Noun-Verb Complex Predicates In Kurmanji Kurdish. A syntactic Account

This paper analyzes the argument structure of N(oun)-V(erb) complex predicates in the Muş dialect of Kurmanji and makes three claims: (i) N-V complex predicates (CPrs) are like unergative verbs in the sense of Hale & Keyser (2002); they are underlyingly transitive structures in which an agentive light verb selects for (or incorporates into) its nominal object, (ii) the noun element in these CPrs is not a true direct object although it seems to saturate the argument requirements of the CPr, and (iii) the existence of unergative CPrs and the behaviors of their noun element point to a different objecthood status in Kurmanji syntax.