Original scientific paper
Some Accusative complements of intransitive verbs: What are cognate objects?
Matea Birtić
orcid.org/0000-0001-5927-782X
; Institute of Croatian Language and Linguistics, Zagreb, Croatia
Ivana Matas Ivanković
orcid.org/0000-0002-9796-8346
; Institute of Croatian Language and Linguistics, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The paper discusses about ten Croatian intransitive verbs, which can occur together with accusative marked noun phrases. The authors claim that the verbs can be divided into two groups according to some semantic and syntactic parameters which they apply to the verbs’ accusative complements. The accusative marked complements of first group verbs which comprise so called sport verbs and the verb disati ‘to breath’, differ in many respects from the accusative complements of the second group. The complements of the first group verbs show some common properties: there are several nouns which can occur with these verbs in accusative case, the nouns do not need to be modified, there is no parallel instrumental NP with some semantic resemblance, and nouns can be sometimes pronominalised and passivised. In the second group accusative complements are sometimes restricted to only one lexical noun which is of the same root as the verb, there is a parallel instrumental phrase with similar or identical semantics, and modification is almost obligatory. The nouns of the second group differ in respect to pronominalisation and passivisation. The authors argue that the accusative NPs of the verbs in the second group are cognate objects and that they can have both argumental and adjunct status.
Keywords
cognate objects; intransitive verbs; argument vs. adjunct status of the cognate object; obligatory modification of cognate objects; passivization of intransitive verbs
Hrčak ID:
50692
URI
Publication date:
14.4.2010.
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