Controller-controllee relations in purposive constructions

This paper examines purpose and rationale clauses, two subtypes of purposive constructions. The study of these constructions has been mainly developed for English within formal syntax. A purpose clause is a VP-internal adjunct containing a gap bound to the matrix object(i.e. controllee), while a rationale clause is a VP-external adjunct lacking a gap bounded to the matrix object. A similar approach to controller-pivot relationships for purpose has been adopted in previous studies in Role and Reference Grammar. Based on cross-linguistic data, I argue that the lexical manifestation of the controlled element is a language-specific feature, i.e. it can be covert or overt. In some languages, the two lexical manifestations are possible, i.e. a construction-specific property.