Chapter 8 The Syntax of Non-Finite Clauses
In this chapter we will concentrate on the non-finite clause and investigate syntactic
phenomena that are exclusive to it. There is a surprising amount of this and the non-
finite clause is a far more varied structure than its finite counterpart. Much of this
variation concerns the subject which in many cases has connections with the verb
selecting the non-finite clause as its complement. Thus the boundaries of the clause
become blurred at this point. Most of the structures we will look at in this chapter are
infinitives, which as they contain both a tensed element and a complementiser have the
kind of structure we have been discussing over the previous chapters. Not all of them,
however, have identical structures and the amount of functional structure they contain
is one of the axes of variation between non-finite clauses. We end the chapter with a
look at probably one of the strangest constructions in English, the gerund. This has
been claimed to have a status somewhat similar to a mythical beast, being half one
creature, half another. The gerund displays certain properties of clauses but also
certain properties of DPs. This makes it a very interesting structure to analyse from the
X-bar perspective which claims that the properties of a structure come from its head.
1 Exceptional and Small Clauses
1.1 Clauses without CP
A typical structure for the clause that we have so far argued for, without any
elaboration, is:
(1) CP
C'
C IP
complementiser DP I'
subject I vP
agreement v'
v VP
tense verb ...
This seems to fit both finite and non-finite types of clause: