singke
(singke)
#1
186 L. MICHELLE CUTRER
3.2.1 Causative/transfer of permission
The pattern exhibited by "transfer" verbs in purpose clauses is analogous to
that of certain causative constructions.
(41) a. He allows his daughter to date.
b. He permits his son to smoke.
Although we cannot label these causative constructions as purpose clauses,
because they lack an obligatorily controlled gap, the control relations are
parallel to those of transfer verbs in purpose clauses. Allow and permit
encode the same notion as do transfer verbs. Examples (41a) and (41b) can
be paraphrased essentially as:
(42) a. He gave permission to his daughter to date.
b. He gave permission to his son to smoke.
Although we have grouped permit and allow as causatives, a second
analysis is possible. These examples demonstrate a pattern analogous to
that of "transfer" verbs. The thing transferred in this case is not a particular
object, as with give or send. The thing transferred is permission to do the
activity represented or encoded by the complement verb. Undergoer con
trol is predicted in (41), because of the causative sense; the recipient is
expected to be controller in (42) because of the sense of transfer. The con
trol relations may be characterized in two different ways: by the causative
semantics of the verb, or the semantics of transfer verbs. The same argu
ment will be controller regardless of how the sentence is analyzed.
In addition to causatives which encode a transfer of permission, there
are causative verbs which encode the negative sense of a "transfer of per
mission". In other words, certain verbs encode a withholding of "transfer of
permission".
(43) Her father forbade Mary to go.
In this example, forbid encodes the opposite notion oí permit. This sen
tence can be rephrased as "her father does not permit Mary to go". The for
bidding, in a sense, should cause Mary not to go. Thus, two analyses are
possible: as a causative or a transfer verb. What is encoded is a withhold
ing of permission or the "causing not to" perform the action encoded by the
embedded verb. Recipient or undergoer control is predicted in such a con
struction. Regardless of the way in which the sentence is framed, it is the
same argument which is predicted to be controller.
