Oxford Studies in Comparative Syntax Infinitive Constructions with Specified Subjects

Overt subjects are usually considered as a property of finite clauses. However, most Romance languages permit specified subjects in a broad range of infinitive constructions. Guido Mensching analyses this phenomenon in stages of French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and other Romance varieties. Most Romance languages permit the overt realization of the grammatical subject in infinitive clauses in a considerable number of configurations. Mensching has the following goals: to describe systematically Romance infinitive constructions with specified subjects, taking into account diachronic and dialectical varieties; and then to interpret these facts within a generative framework, examining how overt subjects in infinitive clauses are licensed and what determines their case and position. His findings call for a thorough revision of the principles that have been assumed for analysing the Romance languages. Mensching uses eight Romance languages in his comparisons, among them Italian, Sardinian, Romanian, Spanish, and Portuguese.