A search for constraints on what can become 'figure' (i.e. a moving or conceptually movable object, the particular value of the path or site of which is regarded as the salient issue of the utterance; e.g. 'the pen' in 'The pen lay on the table') or 'ground' (i.e. the reference point with respect to which the figure's path or site is characterized; e.g. 'the table' in the same sentence) in complex sentences.