STRUCTURE OF VERB PHRASE IN ÀRÙM

Abstract

The study explores the structure of the Àrùm verb phrase with a view to determining its syntactic configuration. The study is descriptive, and employs the use of interviews to generate the data. Data were sourced through interview with native speakers as well as observation. A Voice Recorder as an instrument was used to record the data during the interview sessions. Lexical items belonging to the verbal domain in the Summer Institute of Linguistics Comparative African Wordlist were helpful in the collation of data. From the data analysed, it was discovered that in Àrùm, the verb, just as in other languages, is the only obligatory element in a verb phrase. The verb is, therefore, the head of the Àrùm verb phrase (henceforth, VP). The study also revealed that a verb can occupy the VP slot (that is, a verb can stand alone in a VP). It was further discovered that the VP slot can be occupied by a sequence of two verbs, a verb and a noun phrase (henceforth, NP), a verb and two NPs, a verb and an adverbial phrase (henceforth, ADV.P), verb and  a prepositional phrase (henceforth, PP) and a verb and an adjectival phrase  (henceforth, ADJ.P) The study concludes that the structure of the verb phrase in this language is as follows: VP→V + (NP) + (ADV.P) + (ADJ.P) + (PP), where the verb is obligatory, while other elements are optional. In transitive verbs, however, the object is also an obligatory element. This study also concludes that the verb phrase in Àrùm is structurally systematic and linguistically significant within the grammar of the language. The study suggests future studies on the morphosyntactic properties of tense, aspect, and mood (TAM) in Àrùm and a comparative study of verb phrase structures across the different dialects of Àrùm. This study contributes to the hitherto scanty literature on the language, and specifically to the syntax of the language.