THE STRUCTURE(S) OF PARTICLE VERBS

This paper argues that particle verb combinations do not display a uniform structure but are represented either as a small clause structure or a complex V’-structure. The central claim is that particle verb combinations fall into two classes semantically— transparent vs. idiomatic particle verb combinations—and that this interpretive difference is reflected in the syntactic structure of particle verb combinations. It is argued that transparent particle verb combinations involve a small clause structure whereas idiomatic particle verb combinations involve a complex V’-structure. The arguments for different structures come from a number of syntactic and semantic properties (in particular, thematic properties of the two kinds of particle verb combinations, predication contexts, topicalization, verb second, and verb (projection) raising contexts) that consistently differentiate between transparent and idiomatic particle verb combinations. The analysis proposed does not only bear on the structure of particle verb combinations but also has consequences for the theoretical status of PF-movement.

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