A formal semantic analysis of the tough-construction is provided building on the well-known observation that events play a central role. A close look at the semantic characteristics of the class of tough-predicates and the syntactic and semantic properties of nonfinite clauses reveals the link between these pieces, expanding on recent advances in the semantics of clauses (Moulton in Natural selection and the syntax of clausal complementation, PhD thesis, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, 2009). Building on Salzmann (Reconstruction and resumption in indirect A′-dependencies: On the syntax of prolepsis and relativization in (Swiss) German and beyond, de Gruyter, Berlin 2017b), a formal semantic and syntactic analysis of prolepsis is provided to explain the antecedent gap chain in the tough-construction. In total, this paper offers a description and explanation of (i) the class of tough-predicates; (ii) the properties of the nonfinite clause that appears in the tough-construction; (iii) why no other predicates or clauses are permitted in the construction; (iv) the many properties of the antecedent gap chain in the tough-construction, primarily the fact that the chain is “weakly” unbounded; and (v) the semantic contribution of prolepsis as it applies in the tough-construction.

基于事件起着核心作用的众所周知的观察，提供了对艰难构式的正式语义分析。细看tough类的语义特征-谓词和非限定从句的句法和语义特性揭示了这些片段之间的联系，扩展了从句语义的最新进展（Moulton 在自然选择和从句互补的句法中，博士论文，马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校，2009） . 在 Salzmann（间接 A' 依赖中的重建和恢复：关于（瑞士）德语及其他地区的 prolepsis 和相对化的句法，de Gruyter，柏林 2017b）的基础上，提供了对 prolepsis 的形式语义和句法分析来解释前因间隙链中的坚韧构造。总的来说，本文提供了对（i）难谓词类的描述和解释；(ii) 出现在tough中的非限定子句的性质-建造; (iii) 为什么不允许在结构中使用其他谓词或从句；(iv)坚韧结构中先行间隙链的许多特性，主要是链“弱”无界的事实；(v) prolepsis 的语义贡献，因为它应用于艰难的构造。