Reanalysis of English Middle Construction and Formation Conditions

Abstract

Abstract-The semantic function, to attribute the non-agent subject, motivates the selection of this "mismatched" argument structure of middle construction; meanwhile, it derives some restrictions on the construction as a whole as well as each of the grammatical constituents. Pre-existence makes the non-agent nominal to be a legitimate subject, but there's no qualified argument to undertake volition in middle construction.