Abstract
This paper offers an account for why, cross-linguistically, denying the whole change of state encoded by causative verbs is easier with agent than with causer subjects. It does so by extending Varasdi's theory of the progressive to non-culminating reading sof causative verbs, not only in progressive but also in perfective sentences. It additionally sustains two claims about the difference between agentive and nonagentive ongoing causation events: only the former (a) can in principle start before their potential effects start and (b) are systematically `indicative' of these potential effects.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 246-266 |
| Journal | Proceedings of SALT |
| Volume | 25 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Oct 2015 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- agentivity
- agent vs
- causer subjects
- causative verbs
- non-culminating accom-plishments
- defeasible causatives
- sublexical modality
- progressive