The Use of the Infinitive in Latvian and Norwegian: the Contrastive Aspect Cover Image

The Use of the Infinitive in Latvian and Norwegian: the Contrastive Aspect
The Use of the Infinitive in Latvian and Norwegian: the Contrastive Aspect

Author(s): Ilze Lokmane
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies
Published by: Kauno Technologijos Universitetas

Summary/Abstract: The article deals with the syntactic use of the infinitive in Latvian, which is a Baltic language, and Norwegian, which is Germanic. The contrastive analysis of the syntactic structures is based on the comparison of the deep and the surface structures of the sentence. It is concluded that Norwegian offers wider possibilities for the expression of the semantic roles of the agent, the experiencer and the patient in the surface structure. In Latvian, a great part of the corresponding propositions have to be expressed by subordinate clauses or participle constructions.

  • Issue Year: 2005
  • Issue No: 7
  • Page Range: 21-25
  • Page Count: 6
  • Language: English