Backward control is an obligatory interpretational dependency between an overt controller and a nonovert controllee in which the controllee is structurally superior to the controller: Meg persuaded Δi[Roni to give up]. It contrasts with ordinary forward control, in which the controller is structurally higher: Meg persuaded Roni [Δi to give up]. Although backward control has been previously documented (Polinsky & Potsdam 2002a), clear cases are rare. This article presents an alternation between forward and backward object control in the Austronesian language Malagasy and argues for the backward-control structure. Backward control is thus a reality and needs to be incorporated into any comprehensive theory of control. The article argues against an analysis of backward control that identifies the controllee as the null pronominal pro.

This research report discusses a set of Indonesian predicates exemplified by mau ‘want’ and suka ‘like’. I demonstrate with several diagnostics that these morphemes occur as either auxiliary or verb, and note that the availability of the auxiliary reading has been overlooked in recent literature. Since mau and suka belong to the set of so-called crossed control predicates, the lexical ambiguity discussed here has implications for potential analyses of crossed control sentences. I suggest that the auxiliary reading for mau, suka, and other predicates must be carefully ruled out before the existence of a crossed reading can be established.