Eckhard Bick - VISL

Thus, we get ”Comeu peixe/bananas [e 7 bolos]” and ”Detesta [o seu chefe e]
lavar-se”, where the np’s in square brackets do allow pronominal substitution with
o/a/os/as, and in the second case also with a quem (’detesta ao chefe’), which is a
special interrogative pronoun test for human (+HUM) direct objects (@ACC) and
dative objects (@DAT).
If @DAT is defined not as a dative pronoun, but as a constituent which can be
substituted by one, a pp introduced by the preposition ’a’ – or in some cases, ’para’ –
could qualify as a dative object. Likewise, some pp’s with ’a’ as a head and a +HUM
”body”, should qualify as @ACC, if replaceable by ’o/a/os/as’:
Deu o presente ao pai. (@PIV or @DAT)
Não ama mais a mim. (@PIV or @ACC)
Prepositional objects (@PIV) could then be defined as frontable pp-arguments
(predicate isolation test) that can not be replaced by a (any) pronoun, rather than simply
as frontable pp-arguments that cannot be replaced by adverbial pronouns.
Subject complements (@SC) can be replaced by ’o’, but no inflected forms are
allowed. Object complements cannot be replaced by ’o’, and in addition to nonfrontability
and object agreement this is a third formal criterion for distinguishing object
from subject complements:
Alexandra é muito linda (@SC), mas a sua irmã não o (*a) (@SC) é.
Ela considera a oferta (@ACC) uma ofensa (@OC), mas o seu marido não *o/a
(@OC) considera a oferta (@ACC).
Both subject and object complements allow interrogative completion with (o) que, like
subject and objects, while free predicatives don’t – they behave like (manner) adverbials
in this respect, selecting ’como’:
Ele parece doente. Ele parece o que? (@SC)
O considera perigoso. O considera o que? (@OC)
Nadava nua. Nadava como/*o que? (@PRED)
Nadava depressa. Nadava como/*o que? (@ADVL)
The pronoun substitution test can be applied to adverbials, too. It works fine for all
argument adverbials (@ADV) and many ”heavy” adjunct adverbials (@ADVL).
’Assim’ covers manner adverbials, ’lá’ space adverbials, ’então’ time adverbials, and
’tanto’ covers noun- or np-adverbials after transitive measuring verbs like ’custar’ and
’durar’. Ignoring verbal constituents, and postponing, for the moment, the definition of
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