Converb clauses in Archi

The purpose of the article is to analyze the formal and semantic features of converb clauses in complex sentences in Archi, a language of Dagestan. This is the fi rst study specially dedicated to Archi converb clauses with the subject distinct from that of the main clause. Functioning of converbs within a complex sentence, their subject and object agreement, and features of co-reference are analyzed; taxis relations in sentences with converb clauses are discussed as well. The analysis leads to the following conclusions: a) converb clauses show a certain degree of variation of syntactic properties; converb clause with its own subject constitutes a subordinate part of a complex sentence; b) the causal-temporal interpretation of the converb clause may be accompanied by other adverbial relations; c) in folklore texts, converbs may take place of participles, creating and emphasizing attributive semantics; d) the prefi xal agreement of the converb is controlled by object in the case of transitive semantics, or subject in the case of intransitive semantics; e) taxis relations expressed by converb clauses are usually characterized as precedence to the main clause event or simultaneity, depending on the converb type; f) co-referential elements may occur both in the main and the dependent (converb) clause; sometimes, co-referential subjects are totally omitted, which is determined by both grammatical and pragmatical principles.