Le sorti dell’infinito soggetto nel greco post-omerico. Prime ricognizioni

Abstract

The syntax of Subject Infinitive in Greek is investigated according to a corpus-based analysis of those contexts allowing an Infinitive as the first argument of the clause. Unlike Homeric Greek, the post-Homeric language shows an expansion of this pattern towards the domain of transitivity. The occurrences are analyzed on the basis of specific verbal properties such as the Aktionsart of the finite predicate. It is shown that, in post-Homeric Greek, the constraint previously governing the distribution of Subject Infinitive is lost, but the licensing of an Infinitive as Subject within a transitive clause is only marginally attested, thus resulting in a marked construction with respect to frequency. The discussion of the data also considers the long-term drift concerning the use and the function of Infinitives in the history of Greek.