Prepositions and prefixes

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter focuses on nominalizations of verbs that take PP complements. These cases form the basis of another argument for the complex heads analysis. The argument is connected to the three basic patterns that we find in the nominalizations of PP-selecting verbs: the preposition is prefixed to the derived nominal and repeated in the complement, the preposition is prefixed but not repeated, or the preposition is not prefixed at all. The idea is that prepositions can do two things: (a) introduce thematic semantics of their own, and/or (b) condition allosemy on the verbal root. The three patterns reflect this: prepositions are prefixed to condition allosemy, but they introduce complements when they have their own meaning. The overall picture supports the complex head analysis: in the phrasal layering analysis, there is no reason to expect prefixing to be connected to meaning in this way.