On the syntax-semantics of passives 
in Persian

This paper investigates passive constructions in Persian, ranging from basic morphological passives to impersonal passives, in comparison with similar constructions with šodæn ‘to become’. The basic passive constructions (Past Participle + šodæn) coexist with a body of Noun/Adjective + šodæn sequences with passive meaning as well as copular sentences in which šodæn appears after the noun or adjective. The different uses and interpretations of šodæn are accounted for based on the assumption that the interaction of the lexical semantic specification of šodæn and the other elements in the sequence determines the final interpretation of šodæn as a passive auxiliary or a copula. If the element preceding šodæn has a [+passive] feature, the construction will be calculated syntactically as passive. Otherwise, šodæn is treated as the copula in the syntactic computation.