Serial Verb Construction in Persian: a Minimalist Approach

The process of verb serialization is rather vague and controversial and many linguists have tried to explain the features of these syntactic constructs. Most scholars agree that a serial verb construction (SVC) is a sequence of verbs which act together as a single predicate, without any overt or covert marker of coordination and subordination. Within the framework of Minimalist Program, in this paper we investigate the syntactic properties of the Persian SVCs consisting of two or three verbs that seem to share at least a single internal or external argument and to receive the same verbal features (including tense, phi features, aspect and mood), as found in the present and past progressive sentences. However, the findings of the research state that the Persian SVCs are actually not limited to progressive aspect but it is also found in the present and past perfect structures (e.g. “u gerfte bud xābide bud” lit: S/he had taken had slept). The main question is: If serial verb constructions form chains of verbs, what kind of structural configuration can be attributed to them? Following Baker and Stewart (2002), we claim these structures arise when one or two AspPs (i.e. ProgPs or PerfPs) are adjoined to the main AspP of the sentence, while the grammatical verbs, such a “gereftan” (to take) and “dāstšn” (to have) appear to be different from Persian auxiliaries on syntactic grounds. This conclusion treats serial verb constructions as adjoining structures.