This section discusses the use of om + te-infinitivals as arguments of main verbs. Such clauses are formally characterized by the fact that they are headed by a te-infinitive and can be preceded by the "linker" element om. Furthermore, they always contain an implied subject, PRO, which is normally coreferential with (controlled by) the subject or the object of the matrix clause, although it is sometimes also possible for it to receive a generic interpretation; examples are given in (346), in which coreference is indicated by means of coindexation and the index arb(itrary) is used to indicate that the generic reading is intended.

The discussion is organized as follows. Section 5.2.1.1 starts by showing that argument clauses in the form of an om + te infinitival have more or less the same distribution as finite argument clauses: they may have the same syntactic functions and normally follow the verb(s) in clause-final position. Section 5.2.1.2 continues with a discussion of the categorial status of the linker om, which has been analyzed as a regular preposition but also as a complementizer-like element; although this issue is still not settled, we will for convenience gloss om by means of comp(lementizer) in the examples. Section 5.2.1.3 will conclude the discussion of om + te infinitivals by investigating the implied subject PRO and the restrictions on its interpretation in more detail.