Syntactic, Semantic, and Pragmatic Representations of Adjacent Verbs in Persian Language: An Analysis Based on Role and Reference Grammar (RRG)

AbstractIn our ordinary and everyday speech and in the informal and colloquial contexts in general, we encounter the use of constructions, in which two verbs appear in a “verb-verb” situation, thus making a complex predicate construction, such as "kešid bordeš", "gereft xabid", and "daram miravam". All these three constructions have a common feature of adjacency of verbs, in which one verb has a matrix function and the other has a dependent function. Thus, in the present study, they were studied under the title of "adjacent verbs". The authors believed that the “Role and Reference Grammar (RRG)” would provide a useful theoretical framework for better understanding of the “construction of adjacent verbs”. In RRG, all linguistic constructions are explained in three dimensions: syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic (focus structure). Accordingly, in the present paper, we first classified the different types of adjacent verbs and then discussed their features. It starts by identifying the syntactic, semantic, and focus structure representations will be discussed and then, the constructional scheme of adjacent verbs in Persian will be represented. Keywords: Adjacent Verbs, Adverb-Like Verbs, Aspectual Verbs, Constructional Scheme, Nuclear Juncture, Role And Reference Grammar (RRG) Introduction In Persian, we face sentences, in which two verbs are placed next to each other and together form a single predicate. Such constructions are seen in colloquial Persian and informal writing.1) Bače parid raft tu hayat.Lit: The baby jumped went to the yard.2) Xune ro foruxtam raft.Lit: I sold the house went.3) Daštam Hafez mixundam.I was studying Hafez.In the present article, we intended to explain these constructions and put all of them under the title of "adjacent verbs". The reason for this naming was that the first feature of such constructions was juxtaposition or proximity of two verbs that together formed a single predicate. We believed that the Role and Reference Grammar (RRG) with its capabilities could be used as a suitable theoretical framework for describing and analyzing structures containing adjacent verbs. Accordingly, the present study sought to answer the following questions:What linguistic features do adjacent verbs have and how are they classified?What are the syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic representations of the construction of adjacent verbs? Materials and MethodsThe data of the present study were prepared based on the sentences in the book of "Persian