EMOTIONS VS. INTERPRETATIONS: TWO TYPES OF INFINITIVE CONSTRUCTIONS WITH PREDICATIVES

Abstract

The paper considers constructions «predicative + infinitive». Interpretive infinitive constructions asopposed to emotional reactions. For emotional reactions, the predicative and the infinitive refer to the same subject, the infinitives of the perception, mental, speech verbs are typical for them: It hurts / It's sad to see you suffer (‘X sees, X is sad’). For interpretive constructions, the subject of the predicative and the subject of the infinitive does not coincide: It's tactless to ask this question – ‘X asks the question, Y evaluates such an act as tactless’. The infinitives of perceptual and mental verbs in such a construction are either not used, or they denote a kind of action: It is tactless to listen to private conversations.