Conclusion(97) NP
N'
N vP
ing v'
v vP
have
en DP v'
the patient v VP
e DP V'
the medicine V
refuse
(96c) is a mystery that has been noted for some time: why other aspectual and mood
morphemes can appear in the gerund but not the continuous one is something that very
few approaches can predict. Some have suggested that that the problem is
phonological: having two ing forms one following the other for some reason is a
problematic sequence. Others disagree and say that the restriction is semantically
based. I have nothing to contribute to the discussion and remain as puzzled as ever.
Once again we have scratched a few surfaces, though perhaps a little more
substantially this time. There is clearly still a lot more to be said and that could be the
subject for a whole new book. However we are at the end of the present book and so
this is not the place to embark on this venture.
4 Conclusion
In this chapter we have dealt with a number of phenomena concerning non-finite
clauses in English. On the whole, the interesting aspect of these constructions concerns
their subjects. We have seen various possibilities for empty subjects in non-finite
clauses, as with raising and control structures, and also exceptional accusative subjects
in other constructions as with exceptional and small clauses. The gerund offers
problems for analysis all of its own. By and large, we have offered analyses for all
these structures, but have left many issues undiscussed and have ignored many
alternative analyses. We might hope that this book has interested the reader
sufficiently for them to follow up what has been left out here in further reading and
research.