Chapter 5 - Verb Phrases(58) vP
DP v'
() v VP
gur 1 v DP V'
-ít a labdát V
t 1
Thus the main verb stem moves to the causative light verb morpheme in order to
bind it. The product of the movement would obviously have to undergo further
morphological processes in order to show the appropriate tense and agreement forms,
but this is unimportant for the point being made here. Suppose English works in
exactly the same way as this. The English causative light verb is a bound morpheme,
though a phonologically null one, and differs only in this way from the non-null
causative make. Thus it must be attached to the main verb and this happens by the
main verb moving to adjoin to it. This would then give us an independent motivation
for the movement of the verb.
2.3.3 Unaccusatives and ergatives
Let us consider further aspects of the analysis of the ergative verbs. In the causative
construction, the agent is the subject and moves to the nominative position in finite
clauses. However the theme stays put inside the VP. In the non-causative, unaccusative
form, however, the theme is the subject and moves to the nominative position. Thus in
the causative construction the theme must be assigned Case in its original position and
this position must be Caseless in the absence of the causative light verb. This clearly
points to the light verbs as being responsible for the accusative Case of the theme, just
as we claimed for the overt causative structure:
(59) VP vP
DP V' DP v'
the door V she v VP
closed closed 1 v DP V'
e the door V
t 1
All of this demonstrates that ergative verbs can be analysed in exactly the same
way as unaccusatives, in their ‘intransitive’ use, and as being part of a causative
accusative