Patient arguments of causative verbs can be omitted: the role of information structure in argument distribution

Abstract

This paper offers an examination of the distributional range of causative verbs. Contra many claims in the literature that these verbs have highly circumscribed distributions, we demonstrate that they readily appear in a wide variety of argument structure frames. The appearance of causative verbs with omitted patient arguments is analyzed in particular detail and an account is offered in which properties of information structure play a critical role. Constructional influences and lexical semantic factors are shown to be relevant as well, both in the case of omitted arguments and in licensing resultative and path phrases.