The Short and Long Forms of Adjectives in Russian Under the Generativist Perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17851/2237-2083.34.2.26-49Keywords:
Russian, adjectives, short and long forms, Generative Grammar, CaseAbstract
This article aims to propose an analysis of the syntactic structure of the short and long forms of adjectives in Russian. In the analysis we developed, we build upon the hypothesis that the short forms are adjectives of verbal nature and the long forms, adjectives of nominal nature. For such, we built upon the theoretical framework of Generative Grammar, taking into consideration VP shells and KP (Case phrase) hypotheses. The analysis also aimed to clarify the intuition regarding the centrality of the Case category to syntactically differentiate the two forms of adjectives. We propose that the short form of Russian adjectives is characterized by the structure of an AP inserted in a vP projection, and that the long form presents the structure of an AP inserted in a KP projection. We also explore feature interpretability in A, taking into consideration the operation Agree. We conclude that the distinction between the verbal and nominal nature of adjectives is syntactically attributed to the functional category which selects the AP.
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