On one type of infinitive sentences (on the material of the creativity of E. Letov)

Though the variety and functioning of Russian infinitive clauses are described rather well, they are still worth studying, especially referring to their functioning in those spheres which have not been researched yet. This paper is based on Egor Letov's verse, and focuses on functions and semantic nuances of the infinitive clauses as well as on the reasons of their frequent use. A specific semantic subtype of infinitive clauses, which has not been in focus in previous works, is described. Some remarks on this topic may be seen, though, in a series of papers by A. Zholkovsky, who names this subtype the 'absolute infinitive construction' and treats it as a variety of the so-called 'infinitive writing'. Nevertheless, his analysis focuses on the poetic functions of the infinitive writing. The specific aim of this work is to give a linguistic description of the subtype. The majority of infinitive patterns have vivid modality; nevertheless, the subtype described does not possess any obvious modal specificity: strelyat', metat', teryat' druzei /posylat' na smert' batalyony soldat [To shoot, to throw, to lose friends / to send battalions of soldiers to their deaths]; Ekh, zashishat svoi Faterlyand [Oh, to defend the Fatherland]. Such cases differ in the interpretation of modal connotations of meaning. One cannot clearly estimate the desirability / undesirability, obligation, inevitability or failure the author keeps in mind. Some infinitives indicate actions that are perceived with obvious positive evaluation (pisat' stikhi o vesne [to write poems about spring]), which itself could be seen as an indirect sign of optative modality, but this evaluation is neutralized with neighboring infinitives having an opposite connotation. Most infinitives in the subtype investigated do not contain any modal connotation in lexical meaning: probirat'sya [wade], polzti [crawl], shagat' [stride], zashchishchat' [protect], zashit' [sew], katitsya [roll], zaglyadyvat' [look]. The frequent use of verbs of motion in the material attracts attention: Kolesompo raduge letat' /Solnechnye zaychiki glotat' [To fly like a wheel over the rainbow / To swallow sunbeams]. The data analysed illustrate the meditative nature of the modal meaning. It seems that the author considers the action per se. Such infinitive clauses cannot be modally qualified. Characteristic for this subtype are 1) absence of the dative subject; 2) absence of any verbal exponents of modal connotations, such as particles by, ne, zhe, li; 3) proximity of the infinitive to nomina actionis. It is important to underline that the absence of the dative subject does not mean that it is simply omitted and can be easily restored. In fact, its restoration is possible only under condition that particles are introduced into the construction, i.e. if the construction is essentially altered.

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