The Category P Features, Projections, Interpretation

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5.5 The role of the le NP/PP in object gap constructions
.
As the TC and the OPC are quite different, I will discuss them separately. Let
me first note briefly some differences which indicate that the role played by the
embedded constituent ( le NP in Hebrew, PP in English) is different in each
construction.
(i) The occurrence of the le NP/PP is obligatory in the TC, but completely
optional in the OPC (69):
(69) a. ha-kelev kaše *(le-iluf)
the-dog difficult (to-taming)
“The dog is difficult *(to tame).”
b. bart hevi et ha-kelev (le-iluf)
Bart brought Acc the-dog (to-taming)
“Bart brought the dog (to tame).”
(ii)
(iii)
The DP coindexed with the external slot of the le NP/PP is theta-marked
by the verb in the OPC, whereas the identity of the theta-marker of the
corresponding DP in the TC is controversial (the issue will be discussed
at length).
In the TC the external slot of the le NP/PP is coindexed with the subject of
the construction. In the OPC the external slot of the le NP/PP is coindexed
with the internal argument of the embedding verb, regardless of its
syntactic position.
5.5.1 The Tough Construction (TC)
Based on the analyses of the le-nominal and to-VP sequences ( le NP and PP,
respectively), the Hebrew and English TCs have the following syntactic
representations: