A corpus-based study of bridge verbs in long distance dependencies in French: a specific construction

Abstract

This paper proposes a new analysis of long distance dependencies phenomena. The data collected through corpora indicate that the bridge verb and its dependents follow a very specific template limited to a verb with a modal interpretation and clitic pronouns. We propose an analysis based on complex predicates formation, in opposition to current analyses based on clause embedding. Therefore, there is no longer a need for long distance processes: the movement of the relative or interrogative pronoun remains local. All the constraints on this pattern will be formulated in constructional terms.