Modal possessive constructions: Evidence from Russian

The Modal Existential construction (ModEx)—as in Russian Mne est’ čto počitat’, ‘There is something for me to read’—has received much attention in the literature. This paper analyzes a related construction in Russian which contains in subject position, not a dative DP, but a PP headed by the preposition u, ‘at’—U menja est’ čto počitat’, ‘I have something to read’. Because u marks possessors, I term this construction the Modal Possessive (ModPoss). Although both constructions contain an infinitival wh-clause embedded under an existential predicate, I identify several syntactic and semantic differences between ModPoss and ModEx, including: (1) the dative DP in ModEx, but not the possessor in ModPoss, is the subject of the infinitival clause, and (2) ModPoss, but not ModEx, asserts the existence of an individual in the actual world. I argue that the differences are fully explained by the presence of a Possessor Phrase (PossP) in ModPoss. PossP (1) introduces an additional argument and (2) requires that its complement be a set of individuals, forcing low existential closure of the world variable introduced by the infinitive. The present analysis also relates ModPoss to embedded questions, free relatives, and correlatives.

► This paper identifies a new construction, the Modal Possessive (ModPoss).
► ModPoss differs syntactically and semantically from well-studied Modal Existentials.
► The properties of ModPoss follow from its possessive syntax.
► ModPoss is related to other constructions with embedded wh-clauses.