Raising verb
Encyclopedia
In linguistics
, raising is a form of argument control in which an argument
that belongs semantically to a subordinate clause is realized syntactically as a constituent of a higher clause. For example, the sentence "Bill seemed to be angry" is a raising construction, because although Bill is understood semantically to be the subject
of to be angry, it is the syntactic subject of seemed. The verb seem in this example is known as a raising verb. Not all languages have raising verbs; English
is one that does.
The term "raising" has its origins in the transformational
analysis of such constructions. In this analysis, in the example above, the noun Bill is "raised" from its initial position as the subject of the embedded infinitival clause
to its final position as the main clause subject.
:
These examples show that seem does not require a semantically potent subject. Second, the embedded clause can be put in the active or passive voice without significantly changing the meaning of the entire sentence:
These examples show that the semantic roles of Bill and the revolt are determined exclusively within the embedded clause. The verb seems does not assign an additional semantic role to its subject; otherwise, the meaning conveyed by the sentence would be expected to vary, depending on whether Bill or the revolt appeared as the main clause subject.
English also has "object raising" verbs (or "raising to object verb", "subject-to-object raising verbs"), such as expect and believe. In the sentence "Bill expected Annie to be late", Annie is the direct object of expected, but it is interpreted as the subject of the embedded infinitive to be late.
In addition to verbs, other syntactic categories can be raising elements. For example, the following examples contain a subject-to-subject-raising adjective:
In all of the cases mentioned above, the raised argument corresponds to the subject of the embedded infinitival clause. Raising from a lower object
position is much rarer. In the so-called "tough construction", the adjective has some properties of an object-to-subject raising element:
In this example, Bill is interpreted as the missing object of convince, but realized as the subject of the main clause. However, the other properties of this construction cannot be accounted for with a raising analysis. Raising from object position has been proposed for the treatment of German
passive constructions.
s, which are much the same, except with a noun argument being semantically an argument both of the control verb and of the verb argument. For example, in "He tried to do that," tried is a control verb, where its subject he is semantically the subject both of tried and of to do. (Note that one cannot say, *"It tried that he did that," and that "That tried to be done by him" is syntactically
well-formed but has a different, non-sensical meaning.)
As with many technical terms, both raising verb and control verb are used somewhat differently in different papers, partly because different linguistic theories may group verbs in somewhat different hierarchies.
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, raising is a form of argument control in which an argument
Verb argument
In linguistics, a verb argument is a phrase that appears in a syntactic relationship with the verb in a clause. In English, for example, the two most important arguments are the subject and the direct object....
that belongs semantically to a subordinate clause is realized syntactically as a constituent of a higher clause. For example, the sentence "Bill seemed to be angry" is a raising construction, because although Bill is understood semantically to be the subject
Subject (grammar)
The subject is one of the two main constituents of a clause, according to a tradition that can be tracked back to Aristotle and that is associated with phrase structure grammars; the other constituent is the predicate. According to another tradition, i.e...
of to be angry, it is the syntactic subject of seemed. The verb seem in this example is known as a raising verb. Not all languages have raising verbs; English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
is one that does.
The term "raising" has its origins in the transformational
Transformational grammar
In linguistics, a transformational grammar or transformational-generative grammar is a generative grammar, especially of a natural language, that has been developed in the Chomskyan tradition of phrase structure grammars...
analysis of such constructions. In this analysis, in the example above, the noun Bill is "raised" from its initial position as the subject of the embedded infinitival clause
Clause
In grammar, a clause is the smallest grammatical unit that can express a complete proposition. In some languages it may be a pair or group of words that consists of a subject and a predicate, although in other languages in certain clauses the subject may not appear explicitly as a noun phrase,...
to its final position as the main clause subject.
Properties of raising
The main characteristic of raising constructions is the fact that the raised constituent is not a semantic argument of the upper clause. This can be illustrated in two ways, using the English raising verb seem. First, the understood subject of the embedded infinitival clause can be an expletiveSyntactic expletive
Syntactic expletives are words that perform a syntactic role but contribute nothing to meaning. Expletive subjects are part of the grammar of many non-pro-drop languages such as English, whose clauses normally require overt provision of subject even when the subject can be pragmatically inferred...
:
- It is snowing again. → It seems to be snowing again.
- There are too many people here. → There seem to be too many people here.
These examples show that seem does not require a semantically potent subject. Second, the embedded clause can be put in the active or passive voice without significantly changing the meaning of the entire sentence:
- (active) Bill is spearheading the revolt. ≈ (passive) The revolt is spearheaded by Bill.
- (active) Bill seems to be spearheading the revolt. ≈ (passive) The revolt seems to be spearheaded by Bill.
These examples show that the semantic roles of Bill and the revolt are determined exclusively within the embedded clause. The verb seems does not assign an additional semantic role to its subject; otherwise, the meaning conveyed by the sentence would be expected to vary, depending on whether Bill or the revolt appeared as the main clause subject.
Types of raising elements
The English verb seem is a typical example of a "subject-raising" verb (also known as a "raising to subject verb" or "subject-to-subject raising verb"). These terms refer to the transformational analysis in which the subject of the lower clause is raised to become the subject of seem. Other subject raising verbs in English include begin, continue, appear.English also has "object raising" verbs (or "raising to object verb", "subject-to-object raising verbs"), such as expect and believe. In the sentence "Bill expected Annie to be late", Annie is the direct object of expected, but it is interpreted as the subject of the embedded infinitive to be late.
In addition to verbs, other syntactic categories can be raising elements. For example, the following examples contain a subject-to-subject-raising adjective:
- Bill is certain to win. / It is certain to snow tomorrow.
In all of the cases mentioned above, the raised argument corresponds to the subject of the embedded infinitival clause. Raising from a lower object
Object (grammar)
An object in grammar is part of a sentence, and often part of the predicate. It denotes somebody or something involved in the subject's "performance" of the verb. Basically, it is what or whom the verb is acting upon...
position is much rarer. In the so-called "tough construction", the adjective has some properties of an object-to-subject raising element:
- Bill is tough (for Carol) to convince.
In this example, Bill is interpreted as the missing object of convince, but realized as the subject of the main clause. However, the other properties of this construction cannot be accounted for with a raising analysis. Raising from object position has been proposed for the treatment of German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
passive constructions.
Raising vs. control
The term raising verb is sometimes generalized somewhat to include control verbControl verb
In linguistics, a control construction is a clause that contains a main clause , the predicate of which has two complements — an embedded clause complement and a nominal complement that acts as the semantic argument of the main clause and of the embedded clause...
s, which are much the same, except with a noun argument being semantically an argument both of the control verb and of the verb argument. For example, in "He tried to do that," tried is a control verb, where its subject he is semantically the subject both of tried and of to do. (Note that one cannot say, *"It tried that he did that," and that "That tried to be done by him" is syntactically
Syntax
In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing phrases and sentences in natural languages....
well-formed but has a different, non-sensical meaning.)
As with many technical terms, both raising verb and control verb are used somewhat differently in different papers, partly because different linguistic theories may group verbs in somewhat different hierarchies.