This paper studies mood distribution in the complement of Spanish assertive matrices when the matrix subject is modified by the quantifier "poco/a/s". The focus of this study is solely complement clauses, and adjectival and adverbial clauses are not considered. Following Mejías-Bikandi's (1994, 1998) account that the distribution of mood…

Complements of causative predicates such as "hacer" in Spanish present a problem for analyses of mood that are based on semantic or pragmatic notions of assertion. The problem results from the fact that information expressed by these complements is presented both as true and new, and yet the complement verb appears in the subjunctive…

In seeking to both confirm previous conclusions and expand the literature of the field with a different group of participants, McNulty (2012) was (partially) replicated. Three instructional interventions were designed to ascertain which activity type was responsible for learner gains. One treatment group (R) included referential-only practice…

This essay contributes to the research on the emergence of tense/aspect morphology by reviewing the results and task conditions of studies supporting either the Aspect Hypothesis (AH) or the Default Past Tense Hypothesis (DPTH) for second language (L2) learners of Spanish. The AH has found that past marking emerges based on inherent aspectual…

This study explored native English speakers' interpretations of second-language Spanish sentences featuring an animate subject and an ambitransitive verb (e.g., "Escuchan bien los ninos" "The children listen well"). First- (N=37), third- (N=39), and fifth-semester (N=23) participants heard eight subject-verb (SV) and eight verb-subject (VS)…

In this essay, I apply current linguistic theory to reanalyze earlier research on the acquisition of "ser" and "estar" (e.g., VanPatten 1985, 1987). Using insights from Roby and Schmitt ("Semi-Copulas"), for example, I argue that the acquisition of the copular verbs is an issue of the acquisition of their aspectual properties (see also Bruhn de…

Examines the Spanish imperative paradigm and Ramsey's notion that all forms of Spanish imperatives are substituted by subjunctives in the first and third person. The concept of deontic modality in demonstrating the relationships among imperative and imperativelike patterns that carry the meaning of obligation, permission, and prohibition is also…

Analysis of the indicative-subjunctive alternation in the compliment of interrogative utterances with the verb "creer" shows that the "modality of reserved epistemic" determines choice of subjunctive. This determination contributes to a hypothesis about the nature of the subjunctive in Spanish. (CP)

Contradicts the single subjunctive theory of Dwight Bolinger and supports Samuel Gili Y Gaya in recognizing the subjunctive as more than one syntactic phenomenon. (CK)

Discusses the "g" found in first person singular present indicative forms of 14 Spanish verbs. Provides an integrated discussion of the structure and evolution of these verbs with regard to (1) morphological status of "g"; (2) reason for and nature of its extension; and (3) shared attributes of affected verbs. (Author/LMO)

Reexamines a claim that the indicative is the mood of assertion and the subjunctive that of nonassertion. The article discusses counterexamples to this claim and proposes an alternative analysis. The discussion argues that understanding the pragmatic context of an utterance is crucial to characterizing the distribution of mood in Spanish. (17…

The evolution of the Latin "teneo venio" to the Spanish "tengo vengo" is analyzed, including Menendez Pidal's influential treatment of the problem and some recent explanations. The hypothesis that loss of flexional yod was the fundamental cause of analogical structuring is reviewed, and a new hypothesis is proposed. (Contains 30 references.)…

Discusses two major theories regarding the origin of the Portuguese inflected infinitive: the imperfect subjunctive theory and the creative theory. Because the inflected infinitive is already established by the time of the earliest documents in Portuguese, no hard evidence exists that would permit a definite solution to the riddle of its…

Proposes an analysis of Spanish Neg-transportation that is not restricted to any particular set of verbs and can in fact be applied to wherever its structural description is met. The proposed method also explains why the complement of some negated matrix verbs can be expressed in either the indicative or the subjunctive. (CB)

The complex of factors governing mood choice in Spanish is reexamined. Mood choice is determined by the basic semantic values expressing the content of an utterance. The influence of comment, reaction, emotions, doubt, and uncertainty on mood choice are explored. (PMJ)