Eckhard Bick - VISL

discussion are inspired by Perini (1989), who provides a detailed discussion of formally
defined syntactic categories for Portuguese.
First, clause level function can be distinguished from group level function by
clefting 135 :
Foi um grande lobo que comeu a menina. (@SUBJ)
*Foi grande que um lobo comeu a menina. (@>N)
Next, we have to distinguish between (valency bound) arguments and (free) adjuncts,
which can be achieved by the predicate isolation test. When the predicate is replaced
with ”dummy verbs” like ’fazer’ (for non-ergative verbs) or ’acontecer’ (for ergative
verbs), predicate-internal arguments are covered, while adjuncts are not. Thus, only
adjuncts can be isolated and appear alongside the predicate dummy:
Pedro confiava na mulher. *O que fazia na mulher? (argument-PIV)
Pedro dormia no carro. O que fiz no carro? (adjunct-ADVL)
A rainha morreu em 1690. O que aconteceu em 1690? (adjunct-ADVL)
Subjects are not part of the predicate and pass the predicate isolation test with the
predicate-dummy ’fazer’ (1). They do fail it, however, with ’acontecer’, the reason
being that the ’acontecer’-dummy includes both predicate and subject. With ergative
verbs, the (patient) subject is part of the predicate, and consequently the test only
sounds ”natural” with ’acontecer’ – and fails (2a). It can, however, be forced with
’fazer’ even with ergative verbs (2b):
1 - Os romanos construiram casas altas.
O que os ramanos fizeram? - Construiram ..
2 - A rainha morreu em 1690.
2a - *O que a rainha aconteceu?
2b - (?) O que a rainha fiz? - Morreu ....
Perini (1989) suggests fronting as a test to distinguish between on the one hand object
complements (which he calls “predicatives”) and on the other hand subjects, subject
135 Constituents from subclauses can not normally be clefted on main clause level, and clefting can therefore be used to test
the ”tightness” of a verb chain. Compare the following cleftings where ’no sertão’ can be read either as where the city is to
be built (main clause attachment to the verb chain ’VFIN + construir’) or as the place where the “wanting”/”suggesting” of
town-construction takes place (attachment to VFIN with ’construir’ isolated on subclause level):
Foi no sertão que ia construir uma cidade.
Foi no sertão que quis construir uma cidade.
Foi no sertão que propôs construir uma cidade.
Foi na sertão que os viu construir uma cidade.
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