Syntax and Semantics of the substance removing verb(SRV) in English and Arabic

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to characterize and contrast the main syntactic and semantic properties of the Substance-Removing Verbs (SRV) in English and Arabic. The relevance of the syntactic behavior of these verbs to their classification into classes is also explored. It was found that the Predicate Argument Structure (PAS), the Lexical Conceptual Structure (LCS) and the semantic roles associated with these verbs are the same in both languages. Based on the syntactic behavior of the SRV, three classes are identified: the first class allows for two alternations in both languages, the second allows for one alternation in both languages, and the third allows for two alternations in English and one in Arabic. It is assumed that the inherent lexical semantic properties of these verbs determine their syntactic behavior. Thus, despite the surface variation, it seems that the basic principles underlying the syntax and semantics of the SRV are the same in both languages. However, to classify these verbs into classes, their syntactic behavior must be taken into account in addition to the PAS, the LCS and the semantic roles associated with them. It should also be taken into account that listing these verbs in bilingual dictionaries as lexical synonyms does not accurately reflect their syntactic behavior.