Title: Finding arguments for pseudo-resultative predicates
Abstract: However, while resultative predicates modify the direct object of the verb, the predicate in (1) does not. That is, while the metal becomes flat as a result of Susan's hammering it, Mary's hair does not become tight as a result of her braiding it; nor is the event of braiding what is 'tight'. Rather, what becomes tight is the braid which is created by the braiding. Yet there is no overt 'braid' DP in the syntax for tight to modify. Thus, these sentences present a puzzle for the syntax/semantics interface what argument are these modifiers modifying? While resultatives are available with a variety of verbs in English, the problematic type of predicates as iri (l) seem to occur only with a relatively small number of verbs. In this paper, I argue that this is due to the fact that these 'pseudo-resultative' adjectives are dependent upon elements unique to the semantic decomposition of a particular class of verbs which I call 'creation inchoatives'. I also propose a parallel syntactic decomposition which provides for a compositional analysis of these predicates.
Publication Year: 2007
Publication Date: 2007-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 2
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot