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Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics XXVIII: Papers from the Annual Symposium on Arabic Linguistics, Gainesville, Florida, 2014
Edited by Youssef A. Haddad and Eric Potsdam
[Studies in Arabic Linguistics 4] 2016
► pp. 173–191

The syntax of motion light verbs in Jordanian and Moroccan Arabic

 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Motion verbs, when they co-occur with main verbs in what we call motion light verb constructions, have an aspectual function. In this paper, we examine the properties of these motion verbs and the implication of their distribution on clause structure. We argue that motion light verbs and main verbs head different vPs. Motion light verbs select AspP. We show how our analysis explains the aspectual properties of light verb constructions and the distribution of light verbs in relation to the main verb, the subject, and negation. We also explain why these sentences can have a simple tense reading and two possible negative readings depending on the position of negation.
Keywords: argument structure, aspect, light verbs, negation, tense
Published online: 25 May 2016
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https://doi.org/10.1075/sal.4.08oua
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