Jaume Solà i Pujols - Departament de Filologia Catalana ...

section 1.3.
1.1. Parallelism between Finite and Infinitival Constructions
Infinitives are like finite clauses except for their lack of explicit content in INFL features,
from which their dependent character in both temporal interpretation and subject possibilities
results. Essential for our concerns is the fact that I-subjects in infinitives show the same
restrictions as in finite clauses, as far as the generalization we proposed in Chapter 2, repeated
here as 0, is concerned:
(1) I-subjects are [-anaphoric] in NSLs and [+anaphoric] in non-NSLs.
The following examples show that 0 holds in infinitives the same as in finite clauses: 106
(2) English, French, German:
a. John decided [ to do it himself/*him ]
b. C'est mieux [ de le faire soi-même/*on /*lui(-même) ]
It is better to it-do SE-SELF/ one/ he (-SELF)
'It is better to do it oneself'
c. Hans beschloss [ es selbst/*er zu machen ]
H. decided it SELF / he to do
'Hans decided to do it himself'
106 In controlled infinitives, NSLs allow pronominals as Isubjects,
but not R-expressions. We will derive this fact from
our theory of control.
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