La Structure Argumentale des Verbes Locatifs a Base Nominale

This paper presents an analysis of a subclass of denominal verbs in French, more specifically those which are interpreted as involving an entity which is located with respect to a location. It is shown that (1) when the N on which the verb is formed is a descriptor for a displaced entity, the location where this entity ends up appears in direct object position; (2) When the N on which the verb is formed is a descriptor for a location, the entity which is located appears in direct object position. An analysis of these verbs is developed which accounts for the relation between their conceptual structure, their morphological structure and their argument structure. This analysis relies crucially on the existence of a semantic predicate AFFECT, which is defined as follows: an entity is AFFECTED if the nuclear information of the verb describes a modification of the status of that entity. Real and apparent counterexamples to the analysis are discussed.