1 Valency structure of complex predicates with Light Verbs
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Václava Kettnerová
Abstract
Concentrating on the example of Czech complex predicates consisting of a Light Verb and a predicative noun, this paper provides an in-depth analysis of the syntactic structure of Light Verb Constructions from a valency perspective. It argues that both the Light Verb and the predicative noun in the complex predicate have their own valency structures, i.e., a set of valency complementations, preserved in different complex predicates. What differentiates individual complex predicates from each other is the interaction between valency complementations of the Light Verb and those of the predicative noun through sharing semantic roles, which is manifested as their coreference. It is shown that the coreference, affecting the deep syntactic structure of the complex predicate, has consequences for both the semantic and the surface syntactic layer. From the semantic point of view, the coreference provides semantically unsaturated valency complementations of the Light Verb with their semantic specification. In the surface structure, it leads to the systemic ellipsis of the valency complementations of the predicative noun involved in the coreference. Czech, encoding syntactic relations through morphological cases, makes it possible to pinpoint the surface distribution of valency complementations in Light Verb Constructions and thus establish rules governing the surface expression of semantic participants in these constructions.
Abstract
Concentrating on the example of Czech complex predicates consisting of a Light Verb and a predicative noun, this paper provides an in-depth analysis of the syntactic structure of Light Verb Constructions from a valency perspective. It argues that both the Light Verb and the predicative noun in the complex predicate have their own valency structures, i.e., a set of valency complementations, preserved in different complex predicates. What differentiates individual complex predicates from each other is the interaction between valency complementations of the Light Verb and those of the predicative noun through sharing semantic roles, which is manifested as their coreference. It is shown that the coreference, affecting the deep syntactic structure of the complex predicate, has consequences for both the semantic and the surface syntactic layer. From the semantic point of view, the coreference provides semantically unsaturated valency complementations of the Light Verb with their semantic specification. In the surface structure, it leads to the systemic ellipsis of the valency complementations of the predicative noun involved in the coreference. Czech, encoding syntactic relations through morphological cases, makes it possible to pinpoint the surface distribution of valency complementations in Light Verb Constructions and thus establish rules governing the surface expression of semantic participants in these constructions.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction 1
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Section 1: Argument structure sharing
- 1 Valency structure of complex predicates with Light Verbs 19
- 2 Unification and selection in Light Verb Constructions. A study of Norwegian 45
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Section 2: Event structure sharing
- 3 Persian Light Verbs as event determiners 73
- 4 Light Verb Constructions in Romance languages. An attempt to explain systematic irregularity 99
- 5 How light is ‘give’ as a Light Verb? A case study on the actionality of Latin Light Verb Constructions (with some references to Romance languages) 149
- 6 When lightness meets lexical aspect. A corpus-based account of English Light Verb Extensions 201
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Section 3: The verb fullness
- 7 Semantic Co-composition in Light Verb Constructions 221
- 8 On the unpredictability of Support Verbs. A distributional study of Spanish tomar 239
- 9 Making a move towards Ancient Greek Light Verb Constructions 257
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Section 4: The verb emptiness
- 10 Light Verbs and ‘light nouns’ in polysynthetic languages 275
- 11 A diachronic insight into the aspectual meaning in Light Verb Constructions. A case study in Mandarin Chinese 305
- 12 Light Verb Constructions in Latin. A study on (in) memoria and (in) animo habeo 337
- Index 361
- Index of languages 371
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction 1
-
Section 1: Argument structure sharing
- 1 Valency structure of complex predicates with Light Verbs 19
- 2 Unification and selection in Light Verb Constructions. A study of Norwegian 45
-
Section 2: Event structure sharing
- 3 Persian Light Verbs as event determiners 73
- 4 Light Verb Constructions in Romance languages. An attempt to explain systematic irregularity 99
- 5 How light is ‘give’ as a Light Verb? A case study on the actionality of Latin Light Verb Constructions (with some references to Romance languages) 149
- 6 When lightness meets lexical aspect. A corpus-based account of English Light Verb Extensions 201
-
Section 3: The verb fullness
- 7 Semantic Co-composition in Light Verb Constructions 221
- 8 On the unpredictability of Support Verbs. A distributional study of Spanish tomar 239
- 9 Making a move towards Ancient Greek Light Verb Constructions 257
-
Section 4: The verb emptiness
- 10 Light Verbs and ‘light nouns’ in polysynthetic languages 275
- 11 A diachronic insight into the aspectual meaning in Light Verb Constructions. A case study in Mandarin Chinese 305
- 12 Light Verb Constructions in Latin. A study on (in) memoria and (in) animo habeo 337
- Index 361
- Index of languages 371
