Academic literature on the topic 'Non-Finite verb forms'

The verb phrase is built up of a verb, which is the head of the construction. Verb occurs as predicate in the rightmost position of a clause. As a predicate it selects arguments (Ex. Subject, Direct object, Indirect object and Locative NPs) and assigns case to its arguments and adverbial adjuncts. Another syntactic property of verbs in Tamil is that they can govern subordinate verb forms. Verb occurring as finite verbs in clause final position can be complemented by non-finite verbs proceeding them. The latter with respect to the interpretation of tense or subject governs these non-finite forms, being subordinate to the finite verb form. If we follow the traditional idea of having a VP node for Tamil, then all the elements, except the subject NP, will have to be grouped under VP.

The Dumut languages Mandobo, South Wambon and North Wambon are a subgroup of the Awyu-Dumut family. They form a dialect chain that represents stages of the development from clause conjoining with independent verb forms to clause chaining with dependent verb forms that express switch-reference. South Wambon represents the first stage in which there is coordination reduction of tense and subject person-number suffixes in thematic continuity conditions. This process created three verb types: fully finite verbs; semi-finite verbs and non-finite verbs. Coordination reduction leaves the coordinating conjunctions intact and this explains the presence of coordinators with all verb types, including dependent verbs. Coordination reduction creates verb forms that signal subject continuity but it does not create subject discontinuity forms and there is no switch-reference in South Wambon. However, the introduction of dependent subject continuity forms gives South Wambon speakers a choice in subject continuity conditions between dependent forms and independent verb forms. Since speakers prefer dependent forms under these conditions, a frequency pattern emerges that associates independent forms with subject discontinuity conditions and that sets the stage for the development of medial verb forms and switch-reference. North Wambon and Mandobo represent the second stage in which subject discontinuity forms develop. North Wambon transforms conjoined semi-finite independent verbs into two types of special medial verb forms that express switch-reference. In Mandobo any medially occurring independent verb form is reinterpreted as a Different Subject form. The two-stage hypothesis revives the coordination reduction theory of Haiman (1983a) as an explanation for the origin of (certain) switch-reference systems by viewing coordination reduction as an explanation of SS forms only. In this way, the two-stage theory overcomes the problems of limited applicability that Roberts (1997: 190) noted for the original theory of Haiman (1983a).

Abstract Non-finite verbs in Turkic are typically categorised as participles, converbs, and sometimes infinitives, with multiple uses of a form within one category considered to constitute multiple functions. This multifunctionality approach predicts that all non-finite verb forms within each of the categories should have the same range of syntactic functions. We show that this is not the case. Based on analysis of a representative set of Turkic languages (Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Sakha, Tatar, Turkish, and Tuvan), we propose a categorisation based on morphological and syntactic properties of non-finite verbs, resulting in four categories: verbal nouns, verbal adjectives, verbal adverbs, and infinitives. Under this approach, forms that are typically labelled as participles end up categorised as verbal nouns, verbal adjectives, or both, and forms that are typically labelled as converbs end up categorised as verbal adverbs, infinitives, or both. Some forms even span these two divisions. When a non-finite verb form appears to exist in multiple categories, we consider this to be a case of syncretism; this is, there is a member of one category that has the same form as a member of another category. We propose historical trajectories that may have led to the types of situations that are attested, examine the limitations of this approach, and discuss its wider implications.

In this paper, we argue against the primary categories of non-finite verb used in the Turkology literature: “participle” (причастие ‹pričastije›) and “converb” (деепричастие ‹dejepričastije›). We argue that both of these terms conflate several discrete phenomena, and that they furthermore are not coherent as umbrella terms for these phenomena. Based on detailed study of the non-finite verb morphology and syntax of a wide range of Turkic languages (presented here are Turkish, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tatar, Tuvan, and Sakha), we instead propose delineation of these categories according to their morphological and syntactic properties. Specifically, we propose that more accurate categories are verbal noun, verbal adjective, verbal adverb, and infinitive. This approach has far-reaching implications to the study of syntactic phenomena in Turkic languages, including phenomena ranging from relative clauses to clause chaining.

AbstractThis paper presents a descriptive analysis of verbs with the participle marking affixes in expressing causatives in Dangme, a language that belongs to the Kwa group of the Niger-Congo family of languages. The paper examines the syntax and the semantic perspectives of the participialized form of causative verbs in the Role and Reference Grammar’s (RRG) theory in Dangme. The participle is an affix which expresses the completion at the final stage of a process. As a verbal affix, it can take objects and have tense or aspect in languages. They also indicate active agency (actor) and an agency receiving an action (sufferer). Generally affixes that express participial are in two forms: the finite and non-finite categories. Unlike Akan and other languages that have both forms, Dangme has just the non-finite category which of two forms. The two non-finite forms of the verb in Dangme are the participle and the gerund. The gerund affix {-mi} denotes a new word class from verbs in Dangme, (noun). The participle on the other hand has adjective-like characteristics and it is expressed mostly with the front vowels of Dangme: /i, e, ԑ/. It is to be noted that to form the participle in Dangme, two processes are required. Firstly, the verb stem is reduplicated either partially or totally depending on the shape of the verb stem. The reduplicant then selects a front vowel of the same tongue height of the vowel of the verb stem. The words formed imply a process of change caused by a causer. For the purpose of this paper, my focus is on the participial affix used in expressing causative meaning in Dangme.

Subject-verb agreement mismatches have been reported in the L2 and heritage literature, usually involving infinitives, analyzed as default morphological forms for fully specified T-heads. This article explores the mechanisms behind these mismatches, testing two hypotheses: the default form and the surface-similarity hypotheses. It compares non-finite and finite S-V mismatches with subjects with different persons, testing whether similarity with other paradigmatic forms makes them more acceptable, controlling for the role of verb frequency. Participants were asked to rate sentences on a Likert scale that included (a) infinitive forms with first, second and third person subjects, and (b) third person verbal forms with first, second and third person subjects. Two stem-stressed verbs (e.g., tra.j-o ‘brought.3p.past’) and two affix-stressed verbs (e.g., me.ti-o ‘introduced.3p.past’), varying in frequency were tested. Inflectional affixes of stem-stressed verbs are similar to other forms of the paradigm both phonologically and in being unstressed (tra.j-o ‘brought.3p.past’ vs. trai.g-o ‘bring.1 p.pres’), whereas affixes of affix-stressed verbs have dissimilar stress patterns (me.ti-o ´introduced.3p.past’ vs. me.t-o ‘introduce.1p.pres’). Results show significantly higher acceptability for finite vs. non-finite non-matching, and for 1st vs. 2nd person subjects. Stem-stressed verbs showed higher acceptability ratings than affix-stressed ones, suggesting a role for surface-form correspondence, partially confirming previous findings.

The occurrence of the Old English negative particle ne ‘not’ preceding a bare infinitive rather than a finite verb is a largely neglected or overlooked phenomenon. It is attested in constructions with uton ‘let's’ and in conjoined clauses with omission of the finite verb (Mitchell 1985). This article discusses evidence gathered mainly from the York–Toronto–Helsinki Parsed Corpus of Old English Prose, showing that it is a phenomenon that needs to be taken seriously in descriptions and analyses of Old English. It is argued that the factor shared by the two constructions is the lack of an available finite verb for ne to attach to. It is also found that the use of ne for the purpose of negative concord appears to be more variable with infinitives than it is with finite verbs. Whether attachment of ne to a non-finite verb in the absence of a finite one is restricted to bare infinitives is difficult to determine because of the limited evidence relating to other non-finite forms, but there are some indications that use of ne may have been possible with present participles. Finally, some implications that the ne + infinitive pattern has for the formal analysis of Old English are discussed.

Aims and Objectives/Purpose/Research Questions: A number of studies on the acquisition of non-null subject languages in child grammars have suggested that while overt subjects are mainly used with finite forms, null subjects co-occur with non-finite forms. The purpose of this study is to explore the proposed relationship between subject realization and verbal morphology in a simultaneous bilingual context. Design/Methodology/Approach: Longitudinal case study Data and Analysis: The present study analyses longitudinal data from an English-Turkish bilingual child (2;4–3;9), with special reference to the distribution of finite forms and the suppliance of overt subjects on the one hand, and subject drop and the use of non-finite forms, on the other. The English/Turkish data comprise 37 recordings collected regularly for nearly 18 months. Findings/Conclusions: English-Turkish bilingual data show that the majority of the overt subjects in the English language of the bilingual child occur both with inflected and uninflected verb forms. At a time the child has consistent and productive suppliance of overt subjects in his English, he uses uninflected verb forms with overt subjects, suggesting that the proposed association discussed in the literature does not necessarily hold. Moreover, around the same time the bilingual child’s Turkish presents robust evidence for the productive and systematic use of inflected forms as well as omission of subjects. Originality and significance/implications: These data, based on a less commonly studied language pair, English-Turkish, challenge previous research that postulates an association between overt subjects and finite forms versus null subjects and non-finite root forms. Overall, there appears to be a relationship between the acquisition of subject–verb agreement in the bilingual child’s Turkish and the correct suppliance of overt subjects in his English, suggesting language-particular devices for the realization of person deixis.