Compound verb
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In
A compound verb is also called a "complex predicate" because the semantics, as formally modeled by a predicate, is determined by the primary verb, though both verbs appear in the surface form. Whether Noun+Verb (N+V) compounds are considered to be "compound verbs" is a matter of naming convention. Generally, the term complex predicate usually includes N+V compounds, whereas the term compound verb is usually reserved for V+V compounds. However, several authors [especially Iranists] refer to N+V compounds as compound verbs.[1]
Compound verbs are to be distinguished from serial verbs which typically signify a sequence of actions, and in which the verbs are relatively equal in semantic and grammatical weight. They are also to be distinguished from sequences of auxiliary plus main verbs.
Structure
Thus, there are two classes of complex predicates:
- V+V compounds: One type of compound verb, where the second verb (rarely the first...) is a "light verb" (LV) is preceded by (rarely followed by ...) a primary or "heavy verb". With a few exceptions all V+V compound verbs alternate with their simple counterparts. That is, removing the light verb / vector does not affect grammaticality at all nor the meaning very much: निकल गया – نِکَل گَیا "nikal gayā" {exit + WENT} versus निकला – نِکلا nikalā {exited}, both meaning '(I/you/he) went out.' In a few languages both components of the compound verb can be finite forms: Kurukh kecc-ar ker-ar lit. "died-3pl went-3pl" '(They) died.'
- N+V compounds: A compound with Noun+verb, converting the noun into a verbal structure; the arguments and the semantics are determined by the N and the tense markers / inflections are carried by the V, especially with LVs such as "do," "take," "give," etc. Examples in English include stretched verb examples like take a walk or commit suicide. Some of the verbs participating in N+V compounds also participate as LVs in V+V compounds. [However, the common verb "do" rarely participates as LV in V+V compounds.] Unlike V+V compounds, N+V compounds appear in almost all languages of the world.
Languages with compound verbs
Compound verbs of both types (V+V and N+V) are very common in all the languages of India, though V+V compounds are more frequent in the northern
English
The English lexicon contains a few true compound verbs, such as stirfry, kickstart and forcefeed. These are not serial verbs – though, as with many compounds, they may be spelled as two words (or hyphenated). Rather, the first verb expresses how the action expressed by the second verb is carried out. The second verb is the only one which may express tense.[2]
English also expresses aspectual distinctions as to the beginning, duration, completion, or repetition of an action using
Though verb + verb compounds are rare in English, one may illustrate the form with the example "to go crashing [through the door]". In some interpretations, one may consider "go" as a light verb, which carries markers like tense. However, the main part of the meaning, as well as the arguments, i.e. answers to questions such as who? (agent) or what was it that "went crashing"? (subject), are determined by the second, semantically primary verb, "crash". "Go" carries plural/tense markers (they go | he goes crashing), whereas "crashing" appears in this fixed form and does not change with tense, number, gender, etc. Whether gerundive forms like "went crashing" are compound verbs is controversial in English; many linguists prefer to treat "crashing" as a nominal in its gerundive form. However, the compound verb treatment may have some advantages, particularly when it comes to semantic analysis. For example, in response to She went crashing, the question "Where did she go?" is less revealing than "Where did she go crashing?".
English has many examples of noun + verb compound predicates, called stretched verbs, which combine a light verb with an "eventive" noun (an action-describing noun which can also operate as a verb, though it may have become an uncommon one), or with a noun phrase composed of such a noun and one or more prepositions. Common examples include: to offer [one's] condolences, to take a bite out of, and to get rid of (while to rid and to condole are infrequent).
Sometimes examples labeled
Another variety of open-compound verb is common in English, German, and some other languages: The
A dictionary comparison reveals that compound verbs of some sorts are more frequent in American English than in British English.[4]
Hindi-Urdu
Compound verbs are very common in Indo-Aryan languages, such as Hindustani and Panjabi, where as many as 20% of the verb forms in running text may be compounds.
For example, in
The Noun + Verb complex predicates are a quite different matter. There is no alternation with a simplex counterpart and in approximately half of all Hind-Urdui N+V compound verbs karnā ( करना, کَرنا, lit. "to do") is the light verb, and in another 20% use hōnā (होना, ہونا, lit. "to be") is the light verb. A significant number use khānā (खाना, کهانا, lit. "to eat"). However, the verb karnā and khānā never occur as second elements in a Verb + Verb compound.
Persian
Persian makes extensive use of N+V compound verbs. The meaning of compound verbs in Persian is sometimes distinct from the connotation of either the verbal or non-verbal component. The most common verbal element used in Persian compound verbs is كردن kardan ('to do/make'), e.g. فكر كردن fekr kardan ('to think'). Other common verbal elements include دادن dādan ('to give'), e.g. انجام دادن anjām dādan ('to perform'); گرفتن gereftan ('to take'), e.g. جشن گرفتن jashn gereftan ('to celebrate'); زدن zadan ('to hit'), e.g. حرف زدن harf zadan ('to speak'); and داشتن dāshtan ('to have'), e.g. دوست داشتن dust dāshtan ('to like').
The verbal element of Persian compound verbs takes inflection for person, tense, and mood.
فكر
fekr
thought
می
mi
PRES
كنم
konam
do-I
'I think'
آنها
ānhā
they
با
ba
to
من
man
me
حرف
harf
speech
زدند
zadand
PAST-hit-they
'They spoke to me'
!جشن
jashn
celebration
بگیرید
begirid!
IMP-take-you.PL
'celebrate!'
Japanese
In both
Some Japanese compounds have undergone
Only native Japanese verbs (
Japanese
Kichwa-influenced Spanish
Under the influence of a
- De rabia puso rompiendo la olla.
'In anger (he/she) smashed the pot.'
(Lit. from anger put breaking the pot) - Botaremos matándote.
'We will kill you.'
(Lit. [we] will throw kill-you,n Kichwa: huañuchi-shpa shitashun)
In conformity with the
Greek (modern)
The compound verbs of modern Greek are formed as other compounds in the language, creating a compound stem by prefixing the stem of a second verb to another verb with the compounding interfix -o-. Although only the second verb is inflected, the typical Greek compound verb is a coordinative compound formed by two semantically opposed, equal verbs, and in semantic terms neither can be nominated the compound head with the other as a dependent. The action expressed by the verb is semantically equal to using both verbs individually, linked by a conjunction. Examples: μπαίν-ω ['beno] 'I go in' + βγαίν-ω ['vjeno] 'I come out' = μπαινοβγαίνω [beno'vjeno] 'I go in and out'; ανάβ-ω [a'navo] 'I light up' σβήν-ω ['zvino] 'I put out (a light)' = αναβοσβήνω [anavo'zvino] 'I flash on and off'. These compound verbs are of the dvandva type. Semantically they equal the phrases μπαίνω και βγαίνω 'I go in and go out', ανάβω και σβήνω 'I light up and put out'.
Israeli Hebrew
Unlike
- שם צעקה sam tseaká “shouted” (which literally means “put a shout”) vis-à-vis צעק tsaák “shouted”
- נתן מבט natán mabát “looked” (which literally means “gave a look”) or העיף מבט heíf mabát “looked” (literally “flew/threw a look”; cf. the English expressions cast a glance, threw a look and tossed a glance) vis-à-vis the Hebrew-descent הביט hibít “looked at”.
According to Ghil'ad Zuckermann, the Israeli V+N compound verb is employed here for the desire to express swift action, and stems from Yiddish. He compares the Israeli periphrasis to the following Yiddish expressions all meaning “to have a look”:
- געבן א קוק gébņ a kuk, which literally means “to give a look”
- טאן א קוק ton a kuk, which literally means “to do a look”
- the colloquial expression כאפן א קוק khapņ a kuk, which literally means “to catch a look”.
Zuckermann argues that the Israeli V+N compound verbs “are not nonce, ad hoc lexical calques of Yiddish. The Israeli system is productive and the lexical realization often differs from that of Yiddish”. He provides the following Israeli examples:
- הרביץ hirbíts “hit, beat; gave”, yielded
- הרביץ מהירות hirbíts mehirút “drove very fast” (מהירות mehirút meaning “speed”), and
- הרביץ ארוחה hirbíts arukhá “ate a big meal” (ארוחה arukhá meaning “meal”), cf. English hit the buffet “eat a lot at the buffet”; hit the liquor/bottle “drink alcohol”.
The Israeli Hebrew compound verb דפק הופעה dafák hofaá, which literally means “hit a show”, actually means “dressed smartly”.[6]
Historical processes and grammaticalization
As languages change, the vector or light verb may retain its original meaning or it may undergo different degrees of bleaching, part of the process of grammaticalization.
Thus, in the Hindi-Urdu compound nikal paṛā (exit fell), paṛ- has almost none of its "fall" meaning, though some of the finality of "fall" also is transferred as a
On the other hand, the Japanese "begin" はじめる (hajimeru) retains a good deal of its independent word meaning even in the compound. Contrast this with the grammaticalization of "put away"しまう (shimau), as in 愛してしまった ai shite shimatta ("I mistakenly fell in love"). A deeper degree of grammaticalization may lead to phonological changes, too - usually some kind of shortening: 愛しちゃった ai shi chatta ("Damned if I didn't fall in love!") where 〜てしま -te shima- has been replaced by ちゃ 〜chya.
In the long run, it has been suggested that LVs that are particularly frequent, may become grammaticalized, so that they may now occur systematically with other verbal constituents, so that they become an auxiliary verb (e.g. the English verb "be", as in "I am eating", or "had" in "they had finished"), or, after sound change, even a clitic (a shortened verb, as in "I'm"). In particular, some verb inflections (e.g. Latin future tense inflections) are thought to have arisen in this manner. Sanford Steever has shown the same phenomenon has a role in the emergence of the ditransitive paradigm in Dravidian.
See also
- Auxiliary verb
- Compound modifier
- Converb
- Modal verb
- Periphrasis
- Phrasal verb
- Stretched verb
- Serial verb
- Verb phrase
References
- ^ "Types of Verbs". blogspot. Milagros Fernandini. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
- ISBN 9780521757119.
- ^ "Compound Verbs". Archived from the original on 2008-12-20. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
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: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ISBN 9780521872195.
- ^ See p. 51 in Zuckermann, Ghil'ad (2009), "Hybridity versus Revivability: Multiple Causation, Forms and Patterns", Journal of Language Contact, Varia 2, pp. 40-67.
- ^ See p. 51 in Zuckermann, Ghil'ad (2009), "Hybridity versus Revivability: Multiple Causation, Forms and Patterns", Journal of Language Contact, Varia 2, pp. 40-67.