Copular asymmetries in belief reports

We argue that copular constructions that relate two referring expressions are based on small clauses with an asymmetrical semantics. The small clauses in question are headed by a relational item that selects for an individual and an individual concept, along the lines proposed by Heycock (Canadian Journal of Linguistics/Revue canadienne de linguistique 57: 209–240, 2012). Our analysis allows us to explain the asymmetric properties of these constructions when they occur as complements to think. Additional motivation comes from facts that involve questions based on copular clauses.