Predicate-argument structure

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Definition

Predicate-argument structure is another term for argument structure.

Morphology

Level of representation, which is part of the lexical representation of verbs (or adjectives), where the information about the theta-grid is decoded, and as such is part of the syntactic structure of verbs.

Example

One way to represent the predicate-argument structure (PAS) of the causative verb break is (i).

(i) break:  <Agent, Theme>
 

In (i) break is specified as having an external argument ( Agent) and an internal argument ( Theme).

Links

Utrecht Lexicon of Linguistics

References

  • Booij, G.E. and T. v. Haaften. 1988. On the external syntax of derived words: evidence from Dutch. Yearbook of Morphology 1, pp. 29-44
  • Spencer, A. 1991. Morphological Theory. Blackwell: Oxford.