When Verbs Function as Adjectives: The Case of Property Verbs

Abstract

This study proposes that property verbs differ from adjectives from the aspectual point of view, despite the great resemblance between them. While adjectives denote simple state, verbs of properties denote result state. This study falls in three main sections. First, the functioning of adjectives and property verbs will be syntactically defined. Second, an analysis is done in which the verbal character of property verbs is obtained by merging an adjectival head category into a null inchoative verb in syntax. This verb is semantically an operator. It allows for the predicate to change from one ordinary state to a result state. Third, an analysis is made to the comparative syntax of Arabic and English adjectival sentences. Finally, a unified syntactic structure for result state predicates in the two languages is proposed.

An important consequence of this analysis lies in the fact that the existence of two lexical categories to express subject property is not a redundant or superfluous aspect of Arabic grammar but it is a unique feature of Arabic that has its own semantic importance.