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Multiverbs and Complex Predicates

Revision as of 20:40, 18 December 2009 by Lars Hellan (Talk | contribs)

Edited by Gautam Sengupta and Lars Hellan

This page is an attempt at classifying cross-linguistically a variety of types falling under the categories 'multiverb constructions' (MVC) and 'complex predicates' (CP).

For MVCs, a first set of salient examples includes,

(1) from Bangla (Bengali):

আমি বাড়ি গিয়ে ভাত খেয়ে ঘুমাবো
“I will go home, eat rice and sleep”
ami
ami
1SG
PN
baRi
baRi
home
N
gie
gie
goCMPL
V
bhat
bhat
rice
N
khee
khee
eatCMPL
V
ghumabo
ghumabo 
sleep  
V
 
  
  
 

(2) from Akan:

Ama tɔɔ adanko dwaree no yεnn no
“Ama bought a rabbit, bathed it (and) reared it”
Ama
ama
AmaSBJAGT
Np
tɔɔ
ɔ
buyCOMPL
Vtr
adanko
adanko
rabbit.AFFDO
CN
dwaree
dwaree
bathCOMPL
Vtr
no
no
AFFDO3SG
PN
yεnn
yεnn
rearCOMPL
Vtr
no
no
AFFDO3SG
PN

(3) from Kistaninya (Kistane):

kas:a təkətəmay;ən aləfəm ləb:aš wajjəm ət’t’aw.
“Kassa went to the town, bought cloth and come back”
kas:a
kas:a
Kassa
N
təkətəmay;ən
kətəmay;ən
 town 
N
aləfəm
aləfəm
go3PMASCSGSMCV
V1
ləb:aš
ləb:aš
cloth
N
 
 
 
 
wajjəm
wajjəm
buy3PMASCSGSMCV
V2
ət’t’aw
mət’t’aw
come3PMASCSGSMMAVM
V3

They have in common the expression of temporally successive events, patterns of argument and tense/aspect sharing, and lack of coordinating items, which is held as typical of 'serial verb' constructions. But they also differ in some respects:

In Bangla and Kistaninya, the last verb in the series has a different form than the preceding verbs, whereas in Akan they all have the same form. Although Bangla and Kistaninya have in common being 'verb last' languages, so that the last verb may be counted as being head of the constructions in question, and in Akan it is perhaps V1 which is head, that factor does not explain the difference in form between head and non-heads. Thus, we have to recognize the distinguishing factor I.1 below.

On the other hand, in Bangla only the last verb has a finite form, while the others are in an aspectually completive form. In contrast, in Kistaninya, all the verbs are finite; in this respect they are like in Akan, except for the special added suffix in all the non-final verbs. This has to be counted as a distinguishing factor I.2:

I.1. In the Akan example all verbs are in the same form, whereas in the Bangla and Kistaninya examples, the non-final verbs share a formative absent in the last verb.

I.2. In the Akan and Kistaninya examples, all verbs are finite, whereas in the Bangla example, only the last verb is finite.

'I' here means a property relating to the temporally consecutive kind of serial construction. A different group of serial constructions is the one where the verbs - typically just two - describe different aspects of one and the same situation: typically a 'main' verb, and then a VP which, in the total setting, expresses an instrument, or a beneficiary, or a few other options. An example of this type from Bangla, with an instrumental, is given in (4), and from Akan, with a beneficiary, in (5):

(4) Bangla:

আমি ছুরি দিয়ে আপেল কাটবো
“I will cut the apple with a knife”
ami
ami
1SG
PN
churi
churi
knife
N
die
die
giveCMPL
V
apel
apel
apple
N
kaTbo
kaTbo
cutFUT1P
V

(5) Akan:

Ama tɔɔ nhoma maa ne nua
“Ama bought a cloth for her sibling”
Ama
ama
AmaSBJ
Np
tɔɔ
ɔ
buyPAST
Vtr
ntoma
ntoma
clothOBJ
N
maa
maa
givePAST
Vdtr
ne
ne
herPOSS3SG
PNposs
nua
nua
siblingOBJ
N

As is clear, the formal patterns in these examples are like those observed in (1) and (2), and a similar persistence of pattern one will expect in Kistaninya.