Verbal complexes in thai

This chapter investigates the serial verb constructions (SVC) in Thai, where the predicate takes the structure [V1 NP1 V2 (NP2)]. Focusing on a type of two-component SVC in which one component verb is the head and the other the modifier, we attempt to pinpoint those SVCs that correspond semantically to the Indian-type vector compound verbs, differentiating them from the Chinese-type resultative serial verbs. The V2 verbs, which are drawn from a limited set of verbs, modify the main verbs in V1 in terms of grammatical aspectual meanings or pragmatic meanings. The grammatical aspectual meaning of V2 is a part of the propositional meaning of the verbal complex and is relatively easy to identify. Most V2s in Thai verbal complexes modify V1s in terms of pragmatic specifications, which are rather difficult to spell out, and can be omitted without affecting the propositional meaning. These V2s are considered analogous to vector verbs.