Table 13. Posthead verb concatenations in Lahu Matisoff 1973: 221–249; Maximum length is four 1973:260
Just after
V
-head, only one of this
first group Only one verb from
this second group may follow
Several of this third group may follow
‘into’, ‘enter’, ‘appear’, ‘come’,
‘go’, ‘descend’, ‘ascend’, ‘send
back’, ‘take back’, ‘throw’, ‘fall’,
‘send’ ‘be late’, ‘dare’, ‘be
busy’, ‘be easy’, ‘be wearisome’, ‘be
numerous’ ‘possible to’, ‘able to do X well’, ‘get tomanage
to’, and ‘must’, or meanings such as ‘be fittingcorrect’, ‘be time to’, ‘be too
manymuch’
Several members of this group called “variables” can occur in series, and before, after, and among the above two groups.
‘Continuative’, ‘causative’, ‘inchoative’, ‘durative’, ‘tentative’, ‘completiveexhaustive’, ‘benefactive’, ‘permisso-causitive’, and ‘sufficitive’.
Matisoff does not think such an order can be reduced to a phrase structure rule such as the following:
“Verbal nucleus →
V
-head + 0–1 group 1 items + 0–2 variable + 0–1 group 2 items + 0–2 variables + 0–2 group 3 items + 0–2 variables”
He considers such a formulation “most jejune” Matisoff 1973:238. The problem is that it suggests a linear relationship, instead of a hierarchical one. He summarizes his point this way: “All of the verbs to
the left of a given verb serve as the latter’s head verb” Matisoff 1973:239. Since some auxiliaries can also be full verbs, some two-verb combinations are ambiguous. When a
prehead auxiliary and a posthead auxiliary of this dual sort form a chain, either one can become the head verb, resulting in structural ambiguity Matisoff 1973:201, 238:
183 tà = ‘begin’ prehead auxiliary or head verb
ša = ‘easy’ posthead aux or head verb tà ša = ‘easy to begin’ prehead auxiliary + head verb
tà ša = ‘begin to be easy’ head verb + posthead auxiliary
9.4.5 Lalo postverbal slots
9.4.5.1 Six postverbal positions
The first position after the verb head is occupied by a lexeme from the “Direction I” group with the following meanings Björverud 1998:87–97:
• ‘up’, ‘out’, ‘bring’, ‘into’, ‘cross’, ‘on’, ‘rise’, ‘return’, ‘open’, ‘down’, ‘arrive’, ‘away’ Only one of these may occur in this first position after the head of the verb phrase Björverud 1998:89.
The second position is occupied by a versatile verb of the “Direction II” with one of the following meanings Björverud 1998:97:
• ‘to come’, ‘to go’, ‘to rise’. This verb is an indicator of movement with main verbs of motion or change of state with other main
verbs or adjectival verbs Björverud 1998:98.
The third position is occupied by a versatile from the “Resultative and other” group with one of the following meanings:
• ‘endure’, ‘obtain’, ‘complete’, ‘try’, ‘enough’, ‘have time’, ‘catch’, ‘lose’, ‘among’, ‘succeed’. Only one of these modal-like verbs may occupy the third posthead verb slot Björverud 1998:100.
The fourth position is occupied by at most one versatile from the Modals group, which immediately follows the third group Björverud 1998:105. These have the meanings Björverud 1998:105–109
• can, should, eager to, able to, want to, willing to, not dare to, accustomed to, customarily, or musthave to.
The fifth group is comprised of predicative particles, whose meanings are quite abstract, such as • causative, concessive, beneficiary, object exhausted, each other, result, more, or again.
These have four possible positions, outlined in section 9.3.3
, and are relevant here as occupying a position after an auxiliary Björverud 1998:78.
There is a sixth group, comprised of aspectual particles that optionally follow at the end of the entire predicate and indicate
• perfective, imperfective, durative, hypothetical, intentionplanning to, about to, two preparatory aspects, after having, completed, or confirmatory validation of the predicate Björverud 1998:78,
115–116. Table 14. Posthead verb concatenations in Lalo
At most one of the following in
the first position after the head
verb At most one of
the following in the second
position after the head verb
At most one of the following in
the third position after
the head verb At most one
modal follows in the fourth
position after the head verb
At the end of the entire predicative
phrase comes one aspectual particle
up, out, bring, into, cross, on,
rise, return, open, down,
arrive, away to come, to go,
to rise endure, obtain,
complete, try, enough, have
time, catch, lose, among,
succeed can, should,
eager to, able to, want to, willing
to, not dare to, accustomed to,
customarily, or musthave to
perfective, imperfective,
durative, hypothetical,
intentionplanning to, about to, or
confirmatory validation of the
predicate
At most one predicative particle may follow the head verb and any of the auxiliaries in slots one to four Björverud 1998:78, no data: causative, concessive, beneficiary, object exhausted, each
other, result, more, or again.
The following phrase illustrates the order of postverbal positions: 184 tý
lá ɣa
dá return come obtain can
‘can fufill the requirements for returning’ Björverud 1998:88
9.4.6 Nuosu postverbal slots
