This is a study of processes of structural and functional diversification of the uses of three cognate verbs across the Indo-Iranian language family: “do/make”, “be/become”, and “give”. First, this study identifies over sixty distinct construction types in which these verbs are used, including complex predicate constructions, nominal predication constructions, serial verb constructions, and several distinct auxiliary constructions. Since the sets of verbs studied here are cognates, and share a common source, crosslinguistic differences in their uses are the result of grammatical change, and especially shared and parallel innovations of similar uses. Then, this study presents a taxonomy of different complex predication types with “do/make”, and shows that there are general patterns in the deployment of different types of complex predication to express different types of situations. These patterns exhibit “transitivity prominence” previously identified by typologists with “heavy” or “lexical” verbs. This study then shows that these patterns are the result of several distinct pathways of grammatical change, often motivated by analogy to existing constructions, giving raise to different types of N-V complex predication constructions. Then, this study shows that despite the fact that Indo-Iranian speakers can potentially deploy distinct constructions to encode each of the six nominal predication functions, sets of such functions are often co-expressed by the same structural coding means, especially clauses with cognate “be/become” verbs. This study uses a novel method, based on bipartite network graphs, to compare of the degree to which nominal predication functions are co-expressed in different languages. Finally, this study shows that the three sets of cognate verbs are more likely to be used similarity within branches and subbranches of Indo-Iranian than across branches. The scope of this branches, however, is different for different verbs: “do/make” and “give” behave more similarly in languages which belong to the same major branch, Iranian or Indo-Aryan, but “be/become” clusters are at different levels of subbranching. This is the result of the different types of innovations attested with these verbs: reanalysis and actualization motivated by analogy with “do/make” and “give”, and metaphorical and metonymy extensions with “be/become”.

A presente dissertação tem por objetivo geral analisar como a estrutura de construções que apresentam predicação complexa (PC) no Português Brasileiro (PB) é representada pela perspectiva tradicional e pela perspectiva gerativa, de modo a verificar a existência de padrões nessas construções. Neste trabalho, entendemos por PC a atribuição de propriedades a um mesmo constituinte por predicados diferentes. No primeiro capítulo, apresentamos a representação dessas estruturas à luz da abordagem tradicional, em que são tratadas como predicados verbo-nominais ou como orações reduzidas de infinitivo, particípio e de gerúndio. Nesse capítulo, também discutimos a ambiguidade entre predicativo do objeto e adjunto adnominal, assim como a possibilidade de predicativos do objeto indireto. No segundo capítulo, apresentamos a análise segundo a perspectiva gerativa, mais precisamente, de acordo com a Teoria de Princípios e Parâmetros, em que essas construções não são representadas como orações propriamente ditas, mas sim como small clauses (SCs). Ainda nesse capítulo, revisamos a proposta de Williams (1983, 1994) sobre as SCs e propomos que a projeção da SC seja dominada por AgrP. No terceiro capítulo, a partir da revisão das abordagens tradicional e gerativa, concluímos este trabalho com o estabelecimento de 18 possibilidades de estruturas com PC no PB. / This dissertation aims to analyze how the structure of constructions which present complex predication (CP) in Brazilian Portuguese (BP) is represented by the traditional perspective and by the generative perspective, in order to verify the existence of patterns of these constructions. In this study, CP is understood as the attribution of properties to a same constituent by different predicates. In the first chapter, we present how these structures are represented by the traditional approach, which treats them as noun-verb predicates or as reduced clauses of infinitive, participle and gerund. This chapter also discusses the ambiguity between object predicative and noun phrases, as well as the possibility of indirect object predicatives. In the second chapter, we present an analysis according to the generative perspective, particularly according to the Theory of Principles and Parameters, in which these constructions are not represented as clauses, but rather as small clauses (SCs). Also in this chapter, we revise Williams’ (1983, 1994) proposal on SCs and propose that the projection of the SC is ruled by AgrP. In the third chapter, based on the revision of traditional and generative approaches, we conclude this dissertation with the establishment of 18 possibilities of structures with CP in BP.

A presente dissertação tem por objetivo geral analisar como a estrutura de construções que apresentam predicação complexa (PC) no Português Brasileiro (PB) é representada pela perspectiva tradicional e pela perspectiva gerativa, de modo a verificar a existência de padrões nessas construções. Neste trabalho, entendemos por PC a atribuição de propriedades a um mesmo constituinte por predicados diferentes. No primeiro capítulo, apresentamos a representação dessas estruturas à luz da abordagem tradicional, em que são tratadas como predicados verbo-nominais ou como orações reduzidas de infinitivo, particípio e de gerúndio. Nesse capítulo, também discutimos a ambiguidade entre predicativo do objeto e adjunto adnominal, assim como a possibilidade de predicativos do objeto indireto. No segundo capítulo, apresentamos a análise segundo a perspectiva gerativa, mais precisamente, de acordo com a Teoria de Princípios e Parâmetros, em que essas construções não são representadas como orações propriamente ditas, mas sim como small clauses (SCs). Ainda nesse capítulo, revisamos a proposta de Williams (1983, 1994) sobre as SCs e propomos que a projeção da SC seja dominada por AgrP. No terceiro capítulo, a partir da revisão das abordagens tradicional e gerativa, concluímos este trabalho com o estabelecimento de 18 possibilidades de estruturas com PC no PB. / This dissertation aims to analyze how the structure of constructions which present complex predication (CP) in Brazilian Portuguese (BP) is represented by the traditional perspective and by the generative perspective, in order to verify the existence of patterns of these constructions. In this study, CP is understood as the attribution of properties to a same constituent by different predicates. In the first chapter, we present how these structures are represented by the traditional approach, which treats them as noun-verb predicates or as reduced clauses of infinitive, participle and gerund. This chapter also discusses the ambiguity between object predicative and noun phrases, as well as the possibility of indirect object predicatives. In the second chapter, we present an analysis according to the generative perspective, particularly according to the Theory of Principles and Parameters, in which these constructions are not represented as clauses, but rather as small clauses (SCs). Also in this chapter, we revise Williams’ (1983, 1994) proposal on SCs and propose that the projection of the SC is ruled by AgrP. In the third chapter, based on the revision of traditional and generative approaches, we conclude this dissertation with the establishment of 18 possibilities of structures with CP in BP.

A presente dissertação tem por objetivo geral analisar como a estrutura de construções que apresentam predicação complexa (PC) no Português Brasileiro (PB) é representada pela perspectiva tradicional e pela perspectiva gerativa, de modo a verificar a existência de padrões nessas construções. Neste trabalho, entendemos por PC a atribuição de propriedades a um mesmo constituinte por predicados diferentes. No primeiro capítulo, apresentamos a representação dessas estruturas à luz da abordagem tradicional, em que são tratadas como predicados verbo-nominais ou como orações reduzidas de infinitivo, particípio e de gerúndio. Nesse capítulo, também discutimos a ambiguidade entre predicativo do objeto e adjunto adnominal, assim como a possibilidade de predicativos do objeto indireto. No segundo capítulo, apresentamos a análise segundo a perspectiva gerativa, mais precisamente, de acordo com a Teoria de Princípios e Parâmetros, em que essas construções não são representadas como orações propriamente ditas, mas sim como small clauses (SCs). Ainda nesse capítulo, revisamos a proposta de Williams (1983, 1994) sobre as SCs e propomos que a projeção da SC seja dominada por AgrP. No terceiro capítulo, a partir da revisão das abordagens tradicional e gerativa, concluímos este trabalho com o estabelecimento de 18 possibilidades de estruturas com PC no PB. / This dissertation aims to analyze how the structure of constructions which present complex predication (CP) in Brazilian Portuguese (BP) is represented by the traditional perspective and by the generative perspective, in order to verify the existence of patterns of these constructions. In this study, CP is understood as the attribution of properties to a same constituent by different predicates. In the first chapter, we present how these structures are represented by the traditional approach, which treats them as noun-verb predicates or as reduced clauses of infinitive, participle and gerund. This chapter also discusses the ambiguity between object predicative and noun phrases, as well as the possibility of indirect object predicatives. In the second chapter, we present an analysis according to the generative perspective, particularly according to the Theory of Principles and Parameters, in which these constructions are not represented as clauses, but rather as small clauses (SCs). Also in this chapter, we revise Williams’ (1983, 1994) proposal on SCs and propose that the projection of the SC is ruled by AgrP. In the third chapter, based on the revision of traditional and generative approaches, we conclude this dissertation with the establishment of 18 possibilities of structures with CP in BP.