VERB PARTICLES AND ASPECT IN COMPLEX PARTICLE CONSTRUCTIONS

Abstract The goal of this paper is to investigate the verb particle’s contribution for the event structure in complex particle constructions. The focus will be on a subgroup of constructions that have a secondary predicate denoting a resultant state over an accusative phrase alongside with a verb particle, as we can see in the following examples: John grilled the onions up dry and The farmer painted the barn up red. The argumentation supports the view that the particle contribution is aspectual in its nature, specifically representing a sense of completeness and/or totality, and not telicity proper.