Roleset exist.01 Verbnet Class: 1 "be":

Roles:

Arg1:thing existing


Arg2:secondary attribute

Examples:

existential angst (-)
...a case of political corruption that *trace* simply doesn't exist.
Arg1:	*trace*=that=political corruption
Argm-DIS:	simply
Argm-NEG:	n't
REL:	exist

person: third tense: present aspect: ns voice: active form: full


with secondary attribute (-)
John exists as a figment of my imagination.
Arg1:	John
REL:	exists
Arg2-as:	a figment of my imagination


The underlying syntax is "No mechanism for finding a middle ground exists"; the PP has been postposed leaving the trace behind. By making a complex argument we reconstruct this process.

stupid WSJ style guide (-)
No mechanism *trace* exists for finding a middle ground.
Arg1:	[No mechanism] [*trace* for finding a middle ground]
REL:	exists