PARAMETRIC PREDICATIVES IN RUSSIAN

The paper discusses the semantics and syntax of a class of Russian predicatives which select a dative subject and at once denote parametric features of spatio-temporal situations and an intentional state, quantified on the experiential subject, cf. X-у тяжело/легко носить сумку ‘It is difficult/easy for X to carry the bag’, X-у светло/темно lit. ‘It is illuminated/dark to X’. The valency of a dative experiencer serves as a diagnostic for a semantic class of indeclinable nominal predicatives, which license Dative Predicative Structures in Russian. I prove that predicatives and adjectival elements licensing Dative-Nominative Structures are syntactic homonyms with different features regarding agreement control, selection of priority argument, conditions on its animacy and conditions on merging extended Quantifier Phrases of the type .Those Russian predicatives which select dative subjects do not take standard nominative subjects. I argue that indeclinable predicatives, like по силам ‘in the reach of X’, по карману ‘X can afford’, по пояс ‘belt-high’ vs predicate heads licensing Dative-Nominative Structures X-у Y-и были по силам, по карману, по пояс, are not realizations of the same underlying elements, but homonyms. The constraint of the spell-out of mandatory semantic arguments with parametric predicatives по колено ‘knee-high’, малО́ ‘<the coat or shoes are> not enough for X’, великО́ ‘<the coat or shoes are> large for X’ is predicted by the general conditions of the build-up of dative sentence patterns in Russian.