Finiteness and the subjunctive: the case of Bulgarian da constructions from a comparative perspective
Finiteness and the subjunctive: the case of Bulgarian da constructions from a comparative perspective

Summary/Abstract: This paper explores the morphosyntactic properties of the so-called Balkan subjunctive constructions, with a focus on Bulgarian da-clauses. Building on typological and generative approaches to finiteness, the study argues for a three-way classification of da- complements depending on their syntactic structure and semantic interpretation: monoclausal (event-level), biclausal control (situation- evel), and biclausal non-control (propositional- level) configurations. These structures correspond to different degrees of syntactic transparency and subject control, which reflect their position on an implicational hierarchy of clausehood. The paper draws parallels with Romance infinitives and subjunctives, as well as wсth English to-infinitives, arguing that the Balkan-type “subjunctive” represents a compensatory strategy for encoding dependency relations in the absence of a productive infinitive form.

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