Perception verb complements in Akatek, a Mayan language

52 3. PERCEPTION VERB COMPLEMENTS IN ENGLISH
take genitive subjects. The ACC-ing and POSS-ing complements have
accusative objects whereas the ing-of has an indirect object marked
by the preposition of. ACC-ing clauses that function as PVCs are
called ing-PVCs henceforth. In his classi cation of nominalizations
into perfect and imperfect nominals, Vendler's perfect nominals are ingof
clauses and his imperfect nominals subsume POSS-ing clauses and
tensed complement clauses with the complementizer that (Vendler,
1967). In the following, I refer to POSS-ing constructions alone as
imperfect nominals (INOMs). Ing-of clauses with matrix PVs I call
perfect nominals (PNOMs), thereby deviating from Vendler's de nition
of the terms perfect and imperfect nominals in restricting speci cally
imperfect nominals to POSS-ing clauses.
In example (14), an INOM is shown to be grammatical with the
matrix verb remember but ungrammatical with a PV like hear. Example
(15) provides an example of a PNOM as a PVC and example
(16) shows an ing-PVC. Even though INOMs are not PVCs, they are
included in the investigation for contrastive purposes.
(14) a. I remember [John's singing the song].
b. *I heard [John's singing the song].
(15) I heard [John's singing of the song].
(16) John felt [Mary trembling beneath her coat]. Caplan (1973)
Regarding ACC-ing clauses, the situation is more complicated, because
ACC-ing constructions are structurally ambiguous. Declerck
(1982b) distinguishes three kinds of ACC-ing constructions that occur
after matrix PVs:
1. NP + pseudo-modi er/ reduced relative clause
2. NP + participial adjunct clause
3. Ing-PVC
Example (17-a) shows a sentence with a pseudo-modi er, also called
reduced relative clause, example (18-a) an adjunct clause, 2 and (19) an
ing-PVC with a true perception interpretation:
(17) a. Isaw the ladder [leaning against the side of the house].
Kirsner & Thompson (1976), 220
b. Isaw the ladder, which was leaning against the side of the
house.
(18) a. Isaw Mary [entering the house].
2 Cases in which the adjunct clause is interpreted as modifying the PV subject
are not considered here, e.g. I, instead of the PV object Mary in example (18-a).