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:
“The poets were not alone in sanctioning myths, for long before the poets the states and the lawmakers had sanctioned them as a useful expedient.... They needed to control the people by superstitious fears, and these cannot be aroused without myths and marvels.”
—Strabo (c. 58 B.C.–c. 24 A.D., Greek geographer. Geographia, bk. 1, sct. 2, subsct. 8.