Control (linguistics)

Control (linguistics)

In linguistics, control is a construction where the understood subject of a given predicate is determined by some expression in context. Stereotypical instances of control involve verbs. A superordinate verb "controls" a subordinate, non-finite verb. Control was intensively studied in the Government and Binding (GB) framework in the 1980s, and much of the terminology from that era is still used today. In the days of Transformational Grammar, control phenomena were discussed in terms of Equi-NP deletion. Control is often analyzed in terms of a null pronoun called PRO. Control is also related to raising, although there are important differences between control and raising. Most if not all languages have control constructions and these constructions tend to occur frequently.

Read more about Control (linguistics):  Examples, Control Verbs Vs. Auxiliary Verbs, Non-obligatory or Optional Control, Arbitrary Control, Representing Control, Control Vs. Raising

Famous quotes containing the word control:

    Could it not be that just at the moment masculinity has brought us to the brink of nuclear destruction or ecological suicide, women are beginning to rise in response to the Mother’s call to save her planet and create instead the next stage of evolution? Can our revolution mean anything else than the reversion of social and economic control to Her representatives among Womankind, and the resumption of Her worship on the face of the Earth? Do we dare demand less?
    Jane Alpert (b. 1947)