FINITE VS INFINITIVE INFLEXION OR INDICATIVE VS SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. WHICH ESTABLISHES THE CRUCIAL DISTINCTION IN SPANISH COMPLEMENT CLAUSES?

As is well known, when analyzing Spanish complement clauses, two formal distinctions are found to characterize their grammar: on the one hand, the contrast between clauses whose verb carries finite or infinitive inflexion, and on the other hand, the contrast between clauses whose verb carries indicative or subjunctive finite inflexion. Generally, the assumption made is that the first mentioned distinction establishes the chacteristic or defining difference. The aim of this paper is to show that this is not the case, that the crucial distinction is the mood alternance, within which the clause with the subjunctive verbal inflexion, as is also well known, relates to the infinitival clause when the complement clause subject does not present switch-reference to the logical subject (see Levy 1983) of its principal clause.