Verb TypesThe position to which the subject moves is typically a nominative position and so we
might assume that the movement has something to do with placing this argument in a
Case position. The reason why these verbs are called ‘unaccusative’ is because unlike
with transitive verbs, which share the possibility of having theme arguments, the theme
of the unaccusative cannot normally remain inside the VP to receive accusative Case.
As far as the event structure is concerned, unaccusative verbs have a very simple
interpretation involving a simple state or relationship between the theme argument and
the location. To see this, compare the unaccusative and agentive use of sit again:
(23) a the water sat on the work surface
b the old man sat (himself) on the chair
In (23a) the event expressed simply involves the relationship between the water and
the work surface, i.e. that the water was on the work surface. In (23b) on the other
hand, the event involves the old man doing something which results in him being
situated on the chair. Thus the two can be analysed in the following way:
(24) a e = e 1 : e 1 = ‘the water was on the work surface’
b e = e 1 Æ e 2 : e 1 = ‘the old man did something’
e 2 = ‘the old man was on the chair’
The simple event structure corresponds with the simple VP structure of the unaccusative.
We will see that more complex event structures lead to more complex VPs.
2.2 Light verbs
The next class of verbs we will consider is rather small and seemingly insignificant,
though we will see that they enable us to understand other VP structures in a more
illuminating way. Jesperson (1965) first coined the term light verb to refer to verbs
which, though they may have a fuller semantic usage in other contexts, can be used in
combination with some other element, typically a noun or verb, where their
contribution to the meaning of the whole construction is reduced in some way.
For example, consider the following:
(25) a we had a walk = we walked
b they did a dance = they danced
c I took a look = I looked
e she made a comment = she commented
f you should give it a kick = you should kick it
In each of these examples, the italicised verb clearly contributes less of a meaning to
the whole sentence than verbs usually do, the main predicative content coming from
the deverbal noun in the complement position. However, it is not that these verbs
contribute no semantic content to the whole construction as the two sides of the equals
sign in (25) are not identical. This is made clear by the following examples:
(26) a I took a bath = I bathed (myself)
b I gave him a bath = I bathed him
What light verbs actually contribute to the meaning of an expression is a complex and
subtle issue. For example, it seems from (26) that they do have something to do with