Controversy over MASDAR and its Category in Persian: Approaches and Solutions

Document Type : Research

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Abstract

The categorical status of MASDARs is still open to more argument in Persian. Persian traditional grammar conceives MASDARs either as noun or as verb and it is their noun properties which are dominant in syntactic argumentation. This is so, while Persian exhibits ample evidence in support of verb-like behavior for MASDARs. MASDARs can readily be converted into passive: they have causative form and they are negated as normal verbs are. More evidence in support of their verb-like behavior rely on the recent proposal made in Mosaffa Jahromi (1389) according to which MASDARs are CP and project PRO in their specifier. After all, MASDARs behave somehow noun-like in Persian which opens more space for further investigation. This article mostly rests on the generative view presented in Baker (2003), although it takes advantage of morphological as well as semantic evidence as well.
 
 

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References

 
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ZABANPAZHUHI (Journal of Language Research)
Volume 5, Issue 901
March 2014
Pages 163-175

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