Does the Syntax of Modern Persian Allow the locative Verbs to Participate in Alternation?

Masoume Yakhabi, Ahmadreza Lotfi

Abstract


Some locative verbs enjoy the possibility of appearing in more than one syntactic pattern. There is, however, controversy on whether locative verbs in modern Persian can participate in alternation or not. The aim of the present paper is to investigate the issue, analyzing basic syntactic word order of double object constructions in Persian, syntactic and semantic features of specific and nonspecific objects in Persian and syntactic word formation process. The point that the basic word order in Persian allows only one thematic object (either specific or non-specific object) and the fact that the non-specific objects in double object constructions can join the verb and create one syntactic and semantic unit that saturates one argument position, all indicate that locative verbs cannot alternate in this language. The main argument here is that when the non-specific object joins the verb, it becomes a part of the verb and is not anymore a participant in the action of the verb. All the evidence provided are in favor of the absence of alternating locative verbs in Persian.

 


Keywords


Locative verbs, specific object, bare object, alternation, non specific object

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.6n.5p.255

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