VP-Ellipsis from Object-Verb Idioms and Light Verb Constructions

Abstract

So-called additive VP-ellipsis (i.e., VPE) keeping verbal direct identity is possible to the extent that the meaning of the verb in the elliptic clause is indirectly identical to the main verb in the antecedent clause, which is called verbal indirect identity. However, the light verb in the antecedent clause and the stranded verb in the elliptic clause must be exactly identical under the VPE context of the light verb construction. The idiomatic VPE in the context of object-verb idioms shows the same pattern as the VPE in the light verb constructions in Korean. Under the additive VPE, the entire contents of the “object-verb idiom” or the “verbal nominal-light verb sequence” in the antecedent clause can be replaced with a stranded verb in the elliptic clause keeping sloppy identity when the bare object or the bare verbal nominal appears, respectively.