Serial Verb Construction
Definition:
A serial verb construction is a string of verbs or verb phrases within a single clause that
- express simultaneous or immediately consecutive actions
- have a single grammatical subject
- have no connective markings, and
- are marked or understood as having the same grammatical categories, such as
Examples:
(Twi)
Kofi de pono no baae
Kofi take_PAST pono the come_PAST
‘Kofi brought the table.’
Source:
55, 76–77
1-2, 86–87
This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library. Version 5.0 published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 2003.