Unit 3 - 2. Clitics - Part 2

Critical Structures in Language

Introduction to Critical Types

• The presentation focuses on critical types not covered previously, emphasizing structures that exhibit specific traits rather than argumentative functions.

• Three or four critical types will be explored, particularly the native being and media constructions.

Passive Constructions

• Examples of passive constructions are introduced, such as "se vendió todo el stock," which is traditionally classified as a passive or quasi-reflexive construction.

• The verb agreement in "se vendieron todos los sombreros de fieltro" illustrates how subject position can be influenced by internal arguments.

• A grammatical anomaly is noted with "se vendió todos los sombreros de fieltro," highlighting issues with internal argument concordance.

Agent and Event Relationships

• The phrase "se abrieron las compuertas para evitar una inundación" suggests an agent behind the action, reinforcing the idea of causation in passive structures.

• Contrasting interpretations arise when considering adjunct phrases that may obscure the presence of an agent, leading to different structural readings.

Impersonal Constructions

• Impersonal constructions lack concrete subjects and often involve agents that cannot be recovered from context, exemplified by "se agredió el periodista."

• These constructions typically take an agent as a subject but do not allow for recovery of that agent from the sentence structure itself.

Media Constructions

• Media constructions are characterized as non-causal and often include grammatical aspects that define inherent qualities of the subject, such as in "estas camisas se lavan fácilmente."

• Unlike reflexive accusative forms, these constructions maintain their argument structure without altering it significantly; they describe inherent properties rather than actions performed by agents.

Understanding Negative and Impersonal Constructions in Spanish

Key Concepts of Negative Constructions

• Negative constructions inherently represent changes of state, contrasting with medial constructions that describe inherent qualities of the subject.

• Educational constructions always indicate a change of state, while some negative verbs can alternate between caused and non-caused states.

• Pasqual Mazú suggests that the critical aspect of educational constructions reflects an absence of cause, particularly in alternating verbs.

Differences Between "Morir" and "Morirse"

• The distinction between "morir" (to die) and "morirse" (to die away) lies in their causative nature; only one functions within a non-caused configuration.

• The clinical perspective indicates that variations in these terms relate to specific constructs being characterized.

Characteristics of Various Constructions

• Superficially, negative, passive, and impersonal constructions appear similar as they all show verb agreement with internal arguments.

• In passive structures, this agreement disappears when the internal argument is promoted to the grammatical subject position.

Passive Structures Explained

• To predicate an event using passive voice requires at least two arguments on the surface level; this highlights the need for monotransitive structures.

• The external argument's role becomes clear when analyzing examples like “se vendieron todos los sombreros de fieltro” (all felt hats were sold).

Distinguishing Features Among Constructions

• It’s crucial to differentiate between narrative structures (which are non-causal), medial constructions, and passive forms which are always causal.

• Narrative and medial structures describe changes of state while passive forms involve an external initiator.

Impersonal Constructions Overview

• Spanish features various types of impersonal constructions characterized by indefinite subjects that agree in third person singular form.

• Existential constructions often have null expletives; for example, “hubo varios enfrentamientos” (there were several confrontations), where verb agreement does not align with internal arguments.

Examples Highlighting Grammaticality Issues

• Incorrect agreements such as “hubieron varios enfrentamientos” illustrate grammatical errors stemming from misalignment between verb forms and internal arguments.

Impersonal Constructions in Spanish

Overview of Impersonal Constructions

• The discussion focuses on impersonal constructions in Spanish, particularly those that utilize a null subject and can be either specific or generic. Examples include phrases like "se rescató a excursionistas" and "aquí se come bien."

• It is noted that certain verbs may not indicate an agent but rather a theme, as seen in the example "por acá se va al cementerio," where the verb 'ir' does not imply an active agent.

• There is a tendency for these constructions to exhibit concordance between the verb and the noun phrase, even when there is no morphological case marking present.

Concordance and Case Marking

• A significant point made is about establishing concordance between verbs and noun phrases that lack explicit case marking, which often leads to abstract cases being used.

• The speaker provides examples such as "no hubieron los accidentes fatales," illustrating how nominal elements can influence verbal agreement despite lacking clear case markers.

Abstract Cases in Argument Structures

• The presence of two nominal elements with abstract cases within the same argument structure allows for potential concordance with verbal inflection, highlighting complexities in grammatical relationships.

• In Spanish, it’s suggested that internal arguments can establish gender and number agreement with post-verbal lexical elements despite their abstract nature.

Characteristics of Impersonal Verbs

• Common impersonal constructions are identified using verbs without intact arguments, such as "acá se canta mucho" or "se camina muy bien," emphasizing their clarity in expressing impersonal actions.

• A subgroup of impersonal constructions involves transitive verbs taking direct objects without prepositions. This highlights how certain syntactic structures allow for unique grammatical interpretations.

Anomalies in Verbal Concordance

• Examples like “se buscan libros perdidos” illustrate how verbal agreement may appear anomalous when interacting with noun phrases lacking traditional subject roles.

• The construction “se invita a los alumnos” demonstrates how prepositions do not always convey spatial relations but instead introduce entities with anthropomorphic traits affecting grammatical structure.

Implications of Prepositional Use

• The use of prepositions like 'a' introduces complexity by suggesting human-like characteristics to non-human entities within sentences, impacting overall sentence meaning and structure.

• It becomes evident that while prepositional phrases may seem to function as subjects, they do not fulfill this role grammatically; rather they serve different syntactical purposes within impersonal constructs.

Conclusion on Grammatical Structures

• The analysis concludes by comparing various constructions to highlight differences between canonical forms and those exhibiting unusual grammatical behavior.

Understanding Passive and Impersonal Constructions in Spanish

Differences Between Passive and Impersonal Constructions

• The discussion begins with the concept of passive constructions in Spanish, highlighting a tendency towards an increase in usage without clear concordance between museums and actions.

• An example is provided: "eso no se hace," illustrating an impersonal construction that lacks apparent subject agreement but can be pluralized to show internal argument consistency.

• A distinction is made between impersonal transitives (which do not exhibit concordance) and passive constructions (which do), emphasizing the grammatical subject's role in maintaining agreement.

• The speaker suggests that confusion arises from incorrectly equating different types of passive constructions, particularly morphologically distinct ones that utilize auxiliary verbs.

• It is noted that while some constructions may seem similar, they are fundamentally different; all impersonal constructions are not necessarily classified as passive.

Exploring Concordance in Passive Constructions

• The focus shifts to the presence of determiners and their relationship with verb concordance, using "se vendieron todas estas entradas" as a classic example of subject indication through action.

• The analysis continues by examining how flexion features establish agreement within the construction, identifying "todas las entradas" as the subject linked to the action described.

• A critical observation is made regarding pronominalization leading to loss of concordance, demonstrating how certain structures can obscure grammatical relationships.

• The conversation touches on cases where an indefinite agent initiates an event, complicating interpretations of passivity or reflexivity within these constructs.

• Further exploration reveals how indirect objects can influence understanding; for instance, "se la vendieron" indicates a recipient role rather than a direct action.

Trends and Variations in Usage

• The speaker discusses nominalization processes affecting transitive constructions, noting how object roles shift during transformations like "les vendieron las entradas."

• There’s mention of linguistic trends against using traditional concordances; examples illustrate this evolving language use over time among speakers.

• Reference is made to Breccia's findings on passive variations lacking concordance being historically entrenched within Spanish-speaking communities across America.

• It’s highlighted that even prestigious writers exhibit these non-concordant forms, indicating widespread acceptance despite grammatical norms being challenged.

Understanding Post-Verbal Determinants and Passive Constructions

The Role of Post-Verbal Determinants

• The post-verbal determinant is not the subject but rather the object, which takes on an accusative case. The subject in these constructions is an external initiator that manifests as a "pro," lacking phonological or morphological realization.

Active vs. Passive Constructions

• An active interpretation is illustrated with "se pintan casas," indicating someone paints houses. In contrast, passive constructions like "estas casas fueron pintadas" allow for agent recovery (e.g., by Carlitos).

• Unlike active constructions, one cannot specify an agent in "se pintan casas," highlighting the limitations of certain passive forms.

Distinguishing Construction Types

• Traditional distinctions categorize some constructions as passive due to their syntactic derivation, such as “se agredió a los periodistas,” focusing on verb locality.

• Internal arguments generate more constructions; the external initiator remains morphologically undefined, described as a category without specific features.

Concordance Hypotheses

• Various hypotheses explain concordance in passive constructions: one suggests that agreement traits migrate to realized nominals when distinct from their agents.

• Another hypothesis posits that speakers fill structural gaps with constituents suitable for qualifying subjects, leading to flexible subject designations.

Pragmatic Considerations and Functional Hypotheses

• Some functional hypotheses suggest that speaker prominence influences grammatical function assignment within sentences.

• A pragmatic view indicates that speakers may overlook syntactic rules due to the importance of specific elements in information structure.

Comparing Passive Constructions

• There’s a comparison between passive constructions with “se” and periphrastic passives; both have different formal characteristics despite similar functions.

• While both types can express agency, only periphrastic passives allow for explicit agent recovery through complements.

Implications of Argument Structures

• In “se” passives, there exists a null external argument interpreted as an agent; internal arguments are treated differently compared to periphrastic structures.

• Periphrastic passives receive nominative cases while maintaining identifiable agents through explicit complements, contrasting with indefinite entities in “se” passives.

Understanding Propositional Agent Complements

Similarities in Passive Constructions

• The semantic similarity between personal and impersonal passive constructions suggests they should not be viewed as fundamentally different. Both forms imply an active reading where the same agent is involved.

• Engels argues that interpreting these similar structures as distinct is unnatural, as both assume the existence of an indeterminate group of agents seeking something (e.g., "someone is looking for the culprits").

Anticipatory Constructions

• The discussion shifts to anticipatory constructions, which are characterized by their independent semantic traits. These constructions often absorb accusative cases and require a preposition to incorporate additional entities.

• Examples illustrate how anticipatory constructions consistently follow a mechanism where an accusative case is absorbed by a critical element, necessitating a preposition for further constituents.

Types of Anticipatory Constructions

• The speaker categorizes anticipatory constructions into three types based on their mechanisms. Type one involves interactive verbs that can be either transitive or intransitive, highlighting the flexibility of these structures.

• Notably, even intransitive negative constructions can exhibit transitive behavior due to their inherent nature, prompting further exploration of this phenomenon in synchronous encounters.

Examples and Variations

• Various examples demonstrate how verbs like "reír" (to laugh) can take on different forms within these constructs while still maintaining a critical role that absorbs the accusative case.

• Comparisons are made with other verbs such as "equivocar" (to mistake), showcasing grammatical variations and how certain constructs may alternate with prepositional phrases.

Mechanisms Behind Anti-Passive Structures

• The anti-passive mechanism requires nominalization to introduce critical elements absorbing accusative cases. This process illustrates how syntactic structures adapt to accommodate various arguments.