DOCSLIB.ORG

Lexical Particles, Semi-Lexical Postpositions*

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Lexical Particles, Semi-Lexical Postpositions* Lexical particles, semi-lexical postpositions* Jochen Zeller 1. Introduction In this paper, I suggest that the notion of semi-lexicality can be defined in morphological terms. I assume that a semi-lexical head is “half lexical, half functional”, by which I mean that it is a morphologically complex element that consists of a lexical node and a functional suffix. I elaborate this hypothesis through a detailed discussion of the properties of postpositions and particles in German and Dutch. It can be shown that postpositions are functional heads that project functional phrases, whereas the projection of a par- ticle is a lexical PP without functional structure. Although there are a number of differences between particle phrases and post- positional phrases that follow from this fact, particles and post- positions also show certain parallels that cast doubt on the claim that the functional status of postpositions mirrors that of other functional elements like tense affixes or determiners. Rather, I show that postpositions are not “genuine” functional heads, but semi-lexical elements. They are derived from lexical preposi- tions via suffixation of a zero-operator that alters the thematic properties of the P-element. Since this operator is a functional element, the derived postposition is a complex functional head. However, it inherits the semantics of the lexical preposition from which it is derived. Therefore, postpositions are semi- lexical elements; they have the semantic content of a lexical element, but the categorial properties of a functional suffix. The paper is organized as follows. In section 2, I discuss prepositional, postpositional and particle phrases, and I show in what respects particles and postpositions differ and how they behave similarly. Section 3 provides an analysis of the 2 Jochen Zeller morphological structure and the thematic properties of postposi- tions. From this analysis I conclude that postpositions are semi- lexical elements. In section 4, I use the results of the previous sections to compare postpositional phrases in Dutch and post- and circumpositional phrases in German. I first introduce some terminology and some notations. I treat local transitive prepositions as expressing relations be- tween two (individual-type) entities. In (1), for example, the preposition in provides the information that the bread stands in the IN-relation to the closet: (1) The bread is in the closet I refer to the external argument of a preposition (the DP the bread in (1)) as the theme; its internal argument (the closet), I call the reference object. I assume that in examples like (1), the theme is generated in SpecVP and moves to SpecIP, whereas the reference object is the complement of the preposition and receives case from this lexical head. I follow Wunderlich and Herweg (1991), Stiebels (1996), Olsen (1999), and others in expressing the semantics of preposi- tions through the general form in (2): (2) λy λx [LOC(x) ⊂ R(y)] According to (2), transitive prepositions are represented as two- place functions. The first argument corresponds to the reference object, the second argument corresponds to the theme. The ar- gument structure of a preposition is expressed through the lambda operators that bind the respective variables inside the formula. The predicates in the formula provide the information that the location of the theme intersects with a particular region R of the reference object y. The specific properties of R are defined by the respective preposition. The preposition in, for example, is represented as in (3) (cf. Olsen 1999: 117): Lexical particles, semi-lexical postpositions 3 (3) λy λx [LOC(x) ⊂ IN(y)] (3) represents the situation in which the referent of the x- argument is located in the internal region of the referent of y. Notice that (3) is the locative variant of in. The directional version is represented as in (4): (4) λy λx [FIN(LOC(x)) ⊂ IN(y)] The predicate FIN maps the location of x onto a final part of a path traversed by x. The directional preposition in provides the information that the final part of this path ends in the interior region of y. 2. Prepositional phrases and functional structure 2.1. The extended projection of prepositions Van Riemsdijk (1990, 1998) and Koopman (1993) suggest that PPs are selected by functional prepositional heads that license certain lexical and grammatical properties of the lexical prepo- sition. In terms of Grimshaw’s (1991) theory, this means that prepositions, like the lexical categories N and V, have extended projections. I adopt this idea and assume with van Riemsdijk (1990) that the structure of prepositional phrases in German looks as in (5) (cf. Zeller 1999):1 (5) FPPrep PP F°Prep P° DP 4 Jochen Zeller As (5) shows, the maximal projection of P° is the complement of a functional prepositional head that I simply label F°Prep (it corresponds to p° in van Riemsdijk (1990)). In constructions with transitive or intransitive prepositions, F°Prep is phonologi- cally unrealized: (6) transitive P°: Youri steigt auf den Berg Y. climbs up/on the mountain [FP [F' [ PP auf [DP den Berg]] ∅ ]] (7) intransitive P°: Youri wohnt oben Y. lives upstairs [FP [F' [ PP oben] ∅ ]] In (6), the PP is headed by the transitive preposition auf that takes its internal argument as a complement to its right. In (7), the PP consists solely of its head, the intransitive preposition oben. F°Prep may also host lexical material. Following van Riems- dijk (1990, 1998), I assume that in circumpositional phrases like those in (8), F°Prep is realized by a postposition, printed in boldface: (8) a. Mirco geht unter der Brücke durch M. goes under the bridge through ‘Mirco passes under the bridge’ b. Ein Tourist steigt auf den Berg hinauf a tourist climbs up/on the mountain h-up/on c. Der Hund kommt aus dem Haus heraus the dog comes out-of the house h-out (9) [FP [F' [ PP auf [DP den Berg]] hinauf ]] As (8) shows, German has both complex and simple postposi- tions. Whereas the postposition durch in (8a) is homophonous with the preposition durch, the postpositions hinauf and heraus in (8b) and (8c) consist of the prepositional elements auf/aus Lexical particles, semi-lexical postpositions 5 and a prefix her/hin (henceforth h-prefix) which has a deictic function (towards/away from the speaker). In the following, I will refer to these complex postpositions as h-postpositions; phrases headed by h-postpositions always receive a directional interpretation.2 Notice that in (8b) and (8c), the prepositional parts of the h-postpositions (auf in hinauf; aus in hinaus) are identical to the lexical heads of the respective PP-complements. Constructions with this property are called pleonastic circum- positional phrases; their PP-constituents are refered to as “cog- nate” PPs (cf. Olsen 1996; McIntyre 1998). Interestingly, h-postpositions may also appear without a complement: (10) a. Ein Tourist steigt hinauf a tourist climbs h-up/on b. Der Hund kommt heraus the dog comes h-out (11) a. Johan schickt einen Touristen hinauf J. sends the tourist h-up/on b. Johan bringt den Hund heraus J. takes the dog h-out (12) [VP [DP ein- Tourist] [V' [FP hinauf ] schick- ]] As I will show in detail in section 3.2, the PP-complement of a postposition helps identify the internal argument of the preposi- tional relation expressed by the FPPrep. The h-postpositions in (10) and (11), however, are used intransitively. They occupy the F°Prep-position, but do not take PP-complements. Therefore, the internal argument of the relation expressed by the h- postpositions remains implicit; the constructions in (10) and (11) only provide information about the external arguments of hinauf and heraus, which are expressed by the DPs ein Tourist and der Hund (represented as derived subjects in (10) and as direct objects in (11)). For example, in (10b) and (11b), it is 6 Jochen Zeller clear that the dog moves out of something, but this something, the reference object, is not mentioned explicitly. In the nominal domain, a functional head may occur without a lexical complement as well. Since Abney (1987), it is widely assumed that pronouns are realizations of a functional D°-head with no NP-complement (cf. e.g. Stowell 1991; Longobardi 1994). Analogously, we can analyze intransitive postpositions like those in (10) and (11) as prepositional proforms; they are F°Prep-elements without PP-complements. Some h-postpositions also project postpositional phrases: (13) Ein Tourist steigt den Berg hinauf a tourist climbs the mountain h-up/on Note first that postpositional structures like (13) must not be confused with examples like (11a). Although both sentences include a DP bearing accusative case, the DP einen Touristen in (11a) is the theme of the prepositional relation and is located outside the FPPrep (cf. (12)), whereas the DP den Berg in (13) identifies the internal argument of the relation expressed by hinauf and is hence generated inside the FPPrep. Evidence for this latter assumption is provided by the following contrast: (14) a. Den Berg hinauf steigt ein Tourist b. *?Einen Touristen hinauf schickt Johan In (14a), FPPrep-topicalization has moved the h-postposition and the accusative DP to SpecCP. In (14b), however, topicalization of the accusative DP and the h-postposition is ungrammatical, because the h-postposition is a proform, and the DP is the 3 theme which is not generated inside the FPPrep. It has been suggested that the DP in postpositional structures like (14) is the complement of an empty preposition that pro- jects the PP-complement of the h-postposition: (15) [FP [F' [ PP ∅ [DP den Berg]] hinauf ]] Lexical particles, semi-lexical postpositions 7 Opinions differ with respect to the status of the empty preposi- tion in (15).
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 0Gpresentparticiples.Pdf
    http://www.ToLearnEnglish.com − Resources to learn/teach English (courses, games, grammar, daily page...) Present Participles > Formation The present participle is formed by adding the ending "−−ing" to the infinitive (dropping any silent "e" at the end of the infinitive): to sing −−> singing to take −−> taking to bake −−> baking to be −−> being to have −−> having > Use A. The present participle may often function as an adjective: That's an interesting book. That tree is a weeping willow. B. The present participle can be used as a noun denoting an activity (this form is also called a gerund): Swimming is good exercise. Traveling is fun. C. The present participle can indicate an action that is taking place, although it cannot stand by itself as a verb. In these cases it generally modifies a noun (or pronoun), an adverb, or a past participle: Thinking myself lost, I gave up all hope. Washing clothes is not my idea of a job. Looking ahead is important. D. The present participle may be used with "while" or "by" to express an idea of simultaneity ("while") or causality ("by") : He finished dinner while watching television. By using a dictionary he could find all the words. While speaking on the phone, she doodled. By calling the police you saved my life! E. The present participle of the auxiliary "have" may be used with the past participle to describe a past condition resulting in another action: Having spent all his money, he returned home. Having told herself that she would be too late, she accelerated. TEST A) Find the gerund: 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Verbals: Participle Or Gerund? | Verbals Worksheets
    Name: ___________________________Key VErbals: Participle or Gerund? A participle is a verb form that functions as an adjective in a sentence. A gerund is a verb form that functions as a noun in a sentence. Below are sentences using either a participle or a gerund. Read each sentence carefully. Write which verbal form appears in the sentence in the blank. 1. The jumping frog landed in her lap. _______________________________________________________________________________ 2. Lucinda had a calling to help other people. _______________________________________________________________________________ 3. The mother barely caught the crawling baby before he went into the street. _______________________________________________________________________________ 4. The house was filled with a haunting spector. _______________________________________________________________________________ 5. Running in the halls is strictly forbidden. _______________________________________________________________________________ 6. They won the award for caring for sick animals. _______________________________________________________________________________ 7. Paul bought new climbing gear. _______________________________________________________________________________ 8. Escaping was the only thought he had. _______________________________________________________________________________ Copyright © 2014 K12reader.com. All Rights Reserved. Free for educational use at home or in classrooms. www.k12reader.com Name: ___________________________Key VErbals: Participle
    [Show full text]
  • Claire-Latinate English Treasure Hunt-2
    Claire Blood-Cheney Latinate English Treasure Hunt Is Globalization Good for Women? By Alison M. Jaggar The term "globalization" is currently used to refer to the rapidly accelerating integration of many local and national economies into a single global market, regulated by the World Trade Organization, and to the political and cultural corollaries of this process. These developments, taken together, raise profound new questions for the humanities in general and for political philosophy in particular. Globalization in the broadest sense is nothing new. Intercontinental travel and trade, and the mixing of cultures and populations are as old as humankind; after all, the foremothers and forefathers of everyone of us walked originally out of Africa. Rather than being an unprecedented phenomenon, contemporary globalization may be seen as the culmination of long- term developments that have shaped the modern world. Specifically, for the last half millennium intercontinental trade and population migrations have mostly been connected with the pursuit of new resources and markets for the emerging capitalist economies of Western Europe and North America. European colonization and expansion may be taken as beginning with the onslaught on the Americas in 1492 and as continuing with the colonization of India, Africa, Australasia, Oceania and much of Asia. History tells of the rise and fall of many great empires, but the greatest empires of all came to exist only in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It was primarily in consequence of European and U.S. expansion that the world became––and remains– –a single interconnected system. European and U.S. colonialism profoundly shaped the world we inhabit today.
    [Show full text]
  • German Irregular Verbs Chart
    GERMAN IRREGULAR VERBS CHART Infinitive Meaning Present Tense Imperfect Participle Tense (e.g. for Passive, & Perfect Tense) to… er/sie/es: ich & er/sie/es: backen bake backt backte gebacken befehlen command, order befiehlt befahl befohlen beginnen begin beginnt begann begonnen beißen bite beißt biss gebissen betrügen deceive, cheat betrügt betrog betrogen bewegen1 move bewegt bewog bewogen biegen bend, turn biegt bog (bin etc.) gebogen bieten offer, bid bietet bot geboten binden tie bindet band gebunden bitten request, ask bittet bat gebeten someone to do... blasen blow, sound bläst blies geblasen bleiben stay, remain bleibt blieb (bin etc.) geblieben braten roast brät briet gebraten brechen break bricht brach gebrochen brennen burn brennt brannte gebrannt bringen bring, take to... bringt brachte gebracht denken think denkt dachte gedacht dürfen be allowed to... darf durfte gedurft empfehlen recommend empfiehlt empfahl empfohlen erschrecken2 be frightened erschrickt erschrak (bin etc.) erschrocken essen eat3 isst aß gegessen fahren go (not on foot), fährt fuhr (bin etc.) gefahren drive fallen fall fällt fiel (bin etc.) gefallen fangen catch fängt fing gefangen finden find findet fand gefunden fliegen fly fliegt flog (bin etc.) geflogen fliehen flee, run away flieht floh (bin etc.) geflohen fließen flow fließt floss geflossen fressen eat (done by frisst fraß gefressen animals) frieren freeze, be cold friert fror (bin etc.) gefroren geben give gibt gab gegeben gedeihen flourish, prosper gedeiht gedieh (bin etc.) gediehen gehen go, walk geht ging (bin etc.) gegangen gelingen4 succeed gelingt gelang (bin etc.) gelungen gelten5 be valid, be of gilt galt gegolten worth 1 Also used as a reflexive verb, i.e.
    [Show full text]
  • A Present Participle Is the –Ing Form of a Verb When It Is Used As an Adjective
    WHAT IS A PARTICIPLE? A participle is a verbal that is used as an adjective. A verbal is a word that is based on a verb but does not act as a verb. A participle is used to modify either a noun or a pronoun. For example: Here the participle barking The barking dog wanted to come inside. modifies the dog. WHAT IS A PARTICIPIAL PHRASE? A participial phrase is a phrase that begins with a participle and includes objects or other modifi- ers. It also acts as an adjective. For example: Here the participial phrase Barking loudly, the dog wanted to come inside. barking loudly modifies the dog. There are two types of participles: present participles and past participles. Present participles end in –ing , while past participles end in –ed , -en , -d, -t, or –n. A present participle is the –ing form of a verb when it is used as an adjective. Note: a present participle is different from a gerund , which is the –ing form of a verb when it is used as a noun . The approaching deadline hung over the heads of all the people in the office. Here, approaching is an adjective that is used to describe the deadline. The leaping flames from the burning building presented the firefighters with the responsibility of protecting other nearby buildings from the growing fire. Here, leaping , burning , and growing are verbals used as adjectives to describe a noun (flames, building, and fire respectively) in the sentence, thereby qualifying them as present participles. Although it ends in –ing , protecting is not a partici - ple because it is acting as a noun in the sentence (object of the preposition), thereby qualifying it as a gerund.
    [Show full text]
  • Auxiliaries, Agreement and Clitics in Italian Varieties
    a journal of D’Alessandro, Roberta. 2017. When you have too many features: general linguistics Glossa Auxiliaries, agreement and clitics in Italian varieties. Glossa: a journal of general linguistics 2(1): 50. 1–36, DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/gjgl.102 RESEARCH When you have too many features: Auxiliaries, agreement and clitics in Italian varieties Roberta D’Alessandro UiL OTS, Utrecht University, NL [email protected] Syntactic variation can be ascribed to a range of factors. The Borer-Chomsky conjecture, as Mark Baker (2008) refers to it, states for instance that all parameters of variation are attributable to differences in the features of particular items (e.g. functional heads) in the lexicon. In this paper, this hypothesis is carefully considered in relation to a group of Abruzzese dialects that exhibit three seemingly unrelated syntactic patterns: split auxiliary selection, split differential object marking, and omnivorous participial agreement in number/argumental agreement mismatch marking. It will be proposed that these three patterns are closely interrelated, and can be attrib- uted to the presence of an unvalued bundle of φ-features (π). Depending on which XP this head is merged with, different agreement patterns will emerge. Furthermore, these dialects will be shown to differ from another macrogroup of northern Italian dialects purely in the locus of Merge of this extra functional head: it will also be shown that the almost perfect areal complementary distribution between languages with subject clitics and languages with person-driven auxiliary selection is not accidental, but is the result of the presence of an extra φ-probe doubling the features of the subject in different parts of the syntactic spine.
    [Show full text]
  • Complex Adpositions and Complex Nominal Relators Benjamin Fagard, José Pinto De Lima, Elena Smirnova, Dejan Stosic
    Introduction: Complex Adpositions and Complex Nominal Relators Benjamin Fagard, José Pinto de Lima, Elena Smirnova, Dejan Stosic To cite this version: Benjamin Fagard, José Pinto de Lima, Elena Smirnova, Dejan Stosic. Introduction: Complex Adpo- sitions and Complex Nominal Relators. Benjamin Fagard, José Pinto de Lima, Dejan Stosic, Elena Smirnova. Complex Adpositions in European Languages : A Micro-Typological Approach to Com- plex Nominal Relators, 65, De Gruyter Mouton, pp.1-30, 2020, Empirical Approaches to Language Typology, 978-3-11-068664-7. 10.1515/9783110686647-001. halshs-03087872 HAL Id: halshs-03087872 https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-03087872 Submitted on 24 Dec 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Public Domain Benjamin Fagard, José Pinto de Lima, Elena Smirnova & Dejan Stosic Introduction: Complex Adpositions and Complex Nominal Relators Benjamin Fagard CNRS, ENS & Paris Sorbonne Nouvelle; PSL Lattice laboratory, Ecole Normale Supérieure, 1 rue Maurice Arnoux, 92120 Montrouge, France [email protected]
    [Show full text]
  • (Past) Participle Agreement
    (Past) Participle Agreement ADRIANA BELLETTI 1 Introduction: past participle agreement as Spec–Head agreement and clause structure 2 Past participle agreement in Romance: basic data 2.1 Standard Italian 2.2 Standard French 2.3 Other cases 3 Past participle agreement as Spec–Head agreement 3.1 Cliticization 3.2 Wh-movement 3.3 Object agreement 3.4 On auxiliaries and past participle agreement 4 On some cases of past participle agreement in French and the comparison with Italian 4.1 On the A- vs. Aʹ-status of the specifier of the past participle projection 4.2 Past participle agreement and inherent Case 4.3 Past participle agreement and effects on the interpretation 5 Some concluding remarks 5.1 Lack of Past Participle agreement with the external argument subject of the clause 5.2 Past Participle agreement with the external argument subject of the clause C48 p. 1 1 Introduction: past participle agreement as Spec–Head agreement and clause structure The following pages reproduce the original version of the chapter with no major changes: Some updates have been added in the aim of highlighting new data and the essential lines of the related theoretical interpretations, appeared in contributions that have come out after publication of the original chapter. One of the most influential developments of syntactic theory over the last twenty-five years or so is the articulated and abstract conception of clause structure first inspired by Pollock’s (1989) article. Functional categories constitute the skeleton upon which clause structure is built up. Although abstract in a certain way, this conception is in fact very ‘concrete’ as it explicitly expresses through syntactic positions features that can be overtly realized in the verbal inflectional morphology (or are indirectly signaled by the fixed position of different classes of adverbs, as in Cinque 1999).
    [Show full text]
  • Verbs of Motion
    Verbs of Motion jít = to go by foot jdu, jdeš, jde, jdeme, jdete, jdou future tense: pujdu, pujdeš, pujde, pujdeme, pujdete, pujdou past participle: šel, šla, šlo | šli, šly, šla Never say budu jít !! chodit = to go by foot frequently or repeatedly, frequentative version of jít (present tense: chodím, chodíš..., future tense.: budu chodit, budeš chodit...., past participle: chodil, chodila, chodilo...) jet = to go by vehicle jedu, jedeš, jede, jedeme, jedete, jedou future tense: pojedu, pojedeš, pojede, pojedeme, pojedete, pojedou past participle: jel, jela, jelo | jeli, jely, jela Never say budu jet !! jezdit = to go by vehicle frequently or repeatedly, frequentative version of jezdit (present tense: jezdím, jezdíš...., future tense: budu jezdit, budeš jezdit..., past participle: jezdil, jezdila, jezdilo...) letet = to fly letím, letíš, letí, letíme, letíte, letí future tense: poletím, poletíš, poletí, poletíme, poletíte, poletí past participle: letel, letela, letelo | leteli, letely, letela (The frequentative version: lítat (or létat), lítám, lítáš..., budu lítat...., lítal jsem...) nést = to carry nesu, neseš, nese, neseme, nesete, nesou future tense: ponesu, poneseš, ponese, poneseme, ponesete, ponesou past participle: nesl, nesla, neslo | nesli, nesly, nesla (The frequentative version: nosit, nosím..., budu nosit..., nosil jsem....) vézt = to take by vehicle, to give a ride vezu, vezeš, veze, vezeme, vezete, vezou future tense: povezu, povezeš, poveze, povezeme, povezete, povezou past participle: vezl, vezla, vezlo | vezli, vezly,
    [Show full text]
  • 50 Common English Phrasal Verbs
    50 COMMON ENGLISH PHRAS AL VERBS ©Angela Boothroyd www.online-english-lessons.eu and www.studyingonline.co.uk Page 1 Introduction This free PDF has fifty frequently used English phrasal verbs, with definitions and over 300 example sentences showing how these phrasal verbs are used in everyday conversation. Some phrasal verbs have the opportunity for you to practise using them in your own sentences, and at the end of the PDF are twenty gap-fill exercises for more practice. ©Angela Boothroyd www.online-english-lessons.eu and www.studyingonline.co.uk Page 2 CONTENTS believe in .......................................................................................................................................... 5 blow up ............................................................................................................................................. 6 break down ....................................................................................................................................... 7 call back ............................................................................................................................................ 8 call off ............................................................................................................................................... 9 call round ........................................................................................................................................ 10 check in ..........................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Minimal Effects of Order of Noun Activation on Sentence Production Lori J
    Minimal Effects of Order of Noun Activation on Sentence Production Lori J. P. Altmann, D. Ashley Mullin, & Tami Mann University of Florida ABSTRACT RESULTS DISCUSSION Sentence production theory states that the noun that is Proportion of Inanimate-Subject Sentences Produced 0.7 Altering the temporal order of noun activation had no activated first takes the sentence subject position effect on the choice of subjects for sentences in this regardless of its animacy, thus determining sentence Simultaneous Offset 100 Offset 150 structure (Bock & Levelt, 1994; Levelt, 1989). However, a 0.6 task. In contrast, differences in verb type affected all previous study (Altmann & Kemper, in press) finds that aspects of sentence production: sentence structure young adults prefer animate nouns as sentence subjects choice, accuracy of production, and response times. 0.5 regardless of their positional prominence in the stimulus. We suggest that speakers do not begin building a The current study uses a constrained sentence production sentence structure until a verb is available, and then task to examine the impact of the temporal order of noun 0.4 the structure choice reflects the frequency with which activation on sentence structure choice. We compare sentence production when a verb and 2 nouns appear 0.3 the verb occurs in a particular structure. This simultaneously to when a stimulus noun appears either 100 conclusion is supported by the homogeneity of ms or 150 ms before the remaining stimulus words. This response times and sentence structure choices for 0.2 timing difference is imperceptible in the 100 ms condition each verb type across timing conditions and by but obvious in the 150 ms condition.
    [Show full text]
  • PARTICIPLE NOTES What Is a Participle? Participles Are “Verbal
    PARTICIPLE NOTES What is a Participle? Participles are “verbal adjectives”, which means they are part verb, part adjective. They modify nouns. Some examples of participles in English are: The lost dog was found by a little girl. She watched the dog running through the woods. How are Participles like Verbs? Tense. Like verbs, participles have a tense. They might be present tense (happening at the same time as the main verb), perfect tense (having already happened before the main verb), or future tense (not having happened yet at the time of the main verb). Voice. Like verbs, participles have a voice. They might be active (the participle’s subject is doing the action) or passive (the participle’s subject has had the action done to him/her/it). Subjects. Like verbs, participles have a subject. The noun they match in case, number and gender is like the participle’s subject. Ex: She watched the dog running through the woods. Here, running is the participle. Its “subject” is dog. In Latin, you would see that the word dog and the word running share the same case, number and gender. Direct Objects, Indirect Objects and Prepositional Phrases. Like verbs, participles can have direct objects, indirect objects, and prepositional phrases associated with them. Ex: The two men watching the game in the stadium shouted at the players. Here, watching is the participle. Its direct object is game, and in the stadium is a prepositional phrase that accompanies it. How are Participles like Adjectives? Declension. Like adjectives, participles either use third declension endings, or first and second declension endings.
    [Show full text]