A Constraint on Ascension

This paper proposes a well-formedness condition on ascension RNs within the framework of Relational Grammar. Though the condition basically expresses the generalization that true instances of ascension from the subject position are restricted to intransitive strata, it will be shown there are cases in which the ascension occurs in a transitive stratum. Thus, it will be claimed that the genuine conditioning factor governing the distribution of ascension from subject is not transitivity but the career of the ascendee, i.e., whether or not the ascendee is a derived subject. Some residual problems are touched upon in the final section.