2008 年 2008 巻 24 号 p. 23-42
This paper proposes that the C-T configuration is necessary in order for lexical subjects in participial constructions to be licensed by nominative Case, arguing that a historical change of nominative absolutes is accounted for in terms of whether they involve the C-T configuration. A historical survey shows that nominative absolutes, which were firmly established during the 15th century, had been frequent until the middle of the 17th century, but they have been declining toward PE since then. The decline of nominative absolutes is shown to have been caused by the loss of the C-T configuration by analoav with verbal gerunds, which acquired clausal properties during EModE. Consequently, nominative absolutes are regarded as a fossilized literary expression in PE.