Control (linguistics)

In linguistics, control is a construction in which the understood subject of a given predicate is determined by some expression in context. Stereotypical instances of control involve verbs. A superordinate verb "controls" the arguments of a subordinate, nonfinite verb. Control was intensively studied in the government and binding framework in the 1980s, and much of the terminology from that era is still used today.^[1] In the days of Transformational Grammar, control phenomena were discussed in terms of Equi-NP deletion.^[2] Control is often analyzed in terms of a null pronoun called PRO. Control is also related to raising, although there are important differences between control and raising.