A dependency grammar analysis of constructions with "infiltrating" auxiliaries

This paper discusses Hungarian discontinuous structures involving so-called "infiltrating" auxiliaries from the perspective of dependency grammar. Drawing on recent work by Thomas Groß and Timothy Osborne, the author analyses the construction in terms of rising and the concept of catenae. Under the proposal, the head of the verb modifier (VM) in the VM + auxiliary + infinitive pattern is the auxiliary, even though its governor is the infinitive. Collectively, these three elements are said to form a catena, i.e. a combination of words which is continuous with respect to dominance. The analysis is supplemented by remarks on the functional motivation of the construction, with the role of analogy taking centre stage.