The Category P Features, Projections, Interpretation

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3.4 The [-m]/[-c] distinction
The goal of this section is to distinguish between the PP-verbs that assign a [-c]
role and those which assign a [-m] role to their internal argument. In order to do so, I
will first discuss the interpretation of theta-features in general (Reinhart 2000, 2001),
and of the underspecified roles [-m] and [-c] in particular. This will provide the
common ground for the thematic analyses of PP-verbs. I will then present the [-c] and
[-m] groups of Hebrew PP-verbs, and support the distinction between the
underspecified roles [-c], [-m] themselves, and between them and the fully specified
ones (i.e. [+/-m -c], [-m +/-c]). 33
3.4.1 The interpretation of theta-features
The discussion of the meaning of the theta-features in Reinhart (2000) is based
on the study of the perception of relations between events in narrative in Shen 1985.
Shen (1985) argues that there are three causal relations that humans use in order to
organize their perception of events:
The relation cause - given two events, the first is perceived as a sufficient and
necessary condition for the second to occur: “The glass fell on the floor and broke”.
The falling of the glass is perceived as a sufficient condition for its breaking, namely
it is perceived as the cause of its breaking.
The relation enable - given two events, the first is perceived as a necessary (but
not sufficient) condition for the second to occur: “Max entered the pool, and then he
drowned”. It is necessary to enter the pool in order to drown there (in the pool).
Entering the pool, however, is not a sufficient condition (not the cause) for drowning
in the pool.
The relation motivate holds when either enable or cause hold, and in addition a
mental state is involved in one of the events. In other words, motivate does not
determine the causal status of the event, but rather specifies a given event as
associated with mental state. Thus compare (54a) and (54b):
33 See Marelj (2002, 2004), where a formal approach to the interpretation of the underspecified thetaclusters
is elaborated.