Verb movement in Japanese revisited

要旨

Abstract This paper argues for verb movement in Japanese. In Taro-ga sushi-o mo tabe-ta 'Taro also ate sushi,' for example, we claim that tabe 'eat' actually moves past mo 'also,' as in [Taro-ga sushi-o t tabe mo tabe-ta]. This analysis is supported by the interpretation of the adjunct clitic mo. We further claim that the verb-movement operation, coupled with the so-called Morphological Merger, successfully accounts for various data involving su-support (analogous to do-support in English). As a consequence, the present analysis has an important implication for the language typology on verb movement.

主題