject of S1 into subject position in S2).
Standardized
IF no argument of an object complement sentence can be raised into subject position, THEN there is no full passive.
Keywords
diathesis, passive, subject raising
Domain
syntax
Type
implication
Status
achronic
Quality
absolute
Basis
English (W. Germanic), French (Italic), Modern Greek (Greek), Persian (Iranian), Serbo-Croatian (Slavic), Finnish (Finnic, Uralic), Hungarian (Ugric, Uralic), Arabic (Semitic, Afro-Asiatic), Igbo (Benue-Congo, Niger-Congo)
1. The term full passive refers to passive type sentences where the agent is overtly expressed, while “reduced passive” would be passive sentences where no agent is explicitly expressed. 2. It is claimed that the full passive is derived from a structure containing the reduced passive, rather than the reverse, as has also been assumed (cf. Indefinite Agent Deletion theory). (e.g. no easy-to-please constructions; no tough movement).3. See also #435.
1. The term full passive refers to passive type sentences where the agent is overtly expressed, while “reduced passive” would be passive sentences where no agent is explicitly expressed. 2. It is claimed that the full passive is derived from a structure containing the reduced passive, rather than the reverse, as has also been assumed (cf. Indefinite Agent Deletion theory). (e.g. no easy-to-please constructions; no tough movement).3. See also #435.