Raising (linguistics)

Raising (linguistics)

In linguistics, raising is the construction where a given predicate/verb takes a dependent that is not its semantic argument, but rather it is the semantic argument of an embedded predicate. In other words, an argument that belongs to an embedded predicate is realized syntactically as a dependent of a higher predicate/verb. Not all languages have raising predicates, but English is one that does. The term raising has its origins in the transformational analysis of such constructions; the one constituent is seen as "raised" from its initial position as the subject of the embedded predicate to its final position as a dependent of the matrix predicate/verb. Raising predicates/verbs are related to control predicates, although there are important differences between the two predicate/verb types.