Non-Verbal Argument Structure: Evidence from Tagalog

This dissertation examines the syntax and argument structure of non-verbal predicates (focusing primarily on adjectives) in Tagalog. Drawing on evidence from a variety of construction types (including Comparative, Existential, and Ellipsis constructions among others), I argue against the claim that adjectives differ from verbs in their ability to project an internal theme argument (Pesetsky 1982; Borer 1984, 1991; Levin and Rappaport 1986; Baker 2003; among others). More generally, I argue that evidence about the argument structure of non-verbal predicates offers a more general argument against strong decompositional views of argument in which both external and internal arguments are 'severed' from the predicate. Thesis Supervisor: David Pesetsky, Professor of Linguistics