Anubha Kothari

Context and Frequency in Extraction from Non-Bridge Complements

Sentential complements are considered islands, except when the matrix clause has a "bridge" verb, such as 'say', 'think', etc. Non-bridge verbs such as 'mumble' or 'know' are therefore said to disallow extraction from their sentential complements. An open question is whether bridge phenomena should be accounted for by a structural analysis or, as many have proposed, by a non-structural approach that appeals to contextual factors (Erteschik-Shir 1973, Kluender 1992, etc.). To date, there have been no empirical tests of contextual influence. I report on a set of three experiments -- one acceptability ratings study, and two self-paced reading studies. The results from these studies confirms that there is a significant difference between the two verb classes with regards to extraction from their sentential complements, but that these differences erode with appropriate contextual support. Furthermore, we see some evidence of a more continuous rather than categorical difference between the various verbs studied, corresponding to the frequency with which they appear with sentential compelments.