Valency, dependency, and the Russian infinitive: Noun–infinitive constructions expressing a goal or purpose

The article examines contexts in which an infinitive expressing a goal or purpose co-occurs with a noun in Russian. It shows that the noun–infinitive constructions in Russian are structurally heterogeneous and require a detailed account of the syntactic and semantic conditions that license them. Within the semantic-syntactic framework of Semiotactics, the study identifies at least four types of such constructions, each characterized by their own semantic-syntactic structure. First, the infinitive may express thegoal of the action described in the preceding sentence. Second, in colloquial Russian, the infinitive may modify a noun by specifying its functional purpose. Third, with the verb dat’ / davat’ ‘give’ (and some related verbs), the infinitive and its accusative object may denote the object of the verb. Fourth, certain nouns (e.g. den’gi ‘money’, mesto ‘place’) combine with an infinitive only in specific contexts, particularly when they presuppose the facilitation of an action. In such cases, the infinitive functions as a valence filler. The analysis shows the value of applying the theory of Semiotactics to syntactic analysis.