438 LINDA SCHWARTZ
In an analysis of Russian subjective and objective constructions within
a Government-Binding framework, Pesetsky specifies the conditions under
which a predicate can indirectly theta-mark an argument, by giving an
Agent Rule which states that if a role-assigning element assigns the theta-
role agent to an argument, then it indirectly theta-marks that argument.
Predicates with indirectly theta-marked arguments then have the syntactic
behavior of subjectives, since indirect theta-marking entails that subject
position is filled at d-structure. However, because attributive constructions
exhibit subjective syntax, Pesetsky must supplement the semantically-based
Agent Rule with an additional Attributive and Identificational Rule, which
states that if a role-assigning element assigns the role of attribute or iden-
tificand to an argument, then it indirectly theta-marks that argument. Thus,
in Pesetsky's analysis, the class of subjective predicates is semantically-
based, although by a disjunction, defined by the Agent Rule and the
Attributive and Identificational Rule.1.2 FrenchThe examples in (6)-(9) illustrate the same point for French. In French,
impersonal il (a diagnostic for objectivity) can appear with objective predi
cates, as in (6), but not with either subjective predicates, as in (7), or with
attributive and identificational predicates, as in (8)-(9).
(6) Il est arrivé un homme.
IL is come a man
"A man arrived."
(7) *Il a chanté un homme.
IL has sung a man
"A man sang."
(8) *il est malade un homme.
IL is ill a man
"A man is ill."
(9) *Il est un élève un écolier.
IL is a student a primary student
"A primary student is a student."