Download How to Find Serial Verbs in English

How to Find Serial Verbs in English
JOHN R. ROBERTS
SIL International
1.
Introducing Serial Verb Constructions
Trask (1993:251-252) describes a serial verb construction (SVC) as: “A construction in which
what appears to be a single clause semantically is expressed syntactically by a sequence of
juxtaposed separate verbs, all sharing the same subject or agent but each with its own
additional arguments, without the use of overt coordinating conjunctions.” Trask gives (1a-b)
as examples of typical SVCs from the West African languages of Yoruba and Vagala.
(1)
a.
Yoruba (West African)
ó mú ìwé wá
3sg took book came
„He brought the book.‟
b.
Vagala (West African)
ù kpá kíyzèé mòng ówl
3sg take knife cut
meat
„He cut the meat with a knife.‟
In a more recent cross-linguistic typological study, Aikhenvald (2006) says: “A serial verb
construction (SVC) is a sequence of verbs which act together as a single predicate, without
any overt marker of coordination, subordination, or syntactic dependency of any sort. Serial
verb constructions describe what is conceptualized as a single event. They are monoclausal;
their intonational properties are the same as those of a monoverbal clause, and they have just
one tense, aspect and polarity value. SVCs may also share core and other arguments. Each
component of an SVC must be able to occur on its own. Within an SVC, the individual verbs
may have same, or different, transitivity values.” Aikhenvald (2006:1) also says SVCs are
widespread in Creole languages, in the languages of West Africa, Southeast Asia (Chinese,
Thai, Khmer, etc.), Amazonia, Oceania, and New Guinea. However, Dixon (2006) notes that
while SVCs are found in perhaps one-third of the languages of the world, there appear to be
none in Europe or north or central Asia, and rather few in North America or Australia. In this
article we will show how SVCs can be found in English.1 But first we should become more
acquainted with SVCs.
Matthews and Yip (1994:142) say that the SVC is one of the most important and productive patterns in Cantonese syntax. They say an SVC in Cantonese is a simple concatenation of
verbs. The Cantonese examples in (2b) has three verbs concatenated together, but note that
the English translation for (2b) has only one verb. Cantonese also has specialized SVCs where
the first verb in the series has a particular function, e.g. to add an „oblique‟ argument
(instrument, distribution, benefaction, etc.), to express direction of the motion, or completion
of the event. Similar examples of SVCs for Mandarin are given in (3).
(2)
a.
1
Cantonese (Matthews and Yip, 1994:143)
Bātyùh ngóhdeih heui tái hei
rather
1pl
go
see film
„Let‟s go and see a film.‟
I want to thank Robert Van Valin for his helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article.
2
How to Find Serial Verbs in English
b.
(3)
a.
b.
Ngóh tīngyaht fēi heui gin-gūng
1sg
tomorrow fly go
see-work
„I‟m flying to an interview tomorrow.‟
Mandarin
Tā jiāo
wŏ xĭe zì
3sg teach 1sg write characters
„She teaches me to write characters.‟
Wŏ qù măi shū
1sg go buy book(s)
„I‟m going to buy books.‟
Amele (Papuan)2 also has productive and extensive SVCs. These comprise verb stems
concatenated in a series. (4a), for example, has four verbs concatenated in a series. The first
three are marked with the serial verb morpheme -i/-u and the last verb is marked with full
independent verb inflection. In addition, the second verb in the series, ehudi „take him‟, is
marked with the 3sg direct object suffix -ud. The first three verbs are not marked with any
subject agreement morphology, so the subject marked on the final verb applies to all of these
verbs. (4b) has five verbs in a series with madesin „they(du) said‟ as the final verb in the
series. In addition the verb feeadi „they(du) greeted them‟ is marked with the 3pl direct object
marker -ad. Amele also has specialized SVCs where the last verb in the series has a particular
function, e.g. to express direction of the motion, various aspectual notions, or enumeration of
the event (twice, thrice, etc.).
(4)
a.
b.
Amele (Papuan)
Age hew-i
eh-ud-i
ah-u
n-ein.
3pl hold-(SS) take-3sg.DO-(SS) bring-(SS) come down-3pl.SU.REMP
„They arrested him and brought him down.
Ale fee-ad-i
co-nola
sul-i
u
uta-i
3du greet-3pl.DO-(SS) lips-3du.POSR lift.up-(SS) get.(SS) call-(SS)
mad-esin, “…
say-3du.SU.REMP
„They(du) greeted them and in a loud voice said, “….
Seimat is an Austronesian language of the Admiralties family. It is spoken by
approximately 1,200 people living in the Ninigo Islands, which is part of Manus province in
Papua New Guinea. Wozna and Wilson (2005:54-59) say that SVCs in Seimat comprise
sequences of two, three or four verbs which share nominal arguments (both subject and
object) and are all within the scope of the verb inflection marked on the final verb in the
series, such as imperative or purpose. Some examples are given in (5). Seimat also has
specialized SVCs where the first verb in the series has a particular function, e.g. to express
direction of the motion, or causation, or manner.
(5)
a.
b.
2
Seimat (Austronesian; Wozna and Wilson, 2005:54-59)
Laha apuha kak
pax-ai
waliko.
3pl meet speak look-TRANS something
„They met, spoke and looked at things.
Teka seilon tu-tu
tum-i
xau
lol
koti siponi
some people RED-stand end-POSR barrier wade cut close
mat-e
xau.
front-POSR barrier
Amele is a Papuan language spoken by approximately 6,000 people living in Madang Province, Papua
New Guinea (see Roberts 1987).
John R. Roberts
3
„The people standing at the end of the barrier, waded (through the water), cut
(across the front of the barrier) and closed off the front of the barrier.‟
Verhaar (1995:97-130) describes the range of SVCs that can be found in Tok Pisin, spoken
in Papua New Guinea. In structural terms the two verbs in series in (6a) are both intransitive,
in (6b) the first verb is transitive and the second is intransitive, and in (6c) the first verb is
intransitive and the second verb is transitive. It is apparently not possible to have two transitive verbs in an SVC in Tok Pisin.
(6)
a.
Tok Pisin (PNG)
Dispela pisin i-flai i-go na i-no kam
this
bird fly go
and not come
„This bird flew away and didn‟t come back.‟
bek.
back
b.
Ol i-karim
kaikai i-kam.
3pl carry.TRANS food come
„They carried the food this way.‟
c.
Na em i-go pulimapim wara long skin meme.
and 3sg go
fill.TRANS water into skin goat
„And she went to fill the goat skin with water.‟
The standard definition of an SVC (as in Trask, 1993, for example) is that it comprises a
sequence of juxtaposed verbs sharing the same subject or agent. However, SVCs readily occur
where the verbs in the series have different subjects. In each of the examples in (7a-d) the
subject of the second verb is the object of the first verb.
(7)
a.
Yoruba (W. Africa; Bamgboṣe, 1974; tone not shown)
olu ti
ɔmɔ naa šubu.
Olu push child the fall
„Olu pushed the child down.‟ (lit. „Olu pushed the child and it fell.‟)
b.
Cantonese
Ngóh diu
goh bòh lohk heui.
1sg
throw CL ball down go
„I threw the ball down.‟( lit. „I threw the ball and it went down.‟)
c.
Tok Pisin (PNG)
Ol i-sutim
pik i-dai.
3pl shoot.TRANS pig die
„They shot the pig dead.‟ (lit. „They shot the pig and it died.‟)
d.
Seimat (Austronesian; Wozna and Wilson, 2005:57)
Ti ipong nga tahuni ha-paxe.
at night 1sg smoke CAUS-dry
„At night I dried (the pandanus) by smoking it.‟ (lit. „At night I smoked the
pandanus and caused it to dry.‟)
In §2 we will first look at some of the common functions of SVCs. Then in §0-§7 we will
characterize the typical properties of SVCs in morphosyntactic and semantic terms. These
observations and characterizations are drawn mainly from Kroeger (2004), and Dixon (2006)
has a similar set of characterizations. After this, we will discuss how best to represent the
syntactic structure of SVCs. Specifically in §8 we will show that a constituent structure-based
approach, as in a generative grammar type of framework3, is inadequate to account for the
3
Hornstein et al. (2005:173) give [CP Spec C [TP Spec T [vP SU [v′ v[VP V OB ] ] ] ] ] as the current basic
structure of the sentence in Minimalism (Chomsky 1995), where T stands for tense. This is still
fundamentally the S → NP SU VP „universal‟ structure of sentences advocated in Chomsky (1957:27).
4
How to Find Serial Verbs in English
syntactic structure of SVCs. Instead, we show that the syntactic function-based approach of
Role and Reference Grammar (RRG) (see Van Valin and LaPolla 1997, Van Valin 2005)
provides a more adequate and more universally applicable account of SVC syntactic structure.
Finally, in §9 we show how the application of an RRG analysis to so-called „phase verb
constructions‟4 in English reveals that they have the same semantic and syntactic properties as
SVCs.
2.
Functions of the SVC
In an SVC the two (or more) verbs normally function together to express a single complex
event. But because both verbs contribute to the meaning of the clause, the resulting expression
is semantically more complex than the meaning of any verb on its own. The function of verbs
in an SVC can be classified into symmetrical and asymmetrical. In a symmetrical arrangement all the verbs in the series have equal functional status. Examples of this are (3a) in
Mandarin, (4a-b) in Amele, (5a-b) in Seimat, and (7a) in Yoruba. In an asymmetical arrangement one verb modifies the meaning of another verb in some way. We will look at examples
of this in this section.
Kroeger (2004:227-229) describes several different forms of asymmetical function. One
very common use of the SVC is to add an additional argument. Matthews and Yip (1994:143)
say that many of the oblique relationships which are expressed by prepositions in English and
other European languages are expressed by serial verbs in Cantonese. (8) illustrates serial
verbs expressing an instrument and (9) illustrates serial verbs expressing a beneficiary.
(8)
(9)
4
a.
Nupe (Hyman, 1975; tone not indicate)
Musa la
ebi ba nakã.
Musa take knife cut meat
„Musa cut the meat with a knife.‟
b.
Cantonese (Matthews and Yip, 1994)
Kéuehdeih yuhng dī chín heui máaih láu.
3pl
use
CL money go
buy
flat
„They‟re buying a flat with the money.‟
c.
Sranan (Suriname; Sebba, 1987)
Mi teki a.nefi
koti a.brede.
1sg take the.knife cut the.bread
„I cut the bread with a knife.‟
a.
Anyi (Ivory Coast; Van Lynseele, 1975, cited by Foley and Van Valin, 1984:199,
tone not marked)
ajo tɔ̃
alɪɛ mã Kasi.
Ajo cook.HABIT food give Kasi
„Ajo cooked food for Kasi.‟
b.
Cantonese (Matthews and Yip, 1994)
Ngóh bōng léih dá-dihnwá.
1sg help 2sg call-phone
„I‟ll phone for you.‟
c.
Sranan (Suriname; Sebba, 1987)
Mi e prani a.karu gi
yu.
1sg ASP plant the.corn give you
„I am planting the corn for you.‟
From Collins Cobuild English Grammar (1990:184-193).
John R. Roberts
5
Another very common function of the SVC is to express the goal or direction of motion, as
in (1a), (6b), and (10), or the result or extension of an action, as in (6c), (7c) and (11).
(10) a.
Khmer (Schiller, 1990a; tone not marked)
ko͡at yɔɔk mhoup mɔɔk phte͡ah.
3sg take food
come house
„He brought the food home.‟
b.
Yoruba (W. Africa; Stahlke, 1970; tone not shown)
mo mu iwe wa
fun ɛ.
1sg took book came gave 2sg
„I brought you the book.‟
c.
Saramaccan (Suriname; Byrne, 1987)
a bi
tsá di.meliki go na di.konde.
3sg PAST carry the.milk go LOC the.village
„He had taken the milk to the village.‟
d.
Seimat (Austronesian; Wozna and Wilson, 2005:56)
Nga hail
takana alia hani ixux.
1sg paddle arrive
back to
land
„We paddled and arrived back on the land.‟
(11) a.
Sranan (Suriname; Sebba, 1987)
Kofi naki Amba kiri.
Kofi hit
Amba kill
„Kofi struck Amba dead.‟
b.
Tok Pisin (PNG)
Wanpela trak i-kam sanap klostu long ol.
a
truck come stand near to
3pl
„A truck came and stopped near to them.‟
c.
Yoruba (W. Africa; Bamgboṣe, 1974; tone not shown)
olu ti
ɔmɔ naa šubu.
Olu push child the fall
„Olu pushed the child down.‟
d.
White Hmong (SE Asia; Jarkey, 1991; cited by Durie, 1997)
kuv nrhiav
tau kuv nti nplhaib.
1sg search.for get 1sg CL ring
„I found my ring.‟
In a pattern related to the resultative use, serial verbs are often used to express completive
aspect, as in (12). Other aspectual uses are also possible; these often involve verbs which
denote bodily movements or postures, as in (13).
(12) a.
b.
Saramaccan (Suriname; Byrne, cited in Seuren, 1990)
Kofi nyan di ganya kabá.
Kofi eat
the chicken finish
„Kofi has already eaten the chicken.‟
Amele (Papuan)
Age saab j-i
he-d-oiga.
3pl food eat-(SS) finish-3sg.DO-3pl.TODP
„They finished eating the food.‟
6
How to Find Serial Verbs in English
(13)
a.
Yatyɛ (W. Africa; Stahlke, 1970; tone not indicated)
Continuous:
odide ahyɛ ibi
itywi.
man
squat come home
„The man is coming home.‟
b.
Habitual:
odide aga
ibi
itywi.
man
wander come home
„The man usually comes home.‟
c.
Repetitive:
odide ibu
ibi
itywi.
man return come home
„The man came home again.‟
Other uses include purpose (14a), manner (14b) and causation (14c). In Amele the SVC
can have an enumerative function, as shown in (15). Here the verb expressing number is
derived from a numeral.
(14) a.
Chrau (Vietnam; Thomas, 1971, cited in Durie, 1997:305)
nĕh hao
chhə pĭq pai-vunh.
3sg climb tree pick gourd
„He climbed the tree to pick gourds.‟
b.
Yoruba (W. Africa; Stahlke, 1970; tone not shown)
mo fi
ɔgbɔn
ge igi.
1sg took cleverness cut tree
„I cut the tree cleverly.‟
c.
Tok Pisin (PNG)
Em i-save mekim
wara i-go antap na tanim
i-kamap
3sg know make.TRANS water go
above and turn.TRANS come.up
„He causes the waters to rise up and to turn into rain.‟
(15)
a.
b.
ren
rain
Amele (Papuan)
Ege camac cah-d-u
cijed-d-u
he-du-m-eb …
1pl sago squeeze-3sg.DO-(SS) three-3sg.DO-(SS) finish-3sg.DO-SS-1pl
„We finish squeezing the sago three times and … .‟
Age am
qatan-i
lecis-d-oin.
3pl group split-(SS) two-3sg.DO-3pl.REMP
„They split the group into two.‟
Finally, specific combinations of serial verbs often take an idiomatic meaning, as illustrated in (16a-e).
(16) a.
b.
Akan (W. Africa; Schachter, 1974)
Kofi gyee
Amma dii.
Kofi receive-PAST Amma eat-PAST
„Kofi believed Amma.‟
Yoruba (Baker, 1989, from Laniran and Sonaiya, 1987; tone not marked)
olu rɛ bɔla jɛ.
Olu cut Bola eat
„Olu cheated Bola.‟
John R. Roberts
3.
c.
Vagala (W. Africa; Pike, 1966)
ù lé
û há.
3sg get.PAST 3sg throw
„He saved him.‟
d.
Seimat (Austronesian; Wozna and Wilson, 2005:58)
Nga ilameni tioi
salan nga hina akaik
1sg feel
know true 1sg have child.
„I realized I really was pregnant.‟
e.
Amele
Uqa saab j-i
f-ol-oi
3sg food eat-(SS) see-HABP-3sg.
„She used to taste the food.‟
7
Characteristic and diagnostic features of SVCs
We will discuss how to define an SVC in structural terms in §8. Rather than try and formulate
an explicit structural definition of SVCs at this point we will look at the characteristic features
that can help identify a serial verb construction. Kroeger (2004:229-230) proposes a set of
characteristic properties of SVCs, given in (17). Then he discusses these properties and
provides diagnostic tests for determining whether or not a particular construction is in fact a
“true” SVC.
(17)
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
Characteristic properties of SVCs:
A prototypical SVC contains two or more morphologically independent verbs
within the same clause, neither of which is an auxiliary.
There are no conjunctions or other overt markers of subordination or coordination
separating the two verbs.
The serial verbs belong to a single intonation contour, with no pause separating
them.
The entire SVC refers to a single (possibly complex) event.
A true SVC may contain only one specification for tense, aspect, modality,
negation, etc., though these features are sometimes redundantly marked on both
verbs.
The two verbs in the SVC share at least one semantic argument.
Obligatory non-coreference: a true SVC will not contain two overt NPs which
refer to the same argument.
A prototypical SVC contains only one grammatical subject.5
Kroeger (2004:230) says that an important distinction between an SVC, where a verb
series forms a complex predicate, and a set of conjoined clauses each comprising its own
predicate verb is that there are no markers of subordination (e.g. complementizers) or markers
of coordination (e.g. coordinators) in an SVC. This can be illustrated from the Nupe examples
in (18). (18b) with the coordinate conjunction expresses two separate events, whereas (18a)
expresses a single complex event.
(18)
a.
5
Nupe (Hyman, 1975; tone not indicate)
Musa la
ebi ba nakã.
Musa take knife cut meat
„Musa cut the meat with a knife.‟
Here „prototypical‟ can be understood to mean that the SVC abides by the [ CP Spec C [TP Spec T [vP
SU [v′ v[VP V OB ] ] ] ] ] (=S → NP SU VP) sentence structure that Minimalism claims is universal in all
languages.
8
How to Find Serial Verbs in English
b.
Musa la
ebi tʃi ba nakã.
Musa take knife and cut meat
„Musa took the knife and (then) cut the meat.‟
Related to this single-event interpretation, it is generally not possible for the two (or more)
verbs in an SVC to have independent marking for tense and aspect. If both verbs are marked,
they must agree in tense and aspect. In example, (19a), both verbs are marked for past tense.
In (19b), the first verb is past but the second verb is perfect, which marks the SVC as
ungrammatical. In a coordinate structure like (19c), however, the two verbs can have different
tense marking.
(19)
a.
Akan (Adkuapem dialect; Shachter, 1974)
me-kɔɔ-e
me-baa-e.
1sg-go-PAST 1sg-come-PAST
„I went and came back.‟
b.
*me-kɔɔ-e
maba.
1sg-go-PAST 1sg-come-PRFV
c.
me-kɔɔ-e
na maba.
1sg-go-PAST and 1sg-come-PRFV
„I went and I have come back.‟
Since an SVC is treated as a single event, it is not possible for negation to apply to just one
verb in the series. Compare the SVC in (20a) where the result of the action cannot be negated,
with the corresponding biclausal construction (20b) where this negation is perfectly acceptable.
(20)
a.
b.
Sranan (Suriname; Sebba, 1987)
Mi teki a.nefi
koti a.brede
(#ma no koti en).
1sg take the.knife cut the.bread
but not cut 3sg
„I cut the bread with a knife (#but didn‟t cut it.)‟
Mi teki a.nefi
fu koti a.brede
(ma no koti en).
1sg take the.knife for cut the.bread but not cut 3sg
„I took a knife in order to cut the bread (but didn‟t cut it.)‟
In Ewe, as in a number of other languages, negation is marked by a circumfix. The Ewe
circumfix has the form me- … o: the prefix me- attaches to the verb of the clause which is
being negated, while the particle o appears at the end of that clause. In an SVC both verbs
must be included within a single instance of the circumfix (21b). It is not possible to negate
one verb without the other, as in (21c). But in a biclausal structure like (21d), either clause
can be negated independently, as illustrated in (21e).
(21)
a.
Ewe (W. Africa; Agbedor, 1993; Felix Ameka, unpublished MS.)
Me-šle agbale ná
Áma.
1sg-buy book give Ama
„I bought a book for Ama.‟
b.
Nye me-šle agbale ná
Áma o.
1sg NEG-buy book give Ama NEG
„I did not buy a book for Ama.‟
c.
*me-šle agbale me-ná
Áma o.
NEG-buy book NEG-give Ama NEG
John R. Roberts
d.
me-yɔ!-e
wò-tɔ.
1sg-call-3sg 3sg-respond
„I called him (and) he responded.‟
e.
me-yɔ!-e
mé-tɔ
o.
1sg-call-3sg NEG-respond NEG
„I called him (but) he did not respond.‟
9
In a typical SVC, each argument will be expressed by only one overt NP. Thus a nonreflexive pronoun within the SVC must be non-coreferential with all of the other arguments;
that is, the pronoun cannot take some other argument within the SVC as its antecedent. This
constraint is illustrated in (22), specifically by the fact that the pronoun en in (22b) cannot
refer to „the match‟ if the sentence is interpreted as a serial verb construction.
(22)
a.
b.
Sranan (Suriname; Sebba, 1987)
Kofi teki a swarfu bron.
Kofi take the match burn
„Kofi burned a match.‟
Kofi teki a swarfu bron en.
Kofi take the match burn 3sg
„Kofi burned it with a match.‟ (it cannot refer to match)
Sebba (1987) says that in Sranan, when a coreferential pronoun does occur as in (23b), the
sentence is not a serial verb construction but rather a special type of coordinate structure
which does not contain any overt conjunction. This coordinate structure must be interpreted as
describing two separate events, and the two verbs may be separated by a pause. Thus (23b)
has the same structure as in (23c), which clearly describes two distinct events. When no
pronoun is present, as in (23a), we have a true SVC which must be interpreted as a single
event, and which cannot contain a pause. A similar pattern is found in Paiamentu, a
Portuguese-based creole (24).
(23) a.
Kofi naki Amba (*,) kiri.
Kofi hit Amba
kill
„Kofi struck Amba dead.‟
b.
Kofi naki Amba (,) kiri en.
Kofi hit Amba
kill 3sg
„Kofi struck Amba and killed her.‟
c.
Kofi sutu Amba (,) kiri Kwaku.
Kofi shoot Amba
kill Kwaku
„Kofi shot Amba and killed Kwaku.‟
(24)
a.
b.
Papiamentu (W. Africa; Bendix, 1972; cited in Sebba, 1987)
korta e barika habri.
cut the belly open
„cut the belly open‟
korta e barika habri-e.
cut the belly open-3sg
„cut the belly and then open it‟ (two actions)
Another helpful test comes from WH-question constructions. In many languages it is not
possible to question an object in a coordinated clause with an extracted WH-question word. In
(25a) Sranan has unmarked coordinated clauses as reflected by the English translation. It is
not possible to question the object NP in either coordinate clause in both Sranan and in
English, as shown by (25b-c). However, in a true SVC in Sranan it is possible to question the
10
How to Find Serial Verbs in English
object of either verb, as shown in (26). This shows that the SVC is a single clause with one
illocutionary force (IF) operator6 that has scope over the whole clause. The Sranan
constructions in (25) are coordinated clauses each with its own IF operator.
(25)
a.
b.
*Suma Kofi sutu Amba kiri __?
who Kofi shoot Amba kill
(„*Who did Kofi shoot Amba and kill?‟
c.
*Suma Kofi sutu __ kiri Kwaku?
who Kofi shoot
kill Kwaku
(„*Who did Kofi shoot Amba and kill?‟
(26)
a.
4.
Sranan (unmarked coordination) (Sebba, 1987)
Kofi sutu Amba kiri Kwaku.
Kofi shoot Amba kill Kwaku
„Kofi shot Amba and killed Kwaku.‟
Sranan (true SVC) (Sebba, 1987)
Kofi teki a.nefi
koti a.brede.
Kofi take the.knife cut the.bread
„Kofi cut the bread with a knife.‟
b.
San Kofi teki a.nefi
koti __.
what Kofi take the.knife cut
„What did Kofi cut with the knife?‟
c.
San Kofi teki __ koti a.brede.
what Kofi take
cut the.bread
„What did Kofi cut the bread with?‟
“Single event” interpretation
As well as syntactic factors which determine what constitutes an SVC, there are also semantic
factors. One of the primary semantic factors is that an SVC refers to a “single event”. How is
this notion of a single event manifested?
The serialized verbs may refer to a sequence of closely related actions which together are
viewed as making up a single event. For example, in the Amele examples in (4) the arresting
and bringing down in (4a) is represented as a single event with the serialized verbs. Likewise
the greeting and calling out in (4b) is also represented as a single event with a series of four
verbs. However, in (27) these same events are represented as non-unitary. The verb ehudimeig
„they took him‟ has same subject morphology added and this indicates that the event of „they
arrested him‟ is distinct from the event of „they brought him down‟. Similarly, when same
subject morphology is added to feeadimesi „they(du) greeted them‟ this separates the event of
„they greeted them‟ from the event of „they said in a loud voice‟.
(27)
a.
6
Amele (Papuan)
Age hew-i
eh-ud-im-eig
ah-u
n-ein.
3pl hold-(SS) take-3sg.DO-SS-3pl bring-(SS) come down-3pl.SU.REMP
„They arrested him and (then) brought him down.
In Minimalism a grammatical category, such as tense, is treated as a phrasal category, TenseP, and the
scope of this category over other parts of sentence structure is determined by the nodal dominance of
TP. In RRG, on the other hand, grammatical categories like negation, aspect, tense, modality, and
illocutionary force (speech acts) are regarded as operators modifying different layers of the clause, i.e.
nucleus, core, clause.
John R. Roberts
b.
11
Ale fee-ad-im-esi
co-nola
sul-i
u
uta-i
3du greet-3pl.DO-SS-3du lips-3du.POSR lift.up-(SS) get.(SS) call-(SS)
mad-esin, “…
say-3du.SU.REMP
„They(du) greeted them and (then) in a loud voice said, “….
Some further examples of complex events represented as a unitary event are given from
Yoruba (28a) and Kalam (28a).
(28) a.
b.
Yoruba (W. Africa; Lord, 1974; tone not shown)
Dada ra burɛdi jɛ.
Dada buy bread eat
„Dada bought bread to eat and ate it.‟
Kalam (PNG; Lane, 1991, cited in Durie, 1997)
byn
pataj ogok am yg pak dad
ap-elgp-al …
woman young these go dig hit carrying come-PAST-HABIT-3pl
„The young women dig and fetch (these animals) …‟
(i.e., „The young women go hunting‟)
However, what is considered to be a single unitary event ultimately depends on the
worldview of the speakers. Durie (1997) says that in order for SVCs of this type to be
grammatical, it must be possible for speakers of the language to interpret the various actions
as comprising a single coherent event. It appears that different languages impose different
restrictions as to which specific combinations of verbs are permissible, and that these
restrictions are sometimes due to cultural factors. In the following Yoruba examples, there
seems to be no grammatical explanation for the difference in grammaticality between (29a)
and (29b), or between (30a) and (30b).
(29)
a.
b.
(30) a.
b.
Yoruba (W. Africa; Bamgboṣe, 1974)
ó ra
išu wá.
3sg bought yams came
„She bought yams and came.‟
*ó
ta
išu wá.
3sg sold yams came
ó jɛun sùn.
3sg ate slept
„He ate and then he slept.‟
*ò jɛun padà.
3sg ate returned
Similarly, serial verbs are sometimes used to express simultaneous actions, but only when
these are viewed by the speakers as comprising a single event. In Hmong culture, dancing and
playing the bamboo pipes always go together. They are viewed as one event, and so may be
combined in a serial construction (31a). Listening to music, on the other hand, is viewed as a
separate event from dancing, so these two verbs may not serialize (31b). Instead, a coordinate
construction must be used (31c).
(31)
a.
b.
White Hmong (SE Asia; Jarkey, 1991; cited by Durie, 1997)
nws dhia tshov qeej.
3sg dance blow bamboo.pipes
„He dances playing the pipes.‟
*nws dhia mloog nkauj.
3sg dance listen song
12
How to Find Serial Verbs in English
c.
nws dhia thiab mloog nkauj.
3sg dance and listen song
„He dances (while) listening to music.‟
The Alamblak language of PNG has a very productive process of V+V compounding,
which exhibits a number of features associated with prototypical SVCs in other languages.
One such point of similarity is that, in order to form a permissible compound, two verb roots
must name actions which can be conceived of as a single event (Bruce, 1988:28). This
constraint involves both cultural and pragmatic factors. For example, all speakers accept the
compound form in (32a), since climbing a tree to look for insects is a common activity in that
culture. All speakers reject (32b), since climbing a tree and looking at the stars have no
connection in people‟s minds. But, given a context in which it is important to see the stars for
some reason, speakers will accept the very similar form in (32c).
(32)
a.
5.
Alamblak (PNG; Bruce, 1988)
mɨyt ritm
muh-hambray-an-m.
tree insects climb-search.for-1sg-3pl
„I climbed the tree and looked for insects/ looking for insects.‟
b.
*mɨyt guñm muh-hëti-an-m.
tree stars climb-see-1sg-3pl
(for: „I climbed the tree and saw the stars.‟)
c.
?mɨyt guñm muh-hëti-marña-an-m.
tree stars climb-see-well-1sg-3pl
„I climbed the tree and saw the stars clearly.‟ (acceptable in specific context)
Morphological features in SVCs
Kroeger (2004:235) notes that one of the characteristic features of SVCs is that all the verbs
in the series are marked for the same tense and aspect. Usually this tense and aspect is only
marked once for the whole clause. Amele is an OV left-branching language and in this
language tense and aspect is marked on the last verb in the series, as shown in (15b) and (27ab). In languages which are VO and right-branching, typically the tense and aspect is marked
on the first verb in the series, as in (33a-b). But some languages allow tense “doubling” or
“spreading”, with both verbs taking identical marking for tense and aspect, as in (33c-d). In
some languages, e.g. Akan, this tense spreading may even be obligatory, at least for certain
types of SVC. Byrne (1990) reports that in Saramaccan and a few other Atlantic creole
languages, tense may be marked on either or both verbs (33e); but this pattern seems to be
quite rare. Of course, if both verbs are marked the indicated values of tense and aspect must
be identical.
(33) a.
Sranan (Suriname; Jansen et al., 1978, cited by Byrne, 1990)
Roy e
tyari a pikin go na oso.
Roy PAST carry the child go LOC house
„Roy took the child home.‟
b.
Bamileke (W. Africa; Hyman, 1971)
á ká
láh càk usáɁ ha a.
3sg PAST take pot come give 1sg
„He brought the pot for/to me.‟
c.
Akan (W. Africa; Schachter, 1974)
Kofi yɛ-ɛ
adwuma ma-a
Amma.
Kofi do-PAST work
give-PAST Amma
„Kofi worked for Amma.‟
John R. Roberts
d.
Ewe ( W. Africa; Collins, 1997)
Kofi a tsɔ ati-ɛ
a fo Yao.
Kofi FUT take stick-DEF FUT hit Yao
„Kofi will hit Yao with the stick.‟
e.
Saramaccan (Suriname; Byrne, 1990)
a (bi) tsa di.meliki (bi) go na di.konde.
3sg PRFV carry the.milk PRFV go LOC the.village
„He had taken the milk to the fridge.‟
13
Similarly, in languages where negation is marked by a verbal affix, it must be marked on
both verbs in some languages:
(34) a.
b.
Akan (W. Africa; Schachter, 1974)
Kofi n-yɛ
adwuma m-ma
Amma.
Kofi NEG-do work
NEG-give Amma
„Kofi does not work for Amma.‟
Anyi (Ivory Coast; Van Lynseele, 1975, cited by Foley and Olson, 1985; tone not
marked)
cʊa n-jɪ
akɔ
n-!ni.
dog NEG-catch-HABIT chicken NEG-eat-HABIT
„The dog never eats a chicken.‟
Since there is normally only one grammatical subject, if both verbs are marked for subject
agreement they must show identical agreement features, as in (35).
(35) a.
Akan (W. Africa; Schachter, 1974)
me-yɛ-ɛ
adwuma me-ma-a
Amma.
1sg-do-PAST work
1sg-give-PAST Amma
„I worked for Amma.‟
b.
Tariana (Brazil; Aikhenvald, 1999)
nha-ritu na-inu=pidana ñaña.
3pl-catch 3pl-kill=REMP madi.fish
„The caught some madi fish.‟
c.
Kisar (Maluku, Indonesia; Blood, 1992)
Idedinamene Dedi n-amkuru n-amaka.
just.now
Dedi 3sg-sleep 3sg-awaken
„Dedi just woke up from his sleep.‟
d.
Kisar (Maluku, Indonesia; Blood, 1992)
A=m
la=m
pahar.
ai
m-la
m-pahar
1pl.EXCL 1pl.EXCL-go 1pl.EXCL-wash (clothes)
„We (excl.) are going to wash clothes.‟
In some languages, even when the subject is not a semantic argument of the second verb,
that verb may still be marked for agreement with the grammatical subject, as illustrated in
(36).
(36) a.
Akan (W. Africa; Schachter, 1974)
me-de aburow mi-gu
nsu-m.
1sg-take corn
1sg-flow water-in
„I pour corn into the water.‟
14
6.
How to Find Serial Verbs in English
b.
Tariana (Brazil; Aikhenvald, 1999)
kaː ru=ka nuha nu-a=mahka nu-hyã=niki
fearing
1sg 1sg-give=RECP 1sg-eat=completely
piri=nuku
iniri=nuku.
your.son=ACC traira.fish=ACC
„Being afraid, I let the traira-fish eat your son.‟
c.
Obolo (Durie, 1997; tone not shown)
e-gwen emi e-nu.
PL-call 1sg PL-come
„Let them call me to come.‟
Word order
In this section we look at the position of the object NP in SVCs. In some languages the
position of the object NP is not the same in an SVC in that language as its position in a
simple, one-verb clause.
Serial verbs are cited most frequently in the literature as occurring in SVO languages. For
example, out of the fourteen languages in Aikhenvald and Dixon (2006) where a comprehensive description is given of SVCs in those languages, eight languages have SVO basic word
order, four have SOV basic word order and in two word order is not fixed. However, there are
over 1000 Papuan languages spoken in New Guinea, nearly all of which are SOV and have
SVCs of some type. Serial verbs are rare in verb initial languages but Schiller (1990) cites the
Mon-Khmer language Rivüa as one such case, and Foley and Van Valin (1984:262) illustrate
Fijian as another example (37).
(37)
a.
b.
Fijian (Foley and Van Valin, 1984)
E
viri-tū-ra
na duru na tūraga.
CLM put-stand-TRANS ART post ART chief
„The chief erects the post.‟
viri-tū-ra
tū
na duru na tūraga.
put-stand-TRANS CONT ART post ART chief
„The chief continues to erect the post.‟
E
CLM
The position of the object NP in a serial verb construction will depend in part on the
position of the object within a simple, one-verb clause. For example, Sranan has VO order in
the simple one-verb clause and the object NPs in the SVCs follow this same pattern, as in
(38). Ịjọ, on the other hand, has OV order in the simple one-verb clause and the object NPs in
the SVCs precede the verb, as in (39).
(38)
a.
b.
(39)
a.
Sranan (Suriname; Sebba, 1987)
Mi teki a.nefi
koti a.brede.
1sg take the.knife cut the.bread
„I cut the bread with a knife.‟
Mi e prani a.karu gi
yu.
1sg ASP plant the.corn give 2sg
„I am planning the corn for you.‟
Ịjọ (West Africa; Williamson, 1965; tone not marked)
eri
ogidi
akɪ-nɪ indi pɛɪ-mɪ.
3sg.M machete take-Ø fish cut.up-PAST
„He cut up a fish with a machete.‟
John R. Roberts
b.
15
araʊ zu.ye akɪ buru teri-mɪ.
3sg.F basket take yam cover-PAST
„She used a basket to cover a yam.‟
In some languages, however, the object NPs group together on one side of the verb series.
In the Sranan example in (40a) Amba is a shared object NP and it occurs after the first verb.
But Sebba says that the order in (40b) was used in nineteenth-century Sranan, and is still
accepted by some speakers. In this case the shared object NP occurs to the right of both serial
verbs.
(40)
a.
b.
Sranan (Suriname; Sebba, 1987)
Kofi naki Amba kiri.
Kofi hit
Amba kill
„Kofi struck Amba dead.‟
Kofi naki kiri Amba. (archaic?)
Kofi hit
kill Amba
„Kofi struck Amba dead.‟
Some languages, such as Hmong, seem to prefer to express shared objects as far to the
right as possible (41c-d).
(41)
a.
White Hmong (SE Asia; Jarkey, 1991; cited by Durie, 1997)
nws xuab riam txiav nqiaj qaib.
3sg grasp knife cut meat chicken
„She cut some chicken with a knife.‟
b.
nws xa
ib qho khoom pub kuv.
3sg send one CL goods give 1sg
„She sent some things to me (as a present).‟
c.
kuv nrhiav
tau kuv nti nplhaib.
1sg search.for get my CL ring
„I found my ring.‟
d.
nws tua
raug
liab.
3sg shoot.at hit.the.mark monkey
„He shot a monkey.‟
In Jeh, an SVO language, object NPs are placed to the right of the serial verbs (42).
(42)
a.
Jeh (Vietnam; Gradin, 1976; Cohen, 1976)
Au rŭp dĕk
kanei.
1sg catch strangle rat
„I caught and strangled a rat.‟
b.
ĕn chŏk bùh cha ka.
3sg take roast eat fish
„He roasted and ate fish.‟
c.
Baǎ
tənoh dòh bǎl.ĕn tədrong i ….
father explain give them matter this
„Father explained this matter to them …‟
d.
mi ruat dòh au phei.
2sg buy give 1sg rice
„You buy rice for me.‟
16
How to Find Serial Verbs in English
e.
ĕn loh chièu reng rŭp bùh cha chŏ̀ l „wǎn
3sg exit go
search catch roast eat pig their
„He went out, got somebody‟s pig, roasted and ate it.‟
In Barai, an SOV language, object NPs are placed to the left of the serial verbs (43).
(43)
a.
7.
Barai (PNG; Foley and Olson, 1985:43-44)
fu burede ije sime abe ufu.
3sg bread the knife take cut
„He cut the bread with the knife.‟
b.
fu na ire
ifej-ie
i.
3sg 1sg food help-1sg.OBJ eat
„He helped me eat food.‟
c.
a na ine tua
kore-j-ie.
2sg 1sg stick break.off throw-TRANS-1sg.OBJ
„You broke off and threw at me a stick.‟
Non-canonical serialization
Kroeger (2004:241) says that in a prototypical SVC the two or more verbs are morphologically independent, i.e. two distinct words. But there are languages in which a highly
productive V+V compounding process seems very similar to serialization. As we showed
with (32), Alamblak is such a language. Some further examples are given in (44).
(44) a.
b.
Alamblak (PNG; Bruce, 1988)
na yawyt yiman wikna-hay-më-an-m.
1sg dog
people buy-give-REMP-1sg-3pl
„I bought a dog for the people.‟ or „I bought a dog and gave it to the people.‟
Yimas (PNG; Foley and Olson, 1985)
mabargat
ya-na-park-bi-kapik-bi-warkɨ-k.
coconut.branches 3pl.OBJ-3sg.SU-split-*-break.up-*-tie-REMP
„He split, broke into small pieces, and tied together the coconut branches.‟
This type of “compounding serialization” is most common in SOV languages. However, it
is also found in Igbo, an SVO language of West Africa. Interestingly, Déchaine (1993) reports
that Igbo uses a “normal” SVC to express instrument, manner, comitative, etc., as illustrated
in (45a-b). But there are no benefactive, recipient, or resultative SVCs in the language; these
functions can only be expressed by using a V+V compound, as in (45c-d).
(45)
a.
Igbo (W. Africa; Déchaine, 1993; Lord, 1975)
ó wè-re
úkwʊ gà-á ahyá.
3sg take-ASP leg
go-ASP market
„He went to the market on foot.‟
b.
ó ji-ri
ɔhʊhʊ ri-e
ihé.
3sg use-ASP hurry eat-ASP thing
„He ate hurredly.‟
c.
ó t!i-ghù-rù nwóké áhʊ̀.
3sg hit-kill-ASP man
that
„He beat that man to death.‟
d.
ó bì-nye-re
Adhá akwà.
3sg borrow-give-ASP Adha cloth
„He lent some cloth to Adha.‟
John R. Roberts
17
Another construction which has been described as serialization but does not exhibit all of
the diagnostic properties listed in (17) is illustrated in (46). Several Austronesian languages
spoken in Vanuatu and northern Papua New Guinea have constructions that look like normal
SVCs with subject agreement marked on each verb, as in (46a). In some of these languages it
is also possible for the second verb to appear in the default third person singular form, as in
(46b).7 This pattern is sometimes referred to as “ambient” serialization.
(46)
a.
b.
Numbani (PNG; Bradshaw, 1993)
ma-pa-andalowa ma-woti
ma-ma
ma-solonga teteu.
1pl.EX-make-way 1pl.EX-descend 1pl.EX-come 1pl.EX-enter village
„We walked down here into the village.‟
“Ambient” serialization (default 3sg marking)
ma-pisa
ai i-iye taun.
1pl.EX-find 3pl 3sg-lie town
„We found them in the town.‟
Kroeger (2004:242) says a few examples have been published in which both verbs agree,
but not with the same argument. In other words, the two verbs have different grammatical
subjects, and each verb agrees with its own subject. This pattern, illustrated in (47), is
sometimes called “switch-subject” serialization. However, switch-subject serialization is
typically causative serialization and, as the examples in (7a-d) show, can be found in many
languages with SVCs.
(47) a.
b.
Loniu (Manus Island, PNG; Hamel, 1993)
utó
ko’oluweni
wow ala
tan.
1pl.EX IRR-NONSG-move.with.rope 2sg IRR-2sg-go down
„We will lower you down (into the water).‟
Paamese (Vanuatu; Crowley, 1987:48)
kaik komuasinau
nauvā
netan.
2sg 2sg-REAL-hit-1sg 1sg-REAL-go down
„You hit me down.‟
As stated above, Amele has concatenated SVCs where a series of verbs express a complex
event of closely linked actions, as illustrated in (4). This language also has specialized SVCs
where the last verb in the series has a particular function, e.g. to express direction of the
motion, various aspectual notions, or enumeration of the event (twice, thrice, etc.). An
example of aspectual use is given in (12b) and an example of enumerative use is given in
(15). Amele also exhibits a range of switch-subject serialization and some examples are given
in (48)-(50). In each of these examples a complex event is expressed rather than two or more
separate events.
In (48a) fec „to see‟ patterns like a motion verb and the second verb, tec „to go up‟,
expresses the direction of the seeing. Alternatively, this verb could be noc „to go down‟. In
(48b) the direction of the throwing is expressed and in (48c) the direction of the straightening
is expressed. (48d-e) express concomitant states (two states existing together) and (48f-g)
express resultative states.
(48)
a.
7
Amele (Papuan)
Directional action:
Uqa f-ece-b
t-ei-a.
3sg see-DS-3sg.SU go up-3sg.SU-TODP
„S/he looked up.‟ (lit. „S/he looked and it went up.‟)
Note that the object in (46b) is plural, so the second verb does not agree with either the subject or
object of the first verb.
18
How to Find Serial Verbs in English
b.
hel-ece-b
n-oc
throw-DS-3sg.SU go down-INF
„to throw down‟
c.
soo-ece-b
l-ec
straighten-DS-3sg.SU go-INF
„to straighten out‟
d.
e.
Concomitant state:
bil-ece-b
catan-ec
sit-DS-3sg.SU forever-INF
hag
hew-ece-b
cob-oc
sickness hold-DS-3sg.SU walk-INF
„to live forever‟
„to live with sickness‟
f.
Resultative state:
am b-ece-b
asan-ec
„to fill up completely‟
full come up-DS-3sg.SU complete-INF
g.
bas-ece-b
cal-i
h-oc
„to give birth‟ (lit. „she pours out
pour-DS-3sg.SU appear-(SS) come-INF and s/he comes up‟)
The examples in (49) have the same form as those in (48), i.e. a preceding verb in the
series marked for different subject following, but they have a causative meaning. The forms in
(48) are considered SVCs because no clause level syntactic material may occur between the
predicates. The only thing that can vary is the subject agreement on the verbs. Whereas with
the causative forms in (49) free NP arguments and PP obliques can occur, as indicated.
(49)
a.
Causative:
Uqa cul-t-ece-b
(ija) (duec=na) nu-ig-a.
3sg let-1sg.DO-DS-3sg.SU (1sg) (dance=to) go-1sg.SU-TODP
„He let me go (to the dance).‟ (lit. „He let me and I went (to the dance).‟)
b.
Uqa od-ad-ece-b
(age) asal-eig-a.
3sg do-3pl.DO-DS-3sg.SU (3pl) laugh-3pl.SU-TODP
„He made them laugh.‟ (lit. „He did to them and they laughed.‟)
c.
Uqa ma-t-ece-b
(jo=na)
bil-ig-a.
3sg say-1sg.DO-DS-3sg.SU (house=in) sit-1sg.SU-TODP
„He told me to sit (in the house).‟ (lit. „He told me and I sat (in the house).‟)
(50) has the most interesting examples. In (50a) ija „I‟ is subject of seheli and is marked as
direct object of qitia „it hit me‟, but seheli is marked for same subject following. (50b-c) have
the same pattern but with ija cagu „I trip‟ and ija toni „I fall‟ as the first verbs.
(50)
a.
Involuntary action:
Ija sehel-i q-it-i-a.
1sg slip-(SS) hit-1sg.DO-3sg.SU-TODP
„I slipped and got hurt.‟ (lit. „I slipped and it hit me.‟)
b.
Ija cag-u
q-it-i-a.
1sg cut-(SS) hit-1sg.DO-3sg.SU-TODP
„I tripped and got hurt.‟ (lit. „I tripped and it hit me.‟)
c.
Ija ton-i
q-it-i-a.
1sg fall-(SS) hit-1sg.DO-3sg.SU-TODP
„I fell and got hurt.‟ (lit. „I fell and it hit me.‟)
The examples from Mandarin (3a), Yoruba (7a), Cantonese (7b), Tok Pisin (7c), Seimat
(7d), Akan (36a), Tariana (36b), Obolo (36c), Loniu and Paamese (47) and from Amele (48)(50) clearly show that an SVC does not necessarily need to have a series of verbs with the
John R. Roberts
19
same syntactic subject. This is relevant as we discuss the syntactic structure of SVCs in the
next section.
8.
The syntactic structure of SVCs
There has been a great deal of discussion in the literature as to how to define an SVC in
structural terms. However, most of this discussion has attempted to define SVCs in terms of
the generative-type framework of S → NPSU VP. But there are serious difficulties with this
approach. Firstly, an SVC prototypically expresses a single complex event and this
complexity is expressed in terms of multiple verbs with shared arguments. The shared
argument usually has the subject function between the serial verbs, but (7a-d) show that the
shared argument can be object of one serial verb and subject of the next, and in some cases
(42) the verbs share an object agument as well as the subject argument. Thus the linking is
between a verb plus its core arguments (subject and object) and another verb plus its core
arguments. In addition, in languages with SVCs the complexity of the event is expressed by
verbs rather than by adpositions or adverbials. Secondly, within the confines of generative
grammar the only subclausal unit available headed by a verb is the VP. This means that in a
generative approach SVCs can only be defined in terms of VP structure. For example,
Kroeger (2004:238) illustrates a standard structure of SVCs in a generative framework for
SVO languages in (51a) and for SOV languages in (51b).
(51) a.
Sranan (SVO languages)
S
NP
VP
V′
V
V′
NP
V
NP
Mi teki a.nefi
koti a.brede.
1sg take the.knife cut the.bread
„I cut the bread with a knife.‟
b.
Ịjọ (SOV languages)
S
NP
VP
V′
NP
V′
V
NP
V
eri
ogidi
akɪ-nɪ indi pɛɪ-mɪ.
3sg.M machete take-Ø fish cut.up-PAST
„He cut up a fish with a machete.‟
However, using a generative-type structure means that by default verb series which do not
share the same subject, such as those illustrated in (7a-d), cannot be classified as “true”
SVCs. This is obviously a theory-internal limitation imposed on the analysis of structures that
could be classifed as SVCs in all other respects. In this case the linguistic facts of language
20
How to Find Serial Verbs in English
are accommodated to meet theoretical expectations. A better approach is to have a theory that
meets the linguistic facts.
Instead of a hierarchy of syntactic categories, as illustrated in (51), in RRG it is proposed
that the sentence consists of a layered structure comprising nucleus < core < clause <
sentence. The nucleus is the predicate and typically, though not necessarily, filled with a verb,
the core comprises the predicate and its arguments, and the clause comprises the core and
peripheral adjuncts. In RRG, conjoining can be at the nuclear, core and clause level and these
juncture types are represented schematically in (52). In serial verb constructions it is the core
and nuclear levels of juncture that apply. There is no analogue in the layered structure of the
clause to the VP constituent which is fundamental to a generative analysis of SVCs.
(52) a.
b.
c.
[CORE … [NUC …] … + … [NUC …] …]
[CLAUSE … [CORE …] … + … [CORE …] …]
[SENTENCE … [CLAUSE …] … + … [CLAUSE …] …]
Nuclear juncture
Core juncture
Clausal juncture
Another innovation in RRG is that traditional, structural and generative grammar have all
operated on the assumption that there are just two linkage or „nexus‟ types, coordination and
subordination. However, many of the languages of Papua New Guinea have a phenomenon
called clause chaining where many clauses can be strung together linked by switch-reference
marking and the tense designation for the clauses is only specified in the final clause of the
chain. Roberts (1988) demonstrates from the Amele language that such clause chains with
switch-reference marking exhibit properties of both coordination and subordination, and
contrast structurally with clear cases of coordination and subordination. Such “intermediate”
nexus is called cosubordination in RRG. The three nexus relations can be represented
schematically as in Figure 1. Coordination nexus is an abstract linkage relation involving a
relationship of equivalence and independence at the level of juncture, subordinate
constructions are structurally dependent and cannot occur independently, and cosubordination
is basically dependent coordination. It involves constructions that are structurally coordinate
but have a syntactic operator dependency occurring between the constructions.
Unit 1
+
Unit 2
Coordination
Unit 1
Unit 2
Subordination
Unit 1
Unit 2
Cosubordination
shared operator dependence
Figure 1: Nexus types
The nexus relations of coordination, subordination and cosubordination also apply to serial
verb constructions. Τhe most common relationship at both the core and nuclear level is that of
cosubordination. The distinguishing feature of cosubordination is operator dependence, i.e.
obligatory sharing of operators across units in the juncture. That is, the non-matrix unit(s)
John R. Roberts
21
must be dependent upon the matrix unit for expression of at least one operator at the level of
juncture. The operators relevant to core juncture are negation (internal), modality and core
directionals. The operators relevant to nuclear juncture are nuclear directionals, nuclear
negation and aspect.
However, in SVCs more typically cosubordinate and subordinate relationships occur at the
nuclear and core levels of juncture. All of the examples from Mandarin in (53) are instances
of core+core juncture. It is possible for there to be distinct aspect operators in each core, as in
(53b). Therefore they are not nuclear junctures. It is also possible in some core junctures for
there to be distinct modality operators, as in (53c), but not in all, as in (53d′).
(53) Mandarin
a. Tā jiāo wŏ xĭe zì
3sg teach 1sg write characters
„She teaches me to write characters.‟
b.
Wŏ zhèngzài zébèi
tā méi
bāngzhù nĭ
1sg PROG
reproach 3sg NEG.PRFV help
2sg
„I am reproaching him for not having helped you.‟
c.
Lĭngdăo kĕyĭ
mìnglìng nĭ bù kĕyĭ
chū-qù
leader can/may order
2sg NEG can/may out-go
„The leader can order you to not be permitted to go out.‟
d.
Wŏ kĕyĭ
qù măi shū
1sg can/may go buy book(s)
„I can go buy books.‟
d′. *Wŏ kĕyĭ
qù néng măi shū
1sg can/may go able buy book(s)
„I can go be able/permitted to buy books.‟
The impossibility of having independent core modality operators in (53d) shows that this
is a case of core cosubordination. The operator and constituent projections are illustrated in
(53′d). Note that in recent RRG development the noun phrase (NP) is replaced by the
referential phrase (RP). In generative syntax the NP must be headed by a noun. But RRG
syntax is based on syntactic function and the phrase representing a referring argument need
not necessarily have a noun as its nucleus. So referential phrase is adopted as a more
appropriate representation of this phrase type.
22
How to Find Serial Verbs in English
(53′)
Mandarin (SVC: core cosubordination)
SENTENCE
CLAUSE
CORE
CORE
RP
CORE
NUC
NUC
RP
PRED PRED
d.
Wŏ kĕyĭ
1sg can/may
V
V
qù
go
măi
buy
V
V
NUC
NUC
shū
book(s)
CORE CORE
MOD
CORE
CLAUSE
SENTENCE
„I can go buy books.‟
We can also illustrate nuclear cosubordination from Mandarin. In (54a) the postverbal
perfective aspect marker le occurs after both of the verbs and has scope over both. It cannot
occur between them, as shown by (54b), and the two verbs cannot have distinctive aspects, as
shown by (54c). Thus (54a) is an instance of nuclear cosubordination.
(54)
a.
Mandarin
Tā qiāo pò
le
yī ge fànwăn
3sg hit break PRFV one CL bowl
„He broke (by hitting) a ricebowl.‟
b.
*Tā qiāo le pò yī ge fànwăn
c.
*Tā zhèngzài qiāo pò
le
yī ge fànwăn
3sg PROG
hit break PRFV one CL bowl
„*He is hitting broke a ricebowl.‟
John R. Roberts
(55)
23
Mandarin (SVC: nuclear cosubordination)
SENTENCE
CLAUSE
CORE
RP
NUC
Tā
3sg
RP
NUC
NUC
PRED
PRED
V
V
qiāo
hit
pò
break
V
V
NUC
NUC
NUC
le
PRFV
yī ge fànwăn
one CL bowl
ASP
CORE
CLAUSE
SENTENCE
„He broke (by hitting) a ricebowl.‟
The Barai examples in (56) illustrate cosubordinate and subordinate nuclear juncture. In
(56a) the verbs kume-fie form a complex nucleus with the subject and object arguments to the
left. The verb va „continue‟ has an aspectual function and has scope over the whole nuclear
complex. The nuclei are therefore in a cosubordinate relationship. The constituent and
operator projections for (56a) for given in (57a). In (56b) the verb furi „finish‟ also has an
aspectual function but it only modifies the single verb ufu „cut‟. Therefore the predicating
verbs ufu „cut‟, numu „pile‟ and akoe „throw.away‟ are in a coordinate relationship.
(56)
a.
b.
Barai (Olson 1981)
Fu kai
fu-one kume-fie va.
3sg friend 3sg-GEN call-listen continue
„He continued calling and listening for his friend.‟
Fu vazai ufu furi
numu akoe.
3sg grass cut finish pile
throw.away
„He finished cutting, piled and threw away the grass.‟
24
How to Find Serial Verbs in English
(57)
Barai
SENTENCE
CLAUSE
cosubordinate nuclei
CORE
RP
subordinate nucleus
RP
NUC
NUC
NUC
NUC
PRED PRED
V
a.
Fu
3sg
V
V
kai
fu-one kume- fie
va.
friend 3sg-GEN call- listen continue
V
V
NUC
NUC
NUC
ASP
CORE
CLAUSE
SENTENCE
„He continued calling and listening for his friend.‟
John R. Roberts
25
SENTENCE
CLAUSE
coordinate nuclei
CORE
subordinate nucleus
RP
RP NUC
NUC
PRED
b.
Fu vazai
3sg grass
NUC
NUC
PRED PRED
V
V
V
ufu
cut
furi
finish
V
NUC
ASP
V
numu akoe.
pile
throw.away
V
V
NUC
NUC
CORE
CLAUSE
SENTENCE
„He finished cutting, piled and threw away the grass.‟
(58) presents an RRG analysis of some switch-subject SVCs. The Yoruba example, (58a),
is analyzed as a resultative construction which are always nuclear juncture. Foley and Van
Valin (1984:266) argue that the unmarked nexus type for nuclear juncture is cosubordination
but since there is no aspectual modification in (58a) we treat it as nuclear coordination. The
Cantonese example, (58b), is also nuclear juncture. Here the perfective aspect marker le has
scope over all the nuclei and it is not possible for the aspect to apply to just one of the nuclei,
so it is nuclear cosubordination. The Barai example, (58c), is also nuclear cosubordination
since the predicates abe „take‟ and ufu „cut‟ can be modified by furi „finish‟. Thus we see that
switch-subject SVCs can have the same type of nuclear juncture as same subject SVCs.
(58) a.
Yoruba (switch subject SVC: nuclear coordination)
SENTENCE
CLAUSE
CORE
RP
NUC
RP
NUC
PRED
PRO
N
V
mo
ge
igi
1sg
cut
tree
„I cut the tree down.‟
V
šubi.
fall
26
How to Find Serial Verbs in English
b.
Cantonese (switch subject SVC: nuclear cosubordination)
SENTENCE
CLAUSE
CORE
RP
RP
NUC
NUC
NUC
NUC
PRED
PRED PRED
PRO
V
V
Ngóh diu
goh bòh
1sg
throw CL ball
„I threw the ball down.‟
c.
V
loh
heui le.
down go
PRFV
Barai (switch subject SVC: nuclear cosubordination)
SENTENCE
CLAUSE
CORE
RP
RP
RP
NUC
NUC
NUC
NUC
PRED PRED
V
V
V
fu
burede ije sime abe
ufu furi.
3sg bread the knife take
cut finish
„He finished cutting the bread with the knife.‟
9.
SVCs in English
In §1 we said that serial verb constructions occur in languages found in West Africa, mainland Southeast Asia, New Guinea and the Pacific Islands, and in many pidgin and creole
languages. But SVCs can also be found in English—if you know what you are looking for.
First of all, a prototypical SVC contains two or more verbs that are fully lexical verbs. This
is important in distinguishing verb groupings that are not an SVC. For example, (59a) has two
verbs juxtaposed, (59b) has three and (59c) has four. Are they SVCs? The answer is, no,
because only the final verb in each set is a lexical verb. The verbs preceding the lexical verb
are supporting or auxiliary verbs. They have a grammatical meaning rather than a lexical
meaning as shown.
John R. Roberts
(59) a.
b.
c.
It is raining.
You have been overcharged.
It must have been raining.
27
be …-ing [progressive aspect]
have … -en [perfective aspect]
be …-ed [passive voice]
must [modal verb]
have … -en [perfective aspect]
be …-ing [progressive aspect]
Auxiliary verbs in English, such as be, have, must, etc. also have morphosyntactic properties
that are different from lexical verbs. (60a-a′) shows that an auxiliary verb can invert with the
subject NP to express a yes-no question, but this is not the case with a lexical verb, as shown
by (60b-b′). (61b-b′) shows that a lexical verb on its own requires the presence of the
supporting verb do to express a yes-no question, whereas (61a-a′) shows that an auxiliary verb
does not require do-support. (62a′) shows that when an auxiliary verb is present in the verb
group negation is expressed by not following the auxiliary, and (62a′′) shows that the negator
can be contracted to -n’t and affixed to the auxiliary. (62b-b′′) shows that none of this can
apply to a lexical verb. Thus verb series in English involving auxiliaries preceding a lexical
verb are not considered serial verb constructions.
(60) Subject inversion:
a. It is raining.
a′. Is it raining?
b. It rains here all the time.
b′. *Rains it here all the time?
(61) Do support:
a. It must have been raining.
a′. *Does it must have been raining?
b. It rains here all the time.
b′. Does it rain here all the time?
(62) Negation:
a. You have overcharged me.
a′. You have not overcharged me.
a′′. You haven‟t overcharged me.
b. You overcharged me.
b′. *You overcharged not me
b′′. *You overchargedn‟t me
However, English does have a verbal construction that meets the criteria of serial verb
constructions as set out in (17). Collins Cobuild English Grammar (1990:184-193)
(henceforth Cobuild) describes how verbs can be used in a clause in English to talk about two
actions or states which are closely linked. They call this structure a „phase‟, i.e. a linked
sequence of events. The linked actions can be performed by the same participant, as in (63),
or by different participants, as in (64). In the examples in (63) the subject is shared by both
verbs and in (64) the object of the first verb functions semantically as the subject of the
second verb. This is a typical SVC arrangement. The events are also closely linked. The
second verb is needed because the first verb does not provide enough information on its own.
For example, I want does not give enough information to be a useful statement, but I want to
talk to you does. Again this is typical of an SVC. Two (or more) verbs describe a unified
event.
(63) Phase verbs with same participant:
a. Mary stopped crying.
b. Sheila was prevented from going to work.
c. James wants to see a movie.
28
How to Find Serial Verbs in English
d.
e.
Coffee helped keep him alert.
Those very close to the blast risk being burned.
(64) Phase verbs with different participants:
a. The attendant stopped him falling.
b. The new law prevents people from smoking in public places.
c. The government encourages people to stop smoking.
d. He watched her play tennis.
e. Those people got burned by the blast.
In the phase constructions in (63) and (64) all the verbs in the series are lexical. The
morphosyntactic properties of auxiliaries do not apply to the first verb in a phase construction,
as shown by (65).
(65) Phase verbs are not auxiliaries:
a. *Stopped Mary crying?
b. *Mary stoppedn‟t crying.
[do not invert with subject]
[do not take negator contraction]
The first verb in a phase structure is the main verb of the syntactic structure. It is usually
finite and inflects for tense and agrees in number with the subject of the clause. The second
verb in the series is always non-finite, which means that it does not inflect for tense. There are
five non-finite verb forms that are used for the second verb in phase:
(66) a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
the bare present participle (63a) and (64a)
the from-present participle (63b) and (64b)8
the to-infinitive (63c) and (64c)
the bare infinitive (63d) and (64d)
the past participle (63e) and (64e)
Cobuild also says that there are restictions as to which finite verb can be used with the
different non-finite verb forms. Some finite verbs are used with the present participle, but not
with a to-infinitive, e.g. admit, defer, endure, loathe, report; some verbs are used with a toinfinitive, but not a present participle, e.g. ache, decide, hesitate, plan, want; and some finite
verbs are usually used in the passive when followed by a to-infinitive, e.g. allege, discover,
prove, understand. We noted in §4 on single event interpretation that collocational restrictions
on verbs in a series is a feature of SVCs.
Before proceeding, we need to establish what is the syntactic status of the to-infinitive
constituents in (63c) and (64c). In Minimalism (e.g. Hornstein, et. al. 2005) they are treated as
subordinate VPs. However, Van Valin and LaPolla (1997:469-472) show that there is
considerable evidence that the infinitival constructions in (63c) and (64c) are not instances of
subordination; that is, these infinitives are not complements akin to that-clauses and gerunds.
For example, they do not cleft like that-clauses and gerunds, and if they occur with a verb
which can passivize, gerunds and that-clauses can occur as subject of the passive but the
infinitive cannot. This is illustrated in the examples in (67). Also in the sentences in (68) with
want, the simple NP complement can be clefted and can occur as the subject of a passive, just
like the gerund and that-clause in (67), while the to-infinitive cannot.
(67) a.
a′.
a′′.
b.
b′.
8
Leslie regretted [Kim‟s losing the election].
[Kim‟s losing the election] was regretted by Leslie.
It was [Kim‟s losing the election] that Leslie regretted.
Mary regretted [slapping Bill] the most.
[Slapping Bill] was regretted by Mary the most.
Cobuild omits the from-present participle form but it belongs to the paradigm of phase verb constructions.
John R. Roberts
b′′.
c.
c′.
c′′.
29
It was [slapping Bill] that Mary regretted the most.
Leslie regretted [that Kim lost the election].
[That Kim lost the election] was regretted by Leslie.
It was [that Kim lost the election] that Leslie regretted.
(68) a. Pat wanted [to open the door].
a′. Pat wanted [a new car].
b. *It was [to open the door] that Pat wanted.
b′. It was [a new car] that Pat wanted.
c. *[To open the door] was wanted by Pat.
c′. [A new car] was wanted by Pat.
That-clauses and gerunds are canonical examples of subordination because they can occur
as the subject of a passive and can be clefted, the same as simple NP complements. Therefore
since to-infinitives do not behave this way syntactically, they cannot be subordinate. Hence
constructions like (63c) James wants to see a movie and (64) The government encourages
people to stop smoking are a non-subordinate nexus type.
This is an example of a mismatch between syntax and semantics. The logical structure of
the infinitival core is a semantic argument of the verb in the matrix core at the semantic level,
but in the syntax it is not treated as a core argument. The logical structure of James wants to
see a movie would be want′ (Jamesi, [[do′ (xi, Ø)] CAUSE [see′ (xi, movie)]]), in which the
logical structure for see is a semantic argument of the matrix verb want. Such constructions
also have the property of sharing an argument semantically between linked cores. We can
demonstrate that the linked cores in phase verb constructions are also in a non-subordinate
relationship.
A nominal complement of the verb can be passivized or made the focus of a clefted
construction, as in (69a-a′′), (70a-a′′) and (71a-a′′) for example. However, as can be seen from
(69b-b′′), (70b-b′′) and (71b-b′′) the corresponding phasal verb cannot be passivized or
clefted. Thus all the phasal verbs are linked in a non-subordinate syntactic relationship, not
only the to-infinitive forms.
(69) a.
a′.
a′′.
b.
b′.
b′′.
Mary stopped the car.
The car was stopped by Mary.
It was the car that Mary stopped.
Mary stopped crying.
*Crying was stopped by Mary.
*It was crying that Mary stopped.
(70) a.
a′.
a′′.
b.
b′.
b′′.
James wanted an i-phone.
An i-phone was wanted by James.
It was an i-phone that James wanted.
James wants to see a movie.
*To see a movie is wanted by James.
*It is to see a movie that James wants.
(71) a.
a′.
a′′.
b.
b′.
b′′.
Dave helped the old lady.
The old lady was helped by Dave.
It was the old lady that Dave helped.
Coffee helped keep him alert.
*Keep him alert was helped by coffee.
*It was keep him alert that coffee helped.
As we stated above, the structure of phase verb constructions in English is finite+nonfinite
verb. Syntactically, the first verb is the head of the construction as only this verb takes the
30
How to Find Serial Verbs in English
tense and aspect marking. However, semantically the nonfinite verb may describe the main
state of affairs in a complex event. For example, some of the verbs that collocate with a
present participle describe a facet of the temporal frame in which a state of affairs obtains. In
(63b) stop expresses the termination of the event of speaking. Further examples are given in
(72). The verbs begin and start express the onset of an event, continue and keep express the
continuation of an event, and finish and stop express the termination of an event. The
semantic representations for the temporal frames are respectively, BECOME for the onset of
an event (72a′′)9, CONTINUE for the continuation of an event (72b′′), TERMINATE for the
termination of an event (72c′′). The passive (69b′) and clefted (69b′′) constructions do not
express the temporal frame of TERMINATE that is expressed in (69b).
(72) a. Mary began crying.
a′. Mary started crying.
a′′. BECOME (do′ (Mary, [cry′ (Mary)]))
b. Mary continued crying.
b′. Mary kept crying.
b′′. CONTINUE (do′ (Mary, [cry′ (Mary)]))
c. Mary finished crying.
c′. Mary stopped crying.
c′′. TERMINATE (do′ (Mary, [cry′ (Mary)]))
In (64a) the verb stop expresses a temporal frame for the event of „him falling‟. Here one
actor acts upon another in a causative event. Thus we need to add „x CAUSE y‟ to the logical
structure. This is given in (73a′). Fall is an accomplishment verb. An accomplishment is a
process change of state with an end result. Some further examples of causative events are
given in (73b-d) with the appropriate logical structures.
(73) a.
a′.
The attendant stopped him falling.
[do′ (attendant, Ø)] CAUSE [TERMINATE BECOME (fallen′ (him))]
b. James started Mary crying.
b′. [do′ (James, Ø)] CAUSE [INGR (do′ (Mary, [cry′ (Mary)]))]
c.
c′.
James kept Mary waiting.
[do′ (James, Ø)] CAUSE [CONTINUE (do′ (Mary, [wait′ (Mary)]))]
d. James stopped Mary crying.
d′. [do′ (James, Ø)] CAUSE [TERMINATE (do′ (Mary, [cry′ (Mary)]))]
The other phase construction where the non-finite verb is a present participle is the frompresent participle form, as illustrated in (63b) and (64b). In both (63b) and (64b) the function
of from is to specify that the event described by the present participle did not happen. In (63b)
the proposition is that Sheila did not go to work and in (64b) it is that people do not smoke in
public places. The logical structures for (63b) and (64b) are given in (74). The causee in
(74a′) is unspecified. The logical operator NOT represents the meaning of from.10 Notice from
(74c-c′) and (74d-d′) that verbs such as keep and stop do not have their temporal frame
meaning when in construction with the from-present participle.
9
The onset of an event described by begin and start is not punctual since we can say slowly begin/ start
crying. So the logical operator here is BECOME rather than INGR.
10
Quirk et. al. (1985:678) say the meaning of the negative locative preposition away from is „not at‟.
John R. Roberts
(74) a.
a′.
31
Sheila was prevented from going to work.
[do′ (Ø, Ø)] CAUSE [NOT (do′ (Sheila, [go′ (Sheila) & INGR be-at′ (work,
Sheila)])]
b. The new law prevents people from smoking in public places.
b′. [do′ (law, Ø)] CAUSE [NOT be-in′ (public place, (do′ (people, [smoke′
(people)])))
c.
c′.
James kept Mary from waiting.
[do′ (James, Ø)] CAUSE [NOT do′ (Mary, [wait′ (Mary)])]
d. James stopped Mary from crying.
d′. [do′ (James, Ø)] CAUSE [NOT (do′ (Mary, [cry′ (Mary)]))]
The examples in (74c) and (74d) also illustrate another function of from in the phase verb
constructions which is discussed in Van Valin and LaPolla (1997:471-472). In (73c) the event
described by keep occurs within the time frame of the event described by wait, and in (73d)
the event described by stop occurs within the time frame of the event described by cry. There
is a temporal overlap between the events described by the first verb in the phase construction
and those described by the second verb. Now contrast the same examples in (74c) and (74d)
where from is added. Here there is no temporal overlap of events because in this case the
events described by the second verb did not happen.
The same contrast applies to the to-infinitive forms in (63c) and (64c) and the bare
infinitive forms in (63d) and (64d). Some examples of verbs that link to a to-infinitive are
given in (75) and of verbs that link to a bare infinitive in (76). For the verbs linked with to the
events described by each verb do not overlap. But for the verbs followed by a bare infinitive
the events described clearly overlap temporally.
(75)
Verbs that link to a to-infinitive:
X agreed to go
X decided to go
X waited to go
X asked Y to go
X wanted Y to go
X helped Y to go
(76)
Verbs that link to a bare infinitive:
X heard Y sing
X noticed Y arrive
X watched Y dance
X helped Y walk
The verb help can occur either with a to-infinitive or a bare infinitive. This verb further
illustrates the difference that the presence or absence of to makes to the construction. In (77a)
the interpretation is that Sam participated in the event of building the new garage. Hence the
oddness of „?by loaning him money‟. In (77b) with to the help event need not overlap with the
build event, so it is acceptable to say that Sam helped in some other way than by participating
in the building of the garage.
(77) a.
b.
Sam helped his neighbour build his new garage (by pouring the foundations/?by
loaning him money).
Sam helped his neighbour to build his new garage (by pouring the foundations/by
loaning him money).
32
How to Find Serial Verbs in English
Therefore it appears there is a contrast between when the linking elements to or from are
present and when they are absent. Their absence indicates that the linked events necessarily
overlap temporally. Whereas when they are present the default interpretation is that the linked
events do not overlap temporally, i.e. they are sequential. This may be summarized in (78).
(78) a.
b.
Phase verb constructions with zero marker on linked unit: [+temporal overlap].
Phase verb constructions with to/from marker on linked unit: [−temporal overlap].
We saw with the examples in (72) that in a complex event expressed by a phase verb
structure the first verb can modify the meaning of the event. In (72) the first verb expresses
the temporal frame for the event. It is also possible for the first verb in a phase structure to
specify the spatial frame for an event. In (79a) lay specifies the position of the child for the
event of sleeping, in (79b) sat specifies the position of the teacher for the event of reading,
and in (79c) stood specifies the position of the waitress for the event of talking. Since the
posture verbs, lay, sit and stand require progressive aspect (see (59)) to express present tense
they are activity verbs rather than stative verbs.
(79) a. The child lay sleeping.
a′. do′ (child, [lay′ (child)])  asleep′ (child)
b. The teacher sat reading.
b′. do′ (teacher, [sit′ (teacher)])  do′ (teacher, [read′ (teacher)])
c. The waitress stood talking.
c′. do′ (waitress, [stand′ (waitress)])  do′ (waitress, [talk′ (waitress)])
It is also possible for the second verb in a phase structure to modify the meaning of the
complex event. In (80a) and (b) the bare infinitives of scream and run give the meaning that
these events are completed within the event frame of the preceding perception verb. Whereas
when the present participial forms are used in (80a′) and (b′) the events of „scream‟ and „run‟
are not completed within the event frame of the perception verbs.
(80) a.
a′.
a′′.
b.
b′.
b′′.
They heard her scream.
They heard her screaming.
hear′ (they, [do′ (her, [scream′ (her)])
They saw him run.
They saw him running.
see′ (they, [do′ (him, [run′ (him)])
[perfective event]
[imperfective event]
[perfective event]
[imperfective event]
In (81a) and (b) the motion verb is modified by the following verb, which expresses the
manner in which the motion is carried out. The logical structures of (81a′) and (b′) specify two
events occurring concurrently. This is the same as in (79a′,b′,c′). However, in (79) the first
verb specifies the spatial frame of the event and is the modifying verb, whereas in (81) it is
the second verb that specifies this modification of the complex event.
(81) a. The girls came running out.
a′. do′ (girls, [come′ (girls)  do′ (girls, [run′ (girls) & INGR be-out′ (girls)
b. Bill entered the room skipping.
b′. do′ (Bill, [enter′ (Bill, room)])  do′ (Bill, [skip′ (Bill)
With regard to the marking of tense, aspect, modality and negation in phase verb constructions, the full range of these categories can only be marked on the first finite verb, as
illustrated in (82)-(86). As a clause operator, tense has default scope over both the phase
verbs. As nuclear operators, progressive and perfective aspects only have scope over the first
verb. Modality operators, such as must, and the negation operator are core operators and they
may have scope over just the first verb, in which case it is a core coordination nexus, or they
John R. Roberts
33
may have scope over both the verbs, in which case it is a core cosubordination nexus. Only
negation can be marked independently on the second nonfinite verb, as illustrated in (87).
(82) a.
the bare present participle:
stopped crying.
[past tense]
is stopping crying. [prog aspect]
has stopped crying. [prfv aspect]
Mary
must stop crying. [modal]
didn’t stop crying. [negation]






(83) b.
the from-present participle:
prevented people from going to work.
is preventing people from going to work.
has prevented people from going to work.
The law
must prevent people from going to work.
didn’t prevent people from going to work.



(84) c.
[past tense]
[prog aspect]
[prfv aspect]
[modal]
[negation]



the to-infinitive:
The government



encourages people to stop smoking.
is encouraging people to stop smoking.
has encouraged people to stop smoking.
must encourage people to stop smoking.
didn’t encourage people to stop smoking.
the bare infinitive:
helps keep him alert.
is helping keep him alert.
has helped keep him alert.
Coffee
must help keep him alert.
didn’t help keep him alert.
[present tense]
[prog aspect]
[prfv aspect]
[modal]
[negation]



(85) d.



[present tense]
[prog aspect]
[prfv aspect]
[modal]
[negation]
the past participle:
got burned by the blast.
are getting burned by the blast.
have got burned by the blast.
Those people
must have got burned by the blast.
didn’t get burned by the blast.



(86) e.



(87) a.
b.
[past tense]
[prog aspect]
[prfv aspect]
[modal]
[negation]



From today he has started not smoking.
Cheap booze encourages people to not quit drinking.
Table 1 compares the properties of SVCs as given in (17) with the properties of phase
verbs described in this section. From this we see that phase verbs in English have the same
semantic and syntactic properties as serial verb constructions found in Creole languages, West
Africa, mainland Southeast Asia, New Guinea and the Pacific Islands. We can conclude
therefore that phase verbs in English are a type of serial verb construction.
34
How to Find Serial Verbs in English
Table 1: Properties of English phase verbs compared to SVC properties
SVC properties
English phase verb properties
A prototypical SVC contains two or
more morphologically independent
verbs within the same clause,
neither of which is an auxiliary.
In SVCs there are no conjunctions
or other overt markers of
subordination or coordination
separating the two verbs.
Phase verbs are a combination of fully lexical verbs;
none of which is an auxiliary, see (65). The first verb
in the series is finite and the second nonfinite, see
(66) for the different types of nonfinite forms.
The second nonfinite verb is not subordinate to the
first verb, see (69)-(71). The to in the to-infinitive
form and the from in the from-participle form do not
indicate a subordinate or coordinate relationship.
Instead the presence of to and from indicate no
temporal overlap between the events described by the
first and second verbs. Compare (75) and (76) for to
and (73) and (74) for from. Additionally, from
indicates that the event described by the fromparticiple verb did not occur.
Phase verbs belong to a single intonation pattern.
The serial verbs belong to a single
intonation contour, with no pause
separating them.
The entire SVC refers to a single
(possibly complex) event.
A true SVC may contain only one
specification for tense, aspect,
modality, negation, etc., though
these features are sometimes
redundantly marked on both verbs.
The two verbs in the SVC share at
least one semantic argument.
Obligatory non-coreference: a true
SVC will not contain two overt NPs
which refer to the same argument.
A prototypical SVC contains only
one grammatical subject.
Phase verbs describe two actions or states which are
closely linked. The nonfinite verb may describe the
main event and be modified by the preceding finite
verb, see (72)-(73) and (79). Vice versa, the finite
verb may describe the main event and be modified by
the following nonfinite verb, see (81).
Phase verbs comprise finite verb + nonfinite verb.
The nonfinite form may be the infinitive or a past or
present participle. Only the finite verb is marked for
tense.
Phase verbs may have a single subject argument
shared by both verbs, as in (63), or an object of the
first verb interpreted as subject of the second verb, as
in (64).
Where a non-reflexive pronoun occurs in a phase
verb construction it cannot be coreferential with any
other argument in the construction. E.g. in he stopped
teasing him, he and him cannot be coreferential.
Phase verb constructions may only contain one
grammatical subject.
Finally, structural representations are provided in (63)ʹ and (64)ʹ for some of the English
serial verb constructions given in (63) and (64). The SVCs in (63)ʹ are all cosubordination
core constructions and the SVCs in (64)ʹ are all coordinate core constructions.
John R. Roberts
(63)ʹ
35
SENTENCE
CLAUSE
CORE
RP
a.
CORE
CORE
NUC
NUC
PRED
PRED
V
V
Mary stopped
crying.
(63)ʹ
SENTENCE
CLAUSE
CORE
CORE
RP
b.
Sheila
(63)ʹ
CLM
CORE
NUC
NUC
PRED
PRED
V
V
was prevented
from
going
SENTENCE
CLAUSE
CORE
CORE
RP
NUC
NUC RP
PRED
NUC
NUC
PRED
PRED
V
ADJ
V
d.
CORE
Coffee helped
keep him
alert.
PP
to work.
36
How to Find Serial Verbs in English
(64)ʹ
SENTENCE
CLAUSE
RP
a.
CORE
CORE
NUC
RP NUC
PRED
PRED
V
V
The attendant stopped him falling.
(64)ʹ
SENTENCE
CLAUSE
CORE
RP
CORE
NUC
CLM
PRED
RP
V
c.
The government encourages people to
(64)ʹ
SENTENCE
CLAUSE
d.
CORE
CORE
RP NUC
RP NUC
PRED
PRED
V
V
He watched her
play
RP
tennis.
CORE
CORE
NUC
NUC
PRED
PRED
V
V
stop
smoking.
John R. Roberts
37
Abbreviations
ACC
ART
ASP
CAUS
CL
CLM
CONT
DO
DS
EX(CL)
FUT
GEN
HABIT
HABP
INF
INGR
IRR
LOC
MOD
NEG
accusative
article
aspect
causative
classifier
clause linkage marker
continuous
direct object
different subject following
exclusive
future tense
genitive
habitual
past habitual
infinitive
ingressive
irrealis
locative
modality
negative
NONSG
NUC
OBJ
PAST
PL
POSR
PRED
PRFV
PRO
PROG
REAL
RECP
RED
REMP
RP
SS
SU
TODP
TRANS
V
nonsingular
nucleus
object
past tense
plural
possessor
predicate
perfective
pronoun
progressive
realis
recent past
reduplication
remote past tense
referential phrase
same subject following
subject
today‟s past tense
transitive
verb
1
2
3
sg
first person
second person
third person
singular number
du
pl
M
F
dual number
plural number
masculine gender
feminine gender
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SIL International