xcomp: open clausal complement
The name xcomp is borrowed from Lexical-Functional Grammar.
An open clausal complement (xcomp) of a verb or an adjective is a predicative or clausal complement without its own subject. The reference of the subject is necessarily determined by an argument external to the xcomp.
These complements are always non-finite, and they are complements (arguments of the higher verb or adjective) rather than adjuncts/modifiers.
Examples
Is leor breathnú ar na staitisticí chun a fheiceáil gur thit na caighdeáin `You must look at the statistics to see that the standards dropped’
Is leor breathnú ar na staitisticí chun a fheiceáil gur thit na caighdeáin \n Is enough look at the statistics for to see that dropped the standards
xcomp(leor, fheiceáil)
Caithfidh mé a dhul abhaile `I have to go home’
Caithfidh mé a dhul abhaile \n Have I to go home
xcomp(Caithfidh, dhul)
The UD Irish scheme uses xcomp to denote progressive aspectual phrases, the structure of which follows:
Be + SUBJ + at (ag) + Verbal Noun
In these cases, and in keeping with the analysis of prepositional phrases, we attach the verbal noun to the higher verb (“be”) (using the xcomp label instead of the nmod used in standard PPs). The preposition is then a dependent of the verbal noun, with that relationship labelled as case.
Tá sé ag rith `He is running’
Tá sé ag rith \n Is he at running
xcomp(Tá, rith)
case(rith, ag)
There are also some similar periphrastic constructions similar to these progressives that use le or ar:
Chuirfeadh iad ar fáil `They would be made available’
Chuirfeadh iad ar fáil \n Would_be_put they on getting
xcomp(Chuirfeadh,fáil)
case(fáil, ar)
Tá cuntas caiteachais le fáil fós ó Bhráithreachas Ospidéal Naomh Eoin. The expenditure account is still available from St. John’s hospital.
Tá cuntas caiteachais le fáil fós ó Bhráithreachas Ospidéal Naomh Eoin.\n Is account expenditure to_be gotten still from the brotherhood hospital Saint John.
xcomp(Tá,fáil)
case(fáil, le)
Verbal nouns in Irish can have either a fronted object or the object can follow the verbal noun.
Déanann Máire iarracht é a mhusclú. ‘Máire makes an effort to wake him up.’
Déanann Máire iarracht é a mhusclú \n 'Makes Máire effort him to wake
xcomp(Déanann, mhusclú)
obj(é, mhusclú)
tá MRBI ag déanamh suirbhé ar son Raidió na Gaeltachta ‘MRBI are doing a survey on behalf of Raidió na Gaeltachta’
tá MRBI ag déanamh suirbhé ar son Raidió na Gaeltachta \n are MRBI at_doing survey on behalf_of Raidió na Gaeltachta
xcomp(tá, déanamh)
obj(suirbhé, déanamh)
xcomp in other languages: [bg] [bm] [cop] [cs] [de] [el] [en] [es] [eu] [fi] [fr] [fro] [ga] [gsw] [hy] [it] [ka] [kk] [la] [ml] [no] [pa] [pcm] [pt] [qpm] [ru] [sl] [ssp] [sv] [swl] [tr] [u] [vi] [xcl] [yue] [zh]