Unanswered Questions
58 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
6
votes
0
answers
131
views
What currency does the term "flip sense verb" have in linguistics?
In a recent comment on the question Ergative Verbs and some discussion about them, jlawler introduced a term I had not previously encountered:
The rose smells good is completely different; this ...
CommunityBot
- 1
4
votes
1
answer
162
views
What languages have third-person imperative verb forms?
What languages have third-person imperative verb forms? I know Greek does, and I believe Latin does as well; are there any others?
- 1
4
votes
0
answers
62
views
Why is a verb omitted in English coordination?
In English coordination, it is very common that a verb should be omitted so that the whole expression sounds natural as exemplifed below.
Ann came with, and Bob without, a date. (Langacker 2012).
...
- 5,161
4
votes
0
answers
353
views
Are there languages that mark mood but not tense or aspect?
Are there languages where verbs inflect for mood but don't inflect for tense and aspect?
For instance, if a language had one set of indicative forms and another set of subjunctive forms, but didn't ...
- 6,447
4
votes
0
answers
92
views
Why can't the internal argument of "matter" raise?
The internal arguments of unaccusative verbs in English must raise to subject position to obtain case and satisfy the EPP. For example, verbs like melt, fall, die, arrive, etc. must have their ...
- 541
4
votes
0
answers
99
views
Using (e.g.) Stanford NLP for retrieving specific “indirect” objects
I am a computer scientist using Stanford NLP for extracting a Semantic Graph from plain text.
Through this tool I am already getting the universal dependencies but now I want to get all the possible ...
- 6,599
3
votes
0
answers
72
views
Semitic verb extenders
Whenever I look up how Semitic created its triconsonantal template system, one tidbit I see frequently mentioned is that the older roots seem to have originally been biconsonantal, and were only later ...
- 630
3
votes
0
answers
121
views
How does tense evolve from a tenseless parent language?
Whenever someone asks something about TAM evolution, they seem to inevitably be pointed towards the World Lexicon of Grammaticalization (Kuteva et al., 2e, 2019) and The Evolution of Grammar: Tense, ...
- 630
3
votes
0
answers
224
views
What do Georgian thematic suffixes even do, and where do they come from?
Georgian has two sets of verb affixes that don't really mark a specific tense or aspect themselves, but the combination of them narrows down which TAM-indicating conjugation you're looking at - the ...
- 630
3
votes
0
answers
67
views
Can clauses with transitive verbs that stand for experiences be passivized across the attested languages that have passive voice?
In English, verbs that stand for experiences (e.g. see, hear, sense, notice, realize) can occur in passive forms and clauses as we see in these examples:
"Tommy sees the baby sloth." --&...
- 8,800
3
votes
0
answers
44
views
Object of certain constructions
I am sure you have all come across constructions such as these:
She slept a long sleep
He lived a productive life.
These verbs are traditionally intransitive verbs, and yet here are transitive. ...
CommunityBot
- 1
2
votes
0
answers
67
views
Apparently agentive -r forms in Old Norse
I'm trying to understand forms like "Hræsvelgr" (Mythological creature; lit. corpse swallower) and "vínsvelgr" (Drunkard) in Old Norse.
The verb "svelga" is "to ...
- 21
2
votes
0
answers
71
views
How does Case work in an impersonal sentence?
The Case filter is what prohibits the phonetic realization of a DP that recieves no grammatical Case. In languages such as Portuguese, people use impersonal constructions like "há/tem um carro na ...
- 1,464
2
votes
0
answers
67
views
Is there a specific verb category for verbs that act on other verbs
In the phrases below:
He started to eat food
John decided to kick the ball
Justin prepared to face the challenge
Are the verbs started, decided, and prepared in s special category since they don't ...
- 21
2
votes
0
answers
128
views
Is telicity a property of verbs or predicates?
In English, the verb "walk" is atelic. One could in principle walk indefinitely. Fatigue and aging limit the activity, but that fact is not an inherent part of the meaning of the verb. ...
- 6,447