ASPECT OF THE RUSSIAN INFINITIVE COMPLEMENT

This dissertation investigates factors which influence the aspect of the Russian infinitive complement (IC) with certain governing predicates (GP). The issue is essentially the role of the GP and that of the IC in influencing aspect choice. There are two basic positions: IC aspects is or is not independently determined. The second position can be further refined by stating that IC aspect is determined by the properties of the GP itself or by the properties of the whole sentence (which includes the GP). The approach taken is that the relationship between the GP and the IC is one of checks and balances. The GP necessarily exerts a syntactic and semantic influence on the IC. The precise nature and extent of which depends on the semantic and aspectual properties of the individual GP. Similarly, the nature and extent of the IC's independence from the GP vis-a-vis aspect use is in inverse proportion to the strength of the GP's influence.; The dissertation is largely devoted to determining the semantic and aspectual properties of the GP and their effect on IC aspect. The basic theory is that the aspect of a verb is determined by various semantic parameters which can compete with each other in a given context. Thus the aspectual and semantic properties of the GP and the semantic properties of the IC can potentially influence IC aspect. To discuss the semantic relationship of the GP and IC more precisely, I have certain logical concepts for linguistic use. To determine the effect and relative strength of semantic and aspectual factors on the aspect of the IC, I have tested examples with native speakers of Russian.; There are three major factors which influence the aspect of the IC. The first is the aspectual properties of the GP, whether x, y, or z. The second is the semantic properties of the GP. The effect of the GP on IC aspect varies according to the property; for example, modality imposed on the IC is consistent with the perfective aspect. The semantic and aspectual properties can be consistent with one aspect or conflicting. With conflicting features, the third factor becomes more important--aspect-determining factors operating on the IC level. These include interactivity, durativity, etc., as well as lexical properties of the IC predicate. The basic principle is that the aspect of the IC is determined by the outcome of the competition between the various factors which can potentially influence IC aspect.