The Causative Constructions in the Finnish Language

Abstract

It is a well-known fact that the Finnish language has two types of causative construction. One is the analytical causative construction, which contains a third infinitive in the illative case. The other is the curative construction, the predicate of which is a curative verb. In most of the cases these two constructions are not interchangeable. Sometimes they are nearly synonymous but there are still somewhat differences between them. In order to explain the difference, it will be useful to consider the argument structure of each construction. Considering the argument structure, it becomes clear that the two causative constructions differ in the focus of their description.