The HPSG analysis of verb-clusters

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The HPSG analysis of verb-clusters

The now standard analysis within HPSG of such verb-clusters is based on ideas from Categorial Grammar (cf. for example [5]) and defined within the HPSG framework by [2]. In this analysis auxiliary verbs subcategorize for an unsaturated verb-phrase and for the complements that are not yet realized by this verb-phrase. In other words, the arguments of the embedded verb-phrase are inherited by the auxiliary.

For example, the auxiliary `wil' might be defined as in figure 1.

**Figure 1:** The modal auxiliary `wil'.
$\begin{figure} \begin{center}$ \mbox{\it stem} (\avm{ \mbox{\sc verbal} \\ \m... ... \mbox{\it sc} :\mbox{A} } \vert \mbox{A}\rangle }). $\end{center}\end{figure}$

If we assume an application rule that produces flat vp-structures, then we obtain the derivation in figure 2 for the infinite verb-phrase

$\begin{exam} \dots Arie boeken wil kunnen geven \end{exam}$

**Figure 2:** The parse tree for the verb-phrase `arie boeken wil kunnen geven'.
$\begin{figure} \long \long \long \long \long \long \footnotesize\leavevmode \uni... ...,-5.50){\hbox{}} \put(0.00,105.00){\hbox{}} \endpicture \normalsize\end{figure}$

Noord G.J.M. van
1998-09-29