Lexical content and context: The causative alternation in English revisited

Abstract This paper supports an analysis of the causative alternation in English in which all alternating verbs are lexically associated only with the internal argument(s). Lexical and contextual constraints on the distribution of the variants are distinguished. Semantic constraints on what kinds of causes appear with which verbs in various uses are argued not to be lexically specified. The account distinguishes clearly between the principled availability of the two variants of a causative alternation verb and the principles governing the (non)expression of the external cause. Many of the nonlexical constraints on the causative alternation are best understood as resulting from principles which determine which variant of the alternation is most appropriate in a given discourse context.