This paper studies the variety of Arabic imperative sentences, which are seen as the result of an interrelated set of choices made from a limited number of binary systems, and analyzes their occurrence in different situations. Where possible, relevant features of Arabic imperative structures are compared with their nearest English equivalents. The…

The Welsh verbal noun, a form spanning two grammatical categories much as the English "-ing" form does, is examined from the points of view of its dual role in Welsh grammar; its occurrence in the history of the Celtic language family; periphrastic tense constructions with "bod" ("be"), "gwneud"…

A syntactic analysis of the behavior of the Japanese causative is presented within the framework of Tree Adjoining Grammar (TAG). Three points are made: (1) certain aspects of the case-marking in the Japanese causative construction can be accounted for if it is assumed that the formation of the causative involves verb-movement, and that…

The evolution of one-stem verb theory since Roman Jakobson's 1948 study of Russian conjugation is outlined, and adaptations of his one-stem conjugation methodology for current classroom use are discussed and compared. (MSE)

Discusses the various functions of the Spanish gerund/participle: (1) as a constituent in the progressive construction, (2) as an adverb, (3) as an adverbial, and (4) as the head of clause. (EKN)

In this five- to ten-hour presentation, intermediate and advanced students of Russian learn how prefixation affects all types of motion in terms of displacement, transitivity, and perfectivity. The features of the prefix are detailed. Throughout, changes in government (subject, object, and prepositional complements) are explained in relation to…

This new method of teaching verbs of motion in Russian is posited on the assumption that the unidirectional-multidirectional distinction in unprefixed verb forms is also present in prefixed forms. This distinction may be used to explain the derivation of these verbs. Suggestions for using the method are included. (PMJ)

Demonstrates how syntactic constraints interact in the interpretation of Verb Phrase inversion. Specifically, it is shown that the auxiliary "be" is unique among auxiliary verbs in allowing VP inversion. (38 references) (VWL)

Analysis middle constructions in English, accounting for their key syntactic and semantic properties. The analysis rests on the observation that there are certain similarities between middle, "tough," and recipe-context null-object constructions. (55 references) (VWL)

Verb agreement in the K'iche' agentive voice appears to deviate from the ergative/absolutive system of other Mayan languages, leading some to treat agreement in the agentive as falling outside the regular agreement system as well as to differing views regarding appropriate syntactic representation of the agentive construction with respect to final…

It is hypothesized that a number of regularities in the distribution of the two types of inchoative constructions with the verbs of change of state in French can be captured by an analysis whereby monovalent verbs of change of state may project the Patient argument to the subject or to the object position. (Contains 68 references.) (LB)

Critiques past approaches to identifying phrasal verbs and proposes an alternative approach. Instead of requiring verb + particle combinations to demonstrate specific features to be identified as phrasal verbs, the new approach calls for researchers and teachers to consider all verb + particle combinations to be potential phrasal verbs until they…

Suggests that agent-focus verbs in Tzotzil are inverse, in the sense of Algonquian linguistics, and that their distribution is determined by the relative obviation status of agent and patient. Evidence for the analysis comes from syntactic constraints on agent-focus verbs and on their use in discourse. (Author/VWL)

Most studies that have been conducted on locative constructions in many languages show the relationship between the figure and the ground in terms of geometrical or topological terms. This report shows that in Sinhala the locative expressions answer not only the question "Where is the object X," but also indicate how the figure is oriented in…

Examination of a small segment of French morphology involving the role of the final consonant illustrates the applicability of the natural morphology approach to linguistic analysis. Representative examples of modern French adjectival, verbal, and nominal word forms are subjected to analysis in terms of iconic, non-iconic, and counter-iconic…