Contenu du sommaire : Les supports, sous la direction de Amr Helmy Ibrahim

Passives and the support verbs for adjectives We argue that support verbs intervening in adjectivizations of verbs such as : This story annoys Bob = This story is annoying to Bob Bob can analyze the tissues = The tissues are (E + un) analyzable by Bob are similar to the auxiliary be of the Passive forms : Bob (is + remains) annoyed by this story This story remains annoying to Bob The tissues remain (E + un) analyzable by Bob By studying the combinations of modal and aspectual support verbs with passive participles, we show that the syntactic variations of Passive forms are of the same type as the variations of adjectival sentences.

Noun predicates with compulsory modifier : complex sentences with support verb avoir The aim of this paper is to account for sentences with have as support verb and with predicative nouns which have an obligatory adjective or nominal modifier (Ce pianiste a un jeu raffine ! *Ce pianiste a un jeu). Semantical relationships between predicative nouns and adjectives will be described. Such nouns also raise the theoretical problem of complexity of support verbs constructions.

The role of support verbs in a system of nominal conjugation and the existence of a nominal voice in French This paper compares different analysis given for support verb constructions. It presents data showing the inadequacy of previous formal representations, especially concerning the interpretation of nominalisations under higher verbs. It gives arguments in favor of intensionnal representations of the lexico-syntactic dependency relationships involved. A nominal voice is hypothesized together with anaphora properties of various prepositional operators on their argumental structures.

Noun predicates and compatibility of aspect This article aims at describing all those elements which go towards actualizing noun predicates. A hierarchy is established in this diversity based on the semantic nature of the predicates which only allow certain combinations.

Predicates and support verbs as used by children aged 3 Support verbs appear in children's speech at the same time as they start using their first verbal forms. The use of support verbs is a sure indicator of the way in which children begin to internalize the grammar of their mothertongue. Using the verb METTRE both as an ordinary and as a support verb is one of the signal of children's early steps in the acquisition of syntax.

A diachronic survey of support verbs : the case of old French The aim of the study is to propose some reflexions about the evolution of a special category of idioms : the support verbs. Identification and description of syntactic constant on these constructions in old French allow to explain how constructions which are supposed to have stopped evolving do however evolve.

Outline of a language theory based on support elements This is a theory which actualizes elements by putting them into a more or less redundant matrix system with no limits drawn between lexicon, syntax and semantics, where the support verbs as metonymie actualizers function both to neutralize and to differenciate.