Copular Complements: Closed or Open?

In this paper, we present some preliminary observations on the syntactic analysis of copular constructions in LFG. We suggest several conclusions and directions for future research. First, the open analysis is appropriate for some copular constructions but not for others, even within the same language. Second, the same construction can be open in some languages and closed in others. Third, we can determine whether a particular copular construction is open or closed by examining phenomena like agreement and the obligatory presence of the copula. Fourth, we do not expect open postcopular complements always to be open in other environments.