Non-canonical middles: a study of personal let-middles in German

Abstract This paper provides an in-depth study of the syntax of German let-middles. It will be shown that these middles can be fully derived in the syntax, and no resort to lexical procedures is required. In particular, I argue that let-middles involve a reflexively marked anticausative (sich lassen), embedding a passive VoiceP. Combined with the fact that they are based on processes that the grammar makes available independently (i.e., the formation of anticausatives and passives), the observation that let-middles pattern like canonical middles in terms of the core properties that define the... Mehr ...