ON THE SYNTACTIC STATUS OF SMALL CLAUSE PARTICLES IN ENGLISH

Abstract

This paper explores small clauses which contain particles such as as and for. It is well known that verbs like regard and take take particles in their small clauses. Until Middle English, it clearly functioned as preposition since only a DP appeared after as. Then it became to bear the properties of a functional element, i.e. Pr[edication]. This paper examines the property of small clause particle as and discusses what the categolrial status as has in present-day English. It will be shown that for in the take... for construction is not Pr, but preposition.