An ergative verb is a verb which can be used both as a two-place predicate or a three-place predicate,and that makes it difficult to analyze them within the binary-branching framework because of the existence of two complements,or three arguments.Radford( 1988) suggests that VPs have a complex internal structure with a VP core and a VP shell.This study explores the inner structure of the ergative verbs within the frame of VP shells,and finds that its VP core merges with a light verb.
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