Home Linguistics & Semiotics Latin preverbs and verb argument structure
Chapter
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Latin preverbs and verb argument structure

New insights from new methods
  • Barbara McGillivray
View more publications by John Benjamins Publishing Company
To Publisher Page
Argument Structure in Flux
This chapter is in the book Argument Structure in Flux

Abstract

This paper presents a corpus-based study on the argument structure of Latin verbs that are prefixed with spatial preverbs. Preverbation involves prefixing verbs, and is therefore a morphological phenomenon; however, studying the argument structure of preverbed verbs is a good chance to explore the syntax-semantics and syntax-lexicon interfaces. Through a diachronic investigation of the interactions between the morpho-syntactic realisations of the arguments of preverbed verbs and their lexical-semantic properties, I aim at demonstrating the merits of an original, corpus-based quantitative approach. The results on preverbs partially support a more general trend from Latin synthetic case-based morpho-syntax to the analytic syntax of the Romance languages, although they also show that this trend is not unidirectional and linear. The source data for the analysis cover Early, Classical and Medieval Latin and are drawn from state-of-the-art computational resources for Latin.

Abstract

This paper presents a corpus-based study on the argument structure of Latin verbs that are prefixed with spatial preverbs. Preverbation involves prefixing verbs, and is therefore a morphological phenomenon; however, studying the argument structure of preverbed verbs is a good chance to explore the syntax-semantics and syntax-lexicon interfaces. Through a diachronic investigation of the interactions between the morpho-syntactic realisations of the arguments of preverbed verbs and their lexical-semantic properties, I aim at demonstrating the merits of an original, corpus-based quantitative approach. The results on preverbs partially support a more general trend from Latin synthetic case-based morpho-syntax to the analytic syntax of the Romance languages, although they also show that this trend is not unidirectional and linear. The source data for the analysis cover Early, Classical and Medieval Latin and are drawn from state-of-the-art computational resources for Latin.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents vii
  3. Argument structure in flux 1
  4. Part I. Argument structure and encoding strategies
  5. Non-canonical subjects in clauses with noun predicates 15
  6. Differential agent marking in Hinuq 33
  7. Case variation and case alternation in Indo-European and beyond 53
  8. Constructional polysemy and argument realisation with the Irish GET verb 87
  9. Part II. Argument structure and verb classes
  10. Latin preverbs and verb argument structure 119
  11. Experiencing linking 135
  12. Introduce 169
  13. On the relationship between lexical aspect, verbal meaning, and (lexical) argument structure 201
  14. Four Romanian verbs of occurring 231
  15. Part III. Unexpressed arguments
  16. The pro cycle 257
  17. Argument promotion and SE-constructions in Brazilian Portuguese 285
  18. Unaccusativity and the diachrony of null and cognate objects in Greek 307
  19. Part IV. Split intransitivity
  20. Split intransitivity in Irish and the syntax-semantics interface 345
  21. Semantic constraints on the Latin impersonal passive 373
  22. Auxiliary selection in German 405
  23. Tornar and volver 435
  24. Part V. Existential and presentational constructions
  25. Control and the evolution of possessive and existential constructions 461
  26. Existential constructions 477
  27. Variation and change in the presentational constructions of north-western Italo-Romance varieties 511
  28. Argument realization and existential pro-forms in early Italo-Romance 549
  29. Author index 567
  30. Language and topic index 573
https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.131.05mcg

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents vii
  3. Argument structure in flux 1
  4. Part I. Argument structure and encoding strategies
  5. Non-canonical subjects in clauses with noun predicates 15
  6. Differential agent marking in Hinuq 33
  7. Case variation and case alternation in Indo-European and beyond 53
  8. Constructional polysemy and argument realisation with the Irish GET verb 87
  9. Part II. Argument structure and verb classes
  10. Latin preverbs and verb argument structure 119
  11. Experiencing linking 135
  12. Introduce 169
  13. On the relationship between lexical aspect, verbal meaning, and (lexical) argument structure 201
  14. Four Romanian verbs of occurring 231
  15. Part III. Unexpressed arguments
  16. The pro cycle 257
  17. Argument promotion and SE-constructions in Brazilian Portuguese 285
  18. Unaccusativity and the diachrony of null and cognate objects in Greek 307
  19. Part IV. Split intransitivity
  20. Split intransitivity in Irish and the syntax-semantics interface 345
  21. Semantic constraints on the Latin impersonal passive 373
  22. Auxiliary selection in German 405
  23. Tornar and volver 435
  24. Part V. Existential and presentational constructions
  25. Control and the evolution of possessive and existential constructions 461
  26. Existential constructions 477
  27. Variation and change in the presentational constructions of north-western Italo-Romance varieties 511
  28. Argument realization and existential pro-forms in early Italo-Romance 549
  29. Author index 567
  30. Language and topic index 573
Sign up now to receive a 20% welcome discount
Institutional Access
How does access work?
Have an idea on how to improve our website?
Please write us.
© 2026 De Gruyter Brill
Downloaded on 12.2.2026 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1075/slcs.131.05mcg/html
Scroll to top button