Mismatches between morphology and syntax in Japanese complex predicates

In this paper, we propose a lexicalist account of constructions which initially appear to be nominalisations of phrasal structures. We argue that lexical nominalisation of verbs preserves their form-selectional properties, creating nouns which select for dependents in exactly the way that the source verbs do. These properties hold in the ‘sub-phrasal’ syntax – essentially a domain of complex predicate formation – but do not hold in the regular phrasal syntax, where the form-selectional properties of verbs and nouns are disjoint. The overall view of grammar is one in which all morphological derivation and inflection is in the lexicon, interacting with a syntax in which there is a crucial distinction between words – items from the lexicon which do not project phrases, but create sub-phrasal constituents – and phrases, which are standardly projected from words.