Introduction
Verb-Particle Constructions occur in “most, if not all, of the Germanic languages” (Dehé: 2002:1, Olsen 2000:149). They are also known as “verb-particle combinations”, “phrasal verbs”, “particle verbs” (PVs) or “separable (complex) verbs” (cf. Dehé ibid., cf. Dehé, Jackendoff, McIntyre, Urban 2002:1). VPCs formally consist of “a verbal stem and an intransitive prepositional or adverbial element”, a so-called particle (Olsen 2000:149).
In linguistic research, “there is no uncontroversial definition of particles which reliably demarcates them from similar items and has cross-linguistic validity” (Dehé et al. 2002:3)
[...]
According to Dehé (2002), “the perhaps most striking property of transitive PV’s in English is their appearance in two alternating orders“ (3) as the English particle “can appear on either side of a direct object, unless it is a (non-contrastively accented) pronoun” (Dehé et al. 2002:2, cf. Jackendoff ibid.). In the so-called continuous order the particle is “adjacent to the verb and precedes the DP-complement” as in (1) (Dehé 2002:3-4). In the discontinuous order “the particle follows the DP-object” (cf. 2) (ibid.). In this order the use of unstressed pronouns is obligatory as illustrated in (3) (ibid.; the following examples are borrowed from Dehé:ibid. as well).
(1) He wiped off the table.
(2) He wiped the table off.
(3) a. He wiped it off.
b. *He wiped off it.
Concerning the syntactic structure of English VPCs, several questions might be asked:
1. How does the syntactic structure of VPCs in English look
like?
2. How do the alternating word orders come about?
3. Which of the word orders is the underlying one?
Linguists have developed many different approaches to the syntactic structure of VPCs. This paper is going to focus attention on three different syntactic analyses for English VPCs and attempts to answer the questions posed above. Before presenting the different approaches, some basic characteristics of English VPCs will be introduced. Afterwards, the approaches, namely the Small Clause analysis according to Kayne (1985) and two different complex head analyses by Johnson (1991) and Dehé (2002), will be elucidated and discussed.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Basic Characteristics of English VPCs
3 The VPC as a Small Clause
4 The VPC as a Complex Head – Object Shift and µ as a Case Assigner
5 The VPC as a Complex Head – IS and the Multi-Levelled Head Structure
6 Conclusion
7 Bibliography
Objectives and Topics
This paper investigates the syntactic structure of English Verb-Particle Constructions (VPCs) by evaluating competing theoretical frameworks. It seeks to resolve the debate surrounding the underlying word order of these constructions and how they function within English grammar, specifically addressing the mechanisms behind word order alternation and the classification of the verb-particle relationship.
- Analysis of the Small Clause hypothesis according to Kayne (1985).
- Evaluation of complex head analyses proposed by Johnson (1991) and Dehé (2002).
- Examination of Information Structure (IS) and its impact on word order choices.
- Discussion of the Principle of Lexical Integrity in relation to VPCs.
- Assessment of syntactic movement operations, including object shift and head movement.
Extract from the book
1 Introduction
Verb-Particle Constructions (VPCs) occur in “most, if not all, of the Germanic languages” (Dehé: 2002:1, Olsen 2000:149). They are also known as “verb-particle combinations”, “phrasal verbs”, “particle verbs” (PVs) or “separable (complex) verbs” (cf. Dehé ibid., cf. Dehé, Jackendoff, McIntyre, Urban 2002:1). VPCs formally consist of “a verbal stem and an intransitive prepositional or adverbial element”, a so-called particle (Olsen 2000:149).
In linguistic research, “there is no uncontroversial definition of particles which reliably demarcates them from similar items and has cross-linguistic validity” (Dehé et al. 2002:3). Dehé et al. (2002) offer the following general definition:
“A particle is an accented element which is formally (and, often, semantically) related to a preposition, which does not assign case to a complement and which displays various syntactic and semantic symptoms of what may informally be called a close relationship with a verb, but without displaying the phonological unity with it typical of affixes” (ibid.).
According to Dehé (2002), “the perhaps most striking property of transitive PV’s in English is their appearance in two alternating orders“ (3) as the English particle “can appear on either side of a direct object, unless it is a (non-contrastively accented) pronoun” (Dehé et al. 2002:2, cf. Jackendoff ibid.).1 In the so-called continuous order the particle is “adjacent to the verb and precedes the DP-complement” as in (1) (Dehé 2002:3-4). In the discontinuous order “the particle follows the DP-object” (cf. 2) (ibid.). In this order the use of unstressed pronouns is obligatory as illustrated in (3) (ibid.; the following examples are borrowed from Dehé:ibid. as well).
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: This chapter defines Verb-Particle Constructions (VPCs) and outlines the central linguistic questions regarding their syntactic structure and the alternating word orders found in English.
2 Basic Characteristics of English VPCs: This section provides a semantic classification of VPCs into compositional, idiomatic, and aspectual types and establishes diagnostics to distinguish them from prepositional verbs.
3 The VPC as a Small Clause: This chapter discusses Kayne’s (1985) proposal that VPCs are small clause constructions, evaluating its empirical support and subsequent challenges from other linguists.
4 The VPC as a Complex Head – Object Shift and µ as a Case Assigner: This section details Johnson’s (1991) approach, which treats the VPC as a complex head and utilizes object shift and functional projections to explain word order variations.
5 The VPC as a Complex Head – IS and the Multi-Levelled Head Structure: This chapter presents Dehé’s (2002) analysis, focusing on how Information Structure and a multi-levelled head structure provide a more comprehensive explanation for VPC behavior.
6 Conclusion: This chapter synthesizes the three analyzed approaches, concluding that Dehé’s model is currently the most robust despite remaining questions regarding the semantics of VPCs.
7 Bibliography: This section lists the academic sources and theoretical works cited throughout the paper.
Keywords
Verb-Particle Constructions, VPCs, Syntax, Small Clause, Complex Head, Object Shift, Information Structure, Continuous Order, Discontinuous Order, Lexical Integrity, Word Order Alternation, Linguistics, Particle Verbs, Phrasal Verbs, Syntactic Movement
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this linguistic paper?
The paper examines the syntactic structure of English Verb-Particle Constructions (VPCs), specifically investigating how verbs and particles interact and why they exhibit alternating word orders.
Which theoretical frameworks are analyzed in the study?
The study evaluates three primary approaches: the Small Clause analysis by Kayne (1985), the complex head analysis by Johnson (1991), and the Information Structure-based complex head model by Dehé (2002).
What is the primary research question regarding VPC word orders?
The paper aims to determine which word order (continuous or discontinuous) is underlying or basic, and what syntactic operations are responsible for deriving the alternating forms.
What scientific methods are utilized to examine VPCs?
The work employs a generative syntactic analysis, evaluating tree structures, movement operations, and the role of functional projections (like µP), while also incorporating experimental speech production data and Information Structure analysis.
What topics are covered in the main body of the text?
The body covers the semantic classification of particles, the formal syntactic tests against the Small Clause hypothesis, the derivation of object shift in VPCs, and the impact of focus-background structure on particle positioning.
Which keywords best describe the core themes of the paper?
Key terms include Verb-Particle Constructions, Syntax, Object Shift, Information Structure, and Lexical Integrity.
How does the author interpret the role of pronouns in VPC word order?
The author discusses that unstressed pronouns must move obligatorily in the discontinuous order, which provides evidence for the interaction between background information and syntactic movement constraints.
Why is the "Principle of Lexical Integrity" relevant to this study?
It is used as a benchmark to evaluate the validity of structural analyses, particularly in determining whether a VPC functions as a single lexical unit or a sequence of syntactically separable components.
What distinguishes Dehé's analysis from Johnson's approach?
Dehé’s model incorporates Information Structure and a multi-levelled head structure to address syntactic gaps in Johnson’s earlier analysis, specifically offering an explanation for the pragmatic constraints on word order alternation.
Does the author reach a definitive conclusion?
The author concludes that Dehé’s approach is the most convincing among those presented, as it successfully integrates syntactic theory with empirical production data, though it acknowledges that semantic aspects of VPCs remain a topic for further research.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Christina Gieseler (Autor:in), 2011, The Syntactic Structure of Verb-Particle Constructions, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/188519
